Got $10,000 to blow? Buy me this 'complete collection' of TurboDuo systems and games

OK, you can buy it for yourself if you'd like. I certainly wouldn't complain if you bought it for me, though.

Regardless of who you purchase it for, you'd probably like to know what this "complete collection" includes before hitting this eBay auction's "Buy it Now" button (here), right?

Well, for starters, it includes one boxed TurboDuo system in mint condition and three unboxed TurboDuo systems in excellent condition. It also includes an Arcade Card (which allows you to play all of the system's Arcade Card titles), a "Diving Board" card (which allows you to play imports) and 129 North American and 30 Japanese games.


                 Just a few of the games that could be yours ... if you've got $10,000 to blow.

Although I'm hardly the TurboGrafx-16 expert I once was, this auction's asking price seems a bit high to me--especially since a number of the included games are "loose" (they don't come with a case and/or manual). Also, this so-called complete collection lacks the most magnificent Arcade Card title of them all: Madou Monogatari.

(Via retro-treasures.blogspot.com)

'Mega Man Kicks Butt'

Are you one of the many fans who were left feeling heartbroken after the folks at Capcom announced they were canceling Mega Man Legends 3? I am, and I don't even own a 3DS!

It seems a number of the artists who contribute to the Drawed Goods tumblog were bummed by the cancellation, too, since many of the site's most recent uploads focus on the Blue Bomber and/or his compadres.



The one above, titled "Mega Man Kicks Butt," was was drawn by the fabulous Drew Green, by the way. To see more of his work, check out his blog, his deviantART gallery or his tumblog.

My wallet, marriage and I survived my maiden voyage to Seattle's Pink Gorilla store

After a long, hard day of yard work, the hubs and I treated ourselves to dinner on Saturday night. We didn't go anywhere classy, mind you--just the Chipotle that's located in Seattle's aptly-named University District.

Anyway, as we neared said Chipotle, I noticed out of the corner of my eye a pepto-pink awning that said "Pink Gorilla." I'm pretty sure I've talked about it before, but just in case I haven't: Pink Gorilla is a small game shop here in Seattle. Actually, there are now two Pink Gorilla stores in the so-called Emerald City--one in the International District and one in the University District.

I had completely forgotten about the latter location until we passed it on our way to Chipotle. Thankfully, David (aka the hubs) was willing to let me check it out before we stuffed our faces.

So, what did I think of my maiden voyage to Pink Gorilla? I thought it was awesome! I was a bit disappointed at first, as I thought the glass case near the front of the store--which housed a good number of complete-in-box imports--represented all of the Japanese games this particular Pink Gorilla location had to offer, but I discovered that was far from the case when I began surveying the rest of the store.

In a way, Pink Gorilla's University District store reminds me of a small Japanese game shop, with all sorts of Dreamcast, Famicom, Mega Drive, Nintendo 64, PC Engine, PlayStation, Saturn and Super Famicom imports hanging from the walls in clear plastic bags.

Among the games that caught my eye: Complete-in-box copies of Galaxian and Hoshi no Kirby (Kirby's Adventure) for the Famicom and a pristine copy of Twinkle Star Sprites for the Dreamcast. A trio of PC Engine titles I've been meaning to add to my collection--Detana!! TwinBee, The New Zealand Story and Parodius--for some time also captured my attention.

I didn't buy any of the above-mentioned games because, well, I'm a bit broke at the moment. As soon as I have some dough, though, you can bet your butt I'll buy at least a few of them, as the prices at Pink Gorilla were on par with what I've seen on eBay.

You can also bet that I'll do my best to snap some photos next time I'm in one of the Pink Gorilla stores--assuming they allow such things, of course.

Screw waiting, (I think) I'm going to buy Minna no Rhythm Tengoku, too

I was planning to wait and buy Rhythm Heaven Wii when it arrives on North American shores sometime later this year, but after reading these impressions and seeing these videos of the just-released Japanese iteration of the game I'm seriously considering changing those plans and buying the Japanese version now and the North American one this fall.



Another reason I'm considering altering those plans: You just know the folks at Nintendo of America will screw up the vocal tracks when they go to localize them--just as they did when they localized the tunes that appeared in the North American version of the DS-based Rhythm Heaven title. (Don't believe me? Watch this video and then this video. Yikes!)

(Photo above courtesy of true-gaming.net)

Which sites do you turn to when you're searching for Japanese box art?

Someone recently asked me (via Facebook) if I know of any websites that feature galleries of Japanese box art--especially of the retro variety.

Here are the ones that I've come up with thus far:

Box Art--An awesome tumblog that highlights box art from all countries, although it seems to favor Japanese covers, and all eras. (The Ninja Princess illustration to the right came from this site, by the way.)

Gamengai--I've spent so much time on this site--which features box-art scans and mini-reviews of all sorts of 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit games--over the years that it's gone from being silly to being a bit sad. Also sad: It doesn't feature any Famicom box-art scans and mini-reviews.

The PC Engine Software Bible--The name of this site says it all, really. If you're looking for information--including box-art images--on a PC Engine game, this is where you'll find it.

Segagaga Domain--A Sega-centric counterpart to The PC Engine Software Bible, Segagaga Domain caters to folks looking for box-art scans and other tidbits of info on Master System, Mega Drive, Saturn and Dreamcast titles.

Video Game Den--Much like Gamengai.com, this site features box-art scans and mini-reviews of tons of retro Japanese games. This one, though, focuses on just three systems: The Famicom, the PC Engine and the Super Famicom.

I don't suppose any of you can think of other such sites that should be added to this list?