Tiger Electronics Handhelds... various questions

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

Hey guys,

So I'm always looking to find new stuff to collect that is fairly cheap and accessible (especially as the number of games I want to collect for the systems I am collecting for continues to dwindle), and I've always loved picking up a good Tiger handheld. I especially enjoyed getting ones that were either based off NES games or at least used the same licenses. A few questions.

1. Does anyone here seriously collect these? I mean actively seeking them out moreso than just picking up a random one when you see it or something. 

2. If so, does anyone have any good resources for collecting these games? I have began to make my own checklist, as I've found 3-4 various checklists across the web and they all seem to have ones that other lists don't have and vice versa. 

3. I've only started creating my list, and I'm creating a small database with photos for reference. I noticed the skateboarding game 720* listed on the RFGen database, but I can't find photographic evidence that it exists. The only user who claims to own it there hasn't logged in since 2019 so I didn't bother reaching out. If anyone has this or can confirm it's existence, I'd be curious to see that.

Thanks!

[Link | 2,708]

 

[Tulpa | 3,488]

*cue Estil with a tired AVGN video plug*

 

Anyway, I'd be interested to see someone compile a big list of these. I know Konami also made their own, as there was a Top Gun handheld.

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

25 minutes ago, Link said:

 

Very interesting... no idea how you found that, I did a LOT of Googling.

...Although I think that is art. Wonder if it was advertised but never made and that's why this myth exists? It's just weird that every game I can confirm existing I can easily find dozens of photos on Google.

I might email that guy and see if he has resources, lol

[Splain | 2,560]

Nice, I collect for the R-Zone, which is just these things but in red. I always wondered why they didn't do falling blocks or card games or something that would work really well with these displays. But nope, it's racing games and fighting games etc.

And I agree, that's not a photo of a working 720 handheld, the screens were never that clear.

[jonebone | 1,307]

I had a bunch of these as a kid and I've thought about collecting them (sealed) but never really got around to it. Maybe one day!

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

20 minutes ago, Splain said:

Nice, I collect for the R-Zone, which is just these things but in red. I always wondered why they didn't do falling blocks or card games or something that would work really well with these displays. But nope, it's racing games and fighting games etc.

And I agree, that's not a photo of a working 720 handheld, the screens were never that clear.

I also have an R-Zone (the head strap one, lol) and have about 5 games for it. I like collecting Sega titles for the R-Zone.

[Tanooki | 4,930]

I used to have a dozen or more, about the same with the R-Zone but recently let that go because I just couldn't get more of them without taking a bath on it.  The real tigers tough I've kept some for years now, largely the ones I had in the 80s and got lucky maybe about a decade ago on that getting them for a buck a piece with the manual (when flea markets were good.)  I like them, but I don't actively seek them out on ebay either because well...ebay antics, not worth it.  They tend to hold up respectably well, but they're not as robust as a Gameboy, the LCDs tend to fade, speakers tend to fail(easier fixed), or the contacts too so they're an untouched risk.  I don't exactly collect, but I don't avoid either if its one I'd enjoy, and a few I did stupidly dump I'd like to get back (the hologram Daytona is awesome.)

Best resource probably might be that reddit or dealing with the dice roll of ebay.  I'd just check thrift stores and their type, and second hand like half price level stuff as they take them in too.  Recently in the last 2 years Hasbro owns Tiger, they reissued a like 3 a year so far and I ended up finding one for $2 at a goodwill a month back, the Power Rangers.  It's damn near identical to the original, new date on it, new rear molding for speaker holes+screw placement+battery door now with annoying screw too.  Other than that, it's spot on, works great.  They have Jurassic Park, Transformers, MMPR, Sonic, Spiderman, some others, might be worth your while.

Can't answer your 3 there, but good, I'd like to see where that goes.  There are catch all databases like the handheld museum but it does kind of suck for this if you're really going to detail it with dates, licensees, maybe scanned manuals, and box/blister pack images when possible.  If needed I can scan the few I have.

The old ones I've got back/kept are Baseball, Castlevania II, Karnov, and now Gauntlet w/manual, but also do have mega Man 2 without that and the remade MMPR too.

 

I'm on the look out for a non-jacked up Sub Wars, that one is fantastic, a rare one as far as super sound audio goes, not just beeps but actual sound effects so you get some nice sonar pings, torpedo shot and explosions, etc.  Others had even more advanced audio which featured like voice clips and sound effects so there is variety there.

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

44 minutes ago, Tanooki said:

Recently in the last 2 years Hasbro owns Tiger, they reissued a like 3 a year so far and I ended up finding one for $2 at a goodwill a month back, the Power Rangers.  It's damn near identical to the original, new date on it, new rear molding for speaker holes+screw placement+battery door now with annoying screw too.  Other than that, it's spot on, works great.  They have Jurassic Park, Transformers, MMPR, Sonic, Spiderman, some others, might be worth your while.

Yep, I got all 8 reissues when they were super cheap on Amazon or clearanced on Gamestop.

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

Heres most of what I have so far, I guess there were only 7 reissues, not 8.

[RH | 4,895]

I had a bunch of these as a kid—Batman, Baseball and Football.  One was N.A.R.C. but that was made by Acclaim, I think.  It wasn’t Tiger toys.

