First Press Games Releasing Two Crazy Shoot ‘em Ups Ginga Force & Natsuki Chronicles

This is a really cool upcoming release in Europe, but that can’t stop you from getting yourself a copy, I did so myself already. If you are a fan of shoot ‘em ups, please click here and head over in order to pre-order these. They have the regular versions for 39.99 Euros as well as the collector editions for 69.99 Euros. I highly recommend these games. Be sure to check out YouTube for some gameplay on these gems. Remember that pre-orders are available till February 21st, so you still have some time to get them. 

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Retro Game of the Week 173: Gradius 3 (SNES)

Another week, another wonderful pic of the week. This time around I will take a look at a SNES classic from the early days of the SNES. This is Gradius 3 and even though we never got Gradius 2 which was released on the Famicom, we did get the first game and had an idea on what we were getting into. This game does look like a remake in a lot of ways, a remake of the first game that is and that's not bad. With brand new 16-bit graphics, we got a lot of awesome things coming. Lets take a look at one of Konami's most memorable series.

Graphics

Graphic wise this game does a splendid job in portraying a wonderful set of colors on screen. The game takes advantage of the amazing 16-bit graphics and definitely takes a moment to acknowledge such beauty. As mentioned before, the game looks like a remake of the first game.

Score: 90%

Gameplay

Get ready to have your fingers blistered. This game will keep you on your toes from beginning to end. Remember that this is the kind of game that requires you to collect the power ups and not die. I highly recommend if you die in the middle of the stage, just start over. You will only be destroyed over and over. The game does have a great power up system that can be really good but also a weakness for the game. It's a shoot 'em up that really doesn't do anything extraordinary, but it's always a lot of fun!

Score: 95%

Sound

This is a really awesome game to listen to. The sound effects are also your typical classic Konami sound which they were known for years. The music is also quite good with your typical shoot 'em up space exploration that your ears will enjoy. Overall, this is an amazing game to listen to, I highly recommend it in high volume !

Score: 90%

Fun FactorThe game is pretty fun! Extremely challenging but pretty good overall. I can see it as an arcade game into a console. This is one of the games that you can pick up and play and have a good time. Of course, you will get frustrated and if you aren't into shoot 'em ups, don't even bother! It's a good beginner shoot 'em up regardless even though it's difficult. You have been warned!Score: 80%
Final Score: 88.75%This is a really awesome game. Overall, not a game that will take hours to beat, well once you practice it wont take hours to beat. It's just one of those pick up and play games. This is a franchise that has been going strong to this day and I highly recommend you try out the previous entries, and the ones that came after. Another one to check out is Gradius Collection and Gradius 3 and 4. One is for the Gameboy Advance while the other one is for PS2. Also, good luck with Gradius 5. Till next week!

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Finds 1430: Kid Icarus European Edition!

Here is a new arrival! I always wanted this version of Kid Icarus. Not for any particular reason for differences or anything, but because I had a chance to get it in one of my trips to Peru, but missed out on it. Overall, very happy with the pick up! Any of you ever played this variation? 

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Deadeus, a New Horror Style Game for the Gameboy!

Well, this totally run under the radar for me so I figure it was time to post about it on here so everyone can have some idea about it. This is Deadeus which is a game that was built from the ground up for the original gameboy. It’s a horror game and has that classic original Gameboy look. The game is available digitally for 12.00 for anyone wanting to get it, but the physical version will be up for pre-order till February 15th which you can get by clicking here. This game has gotten a lot of good reviews and why wouldn’t it, it looks like a lot of work was put into it. 

The game contains 11 different endings which gives it a lot of replayability and gives you more reasons to go back to it. Whatever you decide is what will lead you to a certain ending. 

As you can see, it does look like the Zelda or Pokémon games and that’s really good. I will be getting a physical version of this game as not only will it make a good game to have physically and for the collection, but it’ll help developers like these work on even more new projects. It’s a joy to see these kind of projects being released nowadays. Please support them!

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Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection is Coming!

