Bringing my Arcadia magazines in out of the rain...

If you have been visiting this blog for a while you might remember that I made myself ill while working on the Street Fighter 6 deep dive. I had a whole new perspective on my life, and my health while I was recovering. I thought about my family, my friends, and the loves in my life. Should anything happen to me I wanted to share online as much, if not all the gaming items I had collected through the years. To do that I needed to bring in my collection out of the garage, and into the apartment. In late summer/ early fall of 2023 I brought over my game books, comics, manga, and magazines. The majority were from Japan. It gave me a tremendous peace of mind, but was incomplete. I would have to return to the garage to do more digging.

Granted, I used to have a much larger collection. Decades ago there was a flood in my mom’s garage, where I lost the majority of my US gaming magazines, comics, and monster truck magazines. It broke my heart throwing away decades worth of memories that were ruined, and dissolving. About 15 years after I lost them I started rebuilding my monster truck magazines, and in the early 2020’s had them mostly restored, plus other gems that I never owned. By a fluke most of my Japanese issues were spared during the floods, and multiple moves. I set them aside, and kept them in storage, and our garage for years, and years. With the freak storms in Southern California started picking up in 2023-2024 I didn’t trust that they were going to be safe much longer. To keep them out of the elements I cleared out room in my hallway, and hallway closet. This month I brought over another big chunk of my collection, specifically my issues of Arcadia magazine.

In case you didn’t know there were some fantastic magazines coming out of Japan. The most popular from the ’80s to today was Famitsu, but as far as arcade gaming went there was nothing better than Gamest. I had a bunch of those issues from the early ‘90s through their last issue in 1999. I had brought them into the apartment last fall. When Gamest magazine closed down a number of their writers, and editors launched a new magazine called Arcadia. I started collecting those issues shortly after 2000, and even had a subscription from the middle of the decade, all the way until their last issue at the end of 2012. Of all the magazines I owned it was the longest consecutive streak still in my possession. I loved all the Japanese mags in my collection because they were a repository of an entire era.

In addition to previews, and reviews these magazines were also places where the developers shared concept art, and official character art. In many instances these games would never get an official strategy guide, or art book. So these were the only places where fans could see the work of some brilliant creators. It was a privilege to be able to refer back to them, and study the work that went into the creation of some little-known arcade games, as well as the most popular titles.

The magazines also would publish episodes of a manga based on a popular games, like the Street Fighter series. They would have recurring columns from pro gamers like Daigo Imahura, and interviews with SFIV, and SFV producer Yoshinori Ono. As if that wasn’t a great insight to the gaming community the magazines would sometimes throw in a poster, or even a paper craft model.

Those weren’t the only cool things that they included. In several issues there were music CDs, DVD previews of games, and even entire fighting game tournaments included in plastic sleeves. Japan hosted the Arcadia cup, which was sort of like their EVO tournament. Many of the best players of today cut their teeth in those contests.

The thing that I especially loved in the pages of Gamest, and Arcadia were the collectables from popular games. There were officially licensed soft goods, hats, shirts, jackets, etc. of various franchises. There were also toys, and statues that you could only order from their pages. If you were a serious gamer in Japan then chances were you had ordered some exclusives from those magazines.

If there was a game merchandise item you wished was produced what would it be? A cosplay piece? A weapon recreation? A tee shirt, or toy? I wish some of the skateboard decks from Sega’s Top Skater had been produced. I actually own a plastic deck from the actual arcade cabinet. But I mean I’d like one of the skateboards from the in game characters. How cool would a pair of the jet-powered inline skates from Jet Set Radio look hanging on your wall? I’d like to hear about which collectable you wish was made it in the comments section. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Space Invaders, the game, the game changer. - A 1UP classic from November 21, 2012

Happy humpday amigos. Today I will wrap up my short homage to Taito by talking about their first breakout arcade hit. The 1978 game Space Invaders hit it big in Japan, it was the phenomenon overseas that Pac Man was in the USA. The demand was so great that 100¥ (yen) coins, the equivalent of the quarter, became scarce. No game in the modern era will ever ever caused a dip in circulation. Space Invaders became a cultural touchstone, the arcade game was now mainstream and even non-gamers knew about the title. Some were afraid of what it was doing for a generation. Parents and religious leaders were scared that the arcades were drawing in young people. That somehow it was brainwashing them with the flashing lights and loud sounds. Those in authority didn't understand what the movement was about. They demonized it like they had done to rock and roll and comic books years earlier. Those that enjoyed the game and saw something more profound in the experience were able to create great works of art.

