Tag: game

Epoch Hang-on LCD – Not Quite Arcade Perfect….

First off, I have to apologise for not getting more content up recently. Life has been absolutely crazy, and that’s putting it mildly… Anyway, I am back now – if only for this small post.

You guys may remember the ‘Epoch Bubble Bobble’ post I made a while back? Well if not, it was pretty much the Bubble Bobble version of what you see here – a small LCD handheld that someone would buy if they were spending too much cash on the arcade equivalent (‘equivalent’ used lightly), only to get home, rip off the wrapper and realise that it was nothing like the arcade machine.

Well, here we have the Hang-on handheld! Another handheld that is sure to disappoint those who expected the arcade in the palm of your hand. 😀

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As I mentioned in the Bubble Bobble post, these particular LCDs aren’t exactly retro by any stretch of the imagination. The release dates for these don’t go that far back at all (2005 being the year of release), but that doesn’t make them any less sort after. Over here in Japan they come up reasonably often, but the prices vary wildly. I got this one sealed/unused for about the 1,000yen mark if I remember rightly, which I believe is a great deal.

I haven’t cracked this one open to try it out, so again I will turn to the great ‘Showagamer’ on youtube to demo this little LCD beast. 🙂

Epoch Bubble Bobble LCD – Arcade in the palm of your hand?

I picked this Epoch Bubble Bobble LCD up a few weeks back, and I thought it was well worth a post as I’d never seen one before achat viagra 10 mg. I can’t actually recall where I snagged this from – which shows you that I may have a buying problem – but was cheap enough, and the fact that it’s still sealed and unused definitely made it a must buy.

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Epoch released some great LCD and VFD based games in the 1980s, but this particular game was released in 2005. Even though it’s not exactly vintage it’s still quite sort after, and it’s not unheard of to see them selling for around the $60.

I have not cracked this one open to try it out, and in all honesty I probably won’t, but if you’re keen to see it in action, a great Youtuber by the name of ‘Showagamer has a video of it running.

Not quite the arcade classic by any means, but neither was Nintendo’s Donkey Kong Game & Watch – that didn’t make it any less of a great handheld. ?

Retro Gaming Store in Japan

There is the quaint little retro gaming store in Japan that sells the odd Famicom cart, the occasional Saturn disk, or even a few systems or two, then there are super-ultra stores like the one I am going to show you today.

This particular shop is about 20 minutes from my house, and it’s one of the biggest places I’ve ever seen here for retro gaming gear. There are others that are similar in size, but this shop actually has prices you want to pay. It is almost set up like a supermarket with isles, a little basket to carry around, and even a taster section with four or five systems setup for people to play.

Before I put any photos up, it has to be said that people managing stores in Japan are very reluctant to have photos taken. I took as many photos as I could, but it was impossible to get photos of everything. I missed not only the hardware section, but also the PS2, Gameboy, Megadrive (Genesis), MegaCD, Saturn (the list goes on actually) and most of the boxed games sections.

Anyway, now onto the photos….

I would love to get my hands on this giant Mario – Hmmm that sounds slightly odd now that I think about it. 😀

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One of the loose Famicom cart Isles (pictured bellow). Yes I say ‘one of’, as there are a few. You can see at the end of the isle there part of the boxed games section for Famicom too.

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Another really great thing about this place is there is a GameCenterCX section if you want to play the games that are featured on the show. If you are wondering what GameCenterCX is, then I suggest taking a look on Youtube. It is one of the coolest retro game shows anywhere! Unfortunately I couldn’t get any photos of the GameCenterCX section.

Mind boggling range of Super Famicom carts. Again, this is only one of the Super Famicom Isles.

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Again I couldn’t get great pictures of everything, but what you see here is just a part of the cased PCE games they have on offer. You can pretty much find everything here.

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Bellow is just a part of the DreamCast section. If you’re wondering, that whole top row is for NeoGeoCD, and you may notice that there are some big empty spaces in the NeoGeo section – this is mainly because I bought 20 odd on this particular day. 🙂

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This terrible photo (bellow) is trying to show you one of the toy racks dedicated to game related merchandise. They have all sorts of gear here, from recent Mario themed board games, through to figures of Ken in Street Fighter.

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A closer look at the boxed Famicom and Super Famciom section (bellow).

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I really wish I could have shown you everything. Just looking through the pictures there is so much I missed. This place has so much stuff that I know it will bring a tear to any retro gamer’s eye – specially the guys I know back home who feel great joy just finding a dozen or so carts in the wild.

And just before I go. This place doesn’t only sell games too! There are huge sections for toys, clothing, electronics, and pretty much any other type of used goods you can think of. Not bad considering I actually live in rural Japan! 😮

Konami Game Selector AV – Japanese Rubbish?

Now, it’s not often I dive into the waste of another human being, but considering that Japanese dumping grounds can be the source of amazing finds I just can’t help myself – don’t judge me here! This Konami Game Selector AV is just one of the amazing scores I have come across in the rubbish.

Yes, I know what you’re thinking, Japanese rubbish can be better than Ebay. ?

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The Konami Game Selector AV can be quite sort after here. I have seen these sell for around 4,000yen (about $47) on the auctions. Admittedly I have seen them sell for much cheaper than that too, but I like to keep the larger figures around just to show you guys that I’m not some uncultured swine who dives into the next door neighbour’s rubbish for nothing. ?

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I am not going to go into a lot of detail regarding this AV switcher as there really isn’t any point. It does work very well, but for the true retro gamer it having no RGB/S-VID/Composite means that it probably won’t get the use it should. Would I throw it out though? Noooooo.

I will definitely talk about some of the other finds I have gotten from the dump in some upcoming posts. You will be amazed!! ?

Donkey Kong Game & Watch – Yay the D-Pad!

Ninendo’s Donkey Kong Game & Watch was the very first Game & Watch I had when I was a kid. I loved this thing more than life itself, which is why I still kick myself for swapping it for a Mickey & Donald Game & Watch at some point. It must have been some older kid talking me into it…. I can’t remember what actually went down in regards to the deal itself, but I do hope I got something in addition to that Mickey & Donald.

Anyway, being in Japan (the country with arguably the cheapest Game & Watches in the world), I could not think of a reason not to buy one again. And if you’re going to buy Donkey Kong, why not buy Donkey Kong II as well!

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Released in 1982, Donkey Kong was revolutionary for a number of reasons, but most notable would have to be the D-Pad. This was the first time the cross style D-Pad (developed by Gunpei Yokoi) had appeared on any gaming device, and subsequently won Nintendo a Technology & Engineering Emmy Award (wiki). As many of you have probably read on my other posts, I am hard on the companies that used the D-Pad on the right side, and Nintendo really did set a standard by having them on the left – Donkey Kong Game & Watch was really a leader.

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When it comes to story, Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong II were very different games (that’s if you think them to have a story at all of course). In Donkey Kong you are Mario (at least I think it’s Mario) and you have to save the hot girl with beautiful long legs, creamy complexion, long flowing hair draped over her firm…. (sorry about that, childhood imagination taking over for a second), and in Donkey Kong II you must play as Donkey Kong Jr. to save Donkey Kong.

Both games are extremely playable in their own right, but Donkey Kong II is much more difficult to conquer. Those of you that have played these games on an emulator really don’t understand what these games are about. I have tried many different emulations out there (including the one for the Nintendo DS) and none of them come close to the feel of the real thing. Due to hardware limitations, these machines almost seem to have a life of their own.

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I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed picking up Donkey Kong again after a 25 year break. The memories that flooded back when clicking open that second screen, hearing that first beep, and making Donkey Kong fall were incredible! 😀

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