My Ultimate MUST HAVE Arcade Games for 2022!

RetroRalph·video·7m 44s·analyzed·Dec 31, 2021

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.028

TL;DR

RetroRalph's 2022 arcade wish list: Robotron, X-Men, T2 pinball, TMNT, Big Blue, Daytona USA

Summary

RetroRalph presents his 2022 arcade and pinball machine wish list, filmed at Ready Player One The Games in Glendale, Arizona. He discusses six must-have titles including Robotron 2084, four-player X-Men, Terminator 2 pinball, original TMNT arcade, Capcom Big Blue, and stand-up Daytona USA, sharing personal memories and collection strategy while emphasizing community cooperation in sourcing games.

Key Claims

Someone in Arizona purchased Robotron 2084 for $250 the day before Christmas
medium confidence · RetroRalph mentions this as a market reference point for cabinet pricing in Arizona
T2 pinball machines are currently expensive and difficult to acquire
medium confidence · RetroRalph notes 'the going rate for those is kind of expensive right now' and questions ability to find one
TMNT arcade cabinet prices have skyrocketed across all formats and related collectibles
medium confidence · RetroRalph states 'Anything Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles no matter what it is collectibles comic books action figures they all going for a lot of money right now'
Ready Player One The Games hosts pinball tournaments approximately once or twice per month
high confidence · RetroRalph states directly that Danny's arcade hosts tournaments at this frequency and mentions a tournament scheduled for January 15th
RetroRalph sold his OutRun 2 arcade cabinet to Ready Player One The Games due to space constraints
high confidence · RetroRalph confirms 'I actually sold my OutRun 2 to Danny here at the arcade' and explains it was linked with another cabinet for competitive play

Notable Quotes

“The one thing that's really neat about that game is that it kind of sort of built upon a series of these twin stick games. So you had Robotron 2084, then you had Total Carnage, you had Smash TV.”
RetroRalph@ 0:57 — Contextualizes Robotron's importance in arcade game lineage and design influence
“I always remember jumping in on the games. It was just such a cool community game to play with six players. We all talk and have fun.”
RetroRalph@ 1:44 — Explains personal nostalgia and social appeal of multiplayer arcade experiences
“I love the Terminator movies, not so much the later ones, but Terminator 1 and Terminator 2 are some of my favorite movies.”
RetroRalph@ 2:30 — Establishes emotional connection to T2 pinball machine selection
“I would probably try to run both on a switcher so I could have Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Pro), the original, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Premium).”
RetroRalph@ 3:23 — Demonstrates advanced cabinet setup strategy for multi-game installation
“It just takes up a lot of room. I know these aren't as popular, and I had this on my 2021 list, is I want a Daytona USA that's a stand-up.”
RetroRalph@ 5:10 — Shows how space constraints drive collecting decisions and preferences for non-sit-down racing cabinets
“I have a problem with racing games only because they take up so much damn space.”
RetroRalph@ 4:55 — Key constraint on collector acquisition strategy affecting game selection

Entities

RetroRalphpersonDannypersonReady Player One The GamesorganizationEugene JarvispersonRobotron 2084gameX-Mengame Terminator 2gameDream Machineorganization

Signals

?
business_signal: Arcade venues accepting and integrating donated/sold machines into operational lineup for tournament and linked-cabinet community play
high · RetroRalph sold OutRun 2 to Danny's arcade where it is now linked with another racing cabinet for competitive play between arcade visitors
?
community_signal: Strong community network for sourcing vintage arcade games, with multiple collectors actively helping each other identify and locate available cabinets
high · RetroRalph thanks Nick Madsen and Arcade Eric by name for 2021 acquisitions, emphasizing 'everyone's kind of looking out for each other, trying to see when things go up for sale'
$
market_signal: TMNT arcade cabinet prices and collectibles experiencing significant inflation across all formats and related merchandise in early 2022
high · RetroRalph: 'Anything Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles no matter what it is collectibles comic books action figures they all going for a lot of money right now'
$
market_signal: T2 pinball machines currently expensive and difficult to source in secondary market
medium · RetroRalph: 'Seems like the going rate for those is kind of expensive right now, but I'll see if I can pick one up sometime this year'
?
venue_signal: Ready Player One The Games in Glendale, Arizona operating as active pinball tournament venue with monthly events and community participation
high · Danny's arcade hosts tournaments 'probably like once or twice a month' with scheduled events (January 15th mentioned); RetroRalph competed in tournament despite poor performance