The idea of a game physically drawing in a person and forcing them to play was explored in the film Tron. The fictional game featured in the film was Space Paranoids. It was supposed to be a phenomenon whose success was owed to an uncredited Kevin Flynn. In the real world Taito reaped hundreds of millions of dollars from the game and licensing while designer Tomohiro Nishikado remained a regular employee with a regular paycheck and benefits. What he did to the industry would be felt for generations. Designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Hideo Kojima credited Space Invaders for getting them interested in video games. As Tron demonstrated those were not the only creators that were influenced by the game.

Animators and homebrew programmers referenced the game more than 30 years later. In Futurama an alien invasion was fought off by Fry. He was the only character born in the 20th century and remembered the first time Space Invaders tried to take over his life. Fans of the arcade classic also sought ways to emulate it on mobile devices. Programmers created a way to convert a phone lcd screen into a miniature arcade screen and fabricated a tiny arcade cabinet to go along with it. One of the first, if not the first arcade games recreated in this way was Space Invaders.

The French street artist Invader was known for pasting mosaic tiles of the Space Invader alien ships around the world and at several landmarks. His work was also referenced in Futurama when Bender began putting up his own mosaic tiles as well. The game-influencing-the-artist-influencing-the-cartoon was a very meta distinction for Taito and Space Invaders.

Even high fashion could not escape the influence of the game. Luxury watch maker Romain Jerome was known for their stylish timepieces built with expensive materials and made in limited quantities, usually 10 or less pieces. At $14,000 - $22,000 per watch you might wonder what the deal is. The Space Invaders timepiece is part of the DNA of Famous Legends series. The "DNA" for the Space Invaders watch is actual Moon dust used in in the metal components. One of the other watches in the series include steel from the Titanic. My rich friends should check the Sincere Store in Japan if you are interested. For everyone else just be thankful this Thanksgiving for Taito and their first arcade hit. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

The Street Fighter X Tekken Event Coverage! - A 1UP classic from March 2, 2012

Happy Friday amigos! I hope you have a great weekend planned. On my side I have a long day of work and orchestra rehearsal scheduled for tonight. Our first concert of the season is this Sunday. I'll see about getting some footage for you hopefully in the week ahead. I'd like to talk about the Street Fighter X Tekken event that went down in Los Angeles last night.

As with other Capcom release parties this one had a queue almost a block long at least two hours before the doors opened! If you ever think about going to a release party then make sure to get there early. I was fortunate because work was not too far from there and I could drive down and get in line relatively early. The people at Capcom were trying things slightly different and made sure that people understood it was 21 and over only. They, and the hosts at Majestic Halls did not want any trouble with minors crashing a party that was serving alcohol so they were going through the RSVP list and checking state issued ID's very carefully.

Once inside the building guests received a complimentary tee shirt. This shirt will undoubtedly be fetching a pretty penny on eBay very soon. Sorry but even though the shirt was too small for me does not mean I will be selling it.

Capcom has gotten quite experienced at hosting release parties. Every SF IV release, Marvel VS Capcom 3, Resident Evil and various Comic Cons would testify that they are a very community-oriented company. They had multiple cabinets set up for players to check out the final version of SF X TK. Plus they had free drinks, and a live DJ spinning at the show.

Attendees and sponsors were dressed up for the event.

Capcom spared no expense posting gigantic banners and making guests feel welcome. Goodies were given away at the event and Producer Yoshinori Ono was signing posters for attendees.

The coolest thing at the event was the art show presented by the Tsunami Syndicate. It was a collection of local artists putting forward original pieces and prints for sale of the SF and TK characters.

