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Best. Birthday. Ever!
9 years ago
So I had my birthday yesterday, and I have to say that it was, without a doubt, the best one I've had yet.
You see, there's this arcade in the Chicago area that, when I heard about it sometime last year, I knew I had to go to. It's called the Galloping Ghost Arcade, and it currently features over 500 arcade titles that, once you pay a 15-dollar fee at the door to enter, you can play as much as you want, since all the machines are set to Free Play. So after having lunch at a nearby restaurant (which I didn't have to pay for much out of pocket, due to a gift card I had from a previous date), my boyfriend
Xabin and I finally got to do so yesterday for my 34th birthday, and we had an absolute BLAST! The sheer amount of variety the place has is mind-boggling. Almost every genre is represented there in some form or another, and it's all easy to find, since they're actually sorted by said genre, for the most part. They even had a room almost entirely dedicated to shoot-em-ups. It was so much to take in that it was clear that I was acting like a kid in a candy store... though I did manage to control myself.
The big thing for me, however, was the fact that they have a game there that, until yesterday, I never thought I'd be able to play: F-Zero AX. (Yes, I know that the entire game's data is available on its GX counterpart, but that requires hacking, and I prefer not to risk that.) It was incredible! Being able to strap into the driver's seat of the Blue Falcon and take on the tracks sent such a rush through me every time I played it. The best part was that it was one of the deluxe cabinets, which moves and twists according to what's happening on the screen, adding that extra sense of immersion that's hard to capture. I played that three times, and every time, I came out of there winded, but excited. The only bad part was that, it was a Japanese machine, and therefore, couldn't read my American GX card. I was hoping to be able to unlock the rest of the AX racers through it. Ah well.
That wasn't the only game that I played, though. I played Darius Burst Chronicles EX, which had a huge SIT-DOWN cabinet for up to four players, played on two wide screens. That was insane. I also played Castlevania the Arcade with Xabin, though we didn't get very far. I also played the original Metal Slug, Mortal Kombat 4, Gradius II, Dragon's Lair, Sonic Championship (AKA Sonic the Fighters), Alien Syndrome, Ghosts 'N' Goblins, Ghouls 'N' Ghosts, Zero Wing (yes, origin of the infamous "All your base are belong to us" meme), Silent Hill the Arcade, Magic Sword - Heroic Fantasy, and the one game both Xabin and I played to completion: Ninja Baseball Batman.
Yes. THAT Ninja Baseball Batman. Fans of the Angry Video Game Nerd, who have seen all of his videos, will know exactly what I'm talking about. It is every bit as quirky and fun as the Nerd says it is, and it was easily the highlight of the day, since I got to play it all the way. Xabin couldn't even come up with words to describe it, due to how insane it was, but he agreed that it was awesome.
Once we were both gamed out, we hit a nearby mall to relax and calm down. We wound up getting some ice cream at the food court, and once we were done with that, we both decided it was time to head home. That was when Mother Nature decided to rain on our parade, quite literally. The last 60 or so miles of our trip were met with a torrential downpour with thunderstorms that went so far as to make the road almost impossible to see at times. Fortunately, we did manage to make it home safely, so that's what counts.
All in all, a perfect day for both of us. Heck, I even managed to get Xabin to try a steakhouse restaurant, and he liked it enough to want to eat there again. Bonus points!
You see, there's this arcade in the Chicago area that, when I heard about it sometime last year, I knew I had to go to. It's called the Galloping Ghost Arcade, and it currently features over 500 arcade titles that, once you pay a 15-dollar fee at the door to enter, you can play as much as you want, since all the machines are set to Free Play. So after having lunch at a nearby restaurant (which I didn't have to pay for much out of pocket, due to a gift card I had from a previous date), my boyfriend
Xabin and I finally got to do so yesterday for my 34th birthday, and we had an absolute BLAST! The sheer amount of variety the place has is mind-boggling. Almost every genre is represented there in some form or another, and it's all easy to find, since they're actually sorted by said genre, for the most part. They even had a room almost entirely dedicated to shoot-em-ups. It was so much to take in that it was clear that I was acting like a kid in a candy store... though I did manage to control myself.The big thing for me, however, was the fact that they have a game there that, until yesterday, I never thought I'd be able to play: F-Zero AX. (Yes, I know that the entire game's data is available on its GX counterpart, but that requires hacking, and I prefer not to risk that.) It was incredible! Being able to strap into the driver's seat of the Blue Falcon and take on the tracks sent such a rush through me every time I played it. The best part was that it was one of the deluxe cabinets, which moves and twists according to what's happening on the screen, adding that extra sense of immersion that's hard to capture. I played that three times, and every time, I came out of there winded, but excited. The only bad part was that, it was a Japanese machine, and therefore, couldn't read my American GX card. I was hoping to be able to unlock the rest of the AX racers through it. Ah well.
That wasn't the only game that I played, though. I played Darius Burst Chronicles EX, which had a huge SIT-DOWN cabinet for up to four players, played on two wide screens. That was insane. I also played Castlevania the Arcade with Xabin, though we didn't get very far. I also played the original Metal Slug, Mortal Kombat 4, Gradius II, Dragon's Lair, Sonic Championship (AKA Sonic the Fighters), Alien Syndrome, Ghosts 'N' Goblins, Ghouls 'N' Ghosts, Zero Wing (yes, origin of the infamous "All your base are belong to us" meme), Silent Hill the Arcade, Magic Sword - Heroic Fantasy, and the one game both Xabin and I played to completion: Ninja Baseball Batman.
Yes. THAT Ninja Baseball Batman. Fans of the Angry Video Game Nerd, who have seen all of his videos, will know exactly what I'm talking about. It is every bit as quirky and fun as the Nerd says it is, and it was easily the highlight of the day, since I got to play it all the way. Xabin couldn't even come up with words to describe it, due to how insane it was, but he agreed that it was awesome.
Once we were both gamed out, we hit a nearby mall to relax and calm down. We wound up getting some ice cream at the food court, and once we were done with that, we both decided it was time to head home. That was when Mother Nature decided to rain on our parade, quite literally. The last 60 or so miles of our trip were met with a torrential downpour with thunderstorms that went so far as to make the road almost impossible to see at times. Fortunately, we did manage to make it home safely, so that's what counts.
All in all, a perfect day for both of us. Heck, I even managed to get Xabin to try a steakhouse restaurant, and he liked it enough to want to eat there again. Bonus points!
