The Big Event That Almost Wasn’t - Na Meji Nevidnega (NMN) 2022
And it finally happened - the convetion of Na Meji Nevidnega (or NMN or in the English language known as “At the Border of Invisibility”) has finally procedeed. I’ve written a review of this convention back in 2019. It should’ve be at the beginning of 2022, that’s on the 15th of January, but due to COVID-19, it was postponed to the 21st of May this year.
This wart the route I’ve taken this year to this convention.
It was also the first time I had my own retro booth or stall on this event, giving some advertisement to my free time tinkering on retro consoles, called Retro Rok’s Renew. Most of the peope I’ve talked on this event had no clue that something like this even exist in my country! So I was quite amazed by their reception. But let’s beginn from the start.
There were A LOT of people at this event!
Firstly, me and my girlfriend @aquamoon33 came at about 8.05 a.m. at the event, that started right at 9.00 a.m. We had to move out the consoles that I had with me (that is the SNES, PS1, PS2 and GC) as soon as possible! But we managed to make my stall just in time at 9.00 a.m., when the event was starting to open up.
That’s my stall at the front.
And that’s my stall when you’ve entered the Gaming Zone of this event.
So punctually at 9.00 a.m, we opened up our stall with the cartirdge-based SNES console from 1992. We were quite amazed by how many people looked (and played!) on that ancient console. Furthermore, we were amazed at how the reaction of the people on this console were. And even better - even the young ones with their dads played on this system!
A boy is playing together with his dad the 1992 game Super Mario Kart.
Some older/younger people were playing the game as well.
And the main console of our booth. 30 years old, as old as the game is. Like a fine wine :)
After the SNES came the PS1, which lasted also for three hours on display. First, I had some weird issues with my SD-card based system, called PSIO, where the SD Board just couldn’t make connection to the Parallel Port. Turns out it was not the SD Board, but the SD Card that did not made a connection. Thanks to you, soon-to-be-waifu @aquamoon33, for pointing that out to me! :)
There wasn’t so many people as they were on the SNES one, but it was still quite fun.
A youngster playing Gran Turismo on the PS1, while jokingly, there is a Gran Turismo cartridge inside of my PS1 console - though it’s just a dud, ‘cause the game is played entirely over the PSIO SD based cartridge.ž
And there were also girls playing on the PS1, which in my decade, when the console came out, was not that common.
The “beast” (console) itself! It was modded with a PSIO ODE and a PS1Digital SCART to HDMI connection.
Next, there was the PS2 console, for which there was not so much interest in. I don’t know, if it was bad timming our something else that was faulty.
Two player modus was also quite popular.
A gruesome image of the game Mortal Kombat Armageddon on the PS2.
And the behemoth, long before the PS5 came out - the PS2, modded with a tiny, cool and very quite fan and a newer Power Supply Unit (PSU).
Finally, there was the time of the GC or Gamecube, with an ODE loader called GC Loader, added battery holder, changed thermal pads, changed LED light to green, better fan than the stock one (works very, very quiet!) and many, many more mods on this console that I’ve done personally.
There were quite some people on my stall, when suddenly, a fuse broke near the gaming zone, where the computers were shown and a nasty smell came out of there. That’s if you have too many cables connected! I was just nervous that all of the electricity inside of the room would fade away! But thankfully, that did not happen. Just the computers shut down innapropriarly.
The Gamecube is shown. The only console I have currently with four player modus!
The boys (and a girl was watching) were playing Super Smash Bros. Ulitmate in four players. Mayhen was expected!
And looking at the faces of the people was just obnoxius! :)
And here is my baby - the best console I’ve ever owned!
The clock was nearing like 8 p. m., so me and my girlfriend had to move away from our stall, clean it up and move swiflty back to my car. That’s it!
By the visitors, all I can say is that the popularity of the consoles was as follows:
1. SNES
2. PS1
3. Gamecube
4. PS2
Overall, me and my girlfriend had tons of fun on this convention. Everything was well kept, the organisers and volunteer were friendly and the room and mass of people that went to see the event was just huge. Everything was tip top! We were both amazed and surprised at what the people have missed in the 2 years since COVID-19 strucked. And also how all, I say all of the visitors that came by my stall were willing to disinfect their hands, just because they very well knew what had happened two years ago. As a note, me and my girlfriend were the only booth that had disinfection spray with us. This is the only burden I could give to this event, but that is not the event’s fault.
While we were leaving, I was listening to the back panel at the event Na Meji Nevidnega, when suddenly, the main organisers, Mitja, was asking the people about how they were pleased with this years event. And suddenly all were chearing, whistling in the air, very pleased with what they saw on it.
That was a sight to behold.
Forever.
THE GOOD:
- separate gaming zone
- lots of visitors
- following the schedule (the organisers and us)
- lots of food stands (both imported goods and grilled food)
Yesterday, me and my girlfriend @aquamoon33 went on the first, official Anime-based convention after the COVID-19 pandemic two years ago, called UmiKo in a elementary school’s sports-field, near the coastal region of my home-country, that’s in the city of Koper.
We’ve went there by car, from somewhere where my girlfriend is currently living and yes, I’m living with her and her parents.
We have driven for about three quarters of an hour and came around 9 AM and 45 Minutes by the elementary school. Then, we had to wait for the convention to open even up, what should have been around 11 AM. But the organisers had some difficulties with the doors (I think?), so they’ve opened the place up astonishingly 25 minutes later.
The people around, waiting for the convention to start.
And it started!
After that, we’ve came around 11 AM and 30 minutes inside the sports-field, where everyone was present. From the artists, to the (retro)gamers - which did not have electricity for a long, long time - and the sellers. Actually, I’ve bought some of the best PS2 games at a stand, paid well over 200 $ for over 23 games, but man, these games are timeless!
Here’s a picture of the games I’ve bought, all original and with manuals as well! ^^
All of them heavy-hitters are mine!
We’ve been inside the convention for about 7 hours and then we had to get “home” again. We’ve also had the opportunity to play some games on the Nintendo Switch that were there as well. I played some Nintendo Switch Sports and the good, ol’ Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
It was quite fun!
I’m playing - on the Nintendo Switch! xD
All in all, it was a decent convention, given the fact that there were any conventions for almost two years. Though I still got the fact that something was missing on that convention. People? The sheer openness? Not many things around artists, games and sellers?
I’m not quite sure what was missing, but there was something. Maybe the fact that we visitors were not used to see each other - again.
The crowd is gathering.
Listening to an interesting lecture about how to make photographs by cosplay(ing)
And not so many people after all.
