CheapyD tours Akihabara with fellow CAG thakingrocka + Gaijin vs Nihonjin DOA4 Action

CheapyD

CheapyD

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I was able to meet up with fellow Japan-based CAG thakingrocka this weekend for a little game shopping tour. He showed me where the import stores (American games) were located, as well as some other cool spots.

During our journeys, we came across this one store (I believe it is named Super Potato) that seem to have eveything a gaming fan could hope for, and more. It was very crowded (and hot), so I will have to back during the week and get some more pictures.

Got Famicom? If not, this place had a bunch available...cheap. They were priced based on condition. I think all were under $20 with most under $10.

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You don't see a working one of these everyday:
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During our expedition, we came across a store with a playable DOA 4 kiosk out on the street. It was a winner stays affair, with some guys from Tecmo there calling the play by play.

doa4playable.jpg


A big fan of fighting games, thakingrocka was not scared. He stepped up and chose Hitmomi.

doa4showdown1.jpg


Representing CAG well, thakingrocka took down his Japanese opponent.
I have this crappy video (open with Quicktime) taken on my cellphone. I pretty sure the loser commited seppuku afterwards.

Not doing as well against his second opponent, our fellow CAG was defeated, but put up a good fight. Note the smile not only on thekingrocka's face, but also his opponent. It seems the announcer is happy as well that everyone is saved from further embarassment (and ritual disembowelment).

doa4showdown2.jpg


doa4sign.jpg
 
Why didn't you step up to DOA4 and show 'em who's boss?

Oh, and you have to get one of those Tecmo jackets. You'd be a pimp walking around Tokyo in that thing.
 
[quote name='dtarasev']Why the hell don't we gots stores like thems here! I wants me some Famicoms![/QUOTE]

My friend in America video games are for nerds and little kids. American the land of the stereo types that live long and free!
 
That clear store case has some cool box art for Duck Hunt and Punch-Out! in it that's worth looking at. So did you buy anything Mr. Cheapy?
 
[quote name='shipwreck']Why didn't you step up to DOA4 and show 'em who's boss?
[/QUOTE]

Maybe he already had his RDA recommended dose of embarrassment?
 
[quote name='Dr Mario Kart']Maybe he already had his RDA recommended dose of embarrassment?[/QUOTE]

Oh, c'mon, I'm sure there wasn't anybody from Joystiq there to see it. :)
 
I always wanted to get a Famicom and Virtual Boy but I stop collecting systems a while ago but nice to see that they are still up for sale for cheap in the land of the rising sun.
 
Very nice. In the 5th pick for some reason I thought that thakingrocka was the Japanese fellow. That makes sense :roll: That it couldn't be the American looking fellow but the Japanese man.
 
Did you go to the Japanese vintage store there too? It's called Arcade or something like that and the #2 store is what carries shit like PC-FX and so on which I missed when I was there. sighes. One thing I noticed about Super Potato was that ALL the vintage stuff was overpriced. If anyone here wants vintage Japan only consoles or games I suggest you do auctions. Speaking of which Cheapy do you know how much it would cost me to get a PO Box there to have Japan only stuff shipped to?
 
Akihabara is the shit.
I wish I had found that store in the hour I spent there....
Oh well, I got a wonderswan and FFIV for like $10 bucks which was worth the trip/
 
You fucking kidding me clock? Granted that was a good sale I have to say after I saw Yongsan, well I was more impressed with that. Aki also disappointed me for the large amount of current stuff compared to old and the sheer lack of stores in said area compared to Yongsan.
 
I think it might be cheaper to import an NES from over there than here in the US, hell people want an arm and a leg for em.

Nice pic quality CD, get some more please and thank you.
 
for those of you who are interesed, the DOA4 poster says "sekai de ichiban ustukushii", which means (mostly) literally, "Number-one gorgeous in the world" - which is kind of a play on words, since utsukushii is a word for beauty usally associated with breathtaking women - are they talking about the game or the girls in the game? :)

-22
 
[quote name='the3rdkey']My friend in America video games are for nerds and little kids. American the land of the stereo types that live long and free![/QUOTE]

Videogames have never been for nerds, Computers were for nerds. Videogames were only for little kids. Period.

