It's my first arcade machine, and I got it about 3 weeks ago or so. Company bias aside, I hope you all can ask yourself what arcade machines really bring out the kid in you, and understand where I'm coming from
. Jurassic Park: The Lost World is that game for me. I have a few favorites, all Sega for the most part. Daytona USA is my favorite racing game of all time, and I still remember playing Virtua Fighter 1 in the arcade for the first time in an entrance of a Toys R Us while picking up a new copy of Super Mario Bros 3 for my NES, as a kid. Sega Rally is definitely up there (I actually restored a Celica and bought most of the parts needed to make it a GT-Four rally car....with the Castrol decals and sega logos for good measure. More on this if you want to know more, haha. Was in gaming sites around the globe with that one...)Yes, I was a huge Nintendoid. From the NES to the N64, the only systems I ever owned were Nintendo. But Sega was always that cooler company, with cooler games, and usually better graphics (arcade wise...) that beckoned you to come and be amazed. And their arcade games honestly still hold the test of time. Especially the ones named above.
Arcades were really special for me. 90s arcades are what I got to experience (I'm now 29), and I'm really happy I can say that, as it was the last hurrah of the arcade scene. And I still think 90s arcade machines hold some of the best gameplay and general fun experiences you can get in a cabinet. I used to beg to go to arcades on the weekend, and would blow my allowance on all of Sega's latest.
So .. with that out of the way.. now that I can afford it, I searched down Jurassic Park: The Lost World. Most machines are beat up. They're a popular game, and most have been used for decades (or still used even till today). Common issues are broken guns, heavy burn in or loss of color on the monitor, broken aiming mech for the guns, and just general beat up cabinets. That and for these hunks of junk they want 2500-3700 dollars. Yeah... no thanks.
I found one a state away that's been in a private collection since the 90s. It's in AMAZING shape, and I still can't believe I got it up three flights of stairs to my place here in AZ. It's a juggernaut weighing about 500 lbs.. and it was a nightmare to move.
But everything is in perfect order, not a single spec of dust inside, no burn in, perfectly calibrated guns, etc. It's just like the arcade... no.. better than the arcade, as you don't have to wrestle with failing, improperly maintained equipment
. And all for about a thousand bucks. Heck, yeah!So with that LONG (and hopefully not too boring) story out of the way, here are some pictures of the beauty. Do you have an arcade machine? Feel free to post pictures and your story here if you do, or tell us which one you'd want if you could!
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