by Mike Mertes | Jan 20, 2020 | 2010s, Arcade, Reviews
The third release in the 1:6 scale RepliCade arcade cabinet lineup is here, and with it comes a fierce Dragon Punch right to my arcade memories. The Street Fighter II: Champion Edition RepliCade arcade cabinet contains two different versions of Street Fighter 2:...
by Mike Mertes | Jan 7, 2020 | Arcade, Columns, Reviews
September 13, 2019, 8:30 PM – The quaint downtown area of West Dundee, IL is bustling with activity as the town celebrates its annual Heritage Fest with live entertainment and fireworks. Just around the corner from the festivities, Scott Lambert, proprietor of...
by Mike Mertes | Dec 10, 2019 | 1990s, Arcade, The Story Of...
Many people would look at a screenshot of Puzzle De Pon! and automatically assume that its a Puzzle Bobble/Bust-A-Move game. In actuality, it is not. Don’t feel bad though, despite having played Puzzle De Pon! for years; I thought the differences in the games were...
by Mike Mertes | Oct 20, 2019 | 1990s, Arcade, Reviews
Like many others in 1993, I spent a lot of money at the arcade, dropping token after token into NBA Jam. I was ten years old at the time, and our state basketball team, the Chicago Bulls were tearing through the NBA for championship gold for the third year in a row....
by Mike Mertes | Sep 15, 2019 | 1990s
Final Fantasy VIII is undoubtedly the most polarizing entry in the long-running series of games. I was a 16-year-old teenager when this game was released on 9.9.99 and was able to play the game a week early due to my part-time job at a video store. I instantly fell in...