Quarters Only! Arcade Throwback Thread--Dig it, Matcho Man!

[AcidDragon]

The thing I remember most about this game was the ad you posted. I thought it was such a cool little mini strip they did. I loved the Atari ads in the comics back then. I recall there was one for D&D and for Star Wars, both Atari games. In fact, I kind of loved most of the ads in the comics back then because I didn't have a lot growing up so those ads were kind of a window of imagination for me. I probably made them out to be a lot more than they were but kids tend to do that sometimes.

Outside of that, I played the game a lot in the Super Mario Bros. 3 battles when you played two player mode. Outside of that, I didn't really get to play Mario Bros. until I was a little bit older. It might have been on one of those 53 in 1 Japanese bootleg games I bought from a friend in Junior High. By then, even the SNES was old and on the way out and the Sony PlayStation was the new kid in town but I was still playing my NES before it was hip to play an old console, mostly out of necessity. LOL. Thanks for the brief trip back to memory lane.

[BrandonDaCollector]

Hah, that's cool Acid. yeah, like you said about that it wouldn't be cool till later. Amazing how that is isn't Yes, when i talked about this game I was referring out about it from Super Mario Bros. 3 as it was a cameo, they did this with others as well. Ain't that something getting bootlegs at school Your welcome Acid

[BrandonDaCollector]

This topic that PB created hasn't had a reply in 2 years, gosh I hate it when topics just sit around with nothing going on Well, I just showcased My Sega CD version of NBA Jam in My Video Game Collection Topic and PB just replied so I thought I'd do this cause I recalled he made an Arcade Topic a while back. NBA Jam was originally an Arcade Game. Now this is Arcade topic that was intended by PB, if you want to talk about console games go to My Console Video Game Topic Well here's the Arcade gameplay



I will post the gameplay of My Sega CD version of NBA Jam in My Video Game Console Topic in time

[packerbacker180]

Two years? Dayum! Where does time go?

The arcade version was terrific, especially if you had four people playing. Good times.



So you wanted to revive this thread? Ok, a couple months ago my son had a hockey game in Rochester, so we drove there a few hours earlier so we could spend the day at the Museum of Play. I've talked about it before, so look for a write up on one of the games soon!

[packerbacker180]

Ok, been a while since we took this thread out for a ride, so in February my son had a travel hockey game in Rochester, NY. The game wasn't until the evening, and since it was a Saturday we decided to make the hour drive in the morning so we could spend the day at the Strong Museum of Play. I've talked about that place before around these parts, but one place I always love going in there is the mini-arcade they have set up which gives that good ol' retro nostalgia childhood vibe. We played several games including the ones in these images...









These brought back so many memories of mall arcades, Putt Putts, 7-11s, Pizza Huts, and bowling alleys where I spend 100s and 100s of quarters throughout childhood. My kids really enjoyed playing some of these even if the gameplay and graphics pale in comparison to what they've grown up around. But the game that surprisingly my 13-yr old son enjoyed most, was a 1983 game from Bally Midway known as...



Tapper had two versions since it started out as a bar and bowling alley game that was sponsored by Budweiser. I remember playing at bowling alleys a bit as my parents were in a bowling league back then.





Gameplay was pretty simple, you were a haggard bartender who had to fill the drinks of thirsty patrons and then slide them down the bar top so they could thirstily guzzle them. Then they slid them back empty. So you had to service multiple rows of patrons being sure to serve them in a timely fashion and then making sure not to miss any of the empties.





Impatient barflies would shuffle down the bar if you didn't serve them fast enough and if they made it to the keg, it would be you that unfortunately would find themself riding down the bar towards the door. The game proved popular enough to find it's way into standard arcades but there was the problem of kids playing a game where they served beer and giant Bud logos all around. So the game was renamed...





Personally, I always imagined you were serving sarsaparilla because the patrons had cowboy hats and I always recalled all the old west cartoons where people were ordering sarsaparilla, but I suppose Root Beer was easier to say. Sarsaparilla actually is pretty tasty. And it's a much more fun word to say, like Francisco...





