Notice anything interesting in the above photo?Well, OK, there is probably a lot of interesting stuff in the above photo, so let me narrow it down for you. Take a close look at that picture of Luigi's face on the wall there. Know what that is made of?
You guessed it, Famicom carts:
I found this creation at the "other" Omocha Souko store that I sometimes visit, which is about a 30-40 minute bike ride from my place.Somehow I have managed to visit that store at least 3 or 4 times without having ever noticed this awesome thing before. I suspect that on my previous visits it was probably hidden behind some merchandise as the space in front of it is used as a shelf. They must have sold something since the last time I visited and voila, Luigi has been revealed.
This thing is great. It reminds me a bit of that Akihabara Famicom chair that has become a shrine that all Famicom collectors must make at least one pilgrimage to during their lifetime. I haven't been to that one yet, but it really pleases me to be able to share the Luigi Mosaic out here as western Japan's own Famicom collector shrine.
In contrast to the Akihabara Famicom chair, I don't think anybody's ever taken notice of the Luigi Mosaic. I'm not even sure that most of the staff at the store are even aware of its existence. I think it is absolutely fantastic though.
A rough estimate arrived at by measuring its dimensions suggests that it took more than 1,000 Famicom carts to make it. I particularly like the way they used the oversized white carts to make the "L" in Luigi's hat.So anyway, add the "Luigi Mosaic" onto your list of must-see Famicom stuff. Or don't, most people don't maintain such lists after all. And this store is really inconveniently located. Heck, just look at the pictures I put up here and that'll probably be good enough.
You're right, that IS awesome! It should be proudly on display at the front of the store, not hidden behind stupid merchandise! :) I wonder if the carts in question were working ones when it was made? Maybe there's even a rarity or two in there :D
ReplyDeleteYeah, there are actually some good carts in there. I could see the labels on the tops of the black ones used on the edge and they had copies of Crisis Force and Metal Gear, which usually sell for a premium. I imagine the other ones must have included a few good ones too.
ReplyDeleteWhere is that Akihabara Famicom Chair? It looks vaguely like the retro arcade at the top of Super Potato. If so, how in the world did I miss it!?
ReplyDeleteNice find! I wonder if I'll be seeing shots of this on Flickr now that you've uncovered it? Also, it's funny that they used games like Metal Gear to make this mosaic! Hopefully the good games were no longer working when they put it together...
ReplyDeleteNate - I think the Akihabara chair is in Super Potato, though I am not absolutely certain. Maybe you just missed it the same way I missed this Luigi a few times - being distracted by all the other interesting stuff in the store? ;)
ReplyDeleteBryan - Thanks! I dont actually use Flickr (the link is to somebody else`s flickr photo), though maybe I`ll start.
I wouldnt be surprised if the good games actually are still working, shops like this don`t differentiate much betweeen them!
I must of been distracted with all the 50 yen games of "Elevator Action Returns" I was playing.
ReplyDelete*sigh* I wish there was a store over here called Super Potato. I would go there every day, even if it only sold crap... Japan always gets the best stuff :(
ReplyDeleteNate - must have been;)
ReplyDeleteSimon - we don't have Super Potato here in my part of the country, but yup. I go to these shops at least a couple of times a week just to browse. It is so awesome having them around:)