Wow what a little hidden gem. This place combines old school arcade games and hard to find Japanese…read morearcade games. We had a blast as a family, but this place would be great for a date night. $10 dollars gets you unlimited arcade play, From what I understand the upstairs provides tables for other multiplayer games like Dungeons and Dragons and etc. The location is central to multiple restaurants and bars making walking to and from easy. Parking is street only but we did not find issue with finding a close spot.

DawnStar is an awesome video game place, whether you want to play them in person or take them home…read moreto play on your own time. Ever since Circuit Arcade Bar closed, you have to carefully weigh your options: if you want drinks/food with your games, you have to do either Dave & Busters or Richmond Draftcade. If you want kids/ticket games, only Dave & Busters. If you want retro games, only Draftcade and DawnStar. And if you love rhythm games and old school light gun shooters... well, DawnStar is the only spot around! DawnStar is a video game shop up front, a card-game event venue upstairs, and an eclectic arcade in back. Their video game shop has a great selection, though like most game shops you aren't going to find better prices here than you would online. The arcade on the other hand is always worth a visit: two DDR cabinets, several rare light gun games, advanced racing sims, a ton of Japanese imports, and other hard-to-find rarities await you here. I have been a huge DDR fan since 2003 and relish any chance I get to keep my dancing muscles strong. Pricing for the arcade is one price for all-day: $15 Saturdays, $10 every other day. Thankfully those prices don't go up on holidays, so this is a great spot to hit on a weekday holiday! The staff here are very nice and very involved with the business: they regularly host video game and card game tournaments, post on social media daily, and have their own Discord if you want to keep up with their happenings on a more intimate level. I am very grateful that DawnStar exists and hope it sticks around for the long term! Overall: 5.0 stars --- Pros: - Fantastic arcade with hard to find games (especially rhythm games). - Well-stocked game shop with plenty of games and accessories, plus more. - Cool event venue with a strong community. - Fantastic staff who strive to make this a welcoming place for all. Cons: - $15 is understandable for Saturdays to keep volume a bit lower, though I generally stick to weekdays whenever I can to get the $10 pricing.

My favorite game store in the area. Staff is nice and they have a great selection. Games are priced…read morefairly

Cashier was a jerk. I hate when people try to act like they're funny. Just check me out and stopread more

Nice little simple shop that has a good amount of selections in stock. I will say this shop is…read moreparticularly for those who are looking for newer releases than older issues to maximize their collection as this store usually stops ordering books if it isn't really in current popularity. Basically they either have what you're looking for or don't. The employees are amazing and friendly, always striking up conversations with guests so the environment feels welcoming. I definitely will keep coming back when there is a new release.

KA-POW! ZONK! Yep!! I can be a comic geek sometimes! And Alpha Comics feeds the need! Several…read moremembers of my family are comic book fans, aka sequential art, and my nephew and I are actually working on writing comics! Whether you are team DC or team Marvel or both, this shop has a tremendous selection of your favorites. This place is very organized and neat! Boxes and rows of comics to sift through and choose from will fill an afternoon of nerdy bliss. If you are a collector of action figures, toys, Pop characters, etc. this store has some nice choices. Their selection isn't huge, but definitely worth a gander. There was a Mad Magazine Robin figure that was really cool and hilarious! And the prices are fair, pretty much the same as other similar places. The young man who checked me out (I stocked up on Archie Double Digests!) was super friendly and helpful. He even offered me some sandwiches that had been catered from Jimmy Johns! WOW! BOING!! Lunch and a good read... my day is looking up!! BAM!

I've been to a dozen Gamestops across the East Coast. I've visited this one in Short Pump half a…read moredozen times and never have been impressed. Usually so-so. Today, however, my experience was not good at all. The manager on site should practice listening skills when his customers are trying to explain a problem. Instead of solving my problem and notifying Gamestop HQ to prevent other customers from getting ripped off due to misleading advertising, his solution was to sell me some additional gear that I purportedly already paid for according to the ads on gamestop.com. Best thing about this particular Gamestop is its location.

I'm just not a gamer, so I don't "get" it. Stopped in with my nephew who is a true gamer, and it…read moreseemed to be a place with everything. Old games, new games, toys and geeks. Decent Short Pump location in the Walmart shopping center strip. I imagine this is a heaven for gamers. Just not for me.

