VGM Vinyl - Some New Vinyl & One Not-Vinyl
Here we are again! I’m sure many people are currently nursing their wounds after the devastation to your wallet that was Black Friday Week (or Month….maybe even Year before we know it!). Even I wasn’t safe this time (damn you Steam!). So here are some new vinyls as well as a tasty book of handheld devices for gaming and such, & I’ve uploaded a video to give you a first look of said book. Check out more below!
A Handheld History - This is a wonderfully crafted book written by many game lovers including some well-known individuals on YouTube and even from Gadget Show (one of the coolest shows on UK TV for many years of my life!). For anyone that loves little devices for taking their worlds on the go, this is defintely for you. It’s a grand love letter to the history of handheld gaming that spans all the way from the humble Game & Watch consoles (the first handheld consoles created with huge influence from the inventor of the D-pad himself, Gunpei Yokoi) to the currently in-vogue Steam Deck (my favourite handheld currently, created by Valve). I had a strong nostalgic feeling reading this, and If you have a penchant for handhelds I urge you to treat yourself to this bundle of paper joy!
VVVVVV - Yes I still don’t know how to pronounce this name myself! But it fits absolutely perfectly, as this now largely hidden gem is a 2D adventure where you can’t jump but simply change gravity to overcome obstacles. It also looks like the spikes you constantly bump fall to your death to, and is devilishly hard as can be expected by the creator of Super Hexagon. The game introduces some very interesting mechanics making it a joy to play through, if only to reunite the lost characters around the map and brighten their day (provided you haven’t thrown your controller out the window). I was in the middle over whether to get the vinyl or not, but it really hit me in the feels when I heard it again on Spotify, and I also forgot how great the chiptune score was on this one!
Streets of Rage - You may be surprised to know that I didn’t actually play this as a kid with a Mega Drive…..I may have been a little too distracted by Sonic the Hedgehog. However during a small window of time in the early noughties, when a shop called GameStation was open and had a massive basket full of cartridges going for as little as £1, I started a retro journey. And this game absolutely rocked. The gameplay involved throwing, slamming, punching & kicking like other beat ‘em ups such as Golden Axe & Altered Beast ( I never got along with this one for some reason). It was so well executed and varied that I just kept coming back for more. It was even more entertaining when I was playing with my then-partner, and you could punch or throw their character ‘accidentally’. Don’t look at me like that, you would have done it too! It also helped that the soundtrack was incredibly kick-ass and had an awesome early 90s nightclub beat to it that made your head bob. Fantastic debut and a definite must play!
Streets of Rage II - Of course, with the first game being so awesome on its first outing, there just had to be a sequel. And there was. And they absolutely nailed it, taking everything from the first game, adding even more move intricacies and variety in enemies and movesets. You also had some real agility from the Skate as well as the backflip kicks from Blaze. The graphics had even more colour, neon signs and city vibes somehow than the first. They absolutely dialled this up to 11. This extra detail extended to the soundtrack, that had even more punch and timbre than the previous outing. If you’re going to buy the first one on vinyl, the second one definitely will get bought!
That’s it this time around. I will be popping off to South Korea next week for some fun times & I might even be in with a nice post with all the glorious street food & sights when I get back. Of course I am also expecting some more sick vinyls soon as well. See you soon!
