A SNES esque controller that is black with super Famicom colored buttons to the right, and buttons labeled C and D that would normally be start and select. The classic A/B/X/Y buttons are indeed A/B/TA/TB. If I had to guess, those mean turbo A/B. The shoulder buttons are labeled C. And D. There is a small switch to the right of the D Pad that is labeled C.D. with options for off and on. It’s all kind of baffling.

The back of the controller. The label looks to say EI Games, an SEO nightmare. There’s also a QC pass label and a serial number. The controller seems to be made in the Philippines. It looks like the back panel can be removed, but I’m not currently near a small enough screwdriver to investigate. We can also see that the controller uses a male DB-15 pin connector. More info on the feel of the thing in the next photo.

So two things: 1) This controller is unused, no doubt in my mind. The cord is wrapped in plastic, and the controller itself has that fresh plastic feel. However, weirdly enough, the buttons seem to be used? They have the release sign of being in a drawer with other plastics for years on end. Again, I won’t have a screwdriver small enough to open this thing up until I get home, so who knows what’s the deal with all of these quirks. The obvious answer is famiclone or something of the like, but the wild thing is how quality this plastic is. This isn’t famiclone quality, it’s legit as good as you’d find on an SNES. It feels like one of those Lodgenet controllers. I realize this is probably a whole lot of nothing, but isn’t this odd? I can’t wait to be corrected about how worthless this thing is. Maybe I’ll be lucky and it’s a Neo Geo controller in an SNES form factor. If so, I’m about to straight up conquer Magician Lord.

Before I turn in, here’s a mystery controller I picked up at Hard Off for ¥800. It’s an elongated SNES style controller with a 15 Pin connector and a switch like you’d see on a turbo controller. The controller itself feels like new plastic, but the buttons seem worn. More info in alt text as usual.

Several games for the Nintendo Famicom, freshly purchased from a few used game stores in Chiba, Japan. Moving left to right and starting at the top we have Famitsu 1st Anniversary Disk, Fantasy Zone II, Transformers: Mystery of Comvoy, Pooyan, Tokoro-San no Mamorumo Semerumo, FC Genjin (Bonk), Flying Hero, and Attack Animal Gakuen. There’s a bit to go into here, but I’ll be brief. No clue what’s the deal with this Famitsu Disk. I imagine it’s some sort of promo thing for the magazine’s first anniversary, and I bought it because it’s wild to think of something as established as Famitsu being only a year old and celebrating that in a very of the time way. Fantasy Zone II on a Nintendo system is simply odd to me, and is one of those titles I’ve wanted just because it’s an unexpected interpretation of a game that didn’t get justice until the Sega Ages collection. Transformers is Kusoge. I am always working on my expanded Kusoge library. The price was low enough to say hey why not. Pooyan is just a fun arcade game that I don’t get to play very often. I love early efforts by major companies. Tokoro-San was something like ¥1100 or so, and again seemed interesting enough to be worth the money, especially given it’s developed by HAL. Bonk Rules, and I’ve got a small yet nearly complete representation of his work across systems in some form. No way I can ever justify the cost of the NES game. Flying Hero is the standout here: it seems a bit old hat for when it was released, but it plays well enough from what I recall to warrant a purchase. This is a game I haven’t come across in any Japan game hunting, so that combined with wanting to play this more made the purchase a sure thing. Lastly, Attack Animal Gakuen is another curiosity. A photocopy of a photocopy, it’s another one I thought would be fun to add to the collection. It’s lousy Space Harrier. I absolutely love the art style on the label.

Famicom centric update: found a few titles that I haven’t had a chance to pick up before, and pulled the trigger on some kusoge and novelties. My two main Famicom kusoge still elude me. Also, check out this weird Famitsu anniversary disk. More info in alt text!

A copy of New Roommania: Porori Seishun for reference. This isn’t a copy I have, it’s merely a picture from a YHJ listing. I may weep similar tears of joy when I find a copy someday.

Last year I found a copy of New Roomania for PS2 at a small Hard Off. Heartbreakingly, the staff wasn’t able to find the disc. Someday.

Heading out to the outskirts of Chiba today to do some game hunting with a friend. Hoping to knock off some of the more elusive obscurities off my list. Some Simple Series entries too, of course.

A Tomica toy car modeled after the Hummer H2, but in a limo form. I promise you these existed. I saw them. One showed up at my senior prom. Nobody liked the couple that emerged from it. There is no greater consumer symbol of American hubris in the early 2000s than the Hummer H2, and perhaps there was no greater foretelling of our descent into absurdity than the fact that someone looked at a vehicle that made around 11 miles per gallon and said “you know what, let’s make it bigger.”. Here it is, folks. A tiny monument to an America that could only be defined accurately in a mad libs. And it’s pink. They often were. No clue why. A+.

