Among all the amazing small businesses in Sacramento, 1-Up Retro is probably the one nearest and…read moredearest to me and my son's heart. I grew up in the golden era of gaming, the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s when weekends meant blowing into dusty cartridges, late-night multiplayer battles, and flipping through Game Informer magazines dreaming about the next big release. Those games weren't just entertainment, they were core memories of my childhood. Now, seeing my son discover and fall in love with those same games and magazines has been something really special. Ever since we moved to Sacramento a few years ago, every visit to 1-Up has felt like stepping into a real-life time machine. The moment you walk in, you're surrounded by nostalgia, memories, and pure joy. Whether it's seeing shelves packed with retro classics or spotting consoles you haven't touched in 20+ years, it instantly takes you back. The owner and staff are all incredibly cool, welcoming, and genuinely passionate about gaming history. I'm always blown away by the little-known facts and stories they know about these old-school titles. You can tell this isn't just a business to them, it's something they truly love. Special shoutout to Travis for the amazing customer service and for hooking my son up with a PS2 Slim in fantastic working condition. Seriously, where else can you walk in today and find a retro console like that, fully functional, along with a huge selection of games ready to relive those memories? I would love nothing more than to see businesses like 1-Up continue to succeed and thrive in the face of online competition. Places like this keep the memories, community, and fun alive for old gamers and new generations alike. Sacramento is lucky to have them. Game over? Not here at 1-Up, the memories just keep hitting "Continue."

This is a friendly large vintage game store. The garage door entrance is a nice touch to the…read moreoverall feel of a store visit. I found so many items I wanted to buy. They carry video games from a plethora of consoles. They also have collectibles, box/collector sets, videos, etc. Long story short, I left with a pile of goodies. I thought the store was spacious to walk around with other people around. The displays were great. I liked how they converted an old grocery store veggie stand into a display on the right side. The only bummer is the tape and stickers used on the merchandise. I bought some mint in box items and the sticker price tag was so hard to peel off. It left a very bad sticky residue. I was able to clean it off most of the items. But, I worried that the paper boxes would be damaged if I used a solution. The staff was super friendly and answered all of our questions. I enjoyed the little lounge area in the front right while waiting for friends to checkout.

This place is very clean and well organized. The prices are as advertised and the selection is…read morepretty good. They may be a bit out of the way, but definitely worth a visit if you're in the Sacramento area.

I had a very uncomfortable and disappointing experience at this store today…read more I saw two Xbox games priced the same -- one with a clean case but no disc inside, and another with a disc but a damaged case. Since there was no sign indicating that discs are kept behind the counter, l reasonably assumed the disc was missing and placed it into the better case. Instead of calmly explaining their policy, the employee immediately responded in an aggressive and disrespectful way, telling me to "put that shit back." Only afterward did he explain that the discs are kept at the counter - something that should have been clearly communicated to customers in the first place. A simple explanation would have avoided the entire situation. Being spoken to like that was unnecessary, unprofessional, and made me feel extremely uncomfortable. What made this even more upsetting was reading another customer's review describing how staff openly discussed taking advantage of a child who unknowingly brought in a rare Galaxy 3DS XL and traded it for a regular 3DS -- which is far less valuable. Instead of informing the child of what he had, they reportedly took advantage of the situation and even bragged about it afterward.Seeing behavior like that toward a kid is honestly disturbing and unethical. After experiencing the rude treatment myself, it's hard to believe this was an isolated incident. On top of all of this, many of the games and consoles here are significantly overpriced compared to other stores. This is especially concerning for beginners or casual gamers who may not yet know typical market values. Between the aggressive customer service, lack of clear communication, unethical behavior, and high prices, this is not a store I would return to or recommend. （l've attached a screenshot of that review for reference.）

I love this place. Lots of games and consoles available! I've purchased from here multiple times…read moreand everything worked great every time but 1 of the games that I purchased ended up not working when I tried to play it so I called Dave and he stood on business and refunded my money without question or problems. He didn't have another copy of the game that I bought so I ended up purchasing other items at his store. I try to make it every weekend if I'm available and looking forward to the next visit.

Spent two hours here looking through this garage sale like video game atore when I finally found…read moresomething I wanted he looked up the price on price-chart and wanted to charge me the full price for something I had to work for to find in that mess. Never will come here again when you can just buy it eBay for the same price and save yourself the feeling of being screwed when you do find something you want.

The selection in this location is probably if not the best then definitely top 2 of all their…read morelocations i definitely value the service and how product knowledgeable the employees are even tho every day everything is in a new place literally lol but its a fun packed full of goodies.

I loveeee going to the Cave for sonny angels and this last time I went the workers were SO so…read morenice;) They let my friends and I shake each sonny angel box and were super patient (iykyk). They are not overpriced at all and have a GREAT selection of smiskis, mofusand, and so much more. They are also very active with posting restocks so if you're a collector of knick knacks then I would highly recommend this place. Can't wait to come back!

Amazing card shop huge selection of cards,bulk and fair prices.staff is helpful and knowledgeable,…read moreso happy I've found this place.

Great store, prices and ESPECIALLY Staff. Still new to mtg but they made us feel welcome and showed…read moreus the ropes. Every PreRelease event has been great.

Great store! The set up is vast and fun, but the employees are what sold me. Very knowledgeable and…read morehelpful especially for beginners. Highly recommend trying out their events too!

sold me a black label game with a greatest hits disc and would not let me return it for a proper…read morecopy at black label value

Game Trader is one of the best video game stores in Sacramento. The employees know a lot about…read morevideo games and are super helpful. The overall selection is perfect with games reasonable priced at their market value. About a while ago, I got a PS2 with a broken disc drive repaired here and was impressed with the overall value of the repair. Overall if you are looking for retro video games or for modern video games, Game Trader is one of the best spots to go to in Sacramento.

Always have all necessities for lower prices than GameStop will definitely be back besides its…read moreclose and fairly priced

My first time visiting and it's actually a lot bigger inside than I thought! Was recommended by a…read morefriend so I decide to check it out. Was very cool and nice inside. A lot of amazing cards! I think the only problem with my visit was that I had bought some packs of eb03. I had asked the gentleman helping me how much for everything and he just ignored me unfortunately and just asked me to scan the barcode for payment.. I'm not sure if his mood was sour from the phone call he had before helping me or not but I realized this is a common occurrence I keep experiencing with tcg vendors/sellers...

Tons of cards, tons of fun!…read more Employees engage with customers while also giving space for browsing and side conversations! Sales accepted! Call first to make sure the right person is on hand! Negotiated with a customer in the shop for either store credit or cash at a slightly lower rate. Lots of loose cards at 50 cents, or curated cards for much higher. Fun use of a Sunday afternoon