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Once again Nick and I hit up some of our usual stores in Omaha and tried to find some interesting things.
First stop of the morning was Half Price Books. This has got to be one of my favorite stores. Not only do they have decently priced games on occasion, I love browsing through all of the books. - Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory Limited Collectors Edition. $4.99 - Brady Games Final Fantasy X strategy guide. $6.99

Found a few other items there of interest, not really gaming related but stuff I liked. - Seven of the Age of Apocalypse Ultimate Editions. $3 each in the clearance rack. - A few random Neon Genesis Evangelion comic books. 50 cents each. - Bleach volume 1 from the clearance rack. $1 - Halo Legends blu-ray - $12.99 - Avatar Blu-Ray Collectors Edition - $13.99 (picked up at CD Tradepost)


We made our way to a couple of the Gamers store locations and made a couple purchases. I was amazed they had a bunch of Dreamcast titles for once, mostly sports as always, but I dug out a couple that looked like fun.
- Towering Inferno, Commando Raid, Spider-Man, Freeway, and Warlords (Sears branded). 95 cents each. - Luigi's Mansion, Game Cube. $16.95 - Ninja Gaiden, NES, cart only. $6.95 - Mega Man X4, Playstation. Black label to replace my GH version. $6.95 - Gears of War 2 Limited Edition to round out my Gears titles. $19.95 - Crazy Taxi 2, Dreamcast. $6.95 - Sega Smash Pack Volume 1, Dreamcast. $10.95 - Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, Dreamcast. $12.95 - Ready 2 Rumble Boxing, Dreamcast. $1.95


Last few games I bought at CD Tradepost, Ben's Game Room, and a local pawn shop I can't recall the name of. Finally snagged Pokemon Black at Ben's Game Room for 25 bucks, cheapest I've found locally. Priciest thing I bought all day ended up being Mega Man 5 for 40 dollars. At $40, it still felt a bit pricey to me, but it's the cheapest I've found in my area by 15 dollars.
- Ms. Pac-Man, SNES, cart only. $5.95 - Frogger, Atari 2600. 95 cents - Hogan's Alley, NES, cart only. $2.99 - Pokemon Black, Nintendo DS. $25.00 - Mega Man 5, NES, cart only. $40.00

Now I just need to locate a copy of Mega Man 1 and I will have all six releases for the NES. And then I just have to find the boxes and manuals for them all! *grumbles*
Lastly I snagged an Atari 5200, and some games, on the cheap from Nick, minus the weirdo power/tv switch box. So if anyone has one lying around collecting dust they want to part with, gimme a yell! He also gave me a SFC game, some sort of pachinko I think, and some cartridge cases for free. Free stuff is the best stuff.



So here's the thing. I knew very little about D. I knew it was a survival horror game with a cool cover, and not a whole lot more. Yesterday I received it in a trade from fellow RFGenner Barracuda and figured I'd throw it in to make sure it worked. I fired up the Saturn, and opened the manual to see how it worked. "Due to its story, this game has a two hour time limit," I read. "In keeping with the time limit, this game does not contain a pause feature." ...Interesting.
And what began with me testing the game out, turned into me being totally sucked in. Two hours (or a little less really) later, the game had reached its conclusion. I suppose that if I had bought this game when it was first released, then I may have been upset. I mean, two hours? A game that has a linear story, and puzzles I had solved the first time. Surely there'd be little re-playability. I would have maybe felt that I had spent $50 on a game that had run its course in one sitting. Right?

But who knows how I would have really felt then? All I can tell you is how I feel now. I feel thrilled to have played this game. I feel thrilled that I've discovered this series. There are some games out there that go so far beyond being just a fun game -- they are experiences to be had. Special games that you hold close to you forever and are willing to play again and again because of how they affected you. Games like Shadow of the Colossus or Heavy Rain come to mind. These are games not so far removed from an engrossing cinematic experience. Like a favorite movie that you can watch over and over again finding new tiny nuances to latch onto with each new viewing.
D starts off with an amazing cinematic cut scene that puts you in a deserted hospital -- the scene of gruesome murders committed by your father, a doctor. Suddenly the hospital turns into a big abandoned castle-esque mansion. It soon becomes clear that reality isn't part of this story. Instead, it is a story mostly told through mood somewhat akin to a David Lynch film.

