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Monopoly Theme Park Coming To Melbourne

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The developers of the popular Monopoly theme park in Hong Kong, Derek Lo and Stephen Lo, are hoping to capitalise on the popularity of the board game by opening a second Monopoly themed park called Monopoly Dreams, in Melbourne, with all the trimmings of the iconic board game, like passing GO, going to jail, Community Chest and as well as Chance!

The $20 million dollar Melbourne location will be modelled on the original site and will be a considerable 1,650 square metre Monopoly themed indoor park inside Melbourne Central.

There will be a total of 15 attractions across the expansive space, split into two sections where guests will be able to win real prizes. Guests will also be able to win money to spend in the on-site café and retail store.

There’s no set date as to when Monopoly Dreams Melbourne will open, though it’s likely to be later in 2022.

image source: Monopoly Dreams



Intoxicating Nostalgia: The LEGO Icons Atari VCS (10306) Set

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Here we were thinking it doesn’t get any better than Lego’s Nintendo Entertainment System set, but looks like we were terribly mistaken! Lego have now gone up another level with their amazing Atari VCS/2600 (10306) set! Just look at the intricate detail, it oozes an intoxicating aroma of nostalgia. The set contains 2,532 pieces that create the iconic woodgrain console, three game carts, a CX40 joystick, three-shelf cabinet and three 3D vignettes of classic 2D games!

Just like when the Lego NES set was released, this won’t be cheap. Slated at a retail price of AU$369.99, you can grab one from 1st August – not long to wait now!

image source: Brickfinder – Facebook



Nintendo PlayChoice Countertop

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We saw this Nintendo PlayChoice countertop machine and thought we’d share it with you!

We don’t recall coming across this countertop in any of our travels around Australia, so if you are like us, this may be the first time your eyes are feasting on such awesomeness! We have seen and played on the standup PlayChoice machines, but this one is definitely a rarity for us.

This one is for sale (at the time of writing) in Las Vegas for US$3,000. There countertop comes with 5 carts, Kung-Fu, Dr. Mario, Baseball Stars, Excitebike and Tecmo Bowl. However, it is missing a few components and the unit does have a few bumps and nicks. So if you are in the Vegas area and are keen on this expensive beauty, check out this post on Facebook to get in touch with the seller.

image source: Facebook



Lego Ideas: Game Boy Colour Transformer “PRISMATIS”

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We love Lego Ideas that have a nostalgic link to our past, just like this Game Boy Colour Transformer “PRISMATIS” by Baron Von Brunk.

Built in 2017, this particular Lego Ideas entry is based on an iconic full-size 1990s Game Boy Color, with its crisp lime green colours, a battery case on the back that comes off to store two batteries that double as missiles – how clever! Baron tells us that the transformation process is straight forward without the need to remove parts. The Transformer arms and hands are articulated with individual fingers on each hand – talk about attention to detail! Oh yeah, how cool is that speaker vent – another great touch to this very cool Lego Ideas entrant.



Timeline Arcade Adventures With The Nintendork!

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When we stumbled upon our good friend’s, The Nintedork, thread about his super fun time with his family at Timeline Arcade, we knew we had to share their awesome experience, which was loaded with a ton of nostalgia!

The Nintendork was happy for us to share some select photos (see below) from their fun times, but if you would like to see all the photos, full of arcade and pinball nostalgia, from this amazing place, then please check out the Twitter thread below, we promise you’ll be amazed!

Thanks again to The Nintendork for allowing us to share his fun experience at Timeline Arcade!



All English-Language SNES Manuals Are Now Available Online

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Retro gamers rejoice, you can finally put away your physical SNES game manuals as you can now use the SNES Manual Archive online library to check out any game manual from your smart device (or computer) anywhere in the world!

This amazing resource for nostalgic fans of videogaming history was painstakingly curated by a team of dedicated peeps lead by Peebs. To say we owe them all our gratitude would be a massive understatement!

PS: If you look closely, there are Super Famicom, N64 and Virtual Boy manuals too!

Story source: The Verge / image source: Reddit / Title image: Peebs



Introducing the Super Famicom SF-1 Mini (SNES TV)

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Every morning we do what most of us probably do when rolling out of bed  – we grab our phone and scroll through our Twitter timeline to see what we had missed while asleep!

