If you were a kid during the 80s, I'd bet a month's salary that arcade halls, in one way or another, played a transcendental part in your childhood. In my case, having grown up in a conservative and reactionary rural town where arcades were outlawed, my mission during the year was to save money, only to blow it all on video games during vacations with my parents.
We'd go to the beach, but I never set foot on the sand. I spent all my free hours at "Sacoa", one of the most well-known arcade halls around. I always came home paler than when I left, and nobody believed me when I told them I'd spent a few weeks in a seaside town. In those days of total freedom I got my revenge, with anger and passion, for all the games I hadn't been able to play during the year. And, of course, I have the best memories.
And that's what this gallery is about: waking up a sleepy neuron and triggering one or two of those sweet memories. So you know what to do—if you remember something nice from that era, don't hesitate to share the anecdote in the comments, that's what we're here for. I found the images by exploring Google Images, but they mostly came from Pinterest and Flickr. A mishmash of photographs by complete strangers, but you'll have no trouble identifying with them.
Expert mode: If you want total immersion, look at the images in this gallery while listening to the cacophony of video game arcades from 'Arcade Ambience', which are even arranged by year!
