Awesome stuff you've just bought (+pics please)

[CIT]

Omega 8006 masticating juicer.

Use it to shred that copy of Beyond Two Souls.

[Ed Oscuro]

Fort "No Muhfucking Citrus Fruits Allowed" ?

Also known as "Fort Alien Scurvy!" Probably staffed by those misshapen fellows from the MD title.

I tell you, it was a decoy for that Euro Game Boy Collection title with uncensored Contra in.

I always liked the standard Game Boy box size. Strangely, the Factor 5 port of Alien Wars has a slightly larger box (which doesn't make it any better, of course).

[Stealthlurker]

a few more of the recent gets...

[Strikers1945guy]

Nice stuff as always SL. You just bombard YAJ constantly or whats you secret?!

[Stealthlurker]

Haha thanks. I do my YAJ rounds lol

[BIL]

BOYZ KEEP SWINGIN



Of the FC to GB counterparts I've played, this quasi-remake is definitely the most accomplished. Smooths out the grappling arm mechanic, then amps up the acrobatic peril. You'll have to go a lot longer without the comfort of solid ground here. The FC's stronger gravity, less sprawling stages and shorter runtime give it a certain edge, but the GB version definitely takes the core concept a step further. Essential for fans of grappling hook action. And it has passwords, so the extra duration is perfect for breaking up over a couple sessions.

I prefer the FC's earthier, rather brutal Neo-WWII aesthetic to the GB's Captain Future angle ("help us beat down this Nazi for infos!"). But the Saint Seiya-esque character designs are pretty cool and you still shoot a whole lotta chumps.



Very much Yami no Shigotonin Kage EZ MODO but that's no bad thing at all. Super satisfying game to mow through, with Natsume's customary impeccable handling and top-shelf audiovisuals. Last boss improves on Kage's too, who I always find a bit too rigidly patterned. Ryukenden GB's is closer to Solbrain's much jumpier endboss.

Strangely, the Factor 5 port of Alien Wars has a slightly larger box (which doesn't make it any better, of course).

They could've used the extra space for a copy of Contra III!

[cicada88]

Nice pickups BIL, you must have a sizable Japanese minty boxed cart collection.

[BIL]

Ta. ^__^ It's still confinable to a tidy corner of the study/fortified nerdbunker, but I always go for quality over quantity.

I'm actually more than happy with a small degree of wear, especially on the really old stuff where you expect a bit of corner fraying and such. Sometimes it adds a bit of character, I think. But I do like to go for the best condition I can find. Main thing for me is that everything's still sturdy and clean. Can't stand dogeared, collapsed, torn and/or dirty stuff that's obviously not been looked after. Used, not abused!

[Rob]

Oh yeah, mail order fruit. Posters are cool and all, but can you eat them?

[rugdoctor]

my colon is quivering at that sight

[Rob]

Does your colon not like dates?

Maybe it's a good thing. They are criminally sweet. The smashed looking ones farthest away (khadrawy) are practically liquid sugar.

I also have to thank New Zealand for all of the kiwifruit. Love you guys. ;]

[chempop]

That’s kinda gnarly that those dried fruits aren’t sealed in something air tight. i know what cardboard taste like and it’s not very pleasant.

[Rob]

I thought people loved eating things out of cardboard. Not a fan of pizza, bub?

[Damocles]

BOYZ KEEP SWINGIN



Of the FC to GB counterparts I've played, this quasi-remake is definitely the most accomplished. Smooths out the grappling arm mechanic, then amps up the acrobatic peril. You'll have to go a lot longer without the comfort of solid ground here. The FC's stronger gravity, less sprawling stages and shorter runtime give it a certain edge, but the GB version definitely takes the core concept a step further. Essential for fans of grappling hook action. And it has passwords, so the extra duration is perfect for breaking up over a couple sessions.

I prefer the FC's earthier, rather brutal Neo-WWII aesthetic to the GB's Captain Future angle ("help us beat down this Nazi for infos!"). But the Saint Seiya-esque character designs are pretty cool and you still shoot a whole lotta chumps.

