Episode 91 featured our trip to the Fun N Games arcade at Willowbrook Mall in Wayne, NJ, a week before it shut down. In addition to audio, we also recorded video of the arcade.
Although Fun N Games is part of the mall, the entrance is on the outside. There was a table set up with small TVs and people playing Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike for the Sega Dreamcast. There was also:
an air hockey table near the entrance
a basketball free throw game in the back corner
racing games: Daytona USA 2: Battle on the Edge, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Indy 500, Initial D Ver. 3, Midnight: Maximum Tune 2, etc.
light gun games: Crisis Zone, The House of the Dead III, Police Trainer 2, Silent Scope EX, Time Crisis 3, Time Crisis 4, etc.
rhythm games: Dance Dance Revolution Extreme Plus, DrumMania 10th Mix, In the Groove 2, etc.
one-on-one fighting games: Capcom Vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, Street Fighter Anniversary Edition, etc.
pinball machines: The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, and The Simpsons Pinball Party
and other games: Beach Head 2002, Derby Owners Club: World Edition, The Grid, Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga, Virtua Tennis 2, etc.
If you’ve followed the classic gaming scene at all, or more likely, remember the Famous Nintendo Entertainment System……..Undoubtedly you remember the blinking screen when inserting a game and pressing the power button. Remember the solution back then? Blow onto the cartridge connector, maybe even spit in it! Well, the real solution was some type of cleaning solution and a Q-tip to clean the connectors. Even then, my 20 year old NES has gotten too annoying to use. I can’t play a game without cleaning it first, games which were originally mine and would not be dirty.
Modern Age Solution? The equally infamous 72-Pin Replacement “ZIF” connector. That’s right, just $4 bucks plus shipping, and I’ve got a new connector. To replace it?
Follow these directions: http://www.jandar.net/nes72pin/
Here’s my image via camera phone….
Wasn’t too hard….result? Well, almost all games now work on the first shot, no more blinking. Catch? Of course there is! Paunch curse and all. Try to get the game out of the system! You need Hulk Hogan’s 52 inch pythons, it’s that stuck in there. I think it gets looser with time, I hope. My thumb is in pain.
