Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade

Portland’s most popular arcade honors some of the most popular video game companies ever with a celebration sure to warp you back in time: the Nintendo Party!

Not just limited to Nintendo, play classic Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis games on our stage! Who knows what else we’ll dig out of the attic?

Prove your d-pad skills in tournaments and flex your nerd knowledge in trivia, and win some cool prizes!

We’ll also have cleaned & refurbished systems and games available to purchase so the pixelated action can continue in your own home!

WHAT: Nintendo Party featuring NES, SNES and Genesis free play, trivia, and tournaments

WHEN: Thursday, January 28. Game play starts at 7pm. Tournaments will start at 8pm and will happen throughout the nite. A round of trivia will follow each game tournament.

Ace of Base reference aside, Ground Kontrol is finally getting lit outdoor signs, and we have the photos to prove it. (click thumbnails to see full image)

Nice, huh? The glow behind the “GROUND KONTROL” lettering isn’t a Photoshop trick; it’s the effect of white LEDs facing backwards inside the letters, lighting a blue panel behind them.

Here are mockups of how they’ll look on the building:

Signs will be installed this coming Wednesday and Thursday (Jan. 27th and 28th) between 8AM and 3PM. The electrical work needed to light the signs at night will be completed a month or so later.

We think the new signs will be quite eye-catching when viewed from the sidewalk, street, or MAX trains. Be sure to swing by and check them out!

This New Year’s Eve, Thursday 12/31, warp into the New Year with Ground Kontrol! Enjoy free gaming all nite on over 90 games, including our legendary line-up of pinball tables. DJ Roxy Epoxy (of The Epoxies and Roxy Epoxy & The Rebound) and DJ BJ (of Atole and the Supernature monthly) spin classic cuts as you conquer virtual villains and party like it’s 2084!

At midnite, have a champagne toast (included in your admission fee) as COPY kicks off the new year with a live performance of his highly original, super infectious mix of electro, 8-bit inspired synth and hip-hop!

WHAT: New Year’s Eve Free-Play Party!

WHEN: Thursday, 12/31. Doors open at 5pm.

FEATURING: COPY (live!), DJ Roxy Epoxy, DJ BJ.

COVER: $15 at the door, includes free gaming all nite plus a champagne toast at midnite! 21+ only.

Merry “X-Mas”! Konami’s 1992 side-scrolling beat ‘em up featuring one of the world’s most popular superhero comics in a super-sized cabinet is finally here.

Released in the early ’90s at the height of the beat ‘em up arcade genre, X-Men places you and your friends in the spandex of the heroic mutant team. You’ll punch and kick your way through scores of enemies, and when that’s not enough, activate your character’s unique mutant power! Even veteran villains like Juggernaut won’t stand a chance against Wolverine’s adamantium claws or Cyclop’s optic blast effeminate kicks – but can you defeat the master of magnetism, Magneto?

Over the course of a year, we made several modifications to fit this 6-player, 6-joystick, 18-button, dual-monitor game into Ground Kontrol’s lineup: upgrading the reflected dual-monitor setup to a single, wide-screen high-resolution flat display, housing that display in a custom-built “slimline” cabinet, and replacing the cabinet stickers with digital prints of restored and customized artwork. Bashing Sentinels as your favorite homo sapien superior has never looked better!

Bring your friends down to Ground Kontrol for 6 times the chaos, 6 times the intensity and 6 times the fun!

When you have more beat ‘em up games than the arcade can handle, there’s only one way to settle the score: Street Justice – The Old Town Beat Down, a new custom cabinet that packs the punch of four classic titles:

Bad Dudes Vs. Dragon Ninja (Data East, 1987)
“President Ronnie has been kidnapped by the ninjas. Are you a bad enough dude to rescue Ronnie?” Find out in this classic brawler.

Final Fight (Capcom, 1989)
This game was originally called Street Fighter ’89 and would have been the second game in that series. Its side-scrolling cooperative fighting was ultimately deemed too different from SF‘s competitive tournament style to inherit its title.

Even so, Cody, Guy, Mike Haggar, and many of their opponents appear in later games of the Street Fighter series. Play Final Fight to see how these memorable characters got their start!

Ninja Gaiden (Tecmo, 1988)
Players of the NES version will quickly realize that the original arcade game is different from the platformer they remember. Even so, it’s a great game in its own right. Bonus: The first person who finds the GK-themed easter egg hidden in the game wins a free GK coozie! UPDATE: We’re upping the ante – if you take a picture of the GK-themed easter egg, we’ll throw in a free GK t-shirt, too!

Two Crude (Nihon Bussan / AV Japan, 1990)
Genesis players may remember this obscure but worthy title as Two Crude Dudes. Brawl through post-apocalyptic New York City fighting mutants, punks, werewolves, and “psycho Santas.”

Two Crude enhances the beat-’em-up format by adding a “Grab” button to the standard Kick/Punch combo, enabling you to pick up almost anything in the environment– streetlights, garbage cans, enemies, even your partner(!)– and throw it as a weapon. Action-hero catchphrases and “crude” humor keep things lively. “Pump it up…stay cool!”

Big Buck Hunter (Incredible Technologies, 2000)
Explore the four corners of the USA meeting exotic, interesting wildlife and KILLING THEM ALL in the first installment of this popular hunting title.

Prove you’re a hunter for all seasons by shooting in night, early morning, fog and snow conditions. Bonus rounds like Turkey Hunt, Skeet, Windmill Mania, and Barnyard Bonus add a shooting gallery feel.