Kevin // Jul.15,2001
Category:
Games
So there we were, walking around Seaside Heights, NJ, one of the junkiest and most god-forlorn places in the most junky and god-forlorn state. We had gorged on gigantic portions of boardwalk food, had walked a bit, seen the amusement parks, discussed whether or not the beginning of Dogma was filmed there, etc. It was high time to find something real to do. So we wandered into an arcade- looked harmless enough at first, but my life was about to take a drastic turn. It was a huge shock to me, to the point where I can compare it to finding God or meeting a long lost son. I was jolted by the nostalgic value and the fun factor of these games, and it felt as if the collective unconsciousness of the early generation X ‘ers was given to me. So many titles, so little time. Luckily, all were $0.25, and with some of these games, a quarter goes a long way.
Games that Bokista and I found included, but were not limited to the following: Q*Bert, Donkey Kong, Kung-Fu Masters, Tempest, Star Wars (the original), Super Mario Brothers, Excitebike, Galaga, The Real Ghostbusters, Centipede, Mr. DO, Frogger, Pole Position, and MANY others. As a special tribute to retrogaming (which seems to be the only gaming that I really do,) here are a few great games to download and play, all are small but very fun. 
There was another great arcade that we found, located in Wildwood, but every game was 50 cents so we just looked and prayed that one day the games would be ours. They included Mario Bros., TMNT Turtles in Time, Pac Man Baby (just about all Pac Mans for that matter), Aliens, Punch-Out, Arkaniod, Operation: Wolf, Konami’s Track and Field, Donkey Kong and countless others, many of which were unplugged.It was a real walk down memory lane. So many great games, stuck in greasy arcades near the Jersey shore for bratty kids and other undesirables to mistreat until they all break. It is a shame that we treat our national treasures like that, things that shaped people and shaped the decade that they lived in. If ever a video game museum is openned, I am going to donate millions of dollars annually to the preservation and perpetuation of classic video games. Until then, there are roms and emulators. To play these games, you’ll need MAME, which can be downloaded at ClassicGaming.com, which is truly the best place to go to find out information on old games. Enjoy!
Download:
Galaga
Donkey Kong
Ms. Pac Man
Commando
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