Lake City Rumble II

The New Challengers!

INSERT COIN

You find the machine in a tiny little room in the corner of a Greyhound station. You're just passing through, you've got a couple hours to kill and you need a break from that damn book you brought with you.

The marquee grabs your eye above all the others, but you're not sure why. Beside it, there's a machine labeled Ms. Pac-Man / Galaga, a crane game that you feel dumb for even thinking about touching, and some lightgun game with one of the bright plastic guns missing and a large number after its name. But you don't care about any of those. What catches your eye is the fighting game, right in the middle.

You had an older friend who once told you about how awesome fighting games were. It wasn't the game itself, it was that atmosphere, the friendly (and not so friendly!) competition between players in a dark, crowded arcade. You've never actually been in an arcade, they're way before your time. All that's left of arcade games are the couple that store owners and bus stops keep in the corner. But you're really curious, you feel like you've missed something.

And hey, as you stare at the machine, with its bright marquee and instructions on how to play right below the screen, maybe there's some fun in it still. You've got plenty of time on your hands, and plenty of money. A single line of text blinks at you from the top of the screen...