Mini Arcade Alert!

[Andromeda Stardust]

My sincere apologizes for the misunderstanding,I didn't realize folks refer to Walmart as Wallyworld,I thought you were making up the name of a store that doesn't exist and referring to the mini arcade game in the same non existent context.

Lots of people down south call it Wally World. Think Griswalds Vacation. Must be a regional thing.

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Wally%20World

[Tanooki]

I found a deal through another site where you can get those three newer Tiny Arcade games from Bed Bath and Beyond, and as it's $50 or more ($60) they give you both free shipping and $15 off. That makes the units barely more expensive than the cheap almost $14 price tag the Walmart price drop had on the first four. I ordered them back on the 3rd, but for some reason it hasn't shipped though I got an email then saying it did which is kind of annoying.

 

Also there's at Cracker Barrel a special edition unit, it has Ms Pac Man/Galaga both on it, much like that 2001-5 era 2in1 full size arcade combo machine Namco put out. AND like that game, there's a joystick code, it unlocks DigDug (real arcade would throw out Pac-Man.)

[Andromeda Stardust]

 

Also there's at Cracker Barrel a special edition unit, it has Ms Pac Man/Galaga both on it, much like that 2001-5 era 2in1 full size arcade combo machine Namco put out. AND like that game, there's a joystick code, it unlocks DigDug (real arcade would throw out Pac-Man.)

I know where I'm eating lunch tomorrow!

 

EDIT: Do you have a source for this info? I found no evidence online.

[digdugnate]

Lots of people down south call it Wally World. Think Griswalds Vacation. Must be a regional thing.

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Wally%20World

the moose out front shoulda told ya.. lol

 

i heard Wal-Mart called that growing up in North Texas.

[Andromeda Stardust]

I just snagged what I believed was the last Fix-It-Felix on Walmart.com Had two when I checked out (one in the basket), OOS a few minutes later...

 

It will be available for pickup friday the 12st.

[iesposta]

I love my Replicade 11.8" Centipede!

Good:

-It is the Arcade ROM that plays full speed, and has proper Trak-Ball control.

-The shape, side art, coin door, marquee, T-molding, are spot-on.

-The screen bezel is like the cabaret version, not the full size version, because they used a large LCD screen.

- Cost of backer model was bearable around $100 due to the added shipping cost.

-Size is perfect. If I want to play with a larger display, I have computers, laptops, tablets, phones, PSP emulators. The 1/4 scale cabinets being too large unless you have the space in a home bar, a man cave, etc.

Not so good:

-The battery drain from the always on Trak-Ball chip. Keep it plugged into something always on like a set-top-box and enjoy the four red LEDs.

-There is no menu option for "Service Mode" to set number of starting players, game difficulty setting, Extra Man score level, high score table reset, test screens for checking dead pixels, Trak-Ball direction test, and to see the unused "grasshopper" sprite that's still in the ROM. It does use circuit board dip-switches to change number of starting players, extra man level, etc. so maybe they could not implement these? However it should be possible to have menu options in the currently implemented menu, pass these values to the emulation.

-It "forgets" the sound level between shut downs, while remembering high scores, brightness, marquee on/off, and Trak-Ball Sensitivity?

 

I like the Super Impulse micro arcade machines because the sound is correct. I like that it's not the NES version. I like that you can wire the jumpers to the joystick and have 3 or 4 games in one unit at power-up. I like they are cheap impulse buys

I do not like the small screen real-estate which causes the need to change the original game ROM and adds bugs like not moving while firing in Galaxian; The very low frame rate seems ridiculous.

 

Notes on Tempest, next from Replicade:

Being a color Vector game, it needs a higher pixel density LCD than what was used in Centipede, and I told them this!

You are already losing hundreds of brightness levels, overdrive brightness, and pixel trails that the slower refreshing CRT phosphors give.

Surely a high dpi 3.5" phone screen must be discontinued somewhere that they could use?

I doubt they will use a better screen. The diagonal vectors will be a jaggy mess, hopefully overlooked because it plays great.

If they're charging "collector action figure, limited edition high prices", my Tempest screen should be at least as good as my early iPhone 3 or 4 display?

