Bandai Solar LCD – Akuryo no Yakata and Hikyo Amazon – Clean Energy from the 80s!

What with the icecaps melting (or freezing – not sure if they’ve decided yet), what better way to show that you care about the earth than to play video games harnessing the power of the sun. Skin cancer is just a small price to pay when you have such a powerful sense of well-being. 😀

How do you get vitamin E, and play games guilt free? The answer is Bandai Solar LCD!

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These games aren’t just special because of the solar energy usage though, they are special in the way that they have two layered LCD screens. Think of the Nintendo’s double screen, but instead of having one screen on the top half and one screen on the bottom half of the console, you have both screens layered over each other.

If you take a look at the following pictures you can see how the screen changes depending on which stage of the game you are playing. Kind of like having two screens in one.

Hikyo Amazon
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Akuryo no Yakata
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These are extremely fun little games to play. My pick of the two would have to be Akuryo no Yakata though – stabbing monsters is just plain nice for some reason.

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The most common question I get about these would have to be regarding the amount of light they need to work. Well I’m happy to report that it’s actually very small. You will definitely be not able to play them in a dimly lit room, but as they aren’t backlit screens anyway (of course), chances are you would have a light source at the ready just to see what you’re doing.

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The controller does take a bit of getting used to. Nintendo really changed the game having the D-Pad on the left, and it didn’t really catch on with all the game companies early on. Once you do get used to them they are functional, albeit in a fragile kind of way.

I am pretty sure these were only released in Japan (please correct me if I’m wrong there), but if you can find one in your neck of the woods I’d definitely recommend giving them a try, even if it’s only to try and fit in with your Prius driving acquaintances. 😀