CROSSBEATS' New Update: CROSSBEATS.REV SUNRISE!

By Andy Castro

April 27th, 2016 brought a wonderful surprise to Round 1 players early in the afternoon with the release of CROSSxBEATS REV: SUNRISE updating across all machines. The update should be treated as a new version of the game, with many changes made to the songlist, UI, and even two new mascots! On the day of release, music game circles on social media sites were excitedly posting about the release, and to tell us more about SUNRISE, I interviewed two very serious NorCal Crossbeats players: Oliver Wing (RI74TA) and Matthew Bulotano (すぴりっとすねぁ).

When asked about initial impressions, Oliver was pleased overall with SUNRISE. “It’s good!” he exclaimed, “They didn’t ruin anything. I like the new songs and charts a lot!” While Matthew admits that he preferred the more “elegant” theme behind the original CROSSxBEATS REV, he praised the songlist for including “a lot more bangers and lots of hard bass.” They both noted that the biggest change comes from the tweaks to the user interface. Oliver explained that with SUNRISE, “menus are generally easier to navigate, and the biggest improvement is the option to add a contracting circle to the dot targets during gameplay.” Both Oliver and Matthew compared the concept to Ouendan, and both agree that it makes the game easier to read while also making the game much more accessible for new players. The game also adds a rival system, which has been praised by the CROSSxBEATS community. “There was no real way to look up anything aside from top 10 song scores before, so rivals are a #bless,” explains Oliver, “Honestly, it’s my favorite added feature.”

A new feature has a ring close around the note to help with timing!

Great for players who can’t adjust to the default arrows.

While Oliver did state that SUNRISE didn’t “ruin anything” from the previous version, there will still some criticisms that have been left unaddressed. For Matthew, he felt the game could use more variety in songs. “There are still a lot of songs from the original crossbeats iOS version that aren’t ported over yet,” he stated, “and they are fantastic songs with fantastic charts, so I’d like to see those reach SUNRISE as soon as possible.” Oliver has accepted that arcade CROSSxBEATS and the mobile version as “almost two separate games in terms of songlist,” but still feels that changes can further be made to both the user interface and the hardware of the actual machines.

Oliver explained what he think could be made better, stating, “We still need an internationalized interface!! I think the overseas community was pretty diligent in prodding NAOKI and the cbREV staff when they asked for feedback, but a lot of the help text and menus are still in Japanese. Fortunately, the game doesn’t have complex missions or strategy, so it’s possible to get by without. I would also like to see a cabinet hardware revision, to replace the delicate headphone jacks.” While he notes that the UI is still easier than before, he does make a point about those headphone jacks, which have been regularly malfunctioning across all cabinets.

Oliver really crosses those beats!

When asked if SUNRISE will draw in new players, the two had different responses. While Matthew agrees that the “easier-to-read notes” will draw in some new people, the game itself “still doesn’t offer too much more to attract new players.” Oliver, however, was much more optimistic about the game, saying that a lot of people at Round 1 were “turned off by how hard it was to read and understand charts,” and that the new gameplay mechanic is already drawing in those who originally shrugged off the game. “Already I’ve heard new players mention it as the most important upgrade.” He also says the new songlist should be able to get people interested in playing the game more and more, and praised the new licenses that have been brought into SUNRISE.

If you are one of the people who originally didn’t enjoy CROSSxBEATS REV for its user interface and gameplay, it is definitely a good idea to give SUNRISE a try and see how much the game has grown over a single game update. Be sure to buy a BANAPASS from the Round 1 card counter, and set your account to “海外” (overseas) to make use of that new rivals system! As a final comment from Oliver, he asks that while the option to return to mode select without having to log back in at the end of a game session is cool, “don’t abuse it if someone is waiting their turn! It’s very rude!!”

“Also, please play Strayer.”

5/19 - Disney Tsum Tsum has rolled into Round 1 San Jose!

By Ann Nakamura

Last year, Round 1 had a location test of Disney Tsum Tsum at their Puente Hills location. Now, we bring you Disney Tsum Tsum again, but it’s here to stay! The long awaited mobile-turned-arcade game has entered Round 1 Eastridge and its starting to create huge crowds and gather a lot of fans!

If you have played Disney Tsum Tsum on your mobile phone, the premise is absolutely the same: connect the same like Tsum Tsum on screen, create chains, and attempt to get the highest score and become a Tsum Master! The game is completely localized for the American audience, meaning the menus are easy and comprehensible! But what makes this game so great? To the human eye, it’s just Tsum Tsum with a bigger screen. However, the game offers more than that! An optional feature of Tsum Tsum is the ability to purchase different keychains that will unlock in-game abilities! For $6, you can obtain a physical Tsum Tsum keychain that contains a random Disney character (Donald, Pluto, Mickey, Minnie, etc) and you can obtain up to four keychains per game! These keychains are absolutely adorable, but don’t let their looks fool you! Since the Tsum Tsum arcade game was published by Konami, it utilizes the e-Amusement server, meaning players can register their e-Amusement cards for this game to unlock power-ups, earn coins, record high scores, but most of all register the keychain you just got! Each keychain has its own unique ability (like in the game) and by registering the keychains to the card, you can use that character in game!

