New Project

Hey guys,
Once again, due to exams and other things, I haven't been able to post as much as I would like,
And with Ocarina of Time 3D coming out tomorrow I doubt I'll get another done any time soon.
I just thought I'd make a post to tell you guys about a new project that I may be doing in the near future.

Hopefully, I'd like to start doing Video reviews, 'Top 10s' and maybe even 'Let's plays' on Youtube,
I've been inspired by many other people doing similar things and I think that it'd be fun to have a go at myself
But yeah, hopefully you'll see those in the near future

Toku-R

Pokémon Mini

Hey guys, I know I haven't exactly been active as of late, but I've had alot of things to do,
a new Youtube video, revision, and I've been getting out alot more recently, I just haven't had the
time nor energy to get this blog done.
So I decided, instead of one, how about three posts?
I'll start this with the Pokémon Mini.

Not alot of Franchises get their own console dedicated to them but Pokémon did!
The Pokemon Mini, despite it's looks, is not a virtual pet game or a console with only one game built into it.
It's actually an actual handheld console with interchangeable cartridges just like the Game Boy that came out in 2001.

Showing the comparison between Pokémon Mini and GBA cartridges,

It plays pretty simple, monochrome games similar to the look of the original Game Boy games.
This console is quite impressive because of it's hardware features,
the Pokémon Mini included a real-time internal clock, a vibration function, a shock detector for very basic motion control and an infra-red transmitter to play with up to 5 other players.
These some of these features were actually a first for handhelds and really impressive for a console of it's time, especially since this console only measured about 7.5cm to 5.8cm, about the size of a Game Boy Cartirdge!



This console pretty much went under the radar for many people and it wasn't a huge hit,
and that could be for a few reasons. Firstly, the price...
At launch the Pokémon Mini was going at £40 for the console with a game included,
now for a console of this size and the short nature of the games I think that £40 is a bit too much to ask,
and you're still expected to pay out £20 for each game!

A Pokémon Mini playing Pikachu's Rocket Start

The other reason that I think the console didn't do as well as it should've was the game library.
The total number of games released for the system was a measly 10! And that number was even smaller for Europe, who only got 5 games!
Some people did reverse engineer the system to allow the games to be played on other platforms,
some people even made their own games that were capable of being played on the console itself!

The Pokémon Mini is quite a cool and quirky console and, not having one myself, I hope to find one soon

Toku-R

Pokémon Mini Library

I decided to do this in a separate post, just so I keep things neat and  just so the Pokémon Mini post doesn't get too big.

The Games

1. Pokémon Party Mini

Was a collection of 8 mini games, this was included with the Pokémon Mini,
They varied from launching Pikachu to a finish line, to calling 'In or Out' in Tennis,
to Dribbling a ball with Chansey.

2. Pokémon Pinball Mini



Play as a Diglett or Pikachu, wasn't so much pinball, as you had to get the ball into various holes,
many levels of varying difficulty, lots to play.
Could also capture Pokémon like in the main Poké-Pinball series. 

3. Pokémon Puzzle Collection



My personal favourite, A collection of different styles of puzzle games.
Shadow Puzzle saw you fit shapes into a shadow to make a pokémon,
Motion Puzzle was a sliding puzzle game, making an image of a pokémon,
and Escape made you move block to help a pokémon escape into a hole.
You could also unlock a bonus game for completing your Mini-Dex, where you have to line up
pipes to complete the Pikachu circuit.

4. Pokémon Shock Tetris



Basically a Pokémon-Themed Tetris, you can also capture Pokémon by clearing lines,
adding them to your Mini-Dex

5. Pokémon Zany Cards



Was a collection of 4 Pokémon themed card games

The rest of the games on this list are Japanese only and is a shame since some of these are pretty good!

6. Pokémon Puzzle Collection 2 (JP)



Volume 2 of Pokémon Puzzle Collection was pretty much a remake of the original,
featured 80 new puzzles as well as some old ones.

7. Pokémon Race Mini (JP)



This was an interesting one, you play as a Pikachu, racing other pokémon in a side-scrolling,
platformer, dodging obstacles and jumping ledges

8. Togepi's Great Adventure (JP)



Zelda style dungeon explorer, makes use of the
Pokémon Mini's motion detector, shake the Poké-mini to make Togepi
roll around stage and to the exit

9. Pokémon Breeder Mini (JP)



Take care of one of the Generation III starters,
play games with them and train them, similar to a tamagotchi.
Wish we'd got this here, this looks brill.

10. Pichu Bros. Mini (JP)



And finally, Pichu Bros. Mini, similar to Pokémon Party Mini,
this is a mini game collection which sees you playing games with the pokémon
featured in the Pichu Bros. specials.
Shake Trees with Tediursa, Skateboard with the Pichu's, play cath with Cubone
and jump with Hoppip. Great graphics with this one.


And there you have it, the ENTIRE library of Pokémon Mini games.
I hope to find and collect all of these one day as they seem really fun.

