SNK’s Neo Geo AES!!!

March 8, 2015 by stopXwhispering

Those of you following my instagram might already have gotten a sneak-peak at my latest addition to my collection. This one is a huge one! :D My friend theSegaDude delivered once again and let me buy his SNK Neo Geo AES collection!! After he got himself the MVS arcade cabinet he didn’t feel he needed to keep the AES as well, and he was kind enough to offer me to buy it first :D Thank you Eric!!!!!!! I’m lucky to have such wonderful retro gaming friends ^___^

The Neo Geo AES came with two original arcade controllers and 30 games!! I’m stoked ^_^ Here’s what the system looks like:

The design looks just like I expected but it’s a little bit bigger than I thought, since I had the Neo Geo X gold limited edition system I thought that this one was an exact replica, but it’s in fact a bit smaller than the original AES :) Here’s what the arcade stick look like, they’re a bit worn but works perfectly ^_^ One of them even came in a box! :D

I haven’t gotten the time to try all of the games out yet, but I’ve tried a few. I’m working on a video of some that I played with my friend NinjaBrite the other day, the rest you will see whenever I’ve had the time to play them :) Meanwhile, here’s some pics of all the boxes :D There’s of course a lot of Fighting games which the Neo Geo is famous for, and that’s not really my thing but there are other games as well! ^_^ (To all of you fighting game fans I apologize, I won’t be putting any focus on these games right now since it’s just not my genre of choice, if there is however a fighting game below that you would want me to try out and write about then let me know) ;)

Blue’s journey is a game I’m interested in trying! Since I love platform games this one might be right up my alley ^_^

Cyber-Lip was the first game I tried out. I played it through with NinjaBrite, not once but TWO times! It’s kind of like Contra, except you can’t shoot diagonally >-< The only bad thing about it is basically that it’s a bit short, otherwise it’s a nice little sidescrolling action game with pretty cool cutscenes ^__^

Crossed Swords is also a game I think I might enjoy, haven’t tried this one out yet though :)

I have also played some Eightman in two player co-op mode with NinjaBrite, and this was a really great one! A bit hard though, and we didn’t manage to finish it.. you didn’t have unlimited continues which a lot of other Neo Geo AES games offer..

We also tried out Ghost Pilots. The graphics were nice and it’s co-op, but it got extremely repetitive. You have unlimited continues so eventually you’re not even paying attention any more.. it got kind of boring..

I haven’t tried Magician Lord on the AES yet, but I’ve played it through on the Neo Geo X Gold, it’s a great sidescrolling adventure game :D Difficult, but the unlimited continues makes it easier ^^ There’s still so much variation in the stages and such that it keeps you going out of curiousity to see the ending :D I made a video about the ridiculous lines with voice-overs in this game, you can check out that video here on my youtube channel >>

I’ve been told that NAM-1975 is a good one, I’m eager to try this one out ^__^

I’m also excited to try Ninja Combat ^_^

I have also played some Sengoku with NinjaBrite. Great co-op game, but really really odd! :D It reminded me of Shiten Myooh for the Sega Mega Drive, in the fact that you had several characters you could switch between, but they could die and then you would loose them. You also picked up orbs that you had no clue what they did ;D Just like in Shiten Myooh! haha Kind of trippy game, but I recommend it! :D

From this one, The Super Spy, I’m not sure what to expect, haven’t tried it out yet. It could be good, but it could also be bad ;D

That’s all for my Neo Geo update right now. I will return with more once I’ve gotten the time to play some more games ^__^ I’m extremely happy to finally have the AES, and a BIG THANK YOU goes out to Eric, theSegaDude :D

Amiga 500! Deliverance, Lionheart, Cannon Fodder etc.

