She’s Going Down!

I’ve just done a recalculation of my collection… and for all my wheel and dealing, I’m lucky if I broke even at today’s prices!

The above games are an example of what I overpaid/traded for.  Collectively I traded $850 dollars worth of merchandise for these three games… which was an exceptional deal at the time!  Now collectively, these three games sell for around $610… that’s a 29% decrease in price since two years ago.  This is the reason I’m holding off on selling a lung and kidney for games such as Little Sampson, etc.!  I’m like a water : camels compared to NES games : Nintendo Joe.  I can wait dude!

I was missing these guys, so picked them up at the last Barrie Game exchange for a total of $30.  Not the best deal, but I haven’t seen them very often.  Honestly these games blow, but as I said they have been very elusive to my collection.

Back in the day, a guy offered me a mint condition version of this game for $125. Clearly this game was meant only for rich people!  I thought he was out to lunch… am I really going to pay that much to fight bloody carrots?!  Nope, I was going to pay $250 for the experience 4 years later and this was actually a deal even at today’s prices!

Maybe I’m getting old, and am thinking about my retirement in 20 years, but these games are just so damn expensive, and are going down in value!  If only I had invested in Google and Amazon when their stock was low I could quit now!

NintendoJoe1985 and Ultimate_Megatron on Instagram:)

 

 

New Haul!

Last weekend, we went to the Barrie Game Exchange (my wife stayed in the car).  I was able to pick up two NES games that I needed for the collection

This title is the last of the “super cheap” games that I needed.  By super cheap I mean under $10.  Nothing remarkable.  I thought this might be like the board game Taboo which can be a lot of fun, but no this is a game of Tarot cards.  In fact the instructions say not to play this game if you are under 14, and not to take the advice given to you seriously… Nintendo’s way of covering it’s ass if you do something bad based on what the game told you to do.  The music is actually pretty good, but that’s where it stops.  I can see why this is an under $10 game, and can’t believe people actually bought this thing at full price back in the 1980’s.

The game play in Pugsley’s Scavenger Hunt actually isn’t the worst title out there, and this is a way better game than the earlier Addam’s Family.  The controls are actually a lot like Mickey Mouse and the Castle of Illusion on the Sega Genesis in that it’s a platformer where you jump and sit on enemies to dispatch them.  The weird thing is that there is hardly any music in this game, and that’s a major bummer!  Overall I’d give the game a 5/10.

Over all the show was worth the drive, but I don’t understand why dealers bring their very rare/expensive games if they don’t want to actually sell them?  I mean one dude had Little Samson at $1800?!  What moron would fork out that kind of cash?  I’m waiting on the advice of Pat the NES Punk who predicts the game should take a drastic dive in price.  Also this guy had Stadium Events (that wasn’t even for sale) whom said he was going to get graded first.  He valued the game at around $14,000US… I think he’s either extremely high, or that he’s REALLY proud of it! Pricecharting.com values it at under $2700 Canadian dollars, and my collectors app has it at just over $3300 for a good condition copy.  Even this is outrageous considering the same game can be bought with a different label for under $5!  Essentially you are paying for a sticker…. a rare sticker, but just a sticker!  The guy also said that there were only between 35 to 50 copies out there.  Weird how they keep coming up?!!  Every where I look online tells me that the low estimate is 2000 copies.  Oh ya, this guy was real proud of it!

SEGA Corner:  Coincidentally after buying Pugley’s Scavenger hunt on the NES and comparing it to Mickey Mouse, I ended up paying $40 for a complete copy of Castle of Illusion.  This game is awesome… great graphics, sound, and game play… just some good wholesome fun!  I remember back in the 1990’s when I bought it (at full price!) that the Sega Dude thought I was crazy.  Well the jokes on him as this was one of my favorite games on the Genesis!

Retro Game Bros. Score!

