AUSRETROGAMER

The Pop-Culture E-Zine

You are here: Home / Archives for Japan

Japan

Long-Awaited Nintendo Museum Opening In Japan Later This Year

By

Japan to Open Long-Awaited Nintendo Museum This Autumn (northern hemisphere)

Nintendo enthusiasts have reason to celebrate as the highly anticipated Nintendo Museum in Kyoto, Japan, is set to open its doors this spring (or autumn if you like in the northern hemisphere).

Originally slated for a 2021 opening, the museum’s completion has been confirmed in a recent financial earnings report. The final preparations are underway, with an official grand opening expected later this year. The museum promises to be a landmark destination for fans of the iconic video game company.

This will be another venue to add to the already growing “This to do and see in Japan” bucket list! For more details, visit the TimeOut article here.

JAPAN: Retro Arcade Gaming In Osaka

By

👾Retro arcade gaming at Retro Games Zarigani!👾

Ausretrogamer’s intrepid traveller, Brant Raven, found himself in Japan last month during the ever-popular Cherry Blossom season.

But Dr. Raven wasn’t there just to admire the Sakura, nosiree, he also found time to seek out some old school Japanese arcade parlours. He did find one in Osaka, the Retro Game Center Zarigani, located at the foot of Tsutenkaku Tower in Shinsekai.

What Brant found was a treasure trove of classic arcade machines, including the Yu Suzuki designed SEGA favourites, OutRun and Afterburner – both in their Deluxe cabinets. To say we wish we were all there would be a gross understatement.

Check out all these precious machines!!!

image source: (c) Brant Raven for ausretrogamer.com

The Doctor Goes Retro Gaming Shopping in Japan

By

Our resident doctor, Dr. Brant Raven is currently in Japan on holidays. Instead of heading to Suzuka to catch the F1 circus or the cherry blossoms, he has instead gone hunting for retro gaming goodies in Ikebukuro, another centre of otaku culture. The Doc has his priorities right.

This time, Brant paid a visit to Super Potato. Before you get too excited, this Super Potato store is much smaller than the main store in Akihabara, but it’s still adorned with nostlagia inducing retro gaming products. Brant tells us that the store is very small, but it has “shelves and shelves and shelves full of very rare stuff” – they were his words! Unfortunately Japan hasn’t been immune to costs rising, so the retro stuff that the Doc was checking out was expensive.

For now, we are living vicariously via Dr. Raven and can’t wait for him to send us more pics as his visits more retro gaming stores!

 

PEPSIMAN: The Ultra Free Posable Action Figure

By

Introducing Pepsi-man, the snowboarder!

We are betting most of you may not have known that there was a line of PEPSIman action figures in Japan! Well, consider yourselves informed, cause this is one of those action figures.

This particular PEPSIman is the ultra cool snowboarder, complete with boots, cast, crutches (Ed: what the??!!) and of course, a can of Pepsi cola – ahhhhh, so refreshing! To say we are intrigued (and surprised) that this stuff exists, would be a gross understatement.

Do you have a PEPSIman in your collection?

source: eBay



The Nintendo Museum To Be Completed By March 2024

By

How darn awesome will this be when it’s finished in March 2024!

Nintendo is converting their old plant in Kyoto, Japan, into a museum to showcase products from throughout their long history in gaming.

If you are planning a trip to Japan next year, perhaps consider checking our the Nintendo Museum while you are there for the cherry blossom season 😉

Birdseye view of the Nintendo Museum roof – love the question mark [?]
Image source: Nintendo



story source: theverge.com

The Sony HB-F5 MSX2 Computer – The Gaming System That Came Before the PlayStation

By

On a recent hunt for retro gaming systems we came across the Sony HB-F5, Sony’s first MSX2 based computer gaming system that was released in Japan in 1985.

There were two HB-F5 variants that were released – grey and back. Both of these colour variants are quite rare and difficult to find in working condition (and with working game carts).

These aren’t cheap, but if you are after this oddity, there is one currently available (at the time of publishing) on Facebook Marketplace for $1,050 – and you thought the PlayStation 5 was expensive!

PS: Don’t mistake that RGB21 output for SCART – they look similar, but the pinouts have differing designations!

image source: Facebook Marketplace



The Silverball Planet 2023 Walkthrough with Alex Kidman

By

Our good friend and Australia’s preeminent tech journalist, Alex Kidman, always heads to the coolest place when he visits Japan!

We were so glad Alex took time to go to The Silverball Planet in the Amerikamura district of Osaka, while traveling around Japan.

This is Alex’s take on one of the best pinball amusement centres in the world:

It’s been a few years since I’ve been back to Osaka (for rather obvious reasons) and I was keen to check out The Silverball Planet again. I was last here in very early 2020, and it’s one of my favourite places in Osaka to wind down and spend a few yen.

It didn’t disappoint. One big plus with The Silverball Planet is that it’s nicely affordable even if you are on a budget, with all games costing ¥100 (or less for some older games) a go; compared to the regular Australian price that’s quite a bargain that’ll definitely keep me playing for longer periods. Like any classic arcade it is bright and a touch chaotically noisy — not great for those sensitive to such things — though it is markedly quieter if you visit earlier in the day.

