NEW WAVE TOYS 1943 REPLICADE

Everyday walking home after school from Junior High I would stop by an ice cream parlor along the route to my house that had a Capcom 1943 arcade cabinet for people to play in it. I'd spend a handful of quarters having fun playing this shoot 'em up video game and hanging out with friends. So, I was GEEKED to discover New Wave Toys had created a Replicade sixth scale reproduction of the original 1943 arcade cabinet and had to buy one for myself.

1943: The Battle of Midway was originally released in 1987 as a sequel to Capcom's earlier arcade hit 1942. Both games involve players piloting a Lockheed P-38 Lightning in battle against the Japanese planes and ships in the Pacific Ocean theater during World War II. This limited edition Replicade from New Wave Toys includes the original ROMs for both 1943 and 1942 playable on the 3:4 vertical aspect ratio LCD color screen of the replica arcade cabinet; or you can play these video games on a television via Plug & Play HDTV connectivity. Also, New Wave Toys has created a 1942 Replicade as well; but I figured with limited display space and a more personal connection to 1943 getting both would be overkill.

The gameplay for 1943 is to attack the Japanese air fleet that bombed an American aircraft carrier of the coast of the Midway Atoll. Pursue Japanese air and sea forces, flying through 16 stages of play until reaching the Japanese battleship Yamato as the final game boss to overcome. Eleven of these stages consist of air-to-sea battles (with a huge battleship or an aircraft carrier as the stage boss), while five stages involve all-aerial battle against Japanese fighter planes and bombers.

The game controls are fairly simple to get comfortable with.  Button A fires main weapons and Button B performs a special action (triggers a lightning storm or tidal wave to hinder Japanese forces). Hit A + B simultaneously to trigger a loop maneuver with your plane. There is also a 2-player mode, where you can play with a friend having both your planes on screen at once. If you want an extra edge, there are also cheat codes you can discover to give your planes some extra firepower.

Because this is a miniature reproduction of the original Capcom 1943 arcade game it would obviously be difficult for both players using controls on this sixth scale cabinet. The 1943 Overhaul Edition Replicade has a couple of options to address this. First, one player can use the built-in joystick and the other can utilize an included mini stick controller that is included and plugs into the back of the Replicade. 

Second, you can plug two controllers into the back and have bother players utilize this option. I purchased a second 1943 mini stick to go along with the one included with the game to take advantage of this option as well as to use with my Dragon's Lair Replicade. You don't have to use the New Wave Toys mini controllers though any wired video game controller that will plug into a USB port is compatible.

There are some nice details to this Replicade! The reproduction of the arcade cabinet is made with real wood. The miniaturized control panel features a microswitch joystick and microswitch buttons. The cabinet art has high quality 3M vinyl overlays (though they do have one rather big snafu with a typo that I actually didn't notice until the company sent me an email bringing it to my attention and to their credit provided some options for fixing the mistake that while does take slightly away from the aesthetic of the product isn't a horrible fix based upon the price point of the purchase. Can you spot it in the pictures?) There is also a high score display that you can personalize with initials and changes with your gameplay with non volatile memory.

Some other nice details include the use of real metal in a security bar that protects the coin/game token slots. Plus, four miniature game tokens are included to display with your Replicade. I liked the miniature padlock they included on the security bar too. 

The marquee and game accents are illuminated adding to the arcade vibe of this replica video game cabinet. It also has multi-speaker audio to reproduce the original sounds of playing the game in an arcade with volume control so you can determine how loud you want your gameplay to be. The built-in, high-capacity rechargeable battery works very well too providing lots of play time per charge. It has a very short recharge time which is very easy and convenient to do by just plugging it into a USB compatible wall outlet electrical converter. The USB cable is included but not a wall charger device though I had a bunch of those around the house from phones and other devices that work just fine for this.

All in all, I have been very satisfied with my purchase of this officially-licensed by Capcom 1943 Overhaul Edition Replicade from New Wave Toys. Despite the snafu attributed to pandemic-related supply chain issues, New Wave Toys 1943 Replicade still earns a Geek Daddy nod of approval. I've enjoyed the nostalgia of a video game that is associated with great memories from my youth, have had fun playing the 1942 and 1943 on it, and it looks great on the shelf that is being transformed into a miniature arcade of some of my favorite video game cabinets. 

