Ladies and Gentlemen, I bring a verdict!
Memories Games- Pros and Cons.
Pros:
1. Very VERY clean. One of the things I hate so much about my own arcade is how grungy it is. Fresh carpet and no bad smell makes me love MG all the more.
2. Not overcrowded. Really a mixed blessing, but you shouldn't have to worry about waiting in a line to play your game.
3. They have a bounce house. Enough said.
4. Machines all appeared to be in good working order. Although IIDX seemed to have a few songs that would crash the game, that was the worst of it, really. No machines to my knowledge were down for repairs.
5. Comfy stools. FFCs are a good height, but you'll definitely get butt cramps from sitting on them for too long.
6. Probably most importantly, a staff that likes and UNDERSTANDS music games.
7. VERY reasonable pricing for Bemani.
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Cons:
1. Music games were a bit too quiet for my tastes. It's a small building, so I really didn't expect ear-shattering music like at FFC (which is probably a bad thing anyway), but it was hard to hear parts of certain songs and it definitely hampered my performance a bit. The ones I felt needed turned up were Pop'n and IIDX. 5-key beatmania was a bit quiet too, but not as big a problem as it was with Pop'n and IIDX.
Really, few arcade games need their sound like Bemani games. I hope you guys will at least crank up FEVER a bit when you get it.
2. Stools, though very comfy, were too high for IIDX and Pop'n. Not a problem for people who prefer to stand, but I'm too used to sitting while playing to be comfortable standing. An easy to fix problem (and I know Wigmund is looking for some shorter stools already), so I this con is hopefully going to be remedied.
3. Lack of a big sign makes it a bit hard to find if you're driving too quickly. I think Faded mentioned to me that there marquee sign was being made, so that should help a ton so long as it's bright and noticeable.
4. Tiny Bemani scene there. Hopefully it will be something that'll grow and flourish in the near future, but the scene looked to me to be comprised of goth/emo kids playing ITG2 and Extreme. Maybe I just came in on an off day, so until I go back again, this con kind of straddles the fence.
5. A bit of a whiney con, but I'll throw it up anyway. The Pop'n home cab there could use some elevation on the front part of button platform, even if it just throwing some wooden wedges in there. It is way too uncomfortably to quickly bend your hands that far back to hit buttons with the bottoms of your palms. Level out that panel a bit and you'll definitely have a more comfortable, more dedicab-true Pop'n.
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Time for the score breakdown. All scores take into consideration the size of the arcade:
Cleanliness - 10
Variety - 7 (I figure this will definitely increase in the coming years)
Helpfulness of Staff - 10
Price - 10
Condition of Machines - 9 (IIDX's crash error, DancemaniaX's blue sensor misfiring, and Pop'n's buttons needing to be hit rather hard all threw this down one point, but the rest of the arcade seemed in excellent condition)
Redemption/Concession score - 9
Overall Score and Rating: 9.1 / A+
Keep up the good work and improve on what you can. The MG guys are doing an excellent job with what funds and resources they have and they definitely deserve every quarter they get.
I still stand by what I said about the volume, but I didn't weigh it as hard against you this time around because of the library. Ironically, I wouldn't give FFC near as good a rating as you guys earned. Probably a B+ at most.
. Hah. I ALMOST made it up there the other day but unfortunately came down with the stomach flu and I doubt you want me throwing up all over your games. I know I wouldn't want the same for ours :P
