DawnStar Video Games and Arcade

I loved my first, and hopefully not last, DawnStar experience. Came in looking for Pok?mon cards and was not disappointed. Not many slabs, but great collection of vintage to modern cards,most of which are wonderfully organized in binders by set. That was enough for me, but then I found out that their arcade ($15 to play all day) is pretty sweet. I actually left and came back to continue having a blast. And I didn't browse intently, but they seemed to have an awesome collection of video games on sale.

This place was very nice. Everyone was nice and welcoming. They had a wide selection of Nintendo and PlayStation games and they had a really nice arcade. I Would come back here again with friends :).

The staff were polite and helpful when I had a question. They had a large selection of retro games and accessories, and things seemed priced reasonably well. Didn't check out the arcade, so can't comment on that. I knew what I was looking for and didn't have a lot of cash to blow, so I didn't linger long, but I will definitely be back to browse when I've got some spending money. Glad to have this shop nearby.

I've always wanted to go to a classic arcade spot and they have it down perfect. The atmosphere is top tier first time I went I was overflowing with excitement, very good price to be able to play all day if you like and the selection is fantastic. The only thing I could complain about is that some cabinets that are out of service I hope they come back soon but that is not the fault of the store. I will definitely be a regular here.

Tons of great games, retro and arcade, great price for all day fun in the arcade. I was on crutches they made it super accessible and spacious to get around. Also had stools and such to be able to play games sitting. Staff was super friendly too. Will definitely be back.

Sister shop to Wax Moon. Really well stocked inventory of games on all platforms. Great hardware selection as well. Cards, collectibles, accessories and more. The arcade is awesome.

After looking around for a clean GBA I found one here that I'm happy with. The person that assisted me let me thoroughly check it out before I purchased and the even dug out a few batteries to show it powered on. I also feel that they charged a fair price (especially considering how much retro games has taken off).

Great atmosphere with options for all types of gamers. Full fledged arcade and perfect spaces for tcgs upstairs. If you live in the city, come spend your time (and money) at Dawnstar! P.S. Go visit Wax Moon to buy some records once you are finished gaming ??

They have an F-Zero AX machine. If you know, you know. Atmosphere was amazing. They have a selection of games for systems of all eras. Bought a strategy guide for a PS1 game. Will return next time I'm in the area.

This place is fantastic! We loved the arcade, which has lots of rhythm games, including Wacca and Jubeat. I wasn't familiar with any of them (except DDR), but I still had a great time. Admission to the arcade is $15 and everything is free play, so you don't have to feel bad about "wasting" money if you aren't very good at a particular game. It's just fun to play! What a cool place.

Came in looking for some magic cards. Was pleasantly surprised at their offerings. A very unique type of game store that had access to everything i could be looking for. Gaming area was shut down unfortunately because the store was hosting a booth at a local convention but I'll definitely come back to check that out. Guy up front was awesome, helped me find everything i needed and even gave me a great deal for it being my first time. Can't recommend this place enough

This place is a blast! Just happened upon it and so excited that I did. Talked to the owner Dakota quite a while while in the store, very knowledgeable about everything in the store. We talked about some artists, Japanese toys and pinball machines. They have a great selection of manga, Nintendo, toys, figures and tons of other good stuff. Best thing is the little arcade room in the back ten bucks and you can play as much as you want all day. Lots of pinball machines and a few old 80's coin-op games. Brought

Pretty cool little arcade. Husband and I usually drive far out to Round 1 for rhythm games but this was only about 2 hours away. There's tons of rhythm games, even if the place is small. You will have to take turns with other players who are there or just wait patiently. They have wacca, sdvx, project diva, jubeat and more. Even some old game cabs too. As well as guitar hero!! Theres a shop in the front that sells Pok?mon cards and traded in video games and figurines. I even saw some old Pok?mon games sti

Phenomenal experience in a very well laid out and maintained store. The staff are kind, knowledgeable, patient, and happy to help customers find exactly what they are looking for. The owners are clearly passionate about games and collectibles. My nephews had a phenomenal Christmas coming in to pick out Pok?mon cards and we all had a blast at the arcade. I am so glad to have this establishment in the neighborhood!

