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Capcom’s Alien vs. Predator Is A Treasure
In 1994, Capcom’s Alien vs. Predator hit the arcade scene. It is still one of the best old-school beat ’em-up titles.
It’s the summer of 1994 and I had just finished the sixth grade. My grandmother took me to the local shopping mall, years before it got torn down and replaced by a Macy’s (which would close down years later) and a Belk. The local video arcades were the place to from the 80s to the 2000s before console technology caught up and surpassed arcade hardware. I’m always up for trying out new games, especially the beat ’em up and rail shooter titles, and I saw the arcade cabinet for Capcom’s Alien vs. Predator.
I was surprised that this was different from the side-scrolling beat ’em up of the same name for the Super Nintendo (SNES).
I go up to the token machine, put $2 inside, and grab eight tokens (my grandmother never gave me more than $2 and it was rare that I would get $5 to use at the arcade), then make my way to the arcade cabinet.
I’m 12-years-old at the time and this was the greatest thing since sliced bread for me.
Once I played Capcom’s Alien vs. Predator, I was so hyped that I had to tell my friends when I got the chance.
My aunt (who I nicknamed “Aunt D”) and my uncle (my former uncle-in-law) came down to Florida with their children, and I spent the majority of my summer vacation with them whether I liked it or not. My uncle-in-law at the time, who I’ll nickname “Uncle L,” lived in Orlando for a few months to undergo managerial training for Darden’s China Coast restaurant franchise (one that died within two years). Aunt D and their children came down a few weeks later after my grandfather passed away in June of that year.
We’d go out on a regular basis and hit the arcades.
If I saw Alien vs. Predator at any arcade, I wouldn’t hesitate to play. 29 years have passed since Capcom launched the game at arcades across the world and I still consider this one of my favorite beat ’em up titles.
The Story Of Alien vs. Predator
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