We’ll see as to how the conventions in Slovenia are progressing, sometime next week, when I’ll be writing from my experience at the annual Na Meji Nevidnega 2022, which I’ve covered some years before. But this time, I’ll have my own, retro-modding stand at my (and the visitors) disposal.
So this year was... something. Besides having less time to play (having to babysit more because kindergartens were closed due to coroni), my boyfriend moved in with me this August, since he got a job and we're getting used to living together, but otherwise, not much happened. I got to attend a convention in Italy, and that was pretty much it.
But without much further ado, this years game clearing list is under the cut:
Game 1: Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (Nintendo Switch)
Ok, I'm sad I didn't get to play this when it came out, because if it did and I’d play it way back in November, it would be my GOTY 2020. I love Warrior series, just for the catharsis I get from mass murdering bad guys. The story is great, and without going into too much spoiler territory, it’s not what you expect at all. Bonus points that I went into this game completely blind, only watching the reveal trailer and nothing else and I never felt this kind of awe and shock, that is nowadays sadly almost non-existent with how much other people on YouTube and other social media (Nintendo as well, sadly) spoil the game just for clicks and likes. The gameplay is fun, fast and unlike the first HW game, it has some new mechanics (rods and Sheikah slate help a lot when trying to deplete the Weak-point gauge).
Now if you excuse me, I have an egg to build.
Game 2: Persona 5 Royal (Playstation 4)
Okay, I delayed playing a Persona game because I’m bad at managing in-game events. I played Persona 4 in the past and I remember there was a lot of multitasking involved with confidants and skills that I lost interest in it and decided to watch the anime instead. But when my boyfriend gave me a PS4 and Persona 5 Royal for my birthday I decided to give it an honest try. And I LOVE IT! I didn’t manage to max everyone out (and probably no one does on their first playthrough) but I did manage to max out my skills. I watched the anime a while ago so I knew of the original plot, but the Royal content was where I ended up playing blind, so the whole Yoshizawa plot was a surprise to me (and I had tears streaming down my face during the final boss, which never happens!!!). The game is great, but I’d have a hard time recommending it if you’re bad with micromanaging and if you do end up tackling it, I recommend writing stuff down on paper/tablet/phone/other devices.
Now, I’m gonna mass murder Shadows in Persona 5 Strikers.
Game 3: Persona 5 Strikers (Nintendo Switch)
Now this is how you make a spin-off sequel to a good game. It felt like a real hack and slash Persona game instead of the classic Warriors gameplay. But the biggest inclusion is the fact that you can actually move around as other Thieves in dungeons! The gameplay is fun, however it can catch you off guard if you’re not paying attention to weaknesses (…trust me, got Joker killed A LOT because of my recklessness). Didn’t manage to unlock every Persona in the compendium, because that actually requires levelling up Personas you get in the first dungeon (ex. Needed a lvl. 40 Pixie and Pisaca to get a lvl 53 Bugs fused). Storywise, the game sends you all across Japan to hunt bad guys and the two new party members were a fun addition.
Also, Ryuji at one point seemed to do crack for some reason, but it turned out to be just flour for cooking :/
Game 4: YS – Memories of Celceta (Playstation 4)
I grew to love YS series after a friend of mine recommended YS VIII to me and while this is a remake of the fourth games (Mask of the Sun and The Dawn of Ys), I liked the gameplay here better because of quick pacing and lots of exploring (…and while I loved the map system in VIII, I don’t like how you have to hug walls to get stuff registered on the map in this game). The story is also your classic JRPG style: main hero has amnesia, stop a corrupt group of people trying to bring the end of the world, kill a god maybe and all’s well that ends well.
I’m an Adventurer now!
Game 5: Torna – The Golden Country (Nintendo Switch)
Is it wrong to think that this game is actually better than the actual XC2? Because I like this DLC better than the original game, with no time consuming merc missions, no random gacha pulls and no crappy tutorials. Story explained a lot of things regarding the ancient Aegis war, how Jin became how he is, the birth of Pyra and the destruction of the Tornan titan. The gameplay is more simplified, considering you only ever get 3 drivers, and each has 2 blades, but the regular driver and blade combos are still present. The side quests actually feel worthy doing them since as you complete them, your community grows, and the final quest has your community helping out a sickly little girl get better.
Also, now I know how Malos became so messed up in the head, Jesus.
Game 6: Sonic Adventure 2 Battle (Nintendo GameCube)
I have a confession to make. Despite holding this game as one of my favourite 3D Sonic games, I have never beaten it. Well, I beat Hero and Dark story, but never the Last story. Blame my stupid teenage mind, which didn’t want to see Shadow die, because he is my favourite Sonic character. The gameplay hasn’t aged that well and they, pardon my language, FUCKED UP the treasure hunting stages. Don’t get me wrong, the game is still fun, but the controls and camera can and will fuck you up if you’re careless.
Chao garden will eat up 90% of your time tho.
Game 7: Miitopia (Nintendo Switch)
I may have beaten the 3DS version before, but this one feels more complete. The addition of the horse is great, albeit overpowered a bit, but you can always leave the horse in the inn if you want. I am sad that they didn’t include more jobs in the post-game. The gameplay is still as it was in the 3DS version, make your characters and go on an adventure (Yaaaay!), except this time, I included myself, my boyfriend and 8 of my OCs (my 3DS playthrough had anime characters, and I didn’t want another anime adventure). The outings are also a good new feature, as it allows levelling up relationships easier.
Tho the real way to play this game, is to make memes and kill all the Twerkeys.
Game 8: Persona 5 Dancing in Starlight (Playstation 4)
Ok, I’m not good at rhythm games, because I start panicking and mess up the buttons. But this was a fun game. While I was enjoying the dancing and music (and dressing up the cast in ridiculous outfits), the social events were fun to watch as well. Gameplay wise it’s your standard rhythm game, with a lot of customizing options for dancers and songs.
My child’s name is now canon as Ren Amamiya and you can’t and won’t change my mind.
Game 9: Owlboy (Nintendo Switch)
If you ever want to play a cute, short platformer, then this is a game I recommend. The artstyle is beautiful, and the characters are memorable, which is saying a lot, considering that the game is 6 hours long (10 – 13, if you’re going for 100%). I went into this game thinking “Aww, a smol child is a prodigy among his kind and everyone loves him.” Only to be proven wrong in the next 30 seconds of starting the game. It is also worth noting that the main character, Otus, is disabled, as he was born mute and thus cannot argue against others who belittle him and insult him, and has earned a reputation of being a useless owl, who cannot do anything right. Gameplay wise you either control Otus, or you can have him pick up his party members and use them in combat (first party member, human soldier Geddy, is your main gunner, and one you learn to rely on for combat, despite him using a pea shooter).
