Blade Strangers – Location Tests

This .. is a blast.

Can’t recommend this game strongly enough to fight game players in Tokyo. Definitely hit Sega’s Kagurazaka, Dome City, or Battle Arena Shinjuku arcades this week to get some games in on this location test.

Available till August 3rd, Blade Strangers’ gameplay is simple, seemless, wildly fun and with a current lineup of 15 playable characters, you’re bound to find someone you sync with.

Our top 3 are Solange, Helen and Kawase. We got a 70% combo right off the bat with Solange, but there are a couple of other reasons she’s top.

DD

Sega Yoyogi Closes

Super sad to see.

But it seems likely that Sega might’ve just diverted their funding from this place into the new Sega arcade located in Kabukicho… it’s pretty understandable and with Sega Kabukicho now a solid year in it seems likely that the newer and more central arcade has found it’s feet.

Still it’s sad to see. Sega Yoyogi had been operational since the mid 90’s and while it was never a prime location, it was a nice hangout, being just outside Shinjuku. You never had trouble getting on a cabinet, spacious, smoke free, good staff and 20 seconds from the station.

The outer decor set it aside from other joints and demonstrated just how bombastic arcade were in the 90’s. Neon lights and gold backdrop made it look stunning. Unfortunately the signage has all been pulled down suggesting that this place closed at least a month back.

DD

Name that Arcade!

The answer to yesterday’s Question was Game Park Ramble Plaza, Ikebukuro.

A really tough one apologies but a sick sick sick arcade located just 3 minutes from JR Ikebukuro station. Awesome place for Street Fighter 4, Third Strike, Gundam, Fiat of the North Star and one of the last arcades in central Tokyo with gun games!!

DD

Who’s ready?

We got a few games in on this at JAEPO earlier this year and loved it

Seems very likely that this is going to eclipse Soul Reverse in a hot minute.

Props to Sega HiTech land in Shibuya. The be been doing a 2 week countdown to this game and went all out with the Fate decor.

DD

Name that Anime!

10 points to anyone who can name this classic character / animation from the mid 90’s.

This guy changed my entire view on life. So much love if you’ve seen this or other works by the artist.

DD

Coaster Realness

It’s been just about 2 years since coasters became the latest collectible for game fans in Japan, which really seems to be being led by the Final Fantasy brand cafes.

With the advent of so many game themed cafes popping up in the past few years (Hunters Bar, Koei Tecmo, Capcom Cafe..), it really wouldn’t have been surprising that coasters would become the new collectible. What is surprising however is the value of these pieces of card, which have just been growing in value. The past few months we’ve seen more and more popping up at more and more exorbitant prices.

Certain limited edition runs at cafes such as Eorzea and Square Enix Cafe in Akihabara have already hit 4000¥ retail (which may not sound like much but considering the cards are less than a year old..).

Gotto say that these coasters pictured from Artnia Cafe in Shinjuku are really modestly priced. Maybe Artnia is less in vogue with Final Fantasy crowds these days…

If you do pick up some of these coasters it’s definitely worth investing in some plastic sleeves and chucking them in a closet for a few years.seems very likely that these are something that really will appreciate for gaming fans.

DD

Hobby Off – Koenji, Tokyo

Always an amazing spot if you’re in the area. I’m usually here 5 days a week and they have something new almost every day.

The latest edition to their stock is this stunning ARTFX Darth Maul statue from 2011.

Whether you’re a fan of the series or not you’ve gotto now down to the quality of this. Modelled in the style of an Ukiyo-e woodblock character and just 13,000¥, this guy is gonna be gone before the week is out.

DD

Kingdom Hearts Ready to Wreck your Savings

We are still a good 6 months away from the launch of Kingdom Hearts 3, but already Disney is putting the slow burn on fan’s saving accounts. Previous games have also had a wealth of merch, but the game seems to be being played expertly right now.

Both Final Fantasy Cafes, and Electronics retailers are stocking huge quantities of pin badges, keychain holders and replica miniature swords as well as a slew of plastic figures, most of which are random lottery select. More surprisingly though, there are already limited edition versions of characters turning up in Village Vanguards and Kotobukiyas around the country.

Pretty stunning already and the merch is just going to heat up in the upcoming months. Really looking forward to launch at the Final Fantasy Cafe’s to see what exclusives show up on the menu!

DD

Capcom .. are .. BACK!

The last few months (years) have been pretty rough on these guys, but with Resident Evil 2 looking su-su-sickk, and now this… it really looks like Capcom is moving in the right direction.

Introducing the latest edition to the E-Sports Japan realm, the Capcom E-Sports Club. So sick. This particular one is located in Capcom Game Plaza, Kichijoji, Tokyo, however I’ve been informed other Calvin joints are following suit.

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Free to play, free to register and free rental of Hayabusa Hori Arcade sticks is pretty stunning in and of itself.. tie into that, weekly competitions, participation from some top class SFV names, and the stunning decor and I’ve got to say they’ve won my heart back.

No photos of recording aloud however I was given permission to take a few shots just to show how dope the setup is.

Really pleased with these guys. I’ve been wanting to play SFV since day one.. amazing. They figured it out.

DD