It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Retro Arcade Remakes, the creators of the Taito Ice Cold Beer Remake that has been on the market for a while now. Last year, they unveiled that they were working with Slackerz Inc. (the creators of Galactic Battleground) to create a new arcade sequel to the 1983 Atari game Food Fight, and now, that game is available for interested operators to purchase. Let’s dive in a little more.
A Quick Food Fight Recap
In case you missed the news on this one from last year, Food Fight Frenzy is an official sequel to Atari’s quirky game where you play as Charley Chuck on his quest to reach and devour an ice cream cone on the other side of the screen. In his way are a number of angry chefs, while piles of food are also strewn about the screen that both parties can use to attack the other.
The original game never got much attention, being released when the industry was collapsing, and it only got a single console port to the Atari 7800. Aside from showing up on the occasional Atari collection, and a reboot for modern platforms a couple of years ago, the IP had been largely forgotten.
Food Fight Frenzy
Slackerz Inc. & Retro Arcade Remakes wanted to change that, preserving the original look and feel of the arcade game, while changing up the gameplay to appeal to the multiplayer needs of modern arcade bars and retro arcades. This version of the game is competitive, where players work at taking each other out by throwing food to knock another player out.
First debuting at Midwest Gaming Classic 2024, we have seen little about the game since then as Slackerz has been quietly working on polishing the game to get it release-ready. Following a similar design pattern to the classic Atari Warlords cocktail cabinet that had been released in 1980, the cabinet has received a new “high nit” screen and artwork to the control panel. High nit monitors provide for a strong black ratio contrast and high resolution, allowing the graphics to come in with a crisp look.
These are available at an MSRP of $5800, although the first 10 buyers will get a special introductory rate below that. They are all ready to ship, and interested buyers can email Joe at Indie Arcade Wave/Slackerz to order. I also should note that this is an officially licensed Atari product.
They have also expanded the character roster (expanding the “lore” of the Food Fight universe):
Note that these are also designed to operate as a platform that can handle future conversion kit releases. While Slackerz/RAR haven’t announced additional titles yet, they will be supporting this cabinet with more content at a future time. I wouldn’t mind seeing an upright design, but there are no plans to create one at this time.
There is currently one model at the Starcade in St. Paul, MN, where it is on freeplay. Where else might you find one here soon?
A Note On Ice Cold Beer
The remake of Taito’s Ice Cold Beer was released a while back, and I was given a quick update on that. They are currently available for $5,495 plus shipping and tax. The art is customizable for arcades, breweries and beer manufacturers, which is a $300-350 upcharge if the buyer has an art package assembled. Customizable art includes both the glass and the side art.
They have been teasing a Zeke’s Peak remake for a while, but that is still listed as coming soon. I imagine that it will be around the same price once it ships.
