Yet Another Game Haul Post….

Sorry to do it to you again guys, but I have another photoblog that highlights just how cool retro hunting in Japan is. I know I’ve said it before that Japan is starting to dry up for retro gear (at least near where I live), and that still applies – even so, you just don’t get this kind of luck anywhere else in the world! πŸ™‚

So what gear do we have today then….

Before I get into that, I have to say that the post today is brought to you by a pretty horrible head cold. I was at the desk, and there was no way I could finish off the official work I had on, so why not head home and put up a post.

Hopefully I didn’t leave any snot on the gear, but if you do see a few specks let me know. πŸ˜€

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OK so first off….

A TaTaKon (Taiko controller) and a few games for the PS2. I’ve actually wanted one of these Taiko controllers for ages, but I always thought they were a bit pricey – however this weekend luck was on my side! I managed to score this controller for the hefty sum of $3 in one of the junk bins of HobbyOff. Most of the PS2 games there were in the junk bins too, so there are a few scratches, but for the prices I can’t complain at all. Katamari Damashi was a game that I had borrowed, so I’m happy to finally have my own copy without having to pay $20 – I got this for only $1.

*Click on any thumbs to enlarge*
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Next up, a bunch of PCE titles. These weren’t actually obtained from the wild – well, unless you count Yahoo auctions as ‘the wild’ that is. There were a few that I needed in the bunch, so I basically bought this heap just for about 3 or 4 games.

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Some little figures for SNK vs Capcom. There were another thing gotten from the auctions that arrived over the weekend. They were pretty cheap, so I thought why not – not like I could get them outside of Japan very easily right?

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Not into real life Pachinko/Pachislo a great deal, but I do like the controllers and games for the TV. I have one of these controllers for the PCE, and to see one for the Famicom in the wild was a first, so I grabbed it. Managed to score a few boxed Famicom games as well, plus some new PCE and Saturn titles.

All of these were gotten from one of the HardOffs I frequent – unfortunately this HardOff has some of the rudest staff members you’ll be likely to meet in Japan though. Those of you that have been over here know how rare it is to get rude sales staff, so it’s a bit disappointing to hand over the cash, but hey…. they’re cheap! πŸ™‚

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Yet another thing that I am now hooked on getting… Game related Manga! I found out about these recently while searching for something else online, and now it’s looking like I need to get the whole set – not easy to find though. I got this one from a BookOff that’s really close to my place (the first one I looked in incidentally), and then every other book related place I’ve been in came up with nothing. Have to persevere though!

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A few N64 and Nintendo related items. Got these from a BookMarket (not related to BookOff/HardOff/HobbyOff etc.) – you wait till you see what else came from this shop later in the post!

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PS2 special editions. I had one of these before (the Love Songs one), and sold it on. As this was only the second one I have seen in the wild, I thought I’d grab it just in case someone wants it back home.

Check out that pocket-watch in the Grandia set though! Won’t be long before they don’t even give you disks with the games you buy – stupid digital distribution….

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A nice Final Fantasy Wonderswan Color. This was about $5!!! My jaw seriously dropped when I saw this for that cheap. A few posts back I talked about a cool game shop that is absolutely meticulous in the way they wrap and store games which you may remember. Well, this was bought from that same chain – Chamelon Club. Really great stores made even greater by finding this for $5!

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Some Gamecube manuals bought from Book Market, and although these are related to the very cool item I mentioned previously in this post bought from the same place, these are not it. Also another DK G&W, as you can never have too many. πŸ™‚

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And finally…. The pick of the bunch!

A Metal Gear Solid Gamecube limited edition! I have only seen one of these once before, and as I didn’t know what it was, I went home to look it up on the web (before smartphone days), and by the time I got back it had been sold…. Like I said previously in this post, I got this – and some other great stuff – from BookMarket. This was the first time I had checked the store out too, so needless to say I will be going in there again! To top things off with GC, it was literally half the price of the last one I saw!