Aside from the machines specifically noted as being out of order, everything’s very well kept and in great condition, allowing me to check out a range of machines I’d not played before, including Stern’s James Bond 007 Pro (loved the theme, couldn’t quite get on with the layout), Elvira’s House of Horrors (very nicely done!) and Spooky Pinball’s Halloween (only so-so in my opinion) .

Plus, well, because I’m me (and I’m in Japan, it would be impolite not to) more than a few games of Godzilla. The new Stern one, not the older Sega one, mind. Yes, I have something of a fan bias here, but I do honestly think it’s one of the best machines Stern’s put out for some time. I just wish I could find the space for one at home — and the funds!

Some quick tips for getting there: Google Maps is your friend, and it’s quite walkable if you’re already visiting the Namba area or dining in Dotonbori. Be aware that while it’s listed as being on the 3rd floor, the standard in Japan is that the street level is counted as the first floor — so it’s actually only two floors above what you might consider ground level.

Can’t make it there? I shot this walkthrough video (and completely forgot to throw in the near obligatory “please like and subscribe” bit at the start and end, I hope I don’t get thrown out of the YouTube fraternity for that. Speaking of which…)


source: Alex Kidman

Ahhhhh, for now, we will keep living vicariously through Alex’s walkthrough of the myriad of amazing machines. We have our bib on, as we can’t stop drooling!



Citizen Promaster Titanium BJ7115-85 Limited Edition ‘Brave Blossoms’ – Review

By

This watch review first appeared on Zeitaku 贅沢 on January 25, 2023.

The limited edition diver’s watch by Citizen that celebrates the Japanese national rugby team and their national flower, the Sakura (cherry blossom)

Likes:

  • The complete package – love the striking look!
  • Super Titanium build makes this watch very comfortable to wear.

Dislikes:

  • The push pins and sleeves Citizen uses on their bracelets make it difficult to alter the length as they are easy to lose.
  • Tri-fold push-type clasp feels a tad flimsy, but I am nitpicking.

I have a few vices that can consume my time, and indeed my finances. One of those vices is watches. Yeah, I shouldn’t call watches a vice, but when you have more in your collection than there are days in the week, then yeah, they become a vice. I am sucker for limited edition watches, and I’m an even bigger sucker for good looking functional timepieces. Luckily for me, the Citizen Promaster Limited Edition ‘Brave Blossoms’ (Model BJ7115-85E) ticks both boxes & then some.

Celebrating Japan’s national rugby team, affectionately known as the Brave Blossoms, and the colours of the Sakura, Japan’s national flower (the cherry blossom), this Citizen watch oozes appeal from its impressive super titanium case and bracelet to its sapphire crystal glass, antimagnetic build and very useful GMT complication. The solar quartz movement powered by Citizen’s amazing Eco-Drive is coupled with the B877 caliber, which on full charge provides 6 months of continuous operation, even if left in the dark – another feather in this impressive watch’s hat.

If you are one to take your watch for a swim, then you won’t have to worry getting this Promaster wet, as it is rated at 20bar (200 metres water resistance) and has a screw-down crown for maximum water resistance. The gorgeous bezel rotates anti-clockwise with a satisfying 120 clicks.

The overall look of this JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) only Citizen is simply stunning. The super titanium makes the watch light on the wrist, and the 43mm wide case size with a thickness of 13.8mm is perfect for 6.75″ to 7″ wrists!  The burned-out charcoal colour looks amazing when coupled with the rose gold bezel trim, screw-down crown and the outline on the lumed markers and hands. The colouring on the outer rim on the dial represents the colours of the Japanese national flower (the cherry blossom), which against the black face, is an absolute beautiful contrast. The cyclops over the date at 3 is under the sapphire crystal, which means there is no bulge protruding above it, thus making it easier to clean the crystal. The caseback is just as gorgeous, with the engraving of the Japanese rugby team’s cherry blossom symbol.

 

I still can’t believe this watch bypassed me when it was released in 2019. Being a limited edition means that you’d be hard pressed to find a new one at a stockist, so your best bet would be to hit the second-hand market online – but be prepared to pay over its original retail price. The Citizen Promaster BJ7115-85E is truly a lovely built watch which would give watches 10 times its price a run for their money. This watch is so good, that if you look closely, Breitling’s new Superocean Automatic range of watches have an uncanny resemblance to it.

If you have the means or are in need of a titanium watch, then I highly recommend you check this one out.

 

Special thanks to The Gnomonist for kindly supplying this Citizen watch for the review.



All English-Language SNES Manuals Are Now Available Online

By

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



Funny Japanese Stuff Without Context

By

It has been a dream of ours to visit Japan since we can remember – one day we will visit this great land!

For now, we will just look at these funny and weird images that showcase the beautiful uniqueness of Japan. For those that want more, check out the Facebook page, Japanese Stuff Without Context

Here are some of our faves, but you can see more here!

image source: boredpanda