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Customer Ratings & Reviews

Your price for this item is $699.99

Customer reviews

Rating 4.5 out of 5 stars with 68 reviews

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Rating by feature

  • Performance

    Rating 4.6 out of 5 stars

  • Storage Capacity

    Rating 4.6 out of 5 stars

  • Controller

    Rating 4.4 out of 5 stars

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Cons mentioned filter

91%would recommend to a friend

Customers are saying

Customers recognize the Killer Instinct Arcade for its reasonable price point and the inclusion of online play. The easy assembly process is also well-received. However, some customers have expressed concerns about the sound quality and the brightness of the marquee.

This summary was generated by AI based on customer reviews.

The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products, promotional considerations or entries into drawings for honest, helpful reviews.
Page 1 Showing 1-20 of 68 reviews
  • Pros mentioned:
    Gameplay

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Great Cabinet, Great Emulation.

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    Posted . Owned for 1 month when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Arcade1Up always provides a great product at a decent price. The games emulate really well, I am really impressed with KI2. Battletoads games are excellent as well. Very nice addition to the home arcade. (Buttons in photos were added after purchase)

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    One of there best to date.

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    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Absolutely wonderful to play these games in their arcade representation again. Growing up these were my favorite games of all time and I still love them. The only thing I wish that they would have added is that the coin slots were actually buttons you could press to give it that real arcade feel. Make sure you set aside a couple hours to put the together. Instructions are simple and easy to use. This cabinet is taller then the normal ones, you will see in the picture. The addition of a headphone jack is fantastic also. In terms of QC, it is what you expect for an arcade-1-up machine. If you have not had one before it is above average for quality in terms of fit and finish. The controls feel upgraded from my other cabinet, buttons have a better feel and the stick feels tighter and more responsive. The "wood" panels for the construction are alreight but you do have to be careful as they can be damaged easily during construction. Well worth the price.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Gameplay

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Still Fun After All These Years

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    Posted . Owned for 2 weeks when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    If you're a fan of Killer Instinct and have fond memories of playing in the arcades this is for you. It's not perfect but it's worth the sale price. The joystick and buttons aren't competition quality but they get the job done. It took me no time to do killer and ultra combos.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Gameplay

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Truly classic

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    Posted . Owned for 1 week when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    This is probably my favorite fighting game of all time. Worth every bit of the purchase

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Gameplay

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Blast from the past

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    Posted . Owned for 2 months when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Has a game I remember playing at arcades plus battle toads which I used to play on my home nes

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    Great where it counts

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    Posted . Owned for less than 1 week when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Feels very close to the arcade. Emulation is spot on, the joysticks feel 10x better than my other 1up machines. For me, I only took away one star for a few of the common minor issues that I see on my cabinet. I've heard the notorious clicking sound when machine is off (tap the deck light button and it stops) and one panel seems slightly lose in the front below the deck. These are not deal breakers, so enjoy the combo breakers instead!

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Great nostalgia!!

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    Posted . Owned for 1 month when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Have 12 of these machines and they are all great!!

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Always wanted one finally got it

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    Posted . Owned for less than 1 week when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    I read reviews of it not the best or its great alot of mixed reviews i took my chance i couldn't be more happier lights make look great only thing about mine marquee don't seem to work or not sure there a buttons for that have not figured that out

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    KI is Pro lol

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    Posted . Owned for 1 year when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Arcade 1up knocked it out of the park it includes battle toads so I guess the meme is officially dead. Best fighting cab out there

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Best Buy Employee

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Supreme victory

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    Best Buy Employee
    Posted . Owned for 1 year when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Love this cab, the joysticks feel much better than previous arcade1up cabinets and the LED on the panel is a nice touch!

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    ULTRA COMBO

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    Posted . Owned for less than 1 week when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Always loved this arcade. Definitely a must have for fans. Battletoads arcade is a blast as well. Beautiful cab for sure amd loads of fun.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    I love it!

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    Posted . Owned for 1 week when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    I love it. The set up took about 2 hours but super easy. Works amazing and couldn’t be happier got it on sale for $299.99. Definitely worth it.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Ultra Combo!

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    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    I haven't played Killer Instinct in years since the Super Nintendo days. I'm glad Battletoads is on this cabinet and that's one of my favorites beat em up games. The installation was not bad.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    T&B Arcade

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    Posted . Owned for 3 weeks when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Absolutely awesome game with excellent graphics & gameplay

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Cons mentioned:
    Sound quality

    Rated 2 out of 5 stars

    Bad Idea

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    Posted . Owned for 6 months when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    If you are a fan of the original KI, this is not it, it’s a pretty cabinet to look at but not to play. The controls are cheap and unresponsive, the software isn’t original because you can’t choose stages, combo breaker or glitches and the sound quality sounds like an old am hand held radio.