Amazing retro video game store, owner was super friendly and very knowledgeable. Will definitely be…read moreback when I come back to town.

Lee is awesome. Great selection of old games and consoles and all of the workers and friendly and…read moreknow their stuff.

Wow! The Link To The Past is an amazing retro game shop located in Chester, it is filled to the…read morebrim with retro games, dvds, consoles, figurines and more! My partner and I popped in to get some Gameboy games. We were pleasantly surprised by their expansive collection of gameboy advance and gameboy color games. The prices were fairly set at loose game value and the workers there were very kind answering all of our questions. We had a great conversation about modding gameboys and they even helped us remove some magic marker off the games we were hoping to purchase. They not only have gameboy games but also NES, Playstation, Xbox and many more. They also purchase games/gaming items as well so this may be a great one stop shop if you're hoping to unload or update your collection. All of their games are tested and authenticated so you can rest easy knowing you're making a good purchase. They also will replace batteries on dead cartridges! Check this place out! You won't be disappointed!

This is a must stop for your retro gaming fix! The staff is…read morefriendly and knowledgeable. They buy and sell all the gaming stuff you had as a kid. Perhaps the stuff you didn't have and now it can be yours! I feel like we're here weekly for my son. He is a huge retro game/console enthusiast. We just picked up Super Mario World for the SNES he recently purchased. Definitely check them out! Game on.

I have now been to this location quite a few times. And been to numerous video game stores…read morethroughout Virginia. The store itself it's incredible. The selection will waver (as all vintage game stores do). But what they do have is extreme quality. They may be picky on what they will take on trade in but I value that as someone who likes to see some of the rarer items for sale. I truly don't know how they make the business work. You can go in here and look at there prices and a vast majority of the time it's cheaper than eBay. No need to price check/match. Plus you get there honesty that the games have been tested. The owners are some of the friendliest I have met in all of my reviews. Down to earth, nice, and willing to hold a conversation with you on about anything. A true gem of a business and a place I greatly admire. Would definitely recommend.

A used game shop that's clean, organized, well lit, and staffed by people that aren't snobs? Count…read moreme in.

There's two doors when you walk in here, my experience was with the door to the left. I haven't…read morebeen in the door to the right, but I think it's owned by the same family, and has a lot of Kawaii/Cute things for sale. My wife found this awesome little hobby shop last night while hanging out with a couple of friends, and when she came home and told me about it, we ended up going back together the next day. I'm into all things nerdy, especially anime and GUNPLA, so I grabbed an SD model kit and a Thousand Sunny Bandai kit from One Piece. They've also got individual actual Pokémon, One Piece, Magic decks, and individual cards in binders for sale (at least for Pokémon, I'm unsure of the other cards games.) They had some Anime models, Manga, a bunch of stickers, different types of dice (for tabletop gaming), plushies, some older video game stuff, and I think there were Warhammer model kits. It's a small local shop, so prices are a little bit higher than what you'd see at big box stores. BUT you're supporting a local business, and that's always really worth it. There are some game rooms in the back where people can play tabletop stuff like board games or Dungeons & Dragons. They've got a bathroom (I didn't check it out), plus a little section with snacks and sodas to indulge if you get hungry while you're there playing. Big shoutout to the guy behind the counter. He was super cool to my wife and her friends last night, and even more so when we came back today. I watched him today helping other customers too. Super patient, very friendly, and just seems like a genuinely good guy. Definitely the kind of shop and person I love to support. He also said that if we have We will absolutely be back here.

i bought 2 cute sanrio stickers. very reasonable too. lots of cute kawaii things in here1 you need…read moretime to look around. the cashier was super nice too!

Very friendly and helpful staff. Well organized and clean. The selection of games in the game…read morelibrary was extensive. Cool spot.

Friendly staff easy to work with and they always have a great selection. This is my bread and…read morebutter store for all things comics.

While visiting the Target on Staples Mill and Hungary Springs Roads I needed help with something…read moreand I want to acknowledge Patsy and David. I asked and they delivered! In my opinion they went above and beyond and I would like to recognize them. You too made my day wonderful, thank you so much! Customer service is not lost on them, they did very well!

Accessibility. Inventory. Specialty items that may be unique. Customer service. Easy returns…read more Variety of products and services. You can even get your shots at the pharmacy. One stop shopping is something everyone appreciates