GAME CLEAR Special: Tokyo Game Centers
video games game clear arcade namco sega smilebit colemak
Recently, I was fortunate enough to make my first trip to Japan, fulfilling a lifelong ambition. I didn’t do everything I’d like to have done there — it wouldn’t have been possible — but I did manage to check off a number of bucket list items. Among my strongest desires was to experience the still-vibrant arcade scene in Japan. Although COVID-19 did a number on the Japanese arcade business, a number of Game Centers still keep humming along. I’m told it’s a shadow of its former self, but the abundance of coin-operated entertainment compared to my home country still boggles my little American mind.
Although I visited a handful of Japanese cities, I only spent an appreciable amount of time in arcades in Tokyo. I wish I could talk more about the national scene, but I’m limited to what I experienced.
In any case, dotted with relative frequency throughout the capital metropolis are towering, multi-story edifices owned by companies like Bandai Namco, Taito, and Genda d.b.a. GiGO. These days, they all take similar forms. The first floors are packed with crane/claw games (or UFO Catchers, if you prefer) that almost certainly drive the most revenue. These machines are often lined nearly up to the sidewalk to entice passersby to drop a ¥100 coin in the slot for a quick chance at a goody.
If you can resist that temptation, upper floors generally contain more traditional digital entertainment. Nearly every one I went to had a dedicated rhythm game floor (naturally), and more interactive options like driving games, basketball games, and things of that nature usually occupy additional floorspace.
Many of these modern titles have seen limited or no release in the United States, with the exception of Namco’s breakthrough rhythm game Taiko no Tatsujin. This made them somewhat interesting to me, but ultimately these games’ appeal is as much in their novelty as their actual gameplay. They offer things that cannot be easily had in the home such as steering wheels or plastic musical instruments or other bespoke interactivity mechanisms.
That’s fine and worth an hour or two of amusement, but I was more interested in traditional games — the kind that once had a place in arcades as well by virtue of their cutting-edge graphics that could not be found in the home. I wanted to see rows and rows of candy cabs each with games both familiar and foreign. The big-name game centers were not hitting.
Finally, I got my wish at Game Center Mikado.
One evening after splitting off from my friends, I visited Mikado’s Takadanobaba location (which I believe to be their flagship). It was precisely what I wanted. While its entryway still features some of the prize-based games, they are generally at least still vintage and interesting. A few more steps inside is an arcade packed to the gills with classics, fighting games arranged in back-to-back versus mode, and shmups galore. Exactly the sort of shit I wanted to see!
In the rear corner of the first floor was a game that particularly caught my eye, Namco’s Starblade. It’s a huge machine with what appeared to me to be some kind of bespoke, refracted display. I didn’t get a chance to play it that first visit because a devoted player — a middle-aged man sporting gloves — occupied it for the entire night. I resolved to return and play it another time.
The next day, my party and I headed to Osaka for a wonderful few days about which I have many positive things to say that are not very relevant to this blog post. When we returned to Tokyo, our plans eventually took us to Ikebukuro, where I wordlessly split from my group (as was my wont) to pop into Mikado’s other location.
Inside, I immediately made use of the unoccupied F-Zero AX (making it, I believe, the only time I’ve ever actually operated it with a coin). Despite my recent triumph over the game I adore so much, I suffered an ironic Game Over behind the wheel of Mikado’s stationary AX machine, which I blame on its wonky yoke. It wasn’t a total loss, however, as the audio on the thing was absolutely blasting. That was something I noticed about games in the Japanese arcades I visited: the sound was always turned way up. This is in complete contrast to many American arcades I’ve visited, where the audio is often so quiet as to be inaudible — I suppose in order to preserve the ability to converse. Additionally, it was quite common for Japanese arcade machines I saw to include a headphone jack. Neat! We can’t even get those on our phones anymore. :(
Anyway, after abandoning F-Zero for a round of the lovely Space Harrier, I came across The Typing of the Dead. That brings us to our first interlude.
GAME CLEAR No. 223: The Typing of the Dead (1999, Arcade/DC/PC)
Developer: Smilebit
Publisher: SEGA
Clear Version: Arcade (NAOMI)
Clear Platform: Arcade (NAOMI)
Clear Date: 4/27/25
| Why should I care? |
|---|
| Turning a campy light-gun game into a typing game was simply divinely inspired. |
Off in the corner of the first floor of Game Center Mikado Ikebukuro was this iconic cabinet with its dual-keyboard control scheme. The Typing of the Dead is a full conversion of The House of the Dead 2, SEGA’s hit sophomore effort in its goofy on-rails light-gun series, to a typing edutainment game. It’s a brilliant idea, as the silliness of it meshes well with the tone of the base game. Indeed, the difference is acknowledged cheekily in game, as the protagonists eschew guns in favor of running around with Dreamcasts strapped to their backs connected to keyboards slung in front of their waists.
