Nickel City

The bleeps and the bloops. The colors and the high scores. The defeated growls and the triumphant cheers. There is so much to take in when you walk into a classic arcade, and it just makes you want to get started! With the big trend of nostalgia and all of the 80s paraphernalia that’s so popular right now, getting in touch with the games that entertained a generation is a great way to ride that nostalgia wave.

The first thing that you realize when you walk into the Nickel Mania Arcade is how many machines there are. We couldn’t count the exact number of games, but dozens of little heroes battled little monsters along the walls. My wife and I bee-lined for the classic arcade games. We started pouring our coins in the likes of Joust, Pac-Man, Galaga, Donkey Kong, Rampage, and Centipede. As we competed with each other for the highest scores, we soon started to lose track of time. It was like we had fallen into a weird time loop filled with digital golden coins. It truly was a perfect date.

The arcade receives a standing ovation from my family. It is a great place to spend some time either reminiscing about your days of youth or thinking about how far video games have come.

BY: JOSHUA HANSEN