New location and WAYYY more spacious. You can purchase retro games, gachas, stuffies, mangas, cards, and so much more. I swung by there to check it out and was able to snag a classic controller for my wee for a reasonable (and not scalped) price. The back is still bare as they're still in the process of getting their cabinets in. Overall a nice experience. There's definitely more to come and lots of potential with the new location. Check em out

Excellent customer service. Andrew and Dakota were great. My son thoroughly enjoyed his shopping experience and ample selection. I thoroughly enjoyed speaking with Andrew and Dakota... great atmosphere. See you again.. best wishes Elsa

Very cool spot! Flat rate to play all of their arcade offerings, and their selection of used gaming items is quite impressive. If you're in the Richmond area, they're well worth stopping by!

Fantastic store! They're really nice and professional and their pricing was very fair! It really was a great experience and I hope to be back in Richmond someday to see them again!

Awesome chill out spot. Love to play magic with my buddies here. The people are amazing and they have a bunch of cool stuff here. Also I got a neat stylus

The arcade has a lot of hard to find rhythm games and it's $10 for unlimited plays! Best value I've seen in the US ever for japanese cabinets.

Well maintained arcade and great store selection!! I didn't catch their names, but the 2 guys working there were super nice- we're visiting the area and they gave us so many recommendations and tips that made not just our day there fantastic, but our whole trip as well. Machines are very well kept and looked after, will definitely be returning when we come to RVA again

I've been shopping at Dawn Star for 2 years and have always felt a sense of welcome and wonder. They have something for everyone, including a wide range of video games, many of which are nostalgic and have made great gifts for all of the people in my life. The manga section is always growing and I've found lots of new and old favorites to read and collect. They have a really sweet kawaii section that is also always expanding and curated thoughtfully and with excellent quality plushies, pins and keychains, f

Very cool selection of video games and collectibles, and the arcade is $10 per person and there are a little over 20 vintage games to choose from. It was awesome!

Loved playing DDR and ITG at DawnStar. The store is very well organized and has a huge variety of games, peripherals, and consoles. The DDR cabinet was well maintained with no dead arrows/sensors, and has both ITG/Stepmania and DDR A20+ loaded (switching only requires a reboot of the cabinet). ITG has several DDR song packs including DDR 1st Mix through X3vsX2 as well as video game and anime packs. DDR A20+ supports eAmuse but runs on the Eagle network, which is even better. There's a list of games on thei

Utterly amazing small business with an outstanding selection of cards, retro and vintage games, plushies, figures and just about anything else you could imagine.

The staff was nice. I was able to find just the right things for Wii u. Price for console and some Skylanders and infinity characters were not bad. Will make my son and nephew happy for Christmas. Appreciate the service and affordability. The arcade section looks nice too. I could tell but looks like they have big screen gaming as well in the arcade.

Arcade is fire! Magic events! Lovely people! You should check out their vintage games! Pokemon cards! Ceiling box lights are sick I could go on but basically pull up and nerd out why you still reading this?

Dawnstar is one of the best places around if you're a gamer, a retro collector, a TCG player or even in for a lark and a few minutes of playing on a lovingly managed arcade machine. The best business in Scott's Addition. Super generous owners doing it simply for the love of games and trading card games. Go in and get yourself a few MTG or Pok?mon packs or play some Rock Band in their all-you-can-play arcade. You won't regret it!

I came for their rhythm games and they do not disappoint. Their selection retro offerings are quite nice.

Where else am I going to find Atari Lynx cartridges? This store has a great selection of retro games, even for crazy niche systems, and the arcade is a great deal and a lot of fun.

I have been by here twice now and can say both trips were worth the time. This is a very small store but it's ran very well. I walk in being greeted each time with fantastic music from many different games (I'm told its music from their sister music store) and find a very clean and organize store. So many of these types of stores feel old and have that "old smell" too it. There prices are on par with online retailers, including ebay, and they provide you protective cases with you purchase of CIB games. I wi

Very nice place. There a lot of older arcade games but you can play however long you want to for one low price.

