My favorite game shop this side of the galaxy and I've been to them all. They have the biggest…read moreselection and fair prices. The folks there are also very knowledgeable and fun to chat with. I often find myself coming here when I'm sad cause it always cheers me up. At least once a month, I'll bring my kids here. We'll visit the shop and then grab some lunch and boba afterwards. Can't recommend this place enough. Just ask any local gamer, they'll tell you the same. A must see if you are visiting from out of town.

If you want the closest thing to an authentic Japanese Super Potato experience, Gameshop Downstairs…read moreis the place to go to. The interior aesthetic completely reminds me of visiting game shops in Japan. They have vintage games, consoles, and collectables from all sorts of eras (Vectrex, anyone?). Things I've seen in the shop: - VHS tapes / Laserdiscs from popular anime and western films at the time - Lots of old Macintosh / Apple II computers - PC games from the 80s and 90s - 70s-2000s era consoles and video games, this also includes Japanese variants as well and also arcade boards such as the Neo Geo MVS - Pokemon and Yu-gi-oh cards - Lots of collectors editions of consoles and video games Staff is really friendly and extremely helpful, and it's clear that they have a passion for this stuff as well!

My partner has recently been into collecting retro games, more specifically Pokémon. When we called…read moreto inquire about their inventory they took the time to go over everything they had that we were looking for while telling us the quality and price over phone. We had a 2 hour drive to their store and they put everything we needed on hold which was super helpful! Upon arrival their store was welcoming and FILLED with so much retro games and consoles, exactly the vibe we were looking for. The staff was super knowledgeable about all their products and the topic of retro games in general. We were able to pick up a great condition console and we even picked up an additional game that we were excited to find! We will definitely be returning for future purchases and recommend them to anybody looking to build their collection.

Had a really great experience here. The staff were very helpful and knowledgeable. Quite a good…read moreselection of games as well. I was sold a cartridge that didnt work. They tried cleaning it and testing it and then were able to get me a replacement that same day. They went above and beyond in customer service! Highly recommend.

I had an issue with a game (scratched up) I bought from another shop, Retro Rewind in Milpitas. The…read moreowner of that store, Shams, called this store to grant me a Playstation 1 disc resurfacing at no cost. I went in and told them Shams sent me for resurfacing. They took my game to the back, worked on my disc. Took a bit longer than expected but it was a little busy so I understood the wait. I received the disc and was impressed as it looked like it was brand new. Easy, quick and thorough resurfacing. 5 stars for the service and collaboration between two shops to help me get a problem fixed.

I had a pretty frustrating experience at GameTime Hobby Shop. I came in to trade some Pokémon cards…read morefor store credit so I could pick up an F1 Topps hobby box. When I first walked in, the box was clearly marked at $359.99. I went to the counter, and to be fair, the employee was helpful and gave me a reasonable offer of $365 in store credit, which I agreed to. No issues there. But when we walked over to grab the hobby box, the price had suddenly jumped to $510.99. That's a huge difference, and it happened while I was literally in the store. When I pointed it out, I was told they were "updating prices" and that they could only honor the original price if I had taken a picture of it. That's not how you run a business. Changing prices during store hours--especially while a customer is actively making a purchase--is unprofessional and unfair. Expecting customers to take pictures of price tags just in case they change minutes later is ridiculous. I understand prices fluctuate, especially in collectibles, but updates like that should be handled before opening or after closing--not in the middle of a transaction. This experience left a bad impression, and I'd be cautious about doing business here again.

Had a fantastic collection of retro games, consoles, and games/anime memorabilia. The big draw for…read moreme however was the selection of Japanese arcade games, including WACCA my personal favourite. These were all in excellent condition and with the latest updates. Staff were always friendly and helpful. I was extremely sad to hear of the The Retro Fix II's closure, and wish all the staff the best of luck moving forward.

Bought a "refurbished" DS here for my kid's Christmas present here Dec. 2025 (and a bunch of other…read morevintage consoles and games over the years). Seemed to work fine to me, but my kid found a problem with the contrast and/or screen when he tried to play Christmas morning. We took it back to the location on Campbell Ave where I bought it. Showed the manager/owner and provided receipts. He said they would fix the DS because it was sold "refurbished." He said it would be ready in a few weeks, after the new year, and took my contact into. Never heard back. Called the store after the first month came and went. No answer. Months go by and my kid keeps asking about it. I keep calling the location but then I read on their instagram that the shop is permanently closed. But they they're still doing business online. So I reach out to their instagram and email the address on their Shopify, where in fact they are now selling a metallic blue DS, just like the one I bought in December! Still no reply. Hope to hear back now that I'm posting about this problem.

