☆Pang Man's RetroGaming Reminisce - Part 1 "Mean Machines"☆ @JazRignall #RetroGaming #GamersUnite

The Sacred Mean Machines Magazine...

The Newest member of the Games Freezer Family has joined the team to impart some of his 30 years of Video Gaming knowledge and experience.

Please give a COOL Freezer welcome to "Pang Man"

So, who is this Pang Man you speak of?

Well, Pang Man grew up playing Super Nintendo and reading some of the finest video gaming publications of the 90's.

Over the years he has built up an extensive gaming knowledge from the consoles of yesteryear.

Pang Man was an early adopter of the import game scene in the 90's and owned one of those cool Universal game adapters for his beloved SNES.

Over the next few weeks, he will be looking back at some of the greatest video gaming magazines of the 90's, so sit back, relax and soak up the retrogaming goodness

☆Pang Man Part 6 – "My visit to the Square Enix store in Tokyo"☆ @SquareEnix #GamersUnite

Pang Man is one of the coolest dudes we know and he's knocked our socks off again this week by telling us all about his trip to Tokyo and in particular his journey to the Video Games Mecca that is the Square Enix store.

As usual we are very jealous of The Pang Man's exploits.

Luckily for you Pang Man has taken some pictures just for the Freezer Fraternity!

Let's see what the Man has to say in PART 6......

"One of the coolest places for a gamer to visit in Japan, was the Square Enix store. 

Located in Tokyo, it was the perfect place to pick up some gaming collectables.

Square Enix is a software company formerly made up of the 2 gaming RPG giants Squaresoft and Enix.

Squaresoft was well known for creating the Final Fantasy series of games, as well as the beloved SNES RPGs, Secret of Mana and Chrono Trigger. 

    

Whilst Enix brought us Actraiser, as well as the long running Dragon Quest

The store itself was located in Shinjuku and was located within a short walking distance of the station.

(Update: the Shinjuku store has recently relocated to and has now developed into café/bar/store hybrid)

Dragons Quest merchandise was prominently featured, with King Slime front and centre of many of the displays. 

 

His smiley face was everywhere! In fact I think it was the most smiles I have seen in one place!

 

Not to be outdone, Chocobo and Cactuar merchandise from the Final Fantasy series were also given significant store space. 

There were at least 5 different varieties of Chocobo plushes(!)

Besides Final Fantasy and Dragons Quest, there were also quite a few figurines from Kingdom Hearts. 

(I even saw Stitch from Lilo and Stitch. Not sure if he is from the game though?)

 

Huge posters of Lightning , Vanile and Serah from Final Fantasy XIII, Cloud, Aerith and Tifa from Final Fantasy VII  and Yuna from Final Fantasy X adorned the walls.

 

The highlight of the store was an amazing lifesize Sephiroth statue embedded within a transparent tomb.

 

On the top floor of the store, the more, high end figurines, costing thousands of Yen (which sadly I could not afford!) were showcased.

 

Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII

Vanille from Final Fantasy XIII

Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII

 

Cloud Strife and Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII

A lifesize Vincent Valentine Final Fantasy VII costume!

 

Back on the ground floor my eye was drawn to the display of mini trading figurines from the Final Fantasy series. 

I was keen to buy them but the shop assistant informed me that each box contained a random figure so I would not be able to find out which character I would be getting, until I had purchased them. 

 

In the end though I could not resist and I went ahead and bought two of them at random anyway. 

Imagine my delight when I discovered I got the Ninja Yuffie as well as Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII!

I also got a Chocobo just ......because......

 

Overall I was extremely chuffed with my purchases and I would highly recommend a visit for anyone planning a trip to Japan.

Thanks for listening."

Pang Man

 

BIG Thanks To The Pang Man For Filling Us In With The Cool Details On The Square Enix Tokyo Store Experience......

 

We LOVE The Final Fantasy Series Mini Trading Figurines!

 

What Would You Buy If You Were Let Loose In The Square Enix Store?

 

★Pang Man Part 10 - Cool Stores: "CyberCandy in Covent Garden"★ @CyberCandyLTD #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

Pang Man Part 10 – Cool Stores: 

"CyberCandy in Covent Garden"

The Pang Man Has Been Eating Candy All In The Name Of Retrogaming Journalism....Let's See What The Great Man Has To Say About All This Sweet Retrogaming Goodness!!

☆Pang Man's Retrogaming Reminisce - Part 2 "Super Play"☆ @Kosmikat #RetroGaming #Gamersunite

The Awesome Super Play

Pang Man continues to look back at the great Video Games Magazines of the day from the 90's.

In Part 1 we heard all about Pang Man's Love for the iconic Mean Machines Magazine.

Now we pick up with him again for Part 2 and a closer look at the almighty Super Play Magazine.