Is there anything different though than just keychains and big screens? One other new feature of Disney Tsum Tsum is dual-wielding Tsum's abilities. Instead of having one Tsum Tsum chosen as your main character (like in the mobile game), players can pick two Tsum Tsum’s for ability use. This means that you fill up your Tsum meter and then use their abilities, but instead of only being able to use one, you get two! This makes gameplay much more interesting as you will find yourself strategizing as to when to use certain Tsum’s abilities. And if that isn’t a curveball, there are also two other modes besides the classic Tsum Tsum that players can try out!

Ramil Tadeo demonstrates the gameplay for Disney Tsum Tsum

“This game is a money pit.” says Ramil Tadeo, an avid Tsum Tsum fan. “I’ve spent 12 swipes ($18) in 10 minutes!” When we asked him to talk about his experience with the arcade game in comparison to the mobile version, he said, “Comparing to the iOS version in particular, the screen is definitely bigger where I find my eyes moving around a lot. Also, one of the big differences between both games is you get two ability Tsums”.

Hopefully, this game will be able to bring Tsum Tsum fans from all across the Bay Area together, and will give fans new things to collect!

5/12 - Groove Coaster 3: Link Fever Hits Round 1 San Jose!

By Andy Castro

On Sunday, May 1st, 2016, Eastridge Round 1 rolled out three cabinets of Groove Coaster 3: Link Fever! Groove Coaster, made by Taito (and not Konami for once), has been a successful mobile music game, but the arcade version was nearly impossible to find in the US until the release of this third installment. Today, we’ll be looking at this new addition to the Eastridge Round 1 lineup, and talk to local players about their experience with what the game has to offer.

The game’s title explains a lot on its own. You choose an avatar that rides along a track designed uniquely for each song and chart you wish to play. While your avatar glides, slides, and tumbles around each coaster, various notes appear along the track, and your score is graded on how on-the-beat you hit each note, as well as how much “chain” (combo) you build. The controls to the game are also pretty simplistic, relying solely on actions made on the two “boosters” attached to the cabinet. The game can have you press the booster’s buttons, hold them down, or shake the boosters in a variety of different ways depending on the difficulty of the chart. You don’t have to worry too much about remembering every kind of note, either, as the game warns you what kinds of notes each chart will have before the song starts. Handy!

While the cabinet is very tall, the two boosters

can comfortably fit in the palms of your hands.

Groove Coaster 3 had been rumored to arrive at Eastridge Round 1 for a couple of months, and many music game regulars had been anxious to give the game a chance. On Sunday morning, a good number of Round 1 regulars anxiously waited as the machines were set up, with some who were live-tweeting the process while others prayed that the game’s required updates happened quickly and without issue. I talked to two of NorCal’s regular music gamers, Eric Andrus and Corey Prasek, who had not only shown interest in the game, but also had a lot of talk about due to each having previous experience with the game while in Japan.

“I actually didn’t really care for Groove Coaster when I tried an earlier version in Japan,” Eric admitted, “but Groove Coaster 3 is better. A lot better. When I had first tried it, the game felt too simple and all the menus were in Japanese, but this version adds a lot of interesting features as well as a total localization into English”. While casual gamers have expressed difficulty in understanding the menus and UI in other music games Round 1 provides (we’re looking at you, Konami), Groove Coaster 3 was localized in English for its “worldwide” releases in America and Australia. Even Linka, the game’s virtual navigator, was given an English voice actress, Jennifer Skidmore, just for the international releases. Compared to other music games, the amount of English will almost feel gratuitous at times!

The gameplay and presentation of Groove Coaster is also very eye-catching and colorful, with unique videos for every song to make each chart’s “coaster” feel incredibly immersive into the music. Eric cautioned that this could be a double-edged sword, though: “The game is super fun and easy to get into, but at the same time it feels as though the only way the game can get around the low skill ceiling is through abusing the UI for cheap visual gimmicks.” Some charts do have fast bpms that, combined with a zoomed-in camera angle, makes reading charts more difficult, and overall, the game has been criticized before by the competitive music game community for being extremely reliant on memorization and playing charts repeatedly. It does not help that the game itself hides notes throughout each song (called “ad-libs”) that can easily change the tide of victory in a competitive setting.

A “NO MISS” means everything visible was hit, but a “FULL CHAIN” only

occurs if you hit every ad-lib. A “PERFECT” can’t occur unless you hit every

ad-lib note with perfect timing, too. Random guesses will only help so much!