Dropped by with my brother for the first time to check this place out and I was shocked and how…read morehuge their selection of games was. The pricing was pretty damn good too! I didn't have much time to really check everything out or pick anything up but wow, definitely a hidden gem in Santa Clara. They've got almost every console and a huge HUGE selection of games. The staff here was super friendly and welcoming as well, and answered any questions we had regarding their stock/selection. I'm definitely swinging by again really soon. Been itching to buy a gameboy and they've got quite the selection.

Great customer service, big selection and great prices! Bought a couple GameCube stuff and couldn't…read morebe happier!

Previously went to their other location, which I assume is the first and was recommended to go to…read morethis one if I wanted to get repairs done to consoles I had. Which is exactly what I did. Brought in my old GBA SP which had a busted screen, I've watched videos on how to fix it, but wanted to also swap out the shell. So after countless videos of people saying the trickest part is the hinges, I figured it was best left for the professionals. I also wanted to mod the GBA SP charging port to a USB-C but with Eli's insight, replacing the screen with an IPS and upgrade to USB-C it would probably be better to just buy an entirely new Modded GBA SP. So I just stuck with the shell swap and new IPS screen. We ordered the parts from Ebay as he showed me what was available on 3/28/2026 and called me 4/9/2026 to let me know it was ready for pick up so roughly a 3 week turn around since he had to wait for the parts to be delivered. Finally had it back in my hands and it was beautiful, 15 settings on the brightness and it opened and close with those satisfying clicks the OEM came in. Couldn't be happier, I will say the buttons do rotate when I'm gaming a little too hard, but nothing like rotating them back into their place fixes it. As for the shop itself, BEAUTIFULY CLEAN, it's spotless and they really make this place feel like gamer heaven. All the games in the store were in their respective locations and you had no issues finding what you wanted. (Unless it was in a container with no label)

These guys are scammers. Offered me $27 (a $20 game trade + tax and $5 in cash) for 6 games. They…read moredidn't say anything about a buyback rate, just checked if one of the games was real, and then glanced over the other games and made the offer without checking their prices online at all. They're selling some of their games at both locations for 2x eBay prices. The games I brought in can be found used online (GameStop and eBay) for a total of $150+. Not worth your time if you're looking for a fair deal on either a trade or even just a regular purchase.

Let me tell you the story of a guy who went to Level Up Games and bought some stuff and then traded…read morein some stuff. Normal, right? Then fast forward at least 15 maybe even 20 years and this guy entirely forgot he had credit because his job took him away from Santa Cruz. But one day he returns to get the batteries changed in his old Pokemon games (which they did quickly and for a very reasonable price) and he was informed he had almost 20 bucks sitting there. That's me. I'm the guy. It's been so long that they could never have told me and I would never have been the wiser. Also, even if I remembered they could have kept the money after so much time had passed and I would have fully understood. But nope, they held on to it and even told me about it. Their collection of retro games is amazing and you can buy modern games there too? It's all you could want in a game store.

I've had a week to get distance from this experience and mull over whether or not I should write a…read morereview, but I felt that it's right to respond instead of just letting it slide because shoppers should be aware of what to expect. I took several gaming hardware items - controllers, adapters, chargers, cases, and a GBA game - to sell because I wanted to get rid of them. I've been a regular customer at this local game shop for years and have always had decent experiences there. When I dropped off the items, the employee at the counter gave me a very firm rundown about policy, percentages, and profit margins right off the bat - not exactly the warmest greeting, but fair enough. They had a backlog of other trade-ins to appraise, so they let me keep the items there and said they'd follow-up over the phone with their prices later, which they did after a couple of days. During that phone conversation with their employee (who was not the employee I dropped off the items with), I asked if she could list out the prices on each item. She provided me with that info and I told her that I agreed to the prices on the smaller items, but that I'd come by in a few days to pick up the GameCube controller because the price was lower than I was hoping for. I didn't argue about it - I just said I'd pass on that one and pick up the rest. About 3 days after that phone call, I came into the store to pick up my items and had what was honestly the worst customer service experience I've had at any local shop, which is why I'm writing this review. There were two employees behind the counter who I recognized from previous visits. After I walked in and asked for my items, one employee handed me the bag and then brought up an old issue from a few weeks earlier where I had attempted to purchase METROID PRIME 4: BEYOND from their website when it was mistakenly listed for $0.00. Immediately after checkout, they had sent me an email revoking the purchase, explaining it was an error on their site. I understood and moved on from it at the time - these things happen. I wasn't actually expecting the game. However, it felt strange to have this brought up again now, especially in a tone that seemed like I had done something wrong by placing the order in the first place. The employee said, "no worries," but the context made it feel like I was being called out rather than reassured. At this point, I was just standing there ready to complete the transaction for the items I'd agreed to sell (a GBA game and one of the cases aforementioned). But then the other employee - the same person I had dropped off the items with initially - told me that they had actually decided to pass on ALL the items and would be offering me $0 instead. I said, "Oh, so you changed your mind from what was offered on the phone?" He then told me that I had haggled with his coworker on the phone and had come back into the store in-person on a different day to push for better prices on all the items. This was completely incorrect. I never came back to the store between drop-off and this pickup, and I never haggled - I simply declined the controller and accepted the other prices. I tried to clarify: "That didn't happen. I didn't do that. You have the wrong information." He dismissed this and launched into a lengthy explanation about their policies and evaluation process, talking over me even when I tried to correct the misunderstanding a second time. His coworker even attempted to interject and redirect the conversation, but he waved him off and kept going. Eventually I just said, "have a good one" and left because I was feeling very uncomfortable. Look, I understand trade-in shops need to make a profit, and I understand that pricing errors happen on websites. What I don't understand is the conflicting information (being offered prices, then being offered nothing), the accusation about behavior I didn't engage in, and the unwillingness to hear me out when I tried to correct the record. I've spent a lot of money here over the years and have always been respectful and nice. I'm disappointed that this is how things ended, but I won't be returning to this shop or spending my money here ever again. I'm posting this so others know to get clear, written confirmation on any trade-in offers and to be prepared for potential communication issues as well as some pretty bad customer service overall - particularly from certain employees.

