Wow, what an amazing find that is! 

There will certainly be a lot of work, but finding an Atari Space Ace in the wild these days in Europe... is almost mission impossible!

I'm officially jealous! You're lucky to have the genuine European marquee with the legit Atari logo. I hope it's just dirty and not damaged? But even if it's damaged, this marquee must be preserved at all costs!

Speaking of the Atari logo, I see that you don't have the large square Atari sticker located between the two speakers. It's the same on mine. This is likely evidence that this cabinet was dedicated to Space Ace straight from the factory, and that only the Dragon's Lair machines originally featured this logo?

Do you also have the back door? If so, I would be interested in seeing the serial number to compare it with mine.

In any case, thank you for sharing this discovery. I can't wait to see more! 

It looks not as bad as expected.

Hi Belike, yes.... the marquee.
Anyway, someone can help me? Also Hi-Res photos would be appreciated.
p.

Last Saturday, I went to FunWorld to go play Galaxian 3, but it wasn't working. So, I just took this picture. Hoping they fix it next week!



Things to note -

- On the left side of the theater there is a barrier at the top to prevent light from bleeding in, and lights on the front side are turned off. Both give it more of a "theater" experience.

- The "Exit" and "Entrance" lights were on, but the rest of the game wasn't.

I've been playing for a bit longer, and would like to retract some of my prior statements.

I have come to appreciate the gameplay far more than before. There is a significant element of strategy here. Different enemy types do different attacks and must be prioritized based on threat level. Some enemies shoot and must be eliminated quickly. Others fire missiles and can be spared, but you must stop their missiles. A third type of basic enemy kamikaze attacks and must be shot before it hits you.

The branching paths are a great feature. You can choose different areas to fight in by vote. Exia Metropolis and Zolgear Gravity Organ are the easier levels in my opinion, whilst the boss encounters in Environmental Control Center make it the obvious hard level. This adds depth; a struggling player can choose an easy path whilst a successful player can challenge themself.

The balance and difficulty curve are great. The game rewards memorizing the enemy patterns.

One secret that only experienced players will know is that holding down the trigger is not very effective. If you mash the triggers and thumb buttons, you can fire faster and drill through enemy and boss alike. The final boss has weak points. Aim for the eyes on the shields on the brain core, then aim at the core itself when exposed whilst making sure not to let missiles destroy you. The mistake of not effectively hitting weak spots cost me tonight's run, so I won't make that mistake again.

On the topic of learning from mistakes, that is one of the beautiful things about Attack of the Zolgear. If you lose, it is not because of the game being rigged like others in the genre (cough cough, CarnEvil, cough cough). Also, when you lose shield, it's game over, no continues allowed. This is a game purely of skill, you cannot bribe your way to victory.

The environments are unique and graphically pleasant. Although the technology that powers the amazing graphics has not aged well (damn you left LaserDisc player, stop failing), the visuals themselves are still great.

I am glad that this game is now alive once again. I am privileged to live reasonably close by, I won't say how close for fear of some nefarious actor doxxing me. But I can always come back. I will be back. And soon enough, I will succeed in beating Attack of the Zolgear.