Retro Store Visit: 1Up Video Games - Greenville, SC

I've been going to the Greenville, SC area for work for close to a year now and I never knew of 1Up Video Games until recently. I thought I had searched "retro video games Greenville, SC" on Google before, but I guess not. I'm glad I checked again however because my trips to the store were worth it.

The store was small and in a small shopping center off of Anderson Rd. in Greenville, SC. I drove right by it the first time I was looking for it and had it not been for GPS I may not have found it. As you can see the store front is modest, but the large "VIDEO GAMES" sign hung in the window helped draw my attention that way.

Once inside the I found the store to be well stocked with games for several different systems. Immediately on the left there was a large glass case that housed several portable games such as Game Boy and GB Advance. I didn't see anything that caught my eye so I kept browsing. I started on the left side of the store and was greeted by a long wire wrack full of original Xbox games, along with a few Wii U, several Wii and GameCube games.

Opposite this long rack of games were some smaller displays that held the retro consoles that were for sale. Not sure why I didn't snap a pic. They had in stock a nice boxed Atari Jaguar, loose Sega Saturn and a Super Nintendo among other things.

Personally I was impressed by the sheer number of original Xbox games they had in stock. I haven't seen this many to choose in any of the other shops I've found while traveling for work. Prices ranged from $2.99 for some of the more common titles to $24.99 for Godzilla. I ended up grabbing a few games while I was there that I hadn't see elsewhere. My only complaint with the selection of games was that there wasn't any rhyme or reason to the way the games were organized. The OCD in me couldn't stand that they were alphabetized. Part of me wanted to stand there and put them in order myself!

The back left corner, opposite the original Xbox games, was probably an 8 foot section of Xbox 360 and Xbox One games. Usually the 360 section is chocked full of games so imagine my surprise when the original Xbox games out numbered the two more modern Microsoft libraries.

At the back of the store was a bin that housed random controllers. Most of them were official, but there were some 3rd party controllers. I was surprised to see not one, but two Stunner light guns for the Sega Saturn.

Wrapping around the back end of the first rack and I found a row of games for various Nintendo consoles. N64, SNES and NES.

Selection on these consoles were pretty average, though there were more N64 carts than for the other two systems. Like most retailers have found, it's hard to really display loose N64 carts with their shape and lack of end labels. There were a few complete, boxed NES and SNES games to choose from, but the majority of them were loose carts.

Opposite the retro Nintendo games were Sega games. This section put a smile on my face. There was a decent selection of Genesis games, several Sega CD and Saturn games in the original long jewel cases. A nice little selection of Dreamcast games as well. The top shelf had a few boxed Atari games, including two Jaguar games (Trevor McFur and Zool). Had I had more time and money I may have bought a few Genesis games, but I settled for a boxed copy of E-Swat while I was there.

The end of the Sega row is where the Dreamcast games were as well as the loose Genesis carts. I really didn't pay attention to those loose carts which is a shame. I generally don't buy loose Genesis games, but at times I've come across a gem if I keep looking.

The back side of the Sega section was all Playstation 1 and Playstation 2 games with a few PSP. There was a good selection of both, but I'm not the biggest Sony fan so I just quickly browsed this section. I did grab Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks for the PS2.

The back right corner of the store had two different displays that housed a nice selection of reproduction games. 

As you can see there were all sorts of fan made reproductions ranging from the Game Boy, NES and SNES. These games were a little on the pricey side, but really not much more than what your final price would have been if you purchased it online and had to pay for shipping. This was a nice touch as you don't usually find stuff like this out in the wild. After speaking with the shop owner for a little longer on my 2nd trip, I learned that he planned on setting up some TVs and consoles so customers could test out some of these games. I look forward to seeing if that idea is implemented in the near future.

The shop owner was very nice and easy to speak with. We struck up a short conversation during both of my visits. While talking about YouTube video game shows and such he had asked me if I had been to any shows. I commented that it seems that the east coast gets the shaft as most of the shows I hear about are out in the mid-west. It's then he told me about the Southeast Game Exchange coming to the Greenville area later this year. He only had one post card left so I just took a picture for future reference and left the card there in the store for others. It's still early for me to know if I'll be able to attend, but I'm glad to finally know of something like this on the east coast.

