NEO GEO MVS Cartridge Collection

I won't bother specifying the region, as gameplay depends on the BIOS anyway. Most of them are Japanese, though. I still need to get shockboxes....

Baka Tono-sama Mahjong Manyuuki

Blazing Star
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon 2003
Fatal Fury 3 (Garou Densetsu 3)
Fatal Fury Special (Garou Densetsu Special)
The King of Fighters '95
The King of Fighters '96
The King of Fighters '97
The King of Fighters '98
The King of Fighters 2000
The King of Fighters 2002
League Bowling
Mahjong Kyo Retsuden
Metal Slug 2
Metal Slug 3
Metal Slug 4
Neo Geo Cup '98
Puzzle Bobble
Real Bout: Fatal Fury (Garou Densetsu) 2 The Newcomers
Shock Troopers
Shogi no Tatsujin
Sonic Wings 2
Super Sidekicks 2 (Tokuten Ou 2)
Top Hunter
Top Players Golf
World Heroes 2

N64 Cartridge Collection (North America)

I played the N64 a lot at my second university. Mostly Mario Kart 64. I finally got that one. I also want Perfect Dark, among others. This collection is barely even a collection.

Beetle Adventure Racing (CIB)
Body Harvest (boxed, no manual)

Diddy Kong Racing

Fighters Destiny
Golden Eye 007 (x2)
Hybrid Heaven
Jet Force Gemini
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (gold cart)

Mace: The Dark Age
MarioKart 64 (Player's Choice)

Midway's Greatest Arcade Hits Vol. 1

Mission Impossible (CIB)

Namco Museum 64
NBA Hang Time

NHL Breakaway '98 (CIB)

Rayman 2
Ridge Racer 64

Robotron 64

ShadowMan

Space Invaders
Starfox 64
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
Turok: Dinosaur Hunter

Turok 3
Wrestlemania 2000
WWF No Mercy
WWF War Zone

SNES Cartridge Collection (North America)

I bought the Super Nintendo in college with my first credit card and loved it, but sold it to focus on my studies. I miss it. 

My North American SNES cartridge collection, so far:

(Games in italics yet to be verified)

Aero the Acrobat
Aladdin (CIB)
Bass Masters Classic

Batman Forever ✔️

Batman Returns✔️

Bill Walsh College Football
BioMetal

Bugs Bunny Rabbit Rampage

Bulls vs. Blazers

Bust a Move

The Chessmaster (CIB)

Champions World Class Soccer✔️

Chrono Trigger

Clay Fighter (w/manual)

Clay Fighter 2: Judgment Clay (w/manual)

Cool World (w/manual)

Daffy Duck: The Marvin Missions

Darius Twin (x2) (w/ 1 manual & custom case)
D-Force
The Death and Return of Superman
Donkey Kong Country (x2 +CIB + system pack-in)
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest x2

Earthbound

Earth Defense Force (+CIB)
Earthworm Jim (custom case, w/manual)
Earthworm Jim 2 (w/manual)
Final Fantasy II
Final Fantasy III
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (custom case)
F1 ROC Race of Champions
Firepower 2000
Frogger✔️
F-Zero (custom case)

Gradius III (CIB)

The Great Circus Mystery starring Mickey & Minnie (w/manual)
Hole-in-One Golf 

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
The Hunt for Red October (CIB)✔️

Hyper Zone (CIB)
Imperium

The Incredible Crash Dummies (w/manual)
Jack Nicklaus Golf
Jeopardy: Deluxe Edition

Jim Power: The Lost Dimension in 3D (+CIB *rerelease)

Joe and Mac

Jurassic Park (w/manual)
Ken Griffey Jr.'s Winning Run

Killer Instinct  (w/manual)

Kirby's Avalanche
Kirby's Dream Course 

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Lion King (+w/custom case)
Madden NFL '94 CIB✔️
Madden NFL '95
Madden '96 (w/manual)
Madden NFL '97✔️

Mario is Missing (w/manual)
Mario Paint (w/manual)
Mario Paint (gold label)✔️

Mega Man X

Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge

Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City

Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse (w/manual)

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (w/manual)
Mortal Kombat 3 (w/manual)

Ms. Pac Man (w/manual)

NBA Jam

NHL '94
NHL Stanley Cup
Out of This World

Pac-Attack (w/manual)

Phalanx (custom case)
Pieces

Populous (label damage)
Primal Rage✔️

P.T.O. Pacific Theater of Operations (CIB)

Q•Bert 3

Raiden Trad

Road Runner's Death Valley Rally

Robo Cop 3 (w/manual)

