As my generation goes into their 30s and 40s, we tend to talk a lot more about my childhood memories and especially for the guys, the games we played back then were often recollected fondly.
This brings me to the package i received today; with the word "fragile", it's hard to guess its actual content although you might have guessed it's related to games. Does it contain marbles (known affectionately as go li among kids) or maybe wooden toy guns?
This item has a technology that is way more advanced as it requires power and a television; a retro gaming console! Back then in the 80s, this kind of video console was one of the pioneers and given the lower standard of living then, i should really be grateful to my parents who scrimped and saved to buy me a set of Nintendo as a reward for my good exam results.
Like a kid rummaging through his Christmas presents, excitement overwhelmed us as we tore the wrapping apart. Well, it wasn't a 100% replica of Nintendo but i think people from my era will identify the similarities in the controllers and even the game cartridges (remember the hard blowing into the cartridge and the amount of saliva that went in)!
Instructions and wordings on console are in Chinese; however, setting up is easier than a router! Connect the AV cables with the console and your television, plug in the controllers, slot in the cartridge and lastly, power up the device (do use an adapter as the head is the narrower two-pin China-type)!
The console i purchased came with a 400-game cartridge and you can imagine scrolling through the hundreds of games, in seek of the ones i enjoyed playing so much (to the point of addiction) when i was a kid. First game; Twin Bee!
Gameplay is fighter-plane style which i never quite succeed in; albeit way cuter with a cartoon theme and bells that act as power ups to help advance your crusade.
Ice Climber - another hot favourite! Alex actually remembers the navigation for the console; to choose two players, you cannot press the up-down button on your controller! It's the small, rectangular "select" button in the middle of the controller!
I remember the penguins, the birds and if i am not wrong, the occasional seal! It's fun to play with friends as it is a competitive game and the strategy is to climb up faster so that your "friend" dies earlier in the game.
Balloon Fight - eliminate the foxes by popping their balloons!
You would have noticed that the graphic was bad; it definitely is compared to what we have nowadays! The technology jump over the past few decades has been incredible although in this case, i admit my 65-inch television is too huge for the resolution. Think about it, the average size of the television 20-30 years ago was only about 32-inch!
I tried to use the smaller aspect ratio of 4:3 which improves the resolution just a little bit. Now, maybe i should move back the 32-inch television that i still have back at my parents' place. The only issue? Mom is waiting for me to buy her an external TV antenna so that she can watch her Taiwanese drama in peace.
Darn, maybe i should drop by Cash Converter and see if there's any old television set that i can adopt for a small fee.
=====
Where To Buy?
Via Qoo10; click here for the link. Delivery was exceptionally fast; i ordered on Sunday and it was sent to our doorstep today; a mere 3 days!
Pricing
Retro Gaming Console - S$30.90
Delivery Charge - S$3.99