If you’re a competent typist, the game is a good bit easier than the demanding House 2 as well. You simply have to type words that appear in front of the advancing zombie and monster hordes. While all the words are naturally Japanese in the Japan-only arcade release, they are mercifully romanized on screen as well. If you can touch type, the game will be fully playable without knowledge of Japanese, albeit a bit less semantically engaging.
Well, if you can touch type in QWERTY, at least.
After I had finished a couple levels, I determined I could probably beat the game without spending too much money. Meanwhile, one of my friends noticed I was missing and unresponsive to the group chat and correctly assumed I’d drifted into an arcade. I finally checked the chat and confirmed her suspicion, informing her of the silly game I was playing. She was interested in joining, so I told her where to find me.
Unfortunately, she converted to the Colemak keyboard layout many years ago, so her reflexes do not align with the layout of the game’s keyboard. Nevertheless, she agreed to see the game through with me.
This resulted in a mostly funny exercise in her trying to overcome years of muscle memory. With two players, the game increases the complexity of the words and phrases it demands you type to dispatch the undead. Not great considering the circumstances. After a bit of struggling, we determined that a divide-and-conquer method worked best. I’d handle the guys on my side of the screen first and then help clean up hers if necessary. This worked pretty well.
We were cruising through the game until we reached the hydra boss, who in this game is damaged by typing the correct answer to multiple-choice riddles. Romanization of Japanese words obviously doesn’t help with understanding their semantic meaning, so this unfortunately was a massive money pit. We tried to translate them with Google Lens fast enough to then be able to select the correct answer, but it was always a bit too slow to beat the timeout before the boss attacks. I was pissed, so I just kept dropping coins in the slot to continue until I eventually won the war of attrition against my 66% odds of being incorrect.
After that, it was pretty smooth sailing on to the credits, save for a couple other encounters that would’ve been a bit easier if we’d been able to read the Japanese warnings/instructions. I was quite pleased to have shared this mirthful experience with a friend, and I also feel I finally bested the vexing House of the Dead 2, which I’ve never been able to finish with my light gun on my Dreamcast. I’m finally done suffering like G did.
As my Tokyo travels continued, I partook in pretty normal tourism activities during the day, but I spent my evenings winding down at arcades (and the Shinjuku Batting Center, about which I could write a whole other blog post).
After doing a bit more research, I returned to Akihabara armed with more knowledge and found a couple spots more aligned with my preferences. First, I checked out Hirose Entertainment Yard (HEY, whose games are pictured at the top of this post). While much of its footprint is similar to the other lower-integrity Game Centers in Akihabara, its classic games floor is well worth a visit. It features the same beautiful rows of candy cabs that made me smile in Game Center Mikado, and it has some other highlights like an original Ridge Racer cabinet in outstanding condition alongside some other popular racers.
Next door, I was also pleasantly surprised to find a GiGO with a substantial floor of classic titles, including some SEGA greats like a full-motion Out Run cabinet, the likes of which I had not been previously aware of. The preponderance of SEGA titles was no surprise since GiGO’s arcades were indeed acquired from the erstwhile arcade giant, but other great offerings were available as well, such as the incredible Lucky & Wild by Namco.
I had a great time in those arcades and made a return visit to HEY, but nothing called me back quite like Game Center Mikado.
On my first return visit to Mikado in Takadanobaba, I focused mostly on their new section of classic arcade titles and pinball machines that they had opened in a space down the block. They had a cockpit cabinet of Pole Position, a first for me, and a number of other fun vintage titles I wasn’t very familiar with (and whose names now sadly escape me). Their pinball selection was small but well-curated, and my understanding is that — pachinko notwithstanding — pinball never achieved the popularity in Japan that it did in other markets, so it’s cool that they saw fit to include it.
The classic section closes about an hour earlier than the main arcade, so I made my way back there. I was crestfallen to find that Starblade was down for repair, but given that I had just seen an arcade tech in the classics section get another game back up and running, I had some hope that it would be fixed before I left Japan. It didn’t get me down much anyway; I was still essentially in heaven.
Besides, I had another mission, which was to purchase a product that I can scarcely believe exists but whose existence overjoys me: Raiden IV × Mikado Remix. See, on the upper floor of the arcade was a glass display case with a variety of products. There were little tchotchkes like coin bags, acrylic standees of Mikado’s anime/vtuber mascot Mikado-chan, keychains, and things of that nature, but there were also much more compelling things. On offer were also various CDs from VGM artists, and the label for these records seemed to be Game Center Mikado itself. But the crown jewel to my eye was the aforementioned Raiden IV rerelease for PS5, which is (to the best of my ability to tell) a collaboration between developer MOSS and the artists on Mikado’s label. The special edition release features a fully remixed and reimagined soundtrack by the minds of Mikado, and I think that’s just so sick. A quick Google revealed that it was also available on domestic digital storefronts, but of course I had to get the collector’s edition on sale at Mikado.