March 7, 2015 by stopXwhispering

I have apparently completely forgotten to write about my Amiga 500, it’s soon two years since I got it! I did however at that time take a bunch of pictures of it! So here’s what it looks like ^_^ I even got a brown plastic hard case for it as well :D

After I got it I also bought a couple of games for it. I still haven’t tried all of them out, some required a mouse and I didn’t have one at the time, so I just kind of forgot about it.. But Cannon Fodder is a lot of fun, I mainly got it because my fiancé used to play it as a kid, and I was hoping he would be happy seeing it again ^_^ The other games that I did try (Universe and Space Hulk) were not as fun as advertised by the covers ;D Altered Beast is always a favorite of mine though! Great game, and I think I remember this port to be pretty decent :)

Just like a month ago I started buying more games for the Amiga 500 again :) You might have seen some of my instagram updates with Exolon and Switchblade II. Exolon didn’t have a working disc, but just last week I received two more discs from the seller, so hopefully there will be one that works! Been so excited to try that game out because the cover art is awesome!! :D Just look at that closeup of his face! The same goes for Switchblade II, I love these retro box arts :)

Apart from these two games I’ve also gotten Deliverance, Lionheart, Silkworm, ST Dragon, Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, Xenon 2 Megablast and Wizball! All of these were great games! I’ve decided not to just buy games based on the cover any more for Amiga 500, because there are so many games for it, and I don’ wanna end up with crappy ones. So I have now at least checked out some screenshots of the game before buying it. This only goes for Amiga though, Nintendo and Sega and all the other consoles I still go by the box art or the name of a game. I like being surprised ;D

Deliverance and Lionheart were particularly striking games! I wish I had a way of capturing screenshots from them when I played them… Really great looking games, Deliverance had a bit stiff controls but it was just so cool! :D Lionheart had amazing sprites and beautiful sceneries, and the controls were really advanced even though you just had a stick and a button to work with!

ST Dragon was a cool sidescrolling shmup :) Xenon 2 Megablast was also a good shmup, but I preferred ST Dragon.

I really prefer the NES version of TMNT to the Amiga 500 one..

Somebody recommended Wizball to me, I didn’t quite get it though.. I thought the controls were really awkward and I just kept dying >_<

The best thing about Silkworm is that it’s a 2-player co-op game! :D It sucks being the Jeep though >_<

That’s all for my Amiga update right now :) I bet I will get some more games for it eventually ^_^ I like the system, but it still feels a bit more like a computer than a video game console.. but I still like the retro games on there :) So I will keep collecting!

Sci-Fi World 2015 – Malmö

March 1, 2015 by stopXwhispering

This saturday I went to Malmö to visit the Sci-Fi World convention! It felt a bit bigger than the last Sci-Fi World i attended in Helsingborg. The place was a lot bigger and they had vendors selling game and movie merchandise, cosplayers, celebrities signing autographs and doing Q&A, games setup to play, retro game retailers, fan-art and fiction and much more! Here’s some pictures from the day of things I found interesting ^_^

First up is a bunch of different cosplayers. There was a lot of Star Wars, all kinds of troopers, Stormtroopers, Scout troopers, Sandtroopers and also Jawas, Darth Maul, Vader, the Emperor and much more :) There was also some comic book character cosplay, and game characters. The last image of cosplayers here I’m not quite sure what characters they are, but they looked really cool ^__^

There was so much awesome stuff for sale, everything from movies, anime, manga, games, clothing, toys, action figures and other merchandise. Here’s some pics of some of the cool stuff for sale :)

This cap was my favorite! Too bad I don’t wear caps, otherwise I would have bought it and probably been rockin’ it right now! :D

I think these old vintage toy figures are adorable and some are right out hilarious! Like this Tarzan figure! What’s that pose?! hahaha ^_^ It’s always really nice and nostalgic to walk around conventions like this, you get reminded of so many things, like Alf! Completely forgot about him ^^

This Star Trek poster was 35 years old, and it says on the post-it note that it’s in “excellent condition” haha ^_^ Do you agree?