All in all I found the store to be pretty cool. Good selection of games for a wide array of consoles with decent prices overall. The owner was very cool and you could tell he was passionate about games. He told me that they have been open now for about 3 years and business must be good because each time I dropped in his counter was full of trade ins he was working on getting priced and out on the shelves. They have a Facebook page if you want to check them out. If you find yourself in the Greenville, SC area you owe it to yourself to check them out. Give yourself a good 30 minutes at least if you want to browse the entire store. It's not huge, but there is a lot to look at.

New Acquisitions: March 2017

It's been a busy past two months. You may have noticed (or not) that I didn't have a New Additions post for February. Part of the reason is that I didn't buy much due to saving up for the launch of the Nintendo Switch on March 3rd. However I've got two months now to play catch up and show what I picked up so here we go.

Obviously the pick ups are a little lighter than normal due to cost of the Switch, however I still was able to get some good deals.

 

I love finding original Xbox games that I don't own, especially when they are as good as Guilty Gear X2 #Reloaded. I found this one at a used DVD store in Asheville, NC while traveling for work. Fighting games aren't always my favorite genre, but this is one of those that really caught my eye when it was new. My single largest game library is for the Xbox 360. I found one lone copy of Resident Evil Revelations 2 brand new for $9 at my local Walmart. It's been awhile since I've played a Resident Evil game, so I'm looking forward to sitting down with this one.

  

Finding non-sports Sega Master System titles in the wild is getting harder and harder, however the local G2K Games store in my area will occassionally have some new Master System games. I vaugely remember playing this game at a friends house growing up. Don't remember much else aboutthe game, but it was complete and $5 so why not?!

I love Sega so anytime I can pick up new Japanese Saturn or Dreamcast games is a good day. I grabed Nissan GT Over Drivin' R from Viink courtesy of his GameGavel store. Arcade racing titles are always fun and this is one I didn't know about until recently. Sturmwind, the much lauded shmup for the Dreamcast is one I've hard on my radar since it was released. It's high price tag has kept me away, but back in February I got an email from Play-Asia.com and I noticed the game was on sale for $24.99 I believe. Needless to say I jumped on that opportunity. 

This odd Super Famicom game came from GameGavel as well. It's called Same Game and is a puzzle game developed by Hudson Soft. In the game you try to match up lines of the same Hudson characters. It's shaped like the Super Game Boy because you could insert special, smaller cartridges to change up the characters in the game. I have the cartridge with Bomberman and Bonk,

I've been eying these little Nintendo characters in the check out lanes at Walmart, but never have I purchased one...until I saw that a Metroid was included in one of the latest assortments. I checked the display on each check out lane until I found one. Look for a post on this little figure soon.

With the Switch now being on the market, some retailers are starting to clear out their Wii U software. I grabbed this Captain Toad w/ the Toad Amiibo for $20 from Walmart's website. Surprisingly the game's outer box game in great shape, something that isn't given these days.

...and finally my new Nintendo Switch, Pro Controller and the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I have been playing the Switch pretty much any time I've had a chance for the last month. I only have Zelda and Blaster Master Zero, but that's OK as I've been more than happy with the time I've been putting in Breath of the Wild. In fact, I finally beat the game earlier this week, but I wasn't satisfied with the ending I got so I reloaded my autosave before I fought Ganon and left the castle. I still have Shrines to find and side quests to complete before I'm ready to fight Ganon again and move on to another game. The Pro Controller, while a little expensive, has been well worth it. It's a very comfortable controller and feels very good in my hands. I love the 360 controller and this controller reminds me of Microsoft's controller.

Collecting a Complete Set

As I've expanded my video game collection over the years, I've really enjoyed talking with other collectors online and watching YouTube videos on how people collect and what people collect. YouTubers like the Immortal John Hancock, Adam Koralik and the guy from the documentary, Nintendo Quest (that I just watched last night); while entertaining to follow and learn more about I don't get it.