"Over the years there have been many great gaming magazines.

CVG was one of my favourites in the 90s, whilst I think of the more modern day magazines –Edge is a great read. (Although I did balk at the £5 price!! when it first came out, compared to £3 for its rivals).

However, for a while there was only one magazine that was so unbelievably good , that I would re-read it multiple times. 

That magazine was called Mean Machines and after it stopped publication, I was genuinely sad.

However, in November 1992, a contender to the crown was born.  

I remember looking at the magazines in the local newsagents in Enfield Town before school and one magazine caught my eye (and not the top shelf kind!) 

It had a Japanese looking logo and some cool Anime style characters on the cover. 

It was called “Super Play”

Super Play was a monthly gaming magazine dedicated to the Super Famicom (a.k.a. Super Nintendo). 

At a mere £1.95 it was a bargain. A fantastic read, with a cool design and great reviews. Like Mean Machines it covered imported games yet to be released in the UK/US.

The Cool Anime World

For me though the best thing about Super Play was its promotion of anime and RPGs.

“Anime World” - a monthly article written by “Helen McCarthy” (a foremost anime expert), helped me to develop my interest in anime and opened my eyes to shows such as "3 x 3 Eyes" and "Bubblegum Crisis"

LIVE FROM HELL CITY

A monthly article called “Live from Hell City” written by a British guy living in Tokyo –gave readers a fascinating insight into Japanese culture and gaming. 

Fantasy Quest

Whilst through, “Fantasy Quest”, readers could wet their appetite for the amazing RPGs, just released in the Land of the Rising Sun (e.g. Secret of Mana, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest etc)

I must also give a huge shout out to Will Overton who drew the cover illustrations. 

The magazine covers were always hand drawn in an amazing manga style –in fact they were so good –I would have happily bought prints of them to display.

Superb Envelope Art

Super Play also encouraged its readers to send in their artwork –the best entries were then published in a section called “Envelope Art”. 

Some of these entries were of a fantastic standard and still hold up well even today.

Super Play ran until 1996, around the time the N64 superseded the Super Nintendo. 

The writing staff went on to publish N64 Magazine - which again sadly failed to maintain the charm of the original publication.

Was it better than Mean Machines?  

Well I wouldn’t like to choose a favourite but I would say that for me, alongside Mean Machines, Super Play was and still is the best gaming magazine of the 16bit era."

Pang Man

Pang Man has had his say, so now it's over to you....

 

Super Play vs. Mean Machines - Who was the greatest?  

 

"Pang Man Reporting From The Freezer"

 

★" Pang Man Part 9 – Gaming Memories: The SEGA Master System "★ #RetroGaming #GamersUnite

As Pang Man Continues His Journey Through Some Of His Finest Gaming Memories, 

He Gets Underneath The Games That Made The SEGA Master System Such A Great System!

Let's Take Another Trip Into The Mind Of The Pang Man As He Reveals Some Of His Favourites SMS Video Games...

☆ Pang Man Part 13 - Cool Video Games Stores: "Forbidden Planet" ☆ @ForbiddenPlanet #GamersUnite

The Pang Man Is Back In The Freezer!

This Time Our Main Man Takes A Look At Forbidden Planet And All Its Video Games Related Wares......

Let's See What The Pang Man Has To Say,

"During my uni days, I would often have a spare hour or two between lectures. So with a bit of time to kill, what did I do, study? Nah, of course not! Instead, I would often pop down to one of my favourite stores in Central London, Forbidden Planet

The thing I loved about Forbidden Planet was that they had a bit of everything for the cult/fantasy/sci-fi/ enthusiast, from movie posters and books, to cult magazines and comics.

Now you may be wondering, what does this have to do with the wonderful world of video gaming? 

Well, I vaguely remembered that the store sold a decent selection of gaming related merchandise. 

So to check that my memories weren’t playing tricks on me, I went to revisit Forbidden Planet yesterday to see what goodies they had in stock.

☆ Pang Man Part 32: Cool Collectibles, Pokémon Soft Drinks - "Pang Man's Refreshing Trip To China Town" ☆ #Pokemon

Pang Man Part 32: Cool Collectibles, Pokémon Soft Drinks

Having had a tasty lunch in Soho on Christmas Eve, I decided I had best walk it off with a quick trip to Chinatown.

Unfortunately, it was at this point that the weather gods decided to bless us with a bit of heavy rain.

Seeking shelter, I huddled under a random shop canopy nearby. There was an internal debate in my mind over whether to wait out the rain or to brave the weather then and there, however, something out of the corner of my eye caught my attention.

It was the window display of the small food shop I was next to. Piled up on top of each other were some familiar characters. “Holy shit”, I thought to myself, “Pokémon!”

