Welcome To The Gold Mine – A Retrospective Of My Fondest Memories In Arcade Gaming

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presents a

Welcome To The
Gold Mine –
A Retrospective Of My
Fondest Memories
In Arcade Gaming

.25 Cents To Freedom

“Dad, can I have some quarters?” This was probably my most asked question as a kid after I was introduced to the Gold Mine, the wood-paneled arcade inside my towns local mall. Taking my first steps through the somewhat-misleading entrance into the barrage of fantastical arcade sights and sounds was absolutely magical as a child and couldn’t have presented itself to me in a better way. WOAH! So many games! Games of all varieties! There were stand-up cabinets (Final Fight), sit-down “cockpit” style games (After Burner), pinball machines (High Speed), basketball games , air-hockey and on and on and on… !!! Where do I begin?

My first experience in this video game wonderland came on a night where my dad took my brother and I out for a boys night. “Let’s go to the Gold Mine!” he exclaimed joyfully. “YAY!” my brother responded with excitement. “What the heck is the Gold Mine?” I asked curiously. “Oh… you’ll find out.” they both said in mischievous unison. Were we pickaxing for gold? Do I need a hardhat? I really had no idea what they were getting me into and I think that this surprising reveal into the world of arcades is a big part of why I still look back to these memories with such love. 

Walking into the Gold Mine for the first time was a complete sensory overload. It was like too much awesome at once (if there really is such a thing). I had no idea where to even start but luckily my dad had more experience and was able to help guide me down the path to video game bliss. “There’s all kinds of games.” he would say. “Let’s find something that we can all play together!” Right away that sounded cool because not only were these titles blowing me away with amazing visuals, killer sounds and groundbreaking gameplay but I noticed that most all of the cabinets were designed to be multiplayer and it clicked just how cooperative this experience could be. 

Leading my brother and I through the foggy light show at the entrance, my dad proceeded to take us to the change machine located in the rear part of the arcade. Wow was this place cool! I still felt like I was in a new dimension and had no idea how to comprehend this awesome foreign environment. As he exchanged crumpled dollar bills for piles of quarters, I scanned the arcade like a hawk searching for prey and that’s when I noticed a 3-player arcade game that looked like it would be perfect for us to try, Pit Fighter .

What an awesome premise as not only was the game 3-player simultaneous but it also had the look and feel of a seedy martial arts movie which instantly made us all like it. I was amazed by the digitized sprites right away and I loved that the 3 playable characters all had a unique move-set and style. Even though we were playing the same game, we were having completely unique experiences and I felt incredibly lucky to be playing something that looked and performed as cool as this. “Why don’t games look like this on Nintendo?” I asked. “They have to make these ones look good so that you come here and spend quarters.” my dad explained. “Man… I’m gonna have to figure out how to get a lot of quarters.” I told myself. The addiction had begun. 

So many more hours and quarters were spent here after that fruitful night. Games like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles started to show up at the Gold Mine and I can still remember my friends and I taking down The Shredder and co. as a foursome. What a cool time as the game was very fun and also looked just like the popular cartoon that I was hooked to as a kid! Terminator 2: Judgement Day  was great because it came with machine guns attached to the front of the cabinet instead of traditional joysticks. Who can’t comprehend shooting a gun at things and it works even better when you have the backdrop of a rad action movie such as this.

Of course, around this same time, the Gold Mine was getting inundated with people who were salivating over a new gaming treat, Street Fighter II . Piles of enthusiasts flocked to the tightly controlled tournament fighter and quarters now became more precious than ever. Random players could approach anyone’s game and challenge them for the right to continue on playing and the head-to-head experience with your quarter on the line made the game feel like there was more at stake then there had ever been before. It was clear that arcades were not just a place for parents to dump their kids while they shopped but a solid and visceral experience for players and a fast-rising business for owners. 

The volcano of success from Street Fighter II continued as several new iterations were released due to popular demand. In fact, the first ever arcade cabinet that I remember being 50 cents was Street Fighter II: Champion Edition  which showed to me just how confident they were in their machine by increasing the entry fee by 100%. I don’t even think anyone budged as everyone (me included) continued to pump these machines full of quarters. Even though many awesome arcade games were still yet to grace us with their presence, the era of Street Fighter II still ranks as the zenith of the arcade age and no other game has ever represented this experience better than this one in my opinion. Crowds of people would surround Street Fighter II like rowdy fans at a boxing match and the feeling of trial-by-fire that you got when an experienced player served you like a kung-fu master would drive you to get even better than before.