Also, I see why the Buccanary abuses her employees, because after those penguins made me go through, I wanna punch them too.
Game 10: The World Ends With You – Final Remix (Nintendo Switch)
So, my boyfriend wanted me to play co-op with him, realized that the mass dialogue made him sleepy and dumped the whole playthrough on me. And I beat it in less than 15 hours (without the extra content). The gameplay was more on the gimmicky side, with being touch only in handheld and one joy-con motion controls in docked mode (thankfully you had some button controls available in docked mode) but fun once you figured out the pin mechanics. Story wise, you’d say it was your typical “protag discovers the power of friendship” but it runs much deeper than that. Each character gets some character development, the stakes get higher with each passing day, for both the protagonists and the antagonists. I still need to watch the anime that came out this year.
And once I get my own copy of the game, I’m tackling A New Day.
Game 11: NEO The World Ends With You (Nintendo Switch)
I jumped into this game almost immediately after I finished the original TWEWY, just so that the story would still be fresh to me. Turns out, that the original story barely matters in the first two thirds of the game and the final third is like “Never played the original? Here’s all the spoilers for it! :D”. Speaking of the story in NEO, it’s your usual people-die-now-they-play-the-Reapers-game routine, but this time it’s not as it seems. The main characters all have their own special abilities, with Rindo being able to travel through time, Fret being able to make people remember things, etc. Gameplay is pretty fun and fluid, having more than two playable characters in combat and each pin is assigned to different output, but you cannot equip pins of the same output, until you get an ability to do so, that’s when you’re able to go to town on the Noise and other players. Other players? Yep! This reapers game is a team effort and you get to fight other teams. I recommend this game to everyone who played the original game + new game since that is essentially this game’s prologue.
Also, Pi-face/Tabooty is your party member, so that’s a big plus in my book! (Zero – Seven – Seven – Three – Four)
Game 12: Metroid Dread (Nintendo Switch)
To be completely honest, I’ve never played any Metroids before. I watched Let’s plays (First one being the Omega Boss Battles rom hack), played many Metroidvanias before, but never THE Metroid. I had fun playing this game, some moments were frustrating, and some bosses made me feel like I’m playing an old NES game, where you had to learn all the patterns to beat the boss. Story takes place after Fusion, with Samus already having Metroid DNA inside her, and she is tasked to go to planet ZDR, to investigate the disappearance of the giant kille-errr I mean, EMMI, the robots designed to investigate the planet. And they went rogue and they kill in one shot. Gameplay is fluid and some items need complex tricks to obtain them, which is why I didn’t 100% the game.
I did manage to blow up the planet though.
Game 13: Evoland 1 (Nintendo Switch)
Had this game on my wishlist for a while now and I managed to snag it for only 5€ during the Black Market discounts. It was short and kinda on the meh side. The idea of slowly upgrading your game from 8bit to 16bit to 64bit is great but it felt lackluster halfway through the game after you unlock every upgrade. Story is your generic RPG kind, you have a lot of references to other Adventure and RPG games (some memes as well), combat is either action adventure or RPG, depending on the area and there are a few collectibles around to find. It's a game that can be beaten in one afternoon, so don't go expecting some high quality gameplay from it.
Also the final boss was too easy once you learn the patterns.
Game 14: Bowser's Fury (Nintendo Switch)
Counting this as a separate game from 3D World since the mechanics are more similar to Odyssey as opposed to 3D World. Speaking of which, it felt as if I was playing a mash up of Odyssey and SM3DW, with the former's open world exploration and the latter's power up mechanics. Story wise, it is the usual defeat Bowser thing all over again, but this time it feels more dire as the one to ask for your help is Bowser Jr. of all people. You're exploring the Lake Lapcat, an archipelago full of cats and cat themed residents and structures (as a cat fanatic, I was squealing in delight). You have two modes, regular exploration, during which you collect Cat Shines (this game equivalent of Power Stars/Shines/Power Moons) and once enough time passes, Bowser's Fury activates, waking up Bowser as he starts wreaking havoc on the isles. While this is happening you either have to dodge his attacks and wait out the invisible timer, collect a shine to chase him away or, once you unlock Giga Bells, fight him. There are 100 Shines in total, some are easy, some somewhat hard and some will make you throw your controller down.
I cackled during the ending though.
Game 15: Evoland 2 (Nintendo Switch)
This game had some improvements over the first game, but also a lot of meh things. The story is very reminiscent of Chrono Trigger, having you traveling between 3 different eras (signified by graphics, 16bit being the past, 32bit being present and 3D being future) and at first you're only trying to get back to your time, but it soon becomes apparent that this isn't just about that. Personally, I liked the idea of traveling between 16bit, 32bit and 3D era, since the first game lacked that IMO. Having party members (that actually stay with you throughout the whole game, mind you) is also welcome in my book. Though as good as the gameplay and story are, there are some plots that are never explained, main quest sometimes requires a guide as to where to go and what to do, and some mechanics are either really good or poorly implemented (Had a wee bit of trouble with the Stepmania segment). Otherwise, it's a good game, darker than the original, but it was a fun ride.
Bit of a warning, don't let Kuro drive.
Game 16: Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time (Nintendo Switch)
A year and a half later and I finally managed to sit down and play this game. I could've gotten the digital version of this game on launch, but I wanted to get the physical copy of it, so I had to wait almost a year (Ordered from Limited Run Games in August 2020, got it in June 2021). I never watched the series in full, I watched bits and pieces as a kid, but I watched the final season in full. I loved the references the devs snuck in the game, from character cameos to locations. Story takes place in the FINAL episode of the series, just as Ashi opens the portal to the past, but during the trip back, Aku manages to grab Jack and trap him in a pocket dimension and he has to fight his way back. Gameplay is fun, having both exploration and fighting scenes, and Jack also uses other weapons besides his sword (they are breakable like in Breath of the Wild, but you are able to repair them before they break). There are also these Kamons that you need to collect if you want to get the Golden Ending (there are 50 of them and there is no way to track where you missed them). I managed to get the Golden Ending and I'm torn between this ending and the series' ending. The opening cutscene where you hear Mako speak again, brings tears to one's eyes.
And there you have it. Less games but some of them did take 50+ hours so it is kinda understandable. My game collection is slowly growing, now that I've managed to snag myself a PS3 and Xbox 360, and my boyfriend gifting me a PSP.
Also a bit of a announcment to make: I'll be less active here and I'll post more on my Twitter (mostly my stupidity).
