travelSpencer HungMay 25, 2017Japan, video game, retro

Retro Cool

travelSpencer HungMay 25, 2017Japan, video game, retro

Walking out of Super Potato in Nagoya, it felt like I just walked out of a time portal. Nostalgia overload is an understatement.

“ The first thing you notice upon talking into the store is not visual but auditory. ”

Growing up, I love video games (who doesn't?) My first console was the Famicom (NES). I didn't even ask for it, one day, my dad just brought it home. Back in the 1980's I was still living in Taiwan and at the time, pirate cartridges are the norm. I had a lot of those 100 in 1 games and because of that I got to play a lot of the Famicom games. I never had all the video game consoles. During the SEGA vs Nintendo debate, I am at the SEGA camp because somehow, I ended up owning the Mega Drive (Genesis), GameGear, and Dreamcast. If you are into video game, you know I am missing a lot of the consoles. My cousins always had the latest consoles and games, I had to get my Super Famicom, Nintendo 64 and Sega Saturn fix at his house.

Now, that I am an adult (somewhat) I still want to own a Super Famicom (SNES) and Saturn, especially Saturn.

Super Potato is a Japanese video game store that specializes in retro video games. It has 4 locations, two in Tokyo, one in Osaka and one in Nagoya. The first thing you notice upon talking into the store is not visual but auditory. The iconic Famicom chip-tune explodes in your ear. The front of the ground floor is dedicated to Nintendo. You can find games from GameBoy to Nintendo 64, some obscure and collectables like "Getsufuu Maden" and game and watch series hardware. Not sure if its the nostalgia talking but these retro Femicom cartridges are just beautiful. The shape, the colour, the weight even the smell of the plastic are just perfect. I can still hear the sound it makes when I blow on them to make them work. At the back of the store are the consoles. Famicom, Mega Drive (Genesis), NeoGeo, Sega Saturn and even an Atari Lynx! A mint condition Sega Saturn without box will cost you around 50-60 dollar US. There is a brand new in box Saturn that's just a little more than 300 dollar US.

Playstation, Playstation 2, Mega Drive, GameGear, Saturn, NeoGeo, PC-Eningin (TurboGrafx-16) share the second floor. The Saturn collection was a little disappointing. They had the staples like Sakura Taisen series and Virtual Fighters but they are missing the true gems. I wasn't able to find Fighters Megamix, Guardian's Hero and Panther Dragoon Saga, well maybe I am asking too much for Panther Dragoon Saga.

With Ultra Street Fighter II releasing on the Nintendo Switch, retro games has never been so popular. Remember that Christmas you got your first game console? Walking in here will surly bring back those happy memories. No, I didn't buy anything, walking through my memory lane was good enough for me.