But let us put that aside for now, as I think we can use a fun article. See, I just so happened to turn 25 last Saturday, and once again I spent my birthday weekend in none other than the Big Apple. That's right, New York City: home of the Nintendo World Store, Kinokuniya, the now-reviled Trump Tower and those delicious pretzel stands I can never stay away from.
Naturally, I made a beeline to the Nintendo World Store first, whereupon I instantly made a shocking discovery. See, it was Friday, November 11th that day, which was the release date for the much-anticipated NES Classic Mini. As I missed the boat on the preorders, it's not like I could just waltz into the NWS late afternoon and pick one up, right?
WRONG! A line was set up for the retro rerelease, of which they practically were handing out by the dozens. (Actually, considering how they were still selling them the next day, it may very well have been hundreds) Naturally, I took a spot in line as a delightful Kirby tune eased the wait.. Can you guess which game it's from?
It really is tiny! I'll be sharing my thoughts on Hey Poor Player very soon, so look forward to that!
But yes, the Nintendo World Store. Like every other time I've visited, I'm always bowled over by all the goodies and music and panoramas and statues and and and, but this year took the cake. Was it my unexpected reward of a NES Classic Mini? The presence of the Star Fox and Miyamoto puppets from last year's E3? The mountains of merchandise I didn't even know existed? Just look at some of this stuff!
If only I was allowed to purchase this sweet Arwing...
Speaking of expensive merchandise, check out what I spotted down at the Midtown Comics:
Meta Knight and Cat Mario statues!! Like the Arwing statue, I had to pass these up, but like the Sword Kirby I saw at Otakon this year, they'll be mine someday. Someday.
...so what exactly DID I pick up? Quite a bit!
I wonder how many Kirby plushies this makes now. I must have nearly two dozen, if not more, at this point.
Just like in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Isabelle's collar has a bell that rings whenever you move her!
My first piece of Splatoon merchandise naturally had to be Judd. I actually didn't pick up too many plushies this time; running out of space, you see. On the flipside, I picked up a bunch of action figures despite that.
Like this Cat Mario, alongside his two Pikmin cohorts. Now I have the original three colors...but where's the Purple Fattie? I know it exists. It must be mine.
Are these Star Fox figures twenty years too late? Sure, but I needed them anyway. I never thought I'd see Smart Bomb or Container accessories.
Or a furniture leaf from Animal Crossing, for that matter.
The Wind Waker playsets!! That I'll need one more playset and two more figure sets for a complete collection hurts my wallet, but the existence of Makar merchandise warms my heart.
Six new amiibo: Isabelle, Kapp'n, Lottie, Waluigi, Boo and Nabiru from Monster Hunter. Don't mind the imposter in the back left.
Animal Crossing amiibo cards, because I could. I can never get enough of New Leaf and Happy Home Designer.
A Smash Bros. amiibo diorama!! This has yet to be announced for America, so I took the liberty of snagging it at a downtown game store. Now if I only I could get my hands on the Kirby one...
I'm a year late, but I finally got Zelda: Tri Force Heroes. I hope the online's still active!
Now here's something interesting: an import copy of Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure for GBA. I already own the US version, but I was none too pleased when I heard years later they removed musical renditions from the original series (Makafushigi Adventure and Romantic Ageru Yo, the latter possibly being the series masterpiece). It's possibly one of the best Dragon Ball games, so I was more than happy to pick up a second copy.
That wraps up my harvest for gaming stuff, but here's a bonus: my manga from Kinokuniya. Here's some localized releases.
...and my Japanese imports! Needless to say, I think I'll be needing another bookshelf for all these! And believe me, my manga bookshelf is already huge...that, and I'll probably eventually need another one for chapter books and children's books I want to study, gah!
Anyway, I've been making progress on being able to read these! The furigana--hiragana characters placed alongside kanji--are a huge help, although I was surprised Dr. Slump didn't have them since its aimed at a younger audience. I hear that uses a lot of outdated slang, so I suspect tough times are ahead...
(For those curious, the Japanese imports from top to bottom are One Piece, Gin Tama, Dr. Slump, Detective Conan, and Straighten Up!)
AND NOW FOR A SPECIAL FEATURE PRESENTATION
I can only hope that made your night. See you soon, everybody!
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