I would like to say thanks to Capcom, as always, for showing the community much love. They demonstrate time and time again how a publisher should reach out to the fanbase and make them feel like a part each and every release. The studio supports the local and national fighting tournament scenes, even when their games have to share the spotlight with other titles.There aren't many publishers that can claim to do the same thing. Cacpom, unlike several publishers that save their showings to the GDC or E3 make sure to appear at public events including PAX and the Comic Con.

Keeping tabs on community members on forums and sites outside of Capcom-Unity and Facebook makes the company seem more invested in the community than just about any other publisher. This type of reaching out will continue to earn the respect and admiration of the fans. Although I am not a fond of Mr. Ono's direction with the fighting titles I still wish the studio the best. Be sure to check out SF X TK this weekend and let me know what you think.

As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Street Fight Club: Special Weekend Posting!!! - A 1UP classic from July 19, 2008

Hello friends! I am breaking tradition of not blogging on the weekend for a special reason. Last night Capcom held a Street Fight Club at a secret location in Downtown LA from 8PM to Midnight. I managed to get on the list and made sure to represent 1UP to the best of my abilities.

Those that found out about this event by scouring NeoGAF or getting clued in by a friend (thanks Eric!) had to pre-register with the Capcom people early, it was a first-come first served basis. Only after getting approved did you find out where the event was. In this case it was in an industrial district, inside an old brick warehouse.

Once past security you go through a steel door into a dark concrete room. From there you find the stairs and head up. The walls are covered in graffiti, lending an air of ghetto urbane to the club idea.

Past another door there were some Capcom staffers in Ryu headbands checking people in and making sure they had RSVP'd. Once you filled out a name tag they gave you a playing card. Turn the card in at the end of the night for a special gift bag.

Capcom supplied pizza and drinks to the few hundred gamers that showed up. They even had a DJ spinning. Unfortunately they were not happy with the latest build of SF II HD Remix so it was not available at this event. Which is a bummer because I wanted to see how the SF II experience translated after 17 years and countless builds.

Even without SF II HD Remix the event went off like a bomb because there were no less than a dozen SF IV arcade cabinets set up all over the club. People queued up again and again to get a chance to try it out for the first time.

So how does it play? It plays fast and relatively tight. It's not ZOMG TOO fast like the 1UP editors would have you believe. The players, including myself were busy figuring out the hit boxes on the characters and where this fell in regards to SF II and SF III. There was a lot of eye candy on some levels and layers of details on the Chun-Li stage (as it was the longest stage in production) where you can almost lose yourself staring at the details.

There were some nuances to figure out yet and the whole EX, Saving thing is very strange. Mr. Ono went in trying to balance the game for everybody with his unblockable attacks but what I think happened is he found out a way to make top players dominate the scrubs even more. Only time will tell how players adapt to these new moves.

Unfortunately everyone was eager to try out their favorite characters and none bothered to stop and realize that we have a chance to play each character through from beginning to end and not only see the final boss, but also to record some endings. Like kids at Christmas time logic was overridden by the desire to play with their new toy.

I cannot understate how out-of-their-way Capcom went to give the fans something to talk about and share with their friends. Capcom staffers and BBS honchos Kramez and S-Kill have been pushing for serious community involvement for a while now. Taking the events out of the online forums and making them material at both Captivate08 and now with the Street Fight Club shows their dedication. Bringing SF IV to the people, to the die-hards, in a great atmosphere has to be commended. They knew that the scene was out there and if they built it, people would come. If it were in my power I'd give them medals for their efforts and for all the staffers that put this event together.

Capcom decorated the inside of the club with gears, camo netting and bomb reproductions. Possibly the theme displays they had from the E3, specifically the Commando 3, 1942 and Bionic Commando military themes. For the hardest of the hardcore players, the serious tournament guys, they even had a cage in the middle of the club with a head-to head cabinet.