And a curious followup: You guys collecting vintage games/systems, I guess since I keep all my systems I have a bit of a collection myself, but nothing you couldn't get here in the states at any time. Colecto Telstar (first edition) is my oldest with the Intellivision/ATari bringing up the rear. I might get a Ballys Astrocade someday, but only if I see it for free cuz....those kinda sucked hard.

My point: When you guys buy vintage, are you buying because of cool games, cool features, or just on rarity of the item?

Example: Would you rather buy Yars Revenge for the Atari cuz its fun to play, or would you buy Waterworld because its pretty rare...
 
Head it's kind of a combination of both though I'm not gonna bag a shit game just because it's rare. I want D2 for the M2 because it was more a continuation of the first to my knowledge and I want to see what Eno had in store for the second plus it's the fucking M2. PC-FX because it has this HIGHLY slanted Japanese Pop culture game I wanna try, see a bitch to translate but unfortunately the FAQ on it for GameFAQ's on it went down so I don't remember the name but I think it's rare on the PC-FX. Marty because it had one of the best versions of Ultima and I wanna try it. Duo has plenty of good games like Dracula X which is suppose to be the BEST traditional Castlevania plus I need to pick up "Loom" for it because it's in English and beats potentially needing to get an old computer that's bigger to play it, see problem like KQ potentially.
What else? I need a GP32 for Astonishia Story R and Cutey Fatty, which is a weight loss shooter. Still need to pick up all the editions of Softmax games with the big books and the PC LE DVD-ROM's of the Y's remake. You wouldn't believe how many people overlook the import PC market even though it's just more RPG's for ya sometimes though a LOT of the stuff is shit Military Sims. like Koei puts out.
 
Thats crazy, but I can understand it......I have some old VIDEOGAME magazines from the 80's, and then some from the early 90's when the SNES and Turbografx were hot. I think back then everyone was talking about the PC-FX (if memory servers)....

Personally I dont have any real jones to get my hands on aging Japanese tech, there's too much stateside I'd probably buy if I had unlimited funds, but even I admit that alot of the stuff I'd be weould be...........well...it would be crap. I mean, games so basic that I'd never really even play the things.

I have an intellivision that I used to play all the freakin time.....back when it was new....but I'm not going to bust it out to play a few rounds of Microsurgeon, as rose-colored as my glasses might be :)
 
[quote name='HeadRusch']Thats crazy, but I can understand it......I have some old VIDEOGAME magazines from the 80's, and then some from the early 90's when the SNES and Turbografx were hot. I think back then everyone was talking about the PC-FX (if memory servers)....

Personally I dont have any real jones to get my hands on aging Japanese tech, there's too much stateside I'd probably buy if I had unlimited funds, but even I admit that alot of the stuff I'd be weould be...........well...it would be crap. I mean, games so basic that I'd never really even play the things.

I have an intellivision that I used to play all the freakin time.....back when it was new....but I'm not going to bust it out to play a few rounds of Microsurgeon, as rose-colored as my glasses might be :)[/QUOTE]

Yeah but screenshots from Team Innocent, well it still looks pretty good while RE looks like complete shit now for the most part. Team Innocent was like RE with pre-rendered backgrounds BUT the characters were Anime styled not Polygonal. D2 for M2 is more a story and concept issue for me. As for US audience I HATE most peoples taste in the U.S. market, i.e. most American game makers can't do a plot for shit and most have their head too far up the FPS's ass though people can try to argue and compare to RPG's Grandia as compared to Final Fantasy and Tales Of Symphonia the battle system is different though Grandia's and Tales are a bit different. Look for shit like that in FPS's, you can't make them that much different much as FPS fans would argue otherwise. However I wouldn't mind $ into Adventure games if there was truly something worthwhile and rare but for the most part there isn't however I've heard good things about Star Control 2 so perhaps I should try that.
Oh yeah and look for ONE game exactly like "Battle Heat", NO one has replicated that exactly. Yeah, yeah Viewful Joe, JSR, but none of those are FPV fighter styled in a cel-shaded setup.
 
[quote name='dtarasev']Why the hell don't we gots stores like thems here! I wants me some Famicoms![/QUOTE]

No you don't. The Famicom is just as big of POS if not bigger than the NES.

