Historic game center 渋谷会館モナコ (Shibuya Kaikan Monaco) will close this month on the 18th.
I’m told this is one of the oldest arcades in Tokyo.
Although the controls are always a little funny, this was one of the last places where you could pop in any time of the day or night and find players in 3rd Strike and CVS2.
I will miss the freaks chillin outside, the wet cigarette smell, and the giant roaches in the bathroom.
A sad day for Shibuya players.
Rip in piece
This was a great arcade and one of the first I visited in Tokyo. It had such fantastic location, like just a hop skip and a jump from Hachiko exit. Even though its not a pinnacle of 3s comp it had good players, and tons of games (5 floors iirc, big variety of fighters, music games, classic arcade games, etc.). I always made sure to stop by here a few times each time I visited Tokyo. And like Ryan said you can’t ask for a better people watching spot than outside the door of this place.
I’ll miss slipping on the steps and almost bumping my head everytime I entered this place. Ryan pick me up one of those fuckin aluminum ash trays from there, they wont miss it lol. I’ll also miss seeing JB everytime I go there.
Aw it’s closing down? I never found much use in this arcade since when I went to Japan, the other arcade right next to it in Shibuya had the better SF4 players, but I definitely poked my head in this one a few times. Always sad to see places like this close down.
Jb is really bummed. I got his contact info tho… We’re gonna go drinking soon.
If it was raining then falling on the steps was 100% guaranteed.
This place has the #1 scariest/sketchy elevator too. I won’t miss that.
This should be on the front page of srk imo.
sportsland and now kaikan ; this is pretty sad for a variety of reasons
i’ll save the big-ass post (about japanese game centers and what they mean to me) for another day
if i remember correctly,this is / was the last place in tokyo for cvs2
right when i’m trying to get into the groove § of the game é_é
Yes Fran you are correct. The only place for Capu Esu will be the monthly tourneys at Versus now unless cvs players migrate somewhere else.
I look forward to your long post regarding game centers.
It’s crazy because this was probably one of the most consistently busy arcades in all of Tokyo. But the real estate they sit on is worth more than any of us could imagine. Unfortunate.
This is so sad. I’ve been going here for over 10 years. This arcade was the reason why I wouldn’t mind killing 2 hours to wait for a friend to get off work, or for my next class to start (which I’d probably ditch just to keep playing anyways). Even Shibuya Sportsland didn’t have the same vibe as this place.
I mean, how many times did I see you by chance at this arcade!??
Btw, how goes things?
ha fuck ya, poor guy though he was there all the fuckin time
I WANT TO DIE THIS WAS MY 2ND HOME ;(
RIP RIP RIP MVC2 CVS2
I know man. I have been coming here everyday for the past few months since my work is like 5 mins away. I feel bad for Cvs2 players the most.
Yea man. I knew I could always count on running into you here. We didn’t even need to plan anything.
Ahhh the good ole days.
I’m good man. Come back to Japan.
Usually I’d never chose it over Mikado and Versus. But on those nights were drinking and/or life somehow won over 3rd STRIKE… this was the best possible way to squeeze in some games anyway.
OTL
ARCADES STOP CLOSING PLEASE
https://si0.twimg.com/profile_images/3088683507/643b1b8fff37788406ff65f4b54843e1.png
Ran across this arcade randomly while checking out Shibuya back in 2006 I think. Went downstairs and saw Bas playing vs CPU. Decided to plunk down 50 yen to play. Got my ass whooped. Good times. Sad to see it go.
<-Guile (Cammy stage but SF2 stages = recently found out you select 2 characters = 1 stage, 2 others combination = different stage, something like that)
Ken Erena
Yun Yang
Ryu Chun
Its easy to see/understand right away in 3rd Strike when the Challenger is always their BGM and Stage, and the HUD with the distinct individual character art avatar built in which includes the correct palette swap button=color chosen.
“Derek Neal went to Japan to buy moe-anime and didn’t level up in arcades when he won the SBO trip for BlazBlu”
Damn. Pretty cool little place. Will miss it.
Oh! This is the first arcade I ran into when visiting Tokyo…This is sad :(…I liked that place tbh…