The Time Zone Arcade and other Arcades from back in the day

Stosh · July-16-09, 08:24 PM

The arcade in question of the title of this thread.
Attachment 2329

**Baselinepunk** · July-16-09, 09:54 PM

"For me, it was Gamesters and Q-Master in Berkley, Creation Station at the Oakland Mall, the Space Station in Royal Oak and the Time Zone at 9 and John R"

Don't forget about Hartfield Lanes, Defender at the laundry mat on Coolidge south of 12 mile, Mr. C's [[Tron, Pacman, Ms. Pacman) on Coolidge and Joust at the Shin Dig.

**reddog289** · July-16-09, 11:58 PM

Back in the early 80,s spent many a night in the arcades in the Wayne/Westland area.
Roscoes on Merriman and Cherry Hill, Westland
Zebra Den on Mich ave in Wayne
Tin Pan Alley at the Westland Mall
and way out in Hamburg, Beenys on M-36
Never had more than 2 bucks, But that was my cousins idea of babysitting me.

**royce** · July-17-09, 02:36 AM

Cedar Point has an arcade that has a lot of the old games from the 70s and 80s. One of my favorite driving games is there. It's called Monaco GXP[[Grand Prix). Man I love how those cars come down from the top of the screen and you try to avoid hitting them while in 4th gear. Then its a real challenge when you go through that narrow tunnel in the dark and the car puts on its headlights.

Another game that I used to play that used to be there but isn't anymore is a game called Star Castle. The object of the game was to break down the three layers of rotating walls that protected a ship in the center of these walls. Once you weakened and destroyed the walls you could destroy the inner ship.While shooting at the walls and opening paths to shoot through, these minds would break off from the walls and try to destroy your ship. You had to shoot them or move your ship to avoid being destroyed.

Finally when you broke down enough walls, the inner ship would fire, through the now open spaces in the walls, this wicked photon torpedo. If you didn't move out of the way in time your ship would be destroyed. Also, once you destroyed the inner ship, the game would start over but now those little minds would come at your ship a whole lot faster. After destroying the inner ship three or four times, it was almost impossible to avoid these minds.

This game was one of my all time favorites. On another thread I had mentioned a video basketball game called 1984 Superbasketball. This game is probably my all time favorite.

BTW, does anyone remember a video game where you played Tarzan and you swung from vines and swam in the water trying to kill alligators? Does anyone remember a game called Track and Field?

**royce** · July-17-09, 03:07 AM

BTW, I went out to Dave and Busters in Utica on Thursday and discovered a new video game that has several of the old classic video games. It had Centipede, Millipede, Joust, and a couple other games in it. I played Centipede, another all time favorite, and it was a pure joy to play with a working rolling ball and working firing buttons. Also, there was a Galaga/Ms. PacMan video game next to this game. It too appeared to be a newer working game. Now, I have seen this combination classic video game around the last few years, but the Centipede/Millipede/Joust classic video game I have never seen with these combinations of games. Needless to say, I'm already planning my next visit to Dave and Busters just to play that Centipede game.

Overall, places like Dave and Busters in Utica and Lucky's in Novi aren't bad gaming places. The young kids really like the carnival games where they get those tickets that they can exchange for candy, toys, or trinkets. The adults have the bar and pool tables. Also, they serve food. Therefore, great places to take the family.

For me, however, these places can't replace the Time Zone, mainly because I can't get into all of these new video games. Too many levels and skills to try and master, especially when your paying the equivalent of fifty cents to a dollar for one play. At the Time Zone I'd put in a quarter at a game and play for ten to twenty minutes. By the time I was done playing I was too tired to spend any more money. Again, good times at the Time Zone.

BTW, I'm still having trouble editing posts. My last post I should have written "mines" instead of "minds."

**royce** · July-17-09, 03:47 AM

Since I'm being nostalgic here, I'm glad to see that the Wii system has brought back the "Punch Out" boxing game. I loved the music that went with the German fighter. I remember playing this game a lot at the Roscoe's at Warren and Woodward. This game ranks high among my favorite video games, but it came out when I was a little older, so I didn't play it a whole lot.

Just remembered a few other games that I put a lot of quarters into. One game was called Zaxxon. Only once did I pass all the levels to make it to battle the giant robot in the last level. Of course I lost, but it was so nice to finally face him. The other two games were Tetris and Breakout.

Now, three games that I could never master were Defender, Joust, and PacMan/Ms. Pacman. With Defender I never could figure out which direction to fly into and forget about trying to pick up the people off the ground. I could only focus on the ships shooting at me. With Joust, I may have played only a couple of times and couldn't figure it out, so I never played again.

BTW, does anyone remember "Berserk?" Another game I never could figure out.

**313WX** · July-17-09, 05:24 AM

How could anyone forget the Michigan Fun Center?

