More New Purchases

I love all sorts of different controllers, but one type that I never had growing up was a steering wheel.  I remember seeing Interact's V3 steering wheel for the Nintendo 64 back in the day, but I never really had any interest in buying one... until now.

This thing is pretty cool.  You can configure just about everything on the steering wheel, including sensitivity and button assignment, and it will remember those settings even if you turn the system off.

It's a little difficult to use because it's essentially adapting an analog stick to be used as a steering wheel, but I don't care, it's still fun!  So far I've tried World Driver Championship (really difficult with the V3, but only because the game is itself incredibly difficult) and Hydro Thunder (really fun, makes it's feel more like the arcade), as well as this game:

I played Off Road Challenge several times in the arcade (it seems like the arcade machine is everywhere) and I think I even rented it once.  It's a decent arcade game, but nothing to write home about.  However, I like off road racing, and arcade games are a perfect fit for the V3 (since arcade racing games are designed to use steering wheels), so I'll be uploading a full playthrough of this game on my Youtube channel using the V3 some time in the near future.  But from what I've played so far, it's a lot of fun using the wheel.

Some versions of the V3 apparently had built-in rumble, and while mine has a rumble light on it, I can't figure out how to get the rumble to work (the manual doesn't say anything about it).  If anyone knows how to turn the rumble on, I'd love to hear how.

New Purchases

I've done a little shopping since Christmas, so I might as well post that stuff here.

I felt my N64 needed another shooter, so I picked up a brand new copy of Quake.  I'm still playing through this one, but it's tough:

I've been meaning to complete my Wario Land collection (with the main entries anyway), so I finally picked up a brand new copy of Wario Land 4.

I also added a couple new NES games to my collection.  Super Glove Ball was picked up brand new for only around $40, and Gotcha! was picked up used, but in excellent condition, for about $25.

But Super Glove Ball isn't much fun without its trademark controller: The Power Glove, so I bought one of those as well.

I have to say, the glove works great with Super Glove Ball!  In fact, I've already uploaded a complete playthrough of the game on my Youtube channel (www.youtube.com/watchmeplaynintendo).  I couldn't believe that I found a brand new Power Glove for only $85.  That's a steal if you ask me.  I'll be having fun with this thing for sure.  Mike Tyson's Punch Out is fun with the glove, but it doesn't dodge left and right very well.  The other movements work fine though.  I'll be trying other games for sure.

In other controller-related news, I purchased a brand new Sharkpad Pro 64:

This one is unusual because the packaging is different.  My prior two Sharkpads came in a fully enclosed box, unlike this one.  You can see the difference by scrolling down and looking at my N64 collection.

I'm not sure why Interact had two different types of packaging for this thing, but I love this controller!  I picked up my first one back in 1997 or so, and it broke after only a few years.  So for a while there I had to switch to the sucky, bat-shaped Sharkpad Pro 64 2 (the revised version that I always hated), but then I found a used, original-model Sharkpad on eBay around 2010 or so.  So I sold the bat-shaped one.  However, my used replacement controller was cracked inside, so that bothered me.  I saved an eBay search to notify me if a new one of these appeared, and lo and behold, this thing appeared.  I love new old stock.  Shopping for old games is more fun than shopping for new ones.

Continuing on to accessories, I decided to finally pick up a new Four Player Adapter for the Game Boy:

I've had a used one without the box for several years now (I bought it from FuncoLand back in 1999 or so), but I felt I needed a box to add to my collection.  These things are dirt cheap anyway, so it's not hard to justify the purchase.

Now here's the real kicker.  The Four Player Adapter features the large, old-style connector that only works with an original model Game Boy.  So to use this thing, you need to have at least one original Game Boy, because every Game Boy model after this (Pocket, Light, Color, Advance) only featured the smaller connector... right?  Wrong.

While it's true that the later Game Boy models only supported the smaller link cable made for the Game Boy Pocket, I did some research, and it turns out there was this adapter released only in Japan called a Henkan Connector.  I ordered one brand new from a website called Arcade-Gear.com, and they had to ship it to me all the way from Japan:

What does a Henkan Connector do?  It shrinks the old, large-style link cable down to the smaller, Game Boy Pocket/Color link cable size, like so:

So what does all of this mean?  This means that I can now connect a Game Boy Four Player Adapter straight to my GameCube's Game Boy Player and capture four player footage with the Hauppauge HD PVR... in progressive scan mode (because I have GameCube component cables).  I'm excited about that.  Hopefully I can get my friends to help me with that and I'll get some footage posted on Youtube.  I'll need to buy additional copies of some four player games though.