The controls may take a few moments to get used to. The point-of-view is first person most of the time, though interactions with the environment take place in the third person. Much of the game consists of solving various puzzles in order to access new areas, somewhat reminiscent of Myst. However the gruesome flashbacks and other bits of disturbing imagery are all far removed from the somewhat relaxing tone of a game like Myst. Indeed this is a creepy game. One where although very little happens you can't help but feel a certain sense of dread (and perhaps urgency from the imposed two hour limit).
Though actual bits of story are told through some rather laughable voice acting, it is nonetheless an incredible experience. One that I won't spoil for you. None of the puzzles are brutally hard. In fact your biggest downfall may well be over-thinking some of them. But at just two hours there's really no excuse for you to not experience this game. After beating it myself I started doing some research and it turns out I got the "bad" ending. Luckily enough D was so compelling to me that I have no problem with the idea of playing through it again just to see the "good" ending. If you are a fan of the macabre, or just fascinatingly unique games in general, I highly urge you to seek out D.
EDIT: the first time i posted this today, somehow it cut off halfway for some reason....its fixed now
Ok...allow me to preface a bit first.
First off, i've been crazy busy, thus explaining the lack of blog posts...and the conclusion of my SGC will be posted....eventually xD
Now onto the find:
I was at a church craft show/ yard sale on a saturday afternoon. Traditionally, i can pick a few things up each year, since the "yard sale" room is ran by old ladies....people donate their stuff to the church and then the church manages the sale of it as opposed to individual sellers.
This year seemed pretty grim, until i looked under a table at a box marked "playstation", with a few bags next to it. The box indeed contained a ps1 with 2x memory cards, a gameshark and power chord (no av or controller >.>) The bags were of particular interest.... after scooping them all up, I asked the old lady there how much for all of it....
"well, since its all gonna get donated in an hour anyway....how about 10$ for all of it?"
Here's what I grabbed!
 (nomad/ game gear/ gb / gbc)





all of it works great...no marker, no dirt...hardly any scratches on the systems....and all for 10$
but now for the real question: what to do with pokemon green!?
also: what is the best way to keep games in a cardboard box in good condition?

Game: Dokuro Developer: Game Arts Publisher: Gungho Online Entertainment Release Date: July 5, 2012 (Japan) - Oct 16, 2012 (North American PSN) Genre: Platformer/Puzzle System: Sony Playstation Vita
Dokuro (which means "skull" in Japanese) is a cute fantasy puzzle platformer game for the Playstation Vita. Developed by the same house which gave us the Lunar series, the Grandia series, Ragnarok Odyssey, among many others, Dokuro is a departure from Game Arts' usual offerings. This review is for the Japanese physical release. Dokuro is planned to be released in other regions as well, but only in digital form via the PlayStation Network Store.
The game starts off by introducing Dokuro as a very lowly servant to a demon-type character who is called the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord has captured a princess and imprisoned her (with plans for marriage) in a holding cell located high in the Dark Castle. Dokuro, who seems to be in charge of guarding the princess, falls in love with her at first sight . Little Dokuro has a slight dilemma: free the beautiful princess, or be loyal to the Dark Lord. Like any man would, he chooses the princess and frees her from her cell. Upon being freed, the princess does not thank Dokuro or even acknowledge his kindness. He should have thrown her back in her cell...I would have! Anyway, the path out of the dark castle is riddled with traps, puzzles, obstacles, among other things, and the princess is completely helpless. Lucky for her Dokuro is a sucker for a beauty in need, unlucky for Dokuro she will never appreciate his efforts in assisting her with her escape. You can't help but feel sorry for poor little Dokuro who tries his best to help the princess. Any skeleton with a backbone would have left this cold, shallow, ungrateful princess where he found her, but little Dokuro tries his best to please a woman who may never notice or care about him.

Dokuro has basic controls. Jump, attack, and an 'action' button which pushes and pulls objects. In the first cutscene we are shown a special potion which turns whoever drinks it into a warrior. Dokuro gets a hold of this potion early on in the game and with it he can transform into a handsome prince with a sword which the princess does notice. Players are to use Dokuro's true form to jump to hard-to-reach places as he can jump higher and is more nimble. Dokuro's prince form is strong so it is best used for attacking enemies and carrying the princess over obstacles. Unfortunately for Dokuro he can only remain in prince form for about 20 seconds at a time. When he transforms back into the lowly skeleton the princess pays less attention to him. With the default control settings you must use the front touchscreen and rear touchpanel to change shape, which can be bothersome for those, like myself, who don't like touch controls.
Touch controls cannot be completely avoided. During the course of the game, you obtain different colored pieces of chalk each serving a specific purpose. The white chalk acts as a rope, the red chalk acts as a dynamite fuse, and the blue chalk creates pools of water. Your fingers acts as the chalk as you draw your way out of certain obstacles. I don't think it's too intrusive to the gameplay and although I don't really like taking my hands off of the controls, the chalk aspect of the game fits nicely.

