eDrinker

Yesterday after updating eDrinker and checking my mail, I passed an arcade located in reception area of the hotel. Arcades have been killed by the console market and what really blows if you find an arcade it’s usually full of crappy simulators or light gun games.

I had a quick look inside and instantly spotted a classic machine, “Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors’ Dreams“. I went to the counter picked up five tokens and sat down. Within seconds a bunch of kids surrounded the machine and asked if they could play. I haven’t played in a while, but I would be dammed if some kid was going to beat me. I let him play on my credit. Just as I suspected before even playing, if you find an old machine the stick doesn’t work or the buttons jam. You couldn’t do any fluent motions with the stick unless you were on right hand side and being player one I started on the left. If I did make it to the right hand side of the screen I couldn’t fucking block. Anyway within seconds this nine year old kid kicked my ass and immediately turns around and gives his mate a high five.

I don’t care if you’re eighty, forty or even eight years old I don’t take losing lightly. I put in another token and chose “Charlie Nash“. “Nash” as he’s called in Japan is a charge character, an almost identical version of “Guile” from the original “Street Fighter 2“. In less than a minute, I landed one perfect, which means I finished the round without being touched and nearly finished the second round with another perfect. I then turn around to high five my friend and realised I was on my own.

Anyway what pisses me off is when I find an arcade with some real classics but the buttons or the joysticks are fucked. Kids get their pocket money and start pumping coins in to the machine and believe they are actually having a good time. There is no fun in not having any control or not being able to throw a punch or a kick because some knob hit the button to hard last time he lost. They don’t fix the machines because the little kids playing haven’t got a clue what they are doing and no one ever complains. It’s like test driving a cool car without breaks or trying to play pool in a bar where there isn’t enough room or not providing any chalk for the cues.

Anyway congratulations to England in winning against Ecuador and to Michael Bisping who destroyed the Americans away from home in the “UFC-Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale“.