 

I agree that to be truly replicating the arcade game, you should be able to configure game difficulty, starting lives, etc., like the real arcade machine.

MAME has had this configuration in emulation for decades!

[negative1]

excellent review,

thanks for this.. i appreciate the details.

 

you completely left off the fact the the replicade is $160 which is way overpriced,

to the average person, and not the people that pre-ordered it. $100 is still way too much.

 

but only to collectors that don't care, and will buy it no matter the cost

(i'm that way about pac-man most of the time)...

 

 

I love my Replicade 11.8" Centipede!

Good:

-It is the Arcade ROM that plays full speed, and has proper Trak-Ball control.

it's NOT a proper control, its a miniature scaled down replica of a real trackball that

can never match the actual arcade one.

 

it's like trying to play a joystick game, with a tiny thumbstick like on the micro arcade machines,

it can do the job sometimes, but is nowhere near proper.

 

-The shape, side art, coin door, marquee, T-molding, are spot-on.

spot-on, but not EXACT. the spacing of the buttons, the cone start buttons, are all wrong,

and completely incorrect. the relative distance between them is all wrong also.

 

the side art is not quite correct, but scaled to fit, the cabinet is close, but again, not scaled exactly.

 

Not so good:

-The battery drain from the always on Trak-Ball chip. Keep it plugged into something always on like a set-top-box and enjoy the four red LEDs.

that's a dealbreaker to most people

 

 

-There is no menu option for "Service Mode" to set number of starting players, game difficulty setting, Extra Man score level, high score table reset, test screens for checking dead pixels, Trak-Ball direction test, and to see the unused "grasshopper" sprite that's still in the ROM. It does use circuit board dip-switches to change number of starting players, extra man level, etc. so maybe they could not implement these? However it should be possible to have menu options in the currently implemented menu, pass these values to the emulation.

 

I agree that to be truly replicating the arcade game, you should be able to configure game difficulty, starting lives, etc., like the real arcade machine.

MAME has had this configuration in emulation for decades!

honestly, why would most people care, the default settings are fine, and in fact,

fiddling with the test menus or settings is fun one time, and then you never look at the test options again.

 

as far as changing the settings, its not like anyones going to play these games on this version for any amount

of reasonable time for it to matter. no ones going to set any high scores, or last that long.

 

if i want to test out the trap spider trick, or get to the million point bonus, it won't ever be on a machine

this small, so i won't need to worry about the settings.

 

this argument has been brought up before, and i still find it puzzling.

 

later

 

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[JBerel]

I just snagged what I believed was the last Fix-It-Felix on Walmart.com Had two when I checked out (one in the basket), OOS a few minutes later...

 

It will be available for pickup friday the 12st.

 

Yeah, and they're already posted to Ebay between $45 and $90 bucks.

[wolfy62]

I figure the Holiday season is just getting started and I just got my Basic Fun Ms. Pacman at Walmart.

Fix it Felix will be mine soon as well!?

[Tanooki]

I know where I'm eating lunch tomorrow!

 

EDIT: Do you have a source for this info? I found no evidence online.

Nope, though I would think google may pick it up. I'm on a facebook closed group built around the MyArcade/Bridge Direct/Tiny Arcade devices and those who find, buy, hack, and mod the things. Someone found the device at Cracker Barrel, found out they only carry it, and someone noticed it looked like the Class of 1981 arcade 2in1 as it has the same layout and split side for side, so they entered the known arcade code, it jingled to their surprise like the arcade cabinet, and Dig Dug popped up. Try checking for facebook ties maybe through google or just google digdug and tiny arcade and that cabinet.

[Andromeda Stardust]

Yeah, and they're already posted to Ebay between $45 and $90 bucks.

Sometimes you get lucky at 3am on a Friday night. What can I say? I'll prolly do a video review next week. Then I'll get sidetracked by other projects, and won't, until I do.

[Jess Ragan]

Were one of you dudes going to review the Fix-It Felix mini arcade game? Because I wanna know what it's like... what hardware it's running and all that.