This morning was no different till we came across a tweet from our Liverpudlian friend, Paul Darbyshire, who showcased a DIY Super Famicom SF-1 Mini that was fully integrated with a 5.5 inch LCD TV in a cute CRT case!

I mean just look at this thing – it’s so adorable! The creator of this amazing DIY is Limone Studio, so you should check out his DIY creation video here.

Oh yeah, now we need to find the ChoFamitsuku DIY kit (~ AU$55.00) to make our very own SF-1 mini!

SF-1 Mini Features:

  • 5.5 inch LCD screen
  • usb c-type 5v power supply
  • RGB output
  • Stereo sound



‘Stranger Things’ Video Game Moment

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By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

First off, I’ll try not to spoil anything. (Ed: WARNING – proceed with caution if you have not watched ST4 as yet!)

I didn’t start watching “Stranger Things” until this year’s season. Season four of the popular Netflix series has been enthralling and masterfully plotted.

I never thought I would like the people of Hawkins, Indiana, but they grew on me rather quickly. I watched the fourth episode of the season, titled “Chapter Four: Dear Billy,” and the greatness of the storytelling and the final, video game-like ending, made me realize that the show wasn’t just some nostalgic, kid show. It was much more than that.

Max is my favorite character on “Stranger Things.” Why, I’m not sure? Maybe because she reminds me a little of myself when I was young, and, like Max, I was always optimistically curious about life. Sadie Sink plays Max superbly. Her journey through the fourth season of the hit series is the most captivating storyline. So much so that the Kate Bush song “Running Up That Hill,” released in 1985, has made its way to the top of the current music charts. In the fourth chapter, the song is used brilliantly in the scene that reminded me of a video game. The song is a part of the dramatic scene where Max makes her escape from Vecna, the primary villain. The song is used as a key diegetic piece that works magnificently.

When Max breaks free of Vecna, she is running along a rocky ground through the demonic dreamscape. I got video game vibes when Max is running between falling rocks and debris to get to her friends who are using Bush’s song to get her back to the real world, in a graveyard. Her run made me think of hundreds of video games that I’ve played over the course of my life. She was on a mission to get back to her friends, and the nail-biting scene is shot beautifully. It conjured up visions of a video game hero dodging obstacles to reach a safe place or new level. Everything about it works.

Max’s sprint to her friends and “Running Up That Hill” made for an extraordinarily calculated action sequence that will resonate with fans of the series for years.

image source: Rotten Tomatoes



The Time is 1-Up On This Super Mario Bros. LED Clock

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Thanks to Ms. Ausretrogamer for sending this through – this Super Mario Bros. RGB LED Clock is a DIY project we reckon we can tackle! We love the DMD look on the RGB LED Matrix!

The instructions for this DIY build by Jonathas Barbosa are nice and easy to follow, so we have no excuse to not being able to get this done (unless there is a shortage on the parts required!). You got to admit, this animated Super Mario clock makes an awesome retro decoration!

So, who is making this?

source: laughingsquid & Instructables



An Alternative 80s iPhone

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Now this alternative-history 80s iPhone by Redditor, Echonix9, is so darn clever!

But alas, it is only a prop! Don’t despair, we can still enjoy in imagining having such a device in the 80s. Echonix9 also added a light-pen peripheral, with Redditor Danamania going a step further by adding an old school green on black display (see below pic)!

Echonix9 advises that:

This took about 4 weeks to make from modelboard and laser cut acrylic. Apparently it looks like a render which I can only take as a compliment!

The display is vacuum-formed acrylic, though I essentially let the soft plastic droop into the shape of the screen. I then back-sprayed it with grey and a little silver.

I first created a CAD model in Rhino, using the rough overall dimensions of a pocket TV I have. This allowed me to print off scale plans and have the front panel cut from modelboard with a CNC machine.

With the 3D model I could also laser-cut the back and sides from acrylic, with icons and holes for sockets. There was a lot of filling and hand-sanding to get it smooth and the corners just right!

Details like the aerial, db9 socket and power switch on the opposite side were bits from my electronic stash.

I’m simplifying what is quite a unconventional method of making something like this, especially considering I have a model I could just 3D print, but I learnt a huge amount by giving it a go, making mistakes and taking advantage of the equipment I won’t always have access to, outside of education.

source: reddit | imgur | danamania