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My mother blessed me with a magical grocery bag this past weekend. Its contents? A mint condition Nintendo 64. Accompanying it were of course the cables, an original gray controller with an analog stick still in great shape, Rumble Pak, Controller Pak (memory card), the console Memory Expansion Pak, and a plethora of games.

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I have no idea why I haven’t published this until now, but I know you’ve been ready to kill yourself waiting for it. So, here it is...

Now GO check out all the other cool ones I’ve designed. If you’ve already done that... DO IT AGAIN!

I have a lot of fun putting these together. They’re a good way to do artistic stuff and get an end result rather quickly.

Mega Man 8 has always been my favorite Mega Man game. I was pretty pumped to hear that Capcom was making a ninth, only to be let down by the cop-out with the 8bit graphics and low production value that is Mega Man 9. Sigh... I guess you can’t have everything your way, huh? Enjoy!

Click here to see my other Sega Saturn labels and inserts!

Immediately following the events of Richter Belmont’s adventure, Rondo of Blood for the TurboGrafx-16, Dracula X - Nocturne in the Moonlight starts you off smack in the middle of the final boss fight against Dracula from the previous game in the Castlevania series. Known here in the U.S. as Castlevania - Symphony of the Night, Nocturne is the Japanese version of one of the best titles of the 32bit era. I had the privilege of playing the Sega Saturn exclusive version, which contains more areas of the castle to explore and additional features and dialogue than the PlayStation.

I first played this title when it was released as downloadable content on Xbox Live Arcade. Of course, that was the English port, but it was still enough to suck me into the decade old 2D adventure. Anyone who knows me knows that Super Metroid is my favorite game of all time, and Nocturne‘s gameplay is not far off. It’s a lengthy 2D RPG platformer that takes you through the bowels of Dracula’s castle in search of what’s caused Castlevania to come back into existence. Collecting a slew of weaponry, armor and items along the way, the main character, Alucard Tepes, is something of a recluse. He doesn’t talk much, but there’s honestly no need (Hell, Samus gets away with it...). On his journey he meets Maria, a sprite from Richter’s adventure searching the castle for him after his disappearance. They exchange awkward silences and facial expressions occasionally throughout the castle and eventually end up duking it out. You’ll see two different endings depending on the choice you make and/or items you collect.

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When I first bought RPG back in the summer of ‘96, I’d never played an role playing game before. I don’t even think I knew that this game WAS an RPG. I remember picking it up for two reasons: 1) because the cover was awesome looking; it has all these bright colors and looks very enticing - and 2) I wanted to make my friends jealous.

When I got the game home, I popped it in and I was pleased with it’s opening, music, and interface. One thing, though, left me confused; what was with this whole "battle system"? The concept of taking turns to fight each other was new to me, and it left me scratching my head as I tried to follow along with the guide I bought.

Twelve years later, I decided to play the game and take it seriously. I was trained at RPGs with good ol’ Final Fantasy VII, and have been a snob when it comes to RPGs ever since. Some I can play, some I absolutely love, and some I absolutely loathe. So, I set aside an hour or two every night before bed to get some pre-Paper Mario action in.

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After a good half hour blow-job with margarita-ridden breath I finally got the SNES working. Some combination of me switching out the A/V cables, playing with the power cord, and cartridge friction action finally got me a picture on screen. It worked about 50% of the time, but that 50% got me far enough into Super Metroid‘s Norfair until the screen suddenly went blank. And of course, since I don’t usually save in the game (because it takes no time at all for me to actually beat it) I’ll have to give it another go some other time.

Anyway, Nintendo’s masterpiece console will soon be a fully functioning member of the family!

Went with Torie and Ted to the Sanford Flea Market on Sunday in search of some retro action. I’d hoped to find some rare Sega Saturn games, maybe some SNES collectibles, but hadn’t really even thought about what I’d purchased. The good fellas at Game Trader had a mint condition Model 2 Super NES; I couldn’t resist. I’ve had the traditional console since it was around in the early 90s, but was always fascinated by the sleek miniature design of the Model 2. The only problem is that I think the A/C adapter is bad, because the console doesn’t come on. I’ve tried it with the original model and it does the same: sends a signal to the screen but I guess not enough of one to actually play anything.

Along with the console, I managed to snag a bundle deal on a few games. I’ve not played an actual SNES console in ages as most of this stuff is easy available via emulation. But there really is nothing like playing this stuff with the original controller. Better yet, an ASCIIWare controller!

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