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So, not a bad trek into the Japanese wild (plus a few auction finds thrown in). Ahh Japan. πŸ˜€

Another Retro Haul Post

Due to time being in short supply for the past four months or so, I haven’t been able to really get out there and hunt like I used to. I was getting withdrawals bad, so luckily, the past week or two I have had time to get out there and see what’s been on offer. Some may say that I’ve gone overboard with this latest lot, but the gap between hauls meant that I had no choice but to buy everything I saw that was worth while – regardless of whether or not I had it already. πŸ˜€

First up, the Dreamcast lot. I got this off the auctions for an absolute bargain – about 5,000yen all up after fees and shipping. In the pictures on the auction there wasn’t a great deal of detail – not all boxes were shown, and the condition explanation was iffy to say the least. I decided to bid on it anyway, and I’m glad that I did! Everything had their baggies, instructions, and inserts, plus some of the items are 100% new-old-stock – meaning unused. Got a wheel, twin sticks, console, controller, fight stick, keyboards, and of course, a console itself.

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Next comes the Game & Watch Fire (bought as junk from HardOff for next to nothing, but may not work…), SF Memory carts which I have been after for ages, a couple of 3D Systems, and a final fantasy toy. Looking forward to testing the G&W!

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Definitely one of the gems of the lot is the white Gameboy original you see there in the picture bellow. I didn’t know anything about it, and I hadn’t seen one of these before, so I grabbed it (I remember that philosophy worked well when getting that Jusco N64), and to top it off, it was found in an unlikely place too. I will probably do a single post about it when I get the chance. Those Sakura Pockets are unused and sealed too – pretty happy about that as I didn’t know that when buying.

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Bellow is just a few of the PS2 and Xbox disks. Pretty happy to get the KoF as I didn’t have that version before. Also a couple of Megadrive carts as well. **Click on the thumbs to expand**

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Moving on to the next few pictures bellow, we have the PC Engine Duo (yes another one), and a box of PCE goodies. Although I have everything I see here already, I couldn’t bring myself to leave it all in the stores that I found them in. I know there are always guys back home after these, so hit me up if you’re keen.

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Here we have a random pile of goodness – Some NeoGeo CDs, a Saturn Bomberman controller (don’t see these often at all), and some NeoGeo Pockets. Also have some Wonderswan Color games, a MegaCD disk, and a N64 cart. Crap, that was a random pic… πŸ˜€

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Some more great NeoGeo CDs, and a few DC disks that I couldn’t let sit there. A few of these titles (NGCD) I didn’t have before either, so to find them in the wild was very nice indeed! **Again, click to enlarge**

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Anyone up for 1960s slotcar action? Not really something I want to try and plug in and get power into in all honestly – early electric goods are something that should NOT be used on a tatami floor in a wooden house. I know nothing about slotcars though, so if anyone knows their slotcar sets, feel free to chime in and let me know what I have here. All I know is that it’s old…

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Also got myself a few spare Famciom Disksystems from one of the HardOff stores. Cosmetically they look pretty nice, but I doubt very much the rubber bands will still be intact – never know your luck though.

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And the final picture contains a bag of random Starwars figures. Unfortunately these aren’t the original 70s/80s items, but they do have all accessories and they were pretty cheap – cheap enough that I couldn’t leave them there anyway.

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Well, that should tide the addiction of retro hunting over for at least a few more weeks. I’m pretty happy with this lot, and hopefully there is more around the corner – at least until the rest of the stores close down. Doing my part to keep them in business, but they are definitely drying up fast these days. πŸ™

Nintendo Famicom Watch – Timeless?

First off, sorry about the ‘timeless’ bit in the title. The older I get the lamer I get. πŸ˜€

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So…. A Famicom watch? No it doesn’t play games, no it doesn’t attract women in droves due to it’s super styling, but yes, it will raise your geekiness by at least a factor of 2!

I hadn’t seen one of these before, and I haven’t done a heap of research about it yet, but what I do know is that this is an official Nintendo product produced by BanPresto, and also that it was part of a collection of many. Anything else is pretty much a mystery at the moment.

This particular one is unused (as you might be able to tell due to the protective strip still being present), and based off images I found on-line it is unfortunately missing an outer box.

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I can kind of tell why this particular one was never used… It’s one ugly little machine! Still, there must have been some cool otaku (oxymoron? I think not!) somewhere with one of these, roaming around wearing it with a huge amount of pride.

