Fast Links
The 1980s was certainly an evolutionary time for all aspects of humanity. Differentiating political and social movements, strange medical discoveries, outrageous rock-n-roll music – so on and so forth. But the video game industry was especially impactful throughout the decade. Arcade titles pixelated themselves onto the scene like a gold rush, with many of them taking occupancy in individual arcades. That’s exactly what players will be walking into, as developer Super Villain Games brings forth the King of the Arcade experience.
With it comes a wide variety of bite-sized arcade games designed for 1-2 players, complete with a short and colorful narrative. Insert your bills into the change machine. Here’s our review of King of the Arcade.
Story: Just Like the Good Ole Days
Paint a picture: Castle’s Arcade houses over 40 (42 by our account) unique games under one vibin’ roof throughout three floors. Every corner you turn to provides a different cabinet, all reminiscent of old-school and modern titles that nearly every gamer will recognize. However, arcades are in danger of becoming a thing of the past, an event that antagonist Jimmy Joysticks will tend to see.
Not if Mac McCormick has anything to say about that, of course. Mac, the hero of this tale, takes up a quest to defeat 7 challengers who are helping the enemy shut down Castle’s Arcade. While he was only looking for a job, his glory days of being “King of the Aracde in 1999” will shine again in the name of retro gaming.
That being acknowledged, King of the Arcade‘s story solely focuses on Mac’s quest. There are other tiny events that Mac can interact with, but it all comes off to be a rather short experience. We’ll touch on that in the next section, but essentially speaking, expect to proceed through a small tale that doesn’t provide a deep catharsis – only a mild reflection of the importance of maintaining arcades in today’s time.
Gameplay: Short Yet Oh So Sweet
With note-taking and a snack break, it only took us less than 2 hours to complete the story mode for King of the Arcade. It’s evident that the arcade titles are the stars of the show here, with Mac’s quest acting as a basic outline to follow along as players go from one cabinet to the next. Wishing there was more lore may be a craving for some, but playing through the 40+ games is quite a treat, both for nostalgic waves and current escapes.
And King of the Arcade does have 40+ games, each stylized by a significant genre/title that gaming historians will immediately notice. In fact, we went through each game, dabbled a bit, lost a while, and won in the end, even if the leaderboards aren’t complete just yet. Not to mention the surprise visits from some glitches where your character is stuck in a game, falling into a dark abyss.
Regardless, here are the playable games in King of the Arcade, coupled with the assumed inspirations from which they come from:
- City Brawler (Game and Watch handheld)
- Boat Speeder (Omega Game Console multipack)
- Dino Run (Omega Game Console multipack)
- Galaxy Wing (Omega Game Console multipack)
- Hopper (Omega Game Console multipack)
- The Chase (Omega Game Console multipack)
- Nate’s Fantastic Flying Machine (Omega Game Console multipack)
- Shotgun Princess
- The Mainframe (Fast-paced running)
- Karate Magazine (QTE)
- Retro Driver (Timed solo race)
- Space Dive (Starfox-like shooter)
- Hotdog Collector
- Duck Shot (Duck Hunt)
- Bronze Blade (Gladiator beat-em-up)
- Dance Machines (Dance Dance Revolution, Guitar Hero, rhythm)
- Mystery Laptop (Tic-Tac-Toe)
- SNAKE!!! (Mobile Games)
- Brick Buster (Mobile Games, Breakout)
- Jump Pals (Super Mario Bros.)
- Punch Champion (Punching Bag)
- Meteor Shower (Asteroids)
- Carla the Bartender (Video Game Trivia)
- Sidewalk Fighter 2 (Street Fighter)
- Bug Off
- Virtual Enforcement (Light Gun)
- Space Ravager (Starfox-like shooter)
- Robo Rescue
- The Claw (Claw Machine)
- Air Hockey
- After School Beat Down (Streets of Rage)
- Scary Clown Pinball
- Retro Invaders (Space Invaders)
- Tire King (Donkey Kong)
- Goal! (Soccer Pong)
- Chatter Man (Pac-Man)
- Super Sam Construction Man (Side-scrolling platformer)
- High Speed Racing (racing)
- Lady Buggin’ (Frogger)
- Hot Shot (Basketball)
- Burger Maker
- Button Masher (Whack-a-Mole)
If we had to pick our top five titles, we’d go with Punch Champion, Virtual Enforcement, Retro Invaders, Button Masher, and Dance Machines. While we didn’t necessarily enjoy every game, it’s amazing to have quite a variety to explore for less than $10 (actually asking price is $7.99).
Graphics/Audio: A Retro Atmosphere with Limited Visibility
Now, despite how accessible the above-listed games are, they are extremely finite. Not just in terms of gameplay, but also in presentation. Super Villain Games utilizes a basic layout for its game design. The graphics offer nothing new to the scene, even with the inclusion of the retro waves that the arcade cabinets offer.
The character designs are rudimentary, to say the least, and that goes for the voice acting as well. But perhaps that was intentional, for the purpose of King of the Arcade is to pack together a plentiful of arcade-based titles that hark back to the glory days of walking into an arcade, acquiring change, and going from one machine to the next. Nothing more, nothing less, which makes it an enjoyable experience, even if some of it feels standard.
Super Villain Games selected a decent soundtrack to play in Castle’s Arcade to elevate the retro presentation. Music can be controlled via the jukebox next to Carla, the Bartender. The box contains a small range of music, going from modern pop to nostalgic outrun.
We should point out a particular audio glitch – a persistent one, in fact. Whenever Mac (us, the player) exited a cabinet, a dog’s bark would utter in the background. It may be coming from Buddy, one of the challengers in the game, but it happens every time Mac steps away from an arcade cabinet.
In Conclusion…
While King of the Arcade may feel like a miniature experience, the time you put into it mirrors the reality of walking through an arcade complete with an abundance of digital worlds. Are you looking to beat all of the high scores, or are you merely taking a stroll, checking out one screen, each for a pixelated bit? For us, it’s between the two: the overall experience is limited in its execution, but we find that the good majority of the titles are worth diving some hours into. Just be sure not to mention NFTs to the staff at Castle’s Arcade.
King of the Arcade is available on Xbox Series (Reviewed), Xbox One, and PC.
Review copy given by the publisher.
King of the Arcade (Xbox Series X Reviewed)
King of the Arcade may feel like a miniature experience, the time you put into it mirrors the reality of walking through an arcade complete with an abundance of digital worlds.
Pros
- Feels like a nostalgia blast
- Most of the arcade games are fun
Cons
- Many of the games are also not fun
- Feels slight for the price