Dag yo! So, it’s been quite a while since I’ve done one of these. It’s been about TWO months since I’ve done my last A Compulsive Collector’s Haul and even then, that was a haul from two months prior , for a total of FOUR months ago. So, in reality, I’ve got a backlog of FIVE MONTHS to catch you guys up on . . . >_< With that said, we’re NOT doing that today, since I’ve gotten a number of requests to do my more recent haul from my trip to JAPAN! I’ll catch up on those with slightly more halfassed versions of my series, but are literally full of SUPER AWESOME stuff. I’ve got about 150 pictures from the past 5 months that I’ll catch you guys up on after this blog, but for New Years I was in Japan, the land of collectables like none other and general gaming mecca! Keep in mind (for those of you who actually read what I write, as opposed to those of you who just look at the pictures! =P) that not all of these items are for myself. I got a few of these items for friends and homies, like possumwrangler and Zoel. I also have excluded some items from being photographed, so that they remain a surprise when their respective recipients receive them, they’ll still be a surprise!

Hmmm, what else? I haven’t been posting lately due to me finishing my university degree and working 2 jobs, then going on my trip. It seems the site is still lacking good community driven blogs and the quality has been lacking. Yojimbo hit the nail on the head in his latest blog about how nothing has really changed, in how you still have people writing poor quality blogs about the same shit that’s been repeated a million times over. I’m on Wry Guy next Nostaljourney about Jet Grind Radio. Hmmm, Beyamor, knutaf, Stevil, and manasteel88 (and a few others, you should know who you are! =P) can still be counted on to make for good reading. Hmmm, some of you may not know him, but anyone else REALLY miss The Obscurer Tribune by the ever lovable BulletMagnet? Also, why are people still commenting on the blogs of hopeless tards who pretend to contribute to the community, but in reality are just stubborn, simple minded trolls? Enough with the thoughts, those will continue in the next few blogs, but I’ll going to bring back an old “tradition” of mine as well . . . some of you will notice it right off the bat.

I’ve been wondering lately what exactly is a “gamer?” I mean, you can subcategorize them into “hardcore,” “casual,” “kid,” “adult,” “bro,” etc. Why can’t we be happy with a simple term? Not everything has to be “in-depth” or “evolved” or that bullshit to “grow.” Overcomplicating shit for the sake of overcomplicating it is just fucking dumb. It’s like me not saying I’m a “human being” or “person,” but in reality I’m “yellow,” or possibly “Chinese,” then again, I may be “Asian,” or who the fuck cares about these technicalities since you’ll always have people who make them out to be a much bigger deal than they are, just so they can feel . . . “important!” Just for the record, I don’t see “gamers” . . . I see “people!” ^_^ ON WITH SHOW!



As posted in the Recaps that I most recently did, here is an overview picture of almost everything that I got in Japan. There’s a few things you won’t see bigger pictures of here like: some bracelets, some hot salt, the cards for World Club Champion Football: Intercontinental Clubs 2009-2010 (as that can be a post by itself), a bunch of green tea, some sake, some jewellery, and a ton of crazy ass flavored Kit Kats (still mulling over doing a Japan photo blog, will take another poll at the end of the blog).




First up we have Domo-Kun no Fushigi Terebi! From my understanding, this is the only game that’s ever been made featuring pretty much the best character ever . . . DOMO-KUN! In the second picture, you can see that it even has an e-Reader card that came with it. Let me say now that used games in Japan are almost always in PRISTINE condition and come with like everything that should be with it. From what I can gather by playing it for a bit, DOMO gets sucked into his TV and is now participating in various TV shows to try to gain his freedom? Five of the mini-games from the game also came out on DSi Ware, so you can get a taste of the game if you download those titles. I picked this gem up from the retro gaming palace known as Super Potato! (Their website is kind of not up-to-date though).