Toku-R

Hidden Gems: Dragon's Curse

Dragon's Curse

is a cute cartoony action adventure game released in 1990 for the TurboGrafx-16
It's quite a unique game for it's time due to the features and it's one of my favourite Retro Games.

You'll be exploring Deserts and all-sorts

You begin the game at the end of the previous Wonder Boy game (Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair)
with the best equipment you can get, you head towards the final boss' lair and defeat him,
then a flame appears from his body and curses you, transforming you into a Lizard-Man.
The story of the game is to travel the land, destroy the evil dragons and regain your human form.
As you destroy each dragon he curses you into a new form, each having their own abilities,
later on in the game you can resume old forms to solve later puzzles.

The first thing you'll notice about the game is it's bright, cheery, cartoony graphics and it's similar upbeat music, it's stuff like this in a game that I like and it was the reason I went for this game in the first place.

All the forms you take in Dragon's Curse

It's quite a simple Side-scrolling Action game on the surface but has some cool RPG elements beneath all of that. It's pretty similar to Zelda II, except without the annoying new screen for every enemy you bump into and without the Top-Down Overworld exploration.
For example, while there's no experience/level system, you power up by buying Armour, shields and swords which boost your AP (Attack Power), DP (Defense Power) and CP (Charisma Points)
Attack and Defence Power is pretty much typical and need no explanation, however, the Charisma Points system is quite a unique addition to this game.



The items that the Shopkeepers sell you depends entirely on Charisma points,
if you don't have a high enough charisma then they wont sell you a certain item.
Your Charisma points depend on your form and the armour you're wearing, so you're gonna wanna
wear your sharpest get-up if you wanna buy that Crystal Blade.

In my opinion, this game is a highly addictive, fun and interesting game that everyone (with a little patience)
can enjoy. But don't be fooled by it's child-like appearance, this game gets HARD later on.

Toku-R

Collection Update

I'm sorry, once again my new post hasn't been a review but another collection update,

I haven't really had the time to make posts despite being on my holiday and I can't seem to get into the right frame of mind to do a review, but anyways.

I was at another bootsale today and managed to find some pretty cool stuff,
got a couple of films, LOST season 1 for £2 but no anime this time.
What I did find was a bundle of N64 games, none in particular that I would've picked out
(the only 2 I would've I owned already) but for the price they were going at I couldn't have left them!

I picked up 11 games for just £4.50!

I was pretty chuffed to have found a Super Scope

(or a Nintendo Scope as it's known over here)

Not only that but it was CIB, Manual, pieces and everything!

It really is quite a cool peripheral and all of this pretty much mint for £5,

I couldn't go wrong!

The last thing I bought today is nothing really special but it means alot to me,

My older brother and I had this game when we were younger and it just disappeared one day.

I really enjoyed it and missed it quite a bit after we lost it so I was really happy to have found this today

Quest for Camelot

For a game based on a Disney Film you wouldn't expect it to be so good and, judging from reviews, you're probably right. It's nothing really special, just a basic game but the reason I like this game so much is because of the memories behind it.

I haven't had much time to play through this game again but I will soon.

I'm really happy at all the stuff I managed to bag today, really lucky to have found it all.

Toku-R

Bootsale Swag

I realise that most of the posts I've been making recently have been about my collection rather than reviews of Retro Games, admittedly I haven't had alot of time on the computer as I've been going out alot more but still..
Is it a bad thing?

Anyway, I've been to another boot sale and picked up quite a bit of stuff,
I got 2 series of anime and a few manga too, I also found some Retro Items



Managed to find a Gameboy Colour for only £1 and a copy of Mulan inside
 and Advance Wars for £1.50



and F-Zero X and Jet Force Gemini £4 for the 2 :D

Pretty happy with what I found yesterday and pretty pleased with today too!

Rented Super Monkey Ball 3D and Rayman 3D for the week for just a fiver!
played em for a little bit and think they're both great, the 3D effect is pretty awkward on SMB3D though..

Anyways, will get back into the habit of reviewing pretty soon I hope..

Toku-R

Games from the Past and Duo Screen

Okay so this weekend, the creators of the anime/gaming blog Duo Screen and I decided to meet up!
We met in town and then shopped for a bit before coming back to my house to play video games and chat,
I had already met one of the creators (Caialn) before but it was my first time meeting Danwen so that was fun.

Back at mine we got to know each other more and played a few arcade games and then I watched while Caialn played Majora's Mask, we pretty much spent the whole day together and it was pretty fun!

Caialn playing my 3DS and Danwen reading my manga

Also, at another bootsale I managed to find another cool retro related item,
I picked up this Sega Mega Drive emulator console at the bootsale for only £1!
It's normally found at about £20 - £30 too so I saved quite a bit there.



It's quite a nifty console that also looks quite cool in my opinion,
It has 20 Mega Drive games on it such as Alex Kidd, Sonic and Knuckles, Golden Axe, Ecco and so forth.
Admittedly I have most of the titles on this console on other platforms like PS2 or those TV plug-in games theres only about 5 that I don't have but I don't mind a bit since it's still a cool find IMO

Toku-R