Random trivia, Kutztown State is where Hall of Fame Buffalo Bills Wide receiver Andre Reed played college football. It's in Pennsylvania.





So even though the gameplay is pretty simple, it's a fun game.



I know it appeared on home systems as well. I don't think I ever played it on the Atari 2600. I know it's been on Midway Classics for multiple newer systems, but I never played it on any of those. In fact, I think I mostly forgot about this game until we saw it that day, even though the bartender did appear in both Wreck-It-Ralph movies I never thought much about it beyond that.



You can also find versions of it online to play for free. So pour yourself a cold one, or find someone to do it for you, and give the game a try if you feel the urge. It's not the same as playing on a giant arcade machine, but it's the next best thing. I can't say playing it as a kid led to underage drinking, but it certainly didn't prevent it!







Maybe I'll post the rest of the photos from the museum when I get a chance.

[BrandonDaCollector]

Yep, it's been two years...so much to talk about that wasn't said here...arn't you glad I rejuvenated this PB I actually never played the Arcade version of NBA Jam, only consoles. I never played Tapper either. That's great how you put all of this together PB especially about that the Bartender was in the Wreck-It Ralph films

[packerbacker180]

Tapper was probably gone from most arcades by the late 80s if not sooner. I don't think Putt Putt had it. I really only vaguely recalled playing when I was really young. By the time I was old enough to really remember games and arcades there were much more appealing games out there. And the Nintendo, of course. Not sure what game I'd do next, but maybe soon...



Heck, maybe I'll do a cartoon!

[AcidDragon]

Wow, Pb, I guess you were quite the Arcade gamer! I've been playing a lot of arcade games lately since it's easier than ever to play them at home now but I guess with the arcade, it was a whole experience.

[packerbacker180]

Ha, yeah, it's not the same playing them on a home system but at least it' keeps them alive. Like I've said elsewhere, when I was really young, early 80s, my parents bowled, so they'd bring me and my sister along and I remember really two things, getting quarters to go to the arcade to kill time, and curly q fries with lots of ketchup, lol. And in the summer we would spend most days at my grandma's house since my parents worked and at the end of her block was a 7-11 that always had an arcade game and a Pizza Hut that always had two. Plus, only a couple blocks away was a Putt Putt mini golf that had an arcade, and because it was the 80s, even when I was 8 or 9, I'd be given some money and I'd walk to these places by myself. It really was a different time. A great time.

[packerbacker180]

Ok, let's do another one.

Thinking back to when I was really young, back in the bowling alley days, one of my favorite arcade games was....



Dig Dug came out in 1982, so I would've been 4 or 5 when I first encountered it and the gameplay was simple enough for me to handle at that age.



You basically had to dig down, up, left, right and take out all the red ball creatures and dragons (sounds like a yuppy coke dream to me) by either crushing them with unearthed rocks, or blowing them up. But not with dynamite, you literally blow them up with your bicycle pump harpoon gun thingy.



Now that's what I call dirty pop, Justin!



Dig Dug proved popular enough to eventually make it's way to the Atari 2600 where I definitely recall owning. It was simple enough gameplay even Tomy had a handheld game back in the day. Simple, but sometimes those are the most fun to play.



They even made a sequel for the NES that I totally forgot owning but remember now really playing it a lot. And look, there's Tag Team Wrestling, the first wrestling game, and one the most frustrating games I ever played!



Apparently there's been a whole slew of sequels I've never seen nor played, but I do recall Dig Dug and Co. appearing, like a lot of arcade characters for obvious reasons, in Wreck-it-Ralph.



Of course, that wasn't the only place...



And who could forget Dig Dug in Mortal Kombat!



"Eetsa me, Hadouken!"
"Get over here and dig it, sucka!"



Freak out freak out, oh yeah! Dig it!



That was more 90s than Jolt Cola!



M.A.R.R.S. says, "Pump up the Pooka. Pump up the Pooka. Pump up the Pooka. Pop! Pop!"



That's right, Magnitude.



I know, Christian, I'm busy reminiscing about Dig Dug, the game that was truly "under this world!"