☆Pang Man Part 5 - "Why I Love RPGs"☆ @ian_livingstone #RetroGaming #GamersUnite

 

Pang Man Enters The Freezer Again To Talk About All The Brilliant Influences That A Lot Of Us grew Up With Which Means That We All Love The Role Playing Game Genre

Hopefully When We Mention Fighting Fantasy You Will Know Where The Pang Man Is Going With This One......

Let's Hear What The Main Man Has Got To Say On All this........

"I am a huge fan of RPGs. 

From the early days of Phantasy Star on the Sega Master System to the Final Fantasy series on the PS1, PS2 PS3 and XBOX 360, there have been many great games in the genre. 

When I think of RPGs –I think of epic quests, immersive storytelling, awesome battles (magic and weapon based) as well as open worlds to interact with and explore. 

The best RPGs have also produced some of the most memorable characters in gaming history. Characters who grew with the story and who we grew to love.

   

So with that in mind, I thought I would have a look back to reminisce about not only the games themselves but what influenced my love for of the genre.

So let’s start with what influenced my love for of the genre. What first piqued my interest as a kid was a cartoon made in the 80’s called Dungeons and Dragons:

Dungeons and Dragons

It was about 6 school friends (Eric the cowardly Cavalier, Presto the Magician, Hank the Ranger, Shelia the Thief, Diana the Acrobat and Bobby the Barbarian) who were transported via a magical fairground ride into a fantasy world of dragons and magic. 

The show followed their attempts to return home (not sure if they ever made it back in the end?) and avoid losing the magical weapons (Shield, Magicians hat, Bow, Invisible cloak, Staff and Club) that were given to them by the cryptic Dungeon Master.

The show incorporated many of the elements we see in games today such as magical weapons, a memorable villain (Venger), dragons (Tiamet) and teamwork in battle to overcome adversity

Another huge influence was the Fighting Fantasy books written by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone (@ian_livingstone)

Fighting Fantasy

These were interactive novels such as Deathtrap dungeon and The Warlock of Firetop Mountain in which you were the hero or heroine of the story and could make choices which would influence the outcome of the adventure. 

For example you might come across a sleeping dragon sitting upon a mountain of treasure and be asked to decide to:

Attempt to steal its treasure?                                         Turn to 263

Attempt to slay the dragon whilst it is asleep?            Turn to 28

Wake the dragon up?                                                      Turn to 401

Sneak quietly towards the exit on the other side?      Turn to 112

Depending on your choice, you would then go to the appropriate page reference and see what fate had in store for you. 

I found these books fascinating as this multi choice format meant the story could go down multiple branching paths, some of which had alternative endings (including death).

As a teenager I bought virtually every instalment in the series and eagerly looked forward to each new release.

RPG games today incorporate many of the same ideas today, for example epic quests, branching storylines, alternative paths to achieve goals, puzzles as well as turn based combat.

Another TV show with RPG/fantasy elements was called Knightmare

Knightmare

This was a children’s programme shown on ITV in the late 80’s. Knightmare involved a team of friends trying to successfully navigate traps and enemies and puzzles in a virtual reality blue screen dungeon. 

One of the 4 team members would don a helmet (which impeded their vision) whilst the 3 others would have to then guide that player through vocal instructions. 

Spells could be cast by spelling (for example “Spellcasting Fire, F-I-R-E!”) and directions could be given by instruction (“turn left, walk forward, stop” etc).

The show was hilarious as poor instructions, directions and decisions would often lead to death.

Today, dungeons, treasure hunting and puzzle elements are often seen in games such as The Legend of Zelda and The Elder Scrolls games.

 

Japanese Anime also contributed to my interest in fantasy and RPGs.

Anime

In the early 90’s it was extremely difficult to get anime in the UK. 

Fortunately a company called Manga Entertainment began to release videos (usually dubbed in English) of some of the titles around at the time.  

One example was an anime called RG Veda. 

Although not critically acclaimed, I loved the storyline and incorporation of magic, prophecy and cool character designs.

Later other companies would follow suit in bring anime to the western world and soon we were able to get hold of great sword and sorcery titles such as Claymore and Record of Lodoss War.

Today there is a huge overlap between anime and the gaming world. 

The Dragons Quest games are illustrated by Akira Toriyama who is the creator of Dragonball Z, whilst many games are based on an anime/manga themselves.(E.g. Naruto, Death Note etc)

    

So those were the key influences which steered me towards an interest in fantasy and in turn a love for RPGs.  

In a future instalment I hope to cover the RPG games that I loved the most growing up. Thanks for listening!

Pang Man "

To Be Continued......

What Are Your RPG Influences That Led You To Love The Role Playing Game (RPG) Genre?