Having been a lover of arcade games
since I was a kid, it was a lifelong goal to get my own arcade
machine. I remember wanting a Mortal Kombat II or a Virtua Fighter 2
machine. I also remember looking at game magazines reading
advertisements for PCBs and JAMMA compatible cabinets and superguns.
It was an impossible childhood dream. My arcade memories were always in either Southport, Morecambe or
Blackpool. That was in the 1990s.
Being surrounded by big whirring
machines full of flashing lights, overwhelming sound and 'fast and
furious' gameplay, it made an impression on me and still does to this
day. To me, the arcade is the definitive format of video games. Its
origin. Its history. Its evolution fascinates me. To me, great game
design involves a set of rules where you can figure out the basics in
a few minutes and have the chance to dig deeper into the mechanics
programmed by the developers.
And finally, in 2011, I got what I was
looking for throughout the last two decades. An arcade cabinet. The Sega New Astro City.
Jealous? Don't be just yet. This Super Turbo is running on a multi game PCB. Not very well either. One day that will change...
I got this particular cab from Digital
Systems Design. Back in October '11, I started considering a candy
cab at long last and started browsing eBay and found a few from the
seller. I was initially considering a Sega Blast City but decided to
settle for a NAC for a few reasons. Certain parts on it would have
been hard to replace and it wouldn't have fitted in an upstairs flat
(as I would find out the hard way).
A few email exchanges later, we
arranged a deal. The cab price was approximately £700 including
delivery. Good price in my eyes especially considering the cab was in
decent condition.
Fast forward a few weeks, the cab arrived.
Although there were a few problems that day! The driver got the wrong
address about three miles away and I had to make an emergency call to
correct the address. The driver wasn't thrilled.
I also made a beginner's mistake. I
measured the front door to make sure the cab would go through...but
not the corridors! Thanks to a few family members and friends, we
lifted a 90kg cabinet upstairs although we did drop it down the first
step twice. It survived (thank god!). That's when we needed a third
person to lift it.
After realising it wouldn't fit through
the door to the lounge, we knew it was going to take a little longer
then we hoped. Five hours and a temporary removal of
the door frame later, we made the sucker fit!
Embarrassing story aside, here's the
lowdown on the cab.
First thing I noticed, it wasn't so
much a Sega New Astro City. This one had Tecmo on the marquee! According to a French wiki, Sega gave the licence to Tecmo in 1996
(I'm guessing for Dead or Alive which was released around that time).
It says Sega everywhere else. News to me.
The machine was refurbished very well.
It was used in the Eurogamer Expo in London a week before it was on
sale. It has a Nanao MS9-29 monitor which replaced an old
screen-burned monitor. It also featured the rare 5380 key for the
locks as well as the original locks for the coin mech and power
supply/JAMMA harness. The coin slot has an original Japanese coin
mech. So I assume as UK coins won't get though.
Original keys! Left one is for cash box while the right is for access to the control panel and the power supply.
No 100 yen spare...but that's what Free Play was made for. Also, I should have dusted the corners of the floor.
I did a bit of studying on the sticks
and buttons in the cab. Both sticks had clear wear and tear. The
Player 2 stick was extremely loose. Think the spring was bust. Turned
out I have Seimitsu LS-32 sticks and Sanwa OBSF-30 buttons. I
replaced the 2P stick with the not-too-bad 1P stick and got a brand
new LS-32 for the 1P side. Been intending to replace the old sticks
and buttons for a while now. Got the stick and buttons from Gremlin
Solutions.
Ironically, none of my friends have practiced on sticks so I end up winning most fighting game matches.
The inside of the control panel. The levels on the chassis board is set great. Can't adjust colour but don't need to as it's perfect.
According the NAC manual, the original stock parts include
Seimitsu stick and Sanwa buttons which suggests I've got a cab that's
seen a lot of action.
Coin counter suggests long term use as well!
Power supply/JAMMA harness.
The PCB included was a Blue Elf 2 multi
game PCB. Not a bad starting point. I soon started to collect
original hardware after that. The Blue Elf PCB didn't do a good job
emulating most of the games (jerky frame rate and bad quality sound).
One advantage of this was that all six buttons for both players are
wired in the JAMMA. This was made possible by the seller modifying
the ground on the JAMMA to just the last pin. Making the cab fully
set for hardware like the Neo Geo and the Atomiswave. This also seems to save me
the trouble to daisy chain the ground wires for any kick harnesses.
Simply wire up the kick harness to the bottom three buttons and it's
more or less ready.
As for games? Here's my collection so
far.
- Blue Elf 2 2009 (as I've said, doesn't handle most games 100%)
- Soul Edge Ver. B (had to get the Namco kick harness from a faulty Tekken 3 PCB)
- Fighter's History (with a battered CPS1 kick harness)
- Heaven's Gate (never played this but was curious)
- Sega S-TV motherboard with Die Hard Arcade, Decathlete and Winter Heat
- Atomiswave motherboard with The King of Fighters Neowave, Demolish Fist and Hokuto no Ken
- Naomi motherboard with Cosmic Smash (running on a Capcom I/O board)
(more to come in the future)
So yeah, pretty sweet piece of kit,
huh?
