A book? Sure why not! Arcade Mania takes your hand and walks you floor by floor though a typical game center in japan, stopping and devoting a chapter to each genre of machine. Sure we all know fighting games are big over there but who knew sticker booths were a million dollar industry?
It’s true! Sticker booths as I learned are a huge deal in the Land of the Rising Sun. Like, earning a modeling contract based on them big. While they might not be your cup of tea Arcade Mania actually dose a pretty good job explaining their history and keeping it interesting. As is manages to do across all of it’s eight chapters. Each section is dedicated to a specific type of arcade experience, from bullet hell shooters, like Ikaruga, to massive multi player soccer management simulations that can take up whole rooms. You’ll also get interviews with people in each chapter from Diago “The Beast” Umehara talking about Street Fighter to Suda 51’s expressing his love of retro games.
Contrary to your first thought, you might think the chapters you’ll enjoy the most are the ones dedicated to your preferred games. I found the opposite to true. Of course I liked reading about the early history of fighting games. But the chapter dedicated to claw games i found most fascinating. Little did I know that there are nationally televised tournaments for this stuff? Prizes aren’t always the stuffed toys we associate with the game here in the States. Some places pack televisions and rice cookers in these cabinets!
Reading this really makes you sad for the state of arcades in this country. I would love the chance to play a 360 degree version of House of the Dead. But that’s not gonna happen till a drop a few thousand quarters on a ticket to Japan. It’s a little hard to state my favorite parts of the book with out making a huge list, which would spoil most of the fun. Arcade Mania helps to give people a look into a great world a lot of us will never set foot in. A completely enjoyable read I fully recommend to any gamer.
+Great presentation
+Well written
+Wide subject variety
-Little on the short side (~180 pages)
Grade: A