I got this for about the equivalent of $20, and I’m not sure if I got a good deal or not, but it’s different and that’s good enough for me. πŸ˜€

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If any one can point me in the direction to gain some more information about it, I’d love to hear from you. *Click on the thumbnails bellow to enlarge*

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Mandai – Massive Japanese Retro Store!

Mandai is a pretty big chain of stores here in Japan. They specialise in almost everything retro, used, or quirky in some way. The only trouble with these stores is that the prices vary dramatically, and to get a good deal it can be rare. Still, I have bought some very nice items from this place in the past, but on this trip it was not to be.

It’s always a good sign of an interesting store when there is a giant robot out the front right?

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And it’s even better (as a sign of a place I want to go into) when the giant robot is sporting a game controller as a belt buckle. πŸ˜€

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The range this place carries is nothing short of amazing, but the stock doesn’t seem to rotate all that often unfortunately – mainly due to the prices. Don’t get me wrong, the prices are quite fair on average, but they’re just not the usual jaw-droppingly cheap that a game hoarder becomes accustomed to here in Japan.

This item bellow is something I hadn’t seen before. Maybe Sean from the Famicom blog can shed some more light on it. It is a Karaoke unit for the Famicom of all things. I would love to hear the 8-bit renditions of 80s J-Pop that would come with it! I was very tempted to pick this up, and in all honesty I might go back and grab it if anyone can fill me in on it.

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A few N64s for the taking. πŸ˜€

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There is so much here that getting everything in a single shot is pretty much impossible. Bellow we have a few pics of the Super Famicom sections.

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As you can probable tell this far into the post, this particular shop is large, very large, but the pictures really do not give the size away. Even when there in person, the front door of the shop opens up to almost a Tardis like experience. The first thing you notice is a massive Pachinko/Pachislo parlour, then the place opens out into a myriad a colours and sounds in an almost seizure inducing mess.

Some Saturn,Dreamcast, NeoGeo, and VirtualBoy stuff.

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Here we have one of the isles. This one has a fair bit of the N64 stuff, and some more Super Famicom carts.

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Sorry for the blurry picture on this one guys. As I have mentioned before, taking pictures in Japanese stores isn’t looked on too kindly, so I had to rush around to get these pictures. Unfortunately this means that the Famicom carts ended up being a bit on the blurry side. πŸ™

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OK enough of the games for a second…. Like I mentioned above, this place is massive, and stocks so many different things that you will never get through the lot in one go – that is not an exaggeration! I usually get into complete meltdown after about 50% exploration. Bellow I have taken some random pictures of stuff that I thought would suit fellow geeks. πŸ˜€

A life sized Yoda! Yes, I understand that Yoda is not real, but if he were, this is how big he’d be. πŸ˜€

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Hentai section for all that is cute, fury, tentacle-like, or a combination of all three. πŸ˜€

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Yes, Godzilla is in fact smaller than DarthVader – always knew this was the case.

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I was not expecting to find Coneheads toys!

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And finally we have the Megadrive section on the left and game books/tutorial on the right. The picture bellow that is an area of the PS2 section that would fit into the frame. I kid you not, that would be less than 20% of what’s there for PS2!

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Just looking through these pictures makes me realise just how much game gear I have missed! I missed the GameCube, Handhelds, any current Gen machines and games, plus so many other interesting sections of the store. This place is amazing to walk through for any serious Otaku, but I would definitely recommend going on a weekday if possible – people just add to the claustrophobic feeling of the place.

Special Feature – Weird Controllers – Part Two

Well… I’m back with round two of the weirder controllers I have in my hoard. I could have easily gone into a part three, but I had to draw the line somewhere. I am leaving out a few of the music based controllers, the Gameboy add-on controllers, and a few various others that I am pretty sure people would have seen before. There are just so many that could have easily made it to this list, and if any of you have a few weird ones to add then I would definitely like to see them.

OK, so here we go again with part two! πŸ˜€

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The ASCII Grip

I see these around a fair bit, but to find one boxed is a little on the rare side. Honestly speaking I am not entirely sure what these are even used for, so please make a post and let me know if you have an idea.

