Best place to buy shmups in Tokyo?

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Tofa
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Best place to buy shmups in Tokyo?

Post by Tofa »

Going over in April and would like to get my hands on some japan only games for home consoles, Dreamcast, Xbox 360 etc. Anyone know of the best place to find old school shmups?

side question: what are your favourite/recommended shmups

Thanks!
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gozaimas
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Re: Best place to buy shmups in Tokyo?

Post by gozaimas »

Good news is that Tokyo will have pretty much every console-based shmup you could want for sale *somewhere* in the city. The bad news is that in literally every case you will pay eBay prices or, in many cases, more. You're at least ten years too late if looking for Tokyo bargains on desirable old games, even in the more obscure vintage game shops away from Akihabara. But, so long as you adjust your expectations to that effect, you'll still have a good time game shopping imo.

I recommend heading to Nakano Broadway first. There's a great game store in the main complex called Galaxy, where they have good (but expensive!) stock, but it's also just a fun, nerdy place to be in general, and it's marginally less tourist-focused than Akihabara.

If this is your first time then go to Super Potato in Akihabara. It's a tourist trap these days, but still a fun place to go. Just don't buy anything there, as you will 100% find it cheaper elsewhere. That said, there's a less well-known Super Potato in Ikebukuro, which is definitely worth a visit, as they have stuff there which is usually sold out in the main location.

Trader in Akiba is good for Xbox 360 games, and newer titles. You absolutely must visit BEEP too, which is a hard to find (look out for a staircase leading down), but it's just a fantastic store with lots of mad rare computer stuff.

At the end of the main Akiba hughstreet there is a two-floor used game store called Friends Game Shop which is a great place to visit (the little old lady who works one of the counters is sweet).

If you're interested in arcade stuff, deffo visit MAK, which is along the Main Street on the right hand side as you walk toward Friends (look up and you'll see their logo in the window). There are lots of others ofc but these stores will get you off to a good start.

More generally, DEFINITELY visit Takadanobaba’s Mikado, which is, imo, the best remaining arcade anywhere.

RE: your last question, the Shmups forum just posted the results of their annual vote on the best STGs of all time. You won't go wrong with their recommendations.
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Tofa
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Re: Best place to buy shmups in Tokyo?

Post by Tofa »

gozaimas wrote: February 7th, 2020, 5:35 pm Good news is that Tokyo will have pretty much every console-based shmup you could want for sale *somewhere* in the city. The bad news is that in literally every case you will pay eBay prices or, in many cases, more. You're at least ten years too late if looking for Tokyo bargains on desirable old games, even in the more obscure vintage game shops away from Akihabara. But, so long as you adjust your expectations to that effect, you'll still have a good time game shopping imo.

I recommend heading to Nakano Broadway first. There's a great game store in the main complex called Galaxy, where they have good (but expensive!) stock, but it's also just a fun, nerdy place to be in general, and it's marginally less tourist-focused than Akihabara.

If this is your first time then go to Super Potato in Akihabara. It's a tourist trap these days, but still a fun place to go. Just don't buy anything there, as you will 100% find it cheaper elsewhere. That said, there's a less well-known Super Potato in Ikebukuro, which is definitely worth a visit, as they have stuff there which is usually sold out in the main location.

Trader in Akiba is good for Xbox 360 games, and newer titles. You absolutely must visit BEEP too, which is a hard to find (look out for a staircase leading down), but it's just a fantastic store with lots of mad rare computer stuff.

At the end of the main Akiba hughstreet there is a two-floor used game store called Friends Game Shop which is a great place to visit (the little old lady who works one of the counters is sweet).

If you're interested in arcade stuff, deffo visit MAK, which is along the Main Street on the right hand side as you walk toward Friends (look up and you'll see their logo in the window). There are lots of others ofc but these stores will get you off to a good start.

More generally, DEFINITELY visit Takadanobaba’s Mikado, which is, imo, the best remaining arcade anywhere.

RE: your last question, the Shmups forum just posted the results of their annual vote on the best STGs of all time. You won't go wrong with their recommendations.
YOOO! Cheers mate this is exactly what I was hoping for and more 😱

Went to Tokyo recently but didnt know about much besides Super Potato and Mikado. In the end we didn’t have time to visit Mikado sadly.

I want to be better prepared for our next trip there so really appreciate all the above advice. Especially know that I’m more familiar with Tokyo I can explore more.

Thanks again !
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GermanDarknes
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Re: Best place to buy shmups in Tokyo?

Post by GermanDarknes »

While in Akihabara I would also recommend to visit Surugaya, the one next to BEEP. During my visit it was one of the less expensive stores in Tokyo region. There's also one in Shinjuku, but can't say anything about that one.
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Re: Best place to buy shmups in Tokyo?

Post by aerobert »

Was going to mention Surugaya too. :)
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neoyagami
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Re: Best place to buy shmups in Tokyo?

Post by neoyagami »

I went to most of these places last nov, on my first trip since the gamecube launch and damn have prices gone up in Tokyo. Theyre pretty much the same as european ebay prices these day. Need to hunt around for a bargain to show up. Best deals were in book off, but its very hit and miss on the weekly stock
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suicider
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Re: Best place to buy shmups in Tokyo?

Post by suicider »

You could check out KVC Lab. They have a website with decent prices from time to time but do have a store in Tokyo too.

http://kvclab.com/
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gozaimas
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Re: Best place to buy shmups in Tokyo?

Post by gozaimas »

aerobert wrote: February 11th, 2020, 10:40 am Was going to mention Surugaya too. :)
Good shout. It's mainly a home console-based store, but they have some good arcade stock in the back corner, too. I've bought some very reasonably priced Naomi carts there in the past. Picked up a MvC2 for about £40 last year, I think!
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