If you’ve been paying attention to this blog (and judging by my views, you haven’t), you’re aware of my two Instagram accounts @nintendojoe1985 for games, and @ultimate_megatron for my g1 Transformer collection.  Well the reason I finally signed up for an account came true the other day.  The Retro Game Bros. also have an account, and they showed a recent haul of NES games… one of which I needed!  We negotiated a price, and all that was left was for me to pick it up.

I actually think I’ve seen Die Hard in their store before when I first started collecting, but as it is a rare game and kind of sought after the price tag was probably too high.  I just wasn’t Die Hard material yet.  But honestly this game is in great shape, and I’m proud to have it in my collection…. sort of.  Let’s be honest, this is a terrible game!  The graphics aren’t much better than an Atari 2600 title.  It reminds me of Berserk except there’s a reason to be playing other than simply surviving.  The music and sound effects are awful and the game is really hard right from the moment you begin.  NES had a lot of great titles, but this one’s a turd!

I had missed this game in the Retro Game Bros. list, but saw it in the store and inquired as to the price.  The price tag on the game wasn’t theirs, but rather from the collector who bought it.  I sure as hell wasn’t paying that price!  Without any negotiation, I was offered a way more than fair price, and I’m a cheapskate!  The offer was better than anywhere I’ve seen including retro video game shows.  Thanks boys, you made my day!  My wife has finally started to respect me now that I own this title.  The best part is that this game isn’t a turd… in fact it is the complete opposite.  It’s very similar to the first Chip and Dale game… just an extension for those of us who loved the original.  Now here’s the thing.  Remember in a previous blog entry I had said that I had a complete Capcom NES library,… and then later on I realized I had made a mistake when I added Ducktales 2, and Snow Brothers I NOW had a complete collection…. well I forgot about this guy.  So now, for REAL-ZEE I have a complete Capcom NES collection.

This Sunday April 7th is going to be a great day.  There is a retro video game exchange in Barrie, as well as a retro toy show in Mississauga.  It will be a full day, and I’m really excited for it… even if it means I’ll miss a mortgage payment or two!

SEGA Corner:  The action at the Retro Game Bros. didn’t stop with the previously mentioned NES titles.  I’m also on the lookout for Sega Genesis games I remember playing with the Sega Dude back in high school.  However they not only need to be in great shape, but also complete which drives the price way up!  I was accused by a guy that “Nintendo Joe shouldn’t be looking at the Sega pile”.  He as a point, though that being said I do stray from time to time… it keeps my relationship with NES fresh, and in the end I always come home.  Nintendo and I have an “open relationship” and often invite other partners into our fun!  I’m not a big fan of beat ’em ups, but Golden Axe was actually a lot of fun.  I didn’t like the sequel as much as it was just more of the same with slightly better graphics.  Forgotten Worlds is a classic two player game that I actually played semi-recently and thought that it stood the test of time.  The false god you have to defeat is way cooler though than the final boss!

Until next time… hell maybe even after the game exchange next week!

Nintendo Joe

Emergency Surgery!

You’ll have to excuse me, but I’m just coming out of surgery and I’m happy to say it was a complete success!  In my last post, I had mentioned that we were expecting a special surprise to be delivered in the mail, and last Monday it arrived!  This was much quicker than expected, as usually mail from the U.S. takes forever to clear customs.  I’ve had instances where it’s taken five weeks to be delivered to my house.  The dude I bought it from, Armageddon Potato at Nintendo Age was great at communicating with me, and completely upheld his end of the bargain.   I wouldn’t hesitate to do business with him again in the future!

This is it… Cowboy Kid!  Don’t be deceived by the label… I must say it looks like that of a pornographic film!  This is an RPG-like game that reminds me of a wild west version of River City Ransom.  You make your way around, collecting loot, upgrading weapons, and defeating enemies.  It’s actually one of the more underrated games on the NES that not that many people have.  I can’t blame them though as the price tag was quite high for a piece of plastic from 1992.  However Armageddon Potato was willing to part with it for a reasonable price that was far from top dollar… and now it’s in the collection!

There was however a bit of a scare.  When I shook the cartridge (as I often do), there was a big rattle.  Something was jarred loose, and it made me sick with worry!  Was the game going to make it?  Only time would tell.