Very knowledgeable and Dope collective and distributer of comics and Gamez …read more Feel free to visit if your a fan collector or a _________ , Supervillain . No capes allowed P.S. Athello Gamez and fam

Came in to pick up some comics, I knew exactly what I was going for. I was shopping for a grand…read moretotal of 14 minutes. See photo attached. The cashier in the green was helping out this one customer for over 12 minutes. There was a guy in front of me who eventually got out of line because he was tired of waiting. I eventually got tired of waiting, either get your stuff together and know what your system is or get off the cashier line. There should be no reason why I should be taking that much time to bring up a customer.

Old school game shop with a lot of classics from the 8 and 16 bit era. A few arcade classics on…read morefree play. Might be closing soon, check it out while you can.

Cool little spot for retro games and stuff! I have gone here a couple times, small little place…read morewith some cool finds. I've gotten some NES and Super Famicom cartridges and they've worked fine. They also have a good return policy incase the game doesn't work. They got some tables and chairs and I heard they play MTG here too. Theres also a sitting area in the front with a bunch of consoles, maybe to test? They also have some cool arcade games that play the very nostalgic 8-bit sounds. If the place is closed when you get there when yelp says it's open, just call them. This is usually manned by 1 person and they might be out for lunch.

In case you didnt know. The shop is great but where the real fun happens is on the compas'…read moreinstagram. Go follow that shit! Its so much fun. The thrill of the first come first serve new things common and rare and even epic! Seeing all the relics that go thru those door when you are unable to go to the store is absolutely the charm and fun about gaming that we all enjoy. Seeing old systems, in box games, toys, seeing our old memories preserved and watching them be relived or passed on. The world needs places more like this. In times of craziness, its nice to unwind and get angry at someone else at online video games and let go of all this random baggage we are carrying. Thanx for keeping salinas up boiz! We all appreciate it. More than our introverted asses will ever let you know! Daniel

"Gamers in Control in Salinas--let me tell you, folks, total disaster, absolutely the worst. I've…read morebeen to hundreds of shops, tremendous shops, the best shops, and this one? A complete mess. The owner--very rude, very nasty, not smart, not smart at all--goes after anyone who leaves an honest review. Sad! You think you're just asking a question, maybe about a card, very simple, very smart question, and suddenly you're under attack. It's unbelievable. People come in, they try to be nice, they try to be reasonable, and this guy--boom!--he's on you like nobody's business. Prices? Terrible. Service? Awful. Atmosphere? You wouldn't believe it. Very low energy. I've seen coffee shops with better vibes than this place. And the owner--he thinks he's running the greatest card shop in America, maybe the world, but really, folks, it's a total disaster. Very sad. He can't handle criticism. Can't handle it. If you leave an honest review, you'll feel like you insulted the president. And I know a thing or two about criticism, believe me. So do yourself a favor--don't go. You'll save your money, your time, your dignity. It's a very dangerous shop for anyone who wants an honest experience. I know the best shops, I have the best shops, people tell me all the time. Gamers in Control? Not one of them. Terrible, terrible, avoid at all costs. Bigly disappointing. And that owner? He needs a lesson in manners. Very sad!"