Fun fact: The challenge mode from Bionic Commando: Rearmed helped me immensely in both the GB and GBC games. Despite being on portable systems, mechanics-wise they are the best of the best. They really do make the NES rev look primitive. ...and those final few stages...good stuff right there.

[drunkninja24]

Got a couple Konami classics

[Necronopticous]

I thought people loved eating things out of cardboard. Not a fan of pizza, bub?

That box is actually in really nice shape. Would you be willing to sell it after you eat all of the dates?

[chempop]

LOL I forgot what kind of prices people pay for cardboard around these parts.

And no, I’m not a fan of eating pizza out of a cardboard box. But the point was that those dried fruits were mail ordered, slightly different than something that was baked in an oven and 30min later being devoured and washed down with soda.

[Rob]

That box is actually in really nice shape. Would you be willing to sell it after you eat all of the dates?

I see we have a connoisseur of boxes here. You should see the top of the box. It makes me feel like I'm riding into an Outrun sunset.

slightly different than something that was baked in an oven and 30min later being devoured and washed down with soda.

You should get acquainted with your dried fruits. Slightly different indeed.

While I would not consume a mail order pizza, dried fruit keeps pretty well. Tastes fresher than the shopping center plastic container varieties I'm used to.

[rugdoctor]

thought they were prunes kiwifruit is ok. But I dont like them. I dehydrate them into chip slices. Keeps longer and perfect for kids school lunchbox.

[SuperGrafx]

They sort of look like dried up insects in a way

[ColonelFatso]

Just bought a PVM-20L2 monitor off of a fellow shmups member (although I didn't know it at the time, following a lead off Craigslist!) Picture is clean and crisp, even just through s-vid at the moment, and now I can't wait for my RGB cable to arrive!

[Rob]

They sort of look like dried up insects in a way

Yeah, they really don't advertise themselves very well.

If you've never tried them, are in need of a high calorie snack and don't have diabetes, give 'em a try. They are honey & caramel-like sugar bombs.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Finally scored a complete and boxed NEC TurboGrafx-16 Turbo Booster Plus add-on unit off of eBay. The funny thing is, I never did see such rare TBP units for sale at the local Toys-R-Us, Babbages', Electronics Boutique or even the various The Good Guys retail locations (as those were the only places to go to when getting the usual TG-16/Turbo Duo hardware/software/accessories back in late 1993 and into the entire 1994 year timeline). Interestingly, the local Babbages' store had a single brand new & factory shrink-wrapped boxed NEC TG-16 Turbo Booster add-on unit for sale at 50% off the asking MSRP of $34.99 USD -- so for a mere $17.50, I bought it at that super low-ball price-point back in mid-1994 (still use it to this very day on my ol' trusty TG-16 console). The usual eBay prices of $109.00 USD & up for a used TB non-plus add-on unit really ain't worth the asking price nowadays, indeed.

So it'll be "old-school cool" to transfer the ol' TG-16 saves from the TBP unit to the trusty Tennokoe Bank Rom-Ram Hu-Card (and vice versa) with the appropriate boxy Hu-Card convertor for posterity & safe-keeping. Tis a shame that TTI never did distribute nor sell the PC Engine Tennokoe Bank memory cards in the USA -- would've been awesome if they did so during the TG-16 & Turbo Duo consoles' heyday.

A homebrew dedicated PCE flash NVRAM memory cart (without the need for batteries whatsoever & thus breaking the 8,000kb memory storage limitation barrier associated with 'em Tennokoe memory cards) would be ace in my book.....hmmmm (there would be a great demand for 'em if it was created/sold). Even with the PCE Duo/Turbo Duos' 2,000kb internal backup RAM issue/limitation isn't enough these days if you have plenty of PCE & TG-16 game saves. Heck, even just one PCE/Turbo Duo game save of Sim Earth is a whopping 2,000kb game save file alone...I kid you not (and it automatically deletes everything already stored on the Duo's backup Ram with ease should you decide to do so to the "point of no return"). Plus, you can't retrieve those ol' PCE/TG-16 game saves as they're lost for good/forever (unless you saved them beforehand for insurance purposes). Learned my lesson the hard way in nonchalantly creating such a Turbo Duo Sim Earth game save one day.

