HEY (Hirose Entertainment Yard) Taito — Attraction in Tokyo

HEY! Stands for Hirose Entertainment Yard and is in my opinion the best video game arcade in Tokyo. They have an entire history of cabinets here, from original Taito classics such as ninja warriors and the ultra-wide Darius series to modern network games such as Chase Chase Jokers and Senjou no Kizuna 2. Each of the 3 floors are mostly dedicated to a genre. The 1st floor is for the majority SHMUPs, but there's also a corner for music games and racing games. The 2nd floor is for the majority Versus/Fighting games. And the 3rd floor being mostly multiplayer games. HEY! Also makes sure to provide complimentary headphones with games that have exceptional soundtracks. Most notably games that feature their in-house music team "Zuntata" who's done work on the OST for most notably the Darius series and Groove coaster. HEY was the 1st arcade to implement IC card payments instead of just coins. And to date, having been to many arcades across Japan; so far they are the only arcade that has fully switched to IC payments. Whereas even the super large GiGo (formerly: Club Sega) arcade next door, only has about half their machines with IC payment readers. This means at HEY, you can tap-to-pay with your SUICA card and never bother with weighing your pocket down with many...

HEY! is hands down the best arcade for fighting game enthusiast in Akihabara. I spent a lot of time here during my visits to Tokyo.

Six floors of gaming, but the third is my favorite because of all the classic fighting games. They 2D fighters that were never released in the US too which was great cause I got to play games I never thought I'd get the chance to!

One of my favorite things about this arcade is the cabinet difficulty. It's not obsurd and you definitely get your yens worth! I was able to beat KOF 2002 UM on one try, no SNK boss syndrome here.

Below are a list of few of the games you can play here on the 3rd floor (nevermind that there are other genres on the other floors 😝):

Tatsunoko vs Capcom Dead or Alive 6 Rival School 2 Street Fight II, III and VI Kof 98, UM 2002 Darkstalkers Jojo BA Last Survivor Egret II Lost Dynasty Warriors Blade Strangers SVC Chaos Gundam Burst game Tekken Tag Rumblefish Skullgirls BlazBlue Capcom vs SNK 2 And many more!

I highly recommend spending time here, especially on...

This was one of my favourite places to visit when I went to Japan in early 2020. The best arcade in Akihabara for fighting games and one of the best in Tokyo. It may not have the same dedicated player base for old-school fighting games as some of the other independently owned arcades, but you will find high level players here for a wide range of these games. I mainly spent time on the older Capcom games, and had great sessions against some excellent Street Fighter Zero 3 players. There appeared to be a lot of play for Street Fighter 4 and KOF2002.

Undoubtedly the crown jewel of this arcade was the 10 yen Super Turbo setups, where there was almost always a crowd of incredibly good players rotating, and if you're like me, testing yourself against these guys never gets boring. I can't wait to go back once travel restrictions to...