A One-Year-And-A-Half-Drop Out: How We’ve Got Back To A Convention After The COVID-19 Pandemic
Yesterday me and my girlfriend @aquamoon33 went to our third time on a convention, that was specialized in retro stuff, called Games&Co. in Pordenone, Italy. Our visit to this convention wouldn’t been any special, if it weren’t for the fact that after a drop-out that lasted more than one year and a half due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was finally time to visit some retro convention in our nearest city/country and that had to be Italy. It’s also quite ironical, that our last visit to a convention was in fact back in Italy, at the beginning of the 2020′s year! Unbelievable!
Waiting outside of the convention’s center.
We’ve just had a lovely 2 hours of driving time to the convention and everything went very well. Heck, every visitor, including ourselves, had a safety facial mask on their mouth. Literally everyone! This was a quite good example that with much care, no COVID-19 virus could be spread out to the public, if everyone is duing their job(s) to prevent it. This is an event that our country (Slovenia, I’m talking to you!) could learn very much everything.
Inside of the event.
Anyway, thought it was more of an electronic expo event, with having lots, I mean, really LOTS of electronics one your disposal, we’ve first went to the gaming section of this convention. And it was true, there were games. Just not that many as I hoped they would be. And the worst fact was, that they were sealed. As if somebody would’ve stealed them anyway ...
Them Games!
Being a bit sad about those games section of this convention, we’ve travelled back to the begging od this event, right to were the guys were selling their ownful stuff in the “flea market” place. And oh boy, we were really lucky that we did this, because it WAS like a very big FLEA MARKET!
Cosplayers, A Boxed Playstation 1 And A Cheap PS3.
After we’ve got their, we’ve got very hyped by all the old stuff people were selling for really laughable prices! I’ve got two new consoles, a boxed (cables included!) Sega Saturn (1994) and a Atari 2600 (from 1986!) and a PlayStation Vita (2011), while my girlfriend bought herself a PlayStation 3 (around 2008) and a PlayStation Portable (2005). And many, many more awesome games we’ve bought for ourselves!
All of them great old consoles and games we’ve snatched!
Overall, I was quite pleased with a convention that was at least trying to organise itself. As I’ve saidm, everyone had their masks on, there were no nay-sayers or “covid19 doesn’t exist” kind of people around us. If they could play a game, they all would be playing by the rules. That’s all it takes to make a great event/convention in the first place. It’s the visitors that give their opinion. And it is possible!
THE GOOD:
- Everyone had their masks on.
- Lots of old gaming tech that was selled.
- Good parking opportunities.
- Relatively not that far away city.
THE BAD:
- A wrongfull organised sellers on the convention.
- A few too little retro games to buy.
8 / 10
Something To Behold - The New Nintendo Switch 2021 OLED Model
Nintendo’s newest iteration of this console generation is the Switch, which is 4 years old in 2021. I know that for sure, because I have the original Switch model way back from the year 2017. Nevertheless, it seems like the company who stands behind this console, named Nintendo, has finally found out that they could offer a product with an OLED display. Like a PlayStation Vita 2.0. And it finally arrived!
The box I got from todays mail. It’s half the size of the original box, but it still got plenty of things inside of it.
The insides of the box and how the screen looks like. You have to note that the screen doesn’t have huge bezel’s at all and that the sound is because of it’s size a bit more muffled.
So when I first opened the box, which was delivered by the Slovenian Post, I’ve found out that the Switch got a cool redesign to it’s shell. It’s bigger and better. The colours really pop out of the screen. The ventilators is also more covered up, so there can be a very small ammount of dust trapped inside of the console. It’s not that much heavier. The speakers are at the bottom, which happens to influence the sound, which is more muffled out of the speakers. The kickstand is also more stirm this time around. The graphics engine and everything inside of the console is the same as the 2017’s model, albeit the battery life has changed - it has juice between 4 to 9 hours. And yes, you can play and see everything from the outside with this new OLED screen! Finally!
Me and my gf’s @aquamoon33 hands holding the OLED Switch and was finally able to transfer all of the User data to the new OLED Switch.
Overall, I’m very, very pleased with this model! ^^
The old 2017 launch edition Switch will go to it’s final resting place - to the Archive, where I have my HP laptop from 2009 in it! :)
9,5 / 10
THE GOOD:
- Bigger OLED screen
- Better kickstand
- Smaller package
- Longer battery life
- You can finally play your Switch outside of the house
Pimping my Console-System Up; Changing My Gamecube To 2.0!
I’ve also decided to make an “upgrade” to my Gamecube console by changing the inside of it.
This is how my Gamecube console looked like, before I’ve installed the goodies. Notice the inside, on which I’ve put my nickname and the date it was bought on the device and the GC Loader, an SD-card based Optical DiscDrive Emulation (ODE) device. I’ve also put some sticker on the case of it.
I’ve gotten myself an 3D printed bracket from a company in the US for the GC Loader, alongside the new fan and a bracket for it. It costed me around 60 Euros plus 22 Euros of shipping fee. The install went quite well, as I did not need the use to use my soldering equipment.
Old fan, I had to improvise to make it work.
New fan, bracket and GC Loader bracket inside of my console. Looks really nice now. And it’s really quiet! :)
To give you and impression of how quiet my system now runs, I’ve made a video showing it to you:
The added quietness of the system plus new 3D printed bracket made it work the purchase. Too bad that I didn’t found out that there was a local 3D printer from my home village that could print it out for me for half the price, but now I know who should I give them to do this kind of stuff.
The Power of The Invisible Force - Changing a Power Supply Unit (PSU) on My PlayStation 1 (PS1)
Recently, I came to the decision that something has to be done with my PSU on my PS1. Everytime, I’ve powered it on, it got hot quite fast. The thing is, when I’ve powered it on, it went on to be very hot in just a few minutes and I’ve got scared that it could warp the plastic of the system. And then, I’ve made a decision to end those “hot summers”.
That is my PS1, which is very special to me, because it has the PS1Digital HDMI output inside of it.
The solution came quick. I’ve ordered my NEXUS PSU for the PS1 over the internet. It costed me around 40 Euros + 20 Euros shipping fee, which is IMO quite expensive.
Here is a picture with the old and new, half the size, in black colour, picture of my new PSU. It’s really great!
After a completely easy and soldereless installation of the PSU, I’ve turned it on and there just wasn’t any heat anywhere. No more strong heat waves inside my system! YAY! ^^
This is how it looked like when I’ve made the transition to the new PSU. More cooler and it also has less capacitors than the old one. And it has a 12V electricity input, which is great for finding a suitable electricity point.