Awesome arcade, gave me a good deal on my trade in. Clean, no weird smells, and all the machines were in good working order!

Amazing! It's so refreshing to see a game store that actually has a great collection of retro games. The prices for these games are also extremely reasonable! I've bought something every time I've gone and been incredibly pleased with it. Also, the arcade is a ton of fun as well! They mostly have rhythm and racing games, so if that's not your jam, you may be better off sticking to the game store part of it, but they do have a GREAT selection of games in those categories. I heartily recommend anyone into ret

Dawnstar video games is the kind of place that I would have loved to have existed when I was a kid. Basically a must stop shop for anyone into video games (both retro and new), TCGs, or manga and other Japanese curios. The first thing you notice as soon as you walk in is the sheer size of the establishment, the second would be the sounds of arcade machines beeping and booping steadily in the background. Did I mention this place has an entire arcade? Rhythm games and driving simulators galore, amongst other

Dakota and team have been wonderful and just a general pleasure to shop/chat with. Genuinely interested in helping folks further their hobbies and have a good time. Can't wait to come back again!

Fantastic Gem in RVA! Lots of cool arcade games to play and more to discover! Will be back with the kiddos again!

Great team with a wonderful selection of video games, collectibles and cards. To top it all off they one of the best arcades in the whole city

Great game, selection, amazing service, best place to shop for anime and video game fans in Richmond!

Dawnstar is amazing, I've sifted through their continuously ever-changing magic bulk and binders for hours and it's great. I cant recommend them enough, they get five big booms ???????? ??

Dude behind the counter was super kind and helpful. I brought my kid with a broken ankle in here to browse around; lot of stuff to check out and he was impressed with the Pok?mon cards. Reminds me of coming up when Candyland Music and Soundhole records were my go-to destinations.

Began experiencing corrupted saves despite having my battery replaced twice at this location. Opened cartridge to find that the wrong battery type was installed by the owner and was extremely messy at that. Dissapointing. I wish I had caught on to this sooner.

Came across this gem of a shop on the way back home. They legit have anything you could think of. Very helpful workers/owners that helped me get what I needed will be coming back.

One of the best arcades +game stores I've ever had the pleasure of going to; their weekly Commander nights for MTG are also a blast and it's always a good group of people that swing by. Can't thank the staff enough!

Wasn't sure what to expect when we drove over an hour and a half to check out the shop and trade some old games. Great shop, friendly service, and a little bit (or really, a lot) of everything! Definitely something for everyone. Plus an arcade and table top room?! ???? We'll be back for sure.

Excellent selection and chill vibes + decorations for a small boutique store. Full "free play" per person per pay arcade is a nice touch! First game* I bought had one issue running properly BUT the two owners that I met (there are three total), Dakotah and Andrew, were super helpful and considerate to work with and I was able to make a fair swap for it for other games I wanted. They could look into sealing used controllers, cables, etc. that they sell into plastic packaging to preserve them better, but the

Has one of the best collection of games and even better selection of Arcade games! Definitely one of the gems of Richmond

Nice store that has a little of every video game and anime niche. I didn't try the arcade because we were so tired, though it looked fun. I gave four instead of five because the employees don't disclaim when something is in Japanese or does not come with items that the casing/labels promise. There was one game we got that is NOT obviously in Japanese. We didn't know because the staff had it in a case and the staff took to behind the counter to check it out, not asking us if we wanted to look at it. It wasn?

Talk about reminisce! This place is great. They have all of your old-school gaming needs and one hell of a Pok?mon collection! Go. GO NOW! Did I mention that they have an arcade where you can play most of your old-school favorites?! Who wants me to kick their butt in Guitar Hero?! Leggo!!!

I love this place. It was so much fun and they have some great games ??. Take some earplugs, though. The game music was a bit loud for my boyfriend who doesn't like loud music. The people that work there are friendly and nice.

This place is awesome?friendly employees that are knowledgeable along with great prices. The arcade is an awesome little touch as well. I will definitely be back any time I'm nearby in the city.

