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Head to Head Table Top Arcade Review w/ Retro Kim!

RetroRalph·video·13m 26s·analyzed·Feb 13, 2019
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.024

TL;DR

Retro Ralph reviews dual-screen tabletop arcade with girlfriend; rates 7/10 for fun and quality.

Summary

Retro Ralph reviews a head-to-head tabletop arcade cabinet featuring dual 14-inch IPS screens and Pandora's Box emulation, testing it with gameplay of Moonwalker, Street Fighter II, and Marvel vs Capcom alongside his girlfriend Mark Kim. The unit impresses with solid screen quality, responsive controls, and good game selection, earning a 7/10 rating despite minor cosmetic issues with side graphics and marquee design.

Key Claims

  • The cabinet features two 14-inch IPS screens with excellent viewing angles and minimal reflection

    high confidence · Ralph directly tested and measured the screens during review; confirmed excellent viewing angles and IPS panel quality

  • The unit runs Pandora's Box emulation supporting MAME, Final Burn Alpha, and PlayStation 1 games with approximately 1,300 games available

    high confidence · Ralph explicitly states the system uses Pandora's Box and lists compatible emulators and game counts

  • The cabinet allows custom game addition via USB with compatibility limited to MAME, Final Burn Alpha, and PS1 titles

    high confidence · Ralph confirms USB expansion capability and lists specific compatible formats

  • The unit was shipped from China via AliExpress with a three-week delivery time

    high confidence · Ralph states the retailer (YCM Arcade Store on AliExpress) and delivery timeline

  • Ralph rates the overall unit 7/10 due to minor cosmetic issues despite positive gameplay experience

    high confidence · Ralph provides explicit rating and lists specific concerns: marquee design and side graphics bubbling

Notable Quotes

  • “I think I'd probably give it a 7 because there's some little minor things that I don't love about it. But I mean, as far as like overall fun, I had a good time playing it.”

    Retro Ralph@ 8:02 — Encapsulates Ralph's overall assessment balancing fun gameplay against minor design flaws

  • “The screen quality honestly is really really good like i'm i'm actually blown away by how good it looks”

    Retro Ralph@ 8:36 — Highlights the most praised aspect of the unit—the IPS display quality exceeded expectations

  • “To have two IPS screens that are 14 inches, I kind of feel like from a screen perspective, this thing couldn't be any better”

    Retro Ralph@ 9:11 — Ralph praises the dual 14-inch screen configuration as optimal for the tabletop format

  • “It was packed very good, everything was intact and nothing was damaged. So there's your power supply right there at the top, standard US power supply.”

    Retro Ralph@ 0:46 — Positive shipping and packaging experience; demonstrates quality control in fulfillment

  • “One thing I don't like is that if you look on the marquee, I don't really like that you can see those two bars there. Like I almost feel like they should have put something down.”

    Retro Ralph@ 10:51 — Identifies specific design criticism: marquee light diffusion bars create visual inconsistency

Entities

Retro RalphpersonMark KimpersonYCM Arcade StorecompanyAliExpresscompanyPandora's BoxproductMoonwalkergameStreet Fighter IIgameMarvel vs CapcomgameTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in TimegameCadillacs and DinosaursgameMAMEproduct

Signals

  • $

    market_signal: Chinese import arcade cabinets via AliExpress positioning themselves as affordable alternative to domestic manufacturers with improving quality and features

    medium · Ralph reviews import unit sourced from YCM Arcade Store on AliExpress with premium features (dual IPS screens, Pandora's Box) at accessible price point

  • ?

    product_strategy: Head-to-head tabletop arcade format differentiates from traditional side-by-side bar cabinets through dual-screen opposing seating arrangement

    high · Ralph explicitly frames this as novel feature: 'this bar top you sit across from each other. So it brings a whole new and cool element to the gameplay'

  • ?

    product_concern: Minor manufacturing and design flaws identified: marquee light bar visibility and side graphics bubbling during shipping suggest quality control gaps

    medium · Ralph lists marquee bar visibility as design issue and side art bubbling as potential shipping/manufacturing defect, though he acknowledges the latter may be shipping-related

  • ?

    technology_signal: Adoption of high-quality 14-inch dual IPS screens in affordable import arcade cabinets represents significant display technology improvement

    high · Ralph expresses surprise at screen quality: 'I'm i'm actually blown away by how good it looks' and 'this thing couldn't be any better' from screen perspective

