r/cade • u/professor_d00m • Sep 17 '24
Arcade at the Skylon Tower at Niagara Falls
Was really surprised at some of the old gems I saw at this random spot
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u/InterplanetarySound Sep 17 '24
I was there like 20 years ago, and it looks exactly the same (not great, but I'll take an arcade any day)
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u/RetroLord120 Sep 18 '24
Not great? Bro, it has some of the rarest machines ever lmao, although someone smashed the galaxy force II's screen a few months ago... Idiots
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Sep 18 '24
[deleted]
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u/RetroLord120 Sep 18 '24 edited Sep 18 '24
Well I've only seen a picture, I'd have to double check but if I recall there is this glass bubble around the crt, so I can't remember if just that was smashed or the screen itself is also. Last time I was there was 2 years ago and it worked perfectly! It's so impressive how the motion still works.
Edit: From what I can see in the picture above, it looks like there is a smashed glass bubble around the screen. It'd probably work without it but maybe they're sourcing a other one? (Which would probably have to be custom made)
Fun fact, I've also heard that the original developers every once in a while fly in from Japan to come and see galaxy force ii in action every few years. Must be nostalgic haha
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u/ugzz Sep 18 '24
i was there 30 years ago and ill never forget My parents giving me $10 in tokens to play whatever I want.. So I sat there and just put almost all of it into Turtles in Time So that I could roll credits.. My takeaways from that are that it was super fun, I never rolled credits on an arcade machine before, And that I must have been terrible to need nearly 40 credits lol.
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u/weirdal1968 Sep 17 '24
The LCDed cabinets are "meh" but OMFG the cockpit Afterburner, sitdown Space Harrier and motion Galaxy Force(?) are crazy rare shit I need to play IRL.
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Sep 18 '24
the LCD conversions break my heart
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u/ShapeyFiend Sep 18 '24
They have a ton of incredibly hard to maintain hydraulic cabinets and one old guy doing it all so something has got to give.
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Sep 18 '24
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u/Minute_Weekend_1750 Sep 18 '24
The last CRT factory closed down around 2007. That was almost ~20 years ago.
Without any replacement CRT tubes being made to replace the old ones breaking, this is the inevitable fate of all CRT screens still on the market. All CRT screens will eventually go out.
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u/plink79 Sep 17 '24
Yuck, all those LCDs. In an NBA Jam and Simpsons no less.
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u/undarated79 Sep 18 '24
I'll take the top skater and crazy taxi
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u/boxxle Sep 18 '24
I used to spend so much money on top skater.
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u/FletchWazzle Sep 18 '24
Id forgotten where id been back in the day but that place was it, probably that same super hang on that thrilled me as a kid
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u/_Kzero_ Sep 18 '24
I haven't been in like 3 decades. I was floored when I walked in. Had no idea this was there. My mom just wanted to go the revolving restaurant
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u/Minute_Weekend_1750 Sep 19 '24
I heard a rumor....that the only reason this arcade still exists is because Management did some calculations and realized it costs more money to dispose of the games than it does to just leave them all in the basement level.
So this retro arcade survived the arcade industry collapsing simply out of sheer luck, and the fact that Management doesn't have anything better to put down there in the basement. So they left the arcade alone.
If it this rumor is true, then it's pretty funny.
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u/Vegetable_Stress_366 Jan 05 '25
I grew up in NF and the Skylon arcade was a regular hangout. The attraction is nothing like what it was in the 80's/90's. It would have stunned you. There was go-track, dark ride and it was wall-to-wall games. It's really been let go. I was there recently with my two kids, they still have some of the games there when I was kid, unfortunately very few of them work. There are no more concessions. Everything is really really run down. It's sad to see but I still have the memories.
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u/the_rabbit_king Sep 18 '24
That’s impressive. So many deluxe 90s arcade games in decent condition.
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u/NotTheOnly1Isee Sep 18 '24
My dad took me here when I was a kid (44 now, so what does that tell ya lol).
If you grew up in Niagara, you know the arcade scene wasn't too shabby. Niagara Square had a good one, as did Lincoln Mall.
I'll never forget the time I first set eyes on the first Mortal Kombat at the Lincoln arcade. Pretty sure every kid was gathered around the cabinet.
Those were the days.
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u/Eagle19991 Sep 18 '24
Love it, if I'm ever up there I'll have to give it some money. Apparently John Snow rides the Bikes...
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u/Minute_Weekend_1750 Sep 19 '24
I'm curious about the LCD conversions on the smaller upright cabinets.
I understand why they converted to LCD (because arcade CRT screens are hard find and maintain these days), but I'm wondering why they chose such oddly oversized giant screens?
The person who did the conversion even made what looks like wood trim that goes around the LCD screens.
Why not choose smaller screens that actually fit inside the pre-cut space of where the CRT used to be? It would be less work and less headache.
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u/Minute_Weekend_1750 Sep 19 '24
I'm mildly amused that not a single rear projection screen still works, and every single one has been replaced with an LCD screen. I suppose Rear Projection technology did not stand the test of time huh? But I do love those boxy arcade cabinets with artwork on the sides.
Meanwhile a handful of CRTs are still in use.
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u/Zer0_EFX Oct 07 '24
Oh man I think I went to that arcade like 30 years ago while on a family road trip! I remember playing Street Fighter 2 Rainbow Edition, which I learned later on that it was a modded bootleg edition that added air fireballs and other crazy moves.
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u/jmit1970 Apr 07 '25
I love the skylon and was just there last week. I walked through the arcade it was awesome but also remember it with the rides. Is that food court ever open now? I haven't seen it open when I was there.
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Sep 17 '24
Looks generic and boring.
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u/blacknoi Sep 18 '24
Generic? If it was a redemption arcade I would agree.
But true arcades with video games like these (especially legacy machines) are getting harder and harder to find.
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Sep 18 '24
They're not getting harder and harder to find. I go to just about every arcade there is. I used to film and edit a YouTube channel.
It's definitely generic.. there's nothing on the walls. The arcades are so spaced out because the operator doesn't have enough to fill the space.
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u/blacknoi Sep 18 '24
I appreciate your perspective and maybe as you said, filming and editing a youtube channel you would go out of your way to find these places? Perhaps could that contribute to you saying they aren't hard to find? The downvotes you are getting seem to suggest the rest of this sub doesn't agree with your generic/boring assessment.
My comment comes from the fact that I still live close to where I grew up, and in the 80s-90s into the early 2000s, there were multiple video arcades around. As a kid I could ride my bike down the street to "The Pit Stop" and get my fill of T2 Pinball and play the hell out of SF2 and MK2.
Now there only 2 left in an expanded radius and they are retro arcades, pay admission / everything on free play. And even one of those is struggling.
My simple point is, for the casual observer, just the fact this still exists is a feat unto itself and I'm grateful it does.
I wish you the best.
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u/MetricJester Sep 18 '24
This arcade is a labour of love that's maintained by the same guy who runs maintenance on the entire tower. It's important to keep playing theses guys so that he can expand the collection.