Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Round 1 Moreno Valley

2012 saw a second Round 1 opening in California, this time in the Moreno Valley Mall. We decided to go check it out. Having just opened in September, it has a kind of a "new arcade" feel to it. I think it still has room to grow.

When you first enter the mall, a fancy sign greets you.

It's a pretty large presence.


Dark Escape 4D. A fun shooter, but it's $2.00 a game. It's loud and nice looking though.

Dark Escape 4D side view.


The famous Round 1 UFO catchers take up massive amounts of floor space.

A good mix of new and old fighters running on modern HD candies.
A pair of working DJMax Technika 3's, with working card readers.
Round 1 has a Pop'n Music Fantasia! Super fun!
Pop'n Music Fantasia sits between the Technika 3's and a employees only door that seems to have heavy traffic.
A Blast City and a New Net City stand proudly near the modern candy section.
A wild ReRave appears! I personally think (the cabinet) looks a bit silly, but it was loud at least!
Dance Dance Revolution X2
Pump It Up Fiesta 2 - They had the volume up to 11 on this one ^^
Lots of deluxe ticket games are around waiting to take all your credits. Here is a Bejeweled.
I don't know what this is, but it looks crazy. I think it's a pachinko type game.
Some Skee Ball
Winners Cube
Private Karaoke rooms make up the back wall of the arcade, near the Bemani/music game section.
A giant Purikura booth sits near the entrance.
This Round 1 sports an entire room for ticket prizes. GOOD prizes abound, making the ticket games tolerable.
A Pac-Man Battle Royale! Not quite as fun as I'd hoped, but it still looks impressive.
The mandatory Initial D racers. (they had lot's of racing games)
Some Dead Heat I think...
doodle jump........I have no idea.
KOF XIII (arcade, not climax) is in the house.
Some older favorites are lurking about; Let's Go Island 3D.

Overall it's a nice arcade and we had a great time during both visits. I finally figured out the pricing system and I'm not sure why I was confused before as it's pretty simple. It is possible to spend quite a bit of time in this arcade without spending very much money if you have any skills at all and stay away from the ticket games. If you come with the kids, better be ready to drop some funds though.

When you go, I'd recommend staying away from the unlimited credits for an hour pricing deal, the games that are set for unlimited play (green swipers) are games that don't cost much and take a good deal of time to play anyways if you are any good.

This arcade is a winner and I will certainly be back. If you are in Southern California, do yourself a favor and pop in for awhile. Now if only Round 1 would open some of these up north more....


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