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.040

0:00
Hey guys, Retro Ralph here. Welcome back. So in this episode, we're going to continue our quest for the perfect bar top arcade. Except, unlike a normal bar top where people either sit side by side or it's one person, this bar top you sit across from each other. So it brings a whole new and cool element to the gameplay. However, if you're going to do this, you need someone to play with. So I'm bringing my girlfriend Kim to help me out. So sit back, relax, and let's do it.
0:30
Alright guys, before we get this party started we gotta unpack this thing. So I will say, initial thoughts is I was super excited about how well packed this thing was. It was packed very good, everything was intact and nothing was damaged. So there's your power supply right there at the top, standard US power supply. came with a power cord for that and a little tool kit if you need to fix anything which was convenient and great. There's these two styrofoam pieces which kept everything really well intact and the whole unit overall looked really good and nothing was damaged in shipping so I'm happy about that. Another pleasant surprise is the whole thing was covered up really nice. The plexiglass was all covered up, the IPS screen was covered as well as the marquee so it made sure that nothing was damaged in shipping. So after we wrap this up, let's dive right into some gameplay and check this thing out.
1:30
All right, we're turning it on, and we're going to play a couple games together. So I have my girlfriend Kim with me, and we're going to play... I chose Moonwalker, Cadillacs and Dinosaur, Street Fighter II, and Turtles in Time. None of these games she's played, so this should be really interesting. Totally fair. All right, we're going to play Moonwalker first. Let's do this. Do it. Maybe that's not the right button. That's not it either. Hold on. Oh, ****. What do I do? Do I have to press anything? Not right now. Okay. Crap, what'd I do?
Final Burn Alpha
product
2:04
Come on, you're the pro. Okay. All right. We're good. Let's do it. All right, let me figure out what button. You have to put your coins in to start the game, so... It's loud. Okay, your coin is going to be... All right, we're trying to figure out what button's coin button, so... Oops. That's the power button. That's not that one. That's the power button she just pressed, so... Just hold on. We got this. Don't worry. It's a professional review. Sorry. Okay, it's on. All right, we're both good now. Okay.
2:39
Aw. Your special move is the one to the right of the one you're pressing right now. Oh, okay. Sorry, it's not that one. So the one above the one you're pressing is your special move and he'll dance and then everyone will die. Okay, sorry, I like it.
2:53
Go get the monkeys. Am I supposed to kill him? No, you turn into a robot. Now you're like Super Michael.
3:00
Nice. This game's cool, right? Yeah. It's playing pretty good, which is good. Oh, I just died. Aww. I'm back. Okay. I wish you could jump. Do you know what the point of the game is, actually? No. you save children which is kind of weird in a way A little creepy but okay But that what you do you save children oh no i died that was fun right did you like michael jackson moonwalker what do you think i mean i thought it was cool it's pretty basic though all right we'll do uh we'll do street fighter so i can fight against you now keep in mind i i'm okay at street fighter so i'll go easy yeah right i know you were practicing before I got here today. She looks bored. So wait, okay, wait. Okay, we only have 99 seconds here. Yeah, so, oh, you just hit me, see? And twice you hit me.
4:01
Ooh. I actually don't know what her special moves are. Remember, you can kick me, too. Oh, there you go, see? Oh, we both went down. I'm just pressing buttons. I don't even know It makes any sense. You said I could jump. You can. You just move like you're moving towards me, like diagonal. See? See, you can jump. That's a crazy... It's actually hard to play like that.
4:30
Oh, folks, she might beat me here, let's see. Yes! It's the most exciting game of Street Fighter you guys have ever seen, I bet.
4:38
Look at it. I don't know what that move is. I'm actually speeding. Alright, that's it. Now I'm mad. Oh no. You're actually going to speed. Yes. I won? Yeah. Did I win? Yes. Well, it's best of two though, so don't get too confident right now. I'm going to step up my game right now. You had no idea how good I was.
4:59
Oh. What is that thing you're throwing at me? It's a fireball. I didn't teach you how to do any of the special moves because I don't know how to do her special moves though. That's why you wanted me to... Oh, I'm dazed. You better come get me. Oh, you should have taken advantage of that. Oh, come on. Oh, there we go. I don't know what I did. What the heck is going on here?
5:21
This is ridiculous. Come on. You're cheating because you know how to use the special moves. I don't know how to do that yet. That's true, but you're actually, we're pretty close right now. You could beat me. Oh, that was a special move right there, I think. Aww. I think you just keep hitting the kick button fast and she does that. What's the kick button? The bottom? Press, like, your kick button fast. yeah see that's a special move right there wait let me do it again you want to do a little kick move I know you do Why am I not standing up? Why are you punching me in the balls? That's not cool. Oh, damn.
6:08
Uh-oh, folks. She's getting... She's going down to the wire here. Oh, no. 33 seconds. Why is everybody moving? No pressure.
6:17
Not fair. You should have done your kick right there. Uh-oh. Oh, no. Yes. Okay, so she won. All right. We'll do another game. I swear I'm good at Street Fighter That's awesome You got some serious muscles in your legs I am the strongest woman in the world That what it telling me I like that game That was fun Marvel vs Capcom we do that Okay cool Going down
6:53
So I'm two people? Yeah, I think they'll change. Wait, who am I? Right now you're the blue dude. Oh, how does that move? Did I do that or did you do that?
7:12
