2/25 - Beer, Beer and More Beer!

By Ann Nakamura

At Round 1, you have bowling, you have the massive arcade and you have karaoke rooms to sing the night away. But of course, for some, a good time includes a nice tall glass of beer on a late night.

Yes, whether you’re coming to Round 1 to play games or to bowl your heart out, their Beer bar makes a great add to the experience! And as some regulars have noted, the beer prices here are FANTASTIC! All bottled beer (including but not limited to Heineken, Smirnoff, Guinness, and more) goes for $4 to $5 a pop while their tap beers go for $6.50 a pint (minus Coors and Bud Light which go for $5.50).

You can take a look at the pictures below to see what they have! Of course, if beer isn’t your style, they do have some apple ales and some other bottled drinks as well.

Taps include Bud Light, Angry Orchard, Modelo, IPA, 805, Stella Artois and more!

Bottled drinks include (but aren't limited to) Heineken, Guinness, Mike's Hard Liquor, Smirnoff Ice and more!

Rochelle Lopez, one of the regular barkeepers here at Round 1 gave some of her recommendations to the people who don’t know what beer they want. “It really depends,” she goes, “but if I have to make any suggestions, it’d be Stella (Artois) for a light beer and 805 for dark beers. They go down smooth, but it really depends on your tastes.”

Lopez, showing off the Leinenkugel with a sugar rim a couple of weeks back.

The bar tends to get hectic during game times, so you may be fighting for some seats of for Rochelle’s fine pouring skills. But there has been some agreement with customers that the beer selection is decent and the prices are pretty reasonable as well in comparison to some restaurants and bars that serve beer at $8 a glass. So if you want to get your drink on while being on a budget, come on down!

2/17 - How to Make the Most out of Official e-Amusement!

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OUT OF OFFICIAL e-AMUSEMENT

By Andy Castro

The time has come. You’re finally going to play at an arcade that supports e-AMUSEMENT! Maybe you’re at a Round 1 in America or you’re in another country with an arcade that supports the service. Regardless, it’s time to read up on how to make the most of your experience!

1) Buying an eAMUSEMENT Pass

If you want to play on eAMUSEMENT, you’ll need a pass to do so. In America, Round 1 locations are typically supplied with the standard gray card (usually priced between $7 and $10)

You may find that this card is totally bland and void of personality. If you do, I don’t blame you. Other card designs exist but are not sold in America, thus forcing you to search for cards using other means. I recommend searching http://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/ for any good deals!

So many card designs!! @A@

2) Playing your first games of eAMUSEMENT

Did you know that certain KONAMI arcade games have your first game FREE?

The very first time you use your eAMUSEMENT pass on select games, you won’t have to pay for your first game! Neat, right? Put you Round 1 card away! You don’t have to worry about a thing for your first go at Sound Voltex! Just tap your eAMUSE Pass and you’re good to go!

The following games are free to play on your first game:

Sorry, IIDX lovers...

For American players, this may only be two different games (possibly three if MUSECA is added to the list), but that’s valuable credits you can put into another game! Great, right? Enjoy your first game on the house, with love from Konami.

3) Registering Your eAMUSEMENT Account

Okay you’ve enjoyed your first games or so, and now you want to set up your account.

Below is a step-by-step guide on how to do such:

1. Go to http://p.eagate.573.jp/

What a beautiful site~

2. Click on the blue button on the right side of the page

3. A sign up information sheet will appear. For the weeb impaired, here’s a summary of everything it’s asking:

1. Your Location - DO NOT EDIT THIS.

a. It is preset to Japan, which you WILL WANT. Trust me.

2. Your Language

a. As the person from Japan you TOTALLY ARE,

Japanese will be the only option. You get used to it eventually.

3. Your KONAMI ID Name

a. Whatever you want your username to be here

4. Your Email Address

5. Your Password

a. For your account here, not your email

6. Security Question - must be written in Japanese

a. The very first question asks for your mother’s maiden name.

b. You know what it is? 冥? It’s totally 冥. Just copy and

paste the character for Mei as your answer. Super easy to remember.

7. Would You Like News from Konami?

a. The second option is no.

8. Your Nickname (screenname)

a. Use all the English you want

9. Your Gender

a. Sorry to nonbinaries out there

10. Your Birthday

11. Blood Type

a. Not required but people like to know it I guess

12. Region in Japan you Live In

a. Just pick one

Lastly, type in the captcha and agree to the terms and conditions! You’re good to go! Check your e-mail for the confirmation and the rest should be easy to navigate on your own.

4) Adding Your eAMUSEMENT Pass To Your Profile

Log in to the website using the red button above the blue one you used to sign in. If you’re already signed in, click on the red button anyways. You’ll be redirected to your profile page!

Here’s mine for reference

You can see there are a row of buttons at the very top of the page (with MY PAGE selected). To add your pass, you’ll want to click on the one that says e-AMUSEMENT. From there, you should see a little menu towards the left with multiple different options with pictures of cards. Simply click on the one with a “+” on a card to register your own pass.