The Famicom also suffers from dirty contacts and white screens when you try to play a game. Except blowing on carts isn't as effective. (was it ever effective?)

Plus the controller cords are like 1 meter long and they can't be disconnected from the system. So if the controllers are worn out, it's a real pain to replace them. Oh and the second player control doesn't have start and select buttons so that player can't pause the game.

The only reason to buy a famicom is for the nostalgia. But if you didn't grow up with one, it's probably not all that nostalgic.
 
[quote name='Sarang01']One thing I noticed about Super Potato was that ALL the vintage stuff was overpriced.[/QUOTE]

You're exactly right. And the staff at Super Potato screws foreigners by asking for even more. It's a great place to look. Just don't buy anything there. At least not at the Akihabara one. The Super Potato in Den Den Town (Osaka) is much bigger and they're fair.
 
So is there still that huge reported social ostracisim between foreigners and natives in Japan?? Are Gaijin embraced, or merely tolerated :)
 
[quote name='BIGmog']You're exactly right. And the staff at Super Potato screws foreigners by asking for even more. It's a great place to look. Just don't buy anything there. At least not at the Akihabara one. The Super Potato in Den Den Town (Osaka) is much bigger and they're fair.[/QUOTE]

I also noticed a place in Nakano that somewhat overpriced shit but it wasn't TERRIBLY bad. It was in a mall right off the El train's stop
Thanks for the info about Super Potato and the overpriced thing. I honestly think they're being assholes about that. I resent if a Japanese owner thinks I should pay MORE for a person just because I'm a Gaijin. Shit Japanese music and DVD's are already overpriced enough as-is. You know anything about the "Trader" store BIGmog?
 
interesting question about racism, headrush.

i know i get a different reaction when i step up to play a game against a local than when other locals step up.

response to foreigners in this country truly ranges.
sometimes, you'll encounter people who are so surprised to see a foreigner, they stare slightly slack-jawed. other times, you get people who will change their seats on a train to get away from you. sometimes, you get people who want to ask you questions of childlike curiousity. and sometimes, you are given the cold shoulder regardless of your japanese ability and you can see their hearts beating rapidly in their chests as they hope upon hope that you will not talk to them any more.

and let it be known, that light-skinned foreigners are generally more well-accepted than fellow asians (who are hardly considered fellow at all) or dark-skinned foreigners.

here are two simple stories for you:

one night, i got a knock at the door, and opened it to find a neighbor from across the street bearing the gift of watermelon (which is exceedingly expeinsive here). she wanted to welcome me to the neighborhood, and worried that i might feel lonely with no family or friends around. she spoke no english, and at that time i spoke even less japanese, but kindness is a language unto itself.

last night, i went to dinner with my girlfriend (she's japanese). we went to a little italian place up the corner from me, a restaurant that purports to be authentic "napori" cuisine. i'm not sure how authentic the cuisine could be when the proprietor can't even spell the place of origin, but i've had authentic japanese cuisine prepared by filipinos and malaysians in new york who made spelling errors and the food still tasted just fine. anyway, my girlfriend walks in first and the guy asks her how many, etc... and seems to avoid eye contact with me despite my polite smile. then i call him over (in japanese) so we can place our order. we are sitting at a counter rather than a table. he goes on the far right side and crouches down to ask my girlfriend what we'll have. then when he delivers the pizza and the pasta, and the everything, he delivers it to my girlfriend's right side rather than between the two of us, where she would then have to place each item.

like i said, attitudes and reactions range. no different from anywhere else in the world i guess. as a matter of fact, despite having lived as a foreigner in both spain (albeit for the exceedingly short time of one month) and japan, i would say the place where i've encountered the most racism was xbox live. back in the good ole US of A. the majority of my disconnects are a reaction to racism rather than a poor connection speed. sometimes, i will argue, but there's no argument when someone is blind to the world around them.

oh, btw, i almost forgot about the time i heard some really chill-sounding jazz coming from a basement bar. i followed the music to the front door where i was greeted by a sign in english stating, "no foreigners". this was in 2001, maybe 2002. not too long ago really. racism is here, but overall i find i get either positive or middle-of-the-road reactions more than i get any negative ones.
 
