ARCADE WATCH
Keeping an eye on the coin-op gaming scene
Cabinet Astro City Mini
Manufacturer Sega
Alright, so it’s not exactly coin-op: you’d be hard-pressed to cram a quarter into this dinky thing. Nevertheless, the spirit of the arcade is very much present in Sega’s Astro City Mini. It’s based on the 1993 multipurpose arcade cabinet: a successor to the Aero City, the Astro allowed operators to install a game board of their choice. With that flexibility and range in mind, the Mini comes with a large variety of Sega titles packed in. And we do mean variety: you’ve got Space Harrier, Altered Beast and Puyo Puyo, sure, but then there are also some very niche inclusions, seemingly at the expense of the real classics. Ninja Princess over Out Run? Rad Mobile over After Burner? Sega, we just want to talk.