Rocky Rodent 

Romance of the Three Kingdoms II (CIB)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms III: Dragon of Destiny
Sea Quest DSV
Secret of Mana
Separation Anxiety (label damage)✔️
SimCity
SimEarth

Spiderman Venom Maximum Carnage (w/manual)
Spider-Man X-Men Arcade's Revenge (w/manual)

Starfox

Star Trek: The Next Generation
Street Fighter II (x2 w/ 1 manual)

Street Fighter II Turbo

Stunt Race FX
Super Adventure Island
Super Bases Loaded✔️

Super Conflict
Super Black Bass (w/manual)
Super Caesar's Palace
Super Conflict (w/manual)

Super Game Boy

Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts

Super Mario All Stars (w/manual)

Super Mario All Stars + Super Mario World

Super Mario Kart (w/manual)

Super Mario World (w/manual)
Super Nova

Super Play Action Football

Super Punch-Out!! (w/manual)

Super R-Type
Super Solitaire✔️
Tecmo Super Bowl III Final Edition✔️

Tecmo Super NBA Basketball
Tetris 2✔️

Tom and Jerry (w/manual)

Total Carnage

U.N. Squadron (custom case)
Urban Strike

Warp Speed (w/manual)
Wayne Gretzky and the NHLPA All-Stars✔️

The Wizard of Oz
Wizardry VI
WWF Wrestlemania The Arcade Game
X Revolution (w/manual)

Yoshi's Island

Yoshi's Safari
Y's III (CIB)

Zombies Ate My Neighbors (custom case)

Also, I have a CIB Donkey Kong Country SNES console set. 

Loose manuals only: 

Mario's Early Years: Fun with Letters

Mario's Time Machine

Mortal Kombat II

NES Cartridge Collection

The NES was the first system that really got me into gaming with my friends, and thus one of the most nostalgic. Nobody kept the boxes then, including me, so I am happily collecting loose carts at a turtle's pace. Don't get me wrong--I prefer complete-in-box games, but I especially don't mind loose cartridges on the NES. Living in Japan makes it tough to get many of either, though.

I love the way the vast majority of the cartridges have top labels so that they look good on the shelf and can be easily found. Same goes for North American SNES games (I'm looking for more of those, too.)

Some people have been asking about trading, so I decided to start listing my games in this blog so that they are easy to access. I may add more later describing condition, etc., but for now I just need a list. It is in alphabetical order, though. Yay! I am interested in pretty much anything I don't have, but I don't want anyone to pay $10 shipping for just a $1 game, either. I'd also be interested in any manuals or boxes for my loose carts.

('*' denotes unofficial releases)

10-Yard Fight (w/manual)
720
1943:The Battle for Midway

Abadox
Disney Adventures in the Magic Kingdom
The Adventures of Bayou Billy
Adventure Island
Adventures of Lolo

Air Fortress (w/manual)
Airwolf
All-Pro Basketball

Alpha Mission

Al Unser Turbo Racing

Amagon (label damage)
Anticipation (w/manual)
Astyanax
Athena
Athletic World
Back to the Future
Back to the Future II & III

Bad Dudes
Bandai Golf: Challenge Pebble Beach
Baseball
Baseball Simulator 1000

Baseball Stars
Bases Loaded
Bases Loaded II
Bases Loaded 3

Batman

*Battle Kid: Fortress of Peril
Battletoads (CIB)
*The Best 100 Video Games NES
Bible Adventures

Bionic Commando
The Black Bass (w/manual)
Blades of Steel

Blaster Master

Breakthru (w/manual)

The Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout
The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle
Burai Fighter
BurgerTime
Cabal
Caesar's Palace
Captain Skyhawk
Casino Kid
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
Caveman Games
Championship Bowling (w/manual)
Chip & Dale's Rescue Rangers

Cobra Command
Cobra Triangle
Commando

Contra (+CIB)
Contra Force
Cyberball
Cybernoid (CIB)
Dash Galaxy in the Alien Asylum
Days of Thunder
Deadly Towers

Defender II
Demon Sword
Destination Earthstar
Dick Tracy
Dig Dug II (w/manual)
Dirty Harry (w/manual)
Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong Classics
Double Dragon

Double Dragon II
Double Dragon III

Double Dribble (w/manual)
Dragon Power (w/manual)
Dragon Spirit The New Legend

Dragon Warrior (+CIB)
Dragon Warrior II (CIB)
Dr. Mario (w/manual)
Duck Hunt

Duck Tales

Excitebike
The Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy (w/munted manual)

Fantasy Zone (Tengen cart)

Faxanadu
Felix the Cat (CIB)
Fester's Quest (w/manual)
Final Fantasy
Flight of the Intruder
Fox's Perter Pan and the Pirates
Friday the 13th
Fun House
Gauntlet II
Ghostbusters (w/manual)
Goal!
Golf
Goonies II (w/manual)
Gotcha

