FORT90 forum

so i wasn't sure whether i should put this in the games forum or here, but seeing as how it relates mainly to a dying establishment in the city, i figured i'd put it here.

so arcades in NYC are fairly limited.  generally, when you do have one, it's only going to have some standard boring fair like DDR or...hell, i don't even know any more.  probably one of the House of the Dead games.

Chinatown Fair was, as far as i knew, the last bastion of arcades where fighting games still reigned supreme.

UNTIL YESTERDAY


so i visited a friend of mine who lives in Bayside and after grabbing some lunch, he suggested we go check out an arcade he'd always passed but never been in.  we both assumed it would be something relatively mundane and would maybe hang around for a little while.

this here is the place:  http://peterpangamesofbayside.com/


the name itself made me a little wary of going in.  i was afraid i was going to be the one "old" guy in a crowd of teenagers. which, for the most part, i was, but it wasn't as bad as i thought.

anyhow, the list of games they have on that site is not entirely up to date.

games that i thought were fairly noteworthy:

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom
2 SF4 Cabs
Tekken 6
Beatmania v. 11
Pop'n Music
Daytona USA (sadly on 2 players)
an interesting MAME cabinet that had a crapload of games on it


not an amazing collection, no, but i found it rather fascinating that there's more than one arcade in this region that has fairly up-to-date fighting games.  i always wonder how they stay in business.

anyway, no real pictures as the iPhone doesn't handle dark rooms very well, but...i figured it might be worth mentioning.

and i know Matt has a thing for checking out arcades, so i thought it might be of interest.

That sounds... really awesome! Gonna try to hit it later this week. Shall we meet-up, you, me, and Dave?

i'd definitely be down for taking a trip over there.

unfortunately, Bayside is in a part of Queens that is not accessible by subway (only LIRR or buses [wtf]).  for the easiest route there, i'd suggest that we meet at my place and then i can drive us over there.  a lot cheaper and much less of a time investment, for sure.

Too hard to get to although Pop N' Music would be fun. Everything else I've got on my cabs. :/

I must admit, the only game on that list that I was really interested in playing was Pop N' Music. Maybe Beatmania as well.

drozdal was the one who tipped me off about this...

http://www.thebreak.net/

... doesn't seem all that difficult to get to, just a bit of a train ride.

hah!  oh man, i totally forgot about this place.  i'm surprised it still exists (i went there about 10 or 12 years ago).  this was the place where i played in my first-ever Street Fighter tournament.  i lasted about 3 rounds before getting knocked out. 

though my parents drove me there, so i don't really remember the train situation.

and speaking of which, i wouldn't necessarily be against driving there.

We could go there and stop by Mitsuawa before or after!

For those who haven't been to Chinatown Fair in a while - they got new DJ MAX Technika (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNltkotWe4E) and linked Initial D Arcade (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfYvVh1kur4) cabinets.

The Initial D cabinets have been there... geeze... seemingly forever it seems. Though I do believe they update the boards appropriately. As for Technika, I think I wrote about playing it a while back for the blog. It's fun! Like Ouendan, but the screen is super huge.

Yes, what I meant was - they got new boards for that Initial D cabinets :)

Sadly the only game I still play at Chinatown Fair is Gigawing, not a lot there for Shmup fan and even if you like fighting games it's really hard to find someone on your level to play with (aka. not so good).

We should all go someday soon

Yeah, you've really got to go to Greenpoint if it's shmups you're after.

Who would have thought that they have a Retro Arcade Museum (http://retroarcademuseum.com/index.html) in Beacon, NY (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=beacon+ny&daddr=New+York,+New+York&geocode=FTBQeQIdUVCX-ylxXW7AVDPdiTFbWEUAbqJvsg%3BFR1AbQIdK8KW-yk7CD_TpU_CiTFi_nfhBo8LyA&gl=us&hl=en&mra=ls&sll=41.10833,-73.979187&sspn=0.985061,1.624603&ie=UTF8&ll=41.109365,-73.979187&spn=0.985045,1.624603&t=h&z=10) (hour and a half ride from the city, shorter if you get on the train).

huh, it's just a little north of West Point.

it seems on the weekends, they have a "public play" gig going on.  anyone feel like taking a small roadtrip sometime in the next few weeks?  Palisades Parkway is winding, scenic and full of rest stops with Sbarro's.

Posted this already in the video game thread, but since some folks stick with certain sections, may as well pass it along here...

http://www.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=228537

... I'm thinking of checking it out, if only to watch. I suck at the game, so that $10 entrance fee is a total deal breaker (though what the money will go towards is certainly awesome).