The game's 16 stages are comprised of different areas of the entire castle. Each area has a theme; from a banquet hall to a garden, from a kitchen to an elevator shaft. Each stage is broken up into 10 different puzzles, or 9 puzzles with a boss fight. Each puzzle is timed so that players can measure their performance and improve upon it accordingly. There is no time limit, so you can take as long as you like, but one of the challenges of the game is to finish as quickly as possible. Other than solving the puzzle of each section, there are also platforming elements such as pitfalls and enemies which must be defeated in order to complete the puzzle. Each section contains a gold coin which seems thrown in just to give Dokuro an additional objective aside from assisting the princess. In the overworld map you can choose to retry older stages if you want to better your time or collect a gold coin you may have missed. The end of each section is marked by a radiant flower which the princess is highly fond of. Dokuro has just risked life and limb to protect her and all she cares for is a flower. Every other stage or so does have a boss fight and this is another area where the game shines. The boss fights are fun and are challenging, but not to a point where the fight becomes a chore. For the veteran gamers, they may seem a bit easy. I thought they were just right. Classic game strategy, memorize their patterns then attack accordingly.
The game's art direction is something out of a Tim Burton film. Everything looks so crisp and beautiful on the Vita's OLED screen. The music blends well with the atmosphere which, but some may not like the music's 'French' sound. The game does not have many vibrant colors as mostly everything is dark and monochrome with some color here and there. When Dokuro transforms into the hero, the backgrounds light up with color and so does Dokuro himself. I think this is a great effect. Dokuro is only noticeable when he is attractive. Art imitating life!

Praises: The game is very well-designed and quite lengthy so it will keep you busy for hours. I think 10 to 12 stages would have been enough, but at 16 stages you're getting a lot of bang for your buck. Some stages will frustrate you, others will be a breeze. They're all mixed up so you never know what you're getting next. Also, the game is very accessible. People who like to play games imported from Japan are often faced with the same dilemma: not understanding Japanese. Fret not, this game can be played in English. It doesn't stop there. The language options, other than Japanese and English, include French, German, Italian, Korean, and Spanish. The boss fights are very fun and creatively designed. The game is beautiful to look at and fun to play. Nothing I can really say here that I haven't mentioned already. This is a fun game and perfect for a portable system as it is fully enjoyable even in short bursts.
Grievances: The touch control motion needed to transform was a clumsy add-on. As mentioned previously, it can be redirected to the "R" button which is where it should have been in the first place. The game could have used more audio tracks as the music is recycled throughout the game. The music isn't annoying, but I think given the length of the game, the developers could have taken the opportunity to create some really great atmospheric music to go with Dokuro's gothic/whimsical theme.
The Verdict: Some might say this game is just a two-dimensional ICO. While that does hold some truth to it, it is barely a rip-off. It is unique in its own right. This game is profound, funny, cute, challenging, and addictive. Trying to best your own clear times creates great replay value. I highly recommend it to any fan of the platforming and puzzle genres. Dokuro is a whimsical, tragic story about a boy stuck in the bowels of unrequited love who would do anything to win over the woman who would never give him the time of day. Maybe.

If you like the art and music, here are free downloads from the publisher. http://dokuro.gungho.jp/wallpaper_bgm/
No backups, pirates, or emulation. Reviewed copy:
As the list I'm choosing my games from over at nintendoage has been slowly dwindling the games I've been playing have been getting more time consuming. Thus the slower rate of uploads lately. Getting our basement renovated and having my appendix removed have slowed me down a bit too. But I've still been hard at work knocking off titles when I get the chance. Here are my latest triumphs.
Spider Man Return of the Sinister Six was something I had mixed feelings about. I really like many super hero games of the SNES/Gen/Arcade era, but I've been coming to the realization that many NES super hero games just weren't up to par. Spider Man on the NES just happens to be a good example of that. While not quite in the terrible arena it has a lot of problems that cause it to ultimately not be all that good. The web swinging is surprisingly good, but otherwise the game doesnt have anything for redeeming qualities.

Next up is yet another of the infamous NES wrestling games, Tag Team Wrestling. Now this game is freakin cheap almost right off the bat. The enemy wrestlers turn red (which happens more often and for longer periods of time the further you get in the game) and when that happens they become invincible and get a free move on you. In the later levels they turn red so often that they tend to grab you the second you get up from their previous move leaving you unable to fight back. Luckily there is a way you can be just as cheap too! If you can cause the fight to move outside the ring they will not turn red at all, and with some good timing you can ring them out pretty consistently. Now just do that at least 35 times in a row (one loss is game over) in order to beat the "Super Champ". Easy, right?

