Relive the 90s this Black Friday with 20% off a Street Fighter 2 Arcade cabinet

If you like video games, chances are you’ve tried Street Fighter. It’s a perennial favorite among gamers, and one that often gains universal acclaim among the general public. The Yoga Flame Edition Arcade Cabinet from Arcade 1Up is a re-creation of a cabinet I spent countless days and countless coins playing in. It comes with multiple editions of Street Fighter 2, the defining beat-em-up, and several other great retro games. Now, even after Amazon’s Black Friday sale, it is up to $399a great $100 off the usual $499, and I urge you to pick it up if you can.

My wife always tries to give me the edge at Christmas and birthdays when it comes to who can get the best gift. Normally we’re about equal when it comes to great gifts, but this year she surpassed me in every way. She gave me a taste of what it was like to be a kid again, without the pressures of adulthood – and it’s wonderful.

While the cabinets are a little smaller than you might remember as a kid, you can’t deny the excitement you get when the Street Fighter 2 theme music plays and you press the Ready Player 1 button. It’s intoxicating and always makes me laugh. The light up marquee adds to the magic and I admit to leaving the machine on and the music playing in the room the entire time. It makes me happy when I walk into a room and hear that sound. I even added some to it Govee light bars at the back so there are dancing neon lights while I play.

Assembly was quite simple and I was able to do it myself without too much effort. However, be careful with the screen while installing it. There’s plenty of room in the back for a keyboard which you might want to add if you’re into modding. There are interesting paths you can take if you want to expand the cabinet’s capabilities.

Right now the only mod I’ve done is adding this one nice new buttons. The original ones are fine, if a bit small, but I wanted round, shiny balls like the machines of my youth. It was a great purchase, and standing shoulder to shoulder next to friends and family, frantically pressing the buttons, completes the retro feel.

Check this out: How to hack Amazon Prime Day: shopping advice and deals

04:03

Arcade1Up has more than just the Street Fighter Cabinet on offer at the moment, and I wish I had the money to buy them all. Even the ones that aren’t on sale make me giddy. I’m still saving for the Cabinet time crisis. One day it will be mine. It will…

I agree that $400 is a lot of money, and you could do something similar with a Rasberry Pi and some emulator software, but it wouldn’t be as good, and it wouldn’t feel the same. Trust me.