One of my favorite vendors was of course Pappas Pärlor! He makes some really awesome bead art! I love the lamps and the paintings with fuse bead sprites in them ^_^ So well placed! I adore the Peach/Contra mash-up! The bear punch is hilarious :D And yes, I got that pretty Samus Aran lamp ;D It will fit nicely into my retro game room! ^_^ Go check out Johan on instagram @pappasparlor :)

Apart from merchandise and art there was also some retro games for sale!! :D Retro Play and Pixel K.A.F.E had stands with only retro video games ^_^ And there were some other vendors that had a bunch of Gamecube, PS2 and Xbox games :) I bought some retro games at Sci-Fi World, I will make another post soon with all my pickups! But here’s some pics of some of the stuff that was up for sale :D

You could also play games at Sci-Fi world! They had TV’s setup with everything from the NES to Wii U ^_^ They even had an NES Power Pad with Athletic World that you could try out :D

No sci-fi convention is complete without props from actual sci-fi movies ;D Here’s the Alien hand from the Alien movie, the gun from Terminator 2 and Ewok hands! :D There was lots more, but these were things that I cared for ^_^

I also attended 2 Q&A’s for the first time! It was with Ray Park who played Darth Maul in Star Wars Episode One, he was really funny ^_^ The other guy was someone from Games of Thrones (which I’ve never seen..) so it wasn’t as special to me.. but I got a good shot, so maybe someone recognizes him ;D I’m really sad I missed the Q&A with Danny Glover :( But that took place the day after >_<

That’s all for now, I’ll be back soon with the pickup update ^_^

Japanese Nintendo 64 (N64) games

February 2, 2015 by stopXwhispering

I’ve never really liked the Nintendo 64. I’ve always found for example 16-bit graphics to be much more appealing than the awkward 3D graphics of the N64. I also never liked the controller, the stick is so “wriggly” and loose and there’s way too may buttons on the controller! haha ^_^ And the three handles?! How are you supposed to hold it?? ;D

Then again, I never played a lot of games on the system. The only memories I have are from loosing continuously against my boyfriends little brother in Golden Eye 007 back when it was new, and that was extremely annoying >_< We also played a bit of Diddy Kong Racing back then which was fun though. I recently started giving it a little more attention, mainly since I found that there are also a few 2D games and puzzle games on the system ^_^ It started with the Pokémon Puzzle League game that my friend Gabriella showed me, it was so much fun! Then I also started looking up the japanese scene for the N64 and here are the games I have gotten so far:

Rakuga Kids, a 2D fighting game with the quirkiest characters and cute animations ^_^ This one is quite entertaining even though it’s not as advanced as the regular fighting games like street fighter :) Here’s the back so you can see what it kind of looks like ^_^

Uchannanchan no Honoo no Challenger – Denryu Iraira Bou, the longest name of a game that I have ever encountered ;D It’s a type of puzzle-like game where you have to steer a ball through a maze, it’s also 2D, and gets quite challenging :D The cover is mainly what drew me to it in the first place though ;D Hysterical!

Magical Tetris featuring Mickey Mouse :D It’s basically like Tetris with a few extras thrown in ^_^

I’ve also gotten a few Tennis games. They were quite fun in 2-player VS mode, and didn’t look too horrible on the N64 ;D Also my niece is really into Tennis so I thought it would be fun to play some with her :) I also had to get Mario Tennis 64 of course ^^

Hoshi no Kirby is another classic series, I haven’t tried it out yet, but I’m hoping that the N64 graphics won’t ruin it ;D

I also got some Star Wars games, because STAR WARS! ;D (the top one is Rogue Squadron)

Ganbare Goemon (known as Mystical Ninja over here) is a series that sometimes can be quite enjoyable, I haven’t really tried this one out yet though. Judging from the back it’s unfortunately awkward 3D worlds :/

Then I got some Sumo games, mainly because they were cheap and I liked the cover art :D

Last but not least I picked up a copy of Diddy Kong Racing, I already have it for my PAL N64, I mainly wanted to see if there are any differences in the game ^^ I haven’t really had time to compare the two yet though.

