Star Wars Review: Darth Maul (Movie Version, Epic Hero Series)
Via the Star Wars Galactic Hunter Figure of the Day Blog: Darth Maul (Movie Version, Epic Hero Series). This one has a play feature - his lightsaber can be split in half, as have so many, so you can use it as one accessory or as two. The sculpt is very good, with an expressive face and some very pointy horns. Hasbro did such a good job n this mold that you can see why they wanted to repaint it for an exclusive, even if it's a weird fit - and this figure may be in a store near you right now, too. I'd recommend it. Read the whole review.
Shipping on all orders is now a flat $7.95, including pre-orders, so order a lot all at once. If your order is above $99, it qualifies for free shipping - pre-orders, too!
Nintendo Switch This Week
This week's batch of titles on the eShop: Aero The Acro-Bat 2, Ace Attorney Investigations Collection, Arcade Archives FINALIZER SUPER TRANSFORMATION, and over a dozen more.
HasLab G.I. Joe Cobra Rattler Under 1,400 to Baroness Stretch Goal
Via Hasbro Pulse: Ending Monday, the Cobra Rattler crowdfund is almost at the final UNLOCK 3: G.I. JOE CLASSIFIED SERIES PILOT BARONESS 6-INCH-SCALE ACTION FIGURE stretch goal. I assume it will glide past the goal this weekend, if not by the time you read this. Since it ends Monday, you should probably make a decision on if you want this one or not pretty quickly.
Review: Mattel Masters of the Universe Origins x Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtles of Grayskull Teela Action Figure
Something new every day-- unless it's old! Our exciting Figure of the Day continues for you lucky people! Is there anything we won't cover in this column? Probably not!
Keshi Corner Adds Lakitu (Super Mario Bros.) 3D Scans
Via Keshi Corner on Archive.org: Lakitu (Super Mario Bros.) 1985 Keshi Gomu Figure. It's a good week for these guys, because in addition to the gleefully dumpy Lakitu you can also get the flying knight from Ghosts 'n Goblins and a Soldier from Front Line. This guy is really bringing some cool stuff to 3-D printers..
Via the Star Wars Galactic Hunter Figure of the Day Blog: RD-3 (Droid Factory). This Disney Ahsoka droid has the foot cables - which are very unusual for Disney droids - with a slightly larger head on an old body that you probably don't remember actually seeing on the show. But the colors look nice. Read the whole review.
Review: Mattel Hot Wheels Snack Time Series Dodge Sidewinder
Something new every day-- unless it's old! Our exciting Figure of the Day continues for you lucky people! Is there anything we won't cover in this column? Probably not!
Old! This Mattel Hot Wheels Snack Time Series Dodge Sidewinder was made before Mattel slapped real food brands on its cars on the regular, so this one is marketing something called "Tom & Jo's POP CORN Flaming Hot." Everything but POP CORN is painted incredibly small, so thank goodness we have macro lenses. Do read on, and come back tomorrow for more fun!
Via RetroRGB and Infidelity: SMB1 NES to SNES + ÒMario MakerÓ lets you play the NES original on Super NES hardware, and edit it. The demo video is really cool, and you can grab it at Archive.org. Supposedly it does well on a ROM cart, I tried it on an emulator and found this early version good, but a smidgen choppy. Maybe it's the emulator.
New Transformers Fan Poll with 13 Reasons To Participate
Via Hasbro: TRANSFORMERS 2024 HALL OF FAME VOTING. They're asking for your favorite toys of 2024 - many of which aren't out yet - but more interestingly, they're asking what your favorite is of the 13 primes - you know, Leige Maximo, Nexus Prime, and the like. Presumably they want us thinking about this, as most of them are generally pretty obscure as they weren't a major central focus in most generations of these toys. But odds are you know Alpha Trion, maybe Vector Prime, maybe Leige Maximo, and given how most stories go you don't even know that you know the Thirteenth Prime.
Give it a whirl - and note that there's a big list of exclusives too.
Something new every day-- unless it's old! Our exciting Figure of the Day continues for you lucky people! Is there anything we won't cover in this column? Probably not!
New! The Hasbro Transformers Authentics Bravo Megatron Action Figure is a cheap $5 figure that replaces an older model and just started hitting stores - joined by new versions of Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and Grimlock. So far I've only bought Megatron because the robot mode looked sufficiently different, and it's a pretty nice little toy for the money. Read on!