Gradius

The Guardian Legend (w/manual)
Guerrilla War
Gumshoe
Gyromite

Gyruss (+CIB)

Heavy Barrel
Heavy Shreddin'
Hogan's Alley

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
Hook (CIB, PAL)
Hoops (w/manual)
Ice Climber
Ice Hockey
Ikari Warriors
The Immortal
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Tengen)
Infiltrator
Iron Sword

Iron Tank

Jackal (w/manual)
Jack Nicklaus Greatest 18 Holes of Major Championship Golf
Jaws
Jeopardy!
Jeopardy! Junior Edition

*Jim Power: The Lost Dimension (CIB)
Joe & Mac (w/manual)
John Elway's Quarterback

Jordan vs. Bird One on One
Jurassic Park
Karate Champ
The Karate Kid
Karnov
Kid Niki (faded label)

King of Kings: The Early Years

Kings of the Beach (w/manual)
Kirby's Adventure
Klax

Knight Rider
The Krion Conquest

Kung Fu
Kung Fu Heroes
Lee Trevino's Fighting Golf
Legacy of the Wizard (w/manual)
The Legend of Zelda (gold cart)

Life Force
Little League Baseball
Little Mermaid

Little Nemo Dream Master
Lode Runner
Lunar Pool

Mach Rider (label damage)
The Mafat Conspiracy

Magic Johnson's Fast Break
Major League Baseball (w/manual)
Maniac Mansion (CIB, PAL)
Mega Man
Mega Man 2
Mega Man 3 (w/manual)
Mega Man 4

Mega Man 5
Mega Man 6

Metal Gear
Metal Storm

Metroid
Mickey Mousecapade

Mike Tyson's Punch-out!!
Millipede (w/manual)
Miracle Piano Teaching System
Monopoly (w/manual)
*Mother 25th Anniversary Edition
M.U.S.C.L.E.
Mystery Quest
NES Play Action Football

Ninja Gaiden

Ninja Gaiden II
Ninja Kid
Nobunaga's Ambition
Nobunaga's Ambition II
Operation Wolf (w/manual)
Orb-3D
Othello
Paperboy
Pictionary

Pinball
Pinball Quest
Pin Bot

Platoon

Pro Wrestling

Punchout!

The Punisher
Pyramid
Q-bert
Racket Attack

Rad Racer (w/manual)
Rad Racer II

Raid 2020 (CIB)
Rally Bike

Rambo (w/manual)

R.C. Pro Am (w/manual)
R.C. Pro Am II
*Recca (reproduction cart of Famicom only release)

MTV Remote Control
Renegade
Rescue: The Embassy Mission
River City Ransom
RoadBlasters
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Robocop

The Rocketeer
Roger Clemens MVP Baseball
Rollergames
Rush 'n Attack
Sesame Street 123
Sesame Street ABC
Shadowgate
Shingen the Ruler
Shinobi
Side Pocket (w/manual)
Silent Service

The Simpsons: Bart vs. the World (severe label damage)
Skate or Die
Ski or Die

Sky Shark (w/manual)

Slalom
Smash TV
Snake's Revenge
*Solaris (CIB--AVS Series)
Solar Jetman (w/manual + PAL CIB)

Solomon's Key
Solstice (+PAL CIB)

Spy Hunter

Star Force
Starship Hector (w/manual)
Star Soldier

Star Tropics
Star Voyager
Stealth ATF
Strider

Super Contra
Super Dodge Ball
*Super Games 150 'n 1
*Super Game 402 in 1
Super Glove Ball
Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt (w/manual)
Super Mario Bros./World Class Track Meet/Duck Hunt (w/manual)
Super Mario Bros. 2 (w/manual)
Super Mario Bros. 3 (+CIB)

Ivan "Ironman" Stewart's Super Off Road

Super Spike VBall
Super Team Games
Super Spy Hunter
T&C Surf Designs
Tag Team Wrestling
Tecmo Baseball

Tecmo Bowl (CIB)

Tecmo NBA Basketball 

Tecmo Super Bowl (+CIB)
Tecmo World Wrestling (w/manual)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game

Tennis

Tetris (w/manual)
Tetris 2
The Three Stooges
Thunderbirds

Tiger-Heli (+CIB)
Time Lord

Top Gun
Top Gun: The Second Mission
Top Players' Tennis (w/manual)
Total Recall
Track & Field
Track & Field II
Ultima III: Exodus
Vegas Dream
VICE: Project Doom (CIB)

Viper

Volleyball 
Wayne Gretzky Hockey
Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune Family Edition
Wheel of Fortune Junior Edition
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Willow
Win, Lose or Draw

Winter Games by Epyx
Wizards & Warriors (w/manual)
World Class Track Meet
Wrath of the Black Manta
WWF Wrestlemania
Xevious (w/manual)
Xexyz

Zanac (+CIB)

I'm a Legal Alien

First a quick rant: For whatever reason, loads of my YouTube layout edits have disappeared. My recommended channels, background art, channel description, URLs, etc. Why? So I am slowly trying to redo them. I feel especially bad because I can't remember whose channels were on my feed/list thingy. If you disappeared, I didn't do it! Grrr.

