Yesterday I had the intimidating task of buying a suit to wear to interviews. Having always avoided the need to wear such restrictive clothing in the past I was not looking forward to this chore but knew it had to be done so set off for Namba trying to put on a brave face. The first shop we entered was promising however, shop assistant was ever so helpful and took my measurements making suggestions all the way. I was thinking more positively at this point, that was until he told us what the price was, around £530! He had mentioned the price ranges to begin with but had failed to mention that this particular one was in the upper range. We did try on a couple of cheaper suits, one of which was fairly nice but decided to look at other shops to compare. The next store we tried was Comme Ca, a really nice store with very helpful staff. The clothes are very stylish and not too expensive, and I ended up bying a very nice suit for much less than the other store, I might have even changed my mind about wearing suits!
After that ordeal I thought it was about time to unleash the geek in me and head over to Nipponbashi (or Den Den Town) an area well known for its electronic goods. Its a haven for geeks or otaku with many video game, anime and comic stores. My aim was to purchase a second hand Nintendo Famicom, one of the original Nintendo consoles, commonly known in Europe and America as the NES. It has been a long time dream of mine to own one of these consoles, ever since I first saw pictures of one in a magazine whilst on a family holiday to Devon back in the eighties. Alongside the console I bought a copy of Ninja-kun, a game I also used to play in arcades as a kid under the title Ninja-kid. After a few failed attempts at getting the thing working, using the tried and tested method of blowing into the cartridge and switching the console on and off, I was taking a nostalgia trip back to more innocent days and underused brain cells.
Famicom
Ninja-kun
Screen from Ninja-kun
The Famicom looks very nice, I'll always connect Ninja Kid with you so it's a good choice for your first game. I'm enjoying the Blog, first one I've read, probably because it's the first one that interests me.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy wearing a suit to work myself, it gets me in character, helps me work harder and enjoy my work more.
The console is actually a lot more 'yellowed' than it looks in the photo but its still nice to have. The one I played a lot in Southsea was actually ninja-kid 2 (next to R-Type and Splatterhouse)but quite similar. Could never figure out how to do those wall jumps!
ReplyDeleteAhh the memories! ...yellowed or not it's a great piece of kit!! ..much teeth grinding!
ReplyDeleteLucky bastard. Having the time of your life!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately my money isn't endless! The honeymoon is over now and am job hunting. Still time for the occasional Famicom game though! You can pick them up from around £3-£7 which is one of the reasons I got one, gaming on a budget! Will post a pic when I get a new one.
ReplyDeleteAhhhh the days of simple gaming! To much going on in games these days , takes one hour before you are even playing it!
ReplyDeleteMaybe I should start to wear a suit to work? My tatty cardy and thick trousers get me in to character , shame i wear them all the time?
There is something about the simplicity that appeals to me, with all the quirks and bugs. You could get to know a game inside out and pick up on tricks even the makers never intended! Ninja-kun is basically three levels repeated over and over with progressively harder enemies, and a bonus level if you collect three flashing balls. Been round a number of times so far!
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could design a suit for gardeners, with extra pockets for seeds. Maybe your tie could double as a seed distributor?
I was picturing exactly where that machine was in Southsea as I wrote that, shame I got the wrong machine! I remember the struggle with the wall jumps too, possibly the first game to have that mechanic?
ReplyDeleteNot sure what kind of clothing could get you into character for gardening Bodum, perhaps a twill codpiece?
I'm pretty sure that was where it was, not in the main arcade but the smaller one at a right angle the main one.
ReplyDeleteThe cod piece would be ideal for Darren, plenty of spare space to conceal his dibber!
Yes a codpiece would work , it could double up as a seed pouch
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of seeds are you planning on storing in there?
ReplyDeleteI had Ninjakun!!His weapon is little shuriken. なつかしい〜
ReplyDeleteThanks for teaching me a new word!
ReplyDelete