Super Mario Bros Tapestry スーパーマリオ手ぬぐい

This is supposed to be a towel, but it is most definitely a tapestry. Has the opening screen + some extra sprites from the first Super Mario Bros game on it, so it was most definitely an instant buy for me. The others had Mario amongst a bunch of coins and illustrations of the characters. Can be had here.

Namco Pins ナムコピンズ

More classic Namco "trading pins". This time it's Mappy, Mr Driller and Baron & Max from the little-known (and one of my favorites) Sky Kid.

NEW Super Mario Bros. Wii Sound Bank ニュースーパーマリオブラザーズWiiサウンドバンク

These are kinda neat, if not all gimmick. First, the banks are super small and only hold a few coins. Second, the box makes a point of stating that only up to 100yen coins fit inside - specifically 500yen coins don't fit. Anyway, when you insert a coin, a little lever in the slot is pressed and a noise from the game is made. It lists a specific sound in a little icon by each block's picture, and while each one does produce one sound unique to it, each makes some of the same sounds, it's strange, but cool. My only real gripe is that the images aren't printed on the blocks, they're stickers affixed to the front, which makes them look a little cheap. Overall, though, they're neat little conversation pieces.

Earthbound Figure Collection MOTHER２マザーフィギュアコレクション

Just the first 2 sets of figures in a collection of 4 or 5 (mini figures, there are actually a few OTHER sets of slightly larger figures, too, as well as a Mr. Saturn collection), which, unfortunately for me were going for over $120 a set because they were both coveted and amongst that month's arcade prize in Game Centers across Japan. I never bothered to go back and get the other sets, or to even see if they went down in price eventually, but I assume that they're probably still crazy expensive, given the relative rarity of MOTHER/Earthbound collectibles - yes, even in Japan - and the popularity of the series in Japan. These are neat because they look just like the original clay sculptures in the manual/game guide for the games - you know, when games had some creativity and original concepts to them and required imagination to play as well as make. If you've never played the original MOTHER, it's difficult, but fun. Earthbound is what most people know of the MOTHER series in the west, a masterpiece, and an amazing high point of the 16-bit era of gaming.

Nintendo Game Sound Calculators 任天堂電卓アイスクライマー、マリオ、ゼルダ

Another awesome thing I've known about for a few years but only got around to obtaining now. I found the Mario one in stock (oddly enough I don't recall seeing Ice Climber, and Zelda was sold out) on a now-defunct website when these were being used as prizes in Game Centers in 2005. I managed to snap it up, but I saw the other 2 on the box and really, really wanted them all when I saw how neat the Mario one was. In addition to the fact that they look like the original Famicom carts, they use the "Nintendo 8-bit font" for all of the buttons, have a game screen from the individual game they're intended to represent on the inside, and best of all they play sounds from the games when you hit the = key! Also - and I didn't know this until I got the other two - when you input the year that the game was made (printed on the calculator itself) and hit =, it makes a hidden "easter egg" noise from the game. Zelda makes the whistle/recorder noise, I was so geeked when I heard it play. You, too, can listen to the sound effects from all 3 in the videos I've posted. ^^

More Retro LCD Love

Come to think of it, I think that everything I won via YHJA from my proxy this time was a random search, lol. 'Daijishin' means "Big Quake", and this game has you running around trying to prevent things from falling over, having a fireman come through the window to put out a gas fire, etc. This one is by Bandai and has a fairly unique way standing up: the side of the game folds down like a "leg" of sorts, but the hinge has grown weak since 1982, so it doesn't really stand on its own anymore. 'Pipe Line' is by Masudaya and looks more like a Nintendo Game & Watch in both form factor and in the on screen characters. The gameplay seems like a G&W too, like if you took Oil Panic and gave it a third screen where you had to route the oil you dumped off from the trucks in that game. Interestingly enough, outside of actual wristwatches with games built into them, this is the first game that only takes one button cell battery.

Namco Keychains & Pins ナムコドットキャラキーチェーンとピントレコレクション

During a random search (the best kind to find things you didn't know existed) on Yahoo Japan Auctions, I found some exceptionally neat Namco items. I got 9 Namco pin badges from the first volume of these, released in 2005. I'm hoping to find the 2nd volume for a price that isn't insane, soon. These are pretty unique to Namco goods, in that the set mashes up classic Namco with more recent stuff like Taiko no Tatsujin, Katamari Damashii and Mr Driller. It also has some of the stranger titles represented like Baraduke and Toy Pop. The Epoch Gashapon collection are all dot graphics sprites from famous classic Namco games. (I wish someone would make a set for like Sky Kid or Pacland one of these days) I especially love the Mappy sprite, and I more or less got the whole set for the Rally-X S Flag and Galaxian Boss Alien.