Tag Archives: NES

It’s-a Me, Mario Doll!

Walking through the vendor aisles at the Video Game Summit this year, I came upon something that I haven’t seen with my own eyes since probably 1991 or 1992. Sitting together with a bunch of other classic video game memorabilia was a 1989 Super Mario Doll from Applause. Immediately after seeing it I was hit with a surge of nostalgia, followed by the suspicion that the thing was going to cost me a arm and a leg. Anything Super Mario Bros usually fetches a pretty high price, but I decided I would ask the vendor to see how bad the sticker shock was anyway.

“Hey man! Is that a vintage Mario Doll there?” I said.

“Yeah! He’s missing his hat, but he’s from the 80’s.” He replied.

“How much are you asking for him?” I said, getting ready to be hit with an absolutely ridiculous price.

“20 bucks.” said the seller.

“That’s it?!” I said.

Usually I don’t let my poker face show like that, but I was pretty happy with the price and decided to pick it up.

The first time I saw this Mario doll was at a video game rental store located in Crystal Lake, IL called Video Game Adventures. The store itself was pretty amazing, featuring a vast library of games to rent for all consoles and even handhelds. Games with blue tags only cost a dollar to rent for the weekend, where newer black tagged games cost 2 dollars to rent.

Located up front at the register was a glass display case with used Nintendo games and along with those games was the same Mario doll keeping watch over the grey cart goodness. I immediately asked if it was for sale, but the owner explained to me that it was gift to her from her daughter in celebration that she opened up the store. I can tell you that I coveted that thing every time I visited that store. Sadly, one day we went to Video Game Adventures to pick up some games for the weekend and the store was gone! It pretty much vanished without a trace and I was crushed.

I explained this same story to the vendor and I could tell that he felt really happy that he was able to hook me up with my long lost little buddy. I think I made his day as much as he made mine. Sure, by today’s standards this Mario doll looks pretty goofy; but this was my childhood Mario and I’m really pleased to finally have one.

Mother/Earthbound Origins 2X LP Soundtrack Review

Do yourself a favor and play the below video I produced that contains the entire soundtrack of this record while you read this review, it will certainly add to the flavor.

If you would have told me that the vinyl release of the Mother Soundtrack would be my favorite out of my collection back when I started picking up game music on vinyl, I would have told you that you were crazy; but after multiple listens of this incredible record, that seems to be the case.

I had always known that fully studio produced tracks for the release of Mother/Earthbound Origins existed, but I had only heard small bits and pieces of some of the tracks. When I picked up this record, I expected just a high-quality recording of the music from the Famicom classic; but instead I got so much more. Let me be honest, these lyrical, fully produced music tracks are pretty damn cheesy; but somehow hit me right in the heart with almost every track. For a game that was made to capture the essence of the mid to late 80’s in the United States, these arranged tracks do the same thing. I could have easily heard music like this when I turned my radio on in the 80’s and not thought it was out of place. The arranged tracks range from genre to genre; sometimes you get a little pop music and other times you get something that seems straight out of a Peter Gabriel album, but it’s all very well done and sounds fantastic on the format. Side D on the second record gives you the original music from the Famicom game and its sounds excellent in its constant mix presentation.

This two record LP set from Ship to Shore Phono Company is beautifully produced and comes on two gorgeous red vinyl discs, along with a great gatefold cover. The version I was given included a booklet which gives a nice history of the production of the music from this album and a thank you page devoted to the fans who backed the Kickstarter set up for this project.

Regrettably, the double LP version of this soundtrack is out of print, but you can still pick up the CD version of this directly from Ship to Shore as of the publishing time of this article. If you are a fan of Mother or Earthbound and don’t have some version of this music in your library yet, I suggest you pick it up! Just listen to the video I put up if you don’t believe me!

Mother Soundtrack CD: https://www.shiptoshoremedia.com/store/albums/mother

Battle Kid: Fortress of Peril (NES)

Battle Kid: Fortress of Peril is one of those games I would have rented as a kid and would have instantly become glued to. While many people see it as just as Mega Man clone, that’s not really the case; instead Battle Kid fits better in the mold of Metroid, just WAY harder.

During my quick live 35 minute play session, viewers watched as I repeatedly died at the same screen section over and over again. This game is certainly not for those that do not have patience, but if you can handle the repeated visits to the game over screen, you begin to develop muscle memory as to when to jump, shoot and when to run in the very tough sections of the game.

I didn’t get very far in the game during the live session, but I did enjoy the music, game play and look of the game. I’ll dive into it hard one day.

Battle Kid: Fortress of Peril is a home brew title that can occasionally be purchased from Retro USB. If you want to take a stab at it, you can buy it here: http://www.retrousb.com/product_info.php?cPath=30&products_id=86