oh, as for overcharging, i don't see that it is done towards foreigners in particular. in any city, you are likely to encounter people taking advantage of tourists regardless of nationality. as a new yorker, i can usually spot those "not from around here" when back home. and, likewise, i imagine if i were to visit alabama, they'd be able to identify me.

regardless, most items have prices posted. it ain't easy to overcharge when the price is there. always remember the greatest bargaining tool: you don't need it. just forget it.

though the price come down then. how many times i have walked out of a chinatown shop only to have the owner chase me down and lower prices i can't tell you. they won't chase you down over here, but you should never pay too much for unnecessary items (the japanese don't really bargain or seem to understand the concept). the first time happened because i truly didn't feel my need of said item matched the high price, but it can be a decent technique.
 
[quote name='thakingrocka']interesting question about racism, headrush.

i know i get a different reaction when i step up to play a game against a local than when other locals step up.

response to foreigners in this country truly ranges.
sometimes, you'll encounter people who are so surprised to see a foreigner, they stare slightly slack-jawed. other times, you get people who will change their seats on a train to get away from you. sometimes, you get people who want to ask you questions of childlike curiousity. and sometimes, you are given the cold shoulder regardless of your japanese ability and you can see their hearts beating rapidly in their chests as they hope upon hope that you will not talk to them any more.

and let it be known, that light-skinned foreigners are generally more well-accepted than fellow asians (who are hardly considered fellow at all) or dark-skinned foreigners.

here are two simple stories for you:

one night, i got a knock at the door, and opened it to find a neighbor from across the street bearing the gift of watermelon (which is exceedingly expeinsive here). she wanted to welcome me to the neighborhood, and worried that i might feel lonely with no family or friends around. she spoke no english, and at that time i spoke even less japanese, but kindness is a language unto itself.

last night, i went to dinner with my girlfriend (she's japanese). we went to a little italian place up the corner from me, a restaurant that purports to be authentic "napori" cuisine. i'm not sure how authentic the cuisine could be when the proprietor can't even spell the place of origin, but i've had authentic japanese cuisine prepared by filipinos and malaysians in new york who made spelling errors and the food still tasted just fine. anyway, my girlfriend walks in first and the guy asks her how many, etc... and seems to avoid eye contact with me despite my polite smile. then i call him over (in japanese) so we can place our order. we are sitting at a counter rather than a table. he goes on the far right side and crouches down to ask my girlfriend what we'll have. then when he delivers the pizza and the pasta, and the everything, he delivers it to my girlfriend's right side rather than between the two of us, where she would then have to place each item.

like i said, attitudes and reactions range. no different from anywhere else in the world i guess. as a matter of fact, despite having lived as a foreigner in both spain (albeit for the exceedingly short time of one month) and japan, i would say the place where i've encountered the most racism was xbox live. back in the good ole US of A. the majority of my disconnects are a reaction to racism rather than a poor connection speed. sometimes, i will argue, but there's no argument when someone is blind to the world around them.

oh, btw, i almost forgot about the time i heard some really chill-sounding jazz coming from a basement bar. i followed the music to the front door where i was greeted by a sign in english stating, "no foreigners". this was in 2001, maybe 2002. not too long ago really. racism is here, but overall i find i get either positive or middle-of-the-road reactions more than i get any negative ones.[/QUOTE]

Yeah I remember walking to my Hostel having to carry shit and the people that helped me find it grabbed it even though I think I may have tried to refuse once or twice. Quite nice. I have to say I REALLY appreciated it since my bags were heavy as fuck and I was carrying shit from Korea as well, just DIVIDING my shit was a giant blessing.
One thing I learned from Japan though, next time I'm not spending like a week or two since it costs like a motherfucker to travel and all that shit. Also I plan to set up some monthly sub pass to switch off to the next person coming after me, split the cost up into week by week. Seriously if you're going to Japan with how expensive the subway is DO IT! Also check out Japan's Internet Cafe's, they're completely nice.
I would also suggest Korea to people which is nice too. For arcade games Korea has some great stuff: Ez2DJ, Ez2Dancer and D-Tech. Also the most arcade games cost there are like 30-50 cents a piece. Btw if you want ANY older games that haven't been released here you're more likely to find them cheaper on Korean PC than anywhere else, see "Farland Saga". I also found "Akumajo Dracula X" on PC and guess what?! Almost all of these are legit, just get the original Japanese script and English patch it then you've got less load time and cleaner graphics most likely as well.
 