**MCB Lawrence** · July-17-09, 07:39 AM

Originally Posted by xphillipjrx

Soon after I read about that tanker catastrophe I remembered how I crossed that 9 Mile bridge a lot on my way to the Time Zone Arcade. Anybody else go there? Post your other arcade memories here.

FWIW I used to work at Pinball Pete's in Ann Arbor.

I remember Time Zone, it was in the same lot as Farmer Jack. If I'm not mistaken it had a back room with a painting of Alice Cooper on the wall over the doorway. I also remember Wizzard's arcade, that's where I fell for the Street Fighter series.

What about all the unwritten rules in the arcade?
* A quarter saves you a spot.
*Punching and grabbing someone was a high crime in fighting games.

**MCB Lawrence** · July-17-09, 07:47 AM

Originally Posted by royce

BTW, does anyone remember a video game where you played Tarzan and you swung from vines and swam in the water trying to kill alligators? Does anyone remember a game called Track and Field?

The Tarzan game was called Jungle King, it was later changed to Jungle Hunt. Same gameplay however, instead of a Tarzan type character there was an adventurer in a pith hat. This was done due to a lawsuit by the creators of the
Tarzan stories.

As far as the Track and Field game it was cool. The game required you to push buttons hard for speed; some of the games took a beating. They even made some of the games with a guard around the run buttons to keep from heavy hitters. I remember almost getting kicked out of one arcade for hitting to hard.

**kraig** · July-17-09, 07:49 AM

Originally Posted by royce

Cedar Point has an arcade that has a lot of the old games from the 70s and 80s. One of my favorite driving games is there. It's called Monaco GXP[[Grand Prix). Man I love how those cars come down from the top of the screen and you try to avoid hitting them while in 4th gear. Then its a real challenge when you go through that narrow tunnel in the dark and the car puts on its headlights.

Another game that I used to play that used to be there but isn't anymore is a game called Star Castle. The object of the game was to break down the three layers of rotating walls that protected a ship in the center of these walls. Once you weakened and destroyed the walls you could destroy the inner ship.While shooting at the walls and opening paths to shoot through, these minds would break off from the walls and try to destroy your ship. You had to shoot them or move your ship to avoid being destroyed.

Finally when you broke down enough walls, the inner ship would fire, through the now open spaces in the walls, this wicked photon torpedo. If you didn't move out of the way in time your ship would be destroyed. Also, once you destroyed the inner ship, the game would start over but now those little minds would come at your ship a whole lot faster. After destroying the inner ship three or four times, it was almost impossible to avoid these minds.

This game was one of my all time favorites. On another thread I had mentioned a video basketball game called 1984 Superbasketball. This game is probably my all time favorite.

BTW, does anyone remember a video game where you played Tarzan and you swung from vines and swam in the water trying to kill alligators? Does anyone remember a game called Track and Field?

The tarzan game is called Jungle King. I think it's called Jungle Hunt for the old atari system.

You can actually buy the arcade sytem that had a large number of games on it that you saw at Dave & Busters at Costco or Alpha Amusements. If you get it at Alpha Amusements, they can customize it and put on additional games that you want and take off games that you don't want.

If anyone sees an arcade version of crazy climber, please let me know.

**sarge** · July-17-09, 07:52 AM

Originally Posted by Baselinepunk

"For me, it was Gamesters and Q-Master in Berkley, Creation Station at the Oakland Mall, the Space Station in Royal Oak and the Time Zone at 9 and John R"

Don't forget about Hartfield Lanes, Defender at the laundry mat on Coolidge south of 12 mile, Mr. C's [[Tron, Pacman, Ms. Pacman) on Coolidge and Joust at the Shin Dig.

Didn't forget about those or playing 8 ball deluxe at the 7-11 on 12 Mile or Joust in the basement at Roberto's [[now Farina's). Drop me a pm, Baselinepunk, I'm sure we probably know each other..............

**MCB Lawrence** · July-17-09, 08:02 AM

Has anyone mentioned these gems:
*Dragon's Lair
*Space Ace
*Cliffhanger

Time Zone had all three games at on time or another. The first game that required .50 for starting and continuing.

What about the arcade at Sears in Oakland Mall. They had that giant pinball machine called Hercules.

**Catman** · July-17-09, 08:21 AM

Originally Posted by reddog289

Back in the early 80,s spent many a night in the arcades in the Wayne/Westland area......Tin Pan Alley at the Westland Mall......

I spent mucho money I earned from the Big Boy restaurant in Westland Mall at the Tin Pan Alley in the late 70s. That's where I saw the first electronic pinball machines - Evel Knevel. I've wondered at times whether the place was a front for drug dealing or something.

**Detroit Stylin** · July-17-09, 08:42 AM

Dragon's Lair that is the name i wasd trying to figure out earlier. I first played that game that was WAY ahead of its time in the arcade across from the fire station on Livernois and Curtis back in the early 80's....

