The Panasonic 3DO and thoughts about collecting CD-based systems

April 2, 2016 by stopXwhispering

I just invested in another CD based system, namely the Panasonic 3DO. I’ve heard this console being mentioned from time to time, but I haven’t really been looking to get one. A few weeks ago a friend on facebook contacted me and was selling off some of his retro games and among other things there was a Panasonic 3DO. Since it also had a fair amount of games with it I just figured, why not? ^_^ So now I have a collection for Panasonic 3DO as well! I have just finished going through cleaning and scanning everything, I’m hoping I’ll get some time to try it out this evening or perhaps tomorrow.

As some of you might know, I’m not too fond of CD-based systems. Especially the awkward beginning of the 3D-era, like Playstation 1 and Sega Saturn. Of course there are A FEW good games that have been made for these systems, but when it comes to the triangular polygons and shitty controls that usually comes with these systems I just don’t find the joy in playing them. I don’t think the Panasonic 3DO will be much different, but I won’t know until I’ve tried! :) In my opinion there were better games back on cartridges. I think it might be because then they had limited space on the cartridge memory to store a game. Which meant they couldn’t make very big games and that made them put a lot of effort into the game design, like how to place enemies, obstacles, platforms to make it more challenging. Castlevania is an excellent example of good game design where they managed to make it really challenging, but still manageable. I’m not saying there weren’t any shitty games on cartridges, of course there were, but so many more good ones. However today, even if the graphics are more realistic and there’s a thousand more features in games, they still add like hundreds of hours of game play which is just the same thing over and over again just to level up a bit more or get better gear so you can advance. Destiny or newer Final Fantasy games are typical examples of where they fill out the game with repetitive grinding, and I don’t think that makes for a better game. I would much rather be able to finish a game in an hour, but it will take me 10 hours of practice before I manage to beat it, it’s much more rewarding than having run around doing the same thing for 50 hours to get a better gun.. And when it comes to early CD games, it feels like they were more focused on exploring new 3D graphics than actually making a FUN and PLAYABLE game…

Another reason that I’m opposed to collecting CD-games is the durability. I’m not sure how well these old games that are 20-30 years old will hold up in say 20 years. Will they still work? I have less faith in CD-based systems. They are prone to break more often, lasers and other parts are sensitive and CDs might stop working eventually. Will there still be spare parts available to fix these old systems in the future? I believe more in cartridges, but even they might have a limited life-time. If you look at the Atari games that was dug up in Mexico though, and still works (!), it sure speaks for the durability of cartridges compared to CDs. I don’t think a CD could have been salvaged from there.. I sure hope all my games work until my grandkids are around though so they get to try them out! ;D It would be a shame if all they had to play was VR!

Anyway, back to the Panasonic 3DO. I’m apparently still willing to explore CD-based systems that I haven’t played before, but I think that’s mainly because of my curiosity. I got 12 games with the system, they can be seen here below. I’m completely new to this system, so if anyone has any suggestions of other games that I should look for, that are not shitty, then any suggestion is welcome ;D

Blade Force – Panasonic 3DO

Wolfenstein 3D – Panasonic 3DO

Mega Race – Panasonic 3DO

Super Wing Commander – Panasonic 3DO

Alone in the Dark 2 – Panasonic 3DO

Puzzle Bobble – Panasonic 3DO

Tatsujin – Panasonic 3DO

Total Eclipse – Panasonic 3DO

Scramble Cobra – Panasonic 3DO

Wing Commander III Heart of the lion – Panasonic 3DO

Princess Maker 2 – Panasonic 3DO

Fifa international soccer – Panasonic 3DO

It sure is a clunky looking console XD What are your thought about the Panasonic 3DO? Does anyone else have any experiences of this system?