Yeah, I'm reposting old stuff. I'm allowed. I've written thousands of these.
This week:
Don't Go Alone (The Legend of Zelda) - where you get a sword.
Taking Flight (Kirby's Adventure) - where you go over a wall and into a door.
Froggy Paddle (Super Mario Bros. 3) - in which you get to go through a level in the frog suit, and it's a tough one.
Balloon Bopper (Balloon Fight) - beat that first group of three guys quickly.
Ridley Riddance (Metroid) - in which you run to shoot Ridley, and it's also a tough one.
The Silver Division and Gold Division tournaments usually have some overlap, but this week two of the three games are shared. Both have Taking Flight and Froggy Paddle, with Silver including Balloon Bopper and Gold sporting Ridley Riddance. I'm finding the Gold version to be tough this week.
Via Wall of Voodoo, presumably: The Lost Tapes Vol. 1 and 2. So far only available as digital - and apparently, these came out more than a year ago and I never heard about it - making this some "better late than never" stuff. Volume 2 just came out in March, and I suppose these might have been on a later album had they not broken up.
I haven't downloaded these yet (I'm just finding out about them as I write the update while listening to their Us Festival show) and there are a lot of songs on here I don't recognize from their releases. I hope a record might be in the works.
It's kind of amazing that things like this are still coming out, I just found the new-ish Tom Lehrer record in a store, got the Pulsars unreleased demos record a couple of weeks back, and am now starting to look up every band I ever liked to see if I missed something new from the last five years.
Via Atavist Games: BRAND NEW DEMO [FOR FALLEN CROWN] AVAILABLE NOW!!! I got to play a few minutes of the .pocket file before punching up this story and it's got a lot of newness to it - the opening is a little different, there's a nice save screen sequence, and it just plain looks better. Sadly it came with bad news - the game is delayed to 2025. But 6 month delays for retro indie console games is par for the course.
Give this demo a shot - it's not every day you get a Metroidvania demo that involves you playing as an undead severed head, and it actually feels really good too. The demo download is free, and you probably have today off. And there are some bugs, but it's a demo.
Given it reportedly can do USB wired play as well as 2.4GHz wireless connectivity, it's going to have a lot of uses and may be one of those sticks that you can just use with anything. I've already got a few excellent sticks but if the price is right, I'll buy another one.
Via Incase (and Seth): Incase to relaunch Microsoft¨ PC accessory portfolio in 2024. You probably heard about this elsewhere already. While not retro gaming, it's retro - and if you're anything like me, you may have very specific desires for a mouse or a keyboard and find much of what's available today leaving you wanting. (Me, I want the old USB Intellimouse Explorer back again, with red LED and silver finish, thank you.) There are ergonomic keyboards, unique mice, and, for some reason, Teams-integrated speakers and headsets that I can't pretend to are about.
You might see something here that pushes your gear buttons - there's nothing here I need, but I recognize the stuff as distinctive enough to say "hey, maybe you need the Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard" if that means anything to you. Because if someone put out a better reissue of the old Macintosh Apple Extended Keyboard from the ADB era of Macs, yeah, I'd buy one. Right now I use a 1990s Microsoft regular Intellimouse I got off of eBay, because sealed box peripherals aren't that expensive.
We're taking donations for server costs! Really. One of the rewards is Q&A a few days early - you can read next Monday's installment as soon as it's ready, which can be as early as 1:00 AM my time on Monday!
If you've got a dollar a month to share, please Visit the Galactic Hunter Patreon and help cover our server costs. I'll still put in hours of work, writing, photography, and research - I just need some help making sure that the site costs me only time, and hopefully not money. Thanks for your support!
Star Wars Review: Grand Admiral Thrawn (Rebels, The Vintage Collection)
Via the Star Wars Galactic Hunter Figure of the Day Blog: Grand Admiral Thrawn (Rebels, The Vintage Collection). Taking the book character, and making him a cartoon, and making a live-action version of the cartoon version of the book character, is certainly a novel idea. It recycles some other movie figure parts, and it will again be recycled with the Ahsoka Thrawn in the future - with other new parts. As such this