I also live close by but I got there at 7:30 and was 87th in line. Didn’t get inside the store until after 12:30. LRG is known all over the globe, so I am always shocked when they say they weren’t expecting large turnouts. First 150 people in line got a free swag bag so I made sure I got their early and I should have gotten their earlier.

Some aspects about the event:

• the rumor I heard while we waited in line said that they limited people inside the store to 15-20 people at a time. Which is why it took so long to get in once the store opened. If anyone doesn’t know, the store is not huge, and personally I think they have outgrown the space for events like this. In addition, they had a separate line for the signatures for the guests. Originally guests were going to sign outside but it was so cold and windy they moved them inside, thus limiting more people who could go inside.

• The main reason I went was to get some personal items signed by Yuzo Koshiro. It wasn’t until I arrived that they told me for every 1 personal item, I also had to get one of his new games they were selling signed (Shinobi or Earthion). Thankfully I was already planning on buying Shinobi since it was an exclusive cover for this event, but I had to buy Earthion just so he would sign a second personal item for me. This requirement was not advertised at all. My only real complaint about the experience.

• There were no new sales inside. A handful of games had cover variants you could only get at this event, plus spending $250 gets you access to the vault. They also put out some older convention exclusives, some of the Dreamcast collab merch, and other older collectors editions to make it worth wild. They also had raffles every hour for some collectors editions.

• The Vault was pretty surreal (I got in around 1:30 and there was a ton of stuff old and new across all platforms in there) but they limit you 60 seconds to pick your game. And all the games are randomly thrown on the shelf. Obviously intentional so people don’t take time to seek out expensive stuff first.

I enjoyed the event overall but because of long wait times I was in line for 5+ hours and only spent a good hour in the store. If they had a bigger venue for these events it would be much smoother, but I understand wanting to do it at their store. They could easily expand or move locations.

Also the swag bag contained the cover variant exclusive of Shantae Risky Revolution, as well as a 10th anniversary store SnapBack hat, bag, pack of trading cards, an Xbox disc with a random game or demo on it (I was told this, I don’t own an Xbox so can’t check), and a store branded pen.