Category: A Game Shopper’s Life in Japan

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?

mandai-front-robot-1

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. 😀

mandai-front-robot

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.

famicom-karaoke

A few N64s for the taking. 😀

n64-consoles

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.

superfamicom-loose

superfamicom-boxed2

superfamicom-boxed

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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.

saturn-and-dreamcast

virtual-boys-neogeo-dreamcast

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

loose-superfamicom-and-n64

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. 🙁

famicom-wall

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. 😀

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

starwars-yoda-life-size

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

hentai

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

godzilla-smaller-than-darthvader

I was not expecting to find Coneheads toys!

coneheads

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!

books-and-dc

playstation-2

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.

Another hard to find machine makes it into the gameroom – actually make that two

Well, again the luck hits hard. 😀

Today I’m going to start with the good stuff….

Not one, but two R7s!! In all honesty though, one of these I bought from the auctions – something I don’t usually do, but I had to make an exception in this case as it was too cheap to pass up.

First, the boxed one found in the wild. I was surprised as it actually has a VGA cable with it as well, and although the box has a bit of damage the console itself is in pretty good shape.

Dreamcast R7 number 1.
dream-cast-r7

dream-cast-r7a

Now onto the loose one which I got from the auctions. This one has some scratches on it, plus the network adapter is white, whereas on the boxed one it’s black to match the console body – bit disappointed by this, but I can’t complain too much.

Dreamcast R7 number 2.
dream-cast-r7b

The PCE games. Those of you that know your PCE know what I have scored here! Ninja Gaiden does not come up often at all, so I was sooooo damn happy to find this. It wasn’t cheap, but it’s one of those must buys when you find them. Parasol Stars is pretty cool too. 😉

pc-engine

Dance Dance Revolution set. I can’t see myself actually using it, but I know guys back home might like it.

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A clear Gameboy 1, and some other scraps.

gameboy-dreamcast-famicom

And now I going to finish off with just a few little extras. The pictures tell the story.

Again, nothing to complain about at all. Any gamers thinking of making their way to Japan, hurry up and book those tickets!! You will not regret it. 😀

ps-otaku saturn

I hope this luck doesn’t change!

The run of luck this old gamer has been having is pure craziness! I mean, games and systems I never see in the wild near me are suddenly showing up, and the only choice I have is to consume, and consume hard. ?

I think today I will save the best for last. The last item in this post is something I have wanted for ages, but they are so damn rare to come by – let alone in condition like this…. Still, I am talking too much about it already, so let’s get started on the other stuff.

3DO, a few DiskSystem disks, and a couple of PCE related goodies.

I am really looking forward to trying out ‘Pataank’ for the 3DO. I do not know a single thing about it, and judging by the graphics on the back cover it looks like seriously weird inside pinball machine game. I thought about doing a search for it, but I don’t want to spoil the surprise.
3do-pce-disk-system

Some more Famicom carts tarif du viagra en pharmacie. I should really sort through the carts I have at home before buying more, but when they’re there and they’re cheap, what can a guy do right?
famicom

Gameboy games… I honestly don’t have a heap of interest in Gameboy, but as I know there are a few guys on AussieArcade who are keen for them, I picked them up.
gameboy

Same as the Famicom, I really should be going through the games I have at home before buying more Super Famicom carts. Due to buying so much in such a short space of time, I am really having difficulty keeping track of what I am doubling up on. (click thumbnails to enlarge)
super-famicom-snes super-famicom

Unfortunately, it really is looking as if the Saturn gear isn’t being restocked anymore. I am pretty sure these were there the last time I went too, but as there was nothing else to grab I decided to just grab them anyway. It really has been an amazing run at that shop though.

Hope they do it again when I have visitors come over from home (bet Sean does too right?). ?
saturn

And finally, the pick of the haul by far is my NEC PC Engine Duo-R!!

I have never seen one of these in the wild. I do see them on the auctions, but to actually walk into a store and see a boxed one was pretty nice. I am sure the guys in Tokyo see these all the time, but where I am it just doesn’t happen.

