Cabinets Worst arcade machine you ever played?

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

Yes, we all have tales about wasting our money on unplayable junk.

That's one of gaming's most ancient institutions, a staple of the hobby.

But what about blowing your quarters or tokens on an arcade machine you had to stand in line for, hoping it would eventually get good and justify it?

That was always a terrifying concept for me as a kid, especially because my older sister was entrusted with our money and wasn't exactly a benevolent dictator when it came to handing it out (she, much like me, considered chocolate to be one of life's biggest pleasures and would much rather spend money on it, but this wasn't her money to spend, so she penny-pinched instead... much to our annoyance).

Once, all the popular machines were taken and there were lines up the ass for them, so we chanced playing one of the few that were (more) available... and this was basically the result:

(No, I don't even remember what the hell we played — it was THAT forgettable).

That experience taught me patience, in a way — it really was better to wait for Metal Slug or Street Fighter to be available than to chance the machines at the very back of the arcade.

You?

 

[Invader Tak]

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

View attachment 216448

What is that? That looks hideous xD

 

[Megarockman _1987 Megarockman _1987]

Just three words
Ouch, my hands!!!!

 

[Invader Tak]

What is that? That looks hideous xD

Basically, you take the controller, which is an arm with the pointer finger pointing out, and insert it exactly where you think you do, when prompted.

 

[Megarockman _1987 Megarockman _1987]

View attachment 216448

That game... Dude I watched I lot of videos, that is game is... Too Japanese for me

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

Basically, you take the controller, which is an arm with the pointer finger pointing out, and insert it exactly where you think you do, when prompted.

What... The... Fuck...

I'm way more impressed/amused by the fact that it managed to bore you, though xD

 

[Neb Lleb]

Just three words
Ouch, my hands!!!!
View attachment 216455

It was the first modern fighting game, and easily one of the most busted.

 

[Antaeus]

It happened 10 years ago so for making short this story my family and i went to talk some stuff with some people's home place was a mess the embodiment of word third world country the only good thing were the arcades where mostly were just modded Xbox 360s in an arcade cabinet
The thing is the arcade was fucked up the joysticks were broken and sticky like some kid dropped come candy on it yeah you have games like L4D2 and Halo but half of the goddamn catalogue was just one game GTA San Andreas with some mods every time that i played those were just the exact same game i saw a zombie version and it's just CJ walking like a zombie other just had a big ass stadium near grove street the other is just a reeskin of CJ etc by making it worse the arcade's speaker were so loud that can even obliterate your eardrums
It was the worst arcade that i ever played in my life

 

[Curiousdan]

"Worst" can mean a lot of things. Value for money for the player? Game design? Graphics/audio? Generating money? Back in the day I saw somebody beat World Heroes on his first or second attempt by spamming the kick button with Dragon. I liked the gameplay, though. But it must have been the worst earning machine, though. And if "best" is understood as longest playing time, then early 80s hits like Galaga, Defender, Robotron, Gauntlet, must be winners with their endless gameplay.

 

[The Real Thing]

Worst is tough to pick, but any that was broken seems fitting. Never cared for Playchoice-10 machines from Nofriendo. When that 'Holographic' Sega fighting game (looked it up: Holosseum) was like $1 to play was pretty stupid, and that tech aged like milk (5 minutes after watching it). Frogger and Pac-Man weren't all that fun to me, never saw the draw. By no means are any of these the worst, though.

 

[bombatomba77]

This might sound like sacrilege, but Return of the Jedi. It was in 7-11 for less than a week, which means nobody played it. I spent less than a dollar and absolutely hated it. Probably what exacerbated this was Empire Strikes Back had been in there previously, and compared to that Jedi looks lazy.

 

[werewolfx]

Double Dragon 3: The Philosopher Rosetta Stones.
Has in game micro transactions.