3/3 - PASELI: Why You Want it and How to Use It

By Andy Castro

So you want to know more about PASELI (PAy Smart Enjoy LIfe), huh? I don’t blame you, I’m sure as you’ve enjoyed eAMUSEMENT you’ve at least heard about KONAMI’s alternative credit payment option. While in Japan you can utilize PASELI to pay for your arcade games, buy sodas from vending machines, and who knows what else, America’s use for PASELI is much more limited, and you’re really only be using it the webpage and KONAMI’s basic subscription, which is a little more than 300 PASELI a month.

“So I can’t use PASELI to pay for my games? What’s the point?”

There are many reasons why you’ll want PASELI as an American player, such as:

1. Proper Score Tracking

• You’ll especially need this to use web trackers like iidx.me and bluekingdragon

2. IIDX Customizations

• Anyone else hate the default settings of IIDX as much as I do?

Change your noteskins, judgment font, and more!

3. Rivals

• Friendly competition can be fun! But you can’t utilize rivals in IIDX or Sound Voltex without PASELI

4. PASELI-only Items

• For the use of Boosters and Exchangers in SDVX and Rainbow Train Tickets in IIDX Copula, you’ll need to pay for these using PASELI

Hopefully that’s enough to convince you how useful PASELI can be!

Getting PASELI

IF YOU SET YOUR LOCATION AS USA WHEN REGISTERING YOUR eAMUSEMENT ACCOUNT, YOU CANNOT PURCHASE PASELI

If you have already made your account, go make a new one and move your card over to your Japanese account.

1. Payment Options for PASELI

Before you go rushing in to buy PASELI, you’re going to want to make sure you have the means to pay for it. There are three payment options for PASELI:

1. Japanese Credit Cards

2. Bitcash Cards

3. Prepaid PASELI Cards

If all of those confused you, your best bet is gonna be option 2. Bitcash cards are actually pretty accessible, and a rather easy process if you know what you’re doing.

2. Buying a Bitcash Card

While I’m sure there are many ways to obtain a Bitcash card, I’ve found that the best place to go is OffGamers. They often have sales, too, so be on the lookout for those! I recommend buying either the 2000 or 5000 yen cards, as PASELI can be bought in 500, 1000, 2000, 5000 yen increments.

If you’re using OffGamers, you will be sent your Bitcash card through an image file attached to an e-mail. The image is the 16 character Bitcash card code, which you’ll need to use when purchasing your PASELI. If you cannot read and/or type in Japanese, turn to your nearest weeb friend to help you out!

3. Buying the PASELI

Click on the link here to access the PASELI payment page. You’ll notice a ton of Japanese here but the important thing is the button in Step 3, shown below.

From there, you’ll be asked to log into your MyKONAMI account (and if it won’t let you log on, you’ve probably set your location to not-Japan, ya dingus). Scroll down the page you’re redirected to until you see a list of PASELI amounts.

Click on however much money you’re giving to KONAMI

From there, you’ll be sent to a terms and conditions agreement. Y’all are grown enough to know you just hit the accept button.

You’ll then be asked what you’ll be using to pay for your PASELI. “Bitcash” is written in English, so it’ll be pretty easy to find.

Next, you’ll be asked to put in your Bitcash card code. Hope you know how to type in Japanese! (Or at least copy/paste the code that someone else typed for you). With that, you just keep on click and you’ll be all set!

Once you’ve added PASELI to your account, you can sign up for KONAMI’s basic subscription by going to any page that requires the service. Click here to go to Copula’s rival page, an example of a page that needs the subscription. From there you can select to pay using your PASELI, and the monthly cost of the subscription will be deducted at the 1st of each month until you run out!

Enjoy using the most of PASELI and your KONAMI Basic Subscription!

Other links:

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OUT OF YOUR ROUND 1

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OUT OF OFFICIAL e-AMUSEMENT

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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!

1/21 - What's Good: SJ Eastridge Monthly Update

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Arcade Hub! Right now, we're currently dusting off the cobwebs on the blog desk and trying to figure out where everything is. It's been a very BUSY couple of months, but we're here now to bring you some (hopefully) delightful news!

Round 1 is going BIG in 2016. This means a lot of things will be happening: new games, new changes and hopefully, new customers and staff! There have been a lot of talks, discussions and meetings with the Round 1 staff behind closed doors and, after speaking with a reputable "birdie", there are some new games to be entering SJ Round 1's doors this year! There are currently no set dates as to when these games will be arriving and installed, but are AT LEAST confirmed to be on order.

Disclaimer: At the current time, we are only allowed to reveal two games in the lineup for SJ Round 1. We will keep you guys updated if more games are allowed to be revealed (of course).