Finally I've been able to cross Eliminator Boat Duel off my list also. This is a boat racing game that plays like a combination of Race America (starting drag), RC Pro AM (upgrade vehicle in between races/similar race view) and Rad Racer (behind the car race view). It does all of the above fairly well, but nothing overly spectacularly. Decent game overall. It took me a few attempts to figure out how to maximize my spending and get my upgrades built up, but the easiest way to ensure victory is to learn when to spam your nitros. Its ok to let our opponent dominate the entire race as long as you can seal the deal right at the end.

NES Games Finished In 2012
(click on a title to view the video)
Silver Surfer Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom Double Dragon II: The Revenge Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones Ghosts n Goblins Tetris Pro Wrestling Gradius Zanac Adventure Island Karnov Trojan Excitebike Baseball Spy Hunter Adventure Island II Tennis Battletoads Shadowgate Battletoads/Double Dragon Pinball Quest Section Z Godzilla Hydlide Marble Madness Back to the Future Darkman Terminator 2 Robocop Total Recall Predator Robocop 2 Robocop 3 Hudson Hawk Home Alone Home Alone 2 Batman Returns Ghostbusters II Ghostbusters Die Hard A Nightmare on Elm Street The Krion Conquest Adventures of Dino Riki Ultima: Exodus Legacy of the Wizard Air Fortress Ultima: Quest of the Avatar Darkwing Duck Ultima: Warriors of Destiny Legends of the Diamond Pro Sports Hockey Dusty Diamond's All-Star Softball Yoshi's Cookie Kick Master Zombie Nation Stadium Events Super Jeopardy! Joust Yoshi Dance Aerobics Adventures of Bayou Billy Pipe Dreams Ski or Die Werewolf: The Last Warrior Simpsons: Bart vs The Space Mutants City Connection American Gladiators Roundball 2-on-2 Challenge 720 Athletic World Super Team Games Romance of the Three Kingdoms Gumshoe Bases Loaded The Addams Family Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt Kings of the Beach The Blues Brothers Volley Ball Lode Runner 3D World Runner Twin Eagle Dragon's Lair The Adventures of Rad Gravity Break Time: The National Pool Tour Bases Loaded II Rainbow Islands Conquest of the Crystal Palace Peter Pan And The Pirates Kid Kool and the Quest for the Seven Wonder Herbs Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Dragon Strike Slalom Wrath of the Black Manta Race America Treasure Master Krusty's Fun House King's Knight Mighty Bomb Jack Bases Loaded 3 Castelian Flying Dragon: The Secret Scroll Dirty Harry Conan Cobra Triangle Spider Man Return of the Sinister Six Tag Team Wrestling Eliminator Boat Duel
BONUS GAME -
Assimilate
Future Plans - I've already put a fair amount of time into Thunder & Lightning which has brought me to the last and second last level several times. I have no doubt I can beat it, I just need to get a good play through. Also gonna give Galaxy 5000 a go before too long unless someone beats me to it.
The year of Zelda continues with The Spirit Tracks. I had started this game wayy back at the beginning of the year but I only went through the first 2 dungeons. I finally finished the game today. It was a different game because I was driving a train and didn't really have any of the freedom of movement in the overworld. I didn't really understand the trying to gather rabbits that were out in the field side quest. It was fun to shoot the cannon at things, and I liked that I could just draw a route and forget about steering if I wanted to. The gameplay was fun though, and was very reminiscent of Phantom Hourglass. Using Zelda to control other enemies was a neat idea. It gave a different style at the time, but other games like Skyward Sword have also used it since. All in all this was a fun Zelda title, but I wouldn't rank it in my top 3. On to the next game, which I'm already halfway through Twilight Princess. Time is running short and I have 11 more zelda games to beat.
George Pelonis is the founder of Fury Unlimited, a company that creates homebrew titles for the GCE Vectrex home console. George currently resides in Southern California, and programs Vectrex games in his spare time. You can check out his website and purchase his games and controllers at: http://www.furyunlimited.com.
(In reference to the glasses, he writes, "[I'm] not trying to look cool. Those are just off-the-shelf 3D LCD glasses, like the kind used for home 3D television setups and PC 3D gaming. They were made useful to Vectrex fans by Kevin Horton (creator of the game KevTris) who marketed an adapter which made these glasses work with Vectrex 3D games. An interesting part of this is that it obviously couldn't create the color 3D illusion like GCE's 3D Imager, so you played in 3D monochrome. As long as I wasn't doing anything color-specific, I preferred using this to program 3D Sector-X because it produced less eyestrain.")
Regardless, you still look pretty cool George. Thanks for your time and for agreeing to do an interview with me.
Thank you!
Continue reading Vectrex Interview Series #2 - George Pelonis
Started the day out at Nick's place, fooling around with his Super Famicom and trying to decipher Japanese. Bought a couple Famicom Games from him and his brother and decided to hit a couple pawn shops, a collectible store, and a little game shop.
After messing around with the Super Famicom, and coming to the conclusion that neither of us undertstand Japanses very well. We laughed a bit at the bouncing boobies in Bing Bing! Bingo, I bought a copy of Ultima 4 and Tetris for Famicom from Nick and his brother. After that we decided to hit the road and visit a couple shops around town.