[Andromeda Stardust]

Sometimes you get lucky at 3am on a Friday night. What can I say? I'll prolly do a video review next week. Then I'll get sidetracked by other projects, and won't, until I do.

Were one of you dudes going to review the Fix-It Felix mini arcade game? Because I wanna know what it's like... what hardware it's running and all that.

I will attempt to allot some time next weekend to shoot a gameplay video, no promises. I'm curious how it stacks up to Dra600n's (nintendoage / segaage) homebrew release version.

[negative1]

here's a review of the mini ms pacman, and the asteroids (which looks terrible).

 

i hate the shape of the cabinets though.

 

later

-1

here is my review of the arcade classics ms pac man:

 

have a few comments to make about it:

1) i got used to the joystick which is decent,

but the biggest problem, with this and all

the micro versions is i'm not left handed,

so i can't play properly. i might try to move

the joystick to the right, in order to actually

be able to play it

 

2) it's not an NES rom, when the game boots

up, you can see the information about the licensing,

it's a different port based on the arcade sprites,

but plays completely differently

 

3) the ghosts behavior is wrong, they dont group,

reverse or act like the arcade ones

 

4) the ghosts don't blink for the proper amount of time,

its too short, and the sound effect is completely wrong

 

5) the sound of eating the dots is completely wrong

 

6) the second fruit is completely wrong, its not supposed to be an

apple, its supposed to be the strawberry, which shows up later on.

the rest seem to be right

 

7) the ghosts don't slow down in the tunnels,

making it much harder to use them. unlike the arcade version.

 

8 ) the intermissions are ok, and match the arcade timing and sound

 

9) not sure if they stop blinking on level 17, and from 21 and on yet,

along with the arcade slowdown, will get to that at some point

 

10) i like that it stores the high score, thats a nice touch.

 

overall, a decent, but not great effort, too many things wrong with it as usual.

 

still putting my money on the myarcade namco compiliation as being

the definitive one, although it will cost a $100 and have the joystick on the

left side which means i won't be able to play it properly.

 

later

-1

Edited October 9, 2018 by negative1

[negative1]

here's a review with fix it felix at the halfway mark:

 

later

-1

[atarifan88]

No mean to offend, but nearly every post from you has been negative.

 

It's in his name. What did you expect?

[negative1]

looks like there are no other games in these new mini machines:

 

 

later

-1

[negative1]

a very comprehensive look at all the fix it felix versions:

 

later

-1

[negative1]

just a few more observations about the mini classics ms pac man

after playing it more:

 

also

1) it doesn't save highscores permanently, its only for that session

2) the fonts are wrong for the score, and get ready

3) the fruits are displayed wrong, they go from right to left and move over,

in the arcade they are fixed in displaying

4) the colors of the mazes are wrong shade

5) the ghosts colors are the wrong shade also

 

later

-1

[NE146]

wtf man if you're looking for that kind of "accuracy" might as well just say you're looking for this:

 

[+save2600]

^ Just look at how inaccurate the control panel is on that thing. Joystick on the left for playing Ms. Pac-Man, instead of the middle. Pffft.

 

[Tanooki]

I got my hands on the Tiny Arcade Ms Pac-Man/Galaga today and it's actually very very nice. I have not tried the hidden game, maybe eventually but I care little for Dig Dug (like the sequel.) Unlike Galaxian Galaga plays great and doesn't pause when you shoot. Ms Pac-Man handles very nicely, has the changing maps and bouncing around fruit and cute ACT sequences. Neither behave 100% like the arcade games, but they are pretty fairly well done enough to truly enjoy them and not feel screwed or like it's so way off the reservation like little VFD/LCD type games of the 80s or now.

[negative1]

wtf man if you're looking for that kind of "accuracy" might as well just say you're looking for this:

 

it's an officially licensed namco bandai product, 2018.

 

if they can't get a semi-decent accurate version right, well, whats the point.

actually the psp version, the gameboy versions, the n64, and several other versions with better processors

and better graphics have all gotten it wrong too.

 

so this game is in good company.

 

anyways, as i keep saying, the myplayer namco compilation, will (and hopefully should) be the DEFINITIVE

word on the namco games.