Next up is Hatsune Mike: Project Diva. I thought since I was in Japan, I’d best get some Japanese only games. What could be more Japanese than getting a game based on a fictional singer (vocaloid or whatever they’re called) that sells out concerts of her holographic self and . . . yeah . . . hahaha! Apparently, this may also be a dreaded (at least in my collection) “Greatest Hits” version, which I didn’t know about until I got TheCleaningGuy to do some moonspeak translating for me. I thought all of the Greatest Hits games in Japan were under the “Ultimate Hits” or “Best Price” label, which have silver and yellow spines. Still, this one looked “normal,” so I guess I’ll live with it! =) This little ditty was picked up from super huge and awesome electronic chain Yodobashi.




AWWWWWWWWWWWW YEAHHHHHHHHHHH!!! To the average person, this may look like a Japanese copy of Jet Grind/Set Radio and I wouldn’t blame you if you did think it. If you look closer though, you’ll notice Gum on the front cover instead of Beat. That’s because this is the MUCH rarer (one of the rarest Dreamcast games actually . . . at least from my mini-research about it) De La Jet Set Radio! This was probably number one on my list of most wanted things from my trip to Japan, and I found it at the great Super Potato! It is a rare game because it has a couple extra levels and songs, plus was only available online through Sega’s online store. Plus, I’m also a big fan of the series, so this was a big coup for me! ^_^




Now we have the boxed Japanese version of Electroplankton. For the most part, used game prices in Japan are actually pretty reasonable, even for games that had like extras and may be a bit older/rare. I got this from Sofmap, which is a subsidiary from the often heard of BIC Camera. I also just realized I got a lot of games I already own, but just their Japanese counterparts. Hmmm, I guess my love of these games are just too much, hahaha! Japanese games are also infinitely more shiny than our North American ones, which is also something that just catches my eye. Besides coming in a nice shiny box, this version of Electroplankton has a decent pair of headphones that are blue colored. There’s nothing special about them nor do they advertise the game or anything, but the game’s just hard to find in general and it’s by Nintendo, so I thought . . . why not?




This is also from Sofmap, and remember how I said the Japanese take great care of their used games? Just look at how complete and in how great condition this copy of Final Fantasy VI for Super Famicon is! I picked this up because it was ¥300, which is just under $4 Canadian . . . for a complete copy . . . awesome . . . =D






I got this bad boy from Super Potato as well, and I can now finally say I own a Game Boy Micro . . . a Final Fantasy IV Advance Game Boy Micro may I add. I now pretty much own almost every Nintendo handheld now with this acquisition. I’m just missing the original “fat” Nintendo DS and a Game Boy Light if I recall correctly. Although, the Game Boy Light only came out in Japan I believe, so that may be a bit tricky to get a hold of (trust me, I looked while I was there). I also now own my FIFTH copy of Final Fantasy II/IV . . . -_-‘ This is my first Japanese copy to go along with all four North American releases. *sigh* I’m quite a big fan of the little suede carrying case that comes with the handheld, which makes it much easier to carry it around and prevent scratches . . . that is if I ever decided to do that! Hahaha! I’m also quite a big fan of the faceplate on the Micro itself. It’s a nice hue of blue and has a good contrast of Cecil. The screen is actually also very bright, brighter than the SP and is very high resolution and crisp for being so small.



I got this classic from Yodobashi, which is what every electronics department store should be! This is Famicon Mini: Super Mario Bros., which is the equivalent Classic NES Series: Super Mario Bros. I like the clear box/case the Famicon Mini games come in from Japan. Nothing overly fancy about this, just something that was cool and reasonably priced that I thought I should pick up.






So, did I mention how Sofmap totally freakin’ rocks? If not, it’s also because they have limited edition game consoles that get traded in, and they resell them at fairly reasonable prices. Case in point, I got this for my homeboy possumwrangler, and it’s the Pokémon Center Pikachu Edition Nintendo DS Lite. As you can see, it’s complete in box in really good condition, adorable, cute, and all around ballin’ as hell! Look at his cute little smile . . . ^_^ . . . hahaha! Maybe thanks for partially being responsible for getting me into this whole game collecting thing, and well, I already know you enjoy it like none other! =D Also, they had some other consoles like Phoenix Wright DSi, Famicon Edition Game Boy Micro, and a few other ones kickin’ about.