**kraig** · July-17-09, 10:00 AM

Originally Posted by MCB Lawrence

Has anyone mentioned these gems:
*Dragon's Lair
*Space Ace
*Cliffhanger

Time Zone had all three games at on time or another. The first game that required .50 for starting and continuing.

What about the arcade at Sears in Oakland Mall. They had that giant pinball machine called Hercules.

Ah, the extra quarter for the Laser Disc games. I always loved the ninja fight in Cliffhangers.

**Funaho** · July-17-09, 10:47 AM

I have vague childhood memories of an uncle owning an arcade in Detroit....I *think* it was on Springwells near Vernor. I remember being taken there once a twice when I was young. This would have been, oh, late 70s or early 80s at the latest. I wish I could remember what it was called.

**ImHere** · July-17-09, 11:57 AM

Slightly off topic...

Back in the Mid-80's My Grandmother lived in Harbor Beach, MI. One time when we went to vivit a new Arcade had opened. When my Brother and I went there to "Hang-out" we found out is was owned by our neighbors back in Detroit. The owners lived about 10 houses down our block in Detroit.

Ok Back on Topic...

Dragon's Lair was the only Video game I was any good at. I could win that game almost everytime. I hate to think how much it cost for me to get that good at it.....

**douglasm** · July-17-09, 07:29 PM

Has Pinball Pete's been in A2 since the early 70's? Seems I remember an arcade by that name from that era.....

Sludgedaddy · July-17-09, 08:05 PM

...showin' my age here, kids. The only Arcade that I ever frequented, tho' briefly, was a musty old claptrap on the east side of Woodward slightly north of Downtown. It was run by a creaky old guy straight out of the 1930's. Can't remember the name or where it actually existed, but for a penny, one could get a view of some ancient "nudie-cuties" from way back in the early Neolithic. Any old timers remember this place?
My foggy memories of the place come from my ramblings as an early adolescent in the mid 1960's.

Arcades seen to have gone the way of the pay telephone. With the arcades in the late 60's and early 70's, kids walked or rode bikes to their favorite venues instead of the callousing their thumbs at home playing vid-games. Probably the reason for fewer fat kids back in the day.

**FlyingJ** · July-17-09, 11:05 PM

Stosh, aw man, the Northgate Cinemas! Never before was a "Grindhouse Theatre" located so far north! There was one arcade @ Oakland Mall where the Sears restaurant used to be, then the Simulation Station[[owned by Sega, had one of those "flight simulators" for $3.00, 3 tokens for a buck!) Walker's Pinball Palace on 12 Mile & Dequindre? "Nickelodeon" next to Great Scott & Olympia's on 16 Mile & Dequindre

**reddog289** · July-19-09, 01:36 AM

Catman, as A kid of 8 or 9 backin the late 70,s I don't know if the Tin Pan Alley had anything to do with drugs.But IF I remember right Video Games were everywhere.Spent too much time at Ceder Point playing them things myself, Not to mention Westland mall.

**Hypestyles** · August-03-11, 09:30 PM

...was "the flying saucer" on woodward @13/14 mile?

**smogboy** · August-03-11, 11:12 PM

Originally Posted by ggores

Old time west-siders should remember Fun Factory at Plymouth and Outer Drive.

Gen X westies should remember The Zoom Room at 7-Grand [[band played there alot).

Western Ghetto-ites will remember the Schoolcraft Arcade, and its brief and tragic existence, located at Westbrook and - Schoolcraft.

I remember the Zoom Room well. If my fuzzy memory remembers well, it was once a hair salon or something like that. I remember my mom getting me a suit at the Hughes & Hatcher in that strip mall too.

I blew far too many quarters there at the Zoom Room as well as the neighborhood party stores that would have a game or two in them. I still remember getting busted at Northland's Circus World during school hours; I was trying to take down the high score on Centipede when a truant officer [[didn't know they existed!) spun me around. Fortunately I was somewhat quick witted, talked my way out of the situation and made a hasty retreat out of there.

And Roscoe's on Woodward and Warren- another tear is shed in fond remembrance of that place. Good times there too. I can still burp up the pizza from Z's Place next door.

**Django** · August-03-11, 11:32 PM

What a great story ljbad, Bill Fuckin Murray. I believe you.

I met Chevy Chase while working Aspen Ski Co. He dissed me lol.

I had drunk many 40s as a kid before hangin in Pinball Petes, sometimes we snuck the 40s in.

**rb336** · August-04-11, 07:08 AM

Originally Posted by sarge

For me, it was Gamesters and Q-Master in Berkley, Creation Station at the Oakland Mall, the Space Station in Royal Oak and the Time Zone at 9 and John R.

It was the space station in RO for me, i think. That was the one by Yorba Linda bowling alley, right? now it's a [[gag) starbucks