My portable system collection

Well, here's my collection of Nintendo handhelds.  I'm notably missing the Virtual Boy, but that system gives me a headache, so I have little interest in owning it.

These are all the carrying cases I use for my systems.  The smallest case holds some extra Game Boy games:

I received an original model Game Boy back in Christmas of 1990 (along with my brother), but when the Game Boy Color came out in 1998, I sold my original Game Boy to some kid at my high school and got a Game Boy Color.  I keep the Game Boy Color stored in this carrying case that you could only order from Nintendo Power's Super Power Supplies Catalog.  I suppose this type of carrying case is hard to find now.  I have a Four Player Adapter, but sadly, I've never used it.

Here all the boxes for the Game Boy/Game Boy Color games.  There are several games that I used to own but sold somewhere along the line (like Baseball and Snoopy's Magic Show).

Here's my Arctic color Game Boy Advance that I got on the Game Boy Advance's launch date in 2001.  I originally picked up the system with Castlevania: Circle of the Moon and Super Mario Advance.  That was a fun launch, especially since the system only cost about $80 (don't you just miss the old low prices?  I sure do).

Here are all the boxes.  I could use some more GBA games, but most of the good games on the system are just ports of games I already own.

I keep my Nintendo DS Lite in this carrying case:

The 3DS is stored in this Pull and Go case.  I really like this thing:

So that's everything.  The 3DS is a work in progress, but I'll have to wait and see what good games come out for that.

My gaming setup

Here is my current gaming setup:

The TV is a 32-inch that does 1080p.  The model is 32LG70.  The sound system is a Panasonic HTB15 sound bar system.  It supports surround sound since it has Dolby and DTS decoders (as well as 5.1 LPCM support, so the Wii U's surround sound works with it), and you can split it into two sections (which is why I bought it).  It's different from an actual 5.1 system though since it is simulating surround sound through a 2.1 system.  But even so, you can actually hear all the separate sound channels quite clearly.  Games like Metroid Prime sound wonderful on it.

To the bottom left you can see my Hauppauge HD PVR and the audio/video distribution amplifier which I use to split cables to multiple inputs with the retro systems.

The samurai sword was given to me as a gift when I graduated college.  It's not real; it's just a knock-off.  But it looks nice.

The Wii U has taken the Wii's old spot next to the satellite box:

The poor Wii has been moved downstairs next to the GameCube, but both systems are connected to the TV with component cables (sometimes I use HDMI with the Wii U.  It depends on whether or not I want to record footage):

I store my current and fairly recent games in this swiveling DVD tower I got from Best Buy.  I'll need another one of these soon enough, and I'll be getting a black Wii Remote holder from Club Nintendo soon since I'll be getting black Wii Remotes to go with the Wii U (I love Wii Remotes.  They're awesome controllers).

Here are some boxes:

This is my computer desk where I do all my capturing and video editing.  My computer is a custom-built gaming computer from Cyber Power.  It has a Core i5 3.4 ghz processor, HD Radeon 7770 graphics card and 8 gigs of ram.  I don't really use it for gaming at the moment, but that may change.  My printer is missing because it needs to be repaired.  That chair is very comfy.

I still need to post my handheld collection.  I'll get around to that.

My Nintendo 64 Collection

I got my Nintendo 64 for Christmas of 1996 along with Super Mario 64 and Wave Race 64.  I was only 12 at the time, and Super Mario 64 seemed like the greatest thing ever.  I remember the system being sold out everywhere during that initial holiday release.  My mother barely got one for me.  The first time I played the system was at Sears, so probably November 1996.  I couldn't put the controller down.  Super Mario 64 was just so mesmerizing to my 12-year-old mind.  I kept getting lost in the 3D levels and I just loved it.  There was so much to explore.

I still have the original system box.  By the time I got this system, I started keeping all the boxes and manuals.  I kept buying accessories as they came out and I got a second gray controller right after Christmas.  More controllers followed.

My game collection is decent, I think.  I own both Zelda games in excellent condition, and Conker's Bad Fur Day as well.  I've heard that is somehow a rare game.  That sounds about right.  I remember buying it the day it came out, and there were plenty of copies available at every store.  No one was buying them because most adults at that time were into PlayStation, not Nintendo 64, and this game had a huge warning label on it.  But damn is it a funny game.  Fun as hell too!

