Tanooki

BG? Both stores are on bardstown rd about a mile apart. BME is garbage though I honestly was surprised, at least this of the two locations. They are all about ripping people off pretty hard so to see a fair price on BB and Marvel Land was a surprise. Generous to them for the last 4-5 years has been moderate-upper paid ebay with the custom being something to either laugh at or get pissed off over. Great Escape though always has good prices on stuff, games, vintage toys, books, comics etc so I'm glad they're easier to get to and check as it's worth it, the other isn't. The other BME way out of the way off preston tends to have more stuff, better stuff, and less awful prices which means values are subjective by the pricer.

That camera is fantastic what are you on about? It's still one of the best camera in that genre of 3D game. The level of controls is great, and when it handles itself more often than not it does just fine. Commonly games in this style have utterly garbage cameras that get blocked, stuck, or can position right manually or automatic.

Wow how is that not even close? Overrated of Time isn't bad, it's actually quite good, but it's the N64's FF7 where fanboy illogic wins out time and again when that title gets polled despite the various shortcomings then and warts developed over time since.

I know this has largely converted to primarily being about the pocket, this is not. Have they ever stated a reason why or how long they will be keeping sales cut off for their other hardware that isn't the pocket? It seems ridiculous that they have it seemingly stuck in limbo until maybe 2023 for group C of pocket! I want the Mega SG, now more than before as I have a great game that doesn't work right on Nomad(part of a very short list) and I don't want some old rca driven system, modern all the way. I've written them earlier ago, hoping for a response eventually but I will not pay double to some shark on ebay.

I can't speak for others or what you should do, but I can tell you how it went here. Unofficially I had my baby in my lap and I was playing river city ransom ex on a gameboy micro, she reached out, grabbed the right side, and button stomped some bad guy which hilariously ended with the classic BARF! comment. Realistically though until I knew she'd be hopefully responsible, I didn't let stuff get played with, and when she was, I sought out online locally what I felt was a logical great first step, a Game Boy Color. They're super sturdy and with just the classic 8bit button array it has, is a great step into going at it. I found one from a girl online who had a nice stash of games, a couple were not appropriate for her (resident evil gaiden) or needed reading I kept, but most of them with nice little platformers, puzzles, etc were perfect. We went through a couple lenses and a shell which is a shame, but learned to be more careful with things. From there my mom was gifted years back a pink dslite she almost never used and like half dozen or so games, mario, simpsons, brain age, crossword, picross, stuff like that. The first one sadly didn't last, she's stubborn and it took one too many drops. Eventually from there though I let her on occasion use one of my many SPs which has endured thankfully, and she had a deal with us if she could save 1/2 I'd cover the rest and reward one game... so now she has a turquoise switch lite and it is her primary go to. As she got better about stuff I started to let her pick through my games to play things, though she does have a few excellent original GB games and a few GBA too along with a big stash of DS stuff.

I was pretty sure they did both. Wow classy, I hadn't checked the page in a month or so, just getting emails on the perpetual delays. They now have bold font wrote you can get a refund, but only for store credit. That's a joke.

Wow that Putin speech, he does paint a unique picture of what his mind feels versus reality. And to think that's what he's peddling on his state run media with the alternative being censorship and 15 year prison sentences. I don't see that ending well, especially when he considers the former Russian stolen soviet states as mere territories and puppets of the west out to get them. He's playing the Hitler card, delusionally claiming that Crimea wanted to be taken, etc... Vladof Putler needs a reality check. Clearly he does not like NATO, total threat given is alliances stand in opposition of what he likes.

Oh come on.... now Lodoss War is on Switch in the US and Gamestop is pushing it in another month?? I picked up the english copy from video games plus which is a dual CA/US operation (they ship from both Niagra Falls cities) and it keeps being pushed back like a week to a month everytime the date almost arrives and I'm getting pissed. Same price at Gamestop too, yet I could have paid maybe $5-10 more and got it like I think a month ago from playasia in english too. Kind of getting fed up with these fly by night douchy limited style print run game operations that make physical copies of digital games as they clearly can't get their act together. LRG is slipping, SLG is a goddamn joke who don't ship really, and it seems vgp is like slg too. Hard to keep trusting any of these north american outlets.

I don't know, but it creates questions. Why can they fulfill BB orders in mass across the country to retail stores and have a supply readily on hand for web shipping from their online warehouse too -- yet they can't get their shit together for 6-18months+ for people who actually fed their ability to even exist or have that BB deal in the first place. It's bullshit. I think it's safe to say BB isn't the one making, manufacturing, and prepping those games to sell them, so there's a mechanism in place and BB gets priority over the fans I guess.