Another first that I experienced in the Gold Mine was the vastly popular and line-pushing Mortal Kombat . While Street Fighter II provided gamers with the most technically sound fighting game in the arcades, Mortal Kombat delivered a different kind of satisfaction in the genre with its inclusion of gory blood splatter during the match and death-dealing fatalities that could be performed at the conclusion if the player could execute the proper button combination within the allotted time limit. What a glorious first site it was to see the opposition brutally murdered in a video game! The first day I saw Mortal Kombat still ranks as the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen in the Gold Mine as everyone was clamoring to catch a glimpse of one the these crazy death moves! Bragging rights in gaming were evolving right before our eyes and learning these “Finish Him” maneuvers became doctrine to surviving the rough terrain of this new and more competitive arcade landscape. 

Of course there were tons of classics to peruse through such as Pac-Man and Donkey Kong here which provided a simple premise but a daunting high-score challenge that many players would attempt on their trek through gaming paradise. Some classic shooters that I remember seeing for the first time at the Gold Mine were Galaga  and Robotron 2084 which never disappointed you with their easy-to-pick-up gameplay mechanics that could be enjoyed by anyone. Even classic racers such as Pole Position and Super Hang-On found their way here and introduced themselves to me with unique cabinet designs mixed with fun racing mechanics. 

Another one of my favorite arcade introductions at the Gold Mine was the high-flying NBA Jam . Basically an upgraded version of another basketball arcade classic Arch Rivals , NBA Jam improved on its predecessor in every way by increasing the player total from 2 to 4, including the NBA license which provided real life teams and players to choose from and evolving the gameplay from a punchfest with basketball elements to a high-octane dunkathon complete with a funny and perfectly appropriate play-by-play announcer who stole the entire arcade’s airwaves with his loud cacklings of “BOOMSHAKALAKA” and “HE’S HEATING UP” after successful shots were made. By incorporating many of the same head-to-head elements that made the fighting games of this era successful, NBA Jam brought a bodaciously awesome trash talking experience that became as fun as any of the games from this heyday of arcade goodness and only got better with subsequent releases of NBA Jam: Tournament Edition and NBA Hangtime .

In addition to the litany of traditional “screened” arcade cabinets that could be found at the Gold Mine, pinball machines of all varieties made their home here as well and supplied players with a nice change-of-pace. Games such as Medieval Madness and Star Trek: The Next Generation  made their debut to me here and supplied a different kind of challenge that was every bit as fun as the other arcade games around them. What is it about pinball that makes it fun anyways? I mean the premise should be somewhat monotonous in the sense that no matter what, your only controlling the two flippers at the bottom and occasionally smacking the ball back into the field of play. However, it’s extremely relaxing and mesmerizing to watch that little silver dude ping and boing its way back and forth (especially when your able to satisfyingly get that little guy into a hard-to-navigate high score area). One thing’s for sure, pinball machines are rad as hell and their inclusion at the Gold Mine was yet another catalyst for arcade love during my youth.

Even obscure games made their way to the Gold Mine and got all of the kids in my town abuzz with revolutionary gameplay mechanics that we’ve never seen before. One such title that comes to mind in this category is Time Traveler  from Sega. “Dude… what the heck is that thing?” Seeing this unique arcade cabinet for the first time made me feel like the future had arrived. Using laserdiscs with full-motion video and a special curved mirror in front of a monitor, Time Traveler was able to create an optical illusion that “lifted” the projected characters up off of the flat surface creating a mind bending “holographic” effect that looked like something straight out of Star Wars. While the game itself turned out to be a somewhat forgettable fmv cowboy shooter with unresponsive controls, the experience of seeing this revolutionary new graphical style was completely cool and adds to the extensive pile of awesome arcade “firsts” experienced by me at the Gold Mine.

In the end, for me the Gold Mine had it all and provided my childhood with as many happy memories as there are quarters in the world. As a fan of video games since the 80’s, I feel very lucky to have been able to experience many of the highest points in gaming history right here inside these hazy wood-filled walls such as the Street Fighter II phenomenon and the rise of Mortal Kombat. Even though I played in tons of arcades since then over the years (many of them totally rad), nothing has ever compared to the plucky old Gold Mine from my childhood and it has come to define my very notion of what an arcade even is. The games and experiences I’ve already mentioned only scratch the surface of my overall memory of this awesome place and so much of my gaming love was sculpted through my time spent playing with friends and family here. From Missile Command to Marvel vs. Capcom and everything in-between, the Gold Mine was there to happily exchange my quarters for a good time and its namesake was proven true with every new trip as shiny golden treasures of many different shapes and sizes were always found within.

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