Nintendo announced that a new Ghost ‘n Goblins is coming February 25th of this year and a lot of people are excited about this new announcement. The game will be available digitally unfortunately but, I’m sure Limited Run Games has their eyes on this one so it’s only a matter of time before we see a physical release from them or other physical publishers. The game has 

As you can see, the game doesn’t come with a pixelated look, but it looks to be a combination of both. You can see the texture of the big monster there to get a better idea. 

Of course, it looks to be a remake of the game which I hope come with lots of extras. Maybe it’ll be something similar like Ultimate Ghost ‘n Ghouls for the PSP. I will keep you posted on more about this game especially if it’s getting a physical release! That would be sick!

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New Repros Added to the Shoppe! Yie Ar Kung-Fu, Verytex, Top Fighters 2000, and Metal Sonic Rebooted!

Happy weekend my fellow retro gamers! Just wanted to post about some brand new additions to the shoppe! Here we have four new additions, some weird and some good. Verytex is an amazing shoot 'em up that was only released in Japan and it's really good. Top Fighters 2000 is so bizarre I actually really got into it! Ever wanted to fight was Michael Jordan or Mohammed Ali? Well, this game lets you do that! Metal Sonic Rebooted is another awesome Sonic hack and it delivers. I already got to world 3 and have been having a blast with it. The last one is Yie Ar Kung-Fu which I'm sure lots of you played in the NES, well this is a port of it for the Genesis. I beat it already! Be sure to click here to visit the shoppe or click on the Shop button on the top of the page, you can't miss it! I have these and many other repros for various consoles. I am also adding original games to the shoppe so my customers can have more variety. Enjoy!

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Finds 1429: Thrift Store Loot, Strikers 1945, Sonic Blast Man, Devil Lady and More

I was finally able to come out this weekend and hunt for a bit. I haven't gone thrifting since last year so it was a good change for once. I also checked out a new thrift store and came out with a couple of good things. As you can see, there is a lot to show in this loot post so lets get started! Of course, I was very careful when going to these places as the pandemic is still going and one has to be careful. 

This box set was four bucks and mainly caught my attention because it looked like a hentai series. Apparently this series does contain nudity and gore so I'm very curious about it. I will have to watch it!

I'm always happy when I find PC stuff. I am happy to find the floppy disks as they were brand new sealed for 2.99! That's a steal! The CDs were .50 cents each. I'm always adding new stuff for my PC software collection. I think I might have missed some discs as there was this annoying idiot hogging the entire section. I was annoyed and wasn't going to wait until he was done, I have places to be!

Some Wii titles I found at this new thrift store. These are five bucks each and thought they were solid pick ups. Super Mario Galaxy needs a little cleaning especially on the disc while the DDR game is in perfect condition. 

Strikers 1945 I got from the local shoppe I frequent for 29.99 while Sonic Blast Man was 39.99 from the same store. I always think the prices are fair for these games and always add new things to my collection every trip I make. Thank you CD Trader!

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Smarty and the Nasty Gluttons Getting a Physical Release!

In some Amiga retro news, there have been some news on this particular title. This game was worked on back in 1992 and had problems finding a publisher so the entire project was halted. Years later, a preview was released by Jouni ‘Mr Spiv’ Korhonen and Eero Tunkelo , the copyright owner. This release inspired a coming to complete the project and release it. You can download it, but the news of a physical release has gotten a lot of people’s attention. I will be posting more about this physical release as you don’t see many Amiga games being released nowadays. 
You can find out more information by clicking here.

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Retro Game of the Week 172: Atomic Runner (Gen)

Happy New Year and welcome to another year where I try to post a weekly retro pic for you enjoyment. Let’s see if I can keep a good streak going. It’s really hard to pick a retro game every week mainly because there are just so many to choose from. I have changed the format of the pick to give it a more get to the point format so lets get started.
This week we have the game called Atomic Runner. I first saw this game in an episode of Game Sack where they were showing games released by Data East. This one caught my attention mainly because of the main characters name Chelov and the silly story it contains. Not only that, but the game is actually very challenging and fun to play. You just have to get used to the controllers as it can get tricky at the beginning. 