@Webhead123 I kind of get that, at least, video side of things with audio that gets screwed with. I specifically made a local DVD buy just over a week ago specifically due to what you just wrote there. I don't know if you grew up caring about or ever watching ROBOTECH but very recently Funimation/Big West/Harmony Gold collaboratively after decades got their head out of their asses(HG mainly) and opened things up to finally reissue that and bring Macross finally to the US after over 30 years (HG are known assholes.) Anyway the first part was reissuing the old series by the 3 sagas on blu ray. What they did is an abomination. The tried to clean the video up and broke is making it super fuzzy and dark in trade for removing old video grain, but by far worse(to your point) they removed all the old sound effects from combat and put brand new ones in, and it has collectively pissed off the majority of robotech and macross fans of the 80s and they returned it, or never bought it because of it. The last *clean* copy is this odd big plastic box that holds all 6 DVDs of the Macross part of the series. I found it for $6 at a local shop, been playing it a bit each day since during the last week. I'd rather always take a blu ray, but you ruin the audio, you diminish the video...that's a bridge too far.

And well...I decided to make the once every couple months westward trip to the great escape, and checked out the usually (basically always) ripoffish book and music which I kind of wish would just fail at this rate. (I know not nice.) But well, I popped more than I usually in a day but it was worth it. The ripoff shop actually had Marvel Land there with the manual and also Bubble Bobble too, neither were largely a deal, more or less a break even minus your online shipping charges so a little off (50+20.) The win, the big win was great escape, and wow if I still bought transformers (g1) I could have gone broke as they had half a dozen power masters complete, kind of happy I don't as they were sub-online and plentiful. What they did have blew me away in the glass case, these other two genny gems... Streets of Rage 2 for $13, and TROUBLE SHOOTER for $61 (sells for $120 online) so that was a jackpot! Wonder Boy was sent to me by a friend, included it since it arrived yesterday. The nomad in the image I've had, but I also got those 2 CDs in the mail, found them for off the usual, brand new too, Famicom Sound History Mario the Music, and then YS Book 1+2 Chronicles soundtrack. The FC one obviously an import, has all 4 SMBs from FC+FDS, Mario Bros, and the soundtrack to Dr Mario and Yoshis Cookie on there which is amazing. Ys is just ear candy, if you know, you know. I've got a few more coming in the mail soon plus a few other nice things, rare, since I stopped largely buying online, so I'll have another post to follow sooner or later.

@Matchbook Not bad, quite a bit of nice paper indeed, even some EGM to wipe with. Also very impressed there with @JVOSS with that Game Gear case, don't see that one often, usually the puffy zip nylon ones and some decent games. Working or not, time to buckle down and decide... LED for CFL replacement? Whole new screen which would sip the least juice with the best visuals...and obviously full cap replacement too as Sega used utterly shit parts in their game gears sadly. Those are some nice GB titles too, don't often see that. I think you're part of a facebook GB group looks familiar.

Wow nice reddit, went skimming it a bit. Saw a before and follow up after post that was worth enjoying. Russian chopper the regulars painted onto the beam towards the rear rotor 'onward to berlin' and a few hours later the remains of the same chopper in pieces on the ground. Seems to me there's either bravado, stupidity, both...maybe the larger intent of the desire of their forces to start coming at NATO.

I so want that thing but the horrible price keeps me off it, that and that alone. Some really notable games as the shooters wouldn't be my priority, they use the extra accessories really limiting it without going all in.

There's being cheap, and then just not bothering or prioritizing enough to care. Remember they do double runs, in mass, and send a large supply out for months/years to Best Buy to peddle at the stores and online too. BB seems to have their stuff seeded just fine, so you really have to wonder about their shipping department.

Eh I've got my originals, been playing at home since Christmas of 1985. Admittedly it was a little jarring at first with it being just so well...chatty. But I grew to have no issue with any of it, while silence is nice, it does add a slight bit of personality to it as well so I really don't mind either way. Letting that of all things ruin a game for you seems pretty petty and shallow.

Care to update that gas prices around the world for the local VAT added to them? No one ever likes to adjust for that before making a point how it's dramatically cheaper here or factoring in what gets handled domestically too which has some impact.

I don't see any value in the steam deck personally, but I can see why some would. I'd rather just have another laptop than some halfassed handheld that'll kind of do that too with my steam titles. Analogue Pocket is a more elegant design, straight forward, but with some really nice optional perks.

