Well I quite enjoyed documenting my pickups from April-June, so I thought it would definitely be something I try and keep up with. I had quite a few new acquisitions lately, but it’s really only because I had a bit of a clear out of things in the attic, and sold a few things to pay for new things.

 

VHS tapes!

I’m not sure why I picked these up really as I’m not even sure we have a working video player. But I’ve been getting very nostalgic for videos of late. Obviously DVDs and Blu-ray are much better in terms quality, but I am really missing the flicker that could only be found on old VHS tapes. Like the crackle on a vinyl record, it isn’t really an ‘intended’ thing, but it’s still kinda familiar and nostalgic in its own right. So I’m looking forward to actually sitting down and sticking some of these classics on, whenever I procure something to play them on. Oh, they were also extremely cheap, so I don’t feel too bad if I don’t get around to watching them straight away. The only thing was I don’t think Jade was impressed with me starting a collection of outdated media. But when we have a VHS player set up, I’m sure she’ll come to appreciate it!

Flash Gordon 1930s Serial!

I’d wanted to watch the orignal ’30s Flash Gordon serial ever since I was a kid. I owned a VHS of ‘The Unauthorized Star Wars Story’ back then, and it had clips of the original serial, showing how it was one of the inspirations for George Lucas when he came up with Star Wars. Anyway, we were visiting Glasgow back in September, when I spotted the volume 1 of Space Soldiers in CEX. It was £6 which seemed quite expensive, so I did an eBay search and found the set of four DVDs with a 99p start and £3 postage, so I stuck a bid on and got them for that. So far I’ve only watched volume 1, but I’ve really enjoyed it so far. There is a definite Star Wars feel about the series, and I like how fast paced the show seems to be. I do get a little tired of leading lady Dale Arden shrieking all the time as she needs Flash to rescue her over and over again, but aside from that, it’s a lot of fun.

Star Trek Original Series DVDs!

I’ve always loved the original Star Trek series. Whilst undeniably anachronistic, the overall charm and vision of the ’60s show still shines through. I’d wanted these DVDs for a while now, but they’d always been around £20 a series. Finding them for £6 at CEX, I couldn’t leave them!

Video Game Books!

I picked up the Resident Evil novel on the recommendation from my friend Carrie. It’s basically a retelling of the first game, with a lot of added backstory and greater characterization than what featured in the original PS1 game. The Final Fantasy book is a Japanese manga. Years ago I remember thinking to myself, the worlds of Final Fantasy are so rich and interesting, why isn’t there a Final Fantasy manga series? Well now there is! I still haven’t gotten around to reading this first volume, but I will.

Ray Harryhausen DVD Collection!

I’ve always thought that Ray Harryhausen was an absolute genius, and Jason and the Argonauts is one my favourite movies of all time. For those unfamiliar, he was pioneer in special effects, with his amazing stop motion monsters and creatures. This boxset features some of his earlier work, and despite these films being B-movies, they really demonstrate the what he managed to put into the movies he worked on, with these little clay monsters becoming utterly terrifying threats.

These movies are actually special editions, with the option to view the movies in colour, instead of just black and white, like they originally were, and for the £7 I paid for the three off Amazon, they were definitely money well spent I think.

Konami PSP games!

I still pick up PSP games from time to time, and I realised I didn’t own any of the Metal Gear games for the system. I now own all of the MGS games for the PSP! I also picked up Silent Hill Origins, after recently playing through the orignal Silent Hill game on the PS1. Which brings me to my next item!

Silent Hill, PS1!

I had never played Silent Hill, but it’s a game that has become something of a classic. For that reason, it’s skyrocketed in price now, which is why I had never bought it. After trading in a whole bunch of doubles of games I’d picked up from charity shops, I used my in-store credit to pay the £40 for this iconic Konami horror! Although the game didn’t blow my mind, I did enjoy the experience and love the psychological aspect of horror over the B-movie inspired Resident Evil series. I definitely look forward to playing more Silent Hill games now that I’ve finished the first.

More PS1 Games!

A couple of Facebook group pickups, I was familiar with the Soul series of games, having played a lot of Soulcalibur over the years, so I was looking forward to trying the first title in the series. Gekido was a title I didn’t know much about, but as I am always keen to add more beat-em-ups into my collection, I snagged this one as well.

PS4 Games!

Although the amount of PS4 games I’m buying is certainly diminishing these days, I’m still finding a few to pick up. I had heard mixed things about Shenmue, but I thought it was worth buying the remastered version of Shenmue 1&2 for a tenner. And it absolutely was! I’ve had so much fun playing the first game, I really wish I had played it originally back on the Sega Dreamcast. Better late than never though! I also picked up RE4 as I had been on a bit of a Resi binge of late, and I’d like to play through RE4 again, as I actually wasn’t blown away by it the first time I played it, so after playing the more modern shooting mechanics or RE2 and RE3 Remakes, I thought I’d give it another go! But at the moment my free time is being taken up by Shenmue!

Nintendo Switch Games!

The Nintendo Switch is still my favourite console of recent years, so I picked up the Mega Drive Classics and Street Fighter Anniversary collection. I already own both on the PS4, but I use my Switch more, so it seemed worth getting again. The one downside though is I didn’t think about the fact I don’t have a D-pad on my Switch, so I struggle to pull off special moves on Street Fighter. So until I manage to get another Joy-Con, I’m avoiding Street Fighter. I also picked up Streets of Rage 4, and an older Limited Run Games exclusive called Oceanhorn, as I saw a trailer for the sequel coming out but wanted to pick up the first one beforehand. I still haven’t played it yet, but as an old-school Zelda clone, I am looking forward to it!

Luigi’s Mansion, Gamecube!

A title I’ve wanted ever since I was a kid, but somehow never picked up. When a seller on Facebook offered this for a good price, I couldn’t turn it down. I’ve still not played it, but Jade’s had a go on it. She says she found it repetitive but still fun. I’m sure I’ll find out eventually!

Graphic Novels!

The Ninja Turtles book is a compilation of some of the orignal Turtles comics. I love seeing the darker, edgier versions of the Turtles before they became more kiddified for the cartoon series. The Knights of the Old Republic book is a compilation of the comics. I owned a few single issues of the comics years ago, but I’m looking forward to being able to read the compilation. The Knights of the Old Republic video game for the original Xbox is one of my favourite pieces of Star Wars media ever made, so I’m looking forward to seeing more of that part of the Star Wars universe fleshed out in comic book form!

The Showa Era Godzilla Collection! (Blu-ray Boxset)

Something that has always pissed me off, is how lacking the UK has been with releases of certain movies. Godzilla is a series that has seen sporadic releases at best. This Criterion Collection of Blu-rays is an absolute marvel to us UK Godzilla fans. The set features a stunningly colourful book with information on each of the 15 movies in the collection. This is probably the most expensive boxset I have ever bought, but it was so worth it!

Gamera Blurays!

I was so impressed with the Godzilla collection, that I was sorely tempted by the Gamera collection, however it was much cheaper to just pick up the individual volumes than to fork out for the expensive collection, even if that one did come with a fancy book. For those unfamiliar with who or what Gamera is, it was essentially another giant monster like Godzilla, only released by a different studio from Toho (Godzilla’s creators), and intended to ride the wave of Kaiju (Japanese for ‘strange creature) movies that Godzilla’s success has inspired. Gamera wasn’t a dinosaur like Godzilla, but an ancient giant turtle. I still haven’t gotten around to watching any of the Gamera movies yet, as I still have tons of Godzilla movies to watch, but I’m very much looking forward to it!

Even more Kaiju movies!

As I mentioned previously, Godzilla’s success spawned a whole bunch of other studios wanting to bring their own giant monsters to the big screen. Some of these are good, some are terrible, but I enjoyed watching them all.

HMV Exclusive ‘Premium Collection’ Movies!

Whilst in HMV recently I discovered a line of movies called the ‘Premium Collection’. Each set comes with a movie on Blu-ray, as well as a digitally downloadable version and a regular DVD, plus art cards or a leaflet or something. They aren’t the cheapest, usually £14.99 each, but they’re always two for £25, which isn’t too bad. I had never noticed them before, so had to see what they were like, so picked up The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, which was the first film Harryhausen worked on, and one I’d never seen! The second was the classic 1933 King Kong, which I have on DVD, but I really wanted to pick up on Blu-ray anyway, as I’ve loved it ever since I was a kid. There were tons of others that I had my eye on, so will probably pick up a few more in the future.

Final Fantasy things from Japan!

I have an ongoing Final Fantasy collection which I add to when I can, and these are all things I picked up from the Japanese yahoo auction site. This lot includes audio soundtracks from Final Fantasy VII and IX, Bandai Extra Knights action figures from FF-VII and IX, two pin badges released for the Final Fantasy VII Remake, and two Final Fantasy VII Play Arts Vincent Valentine figures. I already own the Bandai figures loose, but I’ve started a wall of Final Fantasy merchandise, so if I can find carded figures cheaply to stick up on the wall, I will!

Monster in my Pocket Pin Badge!

This was actually gifted to me by a friend on a Facebook group, who was selling it. As I’d given him a few things in trades before now, he let me have this, which I plan on sticking on a MIMP themed cut-off black denim jacket I’m working on.

And for the last pickup! Probably the largest, most expensive item that me and Jade have bought in recent years!

An Arcade1up Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade machine! I loved the look of the Street Fighter II machine that they released a while back, but we agreed that we didn’t have the space for it. But we jokingly agreed that if ever they released a Turtles machine, we’d have to find room for it.

A year after this conversation, we found ourselves hastily trying to make room in our cramped living space for an arcade cabinet that Parcel Force had just dumped outside of our abode!

The arcade machine was a bit of a pain in the ass to put together, as some of the holes weren’t cut properly for the panels to fit together. After a bit of amateur carpentry, I got there and we now have our own Turtles cabinet, complete with the orignal Turtles Arcade Game, and its follow up, Turtles In Time.

It’s been a couple of months since this arrived, and it’s still a novelty to see our very own Turtles arcade machine sat in the house! I doubt we’ll be picking up any more Arcade1up machines, just because space is an issue. But it’s so cool to be able to say we own our very own cabinet!

So that wraps up this post of my latest pickups. I’m not sure if anyone else even likes seeking what I’ve bought lately, but I quite enjoy looking back on my purchases, so for the time being , these posts are here to stay! I wanted to get this done so I could get onto more seasonal spookiness, so that starts with my next post!