Now before anyone spews hellfire and brimstone at me, let me try to explain myself. I'm a collector...of a lot of different things. Just check out my various other blogs and you'll see that I collect trading cards, comics, toys, and music to some degree. The idea of collecting doesn't escape me, but that's not what I don't understand. I've never been a completionist with many of my hobbies. I nearly amassed a full original Transformers Generation One collection of toys, before I realized that I really didn't care about (most of) the Action Master toys that released at the end of the series run. However as a trading card collector (or comic collector) I get the idea of wanting all of the cards/comics in the series...it just makes sense. Video games however are a whole different animal.

I've had this inner debate before of whether I'm more of a gamer or a collector. Part of me loves acquiring new games and putting them on display. Just take a look at part of my shelved collection below. I have a good many games spread out over a lot of different systems.

I know I have more games than I have time to play, however I don't see the point in buying a game I know I'm not going to play. Outside of the occassional baseball game, I don't care for sports titles so it doesn't make sense for me to buy a sports game because I know I'm not going to play it. The idea of collecting an entire set of games for any one console just seems meaningless to me. Now I'm not going to tell someone how to collect or how to spend their money. Lord knows I couldn't have made smarter choices when it comes to my expendable income, however I only have so much money to spend on my hobbies (have you noticed how many hobbies I have?!) and I only have so much space for said hobbies in my home.

To me, and only to me, it just seems like a waste of money and space collecting games that you know you aren't going to play. I guess this could be extended to those who collect variant versions of the same game (different regions, etc,). If I'm going to spend my hard earned money on anything, I want it to be spent on something I know I'm going to enjoy. Now I guess people that collect for their favorite system do it because they have fun. Hey, more power to ya! I just don't get it.

Surely I'm not the only one with this opinion. It's not a slam against anyone. I'm just one guy with a blog and an opinion. I would however like to get some feedback on this topic. Why are you trying to complete a full set for (fill in the blank) console? Is it the thrill of the chase and hunt that makes it so entertaining? Or why don't you fell it's necessary to buy every game for (again, fill in the blank) console? Thanks for reading my rambling words. Peace.

March 3rd - Nintendo Switch (U.S.) Launch

What a weekend it has been! March 3rd has come and gone and that means the Nintendo Switch has officially been launched in the U.S. for a few days now. From what I've been reading in social media, Nintendo and retails have been really happy with the strong sales numbers at launch, but what are the consumers saying?

launch day haul

Back in January when Nintendo unveiled the Switch via their webcast, being on the east coast I had to stay up later than I would normally do on a work night to watch it. I was impressed, though like many others I had questions. I thought many of the games that were showcased looked fantastic, but was disappointed that some games weren't going to be in the launch line up. At that point, I really had not paid The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild much attention. When the presentation was over it appears that most rushed to their favorite retailer online to put down their pre-order. I did not. I still was on the fence. After all, I don't normally buy consoles on launch day...for several different reasons.

The next morning I awoke to some crazy stories on social media of how fast the pre-orders were selling out. Out of curiousity, I checked Best Buy to see what their stock was like and surprisingly the standard gray console was still available for pre-order. I went ahead and placed my order, for Zelda too. Then the wait began. Over the next 2 months we would hear all sorts of stories about battery life, frame rate dropped while in handheld mode, the lack of games, etc. I do have to admit I was not prepared to hear all the negative news and comments, but then again this is Nintendo we are talking about. It seems as if people love to hate on Nintendo.

Then finally, March 3rd came and I was anxious as ever to pick up the system. My little Best Buy didn't participate in the midnight launch, which was fine by me. Instead I opted to wait until the store opened up at 10 AM Friday morning. While I was waiting, I went to the nearby Walmart and Target to see what was going on over there. Walmart still had the big cardboard display up that the Switch was coming 03-03-17...no games or accessories were on display. I did however find that their stock of 30th Anniversary Zelda Amiibos were on clearance. I picked up the Wind Waker 2 pack for $12. Next I ran over to Target and at least they had games and accessories on display. I grabbed a travel case for $20 and went on my way. There was a small line waiting outside Best Buy. About 10 people maybe ahead of me. I believe they only had 5 or so Switch consoles that weren't already spoken for and were handing out tickets prior to my arrival. Just inside the store, they had set up a table with all of the games and accessories available. I basically just jumped in line to pick up my pre-order so I could go about my day.

