ARCADE1UP Classic Cabinet Riser (Galaga)

Can't beat the price and most def. fun, plus looks cool in the house.

I love classic arcade machines. When I found out about Arcade 1up, I had to get one of these.I'm legally blind, and if I can assemble one of these, ANYONE can! Well, ok, almost anyone. LOL ;)The only problems I had was related only to the carton the product came in. There was huge hole in the front of the carton, which was obviously the result of something heave smashing into it, during transit. Whatever it was, it punched right through to the very internal box marked FRAGILE. Yeh, the one with the monitor in it. There was impact damage to the back side of the monitor. but, guess what? The bloody thing still WORKS! Now that's gotta count as testament to the quality of Arcade 1up products. I was so sure I was going to have to order a new monitor. Nope. it works. There was just a thin little scratch, about 3 inches long on the lower part of the monitor, where something scraped some of the protective film off, which initially looked like horrific damage, until the film was removed, but that was it, as far as damage goes. I can live with this, and the scratch was on the bezel, not the monitor. The bezel can be easily removed, and replaced. I'm sure it would cost about 10, or 20 bucks, maybe a wee bit more, but not an expensive fix, at all, if needed.Also, the monitor's contrast, and brightness are not correctly set at all. It has a pale, faded, washed out appearance, even when viewed directly on center. When you move to the sides, it washes out, even more. This unit was one of the 2019 updated models. What happened? I've discovered some YouTube videos, in which third parties figured out that Arcade 1up has turned the LED inverter all the way up, so the LEDs are cranking out a LOT of light. So much so, that the TFT is starting to cook off, around the edges, and you get the afore mentioned unbalanced contrast ratio, and brightness. After your warranty expires, you should go to Etsy, and look for the brightness module you can install, to control the brightness with. If you're still under warranty, definitely have Arcade 1up send a replacement. They claim the monitor for 2019 is the same part number as the way more correctly balanced monitors from 2018.The assembly went fairly well, no problem. I do recommend you use a six, or eight foot table for the main assembly, and a card table for laying out the smaller bits. Trust me, you don't want to do this on the floor.You will need a flat head driver to make sure the cam locks for the screws are lined up correctly, but for the most part, just the Philips is all you need.I was VERY lucky with this machine, as it's one of the ones that has the updated main board, so Galaga actually saves the high scores, and Galaxian no longer crashes, and has it's correct colours, (red tipped ship).Sound is WAY, WAY, too loud. I wonder if the people who designed that audio system listed to too much loud music, when they were young? LOL. Just put a paper back book on the speaker grill, and set the sound switch to the middle setting. you'll be fine. ;)I was very impressed with the inclusion of the control panel protector. It came taped in place, on the control panel. The screws you mount the panel with also hold the protector in place. The protector has the holes for all the buttons, and joystick already cut.Mine came with the riser, so it now stands at about the height of a cabaret cabinet. maybe a wee bit lower, but close. It's high enough I can reach the controls without having to bend over. However, I'm just under 5.7 tall. A taller person might have to bend a bit. I do like that these cabinets can be moved from the riser, to the floor. this lets children, and people in wheelchairs access the game in a comfortable manner.The unit weighs in at around 63 pounds, and yet it's still possible to move it around, if need be.Oh, regardless whether you assemble on a table, or floor, you definitely want a blanket, or a couple of towels to lay the unit on it's side with, to protect the side art.The side art is amazing. It appears they've used edge to edge vinyl, so there's no noticeable boundary between graphic, and the rest of the panel. Very nicely done. Makes me think the side art was painted on, like the old machines, back in the day. :)The controls are a bit on the cheap side, but not bad. I built an arcade machine with commercial grade sticks, and buttons, and there's really not enough difference to be concerned about. You definitely notice they're not exactly commercial grade, but certainly not bad, at all. The controls are close enough to what I remember in the arcade, for me.The game works a lot like it's actual game, as far as gameplay goes, but when it's game over time, the game won't go into attract mode, unless you hold the player 2 button down for a few seconds.About the only thing I wish the factory would do, is apply carry straps to the outside of the carton to stop shipping carriers punching holes in the boxes, for handholds. LOLI'm really enjoying this 3/4 scale arcade machine. The size makes it possible to add a few more machines in the room, than I would be able to do with the full sized machines.I recommend you don't screw the cabinet to the riser. It'll keep the weight down, so as to make it easier to lift, and move around.My only concern, regarding structural integrity, is the front kick panel. Why this wasn't done as half inch stock is beyond me. It's quarter inch, or less. When played off the riser, a disgruntled player might kick it, and break it. However, this risk is minimized when on the riser, which does use half inch stock, and is reinforced with an internal structural frame.Although it is smaller than the real McCoy, I'd buy it again, in an heartbeat!

This is a two part review. PART 1: The machine itself. Arcade 1 did a great job with these replicas. It's a well built machine. It has the look and feel of the original arcade cabinets but for a much better price. The joystick and buttons are great. Nothing like playing Galaga with a joystick. My only knocks on the machine are that they charge extra for the riser. It should just be included. And I wish they included one more game on top of Galaxian. I remember other Galaga variations from my youth that they could have included. Based on the machine I would give the product 4 stars.Part 2: Here's where they brought down the score. The product came missing a bag of screws. When I contacted their customer service, they responded with an automated response and ultimately never sent me the missing screws or followed up. I had a half built machine for my kid's birthday -- explain that to an 11 year old. These were custom wood screws that were not easy to replace. I had to take the one spare screw they included, go to a hardware store, find something similar and then have the points filed down to make them work. That cost me an extra $20. Kind of ridiculous. We were hoping to buy more Arcade 1Up machines, but with the lack of customer response and their indifference, we will probably stop with Galaga.

The box came a little beat up. I followed their instructions and put everything together. It's not huge, but it can be a frustrating process. Only once I had it together did I notice it wasn't working. I reached out to the manufacturer and they had some fairly involved requirements for replacing the broken part. I took pics and a video. My first road block was the video wasn't the right "format" (as if I had any control over the video format my phone uses). About a week after my initial contact I was told they would send a part. Another two weeks later I received a PCB with NO instructions on installation. Without instructions I was unsure where the new board went. Once I figured it out and replaced the board I discovered that it didn't solve the problem. I have a background in electronics and went ahead and tracked down the connection that was causing the issue. Again, I took pictures and 2 more videos. I sent them along with an detailed message and again was told the "format" of the video was incorrect and that I needed to send a "10-12 sec video, less than 50mb, in MOV format". Luckily, Amazon had my back and I was able to return this overly expensive, poorly manufactured, nostalgia cash grab.

What I like is that my husband loves the game. Easy instruction to assemble, just follow written directions. It brings back great memories while playing with this arcade game. It is also wonderful for eye and hand coordination. What I dislike is, unable to speak to a live individual when trying to contact Arcade1Up. It's only refers you to contact them by email only. When you email Arcade1 the rep is not reading the message and never answers your direct questions. Very frustrating.The two issues I have are:1. Amazon does not provide protection policy, tried calling the company to purchase and still haven't received the correct response. 2. Trying to receive a new plastic shield that covers the control board, it's all milky in color and you can't see the control board clearly.

One of the most popular games when having a party or get together. Really good value for money and the presentation is totally awesome. I did have issues with shipping damage. The first unit I got was damaged and the second one was good. I have a few of these arcade machines as you can see and I have had a couple of them come damaged even though the box looked ok. So something to keep in mind. Overall we really like these.