Got to agree with that sentiment. Objectively speaking there's really nothing wrong with the game. They took it in such another direction being so far into the past, it left things open to what you can and can't have in a non-existent pokedex YOU are making. They add a wild element of picking your battles, even picking to toss vs battle, sneaking on those battles, item use, combination of goods to use or make goods, etc. The story works remarkably well, and the sub-tasks which are utterly optional add a bit of extra to do for sport as well. So what did we get in bitching? It's not detailed enough, not enough pokemon(really?), and whining they don't have dozens of reactions vs the fewer there are. It was pearl clutching fuckery by grown men acting like entitled know it all babies. It probably threw them for a loop not being main line because then they lose the ability to bitch about not having the game have 1000+ pokemon in it with variants, some new hollow thin mechanic to seem different, while still being safe space stupid with the wash rinse repeat of gyms, trainers, and a thin plot to string it weakly together. Because you know if you don't give the game a full set of main line demands, it's time to lose your mind online and go for it. Arceus is refreshing, something the franchise desperately needed. I hope they keep it Legends setup as a sub-series, do the past of another area, maybe go back to Kanto, or forward to another. It opens some fun doors and freedoms too.

Not bad, more surprised I missed that last post. I like that if that's what I think it is, the SMB2j FDS to FC cart hack, they had all sorts of bootleggy labels and shells. The goof in the boxed game in the helmet sort of reminds me of konami man but I know it's not.

Well haven't been back there in a decade more or less and nothing changes, LA sucks, and if you were warned there's good cause. I know this was about game stores, retro, but...screw them the supply isn't great and the prices largely less so where you'd do better not bothering. Yet I'm questioning something, why has no one at all brought up BOOK OFF?? Book off is a Japanese store with domestic locations, CA has the most, and concentration wise the LA county area has the most. Hideous traffic aside, a few would be within miles of each other and seemingly not that big of a time suck. The stores are Japanese based and as such have a lot of Japanese anime, manga, toys, appliances, music, video, etc... but that means also games, consoles, accessories, handhelds, games. I would hit a couple of them up in town there when I'd be up in that place now and again, but largely I'd be notably closer to the one that is in this little Japanese corner in the San Diego area which had one. Hit and miss more as time came closer to present (after leaving but returning for visits.) I've had excellent luck getting domestic and japanese games, etc from the locations (manga too.) If you're still in the area, try it because you should have relatively easy access to 2-3 of the locations which typically are put within or attached to malls.

You deserve baby shark for your videos.

I'll agree on that, selection is way down overall too in the last few years, pandemic made it worse at a dramatic pace. But you know I actually consider that a good thing. Why? Reasons are easy on this. When you find it, whatever it is(or multiple things) you'll dramatically appreciate it more. And even then sticking to the other rule of not paying the online price and definitely not the greedy locals tax(10-20+% higher for greed sake) really helps with that too. When you find something good, the price is finally right, you'll appreciate that moment far more, but also what comes from the moment, something new to explore and the added time to really explore ti as well. Not having a constant flood allows for a lack of distraction. Just that find I put in the finds thread the other day was a perfect example. A fat stack of largely mystery manuals for hopefully all Gameboy(it was) for $10... could have been all service manuals and barbie. But then also the few games, one I even paid fairly even to ebay for ($55 on pokemon platinum) but I've had the case etc for many years put up so I'll make compromises too as being too rigid is dumb. That was a fun moment candidly speaking here yesterday laying out all the manuals, peeling through them one at a time discovering what was there, many happy moments. Then seeing what i could use, what I could upgrade, matching 5 of them to the games I grabbed too. And then reading them...what a throw back, reminds me why I *hate* the cheapness of it all now cutting out such helpful things.

I gave it an 8 which seems semi-less than popular. Don't get me wrong, it's a good game, quite good, but not great. They got a nice formula down with it, and if you grind enough you can get the speed up to survive the action. But that said, it's kind a floaty and thin, borderline cheap in places but Contra is known for the arcade cheap as that is its roots. I just have played better run and gun, not a lot, but some from that century. I've had the cart off and on since the mid 90s, got it after the NES was toast but these days I don't care to bother much, and given I have the premium my arcade cabinet with the limited quarter setup the actual arcade used I find it more fun to hammer away at. The NES game has a few but not crushing compromises, but largely it's pretty faithful which is good given the year.

Maybe we can get back to the TURTLES? Wretched life sucking nagging trophies and achievements for the apathetic and over achievers really isn't what this is about here is it?