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Taito EGRET II Mini Arcade – It’s So Awesome

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When the Taito Egret II Mini was announced in 2021, our collective jaws dropped at this cute and awesome little arcade unit. The Egret II was packed with Taito’s greatest arcade hits, which was a good start. But that wasn’t all! To differentiate itself from the Sega Astro City Mini and any other mini arcade unit on the market, Taito’s offering had a rotating screen (just like its big brother), so you could play games in either TATE (portrait) or landscape (horizontal) orientation – how clever and awesome is that?!

You turn me on!

The games menu is quite intuitive. The orientation of the game is also depicted, which is a great feature

The downside to all this great news was that the Egret II Mini was only going to be available to a limited set of countries for pre-orders. But, we managed to get our hands on the Taito Egret II Mini, and we must say, this thing is so cool and oozes quality – everything looks and feels top notch! The rotating screen is something to behold and feels industrial grade, which is a relief. The other great feature is the ability to switch and lock the joystick in 4-way mode or the usual 8-way – this makes a big difference for games that only have four directions of play!

8-Way or 4-Way – another neat feature!

Taito’s Egret II Mini comes pre-installed with 40 games (see list below), from platformers, shoot’em ups to puzzle, beat’em ups and fighting games to keep you entertained. There are bound to be games you like in Taito’s stable of arcade hits that come with this mini arcade unit. We absolutely love Bubble Bobble, Tatsujin (aka: Truxton), Elevator Action Returns, Rastan Saga and The New Zealand Story to name just a few.

Horizontal? No way!

You spin me right ’round, baby, right ’round

Vertical – that’s much better!

Taito Egret II mini vs Sega Astro City mini: Both are darn cute & awesome!

An essential purchase with the Egret II Mini is the paddle and trackball games expansion set, which incudes the aforementioned paddle and trackball controller and an additional 10 games on an SD card! Speaking of which, we can’t wait to see what the clever modders out there will do with the SD card slot on the Egret II.

It is still early days playing on our Egret II Mini, but so far during this honeymoon period, we love it. This mini arcade unit is packed with great games and feels pretty good to play on. Let’s be honest, this thing is great, but its price does cause a wince. The standard Egret II mini is approx. AU$280 and above (depending on the exchange rate) and that is without shipping. If you want the limited edition (blue joystick top and blue fire buttons), then you pretty much double the price of the standard unit, but we reckon save your dollars and stick with the standard if you really got to have the Taito Egret II mini.

For anyone in Australia looking to get the Taito EGRET II Mini, check them out on Play Asia!

We love the little extras we got with our Taito EGRET II mini

Egret II specs and features:

  • 40 pre-installed games, including arcade classics
  • Special in-game features like: Save states, adjustable lives and rapid-fire
  • 5-inch 4:3 rotating monitor (1024×768 resolution) for horizontal and vertical alignment and an optimal adaptation to the selected game
  • 6-button arcade layout and joystick that is individually adjustable for each game – easily switch from 8 directions to 4 directions
  • HDMI output to also play the games on newer TVs
  • SD card slot to add more games
  • Own integrated sound through stereo speakers
  • Two USB Type-A controller ports for the additional, optional EGRET II mini controllers
  •  Power Source: Above 5V/2.4A (12W)

Games:

image source: ININ Games



PAC-WOR: A Pac-Man & Wizard of Wor Mashup For The C64

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What do you get when you cross the two classic arcade titles, Pac-Man and Wizard of Wor? Give up? You get PAC-WOR!

If you are a fan of Pac-Man or Wizard of Wor (or both), this Commodore 64 mash-up by Krissz will be right up your alley. The mix of gameplay is closer to Pac-Man than Wizard of Wor, but that just makes it more exciting and devilishly harder. Playing as Pac-Man (Pacwor) means you can’t shoot the Burwors/Garwors/Throwors, instead you have one power pill (poWOR) per dungeon which enables Pacwor to chew these evildoers within a limited time frame. Clearing the dungeons is usual Pac-Man fare, eat all the pills!

