Nostalgic Video Games & Arcade — Local services in Florence

Be warry when you step inside this store, shoppers. While it is the only option in the area, I fear they know that and weaponize it. For one they tend to sell fake cartridges. Usually Pokemon or other Nintendo Properties, seeing that they are the best sellers.. They seem to have the idea that as long as it resembles the gameplay, the rest doesnt matter. How so? Say you want to buy a game for the ps3, but the case is horribly beaten up and the disc is scratched to hell. They would still sell it full price. Or if you buy a cartridge for the Sega Genesis to add to your collection, the cartridge would have a missing label, or half of it and be beaten to hell. But if it's there then its full asking price. I came across a pokemon yellow in there, the condition was ungodly terrible. Scuffs and the label was a mess. It looked like some kid ripped it to pieces. It was still at their usual asking price of 30-40. You couldn't even read what the title was on it it was that badly beaten up, you could barely see the mascot on the cartridge. Their stock is always stale, so don't expect any refreshing games or systems to pass through. Their customer service is a bit more positive though. The woman is nice and she usually makes all customers feel welcome, so thats a step in the right direction. The man how ever, is not. I wanted to buy a system out of the case, it was already in wonderful condition and I asked for it. I told him I needed a new one because my older model was not in as good as condition and its color has faded and the plastic is chipping. He kept trying to push me a more beat up model so he didnt have to unlock the case and sell his, and I qoute "his display piece." He was wanting to keep the good looking system in there so he could sell the ones that were lacking in condition. As for their prices... I feel like they ask for a few dollars more than they should get. Some of their more valuable games get up to 10, even 15 dollars over the average price because its a valuable game. Same go for systems. I reccomend that you do your research in this store for sure. Check the sold listings on Ebay at the least, it will give some clear indication if their price on it is appropriate or not. The store is clearly confusing to wander around. My first time in there I was unsure of what was off limits and what wasnt. As well as where everything was. AND THE WARRANTY!! I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH!! They do not tell you any of the warranties what so ever, and if you didn't know, they tell you ITS YOUR FAULT FOR NOT KNOWING. They do not tell you what it is and do not even state that is on your receipt. I found out that they don't do it because it takes "too much time" To tell someone "You have so and so days for your warranty, so go ahead and bring it back if it does not work" takes too much time? To actually do a decent act of human kindness to tell the buyer, "Hey, you have a warranty!" You could at the very least tell them that its on the receipt!

But as for a more positive note, they are still the only ones around, so at least theres that. Then the customer service is still 50/50. Depends on who you get. I reccomend you go in Monday-Thursday. The man who works there, who I swear looks and talks like Napoleon Dynamites brother, Kip, is in. He may try to sell you subpar wares so he can keep the better ones in stock to advertise with or give some sort of snarky attitude. They are your run of the mill "Game store" with some side products.. They do have a decent selection on toys, but some of their Star Wars products are a bit over priced. They aren't the worst store, but they are for sure far from the best. If you want to get someone a cheap gift go here, but if you want good quality, go somewhere else, because this place does...

Sad because I really like this place to start off with. And they do have a few good employees . The selections are OK for the most part. There's a couple issues that I have it seems like some stuff is on the top tier pricing. One time I went in to return a game that I bought just because I didn't realize I are ready by the copy from them a couple weeks before. I went in to return the game and they told me if there's nothing wrong with it I cannot return the game all sales are final. And I was in there just the day before. So I vowed never to buy a game from them again. In the world of collecting games like that sometimes you get an extra one. Even ever game was only 6 bucks that makes me feel like I cannot trust them for big purchase. Plus any game or system you buy only has 14 days return. But if you go to arcade legacy they have one month return. And if you accidentally get a game you don't want you can easily return it. I can't go back to this just because of the factor of they don't seem to appreciate their customers and the type of...

I've been visiting this store since it opened, and watched it grow from a modest shop in the corner to a truly impressive store of games, merch, and ephemera. There are large cases of mostly classic, some modern games, but the real prize is the odds and ends - CDs of video game music, posters and advertising stands from old games, strategy guides and pins and the rotation of plushies that seems to increase every time I visit.

The 6th generation games are a bit lacking now. PS2 and GCN, most of the interesting games have been bought and not replaced, and this was the trend I saw push Game Castle out of business a few years ago. I'd love if they could restore that stock, but it's worth saying that this problem is probably not Nostalgic's fault, just a difficulty that comes with the business - used games are hard to find in good condition, and they fly off the shelves when they do have them.

Do visit this store if you're interested, it'll be worth a browse and you're certain to find something worthy of...