Numskull's Space Invaders Part 2 Review - Beautiful on the Outside, but Hollow Within

Almost. That's the best I can say for Numskull's latest attempt to bring the vintage arcade experience home, albeit in miniaturized, 1/4 scale size. As usual, the company nails the miniaturized, "Quarter Arcade" look, duplicating the shape and aesthetics of the original machine down to the barest detail. It's almost worth buying the unit for this exquisite eye-candy alone.

But it's $300…and for that price, people are buying not just for the pretty casing, but for the classic, playable game waiting inside—and most notably, the famed "Pepper’s ghost effect" that uses mirrors to reflect Invader's graphics (the cannon and marching aliens) across its matte-printed background. The result is a 3D-ish, almost shadow box illusion that is extremely impressive (impressively immersive!) when witnessed in person. And Numskull, per the company’s own words, struggled for years to replicate this exact effect for the home user. And supposedly, the company has finally succeeded.

Except, did it? Upon my time with the machine, I found the graphics uncomfortably dim, as if I were looking not at the painted scenery to observe them, but through. Half the viewing area is covered by a printed moon base nestled within a hollowed-out canyon of sorts, and ideally, the cannon and protective barriers should be superimposed perfectly on top, creating the illusion that they exist within the boundaries of the environment. But upon play, they actually seemed to be behind the scenery, like ghosts not completely phased into existence—drifting between opaque and transparent. In short, the moon base becomes more like an inkblot in which the player must strain the see the moving vessels weaving within. Imagine trying to watch a small, ivory fish flit slowly around a murky pool. You can see it, but the exercise soon becomes tiring…annoying…not fun.

An important caveat: I’m not familiar with the original “Part 2” (actually called “Deluxe” in the States) machine. And so…perhaps, maybe, possibly…the original cabinet suffers from the same dim proceedings. If so, maybe Numskull can be forgiven for touting its achievement in perfectly capturing that original pepper effect. But I have played the original Space Invaders machine in person, and I know, for a fact, the pepper effect worked incredibly in that one. Presumably, the game’s original developer Taito would have also gotten it right in the sequel/update.

But who knows? All I can say is that, as it stands, this particular 1/4 scale machine is too bothersome to play over an extended stretch of time, that pepper effect not being especially effective. Obnoxious, in fact. And for $300, that’s a hard sin to forgive. It’s one of those instances where “almost” truly isn’t good enough. Also, be forewarned: the screenshots and videos shown by “reviewers” and YouTube influencers alike make the ghostly effect look stronger than it really is. Cameras somehow capture the graphics in a way the human eye can't match.

Again, maybe my unit is faulty. Maybe the original 1979 coin-op is inherently flawed. But my gut feeling is that, whatever calibration Numskull used to set the graphical vibrancy on its original Space Invaders miniature (both are available to be purchased), it simply used the same exact technical parameters for this second machine—and due to the difference between the shadings of the two machine's backdrops, the calculation didn’t carry over perfectly. More tinkering was required. Indeed, although my unit is getting returned for a refund, I’m half-tempted to buy Numskull’s attempt at the first Space Invaders machine for comparison’s sake. The effect, I bet, is stronger for the initial model. And if it is, I’ll keep it.

Had there been a way to adjust the luminosity of the graphics and/or the LEDs, this unit could have been remarkable. But there’s nothing here but the cabinet and the game—no viewing options of note. And for that, unless fans are content with just the admittedly-nice exterior aesthetics…and some compromised playability…this is a machine best left to memory.

A shame. Even a tragedy, really.

But $300 is…$300.—D

Numskull's Space Invaders Part II cab. The exterior is awesome. And at first glance, even that inner screen seems sweet.

The outer box, like the cab exterior, is well-designed and almost feels like a piece of art by itself.

Unlike the 1/6 scale minis released by competitor New Wave Toys, Numskull's machines are comfortable to play, if vaguely. Note the "real" screen on the right (or lower) picture. Its image is then reflected onto the back drop/shadowbox above.

Photographs, unfortunately, suggest a stronger "pepper effect" than what the human eye will actually detect. Here, it looks like the graphics are properly superimposed before the backdrop. But during actual play, that crater/canyon might as well be a giant inkblot obscuring the translucent graphics within.