So in conclusion, was the upgrade worth it? Hell yeah, it was! No more hot inside of the console, half the size of the original and less capacitors means more energy efficient games, less heat and more sort-of powerful system at your hands. It was a great investment, that is for sure. Hope that the system will live on, at least to the year 2051! :)
A New World Awaits: A Short Review Of The Commercial Success, Called PlayStation Virtual Reality (or PSVR)
As many as you know, Virtual Reality (or VR in short) had it’s hayday in the middle of the 90’s of the previous century. It was tried out by many companies, but it failed very miserable - I’m talking about you, Virtual Boy! It gave you serious headaches and nausea when you were using your VR for a longer time. Hence, therefore came the saying “Don’t play too long or you will strain your eyes!” Yeah, right ...
It took us almost more than two decades to wait before companies tried it for a second time with VR. Occulus, Microsoft and Sony. These three companies are the first that come to my mind when I’m talking about something that is not real. The Sony PS VR came out in 2016 and was sold for about 400 $. It wasn’t cheap for the time, nor it is today, in 2021, but in the store where I got mine (it’s the same store I’ve got my Nintendo Switch in 2017!) it was selled for roughly 300 €. That’s almost as much as my PS4 Pro costed me in 2020. I’m going to tell you how I got this device and review it for you, so you get a feeling of if it’s worth it or not.
So on Saturday, the 24th of April 2021, my and my GF @aquamoon33 went from here living place in southern part of Slovenia to our capital, Ljubljana or specifacally the industrial zone, near BTC. First, we went to IKEA, were there was a lot of things to see, and then we went further to the Big Bang store.
We first got our eyes on the new PlayStation 5. It looked absolutely massive! But unfortunately, we had no clue on how to use this kind of device. We were playing the new Astro Robot game on it, and after almost 10 minutes found out, that you have use your motion skills to actually move your character! Can you believe it?! I felt so ashamed, almost like a boomer or such. But after that, we went further to the PS4 stand, where there was a VR machine on it.
My gf was brave enough to use it first. There was a game, called Drive Club VR and the game was quite fast. You have to make fast turns from left to right. Before there was a huge right turn, she did not only used here hands, BUT also her body, which would’ve meant she would have to fall directly down, on the floor - if it wasn’t for me, who stood directly by her side, so I could block her fall before she even touched the ground.
She looks like a movie prop from a music spot, where Daft Punk is playing xD
After she was finished, I’ve put the glasses on. And OH MY GOD - WHAT A RELIEF! First, I was a bit “woody” while playing Drive Club VR, but after a while, when I got the hang of it, I was quite good. Indeed good! Okay, I wasn’t first, but still, I felt WIDELY awake from that moment on. In contrast to my girlfriend @aquamoon33 , I had no headaches, nausea or other akward feelings. Keep in mind that a night before our trip, I had a hard time falling asleep, just because the matress had a big hole in it (her brother, who was quite fat for thath time period, made it’s tool I guess). Because of that sensation, I was immidiately so impressed, that I just had to buy it! I know, It was an impulse buy, which doesn’t happen often in my life, but still, it was definetely worth it!
Fast forward to two/three days later, and I’m telling you, how this system looks like. I’ve bought it in separated cash, costed me almost as much as my PS4 Pro, but still, every cent was definitely worth it. When I got home at the end of the weekend, I wanted to connect it to my PS4 Pro and TV. And that was the time I wasn’t thinking so much about. There are exactly 12 cables around my devices. That’s is A LOT! But on the other hand you have to understand that this device was made in 2016, when cables were something more common than by todays standards. Here’s what I got:
The whole package
Picture taken from top (it was from a dusty warehouse, therefor don’t mind the scuffs and dust)
What the headset looked like
And how it looked like from the front.
This is how I managed to stick that little device for the VR set onto my PS4 Pro. Great, isn’t it?
And this is the bill I had to make - luckily I’ve bought it in times of Spring Sale - in order to get the 6 games for this device (Superhot VR, Gran Turismo VR, Dirt Rally VR, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Tetris Effect and Job Simulator). I’ve also got a PlayStation VR Worlds digital bundle included, but apart from the game London Heist, there is really nothing special to it. That’s how less of a price I’ve paid:
This is all I had to pay. Quite cheap, ain’t it?
The first game I started on my PS4 Pro was Farpoint, which I got for free on a Playstation Now subscription service and - OH MY GOD, IT BLEW ME AWAY!! It didn’t take that long, but after about 5 minutes while I was playing, my hands started to sweat. Really sweat! Now I know exactly how @aquamoon33 must’ve felt when she’s nervous while gaming. The graphics are really impressive. And the planet you are onto is just gorgeous!
But when it came to combat, there was no time for having fun! In fact, I shrieked a bit when the first “headcrab” got onto me! :S
“First close combat! #PSVR #Combat #Farpoint #PS4share
https://t.co/WdOp4tZNIu https://t.co/h3dHEZx3R4”
And then I’ve played some London Heist and had some fun with my brothers, who are not gay or they just don’t like my cigarrette! xD
“You no like me, bro? xD #PSVR #LondonHeist VRWorlds #PS4share
https://t.co/4p3jYmDaSq https://t.co/Asbifs8q76”
I’ve also played with some Dirt Rally VR, which is BY MY FAVOURITE GAME OF THIS YEAR SO FAR!
“My first playthrough! #DirtRallyVR #Rally #Driver #PSVR #PS4share
https://t.co/Dt0QRTy2Qk https://t.co/5dTzX322Rc”
Here is a glimpse of my second, more serious playthrough:
“My 2nd playthrough - Like a boss! 8-) #PSVR #DirtRallyVR #Driver #Rally #PS4share
https://t.co/Dt0QRTy2Qk https://t.co/usPiSNU9aA”
Overall, I’m quite happy with the PS VR that I’ve bought. Nevertheless, the PS4 (Pro’s) aren’t current gen anymore, so to find peripherals that’s aren’t as common as they were in the time when this system was current gen (this is the PS5 by now). I was literally over-the-roof- excited to try this thing out. And my expectations were met. Some, at least. Okay, the graphics aren’s as sharp as they are with the Occulus Rift, there are quite a bit of cables laying around, the headset could be tirring at time. But the fact that you feel like you are directly in the game, the quite reasonable price and the ammount of fun you get by playing a huge selection of games you have on offer (they’re still making games for this system, today!) are worth IMO.
Virtual Reality is a good thing to get to know better. It’s a gateway of finding your true inner feelings and conceptions. And for a long time, I’m just really greatful to be a part of it.
9.0 / 10
The Good:
- Reasonable price
- A huge selection of games to play
- Some exclusives (Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Astro Bot, etc.)
- If you are like me and don’t feel any nausea, headaches, etc.