    No, I would not recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Coin door, Emulation

    Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    Two iconic fighters, and a few throwaways

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    Posted . Owned for 3 weeks when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Please note, this cab was purchased at a sale price of $399 and not the original MSRP of $699. At the original sale price, I couldn't bring myself to make the purchase despite loving KI as a kid. At $399, the best sale this cab has seen since launching back in January, I'm more than happy with my purchase. However, there are some flaws that need to be addressed. The Good: Near flawless emulation of arcade versions of KI and KI2 (both games are notoriously difficult to emulate correctly), the project handled by Code Mystics, the go-to folks for these particular ports. Not only did they do a great job, but they continue to support and release improvement to various bugs. Both games have various scanline options, smoothing, difficulty settings, online play, etc. The mostly all-black cab looks great. The minimalistic design approach lends itself well to the overall aesthetic. The light-up deck is cool, and remembers your settings (older cabs required powering it up separately and setting your color every time you turned the cab back on). The 3D coin door looks nice, and for added flair you can mod it with LEDs to make the coin slots light up. The 4:3 BOE monitor is great and has nice wide viewing angles, making playing with 2 people and spectating a good experience. Sound quality is decent (not bad, not great), but at least the channels between the main board and headphone jack aren't completely screwed up like in pervious cabs (Turtles in Time, Big Blue). The angled marquee looks respectably nice, and not as washed out as pervious cab marquees. The Not-so-good: KI sits a few inches taller than previous cabs, which can be good or bad depending on your height. I stand 5' 9" and find the control panel height just a tad too high for comfort, even while standing. In fact, it actually sits higher than the original arcade cabinet from the 90's. A slanted deck could've rectified the issue, but like all of A1UP's previous cabs, it sits a flat 90 degree angle. I have to raise my elbows slightly higher than I would prefer to rest my hands on the controls. Also, for someone my height, it renders the included stool mostly worthless, as the control deck is too high to sit comfortably and play. The stock buttons and sticks are pretty bad. The sticks especially are terrible, even by previous A1UP standards. I find myself struggling to land special moves and combos as inputs don't always register. I've already replaced all of the stock buttons with Suzo Happs, but replacing the sticks with IL or Happ sticks requires a bit of work. For a cheap and easy fix, I recommend getting Sanwa octo gates and switching out the square gates in the stock sticks. It definitely helps, but won't completely negate the poor quality of the stock hardware. I haven't really bothered with Battletoads, as the arcade game wasn't something I ever played as a kid, and the console versions feel like pointless throwaways more than anything.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Coin door, Controls, Emulation

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    They hit it out of the park!

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    Posted . Owned for 1 week when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    The best cabinet they offer that I've purchased so far! The emulation is perfect. The controls are better than previous cabinets. Molded coin door, led bar on the control panel is a nice touch. Sound is a little low, marquee is not as bad as people say it is. This is now my most played cabinet and most rewarding. Online is a blast!

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Controls
    Cons mentioned:
    Sound quality

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Best Buy is the place for this deal!

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    Posted . Owned for 3 weeks when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Yes yes yes. I have to agree with all the positive reviews on here! Owning this now as an adult brings back so many memories…. Dont get discouraged by so many negative reviews about this “home arcade” because if those “hard to please” indivduals”” had enough money and a mansion to buy a real 7ft tall 5ft wide arcade and have room in their home for it, be my guest. But dont knock down Arcade 1 up and criticize the art work. Marquee, controlls, buttons, speakers, wood quality/material, color combo artwork doesnt match their blouse, etc etc etc. These were produced and built and targeted to people who can afford them and small enough to fit in any size room! Their prepackaged in a large enough box that include a riser and stool and yes YOU can pay more to “upgrade” it for better hardware, but yes, were paying over $3-700 for these should be built a little better, BUT for the average “Casual gamer” like me, its PERFECT!!! Also Best buy DOES in fact price match so Thank you Beat Buy customer support for helping me! Took some time but i got it finally! Shipping quality can be a little better protected and should be covered in wrapping paper or newspaper or something if a large card board box isnt available. Contents inside is indivudally boxed/packagd but needs more foam/bubble/pillow wrap to keep contents in place and protected during shipment ! Thats all, THANKS!

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Emulation
    Cons mentioned:
    Sound quality

    Rated 3 out of 5 stars

    Love the game, loathe the received condition

    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Great addition to my little arcade collection, but whoever at Best Buy that decided to carve the box to garbage doesn’t have my thanks. Cut so deep that it carved the siding of the machine. Other than the glaring issue of the side of the cabinet, it runs great. Emulation works well, sound could be a bit better (more bass), but I am happy with it.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Rated 3 out of 5 stars

    Great Games - Flaws In The Machine

    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    I am a HUGE fan of Killer Instinct. I was super-excited to get this as my 2nd Arcade1Up machine. However, after putting it all together there are some things I want to point out to potential buyers. 1 - there is a known issue with the right side of the screen while playing Killer Instinct. Certain stages cut off about 1/2" from the right side of the screen. This means you have about 1/2" of no image from top to bottom on the right side of the screen. I didn't see any of the preview reviewers mention this, but every machine has this issue. It's something Arcade1Up is not going to fix. In fact, Arcade1Up claims this was part of the original arcade experience - I played many hours of Killer Instinct, but I don't remember this issue. Additionally, on my machine, the speakers make a clicking sound after the machine is turned off. The speakers continue to click until I physically unplug the machine. I have reached out to Arcade1Up for support and they have responded they have "engineers looking into the issue and hope to have a fix soon." This was over 3 weeks ago and each week I contact them with the same update/response. I have found several other owners with the same exact issue. Finally, the plastic control deck cover has printed white lines that outline the buttons and graphics. However, the white lines aren't really lined up well with the graphics underneath. This is a small complaint, but the while lines are covering text at the buttons and off-center on the KI logo. It just looks bad but it can't be removed from the protector without completely removing the cover itself. I haven't really spent much time with the other games on this machine, so I don't know if there are any issues with them. I really love Killer Instinct, but I wanted to point out to potential buyers since it is kind of a big deal to spend $700 on a machine like this with some glaring flaws.

    I would recommend this to a friend
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