GraphicsThe game looks beautiful and very detailed. It definitely does a good job at the different graphics it portrays and your main hero Chelnov is pretty awesome. I love the detail of each stage even though I haven’t gotten really far enough to see everything, but everything that I saw was pretty neat. You can tell there was a lot of effort put into the design of this game.Score: 85%
GameplayThis one is tough as it’s not for everyone. The game carries over an arcade like gameplay mechanic to it which also comes with one hit dead which will make a lot of gamers look the other way and try a different game. If you manager to survive this onslaught, be ready to play through challenging stages. It’s just a matter of time before you get the hang of it.Score: 80%
SoundThe music does offer some memorable tunes. They are upbeat and the sound is enjoyable overall. I haven’t encountered any annoying sound as of yet in the game. It’s not something you will mute and it’s Data East, they are pretty awesome in the sound factor at times.Score: 85%
Fun Factor

This is where the game is debatable. As I mentioned before, the gameplay is challenging therefore it will not be for everyone. If you want a game to hold your hand, this is not it. You will have to play and slam the controller when you die unfairly. That’s just how the game goes, but one can’t turn away the fact that it’s one heck of a challenging game and totally worth your time. The fun is there!Score: 90%

Final Score: 85%This is a game that I would recommend to any Sega Genesis fan looking for a challenge. It’s a little odd how this game doesn’t get much attention nowadays even though it’s really good. This is just my opinion as you can always try it out yourself before you buy, you know how. I hope you liked this new format which I’ll try to keep till the next format comes out. Till next week!

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Ads from the past 452: Family Computer

We are starting the year off with the Family Computer. This is also known as the NES in the USA as everything was changed (even the pin size) in order to blend with the American market. This ad shows some of the first games of the console including Donkey Kong, Mario Bros, Donkey Kong Jr, and even Popeye. It's promoting that line of games which we ended up getting them as black box games. Of course not all of them made it, but they are awesome and you can always import them. 

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Finds 1428: Ninja Jajamaru Collection for the Switch

This is a really neat collection of the games released during the Famicom era. Ninja Jajamaru collection brings six awesome games! One of them is a complete remake of the classic game while the other five are just ports of the original Japanese releases. I am guessing the games are connected in some way which is really cool because I thought there were only two games in the series. I guess you learn something new!

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Finds 1427: Super Shredder is finally here!

Even though we only got a glimpse of Super Shredder in the TMNT 2 movie back in the early 90s, we still thought it was one of the most awesome villains ever. Now we move over two decades later and a wonderful company called NECA is bringing all these classics in action figure form. Even though I hate the way they distribute their action figures especially TMNT, there is no other company doing these and their quality is excellent from what I've experienced. Of course, this is only my point of view, I'm sure others will think differently about it which is fine as I'm only talking from my experience. Overall, I'm happy with the figure, it's here finally after many months of wait, but I learned to be patient with this toy line. I am still missing so many in the toon line it's ridiculous, but I won't worry. Any of you got this one yet? I don't know where to display it yet. 

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New Inventory Added to the Shoppe! Twinkle Tale, Omega Blast, Dahna, Grind Stormer, Undead Line, Mamono Hunter Yohko, El Viento, and Eliminate Down

Lots of new repros have been added to the shoppe which you can check out by clicking here or clicking on the top of the page if you are on your desktop which says Shop. This time around I have added a bunch of shoot 'em ups as I feel the inventory needed these. Of course, the labels have differed from the originals so there is no chance of passing them as the real deal. All of them are in English with the exception of Mamono Hunter Yohko which is a little odd because I thought I would find one for such a cool game but I guess not. That still doesn't stop you from playing the game. There is lots of quality and I have more coming with another wave of new games. I will also be focusing more on the SNES and Gameboy sections and eventually find my way to the NES/Famicom section in my shoppe which needs to keep growing! I also have another set of labels that I will be releasing in the coming month. Lots of new little projects are coming out little by little. Enjoy!