So all my new Japanese Nintendo 64 games got their own little corner in my game room, if I get any more I’m gonna have to get more shelves ;D

I also have 20-something games for my PAL N64, but I haven’t really worked on that collection in the last decade or so.. If anyone has any suggestions of GREAT GAMES for the N64 then please feel free to give me some suggestions ^_^ I have all the regulars like Super Mario 64, Golden Eye (even though I dislike it much), Pokémon Snap and the Castlevania games among others.. but if you know any hidden gems for this system then please let me know :D

Retro Rumble 2014 December Edition!

January 6, 2015 by stopXwhispering

This was the second Retro Rumble of 2014, the previous Retro Rumble took place in July. I had so many great people showing up to play and compete, it was amazing! Here’s some pics from the evening :D

The first game in the competition was Burai Fighter for the NES: highest score on first stage, one life and Ace difficulty :)

The second game in the competition was KatoChan & KenChan for the PC Engine: 1 life, first stage, no clues ;D, highest score.

Third game was Crystal Castles for the Atari 2600: 1 life, highest score. I love this game :D It’s hard but some people managed to master it and reach several levels before dying ^_^

Another game played in the competition was Ayrton Sienna’s Super Monaco GP II on the Sega Mega Drive: First lap on Free Run, Spain course, 7-gear manual, best time :) This time nobody crashed!! I guess it’s easier to crash into the signs in the first Super Monaco GP, this one is a bit more forgiving ;D

Then it was time for the Semi-finals! The four contenders were Klabbe, Gabbi, Super Mario Långben & Murazor! First game up was Spark World on the Super Famicom. This game is fun, and kind of exactly like Bomberman, except you are cars, that shoot sparks, and there’s loads more powerups :D The second game played was Sugoi Hebereke, also on Super Famicom, it’s a super-kawaii brawler with the Hebereke (Uforia) characters ^___^

Last game in the semi-finals was Super Tetris 3 on Super Famicom. After this Klabbe and Super Mario Långben continued on to the Finals!

In the Finals they competed in Nekketsu Kōkō Dodgeball Bu on the PC Engine.

And also Outlaw for the Atari 2600 :D Brilliant game in multiplayer ^__^

And finally the fighting game Ranma 1/2 on Super Famicom. After this we had a victorious Retro Rumble champion!

And this was Super Mario Långben! (to the left) and Klabbe came in second ^_^ I also had a team competition, whoever’s team score came in first won the team-team-team prize!

And here’s the A-TEAM! :D NinjaBrite, Gabbi & MissDeluxxe! Congrats girls ^_^

Thanks everyone for joining in! And special thanks to “Günther McSwaggah“ for helping me handle the camera while I was keeping scores and to Matt8Bit and Meckis for fixing my Magnavox Odyssey 2001! ^___^ We ended the evening playing Tennis and Hockey (Pong.. and Pong with obstacles… lol…)

My Game Room and Collection 2014!

December 19, 2014 by stopXwhispering

I’ve been so busy with work and playing games with friends online lately that I haven’t gotten around to finishing my own video tour of my new Game Room. Thankfully my friends over at GamingGrannar paid me a visit and filmed it for me! :D They have now released all 5 episodes of my retro video game collection.

The first episode covers my Virtual Boy collection and Super Famicom. Unfortunately for all you non-Swedish people all the episodes are in Swedish, but you can still see all the games and stuff, you just might not understand what we’re saying about them ;D Here’s the first episode:

The second episode is covering my PC Engine collection, Dave gets to try out some PC Engine shooters like Cocoron and Download, and we play Katochan & Kenchan:

The third episode is about Famicom and we play some Crisis Force and other games:

The fourth episode is basically a tour of the game room and the setup and Dave gets to play some Vectrex :)

And in the fifth and final episode we go through my Castlevania collection and some Sega Mega Drive games:

There’s still a lot of things that GamingGrannar did not cover, but I’ll continue to post about all my games here on my blog ^_^

Hopefully I’ll get around to finishing my own video tour soon, meanwhile here’s some recent pictures I took of the game room (things haven even changed since they were here this summer) ^_^