Bandai Namco’s virtual reality arcade blurs the line between game centre and theme park.
KA-ME-HA-ME-HAAAAAAA,” my opponent screamed, invoking the name of a powerful — and fortunately fictional — energy blast.
Then a rush of air blew past me as I ducked to the left, narrowly escaping the Kamehameha’s blast.
Now it was my turn. I quickly held my hands out, the base of my palms touching while my fingers grasped an imaginary ball. Then I thrust my arms forward to return the Kamehameha blast, hitting my enemy directly in the face. The force was so strong, it blew away the mountain behind him.
The victory was short lived and the scene faded away signaling my time in a Dragon Ball Z virtual reality world had ended. I waited for the attentive staff at Bandai Namco’s VR Zone Shinjuku in Tokyo to help me out of the HTC Vive VR accessories I was wearing. They included shoes and gloves equipped with Vive Trackers.
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A player tries out Mario Kart VR. © Aloysius Low/CNET
A new arcade
VR Zone Shinjuku is a contemporary twist on the good ol’ game centre. Located in Tokyo’s Shinjuku entertainment district, the VR amusement center covers 3,500 square metres and boasts 13 fully VR games. It’s only three months old, so it still has that new arcade smell.
The Shinjuku location follows an earlier Bandai Namco facility located in Tokyo’s Odaiba area, a large stretch of reclaimed land known amongst fans of the Gundam robot series for a life-size replica of the giant mechanical robot. And Shinjuku won’t be the last location. Bandai Namco wants to export the experience to other countries, with plans for a UK launch are already in the works.
VR video games don’t come cheap. You’ll part with 800 yen ($7, £5 and AU$9) just to get into the facility, which is somewhat bright compared to your usual dimly lit arcades. The main foyer, the first thing you see, grabs your attention with an interactive projection but you’ll want to hustle quickly to the top floors, where the games are, though that will cost you another 4,400 yen ($40, £30, $50) for four game tickets.
The place had a sizeable crowd, but the facility is big enough you don’t feel it. Given that it was a Monday, I was surprised to find that queues for some games were up to 45 minutes. If you want to try them all, you’ll have to come back. Bandai Namco is intentionally limiting customers to four games a visit, which will encourage return visitors.
In addition to Dragon Ball VR, Bandai Namco has revamped some of its classic arcade games from the 1990s for VR Zone Shinjuku. Prop Cycleand Alpine Racer have been recast in VR as Hanechari (Winged Bicycle) and Ski Rodeo. If you’re bored of VR shenanigans, you can also try a physical game in which you have to escape from a room as giant balloon slowly fills it up.
I wished I had more time and patience, but the queues for the new Neon Genesis Evangelion attraction were way too long. It would have been a blast to pilot an Eva mech and fight giant monsters dead set on crushing humanity.
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Source: CNET