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Capcom Quiz Controller for the Famicom

Many of you may not be aware, but the alphabet only goes up to the letter ‘M’ here in Japan. Something to do with WWII I believe – yes terrible joke – apologies to all my Japanese friends reading this.

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XE-1AP Megadrive Analogue Controller

Yes, you read that right! An analogue controller on the Megadrive! To my knowledge it only supports a few titles on the MD/Genesis – Afterburner being one of them. It really is one of the most ugly controllers I have seen though, but it doesn’t feel too bad in the hand. I do not know how rare these are, but this was the first time I had seen one here, so it was a must buy.

EDIT (credited to SuperDeadite from the PCE forum for the extra info):
SuperDeadite writes: “There’s about 12 games across the MD/MCD/32X platform, but it also works with the 5 analog pce games (needs the XHE-3 adapter), and also about 30 games on the X68000 (the original purpose for that controller), and around 10 or so on FM Towns.”

*I definitely want people to send/post any information they have it about any of the gear I have here. It’s hard to find info on the amount of gear I get, so it’s very much appreciated – not only by me, but by the next readers that pass through.*

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Sunsoft Pachinko Controller for the SuperFamicom

As most of you guys know already I am not a Pachinko fan at all, but the controllers really intrigue me for some reason. It could be purely due to the fact they highlight an addiction that in my country of origin has not been translated to the family game console. Some of the controllers are so damn elaborate as well – as demonstrated in the controller featured bellow this one. I just can’t help but pick them up when I see them.

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Hori Playstation Pachislo Controller

This would have to be one of the fanciest Pachislo controllers I have seen in my travels. It’s not only fancy, but also huge!

I have seen one other one for the PC that probably takes the cake with LEDs flashing all over the place, but this one dedicated for consoles is one of the most intricate I have so far. I am yet to use this, but I do have a few Pachislo games for the PS2 that I will have to try out at some point.

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Check out this chrome styling! πŸ˜€

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Playstation Kids Station

This controller is one of the coolest in my opinion. Not because it’s overly different, but just because it’s clear with giant buttons – I am a sucker for clear/crystal machines and controllers.

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PC Engine Pachinko Controller

Yep, another Pachinko controller makes it into the post, but this one is for the mightly PC-Engine (quite possible my favorite console here in Japan). This one is modeled on the old school style of Pachinko, and there are a fair few games on the PCE that support it.

Imagine the censorship board trying to allow gambling games on the WII/PS3/360 back at home – not a chance! πŸ˜€

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Hori Famicom Trackball

These cool little controllers only support a total of 4 games (thanks for that info Frank). I just did a quick search (as I couldn’t remember exactly which games Frank mentioned) and those games appear to be:

Operation Wolf
US Championship V’Ball
Pro Soccer
Putt Putt Golf

The feel of this isn’t exactly arcade perfect, but it’s surprisingly solid. Bet they would not have been cheap either.

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The Bandai Super Controller II

Think back a minute to the 80s – Back to the future, Arcades on every street corner (in the perfect city), flat-top haircuts, and every kid owning a BMX – now think to the level of technology….

I don’t remember seeing anything like this back home in the time period. I have been debating whether or not I should be breaking the collector’s rule and trying this out for ages. It’s brand new, and although I consider myself more of a player than a collector, this particular controller puts me on the fence. It could be another summer holiday item on the list though I reckon….

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Konami ParaParaParadise Controller

ParaPara is a dance craze that truly encapsulates all that is right/wrong with Japanese sub-culture. I am not even sure if ParaPara exists anymore, and based on this controller being unused and sealed, it may not have been as big as the media made it out to be a few years back. Definitely do a Youtube search if you do not know what this is. If I was to explain it though, I would say it is dancing without the need to move your legs – just stay in line, conform without question, and make sure original thoughts are left at the door, or else!! πŸ˜€

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And that brings us to the end of the controller feature special. πŸ™‚

Like I said, there were many others that could have made the cut here, but I thought it would go too far if I decided to post absolutely everything. It was definitely fun going through these for a closer look, and I hope that there were at least a few that you guys had not seen before – even if you’ll be happy to never see them again. πŸ˜€

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