Ajax TV Game – a super sleek pong console

January 4, 2016 by stopXwhispering

I’ve been on the look out for Pong machines recently, mainly to train my skills before the yearly Swedish Championships of Pong that takes place each year at Retrogathering ^_^ I’ve been attempting to compete since 2014, but haven’t had anything to train on except my Philips Odyssey 2001, which has a quite different feeling than the original Atari Pong console. While scouting for an Atari Pong, like the ones they use in the competition I stumbled upon this beauty on eBay! It was so cheap and yet beautiful that I couldn’t help but buy it ^_^

I’ve never heard of the Ajax TV Games before, it’s from the UK, or at least that’s where I bought it from. It was complete, the box is a bit tattered but the console is in excellent condition! Shining white! It’s also so stylish and well designed! It can run on batteries or a power adaptor (which wasn’t included), and all the outputs for antenna and other chords plus the battery container is hidden behind a sleek compartment where you could also store the controllers, because they’re so tiny! Just look at this beauty ^_^

“Most exciting…fascinating home video games ever built
for your family.”

Ajax TV Games TG-621 in box

Ajax TV Games console box side

Ajax TV Games system box side

Ajax TV Game system

Ajax TV game chord compartment

Ajax TV Game with controllers

Ajax TV Game controller

The controllers really are tiny, one of the controllers is a liiiittle bit slower to turn than the other, but they both work fine. I tried it out for the first time today :)

The machine itself has loads of settings! You can turn the sound on and off, it comes straight from the system and is basically just beeps for when the ball hits the paddle. You can change angles between +-20°/40° or just +-20°, I guess this is how the ball will fly when it hits the edge of a paddle. There’s also two different speeds, H and L, High and Low I guess. You can choose between Auto serve or Manual and you can also set the bat size (the size of the paddle) between L and S, Large and Small.

Apart from this there’s 4 various game modes to choose from, Tennis, Hockey, Handball or Practice mode :)

This sucker takes no less than 6 C batteries to play!!!! Hahaha ^_^ I need to get an adaptor…

When I first tried finding the channel I had trouble. Two of my TVs refused to find it. The second one scrolled through a tuning that looked perfect, but refused to stop there, if I forced it to stop there it went bad again.. and whenever it did stop everything on the screen was warped like I was seeing double.. Eventually I got it working on the third TV though, luckily I have many TVs ;D

Here are the four variations of Pong that can be played on the Ajax TV Game :) I find Tennis to be the most fun one. Handball was kind of different though, I’ve never seen it before on a Pong machine. You take turns on hitting the ball, it gets a bit confusing to see which one is you or who’s turn it is. If the wrong paddle tries to hit it the ball just goes straight through. I would call this squash.. not handball.. XD

I didn’t have anyone to battle with so it was my left hand VS my right hand! (I’m right handed), but I recorded some gameplay of the Ajax TV Game, the first video is a game of Tennis on slow setting, and I was amazed at which hand came out victorious! It was hard focusing on turning the wheel in mirrored ways since I had it in two different hands XD The second video is of first Tennis on high speed and then some Hockey and Handball so anyone who’s interested can see how those look as well :) It was extremely difficult just controlling the paddle with one thumb!

The Ajax TV game system is a great addition to the collection! So pretty and works like a charm! Now I just need to find myself the original Pong console! ^_^

RSM loot part II – Pong consoles & VIC-20!

May 25, 2015 by stopXwhispering

So here’s the second part of my loot from RSM (Retrospelsmässan)! As I stated in my previous post my entire haul was 6 systems and 60 games. Apart from my 2 Atari Lynx consoles I also got a Commodore Vic 20! I’ve never heard of this old computer before, at first sight I thought it was the Commodore 64, the edition that had brown keys, but after having hastily bought it someone told me later on that day that it was in fact an earlier Commodore system which did not play C64 games o_O It’s super pretty and complete with all cables and a cassette drive, I don’t have any games for it though :( :( So trying it out will have to wait…

Commodore VIC-20

Commodore VIC 20 cassette drive

Commodore VIC-20 cassette drive

Commodore VIC-20 keyboard

Commodore VIC-20 cassette deck

I also found a boxed Palladium Tele-Match console. This is an old Pong clone from Germany. It was just so charming and cheap! So I couldn’t pass it up ;D Unfortunately it didn’t have a power cable so I haven’t been able to try it out yet..