- A new way of playing your favourite games
- A good device to expand and forfill your driving skills
The Bad:
- Quite a lot (twelve, to be exactly!) of cables laying around your PS4 (Pro)
A saviours HD experience - a short review of the MemCard Pro and PS1Digital for the PlayStation 1
Lately, I got myself an SD-card based memory unit for my original PlayStation 1. With this unit, up to 1 TB of space is avalaible just for your save game files. It also has a Wi-Fi port, which is kind of a novelty in the 21th century. The fact that you can store up to 100+ games on one single cartridge is just mind blowing! I’ve got it very early this week, so I don’t have much experience with it. Unfortunately, currently, it’s not compatible with the PSIO I have, but I hope that this will change as soon as a new firmware will come out for the PSIO. Hopefully, this will happen very soon!
This is how this baby looks like
And this is the MemCard Pro next to my PlayStation 1
Though the real deal must be the PS1Digital I’ve also got this week. Basically, it’s a way to get your PlayStation 1 console ready for smart or HD TV’s. It gives your PlayStation 1 an HDMI port, meaning that it’s totally compatible with modern TV’s. But not only that - it also has a Wi-Fi antenna built into it. That’s really rad! In the menu, you can adjust many things inside your PS1Digital - from 240p to a whooping 1200p. I’m currently at 480p, because the screen just gets big enough to see at the far end of the living room (I have glasses, btw). And also one of the cooleste things by this mod is the fact that you can force 240p into it, meaning that there is no flickering in sudden changes of the resolution (i. e. from 240p to 480p, when going into the menu in Dino Crisis).
An HDMI port for SERIAL I/O
Inside the clean PU-18 motherboard
Everything is set up. With a Brooks wireless DualShock 4 receiver, a MemCard Pro adapter and a PSIO.
There is really nothing else bad to say abouth this product. Maybe the fact that it’s not easy to install it yourself - I had to send my PlayStation 1 unit to an Italian company to install it for me. Oh, and the fact that’s it only limited to PU-18 and PU-20 boards (mine is a SCPH-5502 model, with a PU-18 motherboard). Other than those nitpicks, it’s really a great device. And it’s far, far better than an emulation device like the PlayStation 1 Classic and other emulators like that. Oh, and I’m using firmware 1.5.3 at the moment. Maybe they will make some more threats out of it in the future.
Some gameplay of Tekken 3 in HD!
Let the games begin! :)
Anyway, I’m totally ready for this years holiday summer! :D
MemCard Pro
8/10
The Good:
- One memory card to rule them all!
- Wi-Fi connectivity
- Easy to connect to your PC
- Nice looking OLES display
The Bad:
- No connectivity with the PSIO at the moment
- Quite expensive, not suitable for everybody
PS1Digital
9/10
The Good:
- An HDMI port for your PlayStation 1
- Wi-Fi connectivity
- Beatiful HD graphics
- No emulation, all is very keen to the original
The Bad:
- No connectivity with the PSIO as of firmware version 1. 5. 3
Time To “Switch” Things Up! - A Modest Review/Upgrade About My 2017′S Nintendo Switch
For startes, let’s go back in time for a bit - the date is Wednesday, 29th of March 2017. The time is 1.30 p.m. I was standing near a cash-register in Kranj, Slovenia (actually, the store is called “Big Bang”) and soon, my life would be changed, forever!
My Switch in March 2017 - bought some great bumpers for the JoyCons and some blue thumbstick grips.
The back of my Switch and the “Yin-Yan” Logo.
That was the time I bought my second (my first one was the awesome Nintendo 64) game console, the best one of all time - the Nintendo Switch!
Usually, consoles themselves can’t really change your life - but this one really did, to some degree.
The year 2017 was magnificient. I got on the biggest slovenian convention, where I could show the people this great gaming device and it was also the year I’ve first met my girlfriend @aquamoon33, a slovenian gaming girl, who has played the same games as I have - you don’t meet such people everyday, especially not in my country.
Fast forward 4 years later, and today I have a person, which plays the same game as I do, a lot of those red-shaped Switch cartridges and an upgraded system. How did it come to this? I’ll tell you now.
My Switch, photographed today. A lot has changed. Firstly, I’ve changed the left JoyCon to a nice-looking blue shade and I’ve also changed the buttons to match the SNES colour scheme. The thumbsticks are the same. I’ve started to use a Pro Gaming Grip from Satisfye (because I have large hands) and it fits really well.
This is how my console looks from the back. I’ve got a see-through clear shell (because I’m a big fan if you can see the techonology!), put some gaming stickers on it, changed the triwing screws to more friendly for screwdriver Philips #00s and I’ve also put a sticker on the shell, on which I’ve marked the date and what things were changed. It’s great, because you can’t see the yellow sticker if you have a Satisfye Pro Gaming Grip on.
It was in January 2021, when my fan got really noise and such. To be honest, that’s what I expected it to do, because after 4 years of intensive gaming on this device, the fan will get all dusty and such. So I took my Switch apart and had to make the dust dissaper.
That ugly little mofo, before it was cleaned.
And a picture of the fan after it got cleaned. Looks a lot better now.
The whole process did not take me much time after all. In about an half-an-hour, everything was completed. In terms of noise cancelation, it didn’t do anything to it. The fan was quite loud still. But at least was more pleasant to the eye - keep in mind, that I had the clear shell on the device at that time.
Because everything went so good and clean, I’ve decided that I wanted to “share” my knowledge to my girlfriend’s Switch. I’ve put out the fan, cleaned it with compressed air, about four times, which was a huge mistake - it shattered into thousand pieces and the fan was gone! I saw it in her face the moment the fan got broken. She was pissed as hell! And because I’m a loyal boyfriend or at least try to be as polite as possible, I’ve said to her that I’ll put my own fan from my 2017’s Nintendo Switch into her Switch, so she could still play on her Switch. If this isn’t as polite as it gets, then I don’t know.
So I went to see on the german eBay site, if there are any fans for the Switch and to my surprise, they were! And because I’ve wanted to change the fan and some other details to my Switch, I’ve said “why don’t do everything?”, so I did - I’ve changed the fan, changed the speakers (they got quite silent), changed the battery (it was slowly losing it’s power) and change the thermal paste (got a spunk more on my Switch). The whole process took me about roughly 2 hours and costed me all together around 80 Euros (that includes shipping!).
Was it worth it? Hell yeah, it definitely was!
Although the speakers are a tad bit more silent than before, but the battery and fan make this thing really great. The fan, that is now one made by Foxconn, works very silently, almost not hearable and the battery life is just outstanding. I’ve played some Super Mario 3D World, Super Mario Maker 2 and Nintendo Switch Online (that is SNES, specifically Super Mario World) for exactly 2 hours and still had 70 (seventy!) percent left! It took only 30 percent away! That is just amazing!