The worst thing was, I didn’t have the necessary tools to perform surgery on this NES cart.  I needed to order a 3.8mm retro gaming screwdriver from Amazon… and somehow ended up with an Amazon Prime free trial account.  But at least my baby wouldn’t have to suffer for long, as Prime customers get expedited shipping for free.  It took two days for these surgical instruments to arrive, and not a moment too soon!  Now as this was my first procedure, I didn’t want to practice on an expensive game like Cowboy Kid.  As such, I selected a very expendable game from my collection (Wheel of Fortune) and tried out the procedure first on it.  It was a success, and I felt confident.  I tried it on Cowboy Kid, and I’m happy to say it was a complete success.  In fact you can see in the picture above what was causing all the ruckus.  A piece that helps to hold in the circuit board had been jarred loose somehow.  It wasn’t a big deal, as games can survive with this being removed.

The game is all patched up, and well on it’s way to recovery in my basement!  We are all relieved over here, and welcome a new healthy game to our collection.

SEGA Corner:  I cam across this video and thought it was kind of funny.

Until next time,

Nintendo Joe

Instagram Influencer!

Last January my wife and I went to the Ontario Collectors Con in Mississauga and had heaps of fun!  My only complain was that it was a little Star Wars heavy… I mean nearly every booth had Star Wars something or another.  Don’t get me wrong… I love Star Wars (except The Last Jedi which is trash), but there were hundreds of other great toys too… and video games!  Unfortunately while there were quite a few vendors selling NES games, there were none that I needed for my collection.  This was a shame as many of the dealers had great prices.  For example, Super Mario 3 went for $12 at one table which is a pretty good price for this game!  In fact Super Mario 3 is my bench mark game.  When I walk into a store or retro game show, I’ll look to see how SM3 is priced.  If it’s priced well/fairly, then I’ll look a lot more closely at what the vendor is selling.  If the price is too high, then I know not to really bother as his/her other games are probably over priced as well… this results in merely a quick skim of the merchandise.  Alas there was nothing I needed.  There was tons of Genesis games for sale, however the Sega Dude had them all so there is no news on that front.

What I did find was these two G1 Transformers that have eluded my collection all these years!  This is Scoop and Needle Nose.  The plastic is in great shape, however many of the decals have seen better days.  Plus they are missing their weapons, and as they are both Target Masters that’s kind of a big deal… but at $15 for both it wasn’t really a big decision to make.  The purchase also sparked an interest in Instagram so I’ve started two accounts.  One is nintendojoe1985 which is obviously about my NES collection, and the other is ultimate_megatron which features my G1 Transformers.  It’s not really that big a deal (other than since I was a little boy I wanted to be a Instagram influencer/sensation), however it allows me to relive the memories and gives new meaning to the games/toys.

A new NES game has been purchased, and should be on it’s way from the United States.  If you thought Color a Dinosaur was good (it isn’t)… this one blows it out of the water!  I’ll post about it when it arrives!

Sega Corner:  I was over at the Sega Dude’s house the other day, and he showed me this game on his PS4.  It looks amazing and I’ll have to give it a go some day!

Until next time,

Nintendo Joe

 

New Acquisition!

Wow have I ever been getting hits from Australia… G’day mate, how about we toss another shrimp on the barby!  Sorry, even though this Paul Hogan travel advertisement is SOOOO cliche, it not only dates me, but is still kind of funny?!  I mean after all, Crocodile Dundee put Australia on the map for most of us North Americans… well that and that Lex Luther, the evil villain from Superman wanted to rule the continent!

I picked up this little bad boy from JJgames.com.  It was advertised as “stickers on cartridge”, and I wish I only paid what the sticker asking price was (probably in the 1990’s).  Unfortunately, this worst ever Nintendo Entertainment System game goes for A LOT more these days!  That being said, the advertised price was fair for today’s value, plus I had a discount as a repeat customer, so it made the price even better!  But ya, it is a really dumb game where you actually have to shade in different dinosaurs… I believe within a time limit to win the game, but then again I’m only speculating as I’ve never played it, and never will!