I also got another boxed old pong clone, this one is called Mark Color. The system is almost completely minty inside the box, with styrofoam inlays and everything ^_^ I really like the design of this old system ^_^ I also got two games with it, it appears that the game cartridges contain several games that you can choose from on the system. Unfortunately this one lacked a power cable as well so I haven’t tried out either… (click the images to enlarge)

Mark Color detail

Mark Color console

Mark Color console with joysticks

Boxed Mark Color system

Mark Color joystick

Mark Color joysticks

Mark Color Roadrace game

Mark Color Supersport game

And of course I found yet another Pong console clone (I think I’ve gone a bit nuts about Pong machines since I lost the competition at Retro Gathering last year ;D Need some practice!). This one is called TriStar TV Game – Programmable, and I think it’s super pretty ^__^ This one also has cartridges which seem to contain several different games, but no power cord >_< so I will have to wait to try this one out too.. :(

TriStar TV-Game Programmable

TriStar Joystick

TriStar Suberbwipeout game

TriStar SuperSportic game

I find these old systems really charming :) What I really would want is that orginal Pong console though, like the hockey pong from RSM but brown or black ^_^

I’ll start working on my last post about my RSM loot now! This one will cover all the various games I picked up ^__^

RSM loot part I – Atari Lynx!

May 24, 2015 by stopXwhispering

At this years RSM (Retrospelsmässan) I came home with a bigger haul than any previous year ;D In total it was 6 consoles and 60 games o_O That’s the main reason why I’m dividing the loot into several posts, since I’ve only had time to go through and photograph parts of it so far ;D

First up, I came to RSM with the ambition to find an Atari Lynx and a ZX Spectrum. I’ve wanted an Atari Lynx for a long time since I’ve had a few games for it but no way to play them >_< After going through the vendors I didn’t seem to find one though, until I spoke to Martin who claimed to have seen it at a table behind him. This is where I found the first Atari Lynx console, a bit worn on the backside and dirty, but it cleaned up nice and it was cheap ^__^ Somebody else had snagged an Atari Lynx from the same seller just minutes earlier, one in better condition >_< But I’m happy with finding it ^_^

A couple of hours later I showed my Atari Lynx to likilato, and he told me he had seen another Atari Lynx, boxed! So he showed me to the table where I had missed this beauty! This one was the Atari Lynx 2, in box, with power adaptor and a bunch of loose games with it! I couldn’t help myself, had to get this one too!

They’re quite different and both have their pro’s and cons. I’ve spent some time this week trying them out ^_^ The first edition of the Atari Lynx has much louder and way better sound (in my opinion) but the second one has a better screen. The first one is heavier and lies well in your hands, the second one feels lighter and bit cheaper, I like the design better of the second one though ^_^

I already had some of the games that came in the boxed Atari Lynx package though, and I had already bought a few at RSM before I found it as well! There were a few ones I didn’t have though, like Gauntlet, Warbirds, Blue Lightning, Batman Returns, California Games, Electropop, Viking Child and Checkered flag (however this one came in doubles >_<) It kind of bugs me that they’re not boxed though.. since the rest of the ones I have are…

Here’s some of the other Atari Lynx games I picked up at RSM! :D I really enjoyed Gates of Zendocon and Zarlor Mercenaries ^__^ Out of the cartridges I also liked Gauntled (Gauntles is always awesome!), Xenophobe, Batman Returns and Electropop. Electropop had a really cool 3D depth in it! It was a sidescrolling platformer where you could also move forward and backwards into the screen to enter various rooms ^_^

Kung Food – Atari Lynx

Zarlor Mercenary – Atari Lynx

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure – Atari Lynx

Gates of Zendocon – Atari Lynx

Robo Squash – Atari Lynx

S.T.U.N. Runner – Atari Lynx

Steel Talons – Atari Lynx

I’m very happy with my new Atari Lynx collection which I can finally play!!! I didn’t find a ZX Spectrum though :( But I found a BUNCH of other cool things! :D I will make another post soon with the rest ;D

The Vectrex

June 16, 2014 by stopXwhispering

The Vectrex has always been a mystery to me, I haven’t really read up on it or anything, but it has crossed my path of hunting down retro games all over the web more than ones. I’ve always been intrigued and thought many times about whether I should get it on eBay or not. It was always pretty expensive, and I had no clue if I would be able to play it or not (because of power outlets and such). I didn’t even know what to expect from it, but it sure looked cool! :D Recently though a friend found an ad in Sweden from a guy who was selling one! I got so excited I rushed to buy it instantly! I might sound like a total n00b, but I actually prefer not knowing about games and even systems until I get them in my possession, that way I can experience them the same was as I would if they were new, the only thing I basically research when game shopping are the prices so I don’t overpay ^^

