Megadrive Local Pick Ups

I recently picked up a bundle of Megadrive games from a fellow collector.  He had a full Pal set of Megadrive titles and decided to slim down his collection.  Best of all he lives ten minutes down the road from me.  I expressed interest in a number of titles he was parting with, and a deal was done.

There is a really nice mixture of games here, the majority of which never had a Japanese release.  They’re all in great condition and complete, except for Lotus II missing the manual.

Interestingly Double Clutch was only released in Pal regions.

None of these blue spine titles received a Japanese release.

I’m really happy to add these Marvel comic book titles to my collection.  Spider-Man and the X-Men in Arcade’s Revenge and Wolverine: Adamantium Rage were never released in Japan.  Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage did receive a limited Japanese release, but is a very pricey titles these days.

I also picked up these titles at Next Level Games and Regenerating Gaming in Norwich.  Turbo OutRun is my highlight here.  It’s in fantastic condition and serves as an upgrade to the one above.

Arcade Hub - Hull

Well it’s been a while since I’ve done an arcade write-up!  On our recent holiday we checked out Arcade Hub in Hull.  We booked a two hour session and had the arcade to ourselves, which was pretty awesome.

Here is a walk round video of the arcade.

The arcade was a big hit with my kids.  They loved battling it out on Street Fighter II and having a blast on Gunblade NY.

My little boy kept going back to the room he called ‘the dark arcade.’  Here the only light was from the glow of CRT’s and the fluorescent tubes behind the marquees, bringing back memories of arcades back in the day.

Adding to this nostalgia was RoboCop in a generic cab, just how I remember it. 

 

I used to go on bike rides with my dad to a local holiday camp, have fish n chips and pop in the arcade.  RoboCop is the one game which stands out from these trips.  It has one of my favourite attract sequences ever, with the silhouette of RoboCop appearing in the red police light beacon on the high score table, and the incredible speech as he lists his prime directives, “Serve the public trust.  Protect the innocent.  Uphold the law.”  In fact it’s impossible not to read this without hearing his voice!  We then see RoboCop’s right leg opening up to reveal a mechanical holster, with him taking his gun and firing it across the screen.  I had to wait a few years before I was allowed to watch the film, so being able to play the game and actually be RoboCop was awesome for a young boy, and the game still holds up and plays incredibly well today.

Sega was well represented, including the stunning OutRun DLX.  Hang-On was awaiting repair work during our visit.

My boy kept going back to Pac-Mania.  I love the awesome marquee art.

It was the first time I’d seen a Spy Hunter sit-down cab, very cool.

The arcade also has a nice selection of pinball tables.

Some more pics of the arcade.

With a great selection of machines and fantastic value, we’d strongly recommend visiting Arcade Hub.

On a final note, here are some more pics of the awesome street art nearby.

Sore Thumbs – York – July 2020

Our base for the HoliRaid wasn’t too far from York, so we took the opportunity to have a day there and visit Sore Thumbs. 

I always love visits here.  The shop is absolutely packed with gaming goodness, and it takes several walks round to take everything in.  There is a fantastic mixture of Pal and Japanese gaming items.  The owner has been on trips to Japan, venturing off the beaten track to pick up some really interesting items for his shop.

The impressive Sega wall.

There were some really nice titles in the glass cabinets.

The game theme specific and Godzilla cabinets were so cool.

My daughter absolutely loved the anime figures and has started a new collection!

Pick ups

Once again my pick ups had a definite Sega theme.  I was really pleased to find the Sega Saturn Campaign Box Edition.  This includes Virtua Fighter Remix and was released in Japan to celebrate the millionth sale of the console. 

I’ve always been a fan of Sega’a mech combat series Virtual On, and these figures are so cool.  It was the first time I’d seen them before and as a Sega nut I had to have them.

I’d actually been after Super H.Q. Criminal Chaser for a while.  Chase H.Q. is one of my favourite games of all time, and I love picking up the console ports and sequels.  I’m really looking forward to giving it a blast.

Sonic Compilation and Super Hang-On are nice additions to my Pal Megadrive collection.  Both are in great condition.  Interestingly Sonic Compilation was never released in Japan.

I don’t have much nostalgia for the Master System, and I’ve got most of the games I want, namely arcade conversions and OutRun titles.  However I’m a big fan of Alien Storm, and it will be interesting to see how this port fares.