Latest Purchases #80

Freeze may have been the first major big bad off the three truly complete monsters in Dragon Ball Z, but my favorite of the lot has always been Cell. Yes, I realize that he may come off as vanilla when compared to Freeze, but I like him more anyway. This Perfect Cell vinyl Pop figure has the honor of being the first Cell merch I've ever bought. Ain't he precious?

I found a new store at my local mall called T-Shirt Kingdom that has the most impressive selection of t-shirts that I've ever seen. Sports, anime, gaming; you name it, they've got it. In particular, the amount of different gaming tees is astonishing. They had a ton of Pac-Man tees and since he's become one of my mains in Super Smash Bros., I thought I'd give him some shirt love. I ended up leaving the store with tree Pac-Man tees and one matching hat.

The Ginyu Force makes the cover of the latest Dragon Ball 3-in-1 manga releases. This one collects volume 22-24. Like a lot of long time DBZ fans, I love the Ginyu Force and this book contains some of my favorite fights from early DBZ, including Recoome making light of Vegeta. The next DB 3-in-1 has Goku turn Super Saiyan during the lengthy battle with Freeza. Hot dog!

Jaco The Galatic Patrolman is a manga I'd heard of just days before making this post. I found out about it on Amazon while I was looking around. I've got a few other manga works of Akira Toriyama like Sand Land, Cowa! and some Dr. Slump volumes (give that series the 3-in-1 treatment) and I'm always eager to check out other stuff he's done. Turns out Jaco actually takes place in the Dragon Ball universe and is a prequel to the entire series.

Disney, thank you remembering that wonderful Disney Afternoon cartoon block from the 1990s. Sure, you aren't giving these DVD releases the excellent treatment that you do your classic films like Sleeping Beauty and 101 Dalmations (need to get those on Blu-Ray) but I'm happy to have TaleSpin, Gargoyles and now Goof Troop on DVD, nonetheless. Probably gonna binge watch this.

I'd meant to pick up Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker when it released back in December but I had Christmas shopping I needed to take care of. $40 Wgames are a lot easier for me to swallow in this HD gaming world we now live in. I found the Captain Toad levels in Super Mario 3D World to be very enjoyable so its great that we have a whole game revolving around that particular play style. It didn't take me long to finish Kirby and the Rainbow Curse so I'm guessing it shouldn't take me too long to finish Treasure Tracker. I've got a few more days off work so I'm planning to dive right into this one.

Its always bugged me that SEGA dropped the "SEGA" from this title. I mean, really, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed? Maybe its just me but that sounds a little strange. Yeah, there's a bunch of Sonic characters in this game but we've got other SEGA stars, too. On the other hand, Sonic is pretty much all we get from the company these days. Apparently this is the Bonus Edition of the game which includes stuff like the OutRun Bay track, Metal Sonic and stickers. I'm guessing those stickers are like the stamps from Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8 and the NES Remix Pack, which I still need to grab despite the fact that I already own NES Remix and NES Remix 2. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed was only $10 at Target. Steal!

A while back, I'd noticed that Nintendo had added more characters to the World of Nintendo figure line. Among these are Wind Waker Gannondorf, Diddy Kong and Samus. I was especially happy to see they'd give us a Samus figure to nab because I love me some Metroid. And now I've got some more Metroid stuff besides my Samus amiibo. Sure the World of Nintendo poseable figures may not be as detailed and articulate  as the S.H. Figurearts Nintendo figures line, but for the price, you get some pretty impressive figures to display. I give Toad a lot of flack whenever he isn't a playable character, but I really do love the little guy but I love Blue Toad among all others. He's fast and he picks things up with the quickness. Blue Toad has the least amount of articulation thus far with a measly three points of articulation. I wasn't expecting much since he's so short and I still say he has no legs, just feet. I copped Luigi because Mario needs his little bro. That's three thirds of the Super Mario3D World cast. I'd love to see a poseable Rosalina. I wonder how many points of articulation they'd give her.

Latest Purchases #79

I've missed the last few issues of Retro Gamer, I'm sorry to say. The price has regrettably gone up, but the magazine remains one of my favorite printed books to read. Yeah, my backlog on Retro Gamer is insane (lost count of how many issues I'm behind on) but when I do read an article in this mag, it never fails to be enjoyable or informative. There's a nice article celebrating the PlayStation's 20th anniversary, which was last year for the five of you that didn't know. I suppose I should toss up my own PS 20th anniversary article as well since all the cool kids are doing it.

Currently, Mega Man is adapting the story line of Mega Man 3, my favorite Mega Man game. I've already got all four issues of Legend of the Blue Bomber, which covered all of Rock's fights with the initial eight Robot Masters from Mega Man 3. In this issue Wily steals Gamma and Rock gets ready for a big showdown with Break Man. I'd like to jump right into this issue but I have a ton of catching up to do. I never read the Ra Moon story (I'm even missing an issue in that arc) or the follow up issues, and I completely missed out on the Dawn of X arc. I may just have to spring for some trades.

Yet another Dragon Ball manga, this time a Viz Big edition. This is the fifth volume that collects volumes 13-16 of the Dragon Ball story arc. Unlike the 3-on-1 books, these are printed on high quality paper with a sturdier cover. There's even a few color chapters. I suppose I should have started collecting Viz's Big Edition of DB with volume 1, but this was the only one Barns & Nobles had. Some day I'm going to make a blog post about the different Dragon Ball manga.

