The Square Enix Cafe is one place that videogame fans should drop by when they visit Japan. The cafe is located in Akihabara area of Tokyo so it’s not that hard to find.
Just kidding. It kinda is confusing to know where it’s located when it’s your first time in Tokyo. It’s best to check it out on google maps to locate where the Square Enix Cafe is located.
KEY REMINDERS:
1.) Get your RSVP – Ensure to reserve a slot for your visit at the cafe right here
2.) Reserve your slot on the proper link – There are separate reservation links for foreign guests and local guests.
3.) Solo diners still pay for a table for two – It’s a weird rule but, that’s what it says on the site. You will be charged 1,000 yen each for the RSVP. If you go solo, expect to pay an additional 1,000.00 yen on your non existent plus one. You will get a second drink and freebie (square enix coaster) tho. So I guess that’s a plus?
Special Themes
The Square Enix Cafe changes the theme of its venue depending on the game the brand wants to Feature. During my visit last November, it was having a collaboration with Star Ocean: The Second Story R.It’s collaboration event with Star Ocean: The Second Story R was from October 21 to December 1, 2023. Basically the Cafe promoted the game’s November 2 release weeks prior to it being out in the market.
The game was released on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Steam. The game is a remake of Star Ocean: The Second Story, which was originally released on the playstation in Japan in the year 1998 and the rest of the world by June 1999.
As a diner, it was a nice to see them decorate the entire cafe with the game’s theme. I have ZERO CLUE about this game, but I still was in awe of the Square Enix Cafe set up of this event.
The shots above highlight how they decked the walls full of Star Ocean Second Story R items. In my opinion, that was the way to go. Go all out!
The RNG Menu
Big props to the Square Enix Cafe on giving the diner a tablet to order out what they want for their visit. I have not yet been to many cafes in Japan but this is quite cool to have a tablet as a menu in my opinion.
The menu on this collaboration has a ‘success’ or ‘fail’ mechanics. For some reason this was explained due to an in-game item. While it feels fun, I do feel bad as the ‘fail’ of a certain food item would make it seem you’ll just have ONE PIECE of meat. As hilarious as it sounds, that is not worth your money. One Gacha game already has most of my money. I wish this cafe did not add to it for one lunch time. Let it be known that they did NOT forget about our freebies after the order was taken.
Them Freebies
When you reserve a slot at the Square Enix Cafe, you get a free drink and a coaster. The coaster is packaged in this nifty Square Enix foil as seen above.
Above is our free coasters of Ashton and Celine. As for our free drinks, it’s not available. I forgot to take a good picture of them when we were enjoying the lunch we had at the cafe. Apologies on that one.
Apart from the drink and the coasters, you also get a free wafer. The free wafer stick is available when you get to your table at the Square Enix Cafe.
Food Time!
Food came just in time and I was glad we chose the chicken skewers. One had a ‘success’ version with a ‘sword’ as part of the skewer. The other was a ‘fail’ version wherein it’s just a piece of wooden stick and a messed up arrangement. Technically this was the safest option for me outside of the burger dish. Much as I would have had a laugh with the lone piece of meat, this was filling for me alongside the drinks.
Glorious Square Enix Merch
This may have been my favorite portion of the trip, had I still had a lot of money and all. The merch area of the Square Enix Cafe boasts a lot of items for sale which includes Video Game soundtracks to stuffed toys. You would see merch from games such as the Final Fantasy series, Kingdom Hearts, NieR, and more.
The portion that wowed me was the ones near the ceiling. You would notice some autogrpahed items were there for display from the creators to famous voice actors/actresses of the video game series.
Since there are a lot of pics taken above, just click them to enlarge the images for your viewing pleasure.
Well that was the sights that bombarded me upon stepping into the merch area of the Square Enix Cafe. Let me break down, in my humble opinion, the reasons why you should visit this place below.
You SHOULD go here if…
You are Squenix Fan – You’re a Square Enix fan. It’s that simple. You’re a fan of Final Fantasy, NieR, Kingdom Hearts, etc.? This is the place for you!
You’re a Weeb – If you’re a weeb like I am, you’ll enjoy hitting up this cafe. It is right smack dab the heart of Akihabara station area so this place and other places you may wanna go are all here.
Freebies are life – You get a free drink and a coaster if you’re two people. If you actually went in solo, that’s TWO free drinks and a two coasters of your favorite videogame (granted if you dined in during your favorite video game’s collab event at the ‘squenix cafe’).
But as much as free swag and nice merch can be motivations to visit, there are factors you may want to consider as well. There are reasons on maybe why you may not want to drop by.
Don’t go if….
You are Solo Leveling..er..Dining – You are going alone. I mean, think about it. Do you want to pay for two people as per the cafe rules. That’s minus 2,000 yen for you automatically. There’s better ways to use your yen wisely. That leads us to our next reason.
You’re Saving Money – The one thousand yen per person would have advised you to go somewhere else if you are short on money during your Japan Trip. If you’re not a Square Enix fan, it’s ok to skip this. Trust me. You can use that two thousand yen elsewhere in Akihabara. Maybe spend it at Don Quijote or at Book Off.
You’re a ‘walk in’ kind of guy – Square Enix Cafe, as mentioned above, would prefer the diner to book in advanced. The Star Ocean event was not full, hence I manged to get a slot a week or so before my trip to Tokyo. But more popular titles like a Final Fantasy or NieR collab would be fully booked a month or so before your chosen date. So if you’re the type who prefers to walk in with no rsvp, this place aint for you.
Summary
For those who will visit Tokyo, Japan and are video game fans, this place should be in your itinerary. If you are a Square Enix fan, you MUST go here. But please do remember the reasons why you may or may not want to go as I listed above. Make sure you got a couple thousand yen with you to reserve your table and enjoy the cafe to the fullest. Will I return here? Hell yes. However, it will depend on which collab will happen when I next visit.
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