Corey didn’t have as big of an issue with the visual gimmicks or the ad-lib concept, but said that the only issue he had was with the customization features that are only available online (which has yet to be localized to English). “The NESICA service is a pain to sign up for on the website,” Corey groaned, despite being fluent in Japanese.

“Groove Coaster 3 is also a bit more diverse in the song selection,” explained Corey. “The addition of a lot of Japanese club producers is a welcomed addition, but the game itself has something for everyone.” Corey and Eric both agreed that Groove Coaster 3’s extensive songlist will do a lot to draw in a lot of players. The game has many originals, but also includes J-Pop songs, anime licenses, Touhou arrangements, and even songs from other popular games like Puzzles and Dragons, Danganronpa, and even Konami’s Sound Voltex and IIDX! While Corey was mostly excited about the increase in Japanese club track producers from the previous version of Groove Coaster, he firmly believed that the game could easily allow anyone to find a set’s worth of songs they would enjoy playing.

While the game is playable offline, you are able to save your scores with a NESICA card, available at Round 1’s card desk for $10. With a NESICA card, you are able to access global events, as well as customize unlockable avatars, titles, and messages to send friends during multiplayer matches! You’ll also need to save scores to unlock bonus charts for select songs, so a card is definitely a worthy purchase.

You know you want a card just so you can have a fancy avatar while you play!

They have characters from Puzzles and Dragons, Pitapat Beat, and more!

The game has great potential to be Round 1’s most popular music game, and the lines a proving it. Don’t just take our word for it, though - go and try out Groove Coaster today!

4/16 - First Look: Round 1 Pump It Up Pre-Tournament Thoughts

By Ann Nakamura

Arcade Tournaments. If you are an active arcade-goer, you have probably seen a tourney of some sort happen at your local arcade. Whether it was Providence at Round 1 Eastridge, Best of the West at Sunnyvale Golfland or the well-famed and known EVO in Las Vegas, tournaments are everywhere regardless of their genre. Today at the Arcade Hub, we’re taking a look into the first music-game tournament that will be held at Round 1 Eastridge on April 30^th. And what better way to ring in the first music game tourney than with Pump it Up?

Pump it Up is a dance game created by Andamiro in 1999 - 2000. This game is equipped with a dance pad with five panels and the premise of it, if you are familiar with music games (in particular, Dance Dance Revolution), is that the player steps on the corresponding arrow panel that is displayed on the dance screen. This game has had many upgrades and versions over the years, and with the latest iteration of Pump it Up called “Pump it Up Prime”, players from all over the Bay Area have been coming to practice their skills, master songs, unlock new content and build a community. On April 30^th, the very first Pump it Up Prime tourney of the Bay Area will be taking place at Round 1 Eastridge, led by Kevin Tan, a big community advocate and leader of the Pump it Up community. He has been running Pump It Up tournaments since 2013, and has led the United States Pump Festival, a national tournament for players all over the USA. We took him aside to get a couple of words from him.

The official banner for the PRIME tournament at Round 1 San Jose.

This is the first music game tournament to be held at Eastridge Round 1. How’re you feeling about it? Enthusiastic? Worried?

Kevin Tan (herein “KT”): I am absolutely excited that I had the privilege of working with Eastridge Round 1 to organize the very first music game tournament in the location.  Obviously, as with any tournament, there is always a worry about problems arising, but I’m also excited because there has been a lot of interest in a tournament at Round 1 from even when the location first opened!

What are we going to expect from this tournament? New and old players? Different brackets? Anything in particular?

KT: I’ve invited a lot of players who have attended previous Pump It Up tournaments in California and Las Vegas, and I am hoping to see a lot of the new and upcoming players who started playing at Round 1 and have made astounding progress.  The brackets for this tournament are the same as the previous FanimeCon tournaments.  First, I will talk about the speed divisions, the divisions in which players compete for the highest scores.  There are two speed divisions, one for players at the intermediate level and one for players at the highest level or the international level.  There is also a freestyle division, a division with less of an emphasis on pure score and a strong emphasis on presentation and looking good while still hitting the arrows.

Pictured is Tim Bolosan, playing Prime during the first months of Round 1 Eastridge's opening.

How has the planning been in comparison to other tournament locations? (working with Round 1 to put on this tournament)

KT: The staff at Round 1 has been easier to work with than I initially expected.  There are still certain details that are being discussed, but it is extremely exciting that Round 1 Eastridge is willing to make the process of organizing tournaments easier.

Is there anything you would like to tell to potential spectators? Potential Entrants?