This place has a really great selection! The inventory is in excellent shape as well. The arcade in the back is very warm but the machines are also in excellent condition! An especially good selection of rhythm games.

Great prices for figures and anime goods, and such a fun arcade!

The store is nice, and arcades are great. Good choice in games for sale! The store is clean, and the arcade even has some english patches! My only warning is to not bring in to many things at once for a trade. If you bring in a few games, they will take time to search eBay for a fair price for you. There are too many, and they won't. Maybe they are just busy and don't have time for you. It's almost like it's all rushed. And it feels, if not, is super undercut because of this. (Rewrote my review as it seem

If Heaven was a place on Earth, this would be it! Seriously a wonderland of nostalgia. As if having the best selection of retro games and systems weren't enough, they also have a huge arcade with rare, imported arcade cabinets and regularly host Halo and Smash Bros tournaments. Oh and to top it all off, you can snag your rare Pok?mon cards and MTG sets here. This place is a must visit for a gamer of any type.

5 stars just for the customer service alone ! The store itself is beyond awesome. It's pretty spacious and they carry games for basically any console you can think of. Couple this with robust selection of arcade games. A handful of them being on Japanese cabs.(the only store in richmond that even has Japanese cabs as far as I'm aware). As well as a plethora of rhythm games. Including a DDR machine with the biggest song selection I've even seen on a machine. It's. 10 dollar entry fee but I think it's well wo

Would not recommend this store for TCG, tried to low ball me and also sell their product at a premium

Great selection of arcade games! Not a lot of places to play Wacca, Jubeat, Sound Voltex and Melee all in one. Awesome classic games for sale in the front! Super impressed and will be coming back soon.

(This is T )Today I went to the most awesomest place in Richmond for retro gaming that I grew up on. Took me back to what gaming was when I was growing up, Dakota is doing it big and anybody who in to retro gaming you need to step into that place it'll take you back to when gaming was gaming. Do yourself a favor if you're into retro gaming give him the mad love and support he's doing a great job

Thought I found cool arcade but was wrong. Stuck-up hipster co-owner needs an ego-check and VIP-Pass to customer appreciation 101. This store is everything I hate about richmond. Stuck up hipsters in a small town that thinks its a big city. Just makes me miss Game Galaxy and will never be back. Will tell everyone I know.

very cool place - lots of rhythm games including ddr!!! they have a really good deal, it was only $10 for unlimited games when I went so it was sooo worth the price.

Such a wonderful little store. I love going here with my friends to play the arcade games, I mean it's $10 for all you can play. Prices are great, although some things can be a bit overpriced but sometimes those things are low in stock or exported from a different country. The atmosphere is great and it's a great place to get little gifts at.

Large collection of videogames from all consoles from what I can tell (I stayed by the PS2 mostly) and all at a decent price. The arcade is awesome as well. For 10$ I thoroughly enjoyed myself and will be back for more. Support your local game stores!

Such a nice place full of Japanese imports, figures, games, and other collectables! Could easily spend at least an hour going through everything seeing what you could find. Neat free-play arcade in the back ($10 entry per person) with a variety of games. It was almost 100 degrees today so unfortunately the arcade was pretty hot, couldn't stay for more than a half hour. Would recommend going during a cooler day.

Such a cool place! I loved having so many awesome memories hitting me while browsing and playing in the arcade. My kids had a blast in the arcade too. $10 for all you can play is perfect for us. We all can't wait to return and buy and sell some games! Great job from us to you all!!!!

I wasn't able to spend much time here, but this was probably the coolest video game store I've ever been to. The arcade was great. The atmosphere was awesome and the owners were really nice. Time I'm in the area. I will definitely check the place out more

Dakota sold me some highly sought after Pok?mon rarities and insisted he give me a very thorough shoulder massage, I was apprehensive at first but I was quickly convinced that it was the right decision. come here if you want cool cards and a good massage. specifically ask for a shoulder massage, literally. like trust me on this one

This place has grown into the 1 stop shop for everything videogame, anime and card game related. Their arcade is the biggest in RVA and their staff is super helpful and friendly! ????