Oh baby!  Look at that sexy box:

Don't forget that backside:

The Nintendo 64 has its own organizer, like the NES and SNES.  Only three of my systems use these because they were only made for those three systems.

One of those controllers is the original one that came with my system back in 1996.  The analog stick is not worn out at all.  And yes, I did use it quite a bit.  My second controller actually broke a few years ago (the plastic part inside that reads the analog stick's movements snapped), but I purchased a replacement directly from Nintendo somewhere around 2005 or so (I don't quite remember).  So both controllers are in excellent condition.

I also own a turbo pad called the Shark Pad Pro 64.  This is the original model, which is shaped like an official Nintendo 64 controller.  It's my favorite third-party controller, but it was replaced about a year after its release by the Shark Pad Pro 64 2, which has a bat shape and isn't anywhere near as comfortable as the original version.

Like with the SNES, extra games are stored in one of these drawer-type storage cases:

Up next I'll show the GameCube, Wii and Wii U.

My SNES collection

Here's my Super Nintendo collection.

I got my Super Nintendo for Christmas of 1992 along with Street Fighter II and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.  That was one hell of a Christmas!  After that, of course, I got several more games.  Some of these boxes are the ones I kept.  Others are replacements since I didn't keep the boxes (such as Final Fantasy II and Zelda).

Now, this isn't the actual box that my system came in since my parents threw away the system box probably right after we opened it, but it is the same type of box that the system came in.

You'll find some similarities to my NES collection in that I have the Double Dragon and Castlevania games (in addition to Mario and Zelda games), a multiplayer adapter and two regular controllers, plus a turbo pad and joystick.  The Super Bomberman jumbo box is something special that I picked up early this year.  It was a special package which included the game and the Super Multitap adapter that Hudson made for the system.  Since Nintendo didn't really manufacture its only multitap (unlike the official ones for the NES), Hudson went ahead and made one and that pretty much became the official multiplayer adapter for the system.  What's interesting though, is that it supports up to five controllers at once because it has four controller ports and only plugs into the second controller port on the system.  That's also the very same Super Scope that I used to capture my Super Scope gameplay.  I picked that up last year, I believe.

There are some real gems in this collection, as far as I'm concerned.  Every one of these games is great (except Double Dragon V), and there's no way I'd ever part with them.

Like my NES, the SNES is stored in a similar organizer that I purchased from the Nintendo Power Super Power Supplies Catalog.  However, there are two organizer types.  The NES/N64 type, which has a drawer divided into two sections, and SNES type, pictured below, which has the drawer divided into three sections.

That's my very same SNES from 1992.  Only the bottom section is yellowed, so the plastic sections must have come from different batches at the factory.  The controllers are original.

Additional SNES games are stored in this organizer.  I may need another one if I keep buying SNES games.

The Super Multitap and the Super Advantage are stored in a drawer below the NES Advantage.  I had a Super Advantage since the mid '90s, but early this year I bought a brand new in box and sold my old one.  I also have an extra Asciipad because my original one doesn't function right, so I bought a new one a few years ago.

Well, that's it for the Super Nintendo.  Up next I'll be showing the Nintendo 64 collection.

My NES collection.

I've had some people ask me on my Youtube channel to post my gaming collection, but I don't have a video camera, so I can't provide any footage.  I'm not sure I even have anything worthwhile to say in a video anyway.  However, I can at least take pictures, so that should suffice.

I'm starting from the beginning, so that means the NES. 

I got my NES Action Set in 1988 or 1989 (not really sure.  I was too young to even remember the first time I played it).  The very box that the system came in is pictured below.  As you can see, it's the gray Zapper version, which preceded the orange Zapper.

All of my games and accessories are boxed and include the instruction manuals.  The collection itself is not that large, but I do own some real gems (I'm quite proud of RC Pro Am II, which is an excellent 4-player game).  I still need to pick up several titles including Contra and Super C.

 

The system and most of the controllers are stored in this special organizer that I purchased from the Nintendo Power Super Power Supplies Catalog back in the mid/late '90s.  It's really nice since I can move the system around easily.

Additional games are stored in these official plastic game cases:

The NES Advantage is stored in a drawer with some other accessories:

So that's it for now.  Up next I'll be showing the Super Nintendo collection.