First stop was a pawn shop, I picked up Onimusha, and Onimusha 3 there for 4 dollars each. We headed down the street to another pawn shop and found a copy of Onimusha 2 there for 7.77.

After that we visited one of our common stops and I found a fat boy PS2 complete with the box and all of the foam inserts. It even included a memory card for 59.99. I ended up buying this because of the PS2 slim looking out of place on my game shelf with all of the other "large systems."
Other reasons being, for some reason PS2's seem to be in short supply in my area, and when you can find them.. they're around 40 dollars. And then they want 10 for a memory card for some damned reason. So I felt that 10 dollars more than that was worth a fat PS2 in the box with all the stuffing and original manuals.

On to another gaming shop we've both had good luck at... I picked up a boxed copy of Rush'n Attack for NES, minus the manual for 7.95, and Mass Effect for XBox 360 for 14.95.

Off we went to CD Tradepost and Best Buy. I ended up using some reward points and bought Paper Mario on N64 for around 11 dollars at CD Tradepost. At Best Buy, Nick pointed out that the Gears of War 3 Epic Edition had been marked down to 49.99 and I figured, "What the hell." Picked that up. Now I just need to get my hands on a copy of Gears 2 and I can play through the storyline and see what all the fuss is about.

Last stop of the day was at Toys 'R Us, Nick was hoping to pick up Diablo 3 cheap. The local Toys 'R Us was selling most of it's PC games for 10 dollars in an effort to clear their inventory before they get out of the PC game business at that location. No such luck, all of the 10 dollar Diablo 3's were gone.
I however, ended up picking up The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks for 20 dollars. No picture of that one, it's still in the glove box of my car and I'm feeling lazy. But I'm pretty sure that completes my Zelda collection, outside of the CD-I released and LCD games.
Hey everyone today Bill and I did a little shopping a little less than what we did last week. BUT my brother and I did some shopping as well. First off we went to EZ Pawn and I picked up nothing but Bill picked up a couple PS2 games cheap. Then we went off to one of my favorite local stores and Bill picked up a Fat PS2 in box in great condition & my brother picked up some Sonic Comics and some original TMNT Comics. Then we went to another local store I like and I picked up a few boxed NES games. Then we went to CD Tradepost and picked up a couple of games there as well. It was a great day so fare and then after Bill went home will all his wonderful goodies he bought my brother and I went to lunch and then we went to Toysrus to try and find me a clearance copy of Diablo III for $10.00 but no luck BUT then my brother and I went to Nebraska Furniture Mart hoping a game thatI wanted was still there but NO LUCK or wait maybe there is luck!! I picked up Street Fighter Collection on Xbox 360!!! This thing is pretty sweet!!!! (Keep an eye on my blog I will be posting an uboxing soon). My brother picked up Fortune Street on the Wii and Crossword Plus on the 3DS at NFM. But before we went shopping today Bill came over and checked out my SFC, N64 Japan and Famicom. But he brought me a little present a Boxed Ultima VII on PC (Floppy). So here are some pictures and list of what I bought! Hope you all enjoy!
Local Store 1: *Batman: The Video Game - Brand New Sealed still with the Kay-Bee's Sticker on it - $40.00 *Cowboy Kid - CIB but I need a new Manual if anyone has one. - $40.00 *Fist of the North Star - CIB - $10.00 *Spider-Man Return of the Sinister Six - CIB - $10.00
CD Tradepost: *Luigi's Mansion - CIB - NOT Player's Choice - $14.00 *Tiny Toon Adventures - Plucky's Big Adventure - PS1 - $5.00
Nebraska Furniture Mart: *Street Fighter 25th Anniversary Collection - $120.00 *Fortune Street - On Sale - $20.00 *Crossword Plus - On Sale - $20.00 (Not Pictured)
Gift from Bill - *Ultima VII: The Black Gate - Priceless
Also today my Xbox Halo Controller arrived to complete my system.
Here is the pictures:



