Blackpool, UK. The epitome of our seaside cities. A poor and run-down city on the within, but a bustling, brilliant vacation hot-spot for households on the skin.

Article by Ted – https://twitter.com/Tedward618

It is seafront homes many vacationer points of interest, takeaways, resorts, and- most significantly to us avid gamers – arcades. ​

Blackpool could nicely have been the UK capital of arcades again within the 80’s and 90’s, with the quantity of video games and uncommon simulators matching that of London’s Funland arcade – however that was the previous. ​

At present, the identify ‘arcade’ can solely nearly be utilized to those locations. The place tons of Jamma cabs as soon as stood tall and proud, now stands coin pushers and playing machines.

There’s the odd racing or capturing recreation nonetheless round, however usually in unhealthy situation and neglected. This may particularly be mentioned in regards to the Pleasure Seashore theme park’s arcades.

Only a few of their video games are a Sega Rally that would not settle for cash, and had clear graphical points, and Home Of The Useless 2, with no sound and just one gun working, plus each had some actually surprising LCD conversions. The state of the arcades present that the video games are only a mere afterthought now. ​

But, there’s one factor that units the Pleasure Seashore arcade aside from the remainder. Whereas the opposite video games have damaged and rotted away, there’s one factor that they’ve stored, in contrast to the remainder of Blackpool’s arcades- suspended in time virtually. One of many craziest, costliest arcade machines of all time. ​

RIDGE RACER FULL SCALE! ​

Sure, actually. Your eyes usually are not deceiving you.

After virtually 25 years, this factor continues to be going robust. ​

For many who do not know what it’s, Ridge Racer Full Scale is likely one of the largest arcade video games of all time, the last word model of Ridge Racer.

A cousin to the equally spectacular 6 participant Galaxian 3 Theatre, it has the excellence of being the one arcade recreation ever with an actual, sit-in automobile.

​Sure, you learn that proper, actual automobile! ​

As the sport is projected onto the huge display screen in entrance of you, you are on the wheel of a Japanese Eunos Roadster, higher recognized to us as a Mazda MX-5. 

Every thing could be there, the air con, the wheel, the seats, the stereo, the windscreen, the gear shifter… ​

Just like the Galaxian 3 Theatre, this additionally used a Bose sound system and Sony projectors, and three Namco System 22 boards to energy the sport. When you think about the whole lot that it had, it was actually fairly costly for an arcade game- presumably even the most costly ever! ​

After all, the whole lot I’ve simply talked about would not final perpetually, and as such Pleasure Seashore have needed to take out some and substitute them with different components. The seats and steering wheel are now not unique, now the standard Namco made ones discovered within the different Ridge Racer iterations. 

The windscreen has been taken out, presumably attributable to security causes because it was certain to be smashed in the future, and so has the automobile stereo, sadly- so solely one in every of Ridge Racer’s music tracks will be chosen. No Uncommon Hero or Rotterdam Nation, simply the Ridge Racer Theme 🙁

​The most important disappointment although is the gear shifter, which is not working. That is the primary characteristic of the entire thing, as with it you may management the sport by clutch pushed handbook, as when you had been driving an actual automobile for actual! However when you select handbook, you will have simply wasted £1 my pal.

Regardless of my criticisms of the non-working options… give it some thought. When was the final time you noticed a Ridge Racer Full Scale? Have you ever ever seen one altogether? The truth that Blackpool Pleasure Seashore have stored placing effort into this factor and stored it going is simply plain unimaginable. 

Another factor they’ve needed to substitute is the unique Sony projectors. They now use Epson projectors, which work pretty nicely, however after a chat with the arcade’s technician, he instructed me that they work by way of a brand new bulb in only a few months- and so they have needed to carry on changing them for fairly just a few years now. ​

To me not less than, that is actual dedication. They may’ve simply given up on Full Scale years again, scrapping it and filling the area with extra claw machines, but it surely’s nonetheless right here. And it nonetheless wows folks, as I noticed a number of play it through the time I used to be there. It is an arcade recreation with an actual automobile, in any case, you do not see this on a regular basis!

​In truth, there won’t be one other on the market solely. After some analysis I consider this can be the final left on the planet. Others, just like the one on the London Trocadero, had been scrapped, and one other even had the automobile transformed again for highway use!

There are rumours of 1 in Barcelona, and yet one more at the moment in storage within the UK, however these surfaced just a few years again and there was no different reviews of them since. In the event you love arcade video games, and wish to expertise Ridge Racer inside an actual automobile, if I had been you I might go to Blackpool fairly quickly. Spare components are certain to expire, and as soon as they do which may be it.

​If you wish to expertise Ridge Racer in an actual car- and one of many ultimate remnants of Blackpool’s arcade past- now’s your time, as it’s possible you’ll by no means get to once more. Hope you loved studying.

Ted

Comply with me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tedward618

And my very own private arcade gaming weblog: http://tedsegablog.blogspot.co.uk