So, you just saw one big ticket item for a good friend of mine, here’s the other for Zoel! He’s my number one guy for knowledge about moonspeak games and imports, so pretty much any Japanese special edition or exclusive game you see in my blogs, this guy was responsible for helping me obtain it. That said, he has ranted and raved about how awesome and difficult this one Fire Emblem game was, so he asked me to look into it when I got there. Apparently, this was the last game ever released on Super Famicon, and it’s “widely” regarded as the best one in the series, so here’s Fire Emblem: Thracia 776. Many thanks dude, and it looks like we’ll be getting more stuff soon eh? Hahaha! This was a fairly pricey pickup from the retro gaming grounds of Super Potato.



Hey look! Another moonspeak exclusive game I decided to pick up. Here we have Meccha! Taiko no Tatsujin DS: 7-tsu no Shima no Daibouken, otherwise known as one of the Taiko Drum Master games for DS. Don’t know anything about it, aside from it apparently has two special styluses in it, along with some cool looking decals, and it’s based off the series, and that drum just looks so darn happy! =) Twas a new game that I got from Yodobashi.



Upon looking at this picture, I realized I should’ve REALLY organized my pictures a lot better for this haul . . . oh well. Too late for that now, as I’m too lazy to change it up. Here we have the Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (Hoshizora no Mamoribito) Synthesizer & Original Soundtrack! I got this from the Square Enix store, where if you like ANY Square Enix game ever released (don’t even start with the current ones suck, blah blah blah, etc.) they have something there you will love! The store is friggin’ batshit insane full of awesome, cool stuff!




I got this one, Dissidia: Final Fantasy Original Soundtrack [Limited Edition] from a CD store in the Ginza district of Tokyo. The name eludes me, but they had a pretty good selection, and it was cheaper there than the Square Enix store, so that was a bonus too. The pictures just show the front and the back of it, which are covered with art of the Cosmos and Chaos heroes and villains done by legendary Final Fantasy artist, Yoshitaka Amano!



I also managed to go to Luida’s Bar during my trip, which is the Dragon Quest themed café/bar. That was another place full of super freakin’ cool stuff if you’re familiar with the series. I ordered food and drinks there that were based off the enemies or items from the series, and there’s just a bunch of sweet stuff to see. The waitresses even dress up as characters from the game. Still, a couple of exclusive things you can buy there are the Luida’s Bar Red/White Wine (which was even priced to a point where even I didn’t deem it a good deal, and I’m the tard that gets all kinds of stupid priced stuff) and some Dragon Quest Legendary Hero (Roto) Crest Cookies. If you’re playing Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies still, this is the item set with the prefix “Erdrick’s.” As you can see, it comes in a pretty sweet box, and there are eight mini-boxes inside of it that each hold a cookie.




Super Potato pulls through for me once again, as I got Japanese copies Breath of Fire III and Breath of Fire IV from there, and look at how much better the artwork is on these two games, compared to their North American counterparts. They were both on sale and were pretty darn cheap, which is why I picked them up. I also picked them up, because I was sad that the store was sold out of a complete version of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars on Super Famicon, Shenmue US, Rez with crazy vibrator thing, and Eternal Arcadia (Skies of Arcadia) Limited Edition. =(



LOOK AT HIM! He’s so squinty eyed and cute! =3 Yet another pickup from the Square Enix store (you CANNOT comprehend the amount of “cute” that is in that store, it’s so sickeningly awesome) and relatively new. This is the newer Final Fantasy XIV Stuffed Moogle – Kuplu Kopo. I’m a fan of his squinty eyes, little black wings, bushy “beard,” and yellow pompom!