While kicking back this past weekend, the unexpected befell this aged bachelor - emergency babysitting duty of my 6 year old niece. With little time to prepare, it was decided that we would just hang out at my humble abode for the evening. To my surprise, she was not disappointed at all but actually ecstatic. This would be her very first visit to my home and entrance to my 'Room of Doom' was included in the evening's events (in addition to a Kung Fu Panda video).
Upon her arrival, she politely declined my offer of the Dora the Explorer juice box and simply looked up at me and cautiously asked "Can we go check out the video games Uncle Terry?" So off we went, skipping the whole way (why do kids like to skip so much?) to the Man Cave.
She was initially awestruck by all of the mysterious goodies contained within my secret gaming domain. She had experienced the Nintendo Wii and gaming apps on her iPod touch, but this was a completely different animal. After receiving my A-OK, she immediately plopped down in front of one of the bookcases to pick out a game for us.
Within a few minutes, she began organizing games taken off the shelf into distinct, but as of yet unidentifiable, piles. She then stated in a rather dubious manner "Uncle Terry, what are we going to play???" It was only then that I recognized the pattern: titles were being sorted by their ESRB rating. Her frustration was being fueled by the inability to quickly locate any "C" (children) or "E" (everyone) rated games. This realization caused me to pause prior to answering her. I took a moment to reflect upon my own early years, an era when ignoring similar cautionary flags could actually lead to incurring substantial physical harm ... |
| Handy Andy Toolbox

Complete with a steel hammer, finishing nails and a metal serrated saw, the Handy Andy Toolbox provided the urchin everything needed to impart destruction. Family furnishings were primarily the target, but annoying little sisters could also become the recipient of 'Handy Andy Terror'. | Betty Crocker Easy Bake Oven
 Looks pretty innocent at first glance, but this demon actually caused more house fires than anything else on this list. In addition to being able to actually heat your morning biscuit to a fairly high temperature, the Easy Bake Oven excelled at exploding ball point pens, melting crayons and torturing the wayward insect. | Jarts

For those unfamiliar with Jarts (or lawn darts), the premise is the same as horseshoes but you use high-flying metal tipped darts in lieu of slow moving steel projectiles. Participation required nimbleness to avoid the errant cast that could turn this seemingly harmless toy into a potential death missile. | Pen Knife

For whatever reason, this always seems to be an item gifted from one's Grandfather. Receiving one of these multi-functional instruments is almost like a rite of passage for the youngster. The possibilities this tool afforded were overwhelming, as were the self-inflicted injuries this device could inflict. | Kaster Sets

Like the Play-Doh Fun Factory, the Kaster Kit enabled the young buck the ability to craft their own toys. But instead of using a malleable clay product, the material that was provided was solid lead. The manufacturer 'wisely' included an apparatus to heat the lead to its melting point (621 degrees F!!). | Wood Burning Kits

Before the age of electronic labeling devices, the wood burning kit was the inscribing king. Within a matter of minutes, hooligans could apply their initials to virtually anything. From baseball mitts to the coffee table, everything could be branded by the youth, including human flesh for the careless. | The Junior Chemist

Now if the Junior Chemistry Set isn't a recipe for disaster, I don't know what is. With over 20 chemical compounds, test tubes and its very own Bunsen burner, the adolescent was provided with everything they needed to create any number of mysterious, bubbling cocktails. Without a doubt, this product had to be the Poison Control Center's biggest nightmare. | Atomic Energy Lab