Right. So I got my permanent resident visa the other day. That's a big deal. Unless you marry a Japanese national, you basically have to live in the country for ten years consecutively before you can even APPLY. That process can take nearly a year, and then you might still be rejected. They took their sweet time reviewing my application, but 10 months later, I got the postcard in the mail saying I should show up at the Immigration Bureau.

That postcard also said, however, that if I had changed employers without notifying them that I might have my permanent visa revoked. Scary. I had changed employers, legally of course, and my work visa sponsor was my former employer. Said former employer was aware of the situation, but needless to say I was less than excited to give the Immigration Bureau any reason to reconsider.

But I told the lady at the counter anyway.

"Oh, I see. Please wait a moment." She had been all ready to hand over my new visa. Not anymore.

She came back and asked me more questions, and said the same thing again. Repeat. Repeat.

Finally, she said she had talked to "The Boss", and he had reviewed my application personally and given the go ahead. PHEW!

Too many emotions to process that day, and the drama at the end only amplified them. So naturally I went to the convenience store across the street, sat down, and had a beer. I needed to regroup.

Finally the long wait/journey was over. No more requesting special permission to do other jobs, no more paying for that permission, no more dependence on an employer for the right to live in the country. YES!

I'm off the cloud now, but it's great to have completed a goal that took 10 years to accomplish. Now I am thinking about what is next! Ironically, perhaps, my new visa allows me to leave the country for up to five years at a time without losing my permanent resident status. Grad school is looking a bit more likely, now. Much to ponder. Meanwhile, I'll keep playing video games and eating weird food and making videos about it. Thanks for your support.

Shooting Love Triangle!

So I was incredibly fortunate to not only preview the new game, Shooting Love 10th Anniversary for the XBOX 360, but also to interview and go out to dinner with the creator, Toshiaki Fujino, head of Triangle Service. It was a great day, to say the least.

I should have gone to a closer train station, but I shopped my way to the event locale and ended up buying a fair few items. They got heavier as the evening went on, but it was all worth it!

The promotional event started at 1 pm, and apparently a number of people were actually gathered waiting at that time. I finally got there just before 4 pm, and it was just me. Perfect timing! Mr. Fujino was quite  gracious and I enjoyed meeting him very much. And I am definitely looking forward to receiving my copies of the game! (I bought a second, standard edition copy as well just because I wanted to show my support.)

After we said our goodbyes, I met another foreigner and encouraged him to go try out the event. His name is David and he is from Quebec. Later I went back to apologize once again to Mr. Fujino, in typical Japanese style, just in case I had in any way made a bad impression. He said all was well, so I invited him to join David and myself for a few beers. He agreed! Yay! We ended up going to a restaurant to eat "Kushikatsu", which is essentially "Deep-fried stuff on a stick with dipping sauce", because it is well-known in the area, and because the draft beer is good, cold, and cheap. On the way to the restaurant we met the crazy cosplay people from the previous video, and then had drinks on the street (because that's cool in Japan) while waiting for a table.

Once inside, we talked a lot about games, and a lot about life and relationships, but none of that made it into the video. Suffice to say that Mr. Fujino is every bit as easy-going and nice as he seems in the video, and I have made it my new personal mission as a gamer, and more specifically as a shooting fan, to support his efforts, as he was so kind to me. It doesn't hurt that I really like his games, either!

Having said that, I am honest to a fault, if you didn't already know that, so while I will do what I can to support him, I will tell him, and you, what I really think, should I be afforded more opportunities to try out his stuff. In the meantime I hope he will do well and I hope lots of people will buy his games!

PS Making subtitles for 30-minute videos is painful. That is all.
PPS I am going to re-commit to practicing POLITE Japanese. That is all again.

Here's a link to the video, in case you haven't seen it yet:
Shooting Love Triangle

Didn't mean to make your daughter cry.

I just realized that I haven't posted anything on my SoftOtaku blog for about 5 months. A trillion apologies. I feel like I have actually kept up on posting YouTube videos, but I have clearly neglected the other bits. I will try to do better. Thank you so much for hanging out with me! It has made my life so much more interesting!