Guess where this guy is from? =P I’m hoping the ladyfriend that I got this for doesn’t check my blog. She occasionally does, but I’m pretty sure it’ll be safe to post this as she probably won’t check this thing before I give it to her. This is the Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales Plush Chocobo! I should’ve taken a better picture of this one, but it’s reading a spell book with like a rhino creature chasing a Cactaur!



The store had a promotion going on, where if you spent more than ¥500 (which I did by a LONG shot), you would get a special gift. Along with some very cool bags, which I just realized I don’t have pictures of at the moment, I got this awesome four choice gravity pen. Once again, I should’ve probably retaken this picture with the pen actually out . . . but . . . I’m lazy now.



Wow, I’m really poor at the organization of these pictures. Here are a three more things from Luida’s Bar. For everyone that goes into the “bar,” you get a gift at the end of the hour or so long session. Apparently, this week (it could’ve been month) they were giving away little Dragon Quest Slime Keychains. Since the waitresses liked me (it’s another story that I’ll go into if there’s interest, in a future blog) they gave me one of each one they had (Slime, She-Slime, and Metal Slime), which kind of pissed off a couple of the other guys there, since they only got one. Score one for Funktastic! ^_^ d(‘-‘d)



Back to the Square Enix store! Here’s a family of Dragon Quest Smile Slimes I decided to pickup, one medium and two smalls. I’m keeping the medium one for sure, still trying to figure out what to do (or better yet, who) with the two small ones. We’ll see! =P My brother is also a tard and thinks that these things should be renamed “Onion” instead, since for some stupid reason he thinks they look like onions . . . -_-‘



I wasn’t originally going to get this Blooper Plush (from the Mario series for those of you living under a rock), but my Dad saw me considering it and just pretty much told me to pick it up, so I did . . . >_< Hahaha!



This is for another close pal of mine in Calgary, who is a pretty big fan of Kirby, particularly this little guy, Waddle Dee! The production values for such a simple character as this dude are just top notch on this plush, which was really nice to see.



I won this guy from a UFO Catcher game in a Club Sega! It’s pretty much a variation of the crane games over here in North America, where you try to win a prize, usually a plushie or something along those lines. In Japan, their main variation is having a “bigger” prize with like a hook around it, on like a long pole, and you have to use the claw to jimmy the hook off the pole and into the prize box. It was either ¥100 for 1 try, or ¥500 for 6 tries. I went with the latter and won it on mu fourth try (it’s like literally impossible to win on your first try), which even impressed the couple of Japanese people watching me. From what I can understand, it’s a Monster Hunter Portable 3rd Airou Solar Powered Bobblehead. If there’s light present, it’ll bob its head side to side and just look happy! I simply refer to it as “KITTY!”



I went on a tour to Mt. Fuji and at the first stop they had a store selling these guys. If I have to explain to you why I picked these guys up . . . your heart is as cold as ice . . . =P



Here are a couple cups of Pokémon Instant Ramen! The blue one is chicken flavored I believe and has fish cakes of Pikachu and one pissed off looking Oshawott! The red one is supposed to be beef flavored and once again features Pikachu and the fiery Tepig! I found them at the most common convenience store, Lawson’s, and they had some other sort of promotion going on, but the amount of moonspeak that was involved made it totally not worth my effort to find out about it.




I managed to get these back to Canada without any spillage or compression, which was pretty darn sweet. The first picture shows off the “front” label of the Monster Hunter Portable 3rd Hunter Blend Energy Drink. I have no idea what’s in it and all that I know is that it’s made by Asahi (one of the very few Japanese beers you’ll get in North America) and that it appears to be non-carbonated. The second picture shows the character on each bottle I got (there were four designs and I decided to only get two, due to space constraints), which were what I deemed to be “KITTY!” and “4 Legged Dragon.”