PCE Pro Tip: Not to mention the fact that PCE & TG-16 game saves will eventually be lost if the built-in capacitor associated with the Backup Ram functionality isn't powered up at least once a month or thereabouts -- so that's another important issue to take into consideration.

Edited: The later NEC produced Memory Base 128 for use with the PC Engine Duo/Duo-R/Duo-RX consoles was endowed with a whopping 128,000kb of memory (but only a certain number of PC Engine CDs actually supported this huge memory storage add-on). Still requires four "AA" batteries to save 'em PCE game saves as usual. For some really odd reason, it's not possible to use a Memory Base 128 with an American Turbo Duo console setup.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[KindGrind]

Finally scored a complete and boxed NEC TurboGrafx-16 Turbo Booster Plus add-on unit off of eBay. The funny thing is, I never did see such rare TBP units for sale at the local Toys-R-Us, Babbages', Electronics Boutique or even the various The Good Guys retail locations (as those were the only places to go to when getting the usual TG-16/Turbo Duo hardware/software/accessories back in late 1993 and into the entire 1994 year timeline). Interestingly, the local Babbages' store had a single brand new & factory shrink-wrapped boxed NEC TG-16 Turbo Booster add-on unit for sale at 50% off the asking MSRP of $34.99 USD -- so for a mere $17.50, I bought it at that super low-ball price-point back in mid-1994 (still use it to this very day on my ol' trusty TG-16 console). The usual eBay prices of $109.00 USD & up for a used TB non-plus add-on unit really ain't worth the asking price nowadays, indeed.

So it'll be "old-school cool" to transfer the ol' TG-16 saves from the TBP unit to the trusty Tennokoe Bank Rom-Ram Hu-Card (and vice versa) with the appropriate boxy Hu-Card convertor for posterity & safe-keeping. Tis a shame that TTI never did distribute nor sell the PC Engine Tennokoe Bank memory cards in the USA -- would've been awesome if they did so during the TG-16 & Turbo Duo consoles' heyday.

A homebrew dedicated PCE flash NVRAM memory cart (without the need for batteries whatsoever & thus breaking the 8,000kb memory storage limitation barrier associated with 'em Tennokoe memory cards) would be ace in my book.....hmmmm (there would be a great demand for 'em if it was created/sold). Even with the PCE Duo/Turbo Duos' 2,000kb internal backup RAM issue/limitation isn't enough these days if you have plenty of PCE & TG-16 game saves. Heck, even just one PCE/Turbo Duo game save of Sim Earth is a whopping 2,000kb game save file alone...I kid you not (and it automatically deletes everything already stored on the Duo's backup Ram with ease should you decide to do so to the "point of no return"). Plus, you can't retrieve those ol' PCE/TG-16 game saves as they're lost for good/forever (unless you saved them beforehand for insurance purposes). Learned my lesson the hard way in nonchalantly creating such a Turbo Duo Sim Earth game save one day.

PCE Pro Tip: Not to mention the fact that PCE & TG-16 game saves will eventually be lost if the built-in capacitor associated with the Backup Ram functionality isn't powered up at least once a month or thereabouts -- so that's another important issue to take into consideration.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

I also picked up a Turbo Booster Plus from a local, very obscure game shop this summer but ended up paying quite dearly for it (95$USD). They also had the box, but for some reason the guy wanted to keep it because "Boxes will be valuable one day.", or something. I picked up a recapped Duo a few months after so I ended up reselling my US TG-16 + Booster Plus to a friend for exactly the price paid. Although I like consoles (and own quite a few), having 2 NEC machines that do pretty much the same felt redundant, and selling was also a good deed in that case.

[robivy64]

Found a Panasonic MSX Turbo R for a killer price!

[cicada88]

Super jealous of that Panasonic

[Opethian]

Found a Panasonic MSX Turbo R for a killer price!

I knew you'd come around eventually

I recently picked up some MSX homebrew

Uridium, The Cure, and Kai's No Name

[Strider77]

[BIL]

JP Return of the Shredder, nice. I'm wondering if I should pick that up myself at some point.

[caincan]

sure the Msx2-R turbo is a killer machine to find nowadays
____
memory goods are good for spirit, bad for $$$