While we are on the topic of JJgames, it is of note to mention that they sold their copy of Little Sampson for an asking price of $1350US… now this doesn’t include any discounts they may have offered to certain customers, but even at my rate the game was too expensive!  C’mon Pat (whose an NES punk!)… let your prophecy come true!  It’s a $400 dollar game, no more, no less!

For Christmas, I bought a download of Cuphead for the Segadude and I must say that I have really enjoyed playing it with him!  The graphics are in a 1930’s cartoon style are so much fun!  Now I must admit that as a big time old school Disney fan, I’m a bit bias, but I love it!  It is boss heavy, very difficult, yet super fun… if you have an Xbox One, I highly recommend it!  I will not rest until I have collected all those souls!

There has been an article in the Toronto Star about video game addiction… well as far as I’m concerned suck it up dude!  It’s not like you are sticking a needle into your vein!  Just stop playing!  I’m sure easier said than done, but c’mon, fortnite isn’t THAT good!  I must say though that it has inspired some pretty cool dance moves that all the kids know almost professionally!  The article about video game addiction… specifically related to fortnite can be found here.

Anyways, apparently the Sega Dude has a bunch of extra blank cases that have a tab on the top… I guess that is a big deal?!?  Anyways I’m supposed to bring over all my Sega Master System games over to his place soon so I can upgrade them!  Awesome!

Until next time,

Nintendo Joe

Change in Direction?!

Lately I’ve been pondering where this blog is going.  I haven’t exactly been keeping up with the theme of Nintendo, or even retro video gaming in general.  The reason is that my NES finds are very few, and far between.  If I posted only an acquisition, I would likely have a biannual entry.  That’s why I’ve been talking about current events and goings on along with my hobby news… and while I haven’t received any criticism, I’m not sure it is appreciated among my legions of loyal followers.  Although I’m not usually needy, I’m asking for feedback in the comments section.  While I get extremely excited about new NES acquisitions, I also really enjoy putting out there what I think about the current climate.  What I might end up doing is putting the retro video gaming section news first, and my additional comments later so you aren’t forced to read them.  Here it goes.

I’ve noticed a flaw in my “mint” Gaiares game for the Sega Genesis that I picked up last week.  There is a slight gouge on the back of the cover through the UPC code.  It is a very minor flaw, but honestly I’m not sure I would have picked it up (even at the discounted rate) if I had been aware.  I’m usually better than this, but I must have been caught up in the big discount.  Perhaps I’ll swap the cover for the Sega Dude’s when he isn’t looking!

My wife gave me the news the other day that they have made a Primus themed pinball machine.  While I appreciate pinball for it’s arcade nostalgia, I never really was into it.  That being said I loved Primus in high school!  That Les Claypool has to be one of the best bassists in alternative rock.  My favorite song has to be Tommy the Cat, but I think Jerry was a Race Car Driver would be a better theme for the pinball machine.  Honestly, the machine looks rather weak in it’s play-field, but a Primus themed version lead by front man Les Claypool who played a fretless bass guitar and tuned the thing as part of the song’s progression gives it reason to notice.  He might not be the best bass player of all time, but at least he was the best of the music genre!

Have you checked out the copy of Little Samson on JJgames.com lately?  It’s actually gone UP in price for no apparent reason.  It currently sells for $1873US on the site… what’s going on over there?!  In fact all of the major online retro gaming sites have outrageous prices… jjgames.com, lukiegames.com, gamestreet.ca, goodtimegames.ca…. I mean if they are getting what they are asking, then more power to them… but there is no way in Hell I’m paying those prices!

That’s me on the right on Halloween.  I went out as the infamous manager of the heavy metal band GWAR, entrepreneur extraordinaire, Sleazy P. Martini.  That guy has confidence like no one else!  If you need anything… and I mean anything!  You have but to ask Mr. Martini.  He ran for president back in the 1990’s, and the country would have been run into the ground even faster than Donald Trump is currently leading it!  That takes dedication!

