I first heard about Galloping Ghost Arcade around a month ago from some newly made friends, and couldn't believe it had been around for so long without me already knowing about it. So we made tentative plans to visit, but i couldn't wait haha. Ended up visiting sometime within a week of hearing about it and glad i did.

I checked out the website so i had a vague idea of what to expect.
I looked over the games list here - http://www.gallopingghostarcade.com/games_list.htm

Walking in i felt right at home, machines everywhere. Haven't been to a dedicated arcade of this size since Just Games on Ogden Ave.

There seems to be a really solid group of fighting game fans that frequent this location, as well as a Mortal Kombat team that represents the arcade. If you're into fighters this is a great spot to go.

I walked around for a while and saw a decent amount of things i'd never heard of, the game that struck me the most was something called Outfoxies. Really neat VS game that involves a multi tiered map that shifts around. Guns and strange weapons litter the ground and you'll end up in some goofy traps like a shark tank at times. The game has a joystick / buttons, as well as a foot pedal and gun. it's a lot of fun to play and was really exciting to play a game that had slipped by me for this long.

Very few machines were turned off, and i saw that they have a repair room on location. A few machines might not have sound, or some visual glitches and imperfections here and there, but this seems to be the case anywhere you go. I think due to the age of these boards and the old technology it's prone to get some overheats and whatever else. But all in all the setup is great, and i'd say 95% functional.

By far, the most important thing to me is just the setting. If you grew up playing early console games on NES or Atari etc, you know all too well the games that wouldn't let you continue. You sat there all weekend just to get a few more points or another stage into the game hoping to eventually beat it. This is the nostalgia they have captured here. I found myself playing several games for 1 or 2 hours without even noticing how fast the time went by.

After one visit i knew i'd be spending heaps of time here, and i ended up picking up a year membership. Glad i did, have met some cool people and had a lot of fun so far. Having gone for a few weeks now i really don't have any major complaints either. The staff is all friendly and they seem to enjoy their jobs, can you blame them? I've brought a few friends with my guest passes and everyone's opinion is basically a resounding HELL YES.

Give this place a visit if you're looking for a good mix of vintage gaming mixed in with a few modern gems.