Now we have a Dragon Quest Legend Items Gallery -The Best- blind box figure set. I picked this up from some random department store, since I noticed its price was cheaper than the others I had seen before. In it was one of nine possibilities, with there being three sets of armor with three different parts. The little card in the second picture says “Sword of the Lone Metal Slime,” which pretty much means that I got the Liquid Metal Slime Sword. I thought I’d be good with only one, but after assembling this one, I kind of really want to get the rest, as they look good and would make good figures to have on display.



Anyone who is a fan of Metal Gear Solid 3, should instantly recognize what the item on the left. It’s a freakin’ CalorieMate! An actual one, of which are quite common around Japan and come in quite a number of flavors. According to Wikipedia, this black font one is apparently “cheese” flavored. Intriguing to say the least. On the right, we have some assorted candies with various Pokémon that is promoting the Pikachu the Movie . . . movie . . . ?



I already predicted it before I went there, but I didn’t expect it to be THAT passé, but I’m pretty sure that DOMO-KUN is pretty passé in Japan nowadays, even though he’s just been starting to get popular over here in North America. This was honestly the best DOMO stuff I could find, not even a single plush one either! *tears* T_T Here we have a DOMO-KUN Shogun Gashapon that has some sort of Japanese message on it, a DOMO-KUN Shogun Cell Phone Charm, and a DOMO-KUN Warrior Pencil, of which were apparently also special to the Kyoto region of Japan.



I’m really hoping the guy that I got to import the Cactuar Plushies really pulls through, which is why you won’t see one in this blog, even though I went to the Square Enix store. Instead, you will find this guy, a Final Fantasy Mascot Strap <Cactuar/Sabotender>. I will fight anyone who says there is a cooler or more badass enemy than this guy in the series . . . FIGHT I SAY . . . FIGHT!!!



Keeping with the trend of getting stuff of games I already own, but just REALLY, REALLY, REALLY like, we have the Japanese version of the Super Mario RPG Guide, which is my FAVORITE game of all time, which also has the 3D polygon models of all the character throughout it, which makes it that much more awesome and kickass! I also got this on sale at Super Potato.



Keeping with potatoes that are pretty darn super, I pretty much just HAD to get this guide as well, in terms of games that are near and dear to my heart. This Final Fantasy X Ultimania Omega Guide was on like super New Years sale, and I managed to snag it for a cool ¥500!



Yet another game/series that means a lot to me, I originally wasn’t going to pick this guide up, but when I saw the price of it in the random game store I was in, in Akihabara, I couldn’t say no. This Kingdom Hearts II Ultimania Guide cost this guy a nice cool ¥100! Great deal or what?





So, I ended up with these because there was a fairly attractive Japanese lady who was monitoring the “upper” part of the Square Enix store, was giving out those little sample cards of these colognes, and told me they had a sale on them if you bought both. I’m a tard and ended up with both. >_< So, we have here Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Cloud Strife and Sephiroth Eau de Toilette. You can’t tell by the picture, but the Sephiroth box has a clear case around it. Truth be told, while being fairly collectable, they actually smell pretty good. I do prefer the Sephiroth one over the Cloud one, but we’ll see if I decide to use them and just keep the bottles, which is a somewhat high probability right now.

Well that’s it folks. That took a hell of a lot longer to write than expected. I hope all of you had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Years! So, I’ll be catching up on my 5 months of backlog starting next weekend (hopefully), so be sure to stay tuned to that. I do have a serious question though, since I know some people hate being forced to view them, or having others just assume they’d be interested in something. But I have a TON of pictures from like the Square Enix store, Luida’s Bar, various gaming places, tourist sites around Tokyo and Kyoto, lots of food ones, Shibuya (where The World Ends With You takes place), and a bunch of cool/interesting stuff. Would you guys be interested in me making a blog with a bunch of pictures from those places? If so, any in particular that you would be interested in and those you wouldn’t from my list? I will base whether or not I do a blog of pictures from my trip, on comments on this blogs, so if you do have an interest, please comment and I’ll see what I can throw together. Until next time though, latez mates.