Time was, the only way to have an arcade cabinet in your house was either buy one for a substantial sum of money, or build one with an old PC, a CRT and some carpentry skills. While I wholly support DIY projects, it's nice to be able to just buy what you want sometimes, and the iiRcade Bartop is one of the best choices out there for anyone looking for the arcade experience in a more manageable form factor.
iiRcade Bartop – Design and Features
Like all modern, at-home arcade cabinets, the iiRcade requires some assembly. And like all the other arcade cabinets I've tested, it's pretty simple. If you can build a piece of Ikea furniture, you can build this. The main difference between the iiRcade and something like the Legends AtHome Ultimate is the iiRcade Bartop is meant to sit on top of a bar (or table). Kind of nails it with the name, but it does make assembly a bit easier since you don't have to deal with the larger side panels you find on the AtHome or Arcade1up cabs. If you don't have a place to sit your iiRcade Bartop, iiRcade sells an optional stand that brings it up to normal arcade height. I was sent one for the review, but currently lack the room to set it up, so I can't speak to it.
Another major difference between the iiRcade and its competitors is its large set of marquee-mounted speakers. Where other units might have their brand name, or in the case of some of Arcade1up's more premium offerings, light-up marquees, the iiRcade Bartop has a pair of absolutely massive speakers. They're a little more cumbersome than I was expecting, but nothing I couldn't handle.
Once assembled, the iiRcade Bartop is a snap to move, since the base is optional. I planted mine on a custom stand in my basement (OK, it's a pair of CRTs I can't bear to part with) and have no complaints. Were it not for a second monitor, it would be perfectly at home on my desk. The point is, its sized nicely.
The design gets the look of bartop arcade cabinets just right, with branded iiRcade details in place of individual games. However, you don't have to rep iiRcade in your gameroom if you don't want. Other game-centric options are available on both the Bartop and stand, with some extra features added in like expanded storage. If you really want a Dragon's Lair cabinet capable of fitting more easily into your living space and with the option to play more than just Dragon's Lair, well friend, you're in luck.
Even the "stock" unit is attractive, although I wish it had a little more flare. The design is evocative of neon light displays, but I'm a complete sucker for actual lighting, so I would have liked to see some RGB or LED bling. If there's one part of the design I actually dislike, it's the lack of plugs to cover up the holes for the screws. Just a handful of those black plastic caps you see in other premade furniture would have satisfied my needs. Instead I have to suffer the extremely minor irritation of visible screws.
The control deck for the iiRcade Bartop is solid, with plenty of buttons in a layout that's natural and easy to use for most games. They're described as "Sanwa-like," which I guess is a clever way to say they're not Sanwa. The joysticks, too, are Sanwa-like, and all the inputs function well. The buttons have just enough travel and click to feel like real arcade buttons, and the resistance when you push them is spot-on. The joysticks also feel quite solid and responsive. All in all, the deck seems ready for whatever level of abuse you're ready to dole out. Aside from the 6-buttons for each joystick, there is Menu/Pause, Volume Up, Volume Down, P1 Start, Coin, and P2 Start. There are no surprises here: each button does exactly what it says it does. My one complaint is the Power button needs to be pressed a little longer than seems necessary, which results in my holding it multiple times to get the iiRcade to boot up. Every time I think "Did I accidentally unplug it… nope, there it is."
The single feature setting the iiRcade apart from its competitors, more than anything else, are its massive, absolutely booming front-facing speakers. Remember how I mentioned they're kind of heavy? That's because they're beasts. With 100W of output, these things absolutely blast out of the Bartop cabinet, and the levels are just bananas. In fact, when you turn them up, at about a third of the way a message pops up to warn you about the dangers of hearing loss. I turned the volume to its max setting for approximately one ear-shattering second before turning it back down again. Seriously, it's unbelievably loud. At ¾ setting, it's still too loud for my space, and that's not a knock against it. However, even when the volume is cranked, the sound is great. The dual speakers deliver a warm and pleasant fullness, one which really comes through in the bass, but doesn't drown out the highs or the mids. It adds enormously to the authentic, arcade-feeling to have the ability to just crank things up to levels that will irritate your neighbors and damage your own hearing. It's win-win.
If you'd rather keep the sounds to yourself, there's a 3.5 mm jack next to the Menu button, or you can pair your favorite Bluetooth headset, which is another great feature I definitely appreciate. I'm over wires, so while I like the fact iiRcade gives you the option, I really like the ability to pair wirelessly. After all, as loud as the built-in speakers are, they're no match for my home stereo.
The menu screen is easy to navigate, and each button press required to move through the various sub-menus is labeled on-screen and on the control deck itself. Apart from adjusting the settings like Bluetooth, WiFi, and tktk, you can also set up parental controls in the Password menu. You can set passwords to lock out certain games based on their ratings, so if you have kids and don't want them playing anything "T" rated, "M" rated, or both, you can set it up. You can also keep everyone locked out by requiring a password for all the games. Definitely appreciate the flexibility of access.
iiRcade Bartop – Games
The most important and obvious question about the iiRcade Bartop is how well does it play games? The answer is, in my experience, really well. There's a 1.8GHz Hexa-Core processor inside, along with a 800MHz Max Quad-Core GPU to handle the graphics. Sure, you won't be running Flight Simulator on the iiRcade Bartop, but for MAME games it's plenty. There are also non-MAME games available, like Toejam & Earl, RetroMania Wrestling and even Dead Cells. I played a minute of Dead Cells and it looks and runs great, although I have to say playing with arcade-style controls leaves something to be desired. Still, it's rad to be able to play games like that on the cabinet – awkward controls aside.
For MAME games, there are oh-so-many to choose from, and you can buy new games whenever you want from the iiRcade store. They range in price from $7.99 all the way up to $29.99 for newer games like RetroMania Wrestling. Right out of the box, the iiRcade Bartop comes loaded with 11 games, including classics like Double Dragon and Dragon's Lair as well as games built for the iiRcade's Android OS, like Beach Buggy Racing.
The vast library of games to choose from is where the iiRcade shines, because you can pick only the games you really want. As cool as a homemade, DIY MAME cabinet might be, when you have 2500 games on a single device, you tend to play either 1 game for 2500 minutes or 2500 games for a single minute. Being able to pick and choose from some absolute classics, as well as new games, is a great way to avoid the crisis of choice that comes with having too much of a good thing.
I spent the most time playing Space Harrier, one of my all time favorite arcade games, but switched to other games when I felt like it. Navigating the game menu is easy, and you can navigate by genre, recent, or all games listed alphabetically. With 64GB of built-in storage, there's more than enough room to store the classics.
Games look and sound great. The 19" screen is super-bright and colorful. The viewing angles are great, too, so spectators can enjoy the action. There's an HDMI-out, so you could hook the iiRcade Barstool up to a TV or PC display if you wanted to. That opens up the possibility of hooking the iiRcade to a dedicated capture card and streaming your arcade favorites.