Super Saiyan Goku is my very first Pop vinyl figure. I've been seeing these things around and I've been wanting to start buying certain sets like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle set and those from Wall-E. This was fye's only Super Saiyan Goku and I gotta say, these things feel much lighter than I thought they would be. I've got my eye on a Perfect Cell that just arrived at the store.

I thought $30 was a bit much for Nintendo Land so being able to cop it for $13.99 at GameStop is a much better deal. I played some of the attractions on Christmas day with my nieces and nephew when they got their Wii U. I may not invest as much time in Nintendo Land as I have Mario Kart 8 or Super Smash Bros., but I do find the idea of behind Nintendo Land to be quite intriguing.

Zombi U got so much hate from the press. I hear this is one of the best Wii U games to use the Game Pad and it sounds like the kind of zombie game that I can get into that doesn't have horrid tank controls. Maybe I'll play this one with all the lights out. Maybe.

As the date drew closer and closer for this release, the hype took hold of me and I ended up walking out with fye's last copy of Majora's Mask 3D. I never really did play my N64 copy or my digital copy on my Wii. The time limit was felt like a noose around my neck but watching SomeCallMeJohnny's review of the game has me willing to give this one another shot.

I guess it was only a matter of time before I picked up a Pokemon plush. In truth, I bought Pikachu just because I thought I should own some merch of the most famous Pokemon. I really didn't appreciate this thing until I got it home. This is an extremely well-made Pikachu plush, It's soft, huggable and disgustingly cute. I actually wanna hug this thing.

$60 is a lot of cash to spend on a game so when I see one going for $40 and a Nintendo first party title, no less, my eyes grow wide in anticipation. I was already planning to grab Kirby and the Rainbow Curse but the price tag made buying it on launch day a lot easier to do. This is a fun, adorable, and surprisingly difficult Kirby game. More on this one in an upcoming Currently Playing post.

I was jealous of everyone playing Hyrule Warriors back on launch day in September but I just couldn't afford it. This is another one of those $60 games. And I didn't have to pay a dime for it because I won an award from my job. I got a $100 gift certificate to spend at the place of my choosing and since Beats headphones cost way too much, I went to BestBuy.com and picked up Hyrule Warriors. I'm thinking of starting this one on Sunday, my next off day but I've already got so much on my plate so I may hold off.

Super Mario 3D World isn't a latest purchase, but the little Cat Mario next to the game is. I went to my Wallgreens for a snack run last night and I thought I'd take a peek down the toy isle. Inside the Super Mario red plush box is a World of Nintendo Cat Luigi and Cat Mario. I already picked up a Cat Luigi a while back but Cat Mario was new to me. He was the only one there and I certainly wasn't gonna let someone else walk out with him. If there's one a World of Nintendo plushies for the rest of the Super Mario 3D World in Cat form, I must have them.

Latest Purchases #77

Another post that should have went up back in December. What can I say, it was a busy month, and I worked. A LOT. Anyway, here's the last things I bought in 2014.

While shopping some Christmas shopping, I came across something very unexpected. A World of Nintendo Cat Suit Luigi. I thought I'd seen all of the plushies in this line of toys, but evidently, I have not. This was the very last one in Wallgreens and I was not about to let someone else give him home. I really need to see just how expansive this toy line is.

Wario Time! I guess Wario is another one of those hard-to-find World of Nintendo toys that isn't a soft toy because I've never seen him in stores until a few weeks ago. Target had about three Wario's left  and on sale so I had to grab one up. I'm honestly a little surprised at how big he is, too. I mean, he's nothing compared to the WON Donkey Kong, but he's got some mass to him.

The WON Wind Waker Link is very similar to the Toon Link I purchased at GameStop back in 2011, with some key differences. His coloring is lighter and his sword is very, very flimsy. When I saw WON Toon Link months ago, I decided to not purchase him due to already owning a similar Toon Link but since Toon Link is my favorite incarnation of the character, I decided to buy him. Gotta admit, I do like his lighter colors.

This Skyward Sword beanie is something I picked up at fye. It was on sale for $10, pretty good considering the original price was $17.99. Plain old beanies keep my head warm, but decorative beanies keep my head warm and have the added bonus of having people that pass me say "Hey, nice beanie."

Latest Purchases #76

I've really been slacking on my LP posts and on this blog overall. It's a combination of having been sick, working a lot and other personal issues. I hate that I did so little posting throughout the month of November and as much as I'd love to do a post a day, I'm just one man, so that isn't possible. Still, I do want to get back to making more frequent posts, so if I gotta lose some more sleep and what no for the greater good, so be it. With that said, here's the combination of at least three different purchases done up in a single post.

I think it's safe to say that just about any fan of DBZ has picked up or at least watched Battle of Gods. Unlike previous movies and TV specials, this is actually a cannon thing, with the story being written by Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama himself. Having seen this movie  three times now, it's definitely one of my favorite pieces of Dragon Ball media. Love the action and love the comedy, though I do find it odd that some fans are complaining about the later, which strikes me strange since Dragon Ball has comedic roots. That 20 minutes of extra footage is all kinds of cool.

This 5 inch Mario figure is one of the most common toys in the World of Nintendo line. Unlike Link, Bowser and Donkey Kong, I didn't have to order him online as I've always seen him in Target and K-Mart. He really is a sweet-looking Mario figure with some excellent points of articulation. I'll try not to forget all about him when I open up the other Mario figure that I picked up...

Like Mario, this Yoshi World of Nintendo figure is pretty freaking cool. He's the first Yoshi toy I've picked up that isn't a plushy. I'd planned to get this thing sooner or later, but since I've been playing as the dino a lot in Mario Kart 8 and loving what they did to him in Smash 4, that might have hastened my purchase somewhat.

