Category: Nintendo

Gameboy Micro – Final Fantasy Edition

First off, I must apologise for the lack of posts here on SGUG in recent times. My life has been pretty crazy to say the least! Today’s post represents a much needed mini-break here in Japan – as in, I actually get the weekend off. Not only do I get the weekend off though, I also get Monday off (Kenkoku Kinenbi) as well! Yes! 😀

There is so much that you guys have missed out on since my last post, but today I will just be posting a short post to warm back up into the SGUG spirit. So what is it I have today? Well, something that I believe is pretty rare (without knowing the exact numbers), or at least rare as in I have never seen one in the wild before this one. This means that it was a no-brainer to pick it up.

The Gameboy Micro Final Fantasy Edition. 🙂

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Over here in Japan there are a chain of game stores that I really like – Chameleon Clubs. The staff in these stores really care about their gear as if they’re all collectors themselves. What I mean by this is that all items never have prices stuck directly onto them, everything is cleaned and tested, and you never find items in the wrong sections. Also, whenever you buy something, they wrap it up so carefully, and they handle the gear with great care. Often this means an extremely long wait times at the counter, but it’s well worth it.

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Although this wasn’t as cheap as it could have been (by Japanese standards that is), it was a pretty good deal from where I am sitting. I just never see them at all. I was pretty lucky though, as it had just gone up on the shelves.

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I did come out of the store with a heap of other items as well, but this was the pick of the bunch in my opinion. With most of the stores drying up recently, it’s still great to be able to find something like this in the wild! Ahh Japan, you still have it. 😀

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!

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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. 😮

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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:
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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:
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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.

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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!

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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.

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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. 😀

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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*

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Nintendo Mach Rider – 1972 was a good year

We all know of Nintendo video games, and of course we all know of Mario, but what about the days before Mario hit the scene, or even before Nintendo had anything connected to a television? That’s where the Nintendo Mach Rider comes in. 😀

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The Nintendo Mach Rider must have been one of those toys that every kid wanted. I can just imagine the line-up of kids with long scruffy hair, flared pants, and huge sunglasses waiting to get their grubby little hands on this thing. It really is a cool toy.

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Made in 1972, the Nintendo Mach Rider is a battery operated toy car that basically shoots off in toe breaking fashion. You place the car on the ramp, then adjust the gear shifter to go through the gears (with each gear increasing the speed of the drive wheel), then once you hit the fourth gear the thing shoots off the ramp.

Cats must have hated this thing! 😀

The instructions printed on the inside of the box in the following picture give some insight of how the thing works, but I will also link you to HairballNick’s youtube video which shows this actual car in action. Nick bought this one off me, and I am sure he won’t mind me linking to his vid.

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I would have loved to keep this car in all honesty, but I have to draw the line somewhere – I just don’t have the space!

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If you want to read about this particular toy in more detail, or read about any of the other toys before Mario, then definitely follow the link on the right to the ‘before-mario’ site. His collection of Nintendo is amazing to say the least. 🙂

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