A long queue formed, and the Pokémon Mezastar machines were occupied as soon as the event started. I arrived at around 11:15 a.m., and it was already full of adults trying to get the promotional Special Meza Tag.

Pokémon Mezastar is a Pokémon-themed arcade game for young kids. Its central gimmick is these small plastic tokens that represent Pokémon that can be used in play. Most people at the event are there to claim the unique event tag for collection or resale. 

The Mezastar Fest was held at Molly Fantasy, One Utama, Terbau City, and Queens Bay, with the main event at Lalaport BBCC. To ensure the distribution of the special tag is fair, those who want it must play a round of Pokémon Mezastar, which costs RM5, take a photo of their score, and fill out a form.

Pokémon Mezastar is fun, even for adults, but because it uses physical tokens as play pieces, scalping and obsolescence are issues. In Japan, Mezastar was replaced with Frienda. It was speculated that what we get outside of Japan were refurbished games that were no longer used Megasta, the friendly Molly, and the Fantasy staff were doing a great job.

Megastar Fest was not the only Pokémon Mezastar event that was held by Kaga Amusement Malaysia this year. They have been pushing hard to promote this game since it was introduced here on 2025 April 1. Coincidentally, Pokémon Frienda was introduced to Japan in 2024 July.