Gemini Arcade Palace (HD Tour)

Up next from my trip to Las Vegas was from my last day there. I was asking around where I should go to some of my friends online and one who goes by the name "Seta Soji" (Sorry Sets, I keep forgetting your actual name) told me I had to hit up the Gemini Arcade Palace. The Gemini is a haven for anybody who is a fan of music games. I had gotten there a few minutes before the owner, Julie opened and I was talking to two friends who made the trek up from Arizona to play in their DDR tournament they were holding that weekend.

The owner Julie is amazing. She really goes the extra mile to make her guests happy. The DDR X3 Vs 2nd Mix that just came out is the only machine in Nevada and from what I was hearing was not many arcades here in the states have imported it yet. Also one thing to note is this video's out of date. Not even a few days after I got home I saw a post on their Facebook page saying they got the newest update to their Beatmania IIDX (which is called Beatmania IIDX 20 Tricoro) They also constantly keep both In The Groove (ITG) machines constantly updated with the newest versions with the newest songs. One of the regulars, Remi also brings in one of his arcade boards and does a game of the week on one of the candy cabs. (Thanks for having Salamander II!)

As everybody knows with the current state of most fighting games you either can't import the game since it won't work on a Japanese network or because they won't make the game for the arcades anymore, Gemini also offers console play. Just pay at the door, get a wristband and you're free to bring in what ever console, controller and game you like and play it on the TV's they provide. Naturally, most of the people were playing Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3, but some others were playing Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Arcana Heart 3 and The King of Fighters XIII. Sadly, no Virtua Fighter but then again I always feel like one of the only fans of it.

This place brought back a lot of fond memories of going to Tokyo Game Action, minus the homemade Japanese food and the bowling. If your a fan of Bemani music games, ITG, Pump it Up or even Taiko no Tatusjin you owe it to yourself to check them out and give them some love! Big thanks to Julie and everybody at the Gemini for a great time!