Yesterday I was on my bike doing some errands in the Ohashi area of town. I like that part of the city, it isn't in the main downtown area, but it has its own centre of gravity and some nice shopping areas with cool restaurants and stuff. Unfortunately it is pretty far from my place so I don't get out there very often.
As I was cycling in that area I came across a long-forgotten Famicom store: Wanpaku TV Game. The last (and only) time I had visited this shop was about two years ago when, like today, I had just stumbled across it while on my bike. That time I was with my wife and we were on our way home from a day trip, but she allowed me to pop in for a look.
They had a semi-decent selection of retro games at the time and I remember purchasing a boxed copy of "Aero Gauge" for the Nintendo 64 because it was cheap (about 200 yen) and looked like it might be a decent game (its kind of mediocre actually).
So I was quite pleased when I came across this shop again, so I parked my bike and, as I luckily had my camera on me, spent a few minutes re-acquainting myself with the store.
One thing that I really like about this shop is its location. Directly below a darts bar and right next to a pachinko parlor:
I spotted one of those Super Mario Bros. 25th anniversary posters in the window, I really have to get one of them for myself:
Here is the front entrance, not particularly impressive but about what you'd expect. Wanpaku TV Game is an extremely small store in comparison to Mandarake or Omocha Souko:
As I walked in, the lack of activity in the store was overwhelming. No customers at all and a lone employee, a young man who looked to be in his early 20s, sitting hidden behind some display racks at the counter reading a comic and paying me absolutely no mind. That must be the best job in the world, assuming of course that he doesn't own the place.
The vast majority of their stock is, unfortunately, current gen games. They seem to have reduced their retro game section considerably since my last visit, or perhaps it was never that big to begin with:
They only had a couple dozen Famicom games, all of which I already had. The prices were about average, no bargains but nothing too expensive. Smaller shops like this rarely have the blow out prices that bigger ones offer on occasion. They had another similar sized rack with Gameboy and Nintendo64 games, but there wasn't anything exciting there either. They didn't have a single retro console for sale.
In the end I walked out without making a purchase, but it was kind of fun to re-acquaint myself with this place. Mainly I think it was nice just because the shop reminds me of the pleasant day trip I had just had when I first discovered the place.
Related Posts:
-Crazy Climber and the Perils of Collecting Loose Famicom Carts
-Why Japanese Retro Game Shops are so Much Better Than North American Ones
- Fukuoka Famicom Shops 1: 007
- Fukuoka Famicom Shops 2: The Decline and Fall of the Famicom Empire
- Fukuoka Famicom Shops 3: Mandarake
- Fukuoka Famicom Shops 4: Flea Markets Brought to you by the God of War
- Fukuoka Famicom Shops 5: Don Quixote and Village Vanguard
- Fukuoka Famicom Shops 6: The New 007 and Hakozaki Flea Market
- Fukuoka Famicom Shops 7: The Other Omocha Souko
- Fukuoka Famicom Shops 8: The Cheapest Famicom Carts in Town
StarFox and two copies of Donkey Kong Country 2 isn't bad. Pretty sure that's the first time I saw the Super Famicom versions of the cart (I have no idea if those games are common or not in Japan).
ReplyDeleteAlso, there's a game with a label of a topless girl laying down on her stomach while wearing panties/bathing suit. That game has GOT to be good.
I like StarFox and DKC 2 as well. They are pretty common games here though, most shops have them, cheap.
ReplyDeleteGood eye spotting that topless girl, I didn't even notice that when I was in the shop! I have no idea what game it is, though my curiosity is piqued:)
Topless girls? Where?! :P I really like that Super Mario anniversary posted though, I wouldn't mind one of those either
ReplyDeleteThe cart with the topless girl is a bit hard to see, but it is in that picture of the Super Fami carts. Mind you, all you can see is her back. And she is drawn.
ReplyDeleteAnd that poster is cool, isn't it?
I love these posts :) Too bad they didn't have many retro games, though.
ReplyDeleteBTW, are most of the retro games you see in the wild Nintendo-based? What I mean is, do you tend to see more games for the Famicom, Super Famicom, etc., than PC Engine, Mega Drive, etc.?
Thanks, Bryan. Yes, the vast majority of the retro games in these stores are Nintendo. The PC Engine and Mega Drive sections are usually about 1/10th the size, if they even have them. This shop didn't have any PC Engine or Mega Drive games, which isn't unusual for a small shop.
ReplyDeleteHmmm....maybe I will do a post on that at Omocha Souko just to demonstrate the difference with photos!
That's interesting, Sean. So, if you're into non-Nintendo consoles you have to go to larger stores and/or cities?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, yes, I think you need to demonstrate the difference with photos in a future post :)