The K'Nex Super Mario and Super Mario 3D Land toys aren't anything too new. They've been out for a few years I believe, but these were marked down super cheap at K-Mart so I snagged them. I doubt I'll build the full sets they came with, but I've already had some fun posting pictures on Instagram with Mario and the mooks.

I was given 20th of November off from work, which meant I could attend the midnight release of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (Man, that title sucks). It was my very first midnight launch and while my local GameStop wasn't super packed, it was still nice to feel the hype in the air. I wasn't aware that the amiibo figures were already available so I coped two while I was in the store. I may scan these just to see how they play and evolve but I really got these for display purposes. You can bet I'll be collecting all of them.

I had to get this guy through Toys 'R Us online store to get him, but man, was he worth waiting almost a week for. I didn't think the 6" inch DK figure would be this big. I was more than a little surprised when the UPS truck dropped him off and he was sealed in a box almost twice the size of the default packaging. I'm guessing Bowser is around the same size.

When I saw these S.H. Figurearts figures at Barns & Nobles months ago I fell in love. Mario looks like he has even more articulation going on than the World of Nintendo figure I mentioned above. Even the packaging is awesome, with the plumber in all types of poses on the back of the box. Goombas, easy as they are to do away with, are some of my favorite mooks from the Mario series. Sure, he's got no articulation to speak of, but he looks great and he comes with two sets of Pipes, a set of hands to go with the Mario figure, and a Koopa Troopa Shell. The text remains in Japanese and I never thought I'd see figures like this in Barns & Nobles. These things also cost more than the World of Nintendo Toys. The Goomba set was only $19.95 and despite being in smaller packaging, Mario went for $24.95. But it's hard to complain when you're getting something this good.

Taking a break from playing Smash 4 last week, we went to Wal-Mart and I almost had a stroke when I saw Gargoyles Season 2 Volume 2 on DVD. I'd heard that Disney completed Tailspin's DVD releases some time ago, but seeing Gargoyles get completed? That was a very welcome shock. I didn't think Disney had any interest in finishing their Disney Afternoon cartoons but it looks like I was wrong.There are no extra features like the previous Gargoyles DVD releases but I'm just happy to have the cannon series done.

Big surprise, I have always been a fan of Mickey Mouse ever since I was a kid. I loved those classic theatrical shorts, I started picking up the Mickey Mouse newspaper strip series in 2011 and I adored these newer Mickey Mouse shorts when they aired in 2013. This was sitting right next to Gargoyles Season 2 Volume 2 and until then, I had all but forgotten about this series. I couldn't help but notice the Season 1 on the packaging. Sure enough, season 2 already begun airing earlier this past year.

Latest Purchases #75

A Latest Purchases post, featuring stuff I picked up in September. Well as they say, better late than never.

I was pre-ordering the 3DS version of Super Smash Bros. when I saw this lone 20 inch World of Nintendo Mario. I'd never seen a Mario that frickin' huge before. It was jaw dropping. I must say, the World of Nintendo toy line is quite superb with mini figures, plushies and the like, but this? Duuuuuuude. I just had to snatch this bad boy up before someone else did. My dad actually asked me what I was gonna do with him. The same thing I do with all my other gaming merch: display it. Agh, parents.

Adding two more mini figures to the World of Nintendo set I already own, I picked up Donkey Kong and Wario. These things are quite easy to find, making collecting all six one of the easiest things to do. Now DK has his side kick and I finally have something Wario that isn't a game. 

I was hoping I'd find the Yellow Pikmin after I picked up the Red Pikmin a while ago and sure enough, Target had one left. Now Red has someone to keep him company but they Pikmin plushies feel so incomplete without the other colors. Perhaps Nintendo will add the rest to the lineup. I already know other Pikmin color plushies exist, at least in Japan. Perhaps I'll just order those someday.

This New Super Mario Bros. Wii Mario plush is a few years old but it's only the second Mario plush I've ever bought, where as I own three different Luigi plushies. I wasn't too fond of this thing at first but since you can actually sit this one down, I find that to be a big plus. 

I love my Classic Sonic plush but I figured I could use a Modern Sonic plush as well. At 5 inches, he's smaller than I thought he'd be, but he looks quite nice and like the aforementuioned Classic Sonic, I can hang him on my wall. He's currently resting above my TV right next to the Pac-Man plush you see there, which is the smallest plushie I own. Pac-Man was also the cheapest plush I've ever picked up. Not including shipping, the little guy was only $2.87.

I picked up these plushies so I could take photos like this...

It's almost time.

Latest Purchases #74

I think I'm approaching otaku status in terms of collecting Dragon Ball manga. I already have Viz's 16 volumes of Dragon Ball and the 26 volumes of Dragon Ball Z, yet hear am I, buying the whole series all over again in the form of their Dragon Ball 3-in-1 volumes. I love the spines on these and those red covers taken from the Japanese perfect editions is just soooooo awesome. I ordered the third edition Dragon Ball 3-in-1 off of Amazon in late July but it never arrived. This is actually the second time I've ordered something off of Amazon and I haven't gotten it. Worse, this was ordered from Amazon Prime, so I'll definitely think twice before ordering from them from now on. I just went ahead and picked up book 3 along with 4 and 5 from  my Barns & Nobles. If the book ever does come in the mail (doubtful since it's been over a month), I'll just give the extra copy to a friend or something.

