My first trip to Round 1 Arcade left me with a lasting impression.

Steph and I went to Round 1 in Cumberland Mall for the first time last weekend. Located in Marietta, GA, it’s home to the type of arcade machines you might expect from contemporary arcades. Dave & Buster’s, Bowlero, and Stars and Strikes all have Mario Kart, Space Invaders, and a ton of other common choices. However, I was not prepared for the variety of games I wanted to play at Round 1.

“You can fly across the border!” 🎶

Taking it a step further, Round 1 hosts nearly a dozen Japanese fighting game and rhythm game cabinets. Tekken, Street Fighter, KOF, and SoulCalibur III accompany rarer titles like Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. The Stonecrest Mall location even has X-Men vs. Street Fighter, Marvel Super Heroes, and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure! If you want rhythm games, you’ll get DDR, Taiko no Tatsujin, Groove Coaster, and a ton more. Stonecrest Mall location also has Rhythm Heaven!

I had the original Rhythm Tengoku on GBA, too. I highly recommend this series!

As someone who has attended anime cons and events like CEO since 2015, this was a real treat. I don’t go to contemporary arcades often simply because they do not have what I want. I do not care about 90% of games they host in my local areas. I want fun Japanese arcade games that I can play for minutes at a time if not longer. I frequent the game rooms at conventions for experiences like this.

I built a cute girl team in MvC2 for Steph.

I had so much fun beating Tatsunoko vs. Capcom’s arcade mode for the first time in over a decade with my team of Batsu and Kaijin no Soki. I enjoyed playing several rounds of Tekken 7 on a cabinet. I especially enjoyed playing Taiko with Steph and discovering Groove Coaster with her.

Our first time playing Groove Coaster!

As mentioned earlier, not only did we venture to the Cumberland Mall location, but due to various reasons, we also stopped by the Stonecrest Mall location. Not only is that one 30 minutes closer to Augusta but it also has a slightly better fighting game selection. I’ll likely be coming to this one again in the future and the Cumberland Mall one for trips to Anime Weekend Atlanta.

She won Cappy!

All in all, I had a wonderful time with Steph. I really wish we had a Round 1 Arcade in Augusta. They have bowling, food, and of course, arcade games that interest everyone and then some. I hope I can go back again soon!

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