I’m both astounded and psyched that there’s a Tomica Hummer H2 Limo. It’s an absurdity tied to such an incredibly specific time. It’s like coming across Pimp My Ride gacha figures or a Uniqlo/MTV Room Raiders collab.

Two pairs of Reebok sneakers, insta pump style. On the left we have one colored to bring to mind The Principality of Zeon from Mobile Suit Gundam, and on the left we have ones colored to more match the associated colors of the Earth Federation. Here’s the thing though. That’s too deep a red to match Char’s colors, and the use black as an accent also doesn’t fit his style nearly as much. As so, I posit that these shoes are -actually- an homage to Johnny Ridden, the Crimson Lightning. He was often confused on the battlefield for Char, and I like to think getting his own shoes acts as a great first step to him getting more credit as one of Zeon’s more talented and sympathetic pilots. He’s got that misguided sense of honor you’d hear about in the First World War. Weird that he was always so loyal to Kycilia though. Rule number one? Never be loyal to a Zabi. Then again, I imagine someone taking up arms on behalf of the principality probably wouldn’t heed that advice on the regular. Patrick Ewing would’ve made a good mobile suit pilot.

You know, I’ll always associate Reebok Pumps with the classic blue/white/orange Patrick Ewing color scheme, but I have to admit they kind of work with a Gundam theme.

Brunch is neither a word nor a meal that has served a purpose in society. It’s just our collective half measure against the real enemy: restaurants that insist you can only eat breakfast food in the morning. Give me my 9 AM pastrami, dammit!

Intentional or not, this ad features several opponents from Mahjong Cop Ryuu.

Those Max Headroom descended sets would look pretty great on a big screen, so I vote emphatic yes.

I would also like to add that I’m here to help you grind the bastards down in case that wasn’t apparent.

Happy Trans Day of Visibility to all my friends in the community. I’m happy you’re here! Both my life and the world at large is better with you in it. Don’t let the bastards grind you down.

A List Of Games By Trans People Before 2010

In the spirit of trans visibility, lemme just plug my ongoing project to document as many pre-2010 games as possible that had a trans person on the dev team. You might be surprised by what's on there. There's games going right back to the sixties!

dotmaetrix.neocities.org/classictranslist

A hand holds a copy of Hang-On for MSX. The cartridge is a rich red, and the label matches, so the colors make for a striking appearance. The blue Sega logo stands out boldly. While obviously the MSX can’t even come close to the speed and smoothness of the arcade original, there’s a lot to enjoy with this port, and it does an admirable job of capturing what makes the original such a classic. It’s functionally identical to the SG-1000 version (I can’t see a difference, at least), and what it lacks in speed, it makes up for in surprisingly good controls and a sense of flow that’s unexpectedly enjoyable. Outrun is often referred to as more of a driving game than a racing game, and I’m apt to assign the same designation to this version of Hang-On. It’s a bit on the easy side, and completing a loop of the race is pretty doable given how generous the game is with bonus times at checkpoints. My favorite part of any arcade racer is the nighttime cityscape scene. There’s something about a distant skyline rendered in limited pixels that I’ve always found to instill a sense of digital sondor for people that don’t actually exist. In the nighttime city scenes, the moon slowly becomes full with each passing loop, eventually smiling at you, which is a nice touch. Combined with the flow state the game induces, it’s all very pleasant. Give this one a look. I’d usually say pick up the MSX version due to it being easier to control than the SG-1000 joystick, but I doubt anyone’s going a non emulation route here (for good reason! Have you priced an SG-1000 lately?). Blistering, it is not, but you’ll certainly avoid driving through the worst parts of the Pony Canyon. -Picture originally from my instagram around 2015-2016. Write up original to Bluesky.

The MSX port of hang on is one of my favorite looking cartridges ever, the red on red is gorgeous. Don’t let that Pony Canyon logo fool you, it’s actually a solid take on the the game. (Further info in alt text!)

The Tomodachi Life demo is great. The lack of online is a bummer, but this is exactly the kind of game I love. Weird Nintendo is the best Nintendo.

