Today we’re here in Downtown Denver for the next-to-the-last arcade I saw in October of 2019. Every single one of Denver’s arcades so far have exceeded all of my expectations. Will today’s arcade be able to keep up the streak?
This time, the arcade we’ll be visiting is in a small shopping area called Denver Pavilion, right in the heart of downtown. It feels like a strange cross between a strip mall and a shopping mall.
By the way, the famous Coyote Ugly Saloon is here. I considered venturing in, but there was nothing to see there.
No, our target today is right next door to it. Way up the corner, there is the Lucky Strike bowling alley, containing the FTW Arcade.
If it’s not obvious by the name, this is a very modern arcade. It reminds me of something you’d see at an upscale casino. Lots and lots of standard ticket games. It’s kind of like an upscale version of Dave and Buster’s.
This here is the prize room. Let’s take a quick peek inside.
It’s cool looking. I dig the bug-themed ceiling lights.
Killer Queen feels a bit out of place here. It’s usually something you only really find at barcades.
And here’s Pump It Up. Nice?
This arcade also officially holds the title for the most of these things I’ve ever seen at one arcade.
And these cocktail claw machines are neat.
Okay, enough of this. I’m going to level with you: There’s not much to say about this place as an arcade. It’s fine if you’re into this kind of thing. It’s clean, got some nice decor, and the games are in working condition. Normally I don’t bother visiting these sorts of arcades when I’m travelling. My schedule is usually crowded enough as it is. So, what could have possessed me to go out of my way for this specific arcade? Well…
Here it is, baby! Outrun2 SPDX, in the flesh! One of the last arcades in the country to still have this machine! Oh, how I’ve yearned to find one of these.
This isn’t just Outrun 2 SP stuffed into a bigger cabinet. This is a straight-up port of the game from the Xbox-based Chihiro board to the more advanced Linux-based Lindbergh hardware! That more powerful hardware gives the game a much higher resolution for those gigantic screens. The game also normally does the Daytona USA Deluxe thing, using a camera to display the racers’ faces on a top screen, but an “@FTWDenver” banner covered that feature.
Outside of the motion cab feature and stronger hardware, this version of the game has one other notable feature. Much like Hummer, each cockpit has two steering wheels instead of one. A new mode was added specifically for this version where the two players take turns driving, relay-style. I obviously didn’t have anyone to try it with.
I’m a bit rusty, it seems. I know a lot of people don’t like the SP version of the game in general, but that’s because they’re playing it wrong. The SP update’s improvements are meant to fix many of the issues with Heart Attack mode being too hard. And Heart Attack mode is the real highlight of the game, don’t you think?
I may have come just for the Outrun 2 SPDX machine, but I ran into a couple of other surprises while I was here. First up is Lost Land Adventure. I ran into this one back in Philadelphia, but I was pressed for time and didn’t get a good look at it.
The gimmick here is that it’s got a GIGANTIC dome screen that fills nearly the entire machine. Not only do you have to worry about targets in front of you, but enemies appearing above you and to your sides. The game reminds me a bit of Let’s Go Jungle!, but with a live-action host acting like an asshole the entire time. It’s not something I’d play often, but it was a surprisingly immersive experience while it lasted.
Last up is a game I’ve never even heard of. It’s been over a year since my trip to Denver, so my memory’s a bit foggy. If I recall correctly, this is Showdown. Google’s telling me the team behind GRID made it. Honestly, I can’t remember the gameplay very well, only that the controls were awkward. I THINK it was a car combat game where you ram into other cards to reduce their health. Maybe?
The reason I can’t remember is probably that there’s one big thing about this machine that sticks out more than anything else. Let’s see if I can get a better angle.
Hmm… Well, you can see that each player has a second screen for onlookers, plus two additional stat screens in the center. It has a grand total of 10 screens. But I don’t think this quite does it justice. Let’s try another angle.
If you’ve ever been to an arcade with that Crazy Curves machine on the right (the one that looks like an 8), you probably understand what I’m getting at. Crazy Curves is over 11 feet tall.
Showdown holds the title of the biggest arcade machine I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s absolutely massive. Jesus Christ. Even sitting, the seats are huge. Sitting in them makes you feel like you’re in the driver’s seat of a semi-truck or something. Everything I remember about this game is completely eclipsed by its sheer mass.
More importantly, how many of these things are in the wild? I can’t imagine many places have want to devote this much space to a game like this. But FTW does. Perhaps this game reflects FTW’s philosophy that showy games are all you need to attract customers. Or, perhaps, they bought it because it was the most expensive thing in the catalog? These are questions the world may never have answers to.
Well, that’s it. I’d love to say more about this place, but there isn’t much else to say about it. It’s got a few cool games; otherwise, it’s a very standard (but upscale) arcade. It’s nice not to have much to say about an arcade after the last several Denver blog posts.
I’ve ended up amassing quite a backlog, you know. Outside of the last few Denver posts, I’ve got like four or five other posts I’ve been putting off!
Well, anyway, we’re almost done here in Denver. There’s just one last arcade I’ve got to check out. It’s no Akibahara (by the way, I finally caved and declared it the fourth-ever arcade to earn an S-class rating), but it’s definitely ending things on a high note.