Topics

Arcade cabinet collecting and acquisition strategyprimaryPinball machine collecting and availabilityprimaryCommunity cooperation in sourcing vintage gamesprimaryArcade cabinet space constraints and home installationsecondary2022 arcade market pricing and availability conditionssecondaryArcade venue operations and tournament hostingsecondaryNostalgia and personal gaming historymentionedCabinet restoration and refurbishmentmentioned

Sentiment

positive(0.82)— RetroRalph expresses genuine enthusiasm for arcade gaming, community engagement, and collection building. Acknowledges market challenges and space constraints but maintains optimistic, collaborative tone. Gratitude toward venue owner and community helpers reinforces positive sentiment.

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.023

Hey guys, welcome Back to the Arcade channel. So in today's episode, We Are Pinball here on location at Ready Player One Games in Glendale, Arizona. Now my buddy Danny owns this arcade. I love this The Place. One of the main reasons why I like it so much is he's got a great game selection. He's got pinball machines and arcade games, but everything here costs 25 cents to play, except for the pinball machine. So the reason why that's so neat to me is that it kind of brings back that old school nostalgia. He's got memorabilia everywhere. He has a comic book store on the The Other Side. So if you are in the Phoenix area, definitely go take a trip over to Glendale and check out Ready Player One games. Okay, the purpose of this video today is we're going to talk about must-have arcade games that I want to pick up in 2022. 2021 was an awesome year. We got a lot of great games, but there's still a lot of games on that list that I hopefully want to pick up this year. The first one is Robotron 2084. Twin-stick game, super iconic. Eugene Jarvis. I mean, you can't go wrong. It's very, very fun. It stands up today. Crazy and just chaotic game. The one thing that's really neat about that game is that it kind of sort of built upon a series of these twin stick games. So you had Robotron 2084, then you had Total Carnage, you had Smash TV. So lots of those games, all sort of Eugene Jarvis creations. So I'm excited to hopefully pick one up. Now someone in Arizona just got one for $250 the day before Christmas. So if you live in Arizona and you pick that game up, I'm very, very jealous. And $250, even for just the cabinet with nothing in it, would be an amazing score. I don't know who you are, but you got a really good deal. All right, let's move on to game number two. So game number two for me is X-Men. I loved playing the six-player X-Men growing up. I used to go to this arcade in Lincoln, Rhode Island called the Dream Machine. And now the Dream Machine had two Levels Arcade. And on the upper level, they had the six-player X-Men. I always remember jumping in on games. It was just such a cool community game to play with six players. We all talk and have fun It was cool because if you had limited mate/man you could kinda hang out until someone progressed through the game a little further and maybe jumped in on a level where you didn have enough Quarters Arcade to actually progress that far So anyways I not looking for the six-player one, but I definitely would love to pick up a four-player X-Men and have that as part of my collection. Okay, switching gears, number three is actually American Pinball machine. It's the Terminator 2 pinball machine. This game I loved as a kid and I was introduced to it. My sister went to college in Syracuse, New York, and in their college dormitory, they had a game room, and they had a Terminator 2. I remember playing with a bunch of older kids, and they would kind of show me how to play it. I love the Terminator movies, not so much the later ones, but Terminator 1 and Terminator 2 are some of my favorite movies. Terminator 2 was so iconic, it just, it set the bar for special effects, and it still stands up today. Not only am I a super fan of Terminator, especially Terminator 2, but it brings me back to so many memories. I don't know if you remember, there's a scene in there where John Connor is playing Afterburner in an arcade. Another game I love. I would love to have a deluxe Afterburner, but hey, space actually has to play a factor in here. But yeah, Terminator 2, pinball machine, very iconic. Hopefully I can pick that up. Seems like the going rate for those is kind of expensive right now, but I'll see if I can pick one up sometime this year. This next game might surprise you. It's actually Teenage Mutant Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT), the original one, not Turtles in Time. I love the original one, although if I did pick up an original cabinet, I would probably try to run both on a switcher so I could have TMNT, the