Tag: Nintendo

Jusco 30th Anniversary N64 – When Luck Prevails

Sometimes luck just seems to be on my side – actually it’s quite often now that I think about it. But in this case, even I have to say that my luck was extraordinarily good. 😀

I was doing my once a fortnight manic/obsessive search through the used places, and not much was coming up, until…. I head into CompOff (HardOff, but mainly focused on computers) and I see this Nintendo 64. Not knowing too much about N64s, I think to myself that the colour of this one seems a little different, and also that Jusco 30th anniversary symbol must mean it’s not overly common – yes, I was that naive!

clear-grey-jusco-anniversary-n64

So, I decide to ask the shop attendant to have a closer look (it was in a cabinet). Yes, the controller felt good, and yes, the condition was great (including the manual), but I was still undecided – sad to say that is no joke either. Did I want to pay the $25 (Yes, $25 measly dollars!!)? I seriously had no idea what I was looking at, and as I already own a pile of N64s I just wasn’t sure if I should bother. 😮

nintendo-64-jusco-clear-grey

Finally, I thought why not spend the $25 and I buy it – how much could I loose right? The guy asks if I want a bag, and I say “na it’ll be fine”. I carry it out wondering if the Jusco 30th anniversary mark actually means anything, and throw it into the back of the car – not on the back seat of the car mind you, in the hatch! For those of you that don’t know $25 is an insanely good deal for one of these rare N64s, but stupid me had no idea…

*Bellow you can see the Jusco 30th markings on the box:
n64-jusco-version jusco-clear-grey-n64

Completely oblivious to what was sitting in the back of the car, my family and I do some shopping. Everything we buy gets put on top of it in the back. I am sure some of you Nintendo 64 collectors out there are thinking that Hollo does not deserve this rare piece of gaming history – can’t say that I’d disagree with you honestly. Luckily I didn’t do any damage to the box or the console itself you’ll be happy to know – I’d hate to have the N64 police at my door!

*Bellow is the Jusco (in katakana) stamp on the instructions – definitely look for this if you’re in the market for one of these:
jusco-n64-how-to-tell

So, it seems that I am now the owner of one of the rarest N64s made. Of course, I didn’t know this until I also posted on Aussie Arcade to ask the guys if they knew any info about it. My mouth hung open like a total fool when Frank (AA member) gave me an approx value of the thing – had to slap myself pretty damn hard.

For those of you (like me earlier) who have no idea what this is, why $25 is an amazing deal, and why CompOff obviously didn’t know what they had, I guess now is the time I should fill you in. Basically the Jusco 30th Anniversary edition Nintendo 64 is a Japanese exclusive console that was released only for Jusco stores in Japan. They are very scarce, and there are many (maybe an understatement there) searching for this particular version.

jusco-30th-nintendo-64

jusco-30th-anniversary-n64

The value of these things has jumped in recent years, but loose ones can sell for approximately $400 at the time of writing. Boxed and complete sets can sell for $650 plus! Now you might have an idea how stupid I was with this thing. I had no idea about what this was, and as the HardOff group usually knows what they have, I kind of just trusted the pricing – even though it was slightly cheaper than you might find clean boxed N64s.

*While I was taking pictures of this one I decided to snap a pic of the other boxed N64s I have in my collection. Amazingly this Jusco one is by far in the best condition!

japanese-n64

I am not just lucky to find this particular machine, but also to actually buy it when I didn’t have any stinking idea what it was! Seriously, I am ashamed I didn’t know what it was. To quote Frank “Hollo, I don’t even collect for the N64 and even I knew that was a Jusco 30th Anniversary LE!”. That pretty much sums it up – dumb luck strikes again. 😀

Nintendo Famicom Watch – Timeless?

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

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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.

nintendo-nes-watch

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. 😀

famicom-watch

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*

famicom-watch-nib nintendo-famicom-watch

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

bargain-bins

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.

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! 😀

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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.

ascii-grip-controller

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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.

capcom-famicom-controller

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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.*

xe1ap-megadrive-controller

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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.

sunsoft-super-famicom-pachinko-controller

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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.

playstation-pachinko-controller

Check out this chrome styling! 😀

playstation-pachinko-controller2

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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.

playstation-kidsstation

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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! 😀

pc-engine-pachinko-controller

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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.

hori-famicom-trackball-controller

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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….

bandai-super-controller-ii-famicom

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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!! 😀

konami-paraparaparadise-controller

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And that brings us to the end of the controller feature special. 🙂

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. 😀

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!? ?

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