KT: To players thinking about entering, please do not hesitate.  One thing I like to emphasize is that, although players are competitive, players should not feel embarrassed about their tournament performance, nor should stronger players look down on the less skilled.  No matter how you do in this tournament, the most important is to simply do your best and try to have fun doing it, because tournaments are not only about the competition but about meeting great people.  To the spectators, I hope that the performance of the spectators will be entertaining enough to impress you all.  I also want to emphasize that, although the game can look extremely intimidating from watching the tournament, please remember that the game itself does have beginner modes for you to enjoy, so the game is not only it’s hardest skill levels.  I hope you will be encouraged to play and to play together with us.

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Interested in the Tournament? Want to get more information? Visit the Tournament's Facebook Page at: https://www.facebook.com/events/806301666141956/

3/10 - First Impressions: GUNSLINGER STRATOS 2

By Ann Nakamura

Gunslinger Stratos 2 is a game published by Square Enix (alongside Taito) that was to be location tested at certain Round 1 locations. Eastridge Mall had the honor to be one of those locations! As a personal aside, I have been waiting to play this game ever since I had seen gameplay videos of it, so my expectations were pretty high. Were they satisfied after the 3 year wait? Read on!

To start off, the actual arcade cabinet itself is aesthetically pleasing. Side panels have glowing lights that change during gameplay, and it comes equipped with two, very intricately-made lightguns. Each lightgun has two joysticks: the one on the left gun controls your character's movement, and the one on the right controls where you are aiming. The gun on the right has a "jump" button which leaps/floats you into the air to be able to shoot foes from above. Of course, both guns come with triggers and you can alternate from shooting from each. However, you can only shoot from one gun for a certain amount of time before it is forced to reload and by reload, it's alternating to the next gun you have. Now before you, as the reader, go "well, that sucks, I'm not left handed", it adds a sense of bad-assery and, to my surprise, trying to aim with the left gun wasn't too bad! The crosshairs really help out with this as well.

I like this gun. Like, a lot. The middle of the gun has a slot for you to merge your other gun with it.

The long line of Gunslinger Stratos 2 cabinets

Now comes the cool part of Gunslinger Stratos. Why the hell does it have two guns? Well, with Gunslinger Stratos, you are able to "combine" your guns so you can use even better guns! There is the side-style and the tandem-style: one where you hook your guns to each other side-by-side and your gun becomes a semi-automatic machine gun that you can use for a short time on foes. This gun packs a PUNCH and will end an enemy's life before they can say, "Nani?". The tandem style, placing one gun on top of the other, unlocks a ranged weapon which can be a sniper, a laser gun, anything. These are great if you're trying to hit an enemy from really far, especially where a normal gun or machine gun could prove not as effective. What is great is that each character has a unique weapon for both modes, so you may or may not see different guns for the characters you use. This game gets intense very quickly in having to dispatch enemies before the timer runs out, so you are quickly switching between shooting from both guns, switching out your styles and running around so you do not get hit.

But besides gameplay, what else does this game offer? Besides having over 15+ playable characters, with a NESiCA card, players are able to upgrade their weapons and unlock more content. You are also able to play through a story mode which is unique to each character (although, once again, if you cannot read or understand a lick of Japanese, may not be the best thing). Also, the game comes equipped with audio jacks that allow players to use headsets to communicate with each other during gameplay. This proves to actually be in the interest of players since the whole entire game is team-based, and, if players are matched up with a rival team, it makes communication easier than yelling to the other machines. It is a very different functionality on an arcade cabinet, but one that is meant to be for the benefit of the users. 

I picked Olga Janetine as my character of choice. Her costume is pretty... um.... well, you can fill in the blanks.

My thoughts? The game. Is Freaking. Awesome. I am very sad that is just going to be a location test, but I would personally love to see this game in Round 1 SJ in the future. The one major drawback that may prove to be the game's downfall is that it is not localized for an American audience (as most Japanese games tend to be). It is definitely not American friendly, and a couple of Round 1 employees who tried the game were a little peeved when they had to endure a 15 minute tutorial mode by mistake followed by a very dry practice mode. However, for an individual who knows Japanese or for someone who is familiar with at least the basic language, this game will be very interesting and something to be genuinely hyped about, mostly because it is different and a different type of arcade shooter.

Since Gunslinger is looking to be staying for about one more week or so, I would DEFINITELY recommend giving it a try, especially with friends. 

Authors Note: If you decide to buy a NESiCA card for this game, please do yourselves a favor and keep the card on the NESiCA wavepass at all times. According to staff, if you take it off at any time, you lose access to your NESiCA card, meaning that if you try out story mode and take it off, you end after the second stage (out of eight). This is also true for doing team matchups.

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Ann Nakamura is the head correspondent for The (Unofficial) Round 1 Arcade Hub. A lover of arcade games of all genres, she likes to spend her time playing Gitadora and trying out new games that hit Round 1 SJ's arcade floor. Got questions for her? Contact Ann through Facebook!

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!

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!

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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!