 

What do these women all have in common?  All four of them are token female NFL correspondents during regular broadcasts on various channels. My wife and I argue about this all the time, but as most of you know, I am a feminist…

Pvt. Vasquez

… for as you know (if you are a follower of this blog), Private Vasquez is my favorite Colonial Space Marine from the movie Aliens!  I’m a fighter for female equality, and personally I’m offended that these female NFL correspondents get such a lousy role!  I mean if the NFL was serious about incorporating women into their broadcasts, there would be at least ONE in their main sportscasters!  Now before you jump all over me, not all the great ones are ex-players.  I don’t believe the infamous Joe Buck every played on an NFL team… yet he is one of the premiere announcers.  Now honestly I don’t mind a dominantly male cast calling an exclusively men only league, but let’s not pretend to care about diversity when it’s so bloody obvious that they don’t!

That’s all for now,

Nintendo Joe

 

 

More Sega Corner!

 

This is a current Ebay listing for Little Samson for a whopping $899US!  Are you kidding me… with that kind of label damage this thing isn’t worth the space it takes up in the landfill!

Wow… jjgames.com is now charging a whopping $1928.75US for their copy of Little Samson!  Clearly, old man JJ doesn’t believe in Pat the Nes Punk’s prediction on the trend of prices in retro game collecting!  I could swear that two weeks ago the price on the same site was about $150 less… what are they thinking over there?!

There has been so much demand for the Sega Corner department on this blog, and as such I’m happy to announce a new/big development.  The Retro Game Bros., were having a Black Friday sale at their store this past weekend, and I must say that their discounts were pretty exciting… so much so in fact that both the Sega Dude and I traveled to the store together on a big date!  How could I resist a 40% discount on all NES games?!  Unfortunately they didn’t have any heavy hitters, but they did have a copy of the Namco version of Ms. Pac-Man.  However there was a bit of label damage and if you follow this blog, you’ll know my feelings about imperfect labels (glorified pieces of trash).  I am a proud label snob!  Anyways this copy of Gaiares for the Sega Genesis was picked  up for a great price…. considering the game goes for $128 on price-charting.com, I got a 60% discount (you do the math) for a complete and mint copy of this title that I used to think was groundbreaking when it first came out.  I want to say that I paid $110 for the game back in 1990 which was/is crazy expensive, but I got my money’s worth out of it as I played the crap out of it.  Renovation really had some great games like this one, and Granada, but also had some real duds like Earnest Evans… I actually almost bought this game for the Sega Dude thinking he didn’t have it, but the guy fortunately wouldn’t take my offer of $30.  As it turns out, not only does this game really suck, the Sega Dude already has it in his collection.

I think I already did a bit on this game last year, but as I received this game as a gift the other day I thought I would talk about it again.  The original US version was called Target Earth and was awesome as it had a cheat in the game that allowed you to acquire every weapon the game had to offer after the first stage.  The Mega Drive version did not have this option, and as the game was REALLY hard, it was nearly impossible to beat.  But man was it every fun!  Though this re-released version of the game has been out for a while on the PS4, I really want to play it now!

Did I mention I purchased an over the air PVR which makes the NFL experience 100x better!  I realize this isn’t a sports blog, but seriously… no more commercials and lousy commentary that no one but my brother-in-law cares about!  My life just exponentially improved!

This is my boy Branson and he’s a real Marine in that he wants to kill everything he sees… except most people, but there are even a few of those whom he would like to meet in a dark alley some day!  I’ll be honest in that I’ve not really done a great job in training him, and most of the time it feels like he’s my master in that I let him on the couch to cuddle with, and that he whines when you don’t pet him hard enough.  He’s a big suck most of the time, but it wasn’t always this way.  I had to dominate him when we first brought him home.  He wouldn’t stop barking, and at one point jumped on my back… I remember looking at my wife saying what do I do now?!  I don’t believe in hitting people and especially dogs, so that option was off the table.  What I did was whip around, and yell in my battle cry voice “ENOUGH!”… since then he doesn’t give me too much grief.  In fact he treats me like the second coming of Christ every day I come home after work! Anyways we’ve had this monstrous beast living with us for the past 6 years, and as such I’ve learned a lot about him… such as:

Favorite Book:  Cujo by Stephen King

Favorite Movie:  Air Bud… Ole Yellar was a close second, but we always cry at the end!

