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Starbase Arcade
Rating Details »
- Hours:
Mon-Thu. 12:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Fri. 11:30 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
16 reviews for Starbase Arcade
One of the last honest places on 4th Street.
How cool is this place? I will tell you in exactly seven seconds...
They have Theater of Magic, and although by last check, the left flipper was slow and a bit janky, it's TOM all the same.
Bonus having bagel dogs across the street, the Mayflower up the street and a liquor store across the street (not that I'd ever bring a bottle into an arcade...)
Rad.
I've been going here since PCP was a problem and it hasn't changed one bit, except for some new games. Overall, the selection of classics is lacking, but they still have Road Blasters, which I am bananas for. I can't understand how these places stay open. Do they pay the rent with nostalgia alone?
A great place to have some fun and kill some time.
My Boys had fun playing some of the classics.
Hope these guys stay in business for a long long time.
This place is so cool. It will take you back.
It smells like an old arcade, and it has a lot of nerdy young men. When I was there, a teenage boy was playing a video game, and his teenage friend was sitting behind him playing a DS. That is like a Russian doll of nerdiness.
Then, a fully grown man sarcastically yelled at Moon Patrol.
Arcades are cool.
DDR & Two Soul Caliber consoles already make this my favorite video arcade. Throw in the Star Trek pinball and there is something for everyone. Lots of driving games, stinks like a teenage boys bedroom.
This place is just like its out of a movie.
My husband and i were buying some beverages at the liquor store across the street and just happened to see Star Base. My husband flipped the eff out and we went over and spent almost 2 hours there. The owner was there and was the biggest sweetheart, even staying open later than his normal hours so that we and 2 other people could continue playing.
He had a really nice, rare Star Trek pinball machine that he self repairs. He also has so many of my early 90's/late 80's favorites. Definitely the place carries its nostalgia.
The reason this is a 5 star review? The owner witnessed my husband and I fumbling through the Alien's gun game and he came over and explained all the buttons i wasn't using yet. As he finishes his explanation, my time starts to run out. He reaches over and puts his quarter in the machine for me. HOW NICE IS THAT?!
note, his prices are also unbelievable-- especially knowing how much a pinball play is these days. Definitely stop by there before you head over to the Mayflower for a couple beers.
Oooh Ms. PacMan- how I have missed you!
Great place to take a step back into your childhood and the prices haven't gone up either! You will loose all track of time to the point that you will be grounded for showing up 2 hours late for dinner and spending all of your weekly allowance on gaming.
Also a sneak peek in to what the young 'uns are doing now too with that crazy dance machine! ;)
Starbase Arcade provides me with ample opportunity to piss my wife off after I stumble out of the Mayflower on a Thursday night, after a few pints at trivia, and insist on ducking in here and playing R-Type.
Ahh the good old days.
Moved away from Marin for years, came back to find many things changed beyond recognition. But lo and behold, driving down 4th St the other day, Starbase 1 is still there! I poured so many quarters away at this place in the 80s, can't believe it's survived the onslaught of gaming consoles!
But I have to subtract one star because they no longer have Elevator Action or Discs of Tron. Sigh.
Classic arcades like this are a dying breed - I'm glad Star Base 1 is still around after all these years. It really doesn't get much better than this place. Bob deserves all the quarters you have in your pocket.
I believe the Star Base Arcade has been in business for over 20 years, making money off of kids who would spend all their hard earned quarters here. Since then it has become old, run down, and smells like sweaty hands.
It used to be super popular amongst kids in the early 80s when home video game consoles were fairly new and only the arcades would have the most current games out.
My BF (who is 10+ older than I am) gave me a much more detailed (bed time) story, but I can't remember it very well and I have visited (this piece of nostalgia) a couple of months ago after picking up some Japanese take out.
Pinball Alert!!!
Video Bob's has 2 pins...
Star Trek the Next Generatioin (STtNG) see: http://www.ipdb.org/ma...
and
Theatre of Magic (TOM) see: http://www.ipdb.org/ma...
Video Bob's has a sister location in San Rafael called "Pinky's". see:
Enjoy the Silver Ball!!!
Have I really stooped to writing a review about a video arcade? Well, what can I say. I spent a fair amount of lunchtimes here playing San Francisco Rush and Tekken, and have even stopped by from time to time nowadays if I have some time to kill.
One thing that's great about Starbase is that Bob, the guy who has run the place for years, stocks both new and old games. There are a lot of classic cabinets in there, including those Neo-Geo booths that had 4-5 games, old skool shooting games like Terminator 2 and some 8 and 16-bit masterpieces. There are also more up-to-date games up front, although it does appear that arcades are going the way of the dinosaur and there aren't too many new games these days.
Still, if you have a pocketful of quarters and need a dose of nostalgia Starbase will satisfy.
Oh man, I haven't been to a arcade in ages. Cute little old skool arcade with some older arcades the brings back fond memories. Wow, Pac-Man is a lot easier than I remember.
Well on my way to becoming a first-review whore, I've decided to go after a staple over time and another one of my favorite non-alcoholic dive institutions. As the concept of doing anything outside one's dank personal computer dungeons diminishes, and USB cables spill over with hand-held time-wasting machines, this dungeon in its own right has persisted for a quarter of a century-- longer than I and many other maybe boomers have been alive.
Most Arcades these days are left in a chokehold from the Console and PC gaming industry that even the most apt and Joe Rogan-approved UFC fighter couldn't tap out of. While the term arcade is becoming archaic with every new appliance sold by Best Buy and the like, Starbase One remains a quarter sucking delight in the pre-Downtown San Rafael block of 4th street.
Like a cool wind in the pre-dawn hours while most people are sleeping, classics like Ghouls n' Ghosts, Final Fight (albeit a damaged version) and The Simpsons live on, whilst many liquidate their dollar bills on newer standards, such as Dance Dance Revolution, Need For Speed and San Francisco Rush.
Airplane Shooters, Fighting Games, Pinball, Gun Games, Sports, Puzzle games all litter this narrow, hot gauntlet of old machines running like new (except for the aforementioned Final Fight). Next time you're anticipating watching "The Last Star Fighter" or "The Wizard" so as to satisfy your hankering for the pre-Playstation 80's, come here on a rainy winter afternoon where they still sell nostalgia and sore hands by the quarter.
*Update(s)*
1) First Review has been usurped!! ;O) (Tiffany T., you're on notice!)
2) Final Fight still doesn't work properly :o/
WTF!? An old skool arcade from the 80's w/the cheesy window graphics to boot! Time to waste some quarters and make my hands sweaty. Had to drop a few into the Neo-Geo machine and wipe out the high scores on Samurai Showdown 3 and 4. I cant believe how much money I used to spend in places like this when I was a kid.