All in all, it was a great buy and I would buy the same equipment definitely again. Maybe I’ll have to do that one more time. But not until 2026 or 2027. Because until that date, my Nintendo Switch will be fully playable. And hopefully, no same mistakes will be made in the future! :)
The PlayStation Input Output or PSIO - A Real Game-Changer!
As many of you may or may not know, I grew up in a time when there was a clash between the PlayStation 1 (PS1) and Nintendo 64 (N64). I can quite good remember about how glad my neigbhour was when in late 1998, he got a PS1 to play with. And not only that - he also got a Crash Bandicoot game from his parents! Lucky bastard!
Then again, at that timeline, I had my own console, which was a Nintendo 64, together with two controllers, Mario Kart 64 and Star Wars: Shadows of The Empire games. Though we had quite different consoles, we never argued who had the better one.
Fast forward to 23 years later and I’ve finally got an addon, called the PlayStation Input Output (PSIO) for my PS1. This is a so-called Optical DiscDrive Emulation (ODE) device, which let’s you play yout favourite games via an SD card. No more using those pesky little CD’s, to when read, the drive sometimes gets just too loud! With this little thing, your PS1 becomes almost “immortal”!
Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, in order to make your PS1 somehow “immortal”, you have to solder a Switch Board to your motheboard that is provided in the package in order to make it work. And not only that - if you have a game that is on multiple .BIN files or you use some Redbook audio inside of your game, you have to use their Cybdyn application in order to make a .CU2 file that the system can read. That sucks a lot.
But other than that, the installation process isn’t as difficult as it looks like it. As long as you are well prepared as I was for this task, off course! Aaah, and when you’re done modding the console, you can still use your CD-Rom if you want to. That’s neat!
After two months of waiting the postman, I’ve finally got my PSIO! It made quite a long trip from Australia. And after then, it was time to go to my workshop, eee room! Before I started the installation, I had to read through the 80+ (no joke!) pages of the manuals. Specifally, the manual that talks about the installation of the Switch Board to your motherboard. I’ve got an SCPH-7502 from 1998, which I bought for a laughable price of 10 € off Facebook Marketplace some long time ago, and because it has a Parallel I/O Port to it (like newers models of 9002 numbers unfortunately doesn’t have it anymore), I could install the PSIO onto it. And I totally did it! I’ve used a lot of flux, a sharp knife, some handgloves, solder iron, a magnifying glass, a wire cutter, a multimeter and the kynar wire you get with the package, though that was just right for my project. After I soldere a wire from the Switch Board to the motherboard, I carefully used a multimeter, just to be sure that the solder and wires were connection to each other. And when I finally did manage to wire everything together, after about 2 hours later, I’ve downloaded the contents of the SD card and the big SD card dongle onto the Parallel Port, gave some electricity through my system, put it together with the AV Cable of my television, put some controllers and a memory card onto it and - it just worked! Nice!
I’ve tried a lot of game on this device, and every game works on it! Incredibly! If I would know about this device, like 15 years ago, I would go nuts. It is really convenient to play some games over it and what it just the best thing about it is the fact, that you can play any PS1 game, as long as you have the .BIN files, and there is no skipping while looking at cutscene(s), while the loading times are also a bit faster than on CD’s. And to have a cherry on top - the console works very, very quite now! I’ve also removed it’s CD-Rom drive, because (A) I don’t need it anymore and (B) I want to preserve it for my children, so I can show them how it was to play those games on a CD-Rom.
I’ve also used an 64 gb SD card to store some of the best games of that generation (like Crash Bandicoot, Spyro The Dragon, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Mortal Kombat 3 and 4, etc.) to show various people the best games of that generation, while I’ll be on a convention - if that virus will ever be defeated, off course!
And to all you “nay, you are not speaking the truth, you haven’t “modded” anything at all” - here is your proof!
All in all, this is a great little device and the for the price of around 100 €, it is a must buy for anyone who lived through the 90’s, is a nostalgic gamer or had a PS1 at home. With it’s community and in the future, there will be an option to use your save/load files from your memory card to your SD card. This really is a device every retro fan should have!
Score: 9.8 / 10
The Good:
+ No more CD’s, just SD cards!
+ No more skipping in in-game cut scenes
+ Faster loading times
+ The console is far less noisy now
+ A good way to preserve your PlayStation 1 console
The Bad:
- Not compatible with Redbook audio.
- It’s quite difficult if you have multiple .BIN files
- You have to cut three traces and solder the Switch Board in order to function properly.
Unlike last year, when I did a Top 10 2019 Games, this year I said to myself “You know, ProtonJon inspired a lot of viewers to do their own game clearing challenges, I’m gonna do one myself!” So this year I decided to do a game clear challenge on my own, considering that my collection of games has been growing now that I’ve gotten myself a GameCube and Wii U (which my boyfriend lent me). I’m going to list every game I cleared, system and a short review of the game and my personal opinion.
Without further ado, let’s get started!
2020. The year that was not optimal for gaming conventions. In Slovenia.
This year was really a bad year for having or being at various conventions, due to the unexpected COVID-19 outbreak. In Slovenia, there were literally no conventions, since the disease struck us totally by surprise and therefore costed us almost a 1000 deaths!
That is what surprised me the most. In February, we were doing jokes and all that stuff, were pretty much not aware of this virus. Now, in November, we are all affected by it. I won’t go and speak about the economical colapsese and such things that are hapenning right now. Although I would like it, but that is not the purpose of this post. I’m going to tell you how miserable this year was.
2020 was not good. For having conventions or getting money out of gaming conventions. Let’s see, what’s up with all the Slovenian conventions.
CONVENTIONS, THAT WERE POSTPONED/CANCELLED IN 2020 IN SLOVENIA:
Na Meji Nevidnega (NMN)”, a Slovenian Comic-Con Convention - It was said that this convention should have been in the middle of September, but due to the rise of COVID-19, it was postponed to a Saturday on 16th of January 2021.
I really doubt that at that mentioned timeline, this convention will start, because we probably won’t have a COVID-19 vaccine in Slovenia at that moment. And also, by having this event in winter, you’re not going to watch some skinny clothed cosplayers.
The Gaming Tournaments (Virtualna RETRO Arena) in the Film Theater of Idrija” - this event was just cancelled. There was no Retro arena in my hometown Idrija.
I’ve spoken with the main guy who gave us their film theater every year so rent. And he said to me, that there will be an arena, no matter what is coming to us. Fast forward 3 weeks later, when the situation got worse and everything that guy said just vanished.