Did I pay too much for it? Probably. Do I care though? Nope, not at all. I have wanted one of these ever since the PCE bug took hold (thanks to Frank), and I was damn happy driving home with it. ?
pc-engine-duo-r
It has a few scratches and scuffs on it, but all up it looks pretty clean. The guy in the place I bought it from said that it has all been tested, so I am looking forward to trying it out over the weekend. I can safely say this will be the machine I will be playing on, and probably the machine that will end up modded in the future (done any of these MJ?).
pc-engine-duo-r-2

So again, I seem to be having the run of luck to end all runs of luck. But how long can this last!? ?

It just doesn’t seem to end – when retro gaming in Japan

You guys must be getting sick of me making post after post about the gear that I am finding over here in Japan. If I was back home scrounging to find a few carts, or a few lonely disks in the wild, it would make me sick seeing some spoiled bastard flaunting these huge finds. All I can say to that is… I’m sorry… If I could change places, I probably… wouldn’t. 😀

Anyway, I truly believe that you guys should be the ones feeling sorry for me! As Spring is in the air, and people are cleaning out their houses, there is so much to buy at the moment that I don’t even get any time to sit back and relax to play any of the machines or games I have been getting. Life is hard!! 😀

So the latest. Not many carts or disks in this bunch, but I have made up for that with machines.

A Sharp Twin Fami, a Gakken Frogger, and some other Famicom related goodies. I did throw some batteries into the Frogger as I hadn’t played one before – it really is a good game to my surprise! I will be doing a write-up about it at some point I think.
famicom-sharp-nintendo-frogger-disk-system

Famicom Keyboard set, Famicom Tape Recorder, some Super Famicom gear, and a Sega mouse. I paid a fair bit for the recorder, but I don’t have buyer remorse just yet about it. It was something I have been after for a while, and they don’t come up all that often. The Nintendo RGB cable is definitely not on the common side – just wish my TV could support it…
famicom-keyboard-recorder-tape-sega-mouse-megadrive-genesis

Wireless kit for the Capcom Famicom/SuperFamicom fight stick. Had no idea there was such a thing in all honesty. The Hori trackball is for the Famicom, but I am yet to look into what games actually use it – feels great though.
capcom-pc-engine-gt

Well, another nice pile of plastic that I have to try and squeeze into my gameroom somehow. I would leave it out in the lounge, but out of sight is out of mind (for the wife that is). 😀

What I’ll do now is leave you guys with a few pics of individual items in thumbnail form (click to enlarge). And remember, I’m not spoiled, I am in the terrible position of having too much to buy, and no time to play. 😉

famicom-nes-tape-recorder genesis-mouse-megadrive

hori-trackball-famicom nintendo-rgb-cable

Well, the Japanese shopping spree might have come to an end….

Well guys, I did another trip to the store where retro-gaming-wet-dreams are created, and it seems that the supply might just be running out. They don’t seem to have put anything new out, and many racks are starting to look a little bare. Sad, sad news for this old hoarder. 🙁

Still, I walked out of there with 100+ titles, so I can’t complain just yet. 😀

The PCEngine:
pc-engine-hucards

The Famicom:
famicom

The Super Famicom:
super-famicom-snes

Xbox, Dreamcast and Saturn:
dreamcast-saturn-xbox

As you can see I pretty much just picked up anything worth grabbing this time, no matter if I had it before or not. I did get some new SFC games that I didn’t have, plus a few other new titles, but the jaw-dropping finds just weren’t present this time around.

I will definitely be heading there when I get some more time later this week, so I hope there will be a few new titles out, but I am not overly hopeful….

So has this super haul of Japanese goodness finally come to an end? I seriously hope not, but sadly it seems to be looking that way. I still can’t get a conclusive answer out of any of the employees, so it may not be a closing down sale, but one thing is for certain, the retro gaming section has more than halved in size. 🙁

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