To do so, I had to use the vending machine next to the display case. I naïvely thought it might dispense the entire game for me, but it instead dispensed a small slip of paper that I then handed to an attendant. This was only after having him exchange most of my new-design ¥1000 bills for the previous design so the machine would take them. He returned with my money, dutifully watched as I entered it into the machine, and then took the slip and returned with my game. It seemed that perhaps he could’ve just taken the cash directly, but I suppose they may use the machine for inventory-tracking purposes. In any case, the game was mine. Raiden IV is a very difficult game, but I hope to tell you more about it in the months to come.
Oh, by the way, the background noise of this transaction was live, enthusiastic commentary of the action in what I gathered to be a weekly (?) fighting game tournament. Warmed my heart.
When I returned to Game Center Mikado the next time, I was delighted to see that Starblade was back up and running. I was amused in equal measure to see that the same gloved gentleman from the other night was manning the controls once more. This made me smile, but I did hope he would step aside eventually. After sampling some other games, I checked back and realized he likely would not be going anywhere anytime soon.
So, I executed what I believe to be the international etiquette and simply waited by the machine until he got a Game Over. Eventually he did, and he politely relinquished his seat, which brings us to our second (and final) GAME CLEAR.
GAME CLEAR No. 224: Starblade (1991, Multiplatform)
Developer: Namco
Publisher: Namco
Clear Version: Arcade (Namco System 21)
Clear Platform: Arcade (Namco System 21)
Clear Date: 5/1/25
| Why should I care? |
|---|
| This space shooter delivers a thrilling and performant early-3D experience that holds up wonderfully in these high-poly days. |
Upon climbing into the cockpit, I realized that his glove use was probably mostly driven by the nasty locker room smell emanating from the laser turret controls. They were wrapped in athletic tape and had a rather foul stench indeed. Having no other option, I decided to grab them with my bare hands and game on.
The opening of Starblade is strikingly cinematic for its time, featuring some voice-acted exposition detailing the mission ahead. An evil cybernetic alien species has set its sights on Earth. It’s your job to man the GeoSword ship-mounted laser cannon to take out their superweapon and base of operations in some thrilling 3D on-rails action.
Tearing through the stages killing alien scum just feels great. I will add a caveat that if my machine translation of the signs posted by Mikado on the game were any indication, I think I was playing a modded version with a turbo laser. This meant it fired a constant stream of blasts instead of a more staccato machine-gun style hail of lasers dependent on my ability to mash the button as fast as possible. If that was the case, maybe this GAME CLEAR deserves a bit of an asterisk, but it sure as hell was fun to mow the bad guys down with my death ray. Maybe I’ll have the good fortune to play an unmodified version someday, but this was a neat way to enjoy it as well.
In much the same way as the depths of space allowed early 2D games to cut rendering corners with unsophisticated black backgrounds, Starblade ambitiously renders its low poly enemy spaceships in a black void for your shooting pleasure. As you approach the planet where their superweapon is stationed, you will do some daring canyon runs through stark red, textureless valleys. All of this is in the interest of keeping the action performant — I’d say it runs quite well for such an early 3D game.
Although the game is reasonably easy and is only maybe 25 minutes long without deaths (which is easier when you’re using a cheater’s gun), as I played through it, I started to sweat as my shields got low. What if the man who was clearly such a fan of this game returned and demanded his turn as soon as I hit Game Over? When I did finally die, I peered over my shoulder fearing the worst, but the other pilot was nowhere to be found. I dropped another hundred yen into the slot and pressed on.
After just one more death (and no return of the other player), I had managed to lay waste to all of my opposition and defeat the final boss. I was delighted to have cleared a game that in the context of its time felt to me to have earned the overused descriptor “epic.” A suitably cinematic staff roll began, indicating my time with the game had come to an end. If I’d had any impulse to go another round, it was quickly snuffed out by the return of the resident Starblade fanatic. Fair enough. I wordlessly traded places with him so he could get back to, I assume, chasing his own high score.
Play Starblade if you get the chance. It was ported to some consoles in the years that followed its arcade release, but don’t bother with those. There’s no way they can compare to the arcade beast. It’s a hell of an achievement. Maybe you’ll get as hooked as that Mikado regular.
Having CLEARed the GAME I came for, I killed a little more time on the other games before departing Mikado for the last time to catch one of the last trains heading back toward my hotel.
I already can’t wait to return, and I’m sure I’ll make time for it on my next trip to Japan, but I also want to make sure I see as much of the remaining arcade culture as I can. Natsuge Museum is one I didn’t get to and would love to visit when I’m back. I’d also like to check out any arcades I can outside of Kanto. If the Japanese arcade scene has diminished considerably from its former glory, I still squeezed a lot of fun out of it. There still seem to be great spots if you do a little research, and I hope that just like here in the US, the best of them stay open for years and years to come.
If you get to any Game Centers on a Japan trip of your own, drop me a line. My appetite for information on this matter and experiencing shared joy thereof is insatiable.