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Nostalgia about Chuck E. Cheese and Arcades

I remember when I was a young lad, I remembered living in my rural town of Ottawa, Illinois. At times, my family would have to make trips to the suburb towns of Chicago like Schaumburg, Oakbrook, and others. I remember my mom, my sisters, and I would head to Joliet to get our car repaired. Right next door to the dealership was a Chuck E. Cheese (previously known as Showbiz Pizza, before it's merge in the early 1990s). I'd beg my mom to take us and while sometimes my sisters disagreed, we went.

Places like these have a bit of a sentimental feeling to myself. Aside from the occasional trip, I remember celebrating birthdays at Chuck E. Cheese's & Showbiz Pizza locations. My first memory I remembered was my third birthday at the same Joliet location I mentioned previously.

Chuck E. Cheese is probably my generation's first memory of what an arcade is. Back then, they didn't hold back on the latest video games at the time. I remembered playing Street Fighter II, Killer Instinct, and even Mortal Kombat at a Chuck E. Cheese's (today you won't see such games in a Chuck E. Cheese's as they are promoting a more family friendly atmosphere). It is kind of sad that these days that the arcade is now a thing of the past (due to the console has now surpassed the arcade cabinet in technology) and places like Chuck E. Cheese are fading out slowly, but those that are still up and running are still giving kids of today that first taste of video games and arcades.

While I am too old for Chuck E. Cheese's today, I still have the great memories and can sort of relive it with some of the adult-aimmed video game centers that are available today.