[Ninja Warriors | 86]

Collection from my childhood.  For as simple as they were, I still had fun with Batman, Double Dribble, and TMNT II.

[MrWunderful | 2,926]

Might need a sealed xmen one

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

I definitely need that “wrestling” one and I need more Konami ones as well.

[DorkOverlord | 680]

I just started collecting handhelds. So far I've got four Tiger, one Konami, an Atari Touch Me, and a Nintendo Game & Watch. I did find this list for Tiger, although I don't know how accurate it is. 

https://www.retrokezins.com/p/tiger-lcd-games-list.html

 

 

[Jfreakofkorn | 282]

I have nt seen these in years 

Back in the day , i used to have the baseball and pinball ones 

Throughout the years , they went missing 

And since than , i have been searching for replacements . . . Because they went great little handhelds 

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

2 hours ago, DorkOverlord said:

I just started collecting handhelds. So far I've got four Tiger, one Konami, an Atari Touch Me, and a Nintendo Game & Watch. I did find this list for Tiger, although I don't know how accurate it is. 

https://www.retrokezins.com/p/tiger-lcd-games-list.html

 

 

I actually hadn't found that list yet, so I'm going to add it to my list of resources. Thanks!

[Tanooki | 4,930]

Wow forgot about that site, I had it bookmarked a little while back when I got up to around a dozen or so of the tigers and kept finding them at flea and thrifts in short order.  It blew me away so many of them were made, you never realize how much junk they peddled yearly, some largely were junk, but a few just work almost too well for what they are.

I'd like to get the Transformers reissue but I wasn't going to complain at a couple bucks for power rangers either, nothing wrong with cheezy japanese sentai stuff.

I used to have a few of those Konami tall ones like Star Trek, TMNT, and Gradius, Gradius is surprisingly quite good, another of those probably shouldn't be but is things.  There's one on ebay right now, I got into a conversation with the guy and it doesn't work well so he's trying to get me to grab it to hopefully fix it but I have a little doubt since the buttons are all sketchy on it.

 

Another of those tigers I strangely miss, of all things, SF2.  You'd think it would be 100% unplayable trash, yet strangely, it works, it's no Nintendo home port or arcade game, hell it's not even as good as the worst computer port either.  But somehow, the way you have to dodge, hold a couple buttons for a special, block, etc...it plays fine like some ghetto rock paper scissors thing.

A unique one that was strangely decent was the trap shooting game as it had this knob and it was fairly precise all things considered as you'd move it to aim in a lot of fine directions then press the button to shoot.

 

I'll point out another more obscure one, but it's like peak segmented LCD stuff, as far as digital pinball goes.  Williams/Bally(Midway) licensed out both Pinbot and Attack From Mars to TIger and they did these solid unique plastic formed LCD versions of the games, and they also included various sound effects, audio bits, even a little voice too from the real machines.  I had both for a time, oddly kind of chill.

In the end though the only pinball I have now is the Game & Watch one, tried and true classic fun one there.  Also still have SMB, Mario Cement Factory, and Bombsweeper along with the Ball reissue for Club Nintendo.

[monsterG | 17]

An incomplete database I use is handheld museum. They have pictures. 

There is a niche community for these that pay out the wazoo for the rare ones--working or not--such as the talking Beavis and Butt-head tiger.

There is one such ecstatic user who clips old promotional ads / reels which feature never released games and post WTB on several sites. Don't be fooled. I can't find any evidence that these were made. In my personal experience, I never came across them either back in the day.

Another resource is a user on youtube who plays lcd games. I never bookmarked the channel. They are older vids (10 years?) with low res, bad lighting, and the guy filming had cp or marfan which made understanding what was going on, let alone see things, difficult. He posted tons of tiger LCD game playthroughs though. Search an obscure tiger LCD game and sort by oldest first sorting in Google video search. He's definitely a good resource, if you can find him.

I'm not sure if the Tiger are poorly made, but I do notice many with screens that bleed or that don't show anything. Maybe it's an issue similar to disc rot, which probably would make collecting overall cheaper (though, as mentioned earlier, some rares fetch high prices even broken).

Some of these are decent, but then I realize, I have way better things that can entertain me. Many have the same gameplay with different graphics. They look nice on the shelf though.

[monsterG | 17]

I found the YT member: handheldgamefan

Further, MAME started dumping / recreating LCD games several years back. I believe the program ROMs were dumped and art recreated. I'm sure there's a list of games in the LCD category. The category covers all LCD games: Tiger, Nintendo, etc.

[RH | 4,895]

What I love about Tiger Electronics games is that they are trash.  We knew they were trash. And yet, we still played them.  And loved them because of that.

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

What I am loving about them lately are that they are easily collectible.... Can I drop $100+ on whatever Genesis or Saturn game I need left every day? No, but I can spend $12 on a Rescuers Down Under Tiger LCD game. lol

[a3quit4s | 4,092]

I swear I had that oddly shaped ninja turtles handheld when I was a kid

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

33 minutes ago, a3quit4s said:

I swear I had that oddly shaped ninja turtles handheld when I was a kid

The Next Mutation one in the front center? That one is hard to find!!

[Link | 2,708]

I'm pretty sure I had the leftmost TMNT I, with the extended form factor. But looking at it on youtube, I don't remember the gameplay at all.