Submitted by Riley Hazel the 2024 Spring program in Sydney, Australia…
With me being invested in any arcade that I come across in the US, finding arcades around the big areas in Sydney is a dream. You can find everything from the claw machines where you can earn any prize to the fun interactive co-op games like Time Crisis 5. The main difference between the United States and Australia with arcades is that you will find many more games from Japan in Australian arcades than back home. The first one I’ve ever played here was Sound Voltex III, but most words were in Japanese. Despite this language gap, I was able to listen to and play the songs I loved from Japan. This was my first but certainly not last Japanese arcade cabinet experience in Sydney, Australia. Later in my trip, I found another arcade with two new Japanese arcade cabinets, predominantly Taiko no Tatsujin. Taiko no Tatsujin is this arcade game where you have to hit the drums to the beat of the song chosen. I’ve always wanted to play this, but finally finding this in Australia out of all places was awesome. Once I realized this, I understood that because Japan is closer to Australia with a large population of Asian people, the importation of Japanese arcade machines is better to do so than the United States. Realizing this, I simply understood that I could experience the wonder of a Japanese arcade right here in Syndey, more than ever compared to the United States. However, the US arcades do have more ticket-based games and fun co-op games for arcades than here. (Submitted on February 23, 2024)