A Look at Some Famicom Jaleco Boxes

I picked up a few boxed Jaleco games at Omocha Souko yesterday - Choplifter, Argus and Murder on the Mississipi.

I already had a couple of other boxed Jaleco games - Moero Pro Yakyu and Uchu Cosmo Carrier - so that gives me a grand total of five.
I rather like the Jaleco boxes. They look very clean, tidy and 80s (if I can use that as an adjective). Choplifter here has to be my favorite, I have been looking for a boxed copy of it for quite a while:
I really dig that artwork, it is quite action packed without looking too action packed. Choplifter is also one of my favorite `games that I am bad at playing`. I rarely get past the second level but its one of the carts that I always keep handy in case I feel like having a go at it.

The back of the box is pretty cool too:
One thing I only noticed today is that the Jaleco games are numbered. The early Namco games like Galaxian, Mappy, Sky Kid, Pac Man and so on are numbered 1-18 on the carts. I have the whole set of those, but it was only on looking at my Jaleco boxes stacked up that I noticed they were numbered too:
Each number is preceded by `JF`, which I assume stands for Jaleco Famicom or something similar.

Argus here is also a pretty good one:
I like it for pretty much the same reason I like the Choplifter box.

My Moero Pro Yakyu still has the price sticker on it:
Daimaru is a department store downtown that is still in business. About half of the Famicom stuff that I have which still has original price tags on them come from Daimaru. It must have been the main source for Famicom games in Fukuoka back in the 80s. Today I`m not even sure if they sell games (or other toys) anymore.

Amada Famicom Mini Cards: The Coolest Famicom Thing You Never Knew Existed

Last Thursday afternoon I was in Mandarake, my favorite retro game / toy shop in town. I wasn't actually looking for Famicom stuff on that visit. One of my other hobbies is collecting old baseball cards. They have a glass showcase at the back with a whole bunch of expensive old ones and I went over to take a look at that.

As I was gazing at the faces of Japanese baseball stars from the 70s, something caught my eye at the bottom of the showcase. Vivid in color I immediately recognized the picture as that on the box of the Famicom game Gradius. It is one of my favorite box covers out there.

But what was Gradius doing in a case full of baseball cards? My interest piqued I bent down for a closer look. This revealed that it was not only Gradius, but also Super Mario Bros. and Legend of Kage - all in one box!

"By the gods, what method of madness is this?" I thought.

I always think in the voice of Conan the Barbarian when startled like this.

Then all was made clear. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce my newest Famicom related acquisition: an unopened wax box of Amada Family Computer Mini cards!
I had no idea that such a thing even existed, and I'm guessing most of you didn't either as Google searches in both Japanese and English for the phrase "Family Computer Mini Cards" (the full name of these) turned up zilch. So here you go, another blockbuster Famicomblog exclusive!

I love this thing. It is awesome. The individual packs used to retail for 20 yen each back in the day and the box contains 30 packs:
It seems they were released in 1986 and had licenses from Nintendo, Taito, Jaleco, Konami and Sun Electronics Corporation:
Open the box and voila, the packs:
But wait! There is more! The best part is actually hidden under the packs! Look:
I'm not sure why but squirreled away under the packs are three (awesome) boxes filled with even more cards:
I think these are the best part of the whole thing. On one side of them we have Atlantis no Nazo, Argus and Super Mario Bros.:
And on the other side we have Gradius, Super Mario Bros. (its on two) and Legend of Kage:
The cards themselves actually aren't all that exciting. Some of them feature the cover art from the boxes of these games, but most feature screenshots from the game on one side and a little blurb about whatever it is on the back:
But anyway. DAMN look at them boxes again:
So colorful! So cute and small! I probably like these better than my entire Famicom collection put together.

Well, maybe not that much, but they are still great. A must have item for the discerning Famicom collector. If you can find them.

Related Posts:
- Requiem for My Super Mario. Bros. Key Chain
- Super Mario Bros. Bottle Cap Collection by Pepsi