Gadgetory

classic videogame systems are very trendy right now but this is taking a love of retro to the next level this Street Fighter 2 machine is one of several cabinets sold by a company called arcade 1up it's designed for you to relive the glory days of going to the arcade without the need for a pocketful of quarters let's get a few basics out of the way for one this is not as big as a real arcade machine it's just about 4 feet tall you have to sit to play at it or put it on a riser to bring it to standing height but if you look at the design it has the same heart as the original machines there's even old text boxes explaining how to play oh and you have to build it I found the process was pretty straightforward and simple you can do it yourself it took me about an hour and a half or so to put it together it's made of lightweight wood with plexiglass that covers a monitor now all the computer bits are tucked in with the 17 inch LCD screen in the back panel so this cabinet is hollow inside it weighs about 63 pounds when you're done so it's manageable if you need to move it around which is good for someone like me with weak arms because all my power is in my legs now let's talk about those controls because that is what you care about coming close to listen you hear that clicking is yeah it's got just the right feel you want between the joystick and the buttons tugging on that joystick is gonna tug on your nostalgic heartstrings you're gonna yearn for the days when games didn't turn you into a smartphone zombie back when you had to talk to people to figure out the special moves back when there was no saving you played to the end or it was game over and that's why you're buying this right well the nostalgia is not gonna come cheap these start at $300 you got to think of it more like a home decor piece it's like a work of art that honors an era of the past and you'll play it once in a while or when your friends come over so Street Fighter is one of my favorite games but these machines do come in other flavors there's one for centipede asteroids rampage and Galaga each come with a few pre-loaded games the Street Fighter model has three versions of Street Fighter 2 along with the joystick and buttons there is an on/off switch and a volume switch so you could leave it muted and play in the background if you hold down a player select button it'll take you to a menu screen and the speakers are right over down here and keep in mind a few things since it is smaller and lightweight if you do get two players getting really into it this thing is going to shake a little and players are going to be closer to each other then you would be when you're playing at an actual arcade machine but an actual arcade machine is gonna cost you more than two thousand dollars on eBay this is what you're getting for $300 so don't be such a crybaby about it okay arcade one up says they're gonna be making more types of these arcade machines so here comes a new challenger in the fight for your retro gaming system gift money and you know what the way I see it if you love Street Fighter and if you have the space in your home how do can you say no