Favorite NFL team:  Clevland Browns… dog pound!

Favorite NHL team:  Phoenix Coyotes

Favorite NBA team:  Minnesota Timberwolves

Favorite University:  Georgetown… go bulldogs!

Favorite Song:  Who Let the Dogs Out by the Baha Men.

Favorite Comedian:  Triumph the insult comic Dog… honestly I love this guy too.  Although his best work was at the premiere of Star Wars episode 2, and he was also great when he appeared on Hollywood Squares, and when he handled that douche bag Eminem… I must say that his newest political roasting is fantastic!  The world is for Triumph to poop on!

Does anybody actually care about the Canada Post rotating strikes?!  It has literally zero effect on me.  What they should do is destroy 10% of all packages they receive… that would get people’s attention!  The fact that we all get mail delivered to our door in Toronto is just a bonus that most others don’t get.

 

That’s all for now.  Until next time,

Nintendo Joe

 

Waiting for the Big Score!

First of all, I promise that I won’t mention the NFL in this post.  Even though I love it, and NFL Sundays are my favorite day of the week, I realize that many of you don’t share the same passion.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, my friend Pat the NES Punk predicts that the prices of rare NES games are going to come drastically down.  This is good news because there is no way I’m paying what they want for these few titles.  I also agree with Pat when he says that Little Samson isn’t nearly as “rare” as people claim it is.  I see it at almost every game swap that I go to, and never once have I ever seen a sale.  This tells me that people aren’t interested.  I mean according to Video Game Price Charting, the game goes for over $1400CAN… and JJgames.com is charging $1785US, give me a break dude!  Pat predicts the game will go down to around the $400 mark.  I’m still not happy (and maybe never will be), but at least I don’t have to sell both kidneys to purchase it!  So yeah,  I’m going to hold out for the most expensive games… even if I have to wait several years.  My collection thus far is awesome, and will have to do for the foreseeable future.  I still look forward to going to game swaps and stores, however I will not be bringing in wads of cash.  My soul is for sale though if that means anything to you!

My over the air PVR came in the mail the other day. It is a Mediasonic Homeworx model and cost $80CAN after shipping.  This is just the basic model, but from what I can tell the only thing that separates it from the much more expensive version is that it can’t record more than one show at once.  Who cares as I hardly watch network TV anyways!  It took me a while to set up as the instructions for how to record were very poor.  However thanks to my nerd skills and a couple of beers I was able to figure it out.  I can now watch regular TV on a slight delay and skip the commercials!  I didn’t think it could be done, but Judge Judy just got even better!  Give ’em hell Judith!

The other day I was picking up a package from the post office, and when I got back into my car, this teenage punk started staring at me like he wanted to fight.  He started staring at me… I mean right bloody at me!  Now I’m not one for violence, but at the end of the day I’m just another bloke with a pool cue… (this line was inspired by Francis Begbie from the movie Trainspotting and has been made appropriate for family viewers… the real version is much better though!).  Anyways we traded glares and went on our separate ways.  I don’t think I project the image of as tough guy who wants to fight, but then again I have Scottish/Irish in my blood so who knows?!  I can honestly say that in my 43 years of life, I’ve been lucky enough to never have gotten into a real fight in my personal life (karate doesn’t count as it is controlled).  I just can’t help but wonder why this kid wanted to have anything to do with me?  Teenage angst I suppose.  Anyways it gave me a good rush!