Wrapping up the Dragon Ball purchases is the Blu-Ray of Dragon Ball Z Kai season one. I already have all nine seasons of DBZ in the form of Funimation's orange bricks and while I do intend to pick up the Blu-Ray nine season set as well, I've been meaning to start recollecting Kai for a long time. I picked up Part seven of the DVD release about two years ago and then realized that I'd be better off just nabbing this series in season form.

It's been years since I've picked up a physical copy of an imported game. When I was writing my editorial about the printed instructional manuals being phased out, I came across scans of Sonic the Hedgehog 2's Japanses manual on Sonic Retro. I was so enthralled by it that I went looking on Amazon to see how much a Japanese copy of Sonic 2 would set me back. Much to my surprise, the cost was quite low, as in only $15 or so including shipping. This thing is in very good condition and even includes the European and Chinese instructions in addition to the Japanese manual. I'm thinking I'll pick up a Japanese copy of Sonic 1 sometime down the road and perhaps Sonic 3 & Knuckles.

Batman: Assault on Arkham. There are more DC animated Batman flicks than of other DC super hero. I caught a preview of this when on the Blu-Ray of Son of Batman and I gotta say, I liked what I saw. This one looks like it's pretty bad guy-centric, which is fine with me, because Bat's rogues gallery can easily carry a comic or TV episode when written correctly. As I am in the middle of Dragon Ball season four, blogging, gaming and work, I haven't watched this thing yet.

The last water bottle I bought was in 2011 and the image of Sonic the Hedgehog has long since faded from it, sadly. Be it cartoony or serious, I'm all over Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles merch. The sandwich containers is something I'll probably use for storing small things. No way I'm going to use it for what the manufacturer intended at my age.

Well, would you look at that. Books! And neither one of them Dragon Ball related. The only Alice in Wonderland things I've see are Disney's 1957 movie and the Batman: The Animated Series episode Mad as a Hatter. I've passed by this book numerous times in Barns & Nobles and I've been wanting to see just how differently the book is from Disney's film. $6.98 for a hardcover book isn't shabby at all. There's even some artwork in here.

The hardcover edition of The Fault in Our Stars is usually somewhere around $20 or so. My local Krogers had it for $13.99. I was a bit worried there wouldn't be any copies of the hardback edition left when I got paid, but sure enough, there were three sitting on the shelf.  The first time I saw this book is when I was getting checked out at fye a few months back. The praise and summerization on the back intrigued me, so I thought I'd give this one a look. I'm backed up with a ton of other books but I plan to make room for this one.

So apparently there's this whole World of Nintendo toy line going on, ranging from figures to plushies. The plushies were $7.99 in Target and I had slim pickings between a Yoshi, Toon Link and a Red Pikmin. I went with the Red Pikmin because he was the only one left, I already have Toon Link and Yoshi plushies and the thing is just so dang adorable. I always knew Pikmin would make great plush toys and the very sight of this thing sends me in daaaaw mode. I can't wait to get the remaining Pikmin colors. The mini figures were $3.99 and they nearly had the whole set of six was there for the picking. Of Diddy Kong, Ice Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi, the Donkey Kong and Fire Mario appealed to me the most. I've always been a fan of Waluigi, so maybe I'll grab him  next time.

Latest Purchases #70

This is a batch of thing I purchased about a month ago. Maybe I should call this one Not-So-Latest-Purchases. Please pardon the sub-par quality of the image.

I actually have a collection of Dragon Ball Z action figures. I just don't have anything to currently display them on so they rest in a box in my closet. I thought I might some day pick up a DBZ plush. But I never imagined my first DBZ soft toy would be Majin Buu. When I saw this thing at fye, I was overcome with the warm, fuzzies and daaawwws. I mean, come on. Just look at Buu in plush form. He's soooo cute! I had to have him! Fat Majin Buu isn't my favorite Buu. That would actually be Kid Buu, but I think of all the Buu plushies they could make, Fat Buu is the most logical one to go with. Of course, if I see a Kid Buu plush, I'll be all over that like white on rice.

The Spectacular Spider-Man The Complete Series on Blu-Ray. I'd heard this release was coming to co-inside with the theatrical release of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and I always wanted a season two release of Spectacular Spidey. I've owned season one since 2009 and I was getting tempted to pick of the single DVD releases of season two just so I could have the whole series. Man, am I ever glad I held off on doing that. It is such a shame that this Spidey series was canned because it really did give us the best animated version of the web-swinger.

This Luigi Mario Kart Wii RC racer makes two in a series of five. I could have picked up Yoshi, DK or Peach, but I figure the Mario RC racer I already own needed his little bro to keep him company. My place is mostly carpet filled so I sadly, only have the kitchen to play around with these things. As such, I have yet to open Mario and Luigi is going to be staying in his box as well.

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai was the first DBZ game I ever played. The abridged story mode (kinda funny when you take into account Team Four Star's DBZ Abridged) helped me catch up on the numerous DBZ sagas since I was a newcomer at the time. Budokai 3 was easily the best of the original Budokai games and arguably the best DBZ game. I know the music has been changed in both games due to Kenji Yammamoto being booted off the DBZ anime and games due to plagiarism, but some of the tracks in place sound quite good and I can always go back and play the original games if I want to hear the original score.

The moon-shaped Sacchi bookmark has a quote from Edith Wharton, which reads" There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." I've always been a night person so I guess I was indulging that aspect of myself by picking this thing up. Not so much the quote, which is awesome, but for the shape the bookmark is in.

