Meet the New Zealand world champion of a classic arcade game

Scores are relentlessly pursued by him.

 

In an empty Timezone, I encountered Andrew Barrow.

Located behind The Warehouse’s central Wellington store, the arcade also houses a Laserforce.

A classic basketball machine, large-seated racers, and a frustratingly ineffective claw crane populate the premises.

We scanned the area: “Where’s Galaga?”

Navigating past Big Buck Hunter and Street Fighter, we eventually discovered the 1981 Japanese shoot-’em-up game hidden at the room’s rear.

Unfortunately, the machine was powered off.

Despite Andrew’s efforts as both the world’s best Galaga player and a Lower Hutt packaging company distribution center manager, he couldn’t locate the plug behind the metal block.

Fifteen years back, Andrew’s introduction to Galaga began through his father.

“In Christchurch, we played at a retro arcade next to a Denny’s and Science Alive,” Andrew reminisced.

“One day, I picked it up and never looked back.”

Galaga bears resemblance to Space Invaders with a starfighter under your control, moving horizontally to eliminate swarming enemies aiming for collision.

Andrew honed his skills through regular play.

At 16, Andrew set Galaga aside during a phase of typical teenage activities, steering away from gaming.

However, the gaming landscape shifted, with the rise of online communities and platforms like Twitch transforming gaming into potential careers, transcending the coin-drop era.

The allure of mastery beckoned Andrew back in his early twenties.

“Now, I play with a joystick on my computer and compete on online leaderboards,” Andrew explained.

“It’s a tight-knit online community where banter thrives, and building global relationships is effortless due to the niche hobby.”

For Andrew, the focus has shifted from games to the camaraderie within the community.

In the final showdown, Armando faced off against Andrew, surprising everyone with his hot performance despite struggling with carpal tunnel syndrome. Andrew took the lead early on, but Armando fought back strongly. However, in the end, the match was decided quickly when Armando lost two of his remaining three ships. Despite the loss, Andrew played on for half an hour, encouraged by the organizers and the crowd, to try and break Laidlaw’s record. The atmosphere was filled with beers, speeches, and smoke. Before the final match, Andrew and Armando had already agreed to split the prize money, highlighting their mutual respect. Andrew later described Armando as a great friend, showing no bitterness over the outcome. Upon returning to New Zealand, he shared his disinterest in playing Galaga for fun anymore, as it felt more like work. Although he had already broken Laidlaw’s record on an emulator, Andrew expressed his intention to achieve the feat officially in the future. Reflecting on his world champion title, he simply stated, “Pretty cool. It’s different, you know?”