This page will ask you for the 16 digit card code on the back of your pass, as well as the 4-digit pin number you’ve been using for your games. Voila! Your pass is connected to your eAMUSEMENT profile! You’re now good to go to access your player information on the respective game webpages, add paseli, and more!

That should be all that you need to know for now! If any other questions come up, I’ll be sure to answer them ASAP! Be sure to also check out my other articles: “Making the Most Out of Your Round 1” and “PASELI: Why You Want It and How to Use It” in the future! Thanks for reading!

--

Andy Castro is a field correspondent for The (Unofficial) Round 1 Arcade Hub. A huge music game enthusiast, Andy likes to wiggy wiggy wiggy on Sound Voltex Booth but in his spare time, likes to assist newcomers and veterans alike with new rhythm game information and insights. Got questions for him? Contact him through Facebook!

APPEND! MUSECA gets a update two weeks into R1!

By Ann Nakamura

Thanks to Paul Richardson at Bemanistyle, we had gotten a tip regarding an update that was supposed to change some minor flaws (not necessarily bugs or glitches) regarding MUSECA's gameplay. This update also dramatically improves readability during gameplay. Let's take a look!

The update comes after two weeks of reporting MUSECA entering Round 1 USA's gamefloor. The update, according to Richardson, allows players to now change the lanes from the "W-shape" (default MUSECA play lane, three blue buttons on top, two yellow buttons on bottom) to a "M-shape" (inverse of the play lane, two yellow buttons on top, three blue buttons on bottom) and to a flat shape, where the buttons are all in one line. There were also changes to the UI system as well, making the interface cleaner and somewhat easier to navigate. The song selection screen has also improved in terms of loading time. However, we were unable to locate the options for lane brightness or the note colors both in-game and on the e-amusement site for MUSECA. There was one other change that we noted where "Story Mode" had been moved out of the main menu, and the player can now opt out of it. 

The one really notable change with the February 10th update.

Our field correspondents, Andy Castro and Oliver Wing had gone to Round 1 and gave MUSECA a try with the updates. I asked them if they had any change of heart about the game after getting this update from KONAMI. 

 "MUSECA is a little better now, but it should have been like this from the start." Oliver says. "More than ever it feels like we got a beta version that was missing important features like, you know, 'flatten the lanes'." Wing does note the UI change in the game, and how it has actually improved navigation. "The UI is better now that it's been decluttered a little." He also noted that, "The option screens now have better mini-images and less explanation text, and that they actually inset the 'turn this button to scroll your Grafica/songlist/frame options' diagrams in a much more visible way." 

Andy looked at the update with an overall approach, explaining: "The game is now a lot easier, but it does not make the game conceptually better". Andy states after trying out a couple of games with the new update that, "It still has a lot of hurdles that it needs to fix, but this update has proven that what they [KONAMI] are doing is listening to our input and willing to adapt. They're open to suggestions and it's a very good step in the right direction."

Despite Castro's words about the game not being better overall right now, he is very positive that the game will start to improve as time goes on. He explains how Sound Voltex Booth (herein SDVX), another music game by KONAMI, had similar issues that MUSECA is currently having with its first installment. Andy reiterates that the current iteration of SDVX has improved tremendously since the very first release, and is now a very popular, user friendly game. While MUSECA is still in its early stages of release, it may take some time (months or even years) before a general consensus can be made about the game. 

(Slightly) New Addition! Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Gundam Next

Over last weekend, the mechanics went ahead and swapped out some fighting games that were not seeing a lot of play, and put in something different, but notable! Let's take a look!

Mobile Suit Gundam fans, rejoice and be glad! Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Gundam Next is a four-player action game where you fight head to head against different Mobile Suits, ranging from the original Mobile Suit Gundam to the more modern Gundam Seed. But don't let this game fool you! This game requires some strategy and thought while executing devastating combos to your foes. You will find both minor and major differences in each mobile suit: no two suits are ever the same. Some suits are equipped with guns and rifles for long range support while some are pure melee and rely on you to execute fast and deadly actions. The game allows the player to also choose from a couple of different levels, meaning that gameplay will get increasingly harder and harder with each round. 

While no two suits are the same, no two controls are the same either! You may notice during gameplay that the same button you use for guns and ranged attacks may not always be the same for the next suit. Also, each Gundam has its own "super attack" which requires to hit a certain combination of buttons and of course, is different depending on the suit you choose.

Whether you are playing solo or with a friend, you and your opponent have their own Battle Gauge with 6,000 points. The team that depletes their opposing team's gauge wins. You do this by defeating the opposing team's Gundams. Every time a Gundam is defeated, the Battle Gauge depletes and respawns the player or CPU. The amount of Battle Gauge the Gundam depletes can range from 1000 points to 3000 points, meaning that more strategy and thinking is required to keep your Gundam alive, especially if your Gundam is defeated and it takes half the Battle Gauge to respawn.

If you are a fan of Gundam or have played Gundam vs. Gundam Next on the PSP, go out and give the arcade game a try! Only 4 credits a play!