This has got to be the most outrageous toy in the history of mankind. This monstrosity came with four different types of uranium ore, a cloud chamber with its own short-lived alpha source and an electroscope. An optional Geiger counter was also available for purchase, a popular add-on to ensure that radiated family members were appropriately quarantined. |
| I snapped back to reality to see my niece, still sitting there patiently awaiting my answer. What game were we going to play? If I could have survived the hazards detailed above, then she could certainly weather virtually any title within my collection. A glance down at that young bug quickly dismissed that thought. To her delight and my dismay, we ended up playing the following, a true horror that rivals any of the items listed above: | High School Musical 3: Senior Year DANCE!
 | | What Hazardous Toys Do You Remember? |
Hey everyone!!! Bill (Engel762) and I did a little browsing the other day and came across some pretty sweet stuff!! (Check out his blog for his many purchase items! All at pretty good prices and a trade with me). Bill and I have been doing this about once or twice a month whenever we have the time or money. We stopped at our usual HPB and then onto Gamers (we went to all three stores in Omaha). Bill found a couple of great things like a boxed NES Super Mario Bros. for a whopping $5.00!! But for something for trade he picked me up a Halo Xbox I have been wanting one of these for YEARS!!! And well thanks to a fellow collector and friend I now have one which in trade he got a boxed Atari 2600 and a few games for Atari, and Sega Master System (Don't worry Bill we will find out a Master System complete) Also at one of the Gamers Battletoads in Battlemaniacs CIB (The Assembled in Mexico Version) . We also went to Good Bytes and I picked up Baldur's Gate II The Collection for $4.00, oh the Xbox was $40.00. The first part of the blog Bill picked some stuff up for me for the trade I mentioned earlier. Then on our final stop on the way home we went to Ben's Gaming. Then on Friday I did a little browsing with my brother (who doesn't collect retro anymore) and I picked up MY RED WIII FINALLY!!! Now is there anyone with the sleeved copies of New Super Mario Bros and Wii Sports want to sell them to me to make mine 100 % complete??? Then we went to Best Buy where my brother purchased Boarderlands 2 Collector's Guide & Kirby's Dream Collection SE. Then we went to Gamestop and I picked up Ninja Gaiden 3 Collector's Edition for Xbox 360. Yesterday I went back to HPB and I picked up Metroid Zero Mission Guide.
Here is a list of everything: Thursday - HPB *PS1 - Medal of Honor (Giving to Bill because I already have that one I need to replace my Medal of Honor: Underground) (Black Label) *PS1 - Scooby Doo and the Cyber Chase (Black Label)
Thursday - GAMERS *Halo Xbox - $40.00 *Adventure (Atari 2600) - $0.95 *Battletoads in Battlemaniacs - $25.00
Thursday - Ben's Gaming *Sonic & Knuckles - CIB - $9.00 *Manuals
Friday - GAMERS *Red Wii - $90.00
Friday - Best Buy *Ninja Gaiden 3 CE - Xbox 360 - $60.00 *Kirby's Dream Collection - Wii - $40.00 *Boarderlands 2 CE Guide - $35.00
Saturday - I went Retro Toy Shopping (Not going to be pictured sorry) I picked up a few DC Superheroes Action figures from the 1980's and A Batwing From The Dark Knight Collection from I believe 1991. If you want to see pictures I will be taking pictures of all my retro toys soon.
Here are the pictures:
In the first picture you will see the Burger King Turtles Video, Goof Troop Video, Hulkmania Cassette, and Soundtrack Cassettes (All retro stuff I love it), the videos were given to me from Bill, and the soundtracks I picked up a while back at Goodwill Wearhouse - Innerspace, Nightmare on Elm Street 4, Road House, and Golden Child.

I've always loved Gaming Movies of all kinds. Despite the fact that people hate most of them, if not that, then all of them, I've decided to make a Documentary/Review Movie of sorts for fun! As you can see from the title, it will be called Retro Redd. It's gonna take some time to make, as it's only in the planning stages right now, but I can't imagine it taking more than a month to complete, what with me planning to keep things simple and all. Anyway, I just felt like announcing this little plan of mine for all of you to hear. So...yeah. Look forward to it.
Also, if your wondering about my Power Glove Gaming Series and it's absence, you can stop now, as my Power Glove Sensors are still broken, and I don't know when I can replace them.
Saturday morning, after work I was chilling in the recliner and stuffing my face with pizza when Nick sends me a text message with a picture of a six switch Atari 2600 sitting on the counter of our local comic book store with a bag of games next to it. I've been scrounging around most of the shops that we know of in our area looking for a Heavy Sixer Atri 2600 for a while now and haven't had any luck. I get down there and check it out, indeed it is a six switch Atari 2600, with a bag of assorted games for 50 dollars. The impulse buying gremlins in my brain went, "WOO BUY IT!" And so I did. Snagged copies of Mega Man 3 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: The Manhattan Project while I was there too.
It's got some wear on it, which I expected, it's 30+ years old after all. The AC adaptor is an aftermarket replacement, and there's no TV switch box, but the owner of the shop included the adaptor that allows you to plug it right into the coax line-in on your TV. I start looking up restoration guides on the mighty Google to see what all I can do to restore some of it's former glory, and after some research I learn some more. Turns out I have a "Light Sixer" instead. I'm not upset it isn't a "Heavy Sixer," I'm actually just happy that I've got one with six switches now. That, and I know the difference between the two now, and how to identify one. Anyhow, I feel OK with the purchase, as it added a bunch of games to my collection, and another console.
The Bag O' Games consisted of: Gyruss E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Joust Demons to Diamonds Air Sea Battle (picture label) Crystal Castles Venture Warlords Pole Position RealSports Tennis Space War (picture label) Missile Command Donkey Kong (Coleco) Donkey Kong Jr. (Coleco) Laser Blast Othello (picture label) Galaxian Vanguard Super Challenge Baseball (M Network) {not in the picture}




