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(Almost) Live From Hell City. Part 1 - My Japan Diary

  • 05-08-2012 02:12AM
    #1
    Pyongyang
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,328 ✭✭✭


    http://www.pinkbullets.co.uk/blogs/live-from-hell-city-part-1/

    Hope the powers that be don't mind a separate thread for this. I'm hoping it provides an entertaining read as well as some small grains of knowledge for future travellers to Nihon.

    I'm in the process of serialising my 'memoirs' of my short, but fun time in Japan. It's not sequential events, more cutlets of relevant parts of my time in Japan. Not just gaming-related stuff either.

    There will be a LOT more to follow, not just articles is all I will say for now. Also stay tuned for a couple of world exclusives (literally) that are semi-related to these posts.

    I hope you like this first part and find it interesting. :)


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Comments

  • #2
    djsim101
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 614 ✭✭✭djsim101


    Very good read man, keep it up:)

    You sound very like myself, 32, intro retro games, married :)

    Wife......what love......we are going to Japan :p


  • #3
    Pyongyang
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,328 ✭✭✭Pyongyang


    Thanks a lot, glad you liked it. Indeed when marriage arrives its on par with having your gaming purchases stalked by Retr0gamers ma. :pac:


  • #4
    jetblack1981
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 45 ✭jetblack1981


    Go to super potato?


  • #5
    Steve X2
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,912 ✭✭✭Steve X2


    I'm sure he did, no card carrying Arcade and Retro member goes to Tokyo and doesn't visit/spend loads at Super Spud.
    Hit us with some Super Spud pics Pyongy my man :)


  • #6
    unky chop chop
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,719 ✭✭✭unky chop chop


    Good on ya man...Jealous as hell.

    Ohh the start of your blog is serious Stephen King stuff .

    "It’s a somewhat balmy night, the alarm positioned about a micrometre away from my left ear chirps in to life, bellowing revolting, hideous noise down my ear canal, vibrating my brain and awakening me from my slumber"

    Booker prize winner there:)


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  • #7
    Pyongyang
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,328 ✭✭✭Pyongyang


    jetblack1981 wrote: »
    Go to super potato?
    Steve SI wrote: »
    I'm sure he did, no card carrying Arcade and Retro member goes to Tokyo and doesn't visit/spend loads at Super Spud.
    Hit us with some Super Spud pics Pyongy my man :)

    All in good time, I've a rake of stuff to get through but want to make sure it's done right. :)

    I've actually got a pretty interesting story about Super Potato. It'll be revealed soon enough. :)

    Glad ye all like the scribing so far. I've just got to find the time to get it all put together now!


  • #8
    Pyongyang
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,328 ✭✭✭Pyongyang


    I've added an extra photo now, after lots of sifting through snaps. :)

    mgjEF.jpg


  • #9
    Jack burton
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,798 ✭✭✭Jack burton


    Excellent read...so your 32, looking well!

    I would love to see that Gundam in person.......some day!


  • #10
    jetblack1981
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 45 ✭jetblack1981


    So what was the story on pratia maith?


  • #11
    Pyongyang
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,328 ✭✭✭Pyongyang


    jetblack1981 wrote: »
    pratia maith

    :confused:


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  • #12
    jetblack1981
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 45 ✭jetblack1981


    Super potato
    The irish has gone I guess


  • #13
    Pyongyang
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,328 ✭✭✭Pyongyang


    http://www.pinkbullets.co.uk/blogs/live-from-hell-city-part-2

    ...and here is Part 2. :)


  • #14
    safetyboy
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,081 ✭✭✭safetyboy


    I can still hear arkanoid overpowering Darius here pyongers!


  • #15
    Andrew76
    Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 10,943 Mod ✭✭✭✭Andrew76


    Great read Pyong. Watched the video again and it's just awesome to see and hear so many cabs, candies and woodies, under the one roof. Brilliant.


  • #16
    Pyongyang
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,328 ✭✭✭Pyongyang


    Cheers Andrew, glad you enjoyed it. Seems the good folk at Mikado and Taito enjoyed it too judging by the Twitter alerts I received this morning! :)


  • #17
    o1s1n
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 36,417 ✭✭✭✭o1s1n
    Master of the Universe


    Only after looking at the video now. It's Mecca really isnt it? Amazing. Nice little glimpse of Raiden 2 there at the start :)


  • #18
    Pyongyang
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,328 ✭✭✭Pyongyang


    Absolutely. It's the best game centre I've ever seen anyway, so personal choice it's the best game centre on Earth. I've a lot to compare it to as well, I grew up in the arcade holy land of the east. Clue: Blackpool is often touted as the arcade holy land of the north west.

    Unfortunately I didn't get to check out Eibisen but that game centre is a bit off the beaten track. So is Mikado I guess. Eibisen is apparently home to Gods such as Clover-TAC et al.

    As cool as that would be to see, it would be like HEY!, you'd never get to play any games. Mikado boasts a big reputation though, with it's tournaments and visits from Superplay Gods.

    Sure when I met TZW in MAK Japan he said he plays at Mikado too because (and these are his words) that they have the best selection of games.


  • #19
    Steve X2
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,912 ✭✭✭Steve X2


    Pyongyang wrote: »
    Absolutely. It's the best game centre I've ever seen anyway, so personal choice it's the best game centre on Earth. I've a lot to compare it to as well, I grew up in the arcade holy land of the east. Clue: Blackpool is often touted as the arcade holy land of the north west.