This is a cool mashup which we like, but we just wish there was more than one power pill per dungeon, especially in the latter ones where the Burwors and their evil mates speed up their movements!

Download and play Pac-Wor for free via CSDB.



Blast From The Past: A Video Of A 1980s Arcade

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What an absolute blast from the past this is! We absolutely love raw VHS video footage, especially the kind from the early 1980s!

We commend the Bally’s Aladdin’s Castle employee that had the foresight to film inside the arcade centre, filled with absolute classic arcade and pinball machines, that one day this video would be cherished by a generation (or two) of gamers across the globe! This is what a throwback Thursday should be like every week.

Sit back and enjoy this 15 minute trip down nostalgia lane…..


source: Jon Exidy Jamshid



Born To Play Pac-Man

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Christopher Lloyd’s Reverend Jim “Iggy” Ignatowski character is in fine form in this classic scene with Danny DeVito’s Louie De Palma from popular TV series, Taxi.

Christopher Llyod was definitely born to play Pac-Man 😉



Very Cool Tabletop Arcade Cabinets

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Check out these amazing tabletop arcade cabinets created by Hidecade!

According to Hidecade, the Xevious tabletop arcade is complete with a vertical screen and a JAMMA harness – which is totally mind-blowing! Oh how we wish these were for sale 😉

source: Arcade Cabinets on ameblo.jp



Ausretrogamer Is 10 Years Old!

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Who would have thought that when we first started ausretrogamer.com in January 2012 that 10 years later we would still be here! Time certainly flies when you are having fun.

Today marks a major milestone for us at ausretrogamer as we have reached the magical decade mark! When starting our site and social media channels in 2012, we honestly didn’t have any expectations that we would still be around in 2022 – but we are glad that we are!

We have been pleasantly surprised over the years to find so many like-minded people who enjoy playing and talking about all the stuff we love, from obscure video games from the 1970s to those schoolyard-type discussions on which 8-bit computer was best (we all know it was the Commodore 64!).

Ausretrogamer has also allowed us to meet a lot of you in real life, either at events like PAX Aus or local pinball competitions or computing club events – which have been a priceless experience. We are humbled to call all of you our good friends. Nostalgia is a powerful force that binds us all – long may it continue!

To all the awesome folks that have contributed and to those that are still contributing content and everyone that engages with us, thank you very much – you all rock our world!

Looking forward to another decade full of retro gaming (and pinball) goodness! 😉



May The Festive Season Be With You

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Wow, another year has flown by! It was another year for all of us to put behind and hope that 2022 brings us all a better, safer and healthier year!

From the ausretrogamer team, we wish you all a wonderful Festive Season, which we hope is filled with fun, laughter and lots of gaming, be it video games, pinball, board games or whatever tickles your fancy! Oh yeah, we hope Santa brings you what you wish for!

Next year we celebrate an important milestone, our 10th anniversary of all things ausretrogamer. But for now, it’s time to relax, be merry and we’ll see you all in 2022!



image source: supplied



TAITO EGRET II mini – United Games Entertainment brings exclusive version to the West!

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EGRET II mini – Exclusive version coming to the West
United Games Entertainment – TAITO Partnership Continues to Grow

Ever expanding German media publishing house United Games Entertainment, with its two game publishing labels, ININ Games and Strictly Limited Games, is moving into 2022 with an exciting announcement. They have secured the exclusive rights for the distribution of TAITO’s EGRET II mini in North America and Europe! The home version of the famous arcade cabinet will be available in different exclusive editions for the Western territories starting in 2022.

Great news for all fans who have been eagerly trying to order this yet to be released console, directly from Japan. With this exciting announcement United Games Entertainment, who exclusively distribute and sell TAITO’s titles in the West, both in digital and physical form, continues its growing relationship with one of Japan’s most iconic video games companies, well-known for legendary games such as Space Invaders, Bubble Bobble and many others.