Just so happened to come across this wonderful shop. They have a variety of games, merchandise, and Japanese products. My favorite part was the back room full of arcade games! I walked into the store 30 minutes before closing and the owner was sweet enough to show me around the arcade. Even demonstrated one of the games for me! This was one of the sweetest encounters of my life.

Best video game selection in Richmond is an understatement. It's a straight up time capsule in this space. Then there's the arcade with games imported from out of the country? it's seriously impressive. Not to mention Dakotah?s in depth knowledge of all things video game that he's happy to share with you. Even if you're not a big video game nerd, always worth stopping in for the nostalgic throwbacks.

Dawnstar is the best! They got cards, games, events, they got it all! S/O to Dakota!

Great store huge selection and a massive arcade in the back that's only $10 and free to play all the machines definitely going back when we have more time to play the arcades

Could probably be 5 stars, but they don't test their games. Or at least, that was what the women running the cash register said. She stated that they get in too many games to test them. What makes that such a bad thing is that, if you get a game that doesn't work, then you can't get your cash back. You can get store credit, but you can't actually get your money back. I understand it's a business, but it makes me think twice about buying from them. There were some items that I WOULD have gotten, but I kinda

Excellent selection of retro goodies, japanese imports and a fantastic pinball and arcade room.

The gang at the Star are always so nice and hospitable. Highly recommend any and all nerd stuff here

Legit DDR machine, rhythm games, and other nostalgic arcade machines. $15 unlimited play on weekends. Cheaper on weekdays. The arcade is much bigger than the pics online.

Great little retro game store, they have an arcade in the back that's all free play after a 10 dollar entrance fee. I would 100% go try it if you haven't. The initial D racing game is the single best arcade game I've ever played, and they've got a lot of Japan only arcade cabinets. The only thing I wish they would do is find some way to translate the controls lots of trial and error figuring stuff out.

My family loves DawnStar! I like looking at the cards and Manga selection, and my kids and partner say the arcade is really cool, too!

I'm not a huge shopper, but this place has a great selection. What draws me there are the competitions, which are fun and well managed. Lots of friends around these parts

Great selection of games but I feel like the trade in values/game prices have shot up drastically recently. Its not GameStop trade in insulting bad, but its definitely not what is was. Great friendly staff and the arcade is a nice touch.

the people here are super awesome. not many places like this exist anymore & they have great customer service. incredible & well priced arcade & amazing selection. one of my favorite places in richmond :)

My roommate loves this shop! Even if you're not looking for something in particular, it's really cool and interesting! Love seeing all the plushies available!

I've traveled to retro game shops all over the country for the past 10+ years and dawnstar has by far been my favorite discovery. Fun fact: I actually loved the shop so much it was a big influence in my decision to move from NY to Richmond! A true gem. Might not be the biggest shop, but their selection is highly curated and they have really great and interesting items and everything is accessible to the customer. One of my gripes with a lot of retro shops is they put rare items and games 10 feet behind a c

DawnStar is wonderful ?? The shop is filled with a wide variety of older games and systems from the Atari on up. They even have a ton of manga, anime movies and merch. They offer cash or store credit for used games and the prices are very fair. The staff are incredible people who know their stuff and are very passionate about gaming. It even has a rocking arcade filled with amazing cabinets and pinball machines. I take my daughter her constantly and she always has a ball. Honestly, if you're looking for a

Really love coming to Dawn Star. They are constantly expanding their selection and have a large selection of fun arcade games to play, $10 all you can play all day is such a steal. Dakota is very nice and extremely knowledgeable. I try to make a point to come by every time I visit Richmond.

Dawnstar Video Games is a sick arcade. They got da best prices in town on tech goods.

Excellent selection of games. The staff have always been friendly to me. I'm a collector and this place is in my rotation. I follow the retro market and this place is not overpriced - the old vidya games are just expensive, Dad.

Awesome staff. Big walk down memory lane. Well curated selection and some pretty rare finds. Can't wait to come back!