I’m getting pretty tired of YouTube commercials… especially now that they are doubling up in hopes of getting paid subscribers!  That being said, I have released my latest update on an edit to a film that I feel makes it far superior to the original.  My thing is this… Star Wars:  The Last Jedi in my opinion was the absolute WORST of the franchise… even Phantom Menace was better.  This was just pure crap, so what I did was edit out all the bad parts, and although my version is much shorter, I do believe it is superior!  If Disney is looking for some redirection, the Sega Dude and I are ready to quit our jobs and come on over to give you a hand on saving the franchise!

Until next time,

Nintendo Joe

Best Buy, Red/Blue States

I was in Best Buy the other day because I have been looking to buy a PVR that doesn’t require a cable subscription.  We cut our cable over ten years ago and haven’t looked back since!  I do miss watching a Raptor game every now and then, but for the amount of money that this would cost for either a Bell or Rogers account (both are evil entities run by Satan by the way) just isn’t worth it.  I’m satisfied with my over the air antenna which gets 23 channels… most of them reliably in excellent quality.  The three channels that I need are CTV, CTV2, and Fox as these carry the NFL games that I love to watch on Sunday afternoons.  I want a PVR as I am so tired of watching the endless commercials during games.  They are mind numbing!  I figure I’ll start taping the game at 1pm, then start watching around 2:30pm so that I’ll be caught up (sans commercials) by the end of the game.  Genius right, we’ll see… any ways Best buy didn’t carry such a device in their stores, but they did have a new antenna that supposedly had a 115km range.  Even at a pricey $224, I thought this would be a good investment.  I set it up, and literally put it right in front of my $60 antenna.  It was WAY WAY worse!  Even the normally reliable channels would be sketchy.  I didn’t hesitate to take this piece of crap back!

I had some time to kill while I was in the store, so I thought I would mosey over to check out the latest PS4 games and came across Red Dead Redemption 2.  From what I hear, this game is quite good, and I must say I really enjoyed the first chapter on the Xbox 360… at least for a while.  I found the game was a bit repetitive, and didn’t really have much of a finale at the end.  However I’m interested in seeing the sequel as they made a big deal about it on last weeks episode of South Park.   I haven’t seen it yet, but apparently Officer Yates was upset at all the school shootings happening lately, as it took him away from playing Red Dead Redemption 2.  Quite disturbing, but I would expect nothing less from my boys at South Park!

I found a map of the United States for everyone to help them determine if the State they are travelling to is acceptable or not.  Blue States are good, red states are bad, and green states are neutral.  I’m happy that unsurprisingly New York went blue as it means I can still visit my relatives in Buffalo.  I’m disappointed that Wyoming went red, as I really wanted to go on a cattle drive vacation over there next summer.  Most disappointing however is my beloved Florida.  Why man… WHY?!  I loved you Florida, and this is what you do to me?!

 

 

I’ve joined a jujitsu club called Silver Back Gorilla in mid Scarborough as a colleague of mine was telling me how much he enjoyed it.  I did the free trial, and got my ass handed to me.  I was sore for the entire next week afterwards with bruises all over my chest and arms.  I was later told by the lead instructor (pictured above) that the reason I got hurt was because I was trying too hard without knowing the techniques properly.  So I tried again last Thursday and he was correct.  I didn’t try to muscle my opponent as much, but rather focused on the technique and it seemed to have better results.  I signed up for the next three months, and the first thing I plan on doing afterwards is choking out the Sega Dude over at Retro Megabit!

 

 

SEGA Corner: I noticed that there was an $80 price tag on Red Dead Redemption 2.  At first I thought this sounded really high as what kid has this much money to blow on a game… but then I remembered the $90 – $100 the Sega Dude and I paid for Japanese Megadrive games back in the early 1990’s.  I couldn’t have asked my parents for the money as the definitely would have emphatically said “NO!”.  Thus I must have relied on my only source of income… my Toronto Sun paper route which paid about $10/week.  I think I was paid about 30 cents a paper… that’s a lot of deliveries I had to make just for an early copy of Thunder Force 3 and Mickey Mouse!  At least they were both awesome games!

Until next time,

Nintendo Joe