This one was originally sold in Sweden (I didn’t even know it was released here!!) and it had a bunch of games and extras :D

The first problem I encountered was how to turn the Vectrex off?! It started immediately when I plugged in the power cord.. but I didn’t wanna change cartridge or move it until I figured out how to turn it off first! I had to google for about 40 minutes before I found out! I discovered an old original users manual for the Vectrex as a PDF that someone had scanned in (THANK YOU!!) and finally read my way to understanding that the volume lever IS ALSO the on/off button. At first I didn’t believe it, because I kept turning it to max and the minimum but nothing happened, but like with any old machinery you have to be patient! After turning the volume knob all the way to the left (turning the volume down) until you hear a click, just leave it there for a little while, the system will power down after all the juice has run out of it! Haha, this was trippy >.<

It has a cartridge slot on the right side of the screen, and that’s where you insert the games. It comes with one built in game as well called MineStorm :D

The system has two controller ports, I got two controllers with the system ^_^ One controller can be folded into the front of the system so it’s not lying around :D The controller is kind of awkward when used though. It’s big and bulky, not really comfortable to hold so the best way to play is to put it in front of you on a flat surface in my opinion.

On the above picture you can see the controller folded into the bottom of the system, it’s got the logo on the back of it :)

I also got 19 games with it, they were:

Armor Attack	Art Master	Bedlam	Berzerk
Blitz!	Clean Sweep	Cosmic Chasm	Flipper Pinball
Fortress of Narzod	Hyper Chase!	Rip Off	Scramble
Soccer Football!	Solar Quest	Space Wars	Spike
Star Hawk!	Star Ship	WebWarp

When I added them to my collection on retrocollect.com it said I had all the games for it, but I haven’t researched it any further. Perhaps there are more games that came out in North America? Then again, I’m not sure whether this system is region free or not…

Every game that I got had it’s overlay! Overlays are a colorful transparent plastic cards that you put in front of the screen to give the illusion that you’re playing in color ;D Since every game displayed on the Vectrex is white on black it sure provides some variation :) My favorite overlays are Bedlam and Scramble:

Here’s some other really pretty ones:

Another amazing accessory I got for the system was the Light Pen! This is used together with the Art Master program. You can Sketch, Connect or Animate ^^ It works amazingly well! :D

If anyone knows if there are more games released for it that I don’t know of, please enlighten me :D

Sega Mega Jet!

October 29, 2013 by stopXwhispering

Since it’s the 25th anniversary for the release of Sega Mega Drive in Japan today (29th of October 1988) I thought I would make a post about one of the variations of the Sega Mega Drive that’s a little bit less known, namely the Sega Mega Jet! Which I have just recently acquired ^_^

The Sega Mega Jet was only released in Japan and it’s basically a semi-portable Mega Drive. It’s small enough to bring along and works as a controller, but it also requires an AC adaptor and an external screen to work, so it’s not really that portable like the pictures on the back suggest:

He forgot to put the big fat AC adaptor and the other cords in
his purple man-purse!

Oh yeah, and if you’re friend is gonna play with you don’t forget to bring an extra controller with your portable console!

Later you can just store it with your diary in the drawer, unless you can’t fit your diary there because of the fat AC adaptor!!

Yeah.. well looking at the back of the box explains it all:

But I’m still happy to have one ^___^

The Sega Mega Jet was originally used for in-flight entertainment on Japanese Airlines. Later a consumer version was released in Japan as well, in 1994. The Mega Jet began the technology behind the Sega Nomad, which was only released in North America.

I found a fun fact on the Sega Wiki: The July 2006 issue (issue 27) of the British publication Retro Gamer stated that the majority of Mega Jets that are owned by private collectors come from an initial shipment hijacked by Indonesian sea-pirates. However, as no supporting information is available, this statement could potentially be an urban myth.

How cool wouldn’t it be if the one I have in my possession was stolen by sea-pirates?! :D I wish to believe it was so ^___^