A picture of Ge Sen Love: Plus Pengo! for the Xbox 360. the cover features a large pixelated penguin from Pengo. This is an Xbox 360 port of the Arcade game by Triangle Service, both released in 2012. Ge Sen Love is a sort of arcade skill test set of minigames designed to help you improve your overall arcade skills. It’s charming in the way the somewhat low budget occasionally shows through via the legally distinct non power rangers that function as the player during some of the minigames, and the 360 era Muzak. Pengo, however, is the real star of the show. This is an updated multi player version of the arcade game from 1982 presented in wide screen and with a giant playfield à la Saturn Bombernan. It gets hectic quickly, and has a bit of a learning curve in order to stay aware of the chaos on screen. Once everyone gets a sense of the gameplay, it’s a really good time, though. This got a release on the Xbox 360 back in 2012, near the end of the console’s life, and practically post death in Japan. Triangle service put out a good few games on the 360, several region free. If you end up importing this one, make sure you get the non special edition. For whatever reason, the special edition is region locked, but the regular isn’t. Who knows why. If you want to play it presently, it also got a Switch port in 2019, which should be both far easier to find and far more affordable. If you like stuff like Game Tengoku or Warrior Ware, you’ll get a kick out of this. Check it out!

Ge-Sen Love: Plus Pengo! Is probably one of the best non shoot ‘em up Xbox 360 imports out there, and is also available on Switch! More info in alt text.

I posted recently about how I missed what instagram used to be, and how much fun it was to just talk about odd pieces I had in my collection. Using the powers of alt text, I imagine I could recreate the same kind of post on here. I may even repurpose some old pictures to enjoy the 2010s filtering.

I haven’t used instagram in years, and I genuinely miss it sometimes. Around 2013 or so there was this small niche of people who liked old games and would post items in their collections. It was far less flexing than it was a bunch of people showing their favorite oddities.

The 2600 library always has me appreciating the labels of various subsets. Red Atari probably ranks near the top. Congratulations on the find!

I’ve always meant to check this version out, how does it compare to the MSX version?

A can of raspberry flavored Pepsi Zero Sugar. The text is in mandarin, and the writing reads from top to bottom: Refreshing and sugar free, Pepsi cola, and raspberry flavor.

An import store at the mall had this Raspberry Pepsi Zero Sugar that was surprisingly great. The raspberry flavor matches with cola nicely and isn’t overpowering (or unsettling like last year’s Coke with orange). Check it out if you encounter it, or are in China.

This rules, and sharing it on here is reason enough to say that you’ve totally earned it!

A boxed, Street Fighter branded toy three wheeler called the Karate Chopper. The box’s illustration features Guile and Ryu on said chopper. Guile fires a missile from some sort of cannon on the back, while Ryu drives. The scene is intense. The box proclaims that this is an official movie vehicle, but I’m currently blanking on this moment in the movie, but that may just be my age. Also, Ryu has more of a Jin Satome look than anything. I would prefer not to be the target of the mutual intensity of these two, even in 1994. I remember Capcom putting out a lot of Street Fighter II adjacent merch, but missed out on this. I was probably too distracted by Spin Fighters.

Get in loser, we’re going to Edmond Honda’s house.

A Master System Girl console from Brazil, it is pink with pastel buttons. Below it is the text “Will You Be My Master System Girl?” As well as “To: and From:” all of this is against a dark pink/slightly purple background. The hue of a pickled egg, if that’s helpful. The whole thing is a play on the valentines cards that were (are?) popular in elementary school.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all the Sega lovers out there.

A domino set named Mr. Domino. While made for children, it also serves as a friendly reminder that No One Can Stop Mr. Domino!

It’s never too early to teach your children that he cannot be stopped.

It took me just under 39 years, but I’ve finally fallen down the Shiren the Wanderer rabbit hole. (Don’t worry, Fatal Labyrinth, I still love you as well.)

brass solidarity band performing “stand by me” in the streets of whittier next to alex pretti’s memorial. the crowd started chanting “the people united will never be defeated” so they incorporated it into the song. i love minneapolis

The obvious option. The 2 makes it even better.

Turbografx-16 CD game - Caroline in the CD

The North American box art for Game & Watch Gallery 3 for Nintendo Game Boy Color. It features a variety of Nintendo characters performing the actions of their various games. When humans look at this, they experience feelings of curiosity and amusement.

The box art for the European release of Game & Watch Gallery 3. The characters all look just off model enough to be vaguely unsettling. Donkey Kong Junior holds a key with his wrist, implying some sort of adhesive. The Mario brothers stare at each other as if to say “Since we flavored this cake with almonds, no one will taste the arsenic!”. Humans look at this and get feelings of unease, wondering what horrors have taken place to fit five games in one.

I have no idea why the European box art for Game & Watch Gallery 3 looks like it does. It’s as if the official art emerged from the uncanny valley.

Dude they’re calling you Super Mario 1997 in the qrts. They’re using a hack of Hard Head bro.