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Music game fans, rejoice! The highly anticipated game, Groove Coaster, is coming to SJ Round 1 in the coming months! Published by Taito, Groove Coaster was originally a touchscreen iOS game, but has now entered the arcade market with a tall, vertical screen and two giant "BOOSTER" controllers! 

Groove Coaster has a fair amount of songs in its tracklist, ranging from J-Pop to Touhou music to Taito published games and so much more! If you are familiar to music/rhythm games, the concept is fairly simple: during the song you play, your avatar will move through an intergalactic journey (a.k.a. a sequence from the beginning to end of a song) where the player has to use the two joysticks to input commands. These commands range from "taps" (press the button on top of the controller), "holds" (press and hold the button on top of the controller), "beats" (press the button repeatedly until it tells you to stop), "scratches" (move the controller itself up and down) and "flicks" (flick the controller itself to the arrow that will appear on screen). The player has a choice between three difficulties which are Easy (SIMPLE), Normal and Hard. Groove Coaster also supports multiplayer play where up to four players can play with each other to earn EXP and other bonuses.

Groove Coaster will require a NESiCA IC card to save any player data, such as level, avatar, titles and any unlockables. It is not necessary to buy a card to play the game itself.

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Shooting game fans, rejoice! Gunslinger Stratos is going to be making its R1 USA debut this year for 2016. A third person shooter published by Square Enix, this game takes arcade shooting games to a whole new level: you dual-wield light guns. 

If you are a fan of third person shooters (or maybe MMO's such as S4 League and GunZ: The Duel), then you may be very much compelled to give Gunslinger Stratos a try! Each lightgun is equipped with an analog stick and buttons to control your character's movement and arsenal as you attempt to shoot down your rival team and empty their team's overall health meter. But besides being able to hold and use two handguns at once, what makes this game cool? By changing how you hold and position your guns, a player can utilize their character's unique arsenal of weapons, ranging from tactical to straight up powerful. Put your guns together horizontally may change what weapon you use. Clip your guns with one on the top and one on the bottom can change your weapon to something deadly and destructive. With the use of a NESiCA card, players can earn points by winning team battles which allow the player to unlock Weapon Packs which, by name, unlocks new and devastating weapons for the player's use.

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While MUSECA has been announced already a month or so ago, we have gotten word that the machines are to be possibly set up at the store during this weekend (1/22 - 1/24). This is currently tentative and does not reflect possible issues such as host/server set-up, software updates, hardware configuration or (of course) shipping and cargo delays. We will keep you guys posted regarding this on our Twitter Page: @round1blogger

We'll keep you posted, but be on the lookout for more to come!

New Addition! Sound Voltex Generator

As of yesterday, Round 1 installed their new Sound Voltex Generator to their Sound Voltex machines! Let's take a look!

What the Generator looks like when its installed.

 The Sound Voltex Generator is a "appeal card generator". What this means is that for one extra credit (meaning playing SDVX with two credits instead of one), you can add the option of having the Generator print you out an "appeal card", which is a collectable for the player and can actually add in-game benefits as well! There are multiple designs that are printed at random, and the cards range from being common cards to PUR (Perfect Ultimate Rare) cards that can boost a player and assist them during gameplay for Boss Songs in SDVX by becoming part of your "sub crew". "SDVX has a boss battle system to unlock various songs and charts," Tu Le, a regular for Sound Voltex here at Round 1 Eastridge, says, "When you battle these bosses, you do a certain amount of damage to them. Having only the stock Rasis Ver III will do damage, but just not as much." So the PUR cards allow for more damage during boss fights.

 What is also great about the PUR cards is that they are tied to your account! That means, if you wish to give the card away or you end up losing it, the benefits that the card gives to you is attached to your e-amusement account! 

An example of one of the very many cards you can collect from the SDVX Generator!

There are 12 to 13 characters that a player is able to choose when the "Generator Light Start" mode is chosen. You are able to collect a certain amount of cards with each character, but since it's random as to what card a player will get, there is a major possibility for duplicates. This is absolutely fine! Duplicates create higher chances of a player getting a PUR card.

Tu Le displays the first card he got from the Sound Voltex Generator.

So for all you Sound Voltex Booth players, give the Generator a shot and grab yourself some cards!

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Sound Voltex 3: One credit.
One Generator: Two credits.

Getting no PURs on your games: Priceless

For everything else, there's Paseli.

Special thanks to Tu Le for providing information for this article!

10/1 - Turnout Thursday

Every couple of Thursdays or so, we at The (Unofficial) Round 1 Arcade Hub like to recognize the regulars who come to Round 1's arcade and play the games. These individuals are enthusiastic, dedicated, and have been arcade goers for a very long time. They are supporters of the company that make the games, but overall, love Round 1. I, Sue, look through the arcade while I'm working and I am starting to see that we're starting to attract regulars. Amy does too, although, she's usually too distracted about the Rilakkuma shipments for the Prize Counter...