While I was there I met some cool people and made some new friends, including Ted, whose Vega win streaks make up the majority of match footage that I got. Check GameVideos and do a search for Street Fighter IV footage, 13 new videos are from yours truly! Other cools guys that I met were Luke Anderson, a staff writer for Gamespot UK and Ryan Gutierrez aka Gootecks. Ryan is a fantastic Street Fighter III player and has a podcast to raise money to send Team USA to compete against Japan. Check it out, and more importantly kick in a few dollars to help cover the cost of traveling.

Of course what would a Street Fighter event be without some cosplay? The best costume of the night goes to Chun-Li!

I bet you are wondering what went into the gift bag at the end of the night? Well, once I woke up this morning, no thanks to a telephone call from my little brother! I got out the camera and took pics for you to see. The poster of the secret event was in the bag.

As were some other equally awesome things. Stickers and a postcard for the upcoming I Am 8-Bit show in August. The poster and tee shirt design appear in the show this year. A gold foil limited edition Street Fighter comic book. A red Ryu headband that says Street Fighter IV on the front and a bar of soap with Street Fighter embossed on it. Tyler Durden must be rolling in his grave!

I managed to get on camera at least four times that night. Be on the lookout for me on G4, Spike's GameTrailers, GameSpot and Capcom's own mini documentary. How will you be able to spot me? Well, this was part of the surprise that I was working on. Since I did not go to the E3 and cover it for my friends and family I wanted to make sure that they would be able to spot me on TV. I made a mask of the new Street Fighter IV character, El Fuerte. It coincides with the lucha libre game series I'm working on. I kept it on all throughout the night and attracted the attention of media types and new faces.

The surprise for you is that when my lucha series is finished I'll teach you how to make your own lucha libre mask out of an old tee shirt. The El Fuerte maskabove  is nothing more than a tee shirt and a couple of felt squares! It's not too hard, if I can do it, anybody can! You just need patience and some craft supplies. I hope you have a great rest of the weekend!

EDIT: Hello friends, it turns out that Chun-Li is actually a fellow 1UPper, Jay Jay aka J4Yx2, go visit her page if you don't believe me. Talk about small world! And seriously, bug the 1UP editors to see about raising money for Team USA's trip to Japan. The Super Battle Opera is the Arcadia Tournament that I've been talking on and off about here for years. If 1UP is serious about the gaming community in every aspect, including the most core of the core, they they should get behind Team USA at least a little bit. Keep the dream alive people. The deadline to raise the funds is quickly approaching and they haven't even gotten close!

As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Thank you Michael Ancel - A 1UP classic from July 20, 2006

This summer I've been plugging away at one of my all-time favorite titles (that didn't make the top-20 list). Michael Ancel's original Prince of Persia.

The game is filled with many cliffhanger moments and spectacular jump sequences. Mario can get away with flubbing a jump every now and then, in this game one misstep can cost you five minutes of progress. That can get very tiring very fast.

Prince of Persia is an adventure game in the loosest sense of the word. It is also a puzzle game. Not in the sense that you pick locks and figure out magical boxes. The puzzles are the labyrinths, some paths lead to certain doom, others to reward.

The only thing you can do is keep headed forward. Hope that in the next screen there is a way out and not a trap. It's the first game that I know of where you could take a leap of faith. Nope, you had to take a leap of faith in order to progress.

Step on a gate release, turn around and run full tilt for three and a half screens and at the very last possible moment leap off of a falling tile, over a chasm and a pit of spikes and catch a ledge on the other side of the room. Hurry now and climb the ledge before the gate closes on you!

That magic, wonder and simplicity of the first game was gone in the remakes. The Prince had become a jaded hero with attitude. You know, the stuff that was really popular in the late 90's? The original Prince was like Indiana Jones... timeless.

I'm thankful for Michael Ancel's original game. It taught me to be brave in the face of adversity. Always be willing to take that leap of faith.

The closest thing to capturing the spirit of the original Prince of Persia has to be Fumito Ueda's Shadow of the Colossus.

My friends have started playing it. Because of them I decided to give the game another go around, this time on hard mode. Possibly the time attack on hard mode once it's all said and done. The rewards are worth the sacrifice, I know that's what the Prince of Persia would do in the same situation. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!