Pickups from the last week, including an import Super Famicom game

I made a few nice pickups here in the last week. Not much in the way of volume, but the quality of the games is nice...and that's what counts anyways. So, on with the show.

First up, ToeJam & Earl in Panic in Funkotron. I've played a little bit of the first TJ & E game, but not

this one. Interestingly enough, the original ToeJam & Earl was one of the very few Genesis games that I actually wanted to play back in the 16 bit era. I had made the (wise) decision to go SNES, but there were a few Genesis games that I really wanted. Fast forward 20 years later and I still have not played much of the first TJ & E, even though I downloaded it on the Wii's Virtual Console years ago. Anyway, Funkotron is not a game that pops up very often in my neck of the woods, so when I saw it I knew I had to have it!

Next is Shadow of the Ninja for the NES. I've heard a lot of good things about this one the last few years, so it's been on my radar for a while. It also seems that the price is rising on this bad boy, so now was the time to get it before things just get nuts price-wise. I noticed it's a two-player game, so assuming it's co-op maybe I can check that out when my brother stops by next time. It's getting to the point now that I have most of the basic NES games that I really want. There are a few more expensive and/or somewhat uncommon ones left that I want, like River City Ransom and Metal Storm, but I pretty much have the basics covered. In the future I'll start getting more and more not so must-have games, which is kind of a relief(both mentally and on the pocketbook).
 

How about Illusion of Gaia? Never played it. Sounds like a winner from all I've heard. I remember reading about the game in Nintendo Power ages ago and thinking it looked cool. On top of that, I found it complete in box and what a box it is. At first I thought it was a reproduction box it looked so pristine. On closer inspection, there are a few minor blemishes on the front-right edge of the box, but other than that it's flawless. Very happy to have it join the collection.

 Last, but certainly not least, Choujikuu Yousai Macross: Scrambled Valkyrie for the Super Famicom! I've still been on something of a shmup tear as of late, but also on a Robotech/Macross tear as well. I saw ClassicGameRoom's review of this game a while back and it really got me fired up for the game. I pulled the trigger a few weeks back when I saw the game for a decent price on ebay and it arrived a few days ago. The only problem was that I don't have a Super
Famicom. So I either had to get a Super Famicom or modify my SNES. I'm not a handy guy by any means, so I was kind of nervous
about opening up my only SNES(a model 2), even though it's a relatively simple operation(removing the two plastic tabs inside the cartridge port). Well, having the game in my possession motivated me enough to try it last night. Not having the proper screw bit to open up the SNES, I had to use the Bic pen and lighter method(thanks interwebz). Everything worked out great and last night I finally got to play the game for the first time. It's really an impressive game and well worth the money I spent on it. The gameplay is on the money, the music is sweet, and the graphics are top-notch. I couldn't be happier with it. I'll definitely do a review of it if I'm ever able to beat it. I got to the 6th stage on Easy before I had to step away and can't wait to see the rest. The Minmay concert level was just gorgeous. I kind of wish I'd sprung for a complete copy though. Check out the hot boxart to the right.

So that's all for now. I'm not sure I'll be getting a lot of games in the near future, as I have some household projects to fund, as well as needing to beef up the ol' nestegg and get ready for the birth of my daughter. I won't stop collecting, that's for sure. It's just that for the time being it will be small-scale purchases like this last week. However, since I can play Super Famicom games now I might bite the bullet and get a big lot of Super Famicom games since they are so affordable. I guess we'll see. Yokoi!