Clik here to view.
Fake Famicom Games? The Curious Case of Gradius Archimendes.
One of the more popular holy grails out there for Famicom collectors is the Archimendes version of Gradius. It was released in 1985 as part of a promotion by Otsuka Corporation which sold a cup ramen...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Horrible Things are Happening in Nagoya's Osu
I made a pilgrimage out to the Osu neighborhood in Nagoya, which I've highlighted on this blog before. It is Nagoya's version of Akihabara in Tokyo or Den Den Town in Osaka - full of electronics,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Famicomblog 10th Anniversary
Holy crap, I just realized that last week was the 10th anniversary of my first ever post on here! Time flies when you get old!I haven't really been keeping up with the blog so much lately. By which I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Putting the Family in Family Computer
Hope you all are doing OK out there. I’m doing fine.We are under a kind of light lockdown here in Japan now. No school and I’m mostly working at home, and glad to still be working!On a lighter note,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lego Mario and Ice Climber
I was playing Lego with my kids on a rainy day over the weekend when I decided to try out an idea I had been toying with for a while: making Super Mario Brothers characters out of Lego blocks.I wasn't...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Super Mario Kart Race: Suburban Japan Edition
My kids are really getting into Mario stuff since I introduced them to the Famicom a couple weeks ago. The characters have gone from zero to the top of their "childhood fascination" list at break...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Extremely Valuable Used Ice Cream Wrappers and a 1986 Famicom Contest I Never...
There was a very interesting thing that sold the other day on Yahoo Auctions: Super Mario Brothers Ice Cream Bar Wrappers. Without the ice cream.According to the listing these were originally sold in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Famicom Rides Again
These are some happy Famicom games inside a happy Famicom. They have an interesting story which began back in the 80s. A mom and dad bought them for children who had seen them on the shelf in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Top Riders!
I recently decided to do something I'd been waiting six years to do: break out my Top Rider inflatable motorcycle controller!Back in 2014 I remember buying a big lot of miscellaneous Famicom stuff off...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Revelations: Famicom's Sexiest Game Probably isn't Very Sexy
I was browsing Yahoo Auctions earlier when I stumbled across an auction for a CIB Famicom Disk System game called Sexy Invaders which I had never heard of. Actually it seems most of the world has...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Famicom Jigsaw Puzzles are Awesome
I picked up these on Yahoo Auctions recently: four Famicom jigsaw puzzles!I already had a couple of Famicom game jigsaw puzzles featuring Star Force and Yie Ar Kung Fu which I picked up a few years...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The End is Near: Planning for our first, and last, Retro Game Christmas
As I've documented in a few posts this year, 2020 has been the year of the Famicom in my house. I gave my AV Famicom to my son back in April and we've played it together almost every day since....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Retro Game Advent Calender
I had this idea last night that I played around with after the kids had gone to bed.We have this big advent calendar that my mom made for us after my son was born. It hangs on the wall in our living...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Famicom Galaga CIB Completes my Namcot collection
I haven't been posting much recently, mainly due to just being busy. I did hit a milestone in my Famicom collection that I thought was worth mentioning though. 7 years ago I did a post detailing my...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Famicom Menko are Amazing
I picked these up the other day, a big pile of Famicom menko. They are spectacular.Menko are cards that Japanese kids use to play a game that mainly involves throwing them at other menko on the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Mysterious and Lovely Famicom Milk Caps
One of the cooler and rarer Famicom things out there to collect are these guys: Famicom milk caps. These things are awesome, yet very little seems to be known about them. They were distributed with...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Big Box of Famicom Puzzle Boxes
Agh, I'm so excited about these! Amada Famicom Puzzles!I decided to pull the trigger on a big ticket item that was up for sale on Yahoo Auctions a few days ago. This beautiful box arrived in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mega Sized Super Mario Bros. 2 Menko
This is another recent pick up - a Super Mario Bros 2 menko that is about the size of my head! This is from the Famicom Disk System's Super Mario Bros 2, NOT the American Super Mario Bros 2 (which as...
View ArticleClik here to view.
100 Yen Shop Famicoms: Beginner's Guide
I was on Twitter the other day when I saw this post by RuiReiChannel, had written about building a DIY Famicom out of Petit Blocks, which are these super cheap block sets you can buy at Daiso, Japan's...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Famicom Games and Inter-Generational Justice
My kids have built up a pretty decent sized collection of Famicom games over the course of the past year. I mean, just look at all these suckers:And they also have a little pile of Super Famicom...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lot Lot Silver Member Stickers are Now Insanely Expensive
A really interesting and very rare thing sold on Yahoo Auctions a couple of days ago. A copy of Lot Lot without the game!But this was more notable for the sticker it contained: A Lot Lot Silver...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Air Raid has some thoughts on the $660,000 copy of Super Mario Bros for the NES
To put the recent $660,000 sale of a copy of Super Mario Bros. for the NES in context, I'd like to ask if anybody remembers how a decade ago there was a similar buzz about the below copy of Air Raid...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Coolest Vintage Mario Thing Nobody Knows About
One of the cooler and also (for some reason) least known Mario "things" out there is a set of round Menko cards that were released in Japan in 1985 and feature artwork inspired by the first Super...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Will Retro Game Collecting Kill Retro Gaming?
I noticed something alarming the other day which is a problem I think a lot of retro gamers are having these days.I can’t play with a lot of my retro gaming stuff anymore. Its just become too damn...
View ArticleClik here to view.
I turned my wife's car into a Bullet Bill
I discovered a neat DIY Mario related crafts idea the other day. All you need is two magnet sheets (the type you use to write messages on fridge doors), a pair of scissors, a dry erase marker and a...
View Article