Why do I feel like you're kicking my butt on these games? Okay, I don't even know how I did that, but that was cool.
7:31
Aw, man. You're doing pretty good. Do you know how to do that little thing where you spike at me? What is a little spikey? Aw, man.
7:44
Okay, so we just finished playing, and I just thought it would be kind of fun as a means to review the unit to have Kim just ask me some questions that I think you guys will want to know about if you're interested in picking one of these up. All right, here we go. So how would you rate this on a scale of 1 to 10? I think I'd probably give it a 7 because there's some little minor things that I don't love about it. Okay. But I mean, as far as like overall fun, I had a good time playing it. But there are a couple of things that I'll talk about in a little bit that I didn't really like. Cool. How do you think that the screen quality was and the viewing?
8:21
Okay. The screen quality is really good. Do you mean like viewing angle? Yes. Okay. She meant viewing angle. Okay. so the viewing angle is killer and this screen is an ips it's an ips screen so the screen quality honestly is really really good like i'm i'm actually blown away by how good it looks and you actually even brought it up a couple times yeah no i thought it was great so screen quality really really good cool and the viewing angles are actually really good like i can look at it from this side and we have big we have big lights because we're filming right now but But it doesn't really have any major reflections on it or anything like that, so it's pretty cool. Okay. So we all know size matters. So how large is the screen?
9:06
The screen's actually 14 inches, so that's actually rather large for something like this. So to have two IPS screens that are 14 inches, I kind of feel like from a screen perspective, this thing couldn't be any better, so I'm pretty excited about that. So what do you think about the choice of games? I think the game choices are pretty good because this is actually running a Pandora's box 6 which is You can buy those separately and they have like 1,300 games on them And I feel like they have a pretty good selection of games So I've done reviews on Pandora's box 6 which I'm sure you've watched because you watch all of the extra Ralph stuff, right? So so yeah, so I am a big fan of Pandora's box 6 I think the game selection is actually pretty good. Can you add any games to the system? You can add games so on the side Yeah, so on the side there's a USB stick and you can add games to it. However, you can only add games that are compatible with MAME, which is an emulator, the emulator Final Burn Alpha or PlayStation 1 games and that all it plays So if you want to play anything more than that this probably isn going to be the best option for you But that a lot So I mean I feel like that a pretty good selection Yeah, that's cool. Yeah. So where would you get something like this? Okay, so there's a website called AliExpress, and there's a store called the YCM Arcade Store. So they sell this unit, and they sell a whole bunch of other things too. But, yeah, so it comes from China, so you can expect the normal, you know, kind of a little bit pricey on shipping. But yeah, it took about three weeks to come. But yeah, it was on AliExpress. And I'll have links to where to get it in the description. Cool. Would you recommend this to others?
10:41
I would. I think there's some things that I, you know, I actually overall really like it. But there's a couple little things that bug me. And these are kind of some anal things. But one thing I don't like is that if you look on the marquee, I don't really like that you can see those two bars there. Like I almost feel like they should have put something down. So I only see the light going through. So that kind of bugs me. Um, outside of that, and this was kind of a minor thing is when it came in shipping, the side kind of bubbled up a little bit. So the graphics on the side bubbled up now in their defense, that is something that could have just happened in shipping. And I can probably fix that by just pushing it down. So like outside of that, like it was protected really well. It was shipped really nice in this nice container. so it stayed really nice. The only thing I'd say is maybe, you know, the graphics on the side is kind of an issue, but the button responsiveness was good, the joysticks were good. You mentioned something about the joysticks being slow, but I think that was just the game that we were playing. And the fact that I have no clue what I'm doing. Well, in your defense, you've never played those games before, so yeah, but I just, I think it, I think overall I would recommend it, and I think it is, it seems like a pretty good quality. The audio maybe is a little iffy, but I mean, for what you're paying, it's, it's probably good enough. Cool. So most important question. Did you have fun playing with me?
12:03
Well, of course I had fun playing with you. Of course I had fun playing with you. I had a really good time and, uh, yeah, we get to, we don't get to do this stuff that much. So I, I really had fun. Oh, so sweet. All right. Well, thank you for sitting down with me and thanks guys for watching. All right, so in summary, I think that this unit's really cool, actually. I had a lot of fun playing it with Kim, and it was really neat that we got to play across from each other. I think it just adds a little more fun element to it. So I think outside of maybe the pricing being a little bit expensive, I don't know, I would honestly recommend it. There's a couple little things, hiccups with the graphics and things like that on the side, not the graphics itself, but the side art. But even outside of that, it was very well protected in shipping. The screen is beautiful, the buttons are pretty responsive, and so are the joysticks. And then obviously we all know Pandora's box 6 is really great. So yeah, if you guys like this video, please subscribe to the channel, please like the video, and always remember to hit notification bell to be informed of future updates. And we'll see you on the next one, guys. Boom!