original, and Turtles in Time. Now, I love the TMT original artwork, not so much Turtles in Time, so I definitely would love to have that in my collection. Now, these four-player games, you take up a little bit More Brewing Company space because they have wider control dpannell, but I'm hoping I could find one for a good price. Right now, those things are really skyrocketing. Anything Teenager Ninja Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) no matter what it is collectibles comic books action figures they all going for a lot of mate/man right now But I hoping I can come across one so if you know where there a Teenage Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) let me know because I would love to pick that one up This is another one that might surprise you a little bit, is I want a Big Blue. I want a Capcom Big Blue, but I would love for it to have the Punisher as the main theme. I love the Punisher, awesome side-scrolling beat-em-up. Now my plan would be to put other games in there as well, it wouldn't just be the Punisher. I just feel like it'd be really awesome to have a big blue have fighting games have some of those classic capcom titles Like alien versus predator the punisher There's so many great iconic side scrolling games and it's just a crazy awesome cabinet now It does take up a lot of space and i've seen some big blues The Last Arcade couple months, but they've been in terrible terrible shape Uh, i'm okay doing restoration work on a big blue You know, I love doing that kind of stuff bringing the cabinets back to life But it'd be nice to kind of get one that's in decent condition that I don't have to do as much work to So Big Blue, I'm looking for you. If you know where one's at, let me know. The Last Arcade one on this list for now is Daytona USA, but not the gigantic Daytona USA. Now, I have a problem with racing games only because they take up so much damn space. It's really hard to put them in your house, especially sit-downs because you have to accommodate the space for the main cabinet and the seat, and then it connects. It just takes up a lot of room. I know these aren't as popular, and I had this on my 2021 list, is I want a Daytona USA that's a stand-up. I know you don't stand and drive your car, but still, Daytona USA is an awesome game. I just don't want to take up that extra space. And I'll tell you why. I actually sold my OutRun 2 to Danny here at the arcade, and we linked them up. Actually, Rudy and I came down here and linked up the two cabinets together, so now you can actually play against each other, which is really cool. And you know what? It was taking up too much space in my house. I wanted to be able to put in my Jurassic The Park pinball and a couple other things So it cool It got a nice home here at Danny Arcade And if you come down here you can play against someone with OutRun 2 which is really cool. All right, guys, that wraps up my 2022 arcade game pickups wish list. I think that list may be dynamic and change a little bit throughout the year, but those are the ones right now that are top of mind. And I want to thank the community for helping me locate a lot of the games I got last year. I had Nick Madsen help me with the Red Tent. I had Arcade Eric helped me with Sinistar. So there's been a lot of, I think there's a couple other people that have helped along the way as well. And I really do appreciate that. I don't know if I would be able to get some of those games. So I love this idea of everyone's kind of looking out for each other, trying to see when things go up for sale and stuff, because you have to have your eyes and ears open at all times to find games and deals. It just is what it is. The market is kind of crazy right now. I also want to give another special thanks to Danny down at Ready Player One games. This The Place is awesome and I appreciate him letting me film here. They also do pinball tournaments here probably like once or twice a month. So if you have a lookout for that, if you follow them on Facebook, I'll have a link in the description. If you're local, join one of the tournaments. I joined one. I totally sucked. It was terrible. Rudy did actually Papa Duke well. He came with me, but yeah, I didn't, I didn't fare so well in my first tournament. Hey, you got to do it. You got to do it. You got to learn. And I'm looking forward to the next one. I think there's one out in January on the 15th. So anyways, definitely check that out. All right, guys, if you enjoyed this video, give me a thumbs up. Consider subscribing to the channel. Put your comments below. What games are you looking for? Are there pickups that you want? Or are there games that, you know, just are must-haves for your collection? I'd love to hear what those are. And that's it for now. We will see you on the next one. Thank you.