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through a link associated with ageekdaddy.com this blog could receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Opinions expressed are honest and my own and this review was not sponsored by New Wave Toys 

DRAGONS LAIR PLAY SCALE ARCADE MACHINE

Here is some 80's nostalgia for you! New Wave Toys has released a limited edition sixth scale reproduction of the 1983 arcade game DRAGONS LAIR. While this version of the video game is a lot smaller than what you would have found in an arcade it looks and plays just like the original Dragons Lair.

Dragons Lair came out when I was a ten year old kid with a love of Dungeon and Dragons and video games. So I was fascinated by this cutting edge arcade game that used laser disc technology to bring high definition animations by famed Hollywood cartoonist Don Bluth (The Secret of NIHM / The Fox & The Hound) to a dungeon crawling adventure you could play. I was always excited to pop some quarters into this arcade game so I could immerse myself into the fantasy of being the knightly Dirk the Daring attempting to rescue the beautiful damsel in distress Princess Daphne from the evil dragon Singe who was guarding her in the spooky castle of the foul wizard Mordroc.

While this officially licensed replica of the original arcade cabinet may only be 12" tall it features authentic controls and the actual game engine to play just like the original Dragons Lair. Despite its diminished size once I started playing this New Wave Toys Replicade version of Dragons Lair it was like time traveling back to a 1980s era arcade. The imagery pops off the 4.2-inch screen and really looks just like the animations from the original Dragons Lair arcade game. 

While I became immersed in the game play using the sixth scale arcade cabinet, there is also a port on the back that allows for HDTV connectivity. So you can play Dragons Lair on your television set if you like. Plus there are USB ports on the back so two players can plug in external joysticks to use instead of using the cabinet's built in controls. The back panel also includes two speakers and a volume control dial providing excellent sound quality during game play.

There is also a hidden drawer in the back panel that stores a replica Mini LaserDisc player. I'm sure there is an audience that appreciate this but I personally would have preferred an external joystick included instead like New Wave Toys included with their Replicade version of Street Fighter. I'm using this space instead to store the recharging cord for the built-in lithium ion battery that powers this play scale arcade game.

The cabinet is sturdily built with wood, metal and plastic. It features high resolution cabinet art utilizing 3M vinyl overlays. Four miniature quarters are included that can placed inside a coin storage compartment that is sealed with a die-cast metal door.

Independent digital displays embedded above the game screen keep track of player's scores, lives and credits. An illuminated marquee and LED cabinet accents are some additional special effects that make this replica Dragons Lair arcade cabinet shine. The 50 cent coin displays even light up like you are used to seeing on an arcade machine.

Click on one of lit up coin slot buttons instead of sliding in quarters to activate game credits for one and two player modes. Click on the other coin slot to activate a game options menu. You can control things such as the number of lives Dirk the Daring has during a game ranging from 5 to UNLIMITED and difficulty levels from easy to hard. This menu also lets you control screen brightness and audio settings among other things.

With collectability in mind, New Wave Toys Replicade Dragons Lair comes packaged in three boxes. The first is an actual shipping container, the second is a mock shipping container meant to mimic the crate an actual arcade cabinet would be delivered in, and the final is a Replicade branded display box. The main display box is covered with sharp graphics and full of useful information on the details and capabilities of this toy. My Dragons Lair is currently displayed on a shelf in my home office but I've kept these boxes in case there is ever a reshuffling of decor of the this workspace.

I bought the New Wave Toys Dragons Lair Replicade Arcade Game on my own dime as part of a Kickstarter campaign. You can get one for yourself now through Sideshow Collectibles. If you buy one of these play scale Dragons Lair arcade game replicas using a Geek Daddy affiliate link, this dad blogger will receive a small commission from Sideshow Collectibles at no additional expense to your purchase. Your support of ageekdaddy.com by utilizing our affiliate links is appreciated and allows this blog to have some resources for creating non-sponsored content.

Not only is the New Wave Toys Dragons Lair Replicade an awesome decoration piece for a home office, bedroom or game space, but it is really fun to play with. So it absolutely earns a Geek Daddy nod of approval. A perfect pick up for anyone who is a video game fanatic! 

Always wanted to have an arcade in your home but don't have the space or budget for the full-sized video games. New Wave Toys Replicade arcade game sixth scale replicas can have you transform a shelf into your dream arcade space.