Can you go to japan with little to no knowledge of speaking the language? I understand that many signs are in english, but that most people do not speak english. I am assuming most shopkeepers also do not speak english.

Also, if someone were to greet you in Japanese, and you responded with a "Hello" in english, would they look at you like some freakish alien being!? :D
 
Sloppiness is not tolerated in Japanese society, and someone with a small wrinkle in their shirt, which they thought they could hide by wearing a hooded sweatshirt over it (possibly emblazoned with a catchy english phrase like "Spread Beaver, Violence Jack-Off!"), will be promptly beaten to death with tiny cellular phones.
Click to expand...

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
Japanese food is what some people would call "exotic", but what most people call "disgusting", or perhaps, in some areas, "whack". Japanese food evolved in ancient days, when the main staple of the diet was rice. People got so sick and tired of eating rice, in fact, that they ate just about anything else they could find, from seaweed to other Japanese people. This has led to the creation of such wonderful foods as "Natto", which I believe is a kind of bean but tastes like battery acid, and "Pocky", which is a stick with different frostings on it, the flavors of which include Sawdust and Strawberry.

Despite this variety of foods, however, the Japanese have succeeded in making every single thing they eat, from tea to plums, taste like smokey beef.

R O F L
SEE!? EXACTLY MY POINT! Wacky Japanese...!!
 
[quote name='HeadRusch']Can you go to japan with little to no knowledge of speaking the language? I understand that many signs are in english, but that most people do not speak english. I am assuming most shopkeepers also do not speak english.

Also, if someone were to greet you in Japanese, and you responded with a "Hello" in english, would they look at you like some freakish alien being!? :D[/QUOTE]

Somewhat. Subway stations can be a BITCH to navigate if you're at the wrong one's since some have listings in English. Also you have to find the right ATM's that will accept your debit cards and THIS was in Tokyo! Post Office ATM's will, at least the one I was by will.
Honestly it's funny when it comes to being accommodating I think Korea is a LOT more so, with pretty much ANY ATM being around at the time accepting your debit card and the subway stops and stations listing your stops in English as well as Korean, announcements in the car also. Honestly though Korean isn't THAT hard to read if you gave yourself like 10 minutes to learn JUST how to read it, not translating as well. Like I know exactly how to spell "Samsung", "Lee Hyun Do", etc. in Korean. Some shit is more problematic, like "ae" and so on because I haven't really learned the complex vowels.
The real irony of all this is more people want to visit Tokyo, see White people especially I'm sure which is why I don't get the lack of accommodation when it comes to two BASIC things. I'm not asking for every Japanese person to speak English to me and help me around, just that the subway shit is in English as well as more ATM's to accept my card. Funny thing about that too, when I had that problem Japanese peeps understood me straight off and I had some problems with Koreans however but I was helped.
Also ya'll want to talk about people having a problem with you, well I was at Lotte World, a theme park in Korea, and some Korean girls saw me and screamed at me. Guess they hadn't seen a White guy with long hair and a beard before, truthfully I felt more like an alien in Korea though some people were REALLY nice to me.
 
[quote name='Sarang01']Somewhat. Subway stations can be a BITCH to navigate if you're at the wrong one's since some have listings in English as well and you have to find the right ATM's that will accept your debit cards and THIS was in Tokyo! Post Office ATM's will, at least the one I was by will.
Honestly it's funny when it comes to being accommodating I think Korea is a LOT more so, with pretty much ANY ATM being around at the time accepting your debit card as well as the subway stops and stations listing your stops in English AND Korean as well as announcing the stops like this. Honestly though Korean isn't THAT hard to read if you gave yourself like 10 minutes to learn JUST how to read it, not translating as well. Like I know exactly how to spell "Samsung", "Lee Hyun Do", etc. in Korean though some shit I have a problem with like "ae" and so on because I haven't really learned the complex vowels I think it is but I would like to finish learning it.
The real irony of all this is more people want to visit Tokyo, see White people especially I'm sure which is why I don't get their lack of accommodation when it comes to two BASIC things. I'm not asking for every Japanese person to speak English to me and shit and help me around just subway shit in English as well as more ATM's to accept my card. Funny thing about that too, when I had that problem Japanese peeps understood me straight off and I had some problems with Koreans however but I was helped.
Also ya'll want to talk about people having a problem with you I was at Lotte World, theme park in Korea, and some Korean girls saw me and screamed at me. Guess they hadn't seen a White guy with long hair and a beard before, truthfully I felt more like an alien in Korea though some people were REALLY nice to me.[/QUOTE]
Congratulations, you've mastered the art of the run-on sentence.

