Cartoon platformers, Zelda ripoffs and obscure Japanese peripherals. These are my pickups from the London Gaming Market, and I’m going to tell you a bit more about them, right now.
As you may have learnt from my last video, I visited the London Gaming Market and picked up some real bargains – But I thought I would withhold the identity of these items until this very video, and look at them more closely.
I was a massive fan of the Tiny Toon Adventures cartoon when I was young, so I just had to pick-up an NTSC boxed copy of Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose, for the Super Nintendo. This Konami platformer was a game I had somehow missed out on, so this is the first time I’ve properly laid eyes on it, and from my short time playing, I was pleasantly surprised at how it doesn’t feel like your typical licensed platformer.
Playing as Buster Bunny (no relation), you must dash, jump, dropkick and climb your way through six, yes six levels of colour cartoon platforming fun. It’s a very good looking game, with great sprites that really bring the feel of the cartoon to the console. Playing on Normal difficulty, I admittedly found it a little difficult, with some quick reflexes needed to avoid certain hazards, while having to dropkick enemies was a mechanic I had to get used to as it’s quite different from jumping on enemies heads, like in almost every other platformer ever made.
There’s a few mini-games and set pieces to break up the monotony, such as an odd jump-rope diversion halfway through an early level. These strange events fit well with the wacky nature of the cartoon and set this apart from other platformers of the time.
I picked up a boxed, American copy of the game for £10, which I’ve seen on eBay for around a minimum of £20. That’s a £10 saving, none too shabby.
Next up is a game I had seen a lot of when I was young but never owned or played myself. Battle of Olympus is a long-forgotten NES adventure, developed by Imagineer. It looks and plays very much like The Legend of Zelda II: Adventure of Link, although this quest is based on Greek myth, featuring the likes of Zeus, Hades and other Gods and Monsters.
Players are given freedom to explore Greece, but you’ll need to be prepared with the right weapons and items before you can progress past certain areas. You’ll fight tonnes of nasty beasts, face hideous bosses, and probably die a lot because I found this game pretty damn hard and particularly unfair at times. I still found it an enjoyable romp, and it’s a forgotten NES title that is certainly better than many others on the system.
This unboxed American NTSC copy came to £6, and I’ve seen similar copies coming to over double the amount, from £14 upwards, including postage. Picking up a copy for £8 less is definitely nothing to be sniffed at.
Colin and James of the Let’s Talk Retro YouTube channel had some great items on their own stall, including this rather interesting peripheral for the Nintendo 64. Created by SETA and made specifically for the Japanese-only game, Tetris 64, this strange contraption plugs in the N64 controller and clips onto your ear, with the purpose of taking your pulse while you play Tetris, and amending the difficulty depending on how relaxed or stressed you are.
I have never seen one of these items in the flesh, so I had to pick it up. This item is so unique and interesting, that I will be demonstrating it in more depth for next week’s video, so stay tuned! Until then, I paid £30 for this boxed, and practically mint condition unit – But I’ve never seen these on eBay for less than £50, so that’s a massive £20 saving for a very rare and niche item. Thanks to the guys at Let’s Talk Retro for putting this item on sale, and you should check out their channel while you’re at it.
So that was my pickups from the London Gaming Market! I’m very happy with my purchases, and I’ll be playing a lot more of them. Next time around, I’ll be taking a closer look at Tetris 64 and the Nintendo 64 Bio Sensor, so if you want to see that video, you should subscribe to this channel!
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Thank you so much for watching and until next time, Keep Gaming Positive.
