My Arcade Micro Player Review

Fans of gaming nostalgia rejoice, the My Arcade Micro Player range is here to feed your nostalgia addiction, with a range of different classic games brought back to life in micro cases the resemble arcade game cabinets. Currently, there are ten versions to collect, which are as follows:

• Pac-Man
• Galaga
• Galaxian
• Mappy
• Dig Dug
• Burgertime
• Heavy Barrel
• Caveman Ninja
• Bad Dudes
• Karate Champ

Each of the ten versions features a fully licensed version of the game the cabinet is themed around. This means the My Arcade Micro Player range is just as official as the original release of the games.

Design wise, each cabinet bears a solid resemblance to the arcade cabinets of the 70’s/80’s. Everything from the marquee at the top to the coin door at the bottom. Talking of the coin door, it’s used as a power button for each cabinet in the Micro Player range. From looking it at it there’s no denying this is a real nostalgia trip of a product.

Each game cabinet features a full-color 2.75-inch display, which does seem small by today’s standards and admittedly it is a bit of a finicky process to get used to it, that said though the colors are nice and bright, while overall the image is well detailed, which makes these releases of the games sit in well with today’s modern games.

The cabinet for each game stands at 6.75 inches tall from the ground up, this means the set is truly shelf friendly, which is great for any collectors of nostalgic game memorabilia.

While each cabinet is the same in terms of shape and size, each one features its own color palette/image based on the game installed, so, for example, the Pac-Man version is primarily yellow and features Pac-Man related artwork as its images.

Each cabinet is presented inside a mostly clear plastic packaging, which means if you are the type of collector who wants to keep things in packaging, you can, while still showing off the gorgeous appearance of these cabinets.

If you’re the type who likes to get hands-on with your collectibles, you’ll be happy to know there are two ways to power the My Arcade Micro Player. You could use 4 AA batteries or you could use a microUSB cable connected to a PC. I have to say I am slightly disappointed about the lack of a rechargeable battery in this day and age.

In terms of control buttons, the amount present on your cabinet is determined by the game installed, so, for example, Pac-Man has three lots of buttons, while Heavy Barrel has five buttons. Each cabinet does feature a removable joystick, which screws into the standard D-pad and while it’s not a traditional pivoted joystick, it does work quite well as a force for pushing the D-pad down in the direction you’d like to go. I have to say given the small size of this cabinets, I wasn’t expecting the button layout to be very comfortable in use, but I was wrong, the buttons are easy to use and don’t cause any discomfort, in my experience.

Since these are officially licensed releases of the games, you can expect nothing less than fantastic quality. The graphics are gorgeous, the games work smoothly, the buttons are responsive and everything just feels right by today’s standards, even on that tiny screen. I have found myself playing Pac-Man a few times now and have not once felt disappointed by the experience.

Of course, I do feel the main purpose of these isn’t to appease the inner gamer who wants to game, but instead to appease the inner game stuff related collector who wants to collect game related stuff. While they are fun to play, there’s no doubt in my mind, these would get pretty boring to play after a while, hence why they are more suited to collectors than just plain old gamers.

The My Arcade Micro Player range is a fantastic set of games brought back to life in a most wonderful way, commemorating the arcade scene of the 70s/80s. The games have been ported so well into these gorgeous cabinets that they just feel like real portable game consoles. Of course, while gaming on them is fun, they do a fantastic job of serving their main purpose as collectibles, which I am happy to have sat on my shelf serving as a reminder of those good old days.