... My head hurts.
 
[quote name='CheapyMom']Am sorry I read this- I'm starting a Japanese course in February! 8-[[/QUOTE]


yeah, now I'm really looking forward to my 6 credit japanese class next semester.

Japanese teacher: Good morning, Harry.
Harry: Good morning.
Japanese classmates: gasps of horror and shock
Click to expand...

:lol:
 
[quote name='Sarang01']You know anything about the "Trader" store BIGmog?[/quote]The Akihabara Trader store you mean? I found some amazing deals there 2 years ago (ie, a bunch of PSX RPGs for less than $5 ea.)

Anyway, I will be going back to Akihabara in June, as I am fortunate enough to be getting an all-expense-paid trip from a college journalism award that I just received.
 
[quote name='cranguy']The Akihabara Trader store you mean? I found some amazing deals there 2 years ago (ie, a bunch of PSX RPGs for less than $5 ea.)

Anyway, I will be going back to Akihabara in June, as I am fortunate enough to be getting an all-expense-paid trip from a college journalism award that I just received.[/QUOTE]

Make sure to buy most of your shit online and have it shipped to you while you're in Japan and just take it home. I've been wanting to get a Japanese PO Box for this purpose since I think I can use my credit card but no one has given me info on it. X-(
 
[quote name='HeadRusch']Can you go to japan with little to no knowledge of speaking the language? I understand that many signs are in english, but that most people do not speak english. I am assuming most shopkeepers also do not speak english.

Also, if someone were to greet you in Japanese, and you responded with a "Hello" in english, would they look at you like some freakish alien being!? :D[/QUOTE]

Shouldn't be a problem. I went on a Japan trip craze a few months ago: ended up going there 3 times over a span of 13 months. First trip was part of a tour, but the other two trips were a week exploring Tokyo by myself.

I'm asian, but the extent of my Japanese was reading hiragana and being able to say "Sumimasen, Amerika-jin desu" ("Pardon Me, I'm American") when asked something. I actually wished there was a "foreigner" sign above me, because it was pretty much always assumed that I understood Japanese, which was kinda embarassing.

Some things helped:
- I have a Citibank account, so it was easy to withdraw money from the ATM at the Tokyo branch (limit was $1,000/day from each of your accounts (savings/checking)...as opposed to, I believe, $100 from the post office ATM). The exchange rate was better than what was offered at the hotels, plus the withdrawal amount helped with spending sprees ;)
- do research on-line about the train systems, for example, using the Suica cards while in Tokyo. Made things easier since I knew what to look for in advance.
- do research on-line about travelling in Japan. It'll give you tips, certain etiquette, etc. I also bought several Tokyo/Japan travel guides - not necessary, but I wanted to have something portable.
- if you're going to Tokyo, definitely buy a Tokyo map book before going: it'll be a lifesaver. The street arrangement there is crazy, plus it'll almost always contain a train map. When I first visited there alone, I just stuck with the JR line that goes in a loop, but hits all of the main areas (Shinjuku, Akihabara, Ikekuburo, Shibuya, etc.) The map book will also make it hard to get lost since it'll have stores and various named buildings on it for orientation.

However, I managed to survive going to ramen places, strip clubs, anime/video stores, porn shops, etc. with just one phrase, so it wasn't bad ;). However, DEFINITELY get a list of all of the places you want to go to (plus their addressess/locations), and plot them out on the maps. That way, you can make a beeline to the places you really want to go to, and have extra time to wander around (which is the fun part).

Of course, now I'm preparing to take Japanese language lessons after work, so I hope to have more than 3-4 words to say next time I'm there :)
 
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