Street Fighter III: Third Strike - Capcom never followed the rules when naming its fighting games. Rather than releasing proper, numbered sequels, games received “updates,” with new characters and gameplay improvements. Street Fighter III, the true sequel to the six editions of SF II, has now arrived at Ground Kontrol in its final, most evolved edition, Street Fighter III: Third Strike.

Released in 1999, this version has 19 selectable fighters, a streamlined turbo system, and updated graphics. Its fighting engine improves on former Street Fighter games with a new form of blocking: the parry system. Also present are the now-signature Super Art and EX moves.

This series has always been about evolution, and the Third Strike edition represents Street Fighter at its best.

Tekken Tag Tournament - Namco’s 1999 addition to its Tekken franchise was, at the time, a celebration of the entire series, building on the success of previous favorite Tekken 3.

Using the Tekken 3 hardware, Namco released Tag as an upgrade, bringing back every selectable fighter from previous Tekken games and bumping the roster up to 39 characters! This version also adds the “Tag” mode of fighting, where players select two fighters each for 2-on-2 brawling. Rather than switching out characters automatically, however, each player “tags out” to their other fighter. Unlike other tag-team games, if either of your fighters’ life bars depletes, the match is over.

Tekken Tag, the definitive version until the recent release of Tekken 5, is still a shining example of a great 3-D fighting game.

TRON: “Now for some real user power!” Yes, the original 1982 arcade version of the hit film is back at GK, offering four classic challenges: Shooting it out with battle tanks, infiltrating the Input/Output tower, blasting away at the MCP (Master Control Program) cone and, of course, racing the iconic lightcycles.

We’ve paired TRON with its 1983 sequel, Discs of TRON, which was originally intended to be part of the first game but eventually expanded into a separate title.

Come face off with Sark and the MCP, but remember: It’s all…in…zee wrist.

- Posted by the_ceo

Micropalooza ‘08: Art by Isaac Sonnenburg

Ground Kontrol is pleased to announce the return of Micropalooza, Portland’s first 2-Day Chiptune Music Festival! Chiptune music is made using video games such as the the Atari 2600, the Nintendo Gameboy and NES, as well as 8-bit computers such as the Commodore C64. Though more popular in Europe, Chiptune music is quickly catching on in the US.

Ground Kontrol has been hosting 8-bit musicians for years, including Micropalooza I and the International Chiptune Resistance tour. This year’s Micropalooza features musicians from all over, including Sweden! There were too many artists to fit on one bill, so we made this year’s Micropalooza a 2-day event. Details after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

- Posted by the_ceo

It’s time for the 3rd annual Portland Retro Gaming Expo! Ground Kontrol has participated in the past 2 events, and we’re excited to be a part of the convention again this year.

The Retro Gaming Expo packs a bunch of vendors, collectors, enthusiasts and anyone searching for a piece of their gaming past into one massive room for 2 full days of buying, selling, trading and geeking out.

We’ll be selling classic console games and equipment, along with our ultra-cool t-shirts and whatever other gaming odds & ends we unearth from storage! Everything will be priced at special show rates, so you can get more for your money.

Saturday evening, catch a screening of “High Score”, the documentary film that follows one player trying to top the Missile Command world-record score. Then, those 21+ and older can come to Ground Kontrol for a special “High Score” / Retro Gaming Expo after-party where show badgeholders can get free games!

The show is open Saturday and Sunday, 10AM - 5PM. Admission to the show is $10 per day or $15 for a 2-day pass. Check out the Retro Gaming Expo website for the full schedule, directions and other essentials.

See you at the show!

- Posted by Art

Starting today, the bar now opens at 5PM every day. If you’re 21 or older, stop in for a brew and some video game or pinball action on your way home from work!

Ground Kontrol is still family-friendly 11AM-5PM on Saturday and Noon-5PM every other day of the week, so you can show your kids what arcades were like when you were a kid!

We are also pleased to announce some major changes to our private rental policy: Private events may now include alcohol service at any time of day, and minors may attend private events where alcohol is being served if they are accompanied by an adult guardian or spouse. For more details, see our Rental Rates and Information.

- Posted by El Ramos

Sunday, July 20th marks a momentous occasion in Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade history: we’re putting the call out to the Pacific NW’s greatest fighters to come down to GK and beat each other bloody… on screen.

It’s time for the Sunday Slugfest, GK’s first-ever fighting game tournament! Participants will compete in 4 games: Street Fighter III: Third Strike (PS2), Tekken Tag Tournament (PS2, special 2-on-2 battle), Soul Calibur 2 (Arcade), and Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting Super Street Fighter II Turbo: Grand Master Challenge (Arcade, special upgrade for the tournament!)

The battles will rage all day long, with pizza and soft drinks (a warrior’s diet) provided for all paid participants. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top 3 players for each title, with more prizes given away to other winners (including a random drawing or two.)

The cost to play is just $5 cover plus $3 per tournament. Sign-ups start at 11AM, tournament starts at Noon (and will end by 6:45PM.) There is a 16-player cap for each tournament, except Tekken Tag Tournament which will cap at 16 teams of 2 players (with one alternate player allowed per team.)

For more details and discussion, visit the Shoryuken.com discussion thread or check back for any updates.

This event is produced in association with RayBladeX, whose dedication to the fighting game community has made this contest a reality!

Note: In order to keep this event all-ages, we’ll be opening the bar at 7PM on Sunday evening instead of 5PM! Minors will be allowed until 7PM when we’ll switch to 21+ only (with valid I.D.)

- Posted by Art