Reactor is also one of the first arcade games I’m aware of that has a game designer credit listed (“A Skelly Game”). Reactor’s designer, Tim Skelly, had an interesting career prior to Reactor, designing lots of noteworthy vector arcade games for Cinematronics (hopefully I’ll highlight one of them in the future)!

🧵5/6

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If this all seems like a lot to take in (admittedly, Reactor is pretty involved for an arcade game, especially for its time!), worry not! It actually has a brief tutorial (one of the first I’m aware of in an arcade game), set to a really rockin tune :)

🧵4/6

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Additionally, the reactor core grows as each level progresses (the psychedelic-colored section in the center of the screen). It isn’t directly harmful to you, but as it grows, it gives you less space to maneuver, and greatly increases your chances of colliding with the kill wall. Fortunately, the reactor can be cooled by colliding particles with the cooling rods that are on opposite sides of the reactor walls.

🧵3/6

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This is an interesting one! Reactor is an arcade game that takes place inside (you guessed it) a nuclear reactor. Your goal is to destroy atomic particles (using a tiny ship, which you control via trackball) while managing the state of the reactor core. The reactor is encircled in a "kill wall", which destroys anything that touches it- the challenge lies in skillfully guiding particles into the wall, while avoiding colliding with it yourself.

🧵2/6

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Reactor (1982)
By Gottlieb [Arcade]
🧵1/6

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Thankfully, someone answered it for us! According to the commenter below, apparently using the horn extends your hitbox, and the exit to the level is immediately on the other side of the level start; thus, using the horn extends your hitbox over the level exit, allowing you to complete it instantaneously!

I always love neat skips like that in speedrunning lol, especially if they're kinda silly, as in this case :)

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Rewatching the TAS of "The Mask" that I posted recently, I noticed that an entire level was skipped (left gif) by using the bicycle-horn-thingy that appears in the film (gif). How is this possible??

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OMG I almost forgot- if the machine has mechanical problems, there's a special (and frankly kinda intense) cinematic which loops on the screen. It depicts Eggman chasing Tails with the mallet against a messed up, exploding background (it looks like an Earthbound boss battle lmao), while Sonic (presumably) tells you to alert an employee (oh, did I mention this game has synthesized speech??).

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I found some "reviews" of people who (supposedly) played the game, saying that the popcorn was "dry" and "tastes like ass", but I think these folks are focusing on the destination rather than the journey; SegaSonic Popcorn Shop was an *experience*, a true testament to the exciting, surprising world of unique arcade machines and cabinets. And that's a fact!

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The game is fascinating for me for multiple reasons (its sheer uniqueness being the main reason). In particular, the game uses a lot of unique Sonic spritework that I've never seen in any other Sonic game. Like, when you're making the popcorn, Tails fans the flames with his tails, which is SO FREAKING CUTE!!! (and also completely unique spritework to this game!). Eggman's running spritework is also really funny (and similarly unique!)

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And what is this "gamplay", you ask? Well, it's very simple (and pretty much depicted in its entirety in the gifs I posted above). In the first segment, Sonic must rush popcorn kernels to a popcorn machine as Eggman chases him with a giant mallet. In the second segment, Sonic pops the popcorn using the popcrn machine while Eggman tries to steal kernels. In both segments, you have to frantically spin the hand-crank to help Sonic outrun Eggman and turn the kernels in the popcorn machine.

Honestly, words can't really do it justice, I recommend watching it in use IRL: https://youtu.be/NEkbnszXrQE?si=p5prjmDf52gVUt5r

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Okay, we GOTTA talk about the "cabinet", which is really more of a vending machine with a built-in CRT screen. It's standard-ish vending machine size, but with giant models of Sonic and Tails on top (acting as a beacon to all popcorn-heads in the arcade). The CRT screen where you actually play the "game" is comparatively tiny, and the "controls" are simply three buttons (to select from 3 types of popcorn- butter, salt, and chili) and a hand-crank, which is used for all "gameplay".

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Picture this. You're a Sonic fan. You're at the arcade. You're hungry, craving a salty, savory snack. What do you do? You play SegaSonic Popcorn Shop, that's what! It's a popcorn vending machine with an interactive component, which sees you helping Sonic and Tails prepare your popcorn while avoiding Dr Eggman's devious antics.

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Unfortunately, I've never actually played SegaSonic the Hedgehog- between its Japan-only release and its (I assume) rarity, I've never actually seen a cabinet in the wild. In fact, I'm having difficulty just locating a photo of a cabinet online. I assume they came in Japanese "Candy" Cabs, although I found a photo of a (custom?) that seems more US-centric in design (photo from SEGAbits birdsite acct).

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SegaSonic the Hedgehog is Japan-only arcade game starring Sonic, as well as two lesser-known (but fan-favorite!) characters: Ray the Flying Squirrel and Mighty the Armadillo. Everything takes place from an isometric perspective, and gameplay has a time-attack-meets-obstacle-course quality that's really visually impressive.

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SegaSonic the Hedgehog (1993)
By Sega AM3 [Arcade]

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One thing I love about the game is that, upon defeating an opponent, they proclaim (in charming speech synthesis) "What strength! But there are guys like you all over the world." EVERYONE you defeat in the game says this, save the final boss. Like, once you've beaten the penultimate boss (Adon), wouldn't that presumably make you at least the second strongest person in the world, at that point? How did they all coordinate on this??

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As cool as the pneumatic button concept is, I imagine they were a nightmare to maintain. Additionally, the resulting gameplay resulted in a cacophony of slapping/slamming/crashing noises, as people slammed the buttons to do strong attacks. If you don't believe me, check out the linked vid. Imagine having to listen to that for hours as an arcade operator. You'd
go insane.

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https://youtu.be/w_XvCNGhmZ0?si=_Pw77f1RGrLXdkDx

Street Fighter is an obscure fighting game by Capcom (I would be surprised if more than a handful on ppl on Mastodon are familiar with it). As Ryu (or Ken, as a second player), you fight your way through challengers across the world to be crowned "King Of The Hill" (per the game's ending text; yes, really).

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Street Fighter (1987)
By Capcom [Arcade]

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