The Neutral Zone

What a fun place! As an 80s baby, I enjoyed seeing things from my childhood like Mortal Kombat and Super Mario Brothers. I’m not a huge gamer, so I opted to wander around the place for a few minutes before leaving to shop in the mall. I appreciate that they let me in for free because I didn’t play any games. My husband and 8 year old son played for about 2 hours, and they had a blast!

Surge Soda
The Neutral Zone (reported independent reseller) of Surge Soda at $ 4 a can.
How about nope.
Hopefully Surge is going to be back in stores locally at big retailers so the price gouging stops. Was excited to see that it was near me but not for that price. Can get cans at nearly $ 1 a can online though amazon.
#SURGEcomeback

Had an absolute blast!!! Went with a buddy from Jr High and we felt like we were reliving the 80s! I’m 42 and this felt like part video game museum. We spent over 3 hours there and felt like 15 minutes. I drove my wife nuts talking about it nonstop when I got home. A few of the games have issues not working 100% but that’s the beauty of this place. This is the original games. Tell the owner and he gets it fixed!
«I think Donkey Kong sucks. NO YOU SUCK!» Haha

My wife and I visited here this past Saturday. I’m not as big of a fan as the other reviewers seem to be for a few reasons.
1) While they do have a fair amount of games, they are packed in so tightly there are some that were flat out hard to get to because of the way they are situated.
2) It was very hot inside. Now with the amount of games and people packed into the space that doesn’t necessarily surprise me, but considering how cold it was outside, we were dressed for that and even after taking off my jacket it was still very warm.
3) Cost. We used a Groupon so it was about $ 10/​person or so. Due to how busy they were we definitely didn’t come anywhere close to playing enough to justify that cost. Additionally, I really questioned if everyone in there had actually paid as so many people were coming and going I don’t see anyway they could have possibly kept track of that — and if there were people in there who hadn’t paid that agitates me since we had and it was hard to find games that were available to play.
Now those things aside, there are a fair amount of games, though from my observation they tended to skew towards fighting games which isn’t really my thing. They have one machine that is labelled as Ms. Pac-​Man, but in reality had probably 50 or 60 games on it, including a great many that appealed to me such as Galaga, Pengo, Dig Dug, Xevious, and so on — however, that machine was virtually impossible to get on — if they had a few more like that it would have definitely made the visit more worthwhile for me.
I will say that it was nice to put up a high score on a few machines such as Bump-​n-​Jump (despite the fact that it was tucked into a corner so that I almost felt claustrophobic playing it). Perhaps had if we had visited on a day other than a Saturday and it wasn’t so crowded we would have enjoyed it more, but as it was, I thin we would have been better off going to a movie instead.

When we first walked in, I could tell my 6 year old son was skeptical… I was worried he wouldn’t enjoy the old school games. 5 hours later, we were still there, he had beaten his first arcade game (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and he was already asking when we can go back. I am 35, so of course those vintage games brought on major waves of nostalgia; it was incredibly fun. The guy working was super nice and we had the place to ourselves, which was fun, but bummed me out because I really want this place to stay open. It’s TOTALLY RAD.

Now that the Neutral Zone has moved to the mall, I slightly prefer it here to their old place. It’s bigger, with more games. This store is not as cramped and dark as their previous location. It’s also pretty quiet there when not too crowded — and I’ve never seen it very crowded. Plus, it’s got the store in front with all the collectible toys!
The staff are always friendly and cool, and they remember you when you leave and come back. Every once in a while, a game isn’t working properly or it’s stuck on just 1-​player or 2-​player, but if you go ask they will always help. There’s a little snack bar there but usually no one is behind the counter. You’re just as well going to the food court, and/​or bringing your own snack to eat at the little tables right in the arcade. It’s a great place, good variety of new and old games, couple of skee balls and one pinball. I know they rotate games all the time, too.

This was a blast! My wife and I had a great time playing the old classics. My only draw back was having to go Sears to use the bathroom. But we will definitely go back!!!

If you are in your thirties or perhaps a little bit older, and therefore grew up in the 8-​bit era like I did, I have a feeling that you just might love this place as much as I do. I went there for the first time a couple of months ago because I had bought a groupon and was interested in checking out a place that boasted that it has a «retro arcade.»
Long story short, I geeked out for more than an hour with my young nephew, playing both games that I had played in my youth that I remember fondly as well as games that I had never really had the opportunity to play for whatever reason, like Donkey Kong and Mike Tyson’s Punch Out. My only real regret is that I couldn’t spend more time there, as I had tickets to that night’s Cardinals game. I could easily spend three or four hours here in ADD paradise, playing older games like Contra, 1942, and Double Dragon, as well as newer ones like Mortal Combat, BOTH Ninja Turtles games, the Simpsons, etc. They really had it all when it came to the retro arcade. They had shooting games, driving games, multi-​player games, new games, old games, etc. They even had a few games I was legitimately surprised that they had, like Dig Dug, Gauntlet, and Frogger. Also, I am definitely a fan of their concept: you can play any game, as long as you like, WITH UNLIMITED CONTINUES no less, for one set price. I have a feeling that if you asked the younger version of myself what heaven would be like, I very well might have said that heaven is an arcade with unlimited continues. They even have a few old Skee Ball machines!
Beyond that, they also have a collectibles shop, which isn’t really my thing, buy my nephew really wanted to buy some Halo figurine, so I think it’s safe to say we will both be back, him for his Halo guy, and me for several hours of binging on vintage video games. I think they are even working on getting a snack shop, speaking of binging, so you can have something to much on while you re-​visit some of your childhood favorites. What more could you as for? This place is really a lot of fun, and I can’t wait to come back. I’ll see you guys soon!

I hadn’t been to The Neutral Zone in its previous location, but this one in the Chesterfield Mall was very nice. In the front there is a variety of vintage and newer toys for sale, ranging from your classic Star Wars action-​figures to assorted Lego sets. The real fun is in the back however.
For a flat fee of $ 15 a person (or less if you used a Groupon as I did for myself and my lady) you get access to an arcade area with a large assortment of games. Almost all my old favorites were there, from the really old (Joust, Pac-​Man) to your slightly aged (Mortal Kombat, Time Crisis) and some newer ones too, like those ones that involve dancing around on a big metal pad. You can purchase soda also to enjoy while gaming and even though I don’t like Pepsi products they did have the company-​neutral Dr. Pepper so I was all set.
Their hours are a bit shorter and they aren’t open everyday, so I would recommend going a bit earlier on when you know they are open so as to get the most out of your game playing. They are generally only open until 8:00 PM which is understandable because they are now in a mall, but I think the mall is usually open until 9:00 PM so I kind of wish they were open a bit later so I could get more gaming in during that potential extra hour.
In conclusion, The Neutral zone is a fun place with cool toys, great games, and is otherwise an enjoyable time!

My fiancé and I had a groupon for the arcade. We went and started looking through the store first. It was amazing to see old and new toys that brought back nostalgia.
When moving into the arcade, I was whisked back to the various ice centers I grew up in. All of the arcade games from my youth were there. From the old superman man game (with blue and red supermen for two players), to the WWF Royal Rumble game I used to pump quarters into. You pay up front and get to play forever. You can play all of the old games to finish!
Go and have a great time because that’s what will happen.