I Need Some Animal Crossing Toys in My Life

So all the time I spent playing Animal Crossing: New Leaf, it finally occurred to me: I could really use some Animal Crossing toys, especially of the plus variety. I'm actually surprised it took so long for this to dawn on me. I've got Mario, plush toys, Sonic plush toys and even a Toon Link plushie, but not a single one for Animal Crossing, a series that is chalk full of fuzzy animals. Of course me being me, I was completely oblivious to the fact that there have been Animal Crossing plushies since Wild World, the one Animal Crossing game, I've never played.

Thankfully there are plushies for New Leaf, made by Sanei. Unfortunately, these plushies are not available in the states, which is rather baffling considering the popularity of the Animal Crossing series. I can walk into a store and pick up a Mario, Sonic or Pokemon plush toy no problem, but Animal Crossing? No go. Well, I'm an avid fan of shopping online and much of the New Leaf plushies an be purchased on Amazon. I'm pleased to see DJ K.K, Kicks, Porter and Isabelle are part of the set as well as Reese and Mr. Resetti. I'll get all of those for sure. The only reason I'd get Tom Nook is to strangle him whenever he screws me over in the next Animal Crossing game or if I really feel the need to complete this set. I'm a bit bummed that a lot of animals from New Leaf aren't included. I think everyone would love to see Marshall, but with as many animals that are in New Leaf,  maybe they'll release a second set.

Latest Purchases #61

I could be cheating on this one since I bought all of the things in this post weeks ago, but that's still fairly recent, so I suppose it counts.

The Super NES Book by Retro Game is actually two books in one. On the other side reads The Genesis Book or Mega Drive Book when you open it up since the system went under it's original Japanese title in Europe and Retro Gamer is a UK based magazine. The Super NES/Genesis Book is a compilation of features from the pages of various issues of Retro Gamer. Well, I think most are from different issues because I have the issue where the 20th anniversary Sonic the Hedgehog was featured. Most of the contents of this book, however, are new to me. I've never read their Complete History of Mario feature or the Making of Toejam & Earl. Not a bad way to spend $20 and in my opinion, a must of the SNES/Genesis lover.

The latest issues of Retro Gamer pays tribute to The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. This year marks the games 10th anniversary and the game has the honor of being the first game Nintendo has re-released in HD. Other things to note in this issue include an interview with Smooth McGroove (type his name in YouTube and prepared to be amazed if you've somehow missed this guy's amazing vocal talents), a retrospective on the Fairchild Channel F, and the Bluffer's Guide to RPGs.

The RC Mario Kart Wii car is something I've had my eye on for a while now. I first saw it at Barns & Nobles for $24.99 along with a one of Yoshi. When I was looking in K-Mart for a gift for the toy drive for my job, I saw these for $19.99 and they had two left, both of Mario So, I bought one as a gift and another for myself.

I can't seem to get enough Mario Kart toys. Next to plushies and Sonic figures, I think Mario Kart stuff may be my favorite game-related toys to buy. These Tomy Gacha pull back Mario Kart 7 racers were originally in capsules, leaving you wondering which one you got until you opened it up. At five and below I was able to nab Koopa Troopa and Toad for $5 each. I'm fairly certain you can get these in a full set, but all I'm missing is Mario, Luigi and Peach. Maybe I'll grab a few more when payday arrives.

Nickelodeons Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles actually turned out to be a really good show. I really like the design of the turtles so when I saw the figures, I had to pick up at least one to get me started. I went with Leonardo because he's my favorite turtle and because he was also the very first turtle toy I owned as a kid when the 1987 cartoon show came out. I'm leaning toward's picking up Donatello next. 

Latest Purchases #55

Where to start? How about the comics?

I was fortunate enough to find parts eight, nine and ten of the Sonic & Mega Man Worlds Collide crossover all in one go. Archie listed part eight, which takes place in Sonic Universe #53 as a June release but no matter how often I checked in Barns & Noble, they didn't have it. So I feared I may have missed it. Thankfully, this was not the case. Maybe there was a delay or it just shipped late, but whatever the reason, I haven't missed a single issue of this lengthy cross over. Sonic the Hedgehog #250 opens up with a two page spread of the heroes facing down what looks like most of the Robot Masters from the Mega Man series.

de Blob is a game I've had my eye on for quite some time but I never got around to picking it up. When I saw de Blob 2 on sale at K-Mart for  whopping $5, I knew it was time to get both games. Thankfully, GameStop had the original for a low price and complete to boot.

Battalion Wars is a game I already own but now I have  complete copy, which is always nice to have. Still need to get around to playing it and get the original on the GCN.

Red Steel 2 is a game I came close to grabbing about a year ago, but I can't remember why I never did. Well, I coped it complete for the super low price of $6.29, complete. I never played the first game but heard a lot of good things about this one. From what I hear, I could easily pass on the first Red Steel.

The Fire Mario candy makes the second version of Mario candy that I have. I bought my first one over a year ago and I never touched the candy as I bought this purely for Mario.

I didn't lose my 3DS stylus but it's always nice to have extras. But the main reason I bought Write & Protect Pack was to get some screen protectors. The 80 plus hours I poured into Theatrhythm Final Fantasy has produced some scratches in the center of my touch screen. To avoid anymore of that, I'm really hoping these screen protectors do the job.

Two more Super Mario 3D Land figurines are added to the collection, this time regular, small Mario and stone Tanooki Mario. Only three more to go! The New Super Mario Bros. Wii Danglers will take longer to collect since there's 10 of them and my Target is all out. Of all the enemies to get, I got one of the most bothersome foes. I didn't even bother to hit the Mario wikia to look up his name.

Gotcha Tomy has added more figurines to their current Zelda line. Two Link and Zelda figurines from Ocarina of Time and Skyward Sword join Tetra and Toon Link from Phantom Hour Glass. I was fortunate enough to get Skyward Sword Zelda, my favorite Zelda design from the whole series.

Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone! is a game I wanted to pick up when it released but I was preoccupied with other things. I've always been an art love and I love to draw but I've slacked for years. With this game, I hope to greatly get back into the hobby and improve my skills.

It's the Year of Luigi so I have to pick up Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon. Besides, I loved the original and this one has more than one mansion to explore.

Shin Megami Tensai IV is currently the most money I've spent on a 3DS game. At $50, you get the game a soundtrack CD and a strategy guide/art design book. I'm disappointed that the strategy guide talks up the bulk of the book. Not only that but the guide is by Prima, a company that has put out shoddy strategy guides in the past. If someone can tell me if Prima has improved, I'd appreciate it. Then again, I'll probably need all the help I can get since I hear Shin Megami Tensai IV is killing players in the tutorial dungeon. This is actually my first time buying any of the games in this series and I admit that I mainly did it for $30 in eShop credit. I'll be picking up Fire Emblem: Awakening next week.

Latest Purchases #54: Birthday Edition

Last week was my birthday, July 2 to be precise. How old am I? 32 if you're wondering. It's a little bit scary to think about the fact that I'm getting older, but it happens to all of us and I really am amazed that I've been around for this many years. I would have posted my birthday purchases last week but some of them were ordered online and I wanted to wait for all of them to arrive.

Last year Project X Zone was brought to my attention thanks to Alpha Omega Sin. This tactical RPG has tons of characters I'm familiar with as well as those I've never heard of. Namco Bandai had no plans to publish the game outside of Japan and there was a petition to get the game localize, which I signed. I have no idea how whether the petition swayed the big wigs opinions or not, but Namco Bandai decided to bring Project X Zone to American and European shores this summer. I picked up my copy at Target and scored the Limited Edition version. I had considered waiting until I went to GameStop, but I figured I'd grab it since I was in there. Good thing I did, too because GameStop was out of the limited edition copies. I didn't know this version came with so many goods. A poster, an artbook and the game's soundtrack. All for the regular price. Score!

In K-Mart I brought Pilotwings Resort for $14.96 and The Legend of Zelda: Spirits Tracks for $19.99. Even though I've never been terribly good at the Pilotwings games, I've always gotten a kick out of them and after seeing portions of Wuhu Island in Mario Kart 7, I'm itching to explore more of that local.

My trip to GameSpot was done with good timing. The two games I picked up, WarioWare: Smooth Moves and the 3DS Shinobi were both traded in on the same. Since Smooth Moves is an early Wii first party game and not one that stars Mario, this is one you don't see in stores too often. So when I laid eyes on it and saw that $14.99 price tag, I immediately took it off the shelf to claim it as my own. It isn't complete but the disc is in excellent condition.

In the 3DS thread at the Shoryuken.com forums I heard a few posters talking about Shinobi. I've always liked this series but this was one of those titles that was in the back of my mind. Not really high on my to purchase 3DS games list. But when I saw it in GameStop and for less than $20 and complete, I didn't think there would be a better time to grab it.

My keys are a bit bland so an 8-bit Mega Man key chain is just the thing to spice them up. Unfortunately these key chains aren't made of the more sturdy plastic I thought they'd be. In fact, this thing is surprisingly bendable, meaning I'd ruin that thing pretty quickly if I attached it to my keys and carried it around in my pockets. So I've opted to hang Rock on my wall above my computer desk next to my 1988-2012 Nintendo Power poster.

Speaking of said poster, a mini figurine from Super Mario 3D Land is hanging on the right hand corner of it. I came across these while I was going for the checkout registers in Target. Propeller Block Mario was easy to distinguish from all the others since he felt, well, blocky. The other five in the set could prove more difficult to collect.

Lastly, the book you see is what took me so long to get this post up. The History of Sonic the Hedgehog is a book I've coveted for quite some time. This near 300 page hardcover book is filled with screen shoots, artwork, sketches and interviews from the fine folks that helped shape the blue streak into the hero that he is. It's an incredibly awesome book, one I ordered from Amazon for $34.99, which certainly beats the original $49.99 asking price. I just may tackle this book before I even touch The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia.

Latest Purchases #51

The Worlds Collide Crossover for Sonic and Mega Man is well underway. In Part 4, our blue heroes finally realize that they've been set up and start fight side by side rather than against each other. Part 4 is actually takes place in Mega Man #25. I like this crossover but at the same time, I'm a bit miffed that it's taking place during some landmark issues. Sonic the Hedgehog #250 is right around the corner and it's already been confirmed that Worlds Collide will run through that issue.

I've known about LEGO's Architecture line since 2011 and I've been very intrigued by it. See, I've always been fascinated by building structures. Be it comic books, movies, paintings or real life, I've always loved the look of cites. So combining buildings, actual landmarks with LEGO is one of the coolest things ever. So for my first LEGO Architecture set, I went with the Empire State Building, the tallest building in New York City. At $20, the Empire State Building is one of the cheaper models. It even comes with a set of building prints and facts about how long it took to complete the building and what types of material were used to construct it. Pretty sweet that they went the extra mile to include all that stuff. This is also the first LEGO set I've bought for myself since I was 12.

Seems like it's been a dog's age since I purchased a PlayStation 2 title. It's not easy to find a lot of new PS2 games at reasonable prices but I'm glade I was able to find Final Fantasy XII for less than $15 brand new. Yes, this game gets a lot of hate. Not to the degree of Final Fantasy XIII, but the hatedom for this installment is still quite high. Nevertheless, I want to give this game a shot for myself to see what it's like. Besides, I LOVE this game's soundtrack.

Latest Purchases #49

My local fye is about to remodel their store and reopen it in June so they have to clear everything out. And the best way to get everything out the door? Sell, sell, sell! Just about everything in the store is on sale. From 40%-70% off items. Here's what I came out with.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit? is a classic. I saw the movie around the time it was released in the late 1980s. Loved it as a kid and I love it now. Last year marked the film's 25th anniversary and it received a special edition Blu-Ray + DVD release. It was on sale for $19.99 but it was among the 40% off DVDs but I usually see paying $20 for a combo pack as a really good deal and with a 10% member discount, it was around $17 for me.

With Dragon Ball Z Season Seven, I at long last own the entire Z portion of the DBZ Saga. Well, the orange bricks set anyways. I still need to get DBZ Kai and I probably won't nab the Dragon Box sets since they are horribly expensive and had a limited print run. Season Seven is especially memorable for me as it contains the first episodes I watched that got me into DBZ.

I think this is Series 3 in the Super Mario Mini Figures series. You can buy these as individual figures but at $4.99 a pop, I see that as a waste. A whole set of six is just $20 and with the discount, they only set me back about 9$. These would look great next to my Sonic Mini Figure set. I just need some space to properly display them.

The Spider-Man and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle coffee mugs have got to be the biggest mugs I've ever owned and I've had some sizable mugs. The Spidey mug was on sale for $9.99 but with the discount it was less than $6. The TMNT mug was under $10. I thought about drinking out of these but I don't wanna take the chance of marring those nice paint jobs. That's how my Sonic and Pac-Man mugs got ruined. Maybe the paint was just cheap on those but they are still missed. Spidey and the Turtles will more then likely be used to hold my pens and pencils.

Latest Purchases #45

I saw these K'nex Mario Kart Wii toys on Classic Game Room a year or so ago but it wasn't until I was looking around in K-Mart that I saw some for purchase. There are far more of these racers than I originally thought and they come in various sizes. K'nex even has several Mario Kart Wii buildable track sets that you can purchase so it could be some time before I have the whole collection. For now, I'm content with Mario and Bowser on the standard bike.

One of my favorite things to do as a kid was draw. I was pretty good at looking at an image and recreating it on paper. My free hand, however needs a lot of work and I've longed to get back into drawing. I've often been frustrated for slacking and not being nearly as good as other artists but I've only myself to blame for that. I figured it can't hurt to have some help in improving so I picked up How to Draw Anything.

Italy from Above offers tons of pictures of Italy from a bird's eye view. I'll probably never go there so a nice picture book is the next best thing. The pictures are very detailed and colorful. I picked this up at Barns & Nobles and it was only $3.

Sometimes it takes a massive price cut to get one interested in your product. I've heard of War of the Worlds, but I've never read it. For $3, I can easily have access to it and other science fiction stories. Another Barns & Nobles purchase.

What kid didn't love Fairy Tales? I'd often seen Disney versions of classics like The Little Mermaid and The Ugly Duckling so it will be nice to read the original stories. Best-Loved Fairy Tales also contains stories I've heard of but never read/saw like The Little Match Girl and The Steadfast Tin Soldier.

Latest Purchases #43

As part of Mega Man's 25th anniversary, I've decided to pick up Udon's Mega Man Tribute. Released last year, this book contains nearly 300 pages of Mega Man artwork from the Blue Bomber's many fans. I'd seen dozens of this book's illustrations on the net but after looking through some 40 pages a few nights back, I was surprised at how much I hadn't seen prior to purchasing this. I can't wait to turn on some Mega Man music and spend an hour or so really soaking up all the images.

Udon's Mega Man Zero: Official Complete Works has been out for a few years now. I just never got around to picking up a copy. The art from the Mega Man Zero series has always been vastly different from the X and Classic Mega Man series, but I feel it was another element that helped further separate it from those games. And it's different in a good way. Still got two more Mega Man Official Complete Works books to pick up in Battle Network and Star Force. No idea when I'll get those.

Last Udon book I mention in this post. Promise. I heard about the Mega Man Robot Master Field Guide long before it was released. Pictures and info on every Robot Master and side character in the Classic Mega Man series. Info from Mega Man & Bass' CD Data Base was also incorporated into this book as the characters likes and dislikes were included. Interestingly, the book lists each character alphabetically rather than by their serial number. Despite the fact that this book contains a great deal of info that I'm well aware of, it's still great to have. It's like being able to access all the Classic Mega man character info in one nice, tidy package.

I was long overdue for a Mega Man plush. This thing was apparently made in honor of Mega Man 10's release a little over two years ago. Though, it's modeled after Mega Man Powered Up, that doesn't bother me at all since I really like that game's art style.

To the right of Mega Man is one of the most bothersome enemies in the Super Mario series, a Hammer Bro. plush. I may detest these guys but I really love this Hammer Bro. plush. Even the hammer he's holding looks great. When I bought this thing off Amazon, it was listed as an import, though Global Holdings does have these things available with other Mario plush toys. The Koopa Paratroopa next to him has some light wings but since I don't play with these things, I don't think I'll have to worry about them falling off.

And finally, we have the New Super Mario Bros. Mini Figures. When they say "mini" they mean it. These things are only about 1" tall. I've seen pictures of these things for a few years and it's really nice to actually own theme. The Super Mushroom can be rotated for some odd reason. I'll have to be careful with that one.

Latest Purchases #41

The only game purchase comes from Amazon. I ordered Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door the week of Thanksgiving and was surprised to see it arrive on Saturday of the same week. I was sure the holiday would delay shipping a bit. It didn't come complete as the manual is missing but the disc has zero scratches on, which is rare for used GCN games. With the release of Paper Mario: Sticker Star, I wanted to get all the previous games in the Paper Mario series. I already have Paper Mario on the N64 and Super Paper Mario for the Wii. Now all that remains is Sticker Star.

I watched Robotech: Shadow Chronicles about a year or so ago and I really enjoyed it. I've been a big Robotech fan since the early 2000s. I can't say I remember too much about the soundtrack but for $4, I wasn't gonna pass it up. I found this in Rite Aid of all places. Anime and game soundtracks rarely get in store releases in America so this was a very pleasant surprise.

Commissioned is one of my favorite gospel singing groups. Growing up, I listened to them all the time. They aren't together anymore, haven't been for sometime. Fred Hammond is off doing his own thing and I have no idea what the rest of the members are up to. I think the last time I bought one of their CDs was 1997. Yeah, it's been a while. While this is more of a greatest hits CD, it's been years since I've heard their music. $6 is a very small price to hear these guys sing again.

I don't know the proper name of that Sonic key chain thingy but I picked it up as I was in line at fye. I don't think I'll put it on my keys even though they could use some decoration. As it is, the things are pretty bare. But I've been known to decorate my walls with all kinds of stuff so maybe I'll throw it up there.

You may not be able to tell in the first picture, but that's Tetra below Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. While in fye, I picked up two Gacha Tomy figurines. Sadly, one was another that I already have, but the second one was Tetra! All I need now are the Gorons and I'll have all five.

Latest Purchases #39

My latest haul comes from fye and amazon. This would have been up a few days ago, but one of the items I ordered took a bit longer to arrive in the mail.

Rayman: Raving Rabbids is one of the first Wii games I saw in action. A friend's friend purchased it when he picked up the Wii and we all sat down on the sofa, taking turns with the different mini games for hours. The way Raving Rabbids functioned with the Wii's motion controls helped further sell me on the concept of Nintendo's at the time new console. Plus, the Rabbids were absolutely a riot to watch. Whether they were screaming like idiots or having over-sized anvils dropped on their noggins, each scene these guys appeared in was hilarious. Some bitter fans like to blame the Rabbids for "killing" Rayman, but I bear no ill will towards them. For just $6.99 Rayman and the Rabbids were all mine.

Yeah, I already have the Mega Man Powered Up  + Mega Man Maverick Hunter X Dual Pack but I told myself that if I ever saw the individual games, I'd pick those up. Being a huge Mega Man fan and for $6.99, I'd have to be some kind of moron to pass up that deal.

In the past, I've had a few chances to pick up Kirby Air Ride. It's one of those GameCube games that runs for $20 or more just about everywhere. But what kept me from picking it up was that every time I'd seen the game, there was no manual. Yeah, for a game that only requires one button (A) and the analog stick, not picking up a game because the manual is missing seems pretty odd, but I try to get my games that come in cases complete. Thankfully, I found a complete copy on amazon. I've played it and it works great. Expect a Currently Playing on Kirby Air Ride very soon.

Global Holdings Meta Knight and Waddle Dee make my Kirby plush collection grow a bit wider. I figured if there was a plush for the pink puff, then there had to be others. A search on amazon turned up these two and there are just as awesome as my Kirby plush. Waddle Dee could give Kirby a run for his money in the cute department. Apparently these things were released in 2011 because there exists one for King Dedede, but he can't be found anywhere. I kinda wish Waddle Dee was wearing that blue bandanna, but even without it, he's still one of my favorite plush toys.

Latest Purchases #38

This post was supposed to be up a few days ago. Blog posts have slipped somewhat because of my work schedule and sleep has been a harsh and bitter mistress for me. Well I'm off work for the next two days so I'll be able to catch up on sleep and posting.

Two gaming magazines are going the way of the Dodo Bird this year, Nintendo Power and Nintendo Gamer. While I knew about Nintendo Power ever since I was a kid, Nintendo Gamer wasn't brought to my attention until a few months ago. During routine visits inside Barns & Nobles, I saw Nintendo Gamer in the magazine section and flipped through a few issues. Seemed like a pretty cool mag. I was surprised to find out that it was coming to an end. In fact the issue pictured above is the final issue. I really like the hand drawn artwork featuring Nintendo characters. I really wish I'd know about this mag sooner. I probably would have been a regular reader. The latest issue of Nintendo Power had a particularly heart-wrenching letter from the editor to read. I'm really gonna miss this mag when it's gone in December.

The Toon look is one of my favorite Zelda art styles. I picked up a Toon Link plush about a year ago, so I was more than willing to add more Toon style Zelda themed collectibles to my collection. These in particular are from Phantom Hourglass. These came inside those capsule balls so it can be difficult to see which figure you're getting. I thought I had Tetra but instead, it turned out to be Linebeck. Despite those tiny holes being difficult to see through, I was able to spot enough gray to know that I did nab the Phantom Guardian, but the things shield is tough to position so he can hold it.

Linebeck and Phantom Guardian aren't the first Phantom Hourglass figurines I've purchased. Months ago I picked up one for Link. Again, I was able to look through the holes and see a good chunk of green, so it was easy to see that it was Hyrule's hero. I just never got around to mentioning that I had him so I figured I'd do that in this post. There's a picture of him below.