I've always had a bit of a soft spot for the Sega CD. Perhaps because I was one of the kids that bought into the hype and begged my parents for the pricy add-on that Christmas season. And although its library is riddled with some pretty awkward and crappy games, they are often also quite interesting. Case in point, Bram Stoker's Dracula -- an attempt at combining classic side-scrolling action with the digitized actor craze of the Mortal Kombat days as well as the Full Motion Video craze that the Sega CD brought with it.
Certainly you're all aware of the film from which this game was adapted. Bram Stoker's Dracula was huge in 1992 -- directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring the likes of Gary Oldman, Keanu Reeves, Anthony Hopkins and Wynona Rider. The film went on to win three Academy Awards. But why should we care about any of that here? Well because whereas earlier games licensed from film properties simply took characters from the movie, made some sprites that looked like them and asked you to platform around collecting stuff, Sony Imagesoft actually used clips of the film and digitized actors. (See if you can guess which of these pictures below is the film and which is the game!)

Now here's the thing -- Dracula isn't completely terrible. But it is bad.
First let's take a look at what this game did well. The first thing that jumped out to me was the music. Thanks of course to the CD-ROM format, we're blessed with wonderful gothic chamber music throughout the game. It's really a fantastically fitting soundtrack that couldn't have been replicated via chiptunes. There's also some very cool 3D scrolling effects where you change direction of the path you're taking, all the while continuing on a 2D plane. It's a bit hard to describe, but looks impressive when you experience it unexpectedly in the game.

However if there's one major downfall of Dracula, it would be that Sony was just a bit too ambitious with this project. Really they had some great ideas, and were perhaps really onto something which is great when talking about a licensed property. They were smart enough to at least attempt to emulate another great vampire-killer game (that was no doubt inspired by the Dracula story itself), Castlevania. But the problem here is that Castlevania and all its primitive sprites controlled so much better than this. Indeed the digitized actor here moves incredibly slow. And his jumping, punching and kicking are also slow and clunky, which seems pretty unfair when enemies are moving quickly and swarming at you from all directions on the screen. Sadly though you'll be inclined to want the game to better than it is and see it to the end, you'll often find yourself frustratingly losing all your fifteen lives before the second level is even over.
With that said, I'd recommend Bram Stoker's Dracula to fans of the macabre who must horde such games, or those curious about the Sega CD format's growing pains. But beyond that this is probably one best left overlooked.
So, a couple of weeks back, I walked into the local Play n Trade - a weekly occurrence. The guys that work in there are current gamers and (to my benefit) don't know the retro stuff much. And yet I am the only truly regular RETRO customer they've come to know. It is to my benefit, of course. They already told me that a Little Samson would be shelved at $10, according to their database. As I walked in the door "Hey Jason, we've got something for you to look at." They looked excited to make the sale. It was a 3DO FZ-1 with some great games. Alright, I already have an FZ-1, but the games were awesome - Super Street Fighter II Turbo, Need for Speed, Shockwave 2, Gex, Space Hulk, etc. I added all the games to my own collection except Super Street Fighter II Turbo & Need for Speed, which I already owned. The games I kept were almost worth the total price. I decided to eBay the console and dups, so I could toss the profits at my wants. So why, with a system that normally nets about $80 with 2 great games that fetch about $60 total, did I make a final sale of $250?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eB...d=1&item=110958503201
No, I am not bragging or showing off. Maybe the fact that I proved the console worked and added the pic was beneficial, but I really wanted to start the conversation about how much people seem to loathe resellers. Keep in mind that I started the bidding at only $50 - my purchase price. And this whole scenario brought on some interesting questions.
I guess this could be a multi-part question. Who do you consider a gaming reseller? When you criticize a reseller, what about their practice bothers you? Is it about buying local then selling local? Is it buying cheap and them selling market? Is it that all carts/games from specific systems are tagged with the same price? Is it about the quick flip?
This should be an interesting discussion.
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