It was a humid autumn night, in a grungy, run-down warehouse, and I went down with the bitter tang of humiliation in my mouth. My aggressor: a giant ape hell-bent on destroying me at any cost. I ran the gauntlet towards him again and again, dodging barrels and jets of flame, climbing ladders, scampering back and forth. But no matter how many times I tried, I could not get near him. It was a massacre.

I became a living meme; my ineptitude at Donkey Kong so great that it attracted the attention of the other punters in Barcade, a retro arcade gaming bar in ultra-hip Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It hurt – even worse, I’ll never be able to show my face there again.

Thankfully, with the arrival of Super Bario to King Street, I have a shot at redemption. It is Glasgow’s first arcade bar, and a project over a year in the making. Red tape made its transition from shop to bar a slow one.

“We weren’t short of challenges, but we weren’t short of support either,” says Shaun Murawski, one of the bar’s owners. A successful crowdfunding campaign got the project over the line. “It might have been a long process, but it’s made finally opening our doors all the more worthwhile.”

I slink through the crowds at its opening weekend, gawping at the gaming prowess of its earliest patrons. I feel emboldened to take on Moonwalker: a classic Sega beat-em-up where you play as Michael Jackson, battering baddies and rescuing kidnapped kids. I make it far enough for Bubbles the chimp to appear and power me up into a strutting mecha-Jackson, but before long I am defeated again. Elsewhere, crowds of late-night revellers are queueing to play Street Fighter Zero 2, Metal Slug X, and The House of the Dead. There is craft beer on tap, bubbling beats low in the background.

Each vintage arcade cabinet was sourced individually. “As you can imagine, that took a lot of time and research. But we wanted to make sure we got it just right and lived up to what everyone wanted and hoped to see,” says Murawski. “We’ve had machines and décor driven here from across the country, but it’s all been worth it.”

The astoundingly, overwhelmingly positive vibes on opening weekend would suggest that it certainly has been. But more than that, Super Bario is a labour of love come to fruition, a story of resilience and success against the odds. Can there be anything more satisfying?

Super Bario

Q: What’s the best video game of all time?

1. Maca De Larega, 27, Madrid, “Hmm. It could be Pokémon?”

Steven Baillie, 34, West End, “Grand Theft Auto – anything from 3 onwards.”

2. Roin Smith, 21, Cumbernauld, “Old-school Call of Duty.”

Bilal Shehid, 21, Cumbernauld, “Crash Bandicoot”

3. Stella Russon, 29, West End, “It’s a toss-up between Mortal Kombat and Spyro the Dragon.”

Lauren Tisdale, 29, Merchant City, “Well… I don’t play videogames.”

Joanne Singer, 28, Garnethill, “The Sims doesn’t really count, does it?”

4. Dario Demarco, 28, Garnethill, “Probably Ocarina of Time. No, wait: Xenoblade Chronicles.”

Luca Demarco, 28, Garnethill, “Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time. Best. Game. Ever.”

Martin O’Hara, 28, West End, “Zelda Windwalker”

5. Emma Moore, 26, Bishopbriggs

Favourite Club? “The Cathouse”

Favourite Bar? “Drygate”

Favourite DJ? “Umm… I don’t have one”

Favourite Band? “Mitski”

First Club? “The Cathouse”

What You Drinking? “Drygate’s Apple Ale”

Describe Your Dancing? “Unacceptable Dad Dancing”

6. Stevie Grant, 26, Bishopbriggs, “Metal Gear Solid 2, with Battle Toads a close second.”

David Connolly, 26, Bishopbriggs, “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2.”

7. Emma Daniels 23, Bristol, “Mortal Kombat.”

Montana Aeberhardt, 28, Springburn, “Super Smash Brothers 64”

8. Connor Moir, 21, Aberdeen, “Tough one… I’m going to go for Fallout 3.”

Daniel Espinoza, 28, Madrid, “I’ll go classic and I’ll go for Ocarina of Time.”

9. Robert Pow, 26, Edinburgh, “Crash Bandicoot.”

Derek Newton, 31, Madrid, “Gran Turismo 2.”

Chris Newton, 29, West End, “Double Dragon 2.”

10. Rhys Haggerty, 21, Motherwell, “Skyrim, mate. Definitely Skyrim.”

Ross Stewart, 21, Hamilton, “Call of Duty 4. Goldeneye’s a classic too, though.”