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A couple of tips on upgrading your laptop

Here are a couple of tips on upgrading your laptop. As some of you may know, I got a new laptop recently  that came with 8gb of ram. I read up on it before I bought it that you can upgrade it to 32gb of ram. I decided to get the ram from a reliable source that hasn’t failed me before and upgrade it. I am glad to say that my laptop is in the 32gb of ram level! Here are a couple of tips on how to upgrade your ram without having to take it to a tech. 

Tips on Laptop ram upgrade

• First of all, shop around different sites. I highly suggest Crucial and Memory Stock as your main options. They both have competitive prices. Crucial will even scan your computer to let you know exactly which memory is compatible with your system. They will also show you Hard Drive upgrades as well. It’s really cool and great for beginners. Memory Stock has also amazing range of memory. I don’t think they scan your machine, but you can enter or search your model number and find the right stick. This one also helps a lot with older computers especially if they can’t go online. Just find the model number and type it in. I have upgrade old computers using this method.
• Before you even attempt to open your laptop, look up videos on how others have attempted to open their laptops. You will find some great tips on there. YouTube the upgrades!
• Get the right tools. Don’t get the wrong tools or you might break the bits to open your laptop. Research! 
• Once again, do more research! Be sure you are sure of things and don’t do anything reckless. Laptops are quite fragile in certain parts so don’t be rough with them. They are portable computers after all.
• Have patience! Believe me, it can be quite annoying to get a laptop to open as some of them carry some annoying little tricks to opening them. 
• If everything else fails, don’t be afraid to take it to an expert. This is the last resort! They will take care of your machine. 

As you can see, I was able to do the upgrade and have the 32gbs of ram I desired. I am so happy with this and my laptop is blazing fast. Good luck!

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The Sega IR7000 Communicator

This is the Sega Communicator. It’s a really neat gadget that came out in the middle of the 90s. 1994 to be exact, this little gadget was part of the IR7000 series. I still remember seeing commercials with these little gadgets being used especially in class as two classmates would message each other without the teacher noticing. I guess this is texting before there was texting. It caught on for a bit but it ended up being more of a fad that was eventually outdone by the next popular toy. This one I own is a Sega brand and really cool although it doesn’t work! A friend of mine is actually working on it and got it working again although he has a couple of things left to fix, he said he is going to let me know when it’s ready. I am excited! I will have an update when I get it back. 

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Finds 1426: Tohka & Rahzar Movie NECA Figures are Here!

These action figures are finally here. A lot of collectors are still waiting for them while others got them about a month ago. I guess I feel like I’m somewhere in the middle. I’m happy with them but won’t open them till I get my setup together. I need the room for these! They are badass! 

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New Year New Laptop

It was about time I got a new laptop upgrade as my last one is around six years old and showing her age. Even though my old laptop had 16gb of ram, the processor was starting to slow down especially with all the photoshop, illustrator, and other stuff I do for work and design. This is one laptop I had my eyes on for a long time, then the new version came out which had a bigger monitor which is a big plus for me as I need more room to work with and I was more excited. Not only that, but the laptop was almost 50 percent off and I just thought it was the right time for an upgrade. I picked it up and am definitely happy with it. This is the Acer Nitro 5 17.2” monitor, 8gb of ram, with 512gb SSD, Windows 10, and Tenth Generation Core I5 processor. This computer is amazing! I am upgrading both the ram and hard drive so stay tuned for the upgrades! 

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Finds 1425: Limited Run Chex Quest & Street Fighter Alpha 2

A couple of new additions. Chex Quest had a release from Limited Run Games and I had to be all over it as I had fond memories for this one. I still have my original copy which I got from the cereal back in the day, yes this game came packed in the cereal box. Played it on my old PC(new back new) and had so much fun. This one brings a lot of little extras so it’s really cool to have a revival of this game. You can play this one in newer systems and the graphics got an upgrade. What else can you ask for? 
I also picked up a messy Street Fighter Alpha 2 copy for the SNES. This is a game I had back in the day and played so much! That copy from back then got messed up and broke from some reason, me and my brother did played it like crazy so maybe that’s why. It’s a nice nostalgic addition which for some reason I never picked up all those years ago. 

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