Practically next door to KMUW’s studio is a little building that has something that Wichita has been missing for years - a real arcade, filled with games from the ‘80s and ‘90s, when arcades were at their peak. This arcade has a name that I think will be really easy to remember - it’s called The Arcade.
Walking into The Arcade was like walking straight into my childhood. There are dozens of perfectly maintained arcade cabinets, with the soft, diffused glow of their displays doing the majority of the work lighting the space. A Pac-Man machine is one of the first things you’d see, followed by Ms. Pac-Man, and then the increasingly obscure Pac-Man Jr. and Baby Pac-Man machines, the latter of which is a bizarre amalgamation of Pac-Man and a pinball machine.
The rest of the mix of games is similar. You’ll see classics like Donkey Kong, Dig Dug, and Galaga, and then a relatively unknown game like Kangaroo - which plays like Donkey Kong, but if Mario could punch the barrels that were being dropped on him.
All 70 or so of the video games are set on free play. You pay a flat ten dollars to get in, and you can stay and play all of the arcade games for the rest of the day.
There are several pinball tables, too, of varying vintage but all in perfect shape. Finding old pinball games to play isn’t difficult, but finding ones that play this well definitely is. The pinball games though, unfortunately, aren’t set for free play like everything else, they cost 50 cents a play. But this is an understandable side effect of the high maintenance costs that come with pinball machines.
There are definitely a few games missing, in my opinion. I’d love to see Street Fighter Alpha II or Marvel vs Capcom, or some rhythm games like Dance Dance Revolution or Beatmania, but what they have right now is absolutely worth the entry fee.
Games:
- Pac Man
- Ms. Pac Man
- Galaga
- Galaxian
- Rally-X
- Dig Dug
- Centipede
- Tetris
- Asteroids
- Donkey Kong
- Burgertime
- Jr. Pac Man
- Paperboy
- Spy Hunter
- Track & Field
- Punch Out
- Tron
- Gorf
- Q*Bert
- Popeye
- Vs. Super Mario Bros.
- Bagman
- Berzerk
- Xevious
- Kangaroo
- Missile Command
- Tempest
- Primal Rage
- Jungle King
- Qix
- Elevator Action
- Area 51
- San Francisco Rush: The Rock
- NFL Blitz 2000
- Killer Instinct
- Tekken 3
- Crusin’ USA
- 10-Yard Fight
- Time Pilot
- Gyruss
- Defender
- Sinistar
- Robotron
- Moon Patrol
- Joust
- Journey
- 1943
- Pengo
- Zaxxon
- Congo Bongo
- Super Pac Man
- Atari Football
- Golden Tee 2005
- Pac-Man (Level 255)
- Baby Pac Man
- Neo Geo (2-slot)
- X-Men (4-player)
- Super Street Fighter II
- Mortal Kombat
- Mortal Kombat 2
- Mortal Kombat 3
- Mortal Kombat 4
- Gauntlet Legends
- NBA Jam
- Maximum Force
- Dragon’s Lair
- Bump and Jump
- Ivan Stewart's Super Off-Road
- NFL Football Classic
Pinball:
- Star Wars (2016 Premium)
- Austin Powers
- Bride of Pinbot
- Red and Ted's Road Show
- Addam's Family
- Hook
- Street Fighter II
- Black Knight
- Freddy's Nightmare on Elm Street
- Cyclone
- Metallica (2016 Premium)