I understand, that it would be nearly impossible to have this kind of event in a time when COVID-19 infections rise through the rooftop. But still, you could say that at least to me, to the main organiser of this event.
Now I can freely say which system would be used this year - we would have an event that would be specialised on the legendary Sega Mega Drive system and compete in the greatest games of all time (Sonic 2, Mortal Kombat 2, NBA Jam, etc.), maybe even watching movies from that time period (Sonic The Hedgehog, Mortal Kombat, Space Jam, etc.). But we did not.
Just don’t think that this event will happen next year, because I’m done with this project.
“We wish you a very Makkon (2019)! (3x times) And a happy 2020!” - this event, on which I found out my soulmate and now “partner in crime” in 2017, @aquamoon33, was not cancelled, nor postponed, but instead, was moved to a internet stream via Twitch, that wil happen on the 11th and 12th of December 2020 between 16. and 20. hour. It’s said that there will be lots of things going on this named weekend. Even gaming tournaments.
I sicerelly can’t even think about having a SMASH tournament for this convention, because (a) I don’t have a decent fast internet connection and (b) I’m not so used to the internet - don’t forget, I’m a 90′s kid kind of guy! Also I was not even clicked by the organisers, now was I asked to have some tournaments over, so therefore, I’m not going to do this all by my own. And most importantly: not even get paid!!!
CONVENTIONS, THAT TOO PLACE IN 2020 IN SLOVENIA:
... those were literally none.
Thought on second though, no, we had one convention! Well, it was not really a convention after all, but we/I had a tournament in SMASH, over the internet. I think it was in June. And I had to have it by the house of my soulmate @aquamoon33, who has a much more speedier internet connection than I have in Idrija.
And I must say, that this tournament was quite fun, indeed. We had player from Slovenia and Serbia. The youth centre Mladinski Center Idrija was my contract who had this tournament over. It wasn’t that bad. Though in the end, I’ve got nothing out of it, that means in a payment, it was actually quite fun.
CONVENTIONS, THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE ABROAD IN 2020:
This years savior was definitely the Nerd Show in Bolognia, Italy. This was THE BEST CONVENTION OF 2020! They had just everything - from Retro consoles to retro games, youtubers, cosplayers and more.
It’s a shame that at the end of February, Italy was almost broke due to COVID-19. But still, it was worth the drive, definetely! And if everything goest well, we’ll go there next year. For sure!
That was all.
2020 was a miserable year for having conventions.
Let’s just hope that everything will change next year.
And I’l finally get some cash for having those kind of gaming tournaments!
LEGO MARIO TIME! - A short review of a collaboration between LEGO™ and Nintendo
So as many of you know, I AM A BIG Super Mario Fan! I played the first game of Super Mario Bros. 3 on the NES, which originaln cartridge I still have and also played the latest version of the 2D Super Mario game, called Super Mario Maker 2 and a 3D variant, called Super Mario Odyssey, both for the Switch. When I first found out in March of this year, that there will be a group project between LEGO™ and Nintendo, I was quite shocked! Fast forward 5 months later and today, I finally got my own LEGO™ Super Mario Bros. started pack! :) (The second one on the photo is for my as-of now unboarn child. In ca. 10 years, he/she could play it!
The box is really nice, it has an uneven feeling to it. It is something to definitely put on your shelf and let your friend feel your brag about them. Easily, that package is really a cool one!
Now, when you first open up the box, you get really LOADS of LEGO™ bricks to connect. And I mean, really LOADS of them! But after you settle down by that fact, you find the instructions enclosed in the package. So now, let’s start with the building proces - That is quite a long one, indeed!
When I first got up from my desk to build the LEGO™ Mario figure together, I just though “Oh, no, I need a tool from my garden shed!”. Yes, that is right - first, I needed a screwdriver, so I could open up the figurine and put two AAA’s batteries in it. So I got up, went to where my family had it’s tools, and fixed that figurine all together. Then, you have to take the mini-packages inside of the big one by their capital number (#1, #2, #3, #4, etc.) and build him up together.
Everytime goes well and the first time you open the Super Mari figure and hear this (this is heard every time you open it), it just feels like magic :) :
It’s sooooooo adorable!!! 😍😍😍
Now, I will have to get back to bricking everything together.
So far, so good! Because I don’t have that much time right now, I will add my personal review of this LEGO™/Nintendo package later in the late afternoon. Until then, wish me luck with building everything together! ;)
Edit: I’ve already built all the bricks together! Let’s continue! :D
After I continued my building session, I found out one thing: in order to start building the other sets for Mario, you MUST have a smartphone or other device! There just aren’t any physical instructions or manuals in this box. You just have to use a screen to build everything together. That is kind of a bummer, if you are a parent/husband/wife/man/woman etc. who doesn’t like to use technology (myself included). What a bummer! :( So I had to download the app and start building everything together.
And then, you have to have both devices, that is the Super Mario figurine and your phone connected with the app. Which you can easily do.
After I finished putting those two objects together, my Super Mario figurine needed and update, which it got quite fast through my Wi-Fi connection.
After roughly 5 minutes of downloading the update, I was FINALLY ready to build everything up.
The app is quite nice actually. Every brick you have to stack up together is displayed on the screen of your smartphone. Heck, you can even rotate it in 3D, just like in Nintendo Labo! I think I needed around 2-3 hours to build everything from the ground up, although you must admit that I did quite speed up the process by doing everything as fast as possible. Even then, while I was building, I knew exactly which brick goes where. You just really can’t go wrong!
My first mini course! ^^
All in all, the experience of playing this toy was just great. As a long live Super Mario fan, there was just everything there - a cloud, a pipe, a goomba, a question block, etc. Too bad there was no Bowser included, but still, it was quite fun. By building these block together, I felt like I was a kid all over again. And by seeing what I’ve made, I was just more proud of that. Still, would I recommen buying this kit? Absolutely! But only, if you have a kid, that likes Super Mario or a videogame where you can play as this character. In fact, this kit is also a great conversation starter, therefore, I would recommend it do adults as well - single or already taken, it doesn’t matter.
The course was made and everything went fine. But there is one place where Mario was missing. And that is on the shelf (also got a punch from Sonic, ‘cause the Blue Blur is jealous about that Italian [pizza] :D):
Final Review: 9/10
The Good:
- Looks lovely
- Fun to build
- Even more fun to play
- It is a Nintendo/Mario game!
The Bad:
- There are no physical instructions in the box
- No Bowser
- You must have space, where there is no dust, to leave it somewhere
- Could be quite expensive for some
The Game-R-Boy @thegame-r-boy - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
