My Mario-retro: A cross cultural exchange (Super Mario Bros and Classic NES GBASP)

(tags game, Mario, GameBoy Advance, hardware, nostalgia, USA, purchase, Nipponbashi)

After picking up the Halko Momoi CD and live event tickets, I made my usual rounds around Nipponbashi / Den Den Town. I purchased a number of rare thingies, but this bunch of stuff takes the cake:

"Ah", indeed. At Mandarake, I found the Classic NES design GameBoy Advance, which was released in the USA, along with a copy of Super Mario Bros. The two together was going for about 5000 total. Not a bad deal at all. A copy of Super Mario Bros right now is close to 2000 yen. Buying this means the game hardware itself is only 3000 yen. But then again the GBASP is all scratched up. It seems somebody used this as their main gaming system, because it comes complete with scratches and scrapes. At least the previous owner had the wisdom to put a screen protector.

Why buy Super Mario Bros now? My recent forays into Super Mario Bros 2 Japan keep kicking me down, so I want to play this game to make me feel good.

Pictured along side is Azumanga Daioh game for the GBA (she says "ah!"), which had a used price drop from 4000 to 2000. Why? I don't know, but the anime has been long gone, right? Finally the Clu-Clu-Land mentioned a couple of posts back, photo-graces my collection.

I took out the GBASP and game and did a little cross cultural setup.

I like this juxtaposition of a NES-stylized GBASP handling a port of a Nintendo Disc System exclusive game. And vice versa. Notice how bright the GBA Micro is. Can you believe the GBASP's front light is actually on?

My type of retro is close to the games themselves. No quilting or wall taggin' for me. Just play the games, don't even try to get the loot and goodies. Although I have been looking for a guide book for Super Mario Bros 2. One I found was already 1500 yen, complete with cheezy cartoony back and front covers. Never mind that. I actually owned an original cartridge and box for Super Mario Bros, but in my wisdom I decided to staple the box to my bedroom wall. It's no longer with me, of course.

I'm not a total Mario fan, but it's been a fun 20 years. I hope for more.