This week's Turnout Thursday feature is: Branden Sherry!

Branden Sherry, 22, is one of the local denizens who plays at Round 1. Usually, our staff sees him playing Beatmania IIDX 22 Pendual, a Japanese DJ Simulator Game, on both nights and afternoons, and will usually stay for long periods of time. He has been an arcade enthusiast and a music game player since his elementary school days, starting off at San Jose Golfland in his early childhood to Golfland USA, and now, to Round 1 Eastridge which he calls home. I had an opportunity to sit down with Branden and talk about his arcade experiences and opinions, what brought him to Round 1 and what it is like to be playing Beatmania IIDX 22 Pendual here at our San Jose store.

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Sue: How did you come across Eastridge Round 1? Was it from your friends or what?

Branden: Just social media. It was the very first place I found out about it.

S: How long have you been going to Round 1 in general (not just the SJ location)?

B: The very first time I went was in 2011. It was for Grave Consequence [a tournament for an arcade game called DJ Max Technika], so I’ve been going to Round 1 for about 4 years now. Plus, a lot of my friends are down in SoCal.

Editor’s Note: Round 1 USA started in Southern California. Their flagship store is in City of Industry, California and there are four stores total in Southern California.

S: Would you still go to Round 1 even if your friends were not in SoCal?

B: Oh yeah, I would. My friends are a big portion of the reason I go there. But, if they don’t come out, well, I know that I’m going to have a good time at Round 1. When I go down there and I plan my trips with by myself or with Andy [the interviewees’ boyfriend], we don’t even check with anyone else if they’re free. We just go down for the purpose of visiting Round 1. We don’t even schedule time to just say, “Hey, are you available this weekend?”. We’re just like, “hey, we’re coming down this weekend to Round 1”.

S: How do you like this Round 1? How does it compare to, say, Puente Hills Mall Round 1?

B: I like it! It’s got an interesting layout aside from the other Round 1’s. It’s unique the way it’s shaped. It’s got an actual pattern where PHM (Puente Hills Mall) and Lakewood R1 stores are completely open. Here, you have to go around to see everything. I was so weirded out when I came through the back entrance (outside of the mall) and I was like, “Am I in Round 1?”

What’s also nice about this location is that it is the best location you’re going to get: it’s the closest mall that everyone can get here pretty well. For other people who come from SF or other places, it’s easy: we’re close to the freeway, we just take a couple of exits and you’re there! It’s just convenient.

S: How would you compare playing at home to now being able to play Beatmania IIDX at Round 1?

B: Playing at home is nice, but you cannot get a perfect setup at home. You have to play on a machine and that’s the nice thing about here is that there is that they have KONAMI Japan official machines here. It’s the closest [in terms of location] you’re going to get. When you play at home, it’s nice because it’s there, but after a while, you’re like, “hmmm, I definitely want the real thing”. Being here, it doesn’t even compare to playing at home. People don’t understand that these are the only two machines we have here (straight from Japan and KONAMI) within a six, seven hour drive. It’s very refreshing.

S: How many hours of Beatmania IIDX do you average in a week?

B: All depends on work and of course, life. I try to come here at least on my two days of and at least once, maybe twice during the week.  Realistically, I can come here after work and spend my money’s worth. I’ll get here at 3pm and usually, depending on the crowd, I’ll easily be here till like… 9pm. I spend about 4 to 6 hours here to get my time in, but honestly, I average about 15 hours a week.

S: How much money do you think you’ve already spent at Round 1 SJ within the three weeks it has been open?

B: (Branden pulls out his Round 1 club card) Just shy of $180. 


S: Let's go ahead and wrap this up. What is the one thing you would want people to take away from this interview? You can say anything!
B: So, I think as a whole, Round 1... it's a great time. There is so much versatility with it: you can do anything like go bowling, you can hang out and drink beer and play redemption games, and you don't get that from a lot of arcades I'm sure. It helps that the staff is great. There is just so much to do here and you could spend your whole day here if you want.  As far as the [music game] community goes, people are nice, even though they don't look like it. (laughs) Give everyone a chance! Now is a perfect time to go to Round 1, or get into to the arcade.  I know that people aren't regular arcade goers but it wasn't for anyone who started. Now, there are people who go into the arcades every day. Give it a shot! You'll enjoy yourself. Trust me!

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Know somebody who you think Amy and I should interview? Do you think YOU should be interviewed? Want to have some bragging rights and your pictures taken to show your friends and colleagues? Shoot us an email at helloround1blogger@gmail.com and let us know why we should choose you for our Turnout Thursday feature!