The EGRET II mini is a faithful miniaturised version of the original, successful arcade cabinet TAITO EGRET II, coming with special content and features that make it a ‘must have’ for gamers:

  • A total of 40 pre-installed games, including classics such as Space Invaders, Lunar Rescue, Bubble Bobble, Darius Gaiden and many more

  • 5-inch 4:3 rotating screen (1024×768 resolution) for horizontal and vertical alignment and an optimal adaptation to the selected game

  • Joystick individually adjustable for each game – easily switch from 8 directions to 4 directions

  • HDMI output to play the games also on TV

  • Two USB Type-A controller ports for the different EGRET II mini controllers (that are sold separately)

  • Power inlet via USB Type-C port

  • SD card slot to add even more games

  • Own integrated sound through stereo speakers

  • Instruction panel for exchangeable instruction cards

  • Special in-game features like: Save states, adjustable lives and rapid fire

Games, Games and more Games!

In addition to the 40 pre-installed games on the console, 10 additional games can be added through an SD card that’s included in the EGRET II mini Paddle and Trackball Game Expansion Set, coming with Strike Bowling, Arkanoid, Plump Pop and seven other TAITO classics.

This adds up to an incredible total of 50 games of various genres, from 1978 to 1997 that will be available with the launch of the EGRET II mini!

More details about the different editions, what they will contain and where to get the EGRET II mini will follow soon!



Disclaimer: Press Release supplied by PR Hound

The 2021 Christmas Gift Guide

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The silly season is upon once again! After the last couple of years we’ve had, we reckon it is time to spoil ourselves and our loved ones on some stuff that will spread the cheer.

With the millions of things out there, we thought we’d give you a hand at picking some cool geeky items in this year’s gift guide. So no matter if you are a retro or modern gamer, into emulation, pinball, a Star Wars fan or into comics, we have you covered.

Anbernic RG351V $209.99 (via Amazon)

LENOXX Bluetooth/Turntable Retro Music Centre $179 (via Catch)

The Legend Of Zelda Game & Watch $69 (via Catch)

Arcade1Up Mortal Kombat II Midway 12-in-1 Legacy Series Arcade Machine $770 (via Catch or Amazon)

Pinball : A Graphic History of the Silver Ball $31.96 (via The Book Depository)

The Best Of Archie Comics $23.14 (via The Book Depository)

LEGO Star Wars Darth Vader Helmet $71.20 (via Amazon)

Pixel Frames Street Fighter II – Car Scene 9×9 inches (Big) Shadow Box Art $45.59 (via Amazon)

Game and Watch Display Stand $9.50 (via Etsy)

Exploded PS1 – Art Print Poster (A4 size) $20.00 (via Etsy)

Enhanced Wireless Controller Super Mario – Nintendo Switch $89.00 (via Amazon)

Hyperkin M07280 RetroN 77 HD Gaming Console For Atari 2600 $103.70 (via Amazon)

TheVIC20 – Full sized VIC20 with working keyboard $260.64 (via Amazon)

LEGO Super Mario Master Your Adventure Maker Set $42.87 (via Amazon)

NOTE: Prices correct at the time of publication



No Coins Required For This Phantasy Arcade Game Exhibition!

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Phantasy Arcade Exhibition is on from December 11 through January 9, 2022 at Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra, CA!

Born out of quarantine, Phantasy Arcade is an art project / unique exhibition that gives artists the chance to create their own custom (and very realistic) mini arcade cabinets! Although there are no working games, each artist has collaborated with a musician to create unique original songs or chiptunes as well. All cabinets are assembled by hand and contain a battery-powered light and optional mini bluetooth speaker for your aural pleasure.

There will be over 40 of these unique mini arcade cabinets on display and available for sale for a limited time. An exhibition soundtrack of all original music will also be available online.

To commemorate the occasion, there are cool enamel pins to adorn as well. To see the custom cabinets from the previous Phantasy Arcade, check them out here!


source: Gallery Nucleus