    Unfortunately I didn't get to check out Eibisen but that game centre is a bit off the beaten track. So is Mikado I guess. Eibisen is apparently home to Gods such as Clover-TAC et al.

    As cool as that would be to see, it would be like HEY!, you'd never get to play any games. Mikado boasts a big reputation though, with it's tournaments and visits from Superplay Gods.

    Sure when I met TZW in MAK Japan he said he plays at Mikado too because (and these are his words) that they have the best selection of games.

    Plus, Mikado also offers half price gaming most of the time these days. So your 100 yen(or 50 as the case may be) goes twice as far :)


  • #20
    Pyongyang
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,328 ✭✭✭Pyongyang


    There's also that, yes. :)

    Not all of the games drop to ¥50 though. The premium titles, such as Saidaioujou were still ¥100. Worth it though as we've to wait until 2013 for the XBOX version.


  • #21
    Pyongyang
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,328 ✭✭✭Pyongyang


    Here's the official DoDonpachi Saidaioujou trailer for XBOX 360, followed by the announcement from Cave:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfWXtACGy1g


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  • #22
    Myrddin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 33,733 ✭✭✭✭Myrddin


    Pyongyang wrote: »
    Here's the official DoDonpachi Saidaioujou trailer for XBOX 360, followed by the announcement from Cave:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfWXtACGy1g

    Will that be getting a PAL release or is is jtag fodder pyong?


  • #23
    Pyongyang
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,328 ✭✭✭Pyongyang


    Japan-only so far. Unless Rising Star perhaps pick this one up?

    Regardless, for me it's a day-1 pre-order. Not seen it up to pre-order yet though. I'd also get the LE edition too as it'll likely come bundled with the soundtrack.

    Why is that important? Two reasons:

    1) The soundtrack is excellent.
    2) The soundtrack that is currently available, and an extremely limited pressing, sells for anywhere between €80 and €200 depending on condition.

    Something else to feed my reset glitch XBOX360S anyway. :)


  • #24
    Myrddin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 33,733 ✭✭✭✭Myrddin


    Its all about region free goodness


  • #25
    Pyongyang
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,328 ✭✭✭Pyongyang


    EnterNow wrote: »
    Its all about region free goodness

    I doubt DDPSDOJ will be region free, if I understand correctly the costs to do that are astronomical. With Cave cancelling their Vita project and reporting losses I can't see it happening to be honest. Let's hope it is region free though.

    The main thing is to keep supporting companies like Cave, they're a dying breed. :(


  • #26
    Myrddin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 33,733 ✭✭✭✭Myrddin


    Pyongyang wrote: »
    I doubt DDPSDOJ will be region free, if I understand correctly the costs to do that are astronomical. With Cave cancelling their Vita project and reporting losses I can't see it happening to be honest. Let's hope it is region free though.

    The main thing is to keep supporting companies like Cave, they're a dying breed. :(

    Lol no, but what I meant was, your console is now region free & thats all that matters :)

    As an aside, why is it expensive to make a game region-free?


  • #27
    Pyongyang
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,328 ✭✭✭Pyongyang


    EnterNow wrote: »
    Lol no, but what I meant was, your console is now region free & thats all that matters :)

    As an aside, why is it expensive to make a game region-free?

    Ah yeah, of course. I now have 3 region free consoles as of yesterday, thanks to the legend that is TouchingVirus. ;)

    I might have misread it, but I'm sure I saw somewhere, possibly SHMUPS forum, that Microsoft don't exactly make it cheap to make a title region free, or put a game, dlc or update patch on XBL.

    It's part of the reason folk waiting for the PAL Under Defeat HD are delighted the update will be on the disc. G.Rev have had an awful time getting the update out and it's believed this is due to the sheer costs involved.

    Microsoft don't make it easy for the little guys. It's such a niche market to appeal to anyway, which is why fans of niche genres need to support these small-size developers. :)


  • #28
    Myrddin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 33,733 ✭✭✭✭Myrddin


    Pyongyang wrote: »
    Ah yeah, of course. I now have 3 region free consoles as of yesterday, thanks to the legend that is TouchingVirus. ;)

    He's good isn't he :D


  • #29
    Pyongyang
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,328 ✭✭✭Pyongyang


    EnterNow wrote: »
    He's good isn't he :D

    Actually, I have 6 modded consoles now. 1 XBOX 360S, 1 NTSC-U PS2, 1 Dreamcast, 1 PS1, PC Engine Duo R and you did my Mega Drive remember? :)


  • #30
    Myrddin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 33,733 ✭✭✭✭Myrddin


    Pyongyang wrote: »
    Actually, I have 6 modded consoles now. 1 XBOX 360S, 1 NTSC-U PS2, 1 Dreamcast, 1 PS1, PC Engine Duo R and you did my Mega Drive remember? :)

    Yep I do indeed. The thing is, they're all mods that actually improve the functionality of each console, as opposed to 'my console iz modd3d' type mods.

    Whats done to your Dreamcast again the region mod is it?


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  • #31
    Pyongyang
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,328 ✭✭✭Pyongyang


    Dreamcast is fully loaded. 50/60hz switch, mod chip and a BIOS flash. :)


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