 

granted the joysticks on the left, so that dooms some of the gameplay to being subpar.

 

but the fact, they used the arcade roms, on the data east collection, and same with the

neo geo mini, is a very positive sign.

 

granted, this compilation is about 4x the cost of a standalone machine, and the size is a factor.

 

but as a pac-man, ms pac-man collector, after 30+ years, hopefully somebody will get it right someday.

 

 

i don't really care for do it yourself solutions, because i'm not good with making my own.

 

i tend to support the official, paid and licensed products.

 

later

-1

[negative1]

I got my hands on the Tiny Arcade Ms Pac-Man/Galaga today and it's actually very very nice. I have not tried the hidden game, maybe eventually but I care little for Dig Dug (like the sequel.) Unlike Galaxian Galaga plays great and doesn't pause when you shoot. Ms Pac-Man handles very nicely, has the changing maps and bouncing around fruit and cute ACT sequences. Neither behave 100% like the arcade games, but they are pretty fairly well done enough to truly enjoy them and not feel screwed or like it's so way off the reservation like little VFD/LCD type games of the 80s or now.

excellent, might have to look into it then.

 

hopefully, i can find one to add to the collection.

 

later

-1

Edited October 10, 2018 by negative1

[iesposta]

excellent review,

thanks for this.. i appreciate the details.

 

you completely left off the fact the the replicade is $160 which is way overpriced,

to the average person, and not the people that pre-ordered it. $100 is still way too much.

but only to collectors that don't care, and will buy it no matter the cost

(i'm that way about pac-man most of the time)...

 

 

No, I didn't say full retail is $160.

I said:

- Cost of backer model was bearable around $100 due to the added shipping cost.

and

If they're charging "collector action figure, limited edition high prices", my Tempest screen should be at least as good as my early iPhone 3 or 4 display?

 

 

 

 

 

-It is the Arcade ROM that plays full speed, and has proper Trak-Ball control.

it's NOT a proper control, its a miniature scaled down replica of a real trackball that

can never match the actual arcade one.

it's like trying to play a joystick game, with a tiny thumbstick like on the micro arcade machines,

it can do the job sometimes, but is nowhere near proper.

 

A trackball IS the proper control for Centipede. All the others have joysticks. It's a 1/6th scale machine with a 1/6th size trackball.

 

spot-on, but not EXACT. the spacing of the buttons, the cone start buttons, are all wrong,

and completely incorrect. the relative distance between them is all wrong also.

 

the side art is not quite correct, but scaled to fit, the cabinet is close, but again, not scaled exactly.

 

I didn't notice it wasn't exact, but I said spot-on. The tiny variation in button spacing is due to the smaller scale and being able to play it.

The 1/4 cabinets are much more wrong.

 

 

 

the battery drain.

that's a dealbreaker to most people

 

We don't know if this will or won't be fixed in the retail version. Backing the first product from a Kickstarter you gat a lower price but bugs are also something you are leaving to chance. You pay less and help start a new company..

 

 

 

 

honestly, why would most people care, the default settings are fine, and in fact,

fiddling with the test menus or settings is fun one time, and then you never look at the test options again.

 

as far as changing the settings, its not like anyones going to play these games on this version for any amount

of reasonable time for it to matter. no ones going to set any high scores, or last that long.

 

if i want to test out the trap spider trick, or get to the million point bonus, it won't ever be on a machine

this small, so i won't need to worry about the settings.

 

 

Stupid would be buying this to not play it. I bought it to play it. It plays better than anything save the real thing, including MAME if you don't have a Trak-Ball. It promised the arcade ROM. The arcade ROM has settings and diagnostic tests that weren't replicated. If I want to see dead pixels or diagnose the trackball, service menu is something I would use. I mentioned MAME preserves these things, this collectible should also. I want to start with more than 3 lives. It saves all my scores. I should be able to reset the high score table like the arcade machine and MAME allows.

 

this argument has been brought up before, and i still find it puzzling.

 

You are the one arguing, and that you find it puzzling means Replicade is obviously not a product for you at all.

 

later

 

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