I wanted to take the day off from work so I could enjoy launch day that much more, but I work from home most days so I thought I could still sneak some play in. Well the universe was against me that day. If things could go wrong at work, they did and so I had to handle them. I believe it was closer to 4 PM before I even unpacked the system and plugged it in for the first time.

I knew about the day one update that activiated many features of the Switch. I wanted to get this started as soon as I could because of course I was anxious to play Zelda. The initialization menus were easy and straight forward, however I had a hard time getting the Switch connected to my wireless internet for some reason. Once I did and got the system update running, it again kept losing signal. I finally restarted my router and problem solved. I believe the update took about 30 minutes or so, not terribly bad at all. While it was updating, I hooked up the dock to my TV. Once the update was done, I moved the AC adapter over to the dock and gave TV mode a try for the first time. It took about 3 seconds for the image to transfer from the Switch to the TV (but the other way around is near seamless). I set up a profile for my wife and browsed the eShop, but wouldn't you know it...dinner time.

After dinner was done and cleaned up and the kids were in bed...finally it was game time. Let me start off by saying that I'm not a big Zelda fan. I guess you could say I'm just a casual Zelda fan at best. I've played the original NES game a few times (never beat it). I bought Twilight Princess at launch with my Nintendo Wii (which was the last launch day console I bought) and I really enjoyed the game (dispite the tiring motion controls) up until I got to a fishing scene where I couldn't progress. Needless to say I was excited about playing Breath of the Wild, even though up until this point I still had stayed away from pouring over the content of this game. I guess you could say I didn't want to be spoiled and I wanted to discover everything for the first time...the first time.

Up until Sunday afternoon, I've put in about 20 hours into the game...and I'm not tired of it yet. I am absolutely loving exploring the open world and find out what is around the corner, on top of the mountain and across the sea. The puzzle elements in the shrines are starting to give me a fit, but overall I've enjoyed every minute of the game. I'm sad the weekend is wrapping up as I won't have as much time to play during the week.

Overall I've found the Switch to be another marvelous Nintendo system. However it's not without flaw. As many outlets previously reported, the left Joycon has a habit of de-synching itself in the middle of your gameplay (TV mode only). It will usually come back on by itself, but there were a few times I died playing Zelda because I'd try to walk to the edge of a cliff and Link would simply keep on walking...right off the cliff! It also seems as if there is anything in the way of your controller and the dock while playing in TV mode you'll notice some horrible lag, or downright unresponsiveness. At one point last night I crossed my leg and rested my foot on my knee...and the controller started acting up. I put my leg down and the controller was fine. This pretty much confirmed for me that I'm buying the Pro Controller as soon as the funds allow.

I've only used the Switch in table top mode a short time. I do like that option, but maybe it's just me but I found it difficult to open up the kick stand on the back. Perhaps that Hori table top cradle they've made is a worthy purchase in the future? I took the Swith with me to church earlier today to show my older brother and I ended up playing it in handheld mode in the car on the way to and from. I usually reserve my Sunday afternoons to get caught up on my comic reading, but wouldn't you know I sat on the couch for at least 2 hours (if not longer) playing. My guess is I got in at least 3 hours of play before I got the first low battery warning. For a game as powerful and large as Zelda, I'm OK w/ 3 hours. I most likely won't be playing it in handheld mode as much, but man I do love having that option.

The launch lineup was a little sparse, but I know that Zelda will keep me occupied for some time. I do want to download Snipperclips as I showed that to my wife, hoping that it would lessen the scowl of hers when I told her I had the Switch pre-ordered already! Not surprisingly, she does agree that could be a great co-op game for us both...and maybe even my 2 young daughters?

Next week I'll be downloading the new Blaster Master Zero for sure. The original in the NES is one of my all time favorites and despite the few successors it's had, none of them have been able to capture the excitement and feel of the original. Hopefully this one won't disappoint.

Of course before I go and download anything from the eShop I need to pick up a Micro SD card for myself. I'm not thrilled with the news that there isn't any way to transfer saved data from the console (at least, not yet), but I won't be downloading my games as I'm still one of those that perfers physical releases. Is the Nintendo Switch perfect? Nope, but it's the best new Nintendo platform I've played in a very long time and I'm really looking forward to what the future brings. I hope this is the first step in repairing relationships with third party developers because I would love to see the likes of Capcom and Konami bringing back new versions of their classic IPs (and new ones of course) to the Switch. I guess now only time will tell.

Shooter: Starfighter Sanvien (Sony Playstation)

Shooter: Starfighter Sanvein

Success / A1 Games (2000)

The original Playstation had a lot of games released for the platform so it's easy for this game, or any game for that matter to be looked over or lost in the shuffle. I'm sure I skipped over this game many times over the years. With it's rather bland packaging I can see how many fans of the shmup genre may have never seen or played this game.

Shooter: Starfighter Sanvien is a rather odd game. Not quite a traditional shmup, it's close enough for me. The game has a backstory, but it's not well integrated into the game and thus not that important to enjoy the gameplay.

At the beginning of the game, you get to arm your starship with it's main weapon. You can choose from Gluon, Photon or Graviton weapons. Gluon weapons have a wide spread attack, while Photon are more focused laser type weapons. Graviton has a more explosive type attack.

Once you've chosen your main weapon, you get to select your special weapon. You again choose from the 3 aforementioned types. The Gluon special weapon are homing missiles and I found these to be particularly effective. Photon's special weapon is a large laser and choosing Graviton gives you a land mine type weapon. The latter was my least favorite.

Instead of a horizontally or vertically scrolling game, you are placed in an arean if you will. Each stage is a called a floor and you get to choose what path you take. The menu is displayed with the floors as hexagons, with bosses mixed in each section. You have to choose quick however which floor you're going to tackle as the clock in the lower right corner of your screen is always ticking down. Each ajoining floor you select, you're base firepower will be upped by 1 level (eventually maxing out at level 6). While you are free to select whichever floor and route to the main boss you'd like, you are rewarded by taking more of a direct, connected path.

Your starfighter doesn't have health in this game, but you do have time. Take a hit and you'll lose 90 units of time. Take too many hits and it's game over. You control your ship using the Playstation controller's D-pad or left analog stick. At first you may find the it hard to control your starfighter, especially as you are firing. You get to move all around the screen, think Asteroids, Robotron, or Geometry Wars. Note that this game was released before dual analog joysticks were the norm. As you fire, you'll notice a little kickback to your ship. However it doesn't take long before moving around feels a little more natural. The object is to clear each floor as quick as possible. Usually you only have a few enemies to beat before you get ot move on. Once you defeat one of the bosses, you'll be granted with additional time. Make your way up to the central boss (at the top/center) of the level and you'll clear the area and be moved onto the next area.

Let me say that the game looks much better than what my meager camera was able to capture. While the game won't blow you away with it's visuals, it gets the job done. With the computer looking background and the gridlines, the techno like music fits very well. The game play is simple, but fast paced. I found it to be pretty addictive and ended up playing for about 45 minutes the other day. 

While the gameplay isn't really unique, it is a refreshing change of pace to shooting type games. It may not be for everyone, but it's rather cheap to be had (around $5-$10 on the secondary market) and if you play it you may just find it's better than you thought. I will point out that this game is NOT fully compatible with the PS3. The game will play, but it won't have sound. However if you've jettisoned your PS1 and want to give the game a try you're still in luck. The game is available for download on the PS Network.

Crazy Taxi (Sega Dreamcast)

Crazy Taxi

Hitmaker
Sega, 1999

I'm not sure what is more memorable about this game. Is it the actual game or gameplay or is it the soundtrack? Crazy Taxi is a fantastic arcade game by Sega that was ported over to the Dreamcast (among other consoles) and is the brain child of Kenji Kanno. When you stop and think about the game, it's a rather odd concept of a game. A taxi simulator? I would've never thought it would have worked, but man I am glad that I'm wrong as this is a blast to play.

The Dreamcast version is pretty faithful to the arcade version and if you ask some, the DC version is better than the arcade. Sega's home version offers the same arcade mode, but also offers and original arranged verison of the game to pump more replayability into it. There is also the added Crazy Box, which we'll look at in a bit.

The game is pretty simple. You chose one of 4 different taxi drivers, each with their own unique looking taxi. You can chose between Axel, B.D. Joe, Gena and Gus. In addition to the different vehicles each driver has, each vehicle handles differently from one another.

Axel's taxi as decent acceleration & decceleration and handling, but it's light weight and wide turns make it tough to navigate at times.

B.D. Joe's taxi has the fastest normal speed, decent acceleration & deceleration, it's a heavy car and it's easy to pull of crazy drifts. The weight of the car makes it hard to get knocked around in traffic and tight spots, but it also makes it tough to handle.

Gena's taxi has the fastest acceleration & deceleration speed of all the taxis, best brakes, handles the easiest and has a slim profile. It's light weight makes it prone to be knocked around however. The handling of this car takes some getting used to, but once you do you won't want to use the other cab drivers.

Gus' taxi handles really good and the taxi is rather slim, however it has the slowest acceleration & deceleration making it tough to use until you learn some the more advanced tactics.

I usually use Gena when I play, but on my latest playthroughs I've been trying to get used to Gus and his taxi. It's been awhile since I've played so I'm having to re-learn the Crazy Dash and Crazy Drift techniques! 

Gameplay is easy. Drive around until you see a customer with a dollar sign over them. Their pick up radius will be marked with a circle. Simply stop within this radius to pick up your customer and they will tell you where they want to go. The color of the dollar sign will give you an idea of the distance you'll have to travel and the payout you'll get...depending on how long it takes you! Green pay the most, but the passenger's destination is furthest away. Yellow is medium pay and medium distance while red will be a short drive and a small payout. 

Once you pick up your passenger, a large green arrow will appear at the top of the screen to help navigate you to your destination. However it's not always accurate and until you learn the maps the arrow may get you lost or take you the long way. You'll also see a timer beside your passenger. Get them to your destination while this timer is green and you'll get the Speedy tag and a better pay out. Yellow will get you the Noramal tag and Red gets you the Slow tag. Your passenger will usually berate you and kick your taxi when they get out. If you don't get to your destination before the timer runs out, your customer will simply jump out of the taxi while you're driving.

How you get from point A to point B is up to you. There are short cuts to find, or you can just plow through the park, parking decks or the hillside. The crazier you drive, the more tips your passenger will throw at you. Try driving on the other side of the road and threading the needle against oncoming traffic. Just be ready for the insults your passenger will hurl at you if you hit traffic.

Once the main timer runs out, you'll be graded based on the number of customers you picked up and delivered as well as the amount of fare you earned. You'll be reward with a class license based on your results. The best rating is Crazy License ($20,000 to $99,999) and the worst is an E class license ($.001 to $.999) or nothing at all.

If you are tired of playing the basic game, you can opt to play the all new Crazy Box. This is a collection of mini games, but these also help you hone your skills using some of the other techniques. My recent playthrough of these games was pretty ugly as I couldn't pull off the moves I needed to be successful.

Some of the mini games, like this one, require you to get your passenger to their destination within a certain time frame. In addition to that you have to stay on the road and out of the ocean. Sounds easy, right? Well this is one of those levels where if you haven't perfected the Crazy Drift you'll struggle as the road gets narrower and narrower the closer you get to the end.

Other mini games aren't as tough on you and puts you in a large arena with 20 large balloons you have to bust. You'll be able to use the Crazy Dash and Crazy Drift to help you accomplish your goal within the time limit.

Crazy Taxi is as fun today as it was nearly 16 years ago when I first played it. It's got a rockin' soundtrack thanks in part to the Offspring and Bad Religion, though if you play it a lot then the tunes may get on your nerves a bit. To me this is one of those games that is fun to play in small doses. You won't want to sit down for hours and play this...or at least I wouldn't. However it's a great game to play here and there or with friends to compete for the best class license.

The game went on to receive several ports on different consoles and even on a few handhelds like the Game Boy Advance and PSP...however the Dreamcast is the best version hands down. It features all of the original music and even the product placement of such brands as KFC, Tower Records and Fila. If you've never played it, what are you waiting for?! It's not that expensive on the secondary market so go and grab you a copy.

New Acquisitions: January 2017

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