(In my opinion, that is. Yours may differ.)
If you recall, during last summer’s trip to Tokyo I went to something called the “Amusing Collections Flea Market.” Mainly a lot of people selling odd bits of collectable junk, but there were a few good finds. Not something you’d go to every weekend, but for a once-in-a-while bit of browsing and shopping, it’s a lot of fun. Why do I bring this up?
There was another one today.
I think I only spent about ¥1,000 last summer, but still got some decent stuff (posters, plush and keychains – some of it for me, some for others). I spent double that today, and man did I clean up!
Yes, it’s all game-related.
The best find was definitely the two guys at the top. What are they? The taiko drums from Taiko no Tatsujin. I got them as a set for ¥500. What’s so great about that? To buy them online you’re looking at about $60.
O.o
I’ve never actually played the game, but for some reason it really amuses me. I’ll have to pick it up at some point. Hanging onto one of the drums is one of the monkeys from Super Monkey Ball – another game I’ve never played. (But that’s only because TJ hasn’t sent me my games yet…) Even though I’ve not played them yet, he is a monkey, and how can you not buy a monkey when given the chance?Speaking of monkeys, the big disc in the middle is a hanging store display for the Ape Escape game for Eye Toy. (No, haven’t played that yet either, but it does star my favorite videogame monkeys and therefore had to be purchased.)
The four squares around the monkey disc are game demos, three for PS2 and one for PS1. The PS2 ones are Sly Cooper (played it before, but don’t have it now. Thought the demo would be fun to toy with), Ape Escape 2 (not played it yet) and Densha de Go! Final, the game where you drive a commuter train around Tokyo. No, there’s nothing more about it – you just drive the train, open and close the doors and get people to where they’re going. For some reason, it strikes me as really cool, but that may just be because you can buy a special controller that looks like the control panel a real train operator has. The PS1 demo is a game called Vib Ribbon, which is an odd little music game. I’ve seen it in shops here, but wasn’t willing to go and plunk down $17 on it. Now I can try it out on the cheap.The item at the bottom is especially nifty. It’s a McDonald’s giveaway from 2001. A little hand (or keitai) strap with four interchangeable characters. The only one I was keen on was, of course, the monkey from Piposaru 2001 (you know, the monkey pants stealing game). But I’m not going to complain about getting Parappa and a Chocobo in there as well.Not pictured but also purchased today were three little toys from a 3/¥100 pile. I got a chibi sumo wrestler (currently standing on my TV), a monster hand with a suction cup base (now stuck to my fridge) and a Donkey Kong figure who’s pulling duty as a lighter holder:
Yeah, it’s not really a challenge for him, but the transforming lighter wasn’t up to the task, so somebody’s gotta do it.I realize to some people this may appear to be nothing more than a bunch of old junk, so maybe it’s some otaku sense of mine (or something) that makes me really dig it. I’m especially pleased with all the monkey finds today, but I need more monkeys. I think I’m going to take my sister’s advice and go for a whole “monkey decor” theme in my apartment.
After all, it is the Year of the Monkey! ^.^