Game Center Fail

Near the university is a game center that we Hirodai kids visit rather often. It is quite different from American arcades, in my opinion. For one thing, there is always the smell of cigarette smoke. As you probably know, the Japanese enjoy their cigs, and though maybe not every patron is smoking, it happens often enough that they leave ashtrays around for you to use at your leisure. Another thing interesting is that the clientele is strictly male. Most girls in there are girlfriends of the guys playing their; only one of them actually plays the games. One of the HUSA girls figured this out when she used the toilets there: not a one had been used before. And about the guys there: while most of them are undoubtably university students, there are quite a few that are definitely working men, around their late thirties or forties. It has been my experience (which isnt that great) that most arcade gamers are not much older than their late twenties.

I'm not a hardcore gamer, and I'm pretty bad at most games I play. But there are a few games in there that I love to play, and am not too bad at. My major game is Jubeat Knit (read "yubeat knit"). It's a music based game. On the grid of sixteen squares, you have to touch them in time to the music, when the word TOUCH appears on them. The music you can play on there runs from the regular pop songs (Big Bang's Haru Haru) to crazy hard techno songs. The hardest song I've played there is this song, which is a techno version of some classical music. I posted my favorite song up on my facebook a while ago, but if you didnt see it, I'll link it again. It's a techno song called キラキラ (Kira Kira Sparkles). And tonight, I think I got better at it. My original rating was A; tonight I got it up to S. The highest rating is SSS, and I'm aiming for that. I have a long way to go.

Which brings me to my next point. With the exception of us HUSA kids/foreigners, EVERYONE IN THERE IS REALLY GOOD AT GAMING. And I'm not complaining because someone got a higher score than me. These guys are pros at what they do, taking on the Extreme mode like nothing. And it's not just the guys that play the Jubeat game; I have yet to see anyone play DDR, the Rock Band game, or the taiko game on easy. I'm not sure how they all got so good, but watching them play is just amazing to see. I am always in awe of these guys because they're so into what they do. It's awe inspiring.

Now, what does all this have to do with the title of this blog? As I was leaving the game center, I passed by the grabber games. You know, the one's that you have to use the claw thing to pick up little plushies? You dont have to tell me twice that these machines are very difficult to use, and will take more money than the plushie is worth, but for some reason, I decided to try it. I was aiming for a Rilakkuma holding a mushroom. It was so cute, and I had a few hundred yen coins, so I decided to try it. Unsurprisingly, I didnt get it. However, after one try, one of the workers came up to me and helped to reposition one of the Rilakkuma. And so, I went back at it. However, I still couldnt get it. Before my last play, he repositioned it again. Its legs were hovering over the edge, and it seemed so easy to get to. AND I STILL FAILED TO GET THE DAMN RILAKKUMA. After spending 2000￥, which is around $20, I still couldnt get one tiny little plush doll. You have no idea how pathetic and lame I felt. Especially because the guy moved it twice, the last time being so close to being easy to get. I'm pretty sure that would never happen in America. They'd just point and laugh.

Ah well. I've learned my lesson. I need to stick to the games that I can play, and steer clear from those that'll just suck my money out.


I wanted the one on the right. Image source: http://tinyurl.com/2ermhoy