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    Slopes Game Room: Arcade Classics – The Complete History Vol. 1 Blu-Ray Review – An Essential Look Back For Video Game Fans

    Close-up of a hand playing a retro arcade game called BurgerTime, featuring a chef character assembling burgers on a pixelated screen.

    For the first time ever on Blu-ray, re-experience the Golden Age of Arcades with ARCADE CLASSICS: The Complete History Vol. 1!

    A COLLECTION OF ten meticulously researched documentaries from the acclaimed creator of Slope’s Game Room. With the original YouTube series garnering over 40 million views, this compilation has proven to be a crucial resource. It’s studied by historians and fans alike, and even referenced by developers when planning future titles within major intellectual properties.

    These documentaries offer unparalleled detail into arcade history. You’ll explore the lineage of giants like Pac-Man (1980) and Galaga* (1981); discover the home computer origins of classics such as Choplifter (1982); and trace the histories of diverse titles including BurgerTime (1982), Elevator Action (1983), Rolling Thunder** (1986), and Captain Commando** (1991).

    The collection bookends the Golden Age of Arcades with two pivotal light gun shooters: starting with the era’s pioneering roots in Wild Gunman** (1974), and concluding the journey with Point Blank (1994).

    Features over 5 hours of core documentary content PLUS an extra hour of bonus features, Interactive menus and hidden Easter Eggs to discover.

    ARCADE CLASSICS: The Complete History Vol. 1 is an absolute must-have for any fan seeking nostalgic, retro gaming goodness.

    * re-edited visuals for this release             **re-edited visuals and audio for this release

    For thoughts on Slopes Game Room: Arcade Classics – The Complete History Vol. 1, please check out my thoughts on No Streaming Required:

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    Video Quality

    Slopes Game Room: Arcade Classics – The Complete History Vol. 1 arrives on Blu-Ray from ETR Media with a pleasant HD master which lives up to its full potential. This release features ten short documentary films and bonus features that total over five hours of material. Even with so much material being packed on a single disc, the quality stays in great shape throughout. While this may be content made for YouTube, these meticulously constructed shorts have been updated with better-quality gameplay and editing. We appreciate when anything uniquely cool can be added to our collection in enviable quality, and these Slope’s Game Room releases continue to delight on all fronts.

    The material matches the structure of the previous releases. You have a blend of newer talking head bits with DJ Slope in tandem with the gameplay footage, marketing clips, and photos for a well-rounded look at the history of each title. All footage appears to be derived from the most stable origins possible. With many of these titles being from the ‘80s, there is a ceiling to the visual quality. The gameplay footage is relatively locked in, but the newly generated material looks exceptional with a crisp image and sterling colors. Each segment looks really nice with natural skin tones and some complex facial features. The encoding does not falter with compression artifacts or digital nuisances. ETR Media will make us happy if they keep this line going for a while. 

    Audio Quality

    This Blu-Ray release does not provide lossless audio, but it does feature a decent Dolby Digital 2.0 track that executes the soundscape well enough. There are no serious digital anomalies or other issues. This is primarily a narrated video with the complementary sounds accompanying the gameplay footage. It’s a straight down the middle, agreeable stereo track, so the material is not going to rock your world, but it is appropriate considering its origins. The narration is the focal point as you get this expertly researched presentation delivered in a stable environment. Any competing elements come through with noble fidelity. This track could maybe be the slightest bit enhanced with a lossless presentation, but considering the material, we are not losing sleep over it. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided. 

    Three vintage arcade game machines—Ms. Pac-Man, Elevator Action, and Pac-Man—stand side by side, with a blue stool and a gumball machine in front of them on a patterned carpet.

    Special Features

    • Audio Commentaries: Each video is given a solo commentary track from DJ Slope, aka Daniel Ibbertson, that gives greater context to the video you are watching both from a production side and additional details that were not included in the video itself. You can tell that Ibbertson truly cares about what he is putting out into the world, and the tracks are well worth a listen. 
      • BurgerTime (26:41)
      • Rolling Thunder (17:03)
      • Galaga (37:42)
      • Paperboy (22:19)
      • Pac-Man (2:17:12)
      • Elevator Action (16:17)
      • Choplifter (23:13)
      • Captain Commando (15:22)
      • Point Blank (25:23)
      • Wild Gunman (12:23)
    • Gee Bee – Namco’s First-Ever Arcade Game: A nearly ten-minute video that looks at the earliest arcade endeavor from Namco, why it sold poorly, the evolution of the project, and more. 
    • Cosmo Gang – Namco’s Forgotten Arcade Game: A 12-minute exploration of a game that the average fan has never heard of, its origins as a ticket-redemption game, the inspiration for the gameplay, and more. 
    • The Atari Video Adventure That Time Forgot: A nearly five-minute look at a pseudo-arcade that was present at Marriott theme parks and how it functioned as a testing ground for various titles. 
    • What Was Inside Michael Jackson’s Secret Neverland Arcade?: A 23-minute piece that investigates the private collection of arcade machines owned by the King of Pop. 
    • The Great Namco Robbery: A three-minute spotlight on a sordid tale involving one of the notable video game companies in the world. 
    • The Game That Almost Destroyed Nintendo: A four-minute journey through the ups and downs of Duck Hunt. 
    • Japan’s Spanking Arcade Game: A nearly five-minute dive into a bizarre game that gets up close and personal. 
    • Slope’s Game Room Channel Trailer: A two-minute trailer for the YouTube channel is provided. 
    • Easter Eggs: We are not here to spoil any surprises, but be sure to pay closer attention to the episodes that have been newly re-recorded. Listening to the audio commentary tracks may also help clue you into some secrets. 

     

    Final Thoughts

    Slopes Game Room: Arcade Classics – The Complete History Vol. 1 is yet another exceptional release that gives the world of video games the respect it deserves as a complex, evolving art form. DJ Slope is one of the best in this space, as every video is meticulously crafted to be both incredibly informative and entertaining. This particular installment tackles the bedrock of old-school arcade goodness, and it is presented in a way that will delight those who remember these games fondly, as well as anyone new to this material. ETR Media has released a Blu-Ray featuring a lovely A/V presentation and some undeniably amazing special features. Highly Recommended 

    Slopes Game Room: Arcade Classics – The Complete History Vol. 1 is currently available to purchase on Standard Edition Blu-Ray or with a Limited Edition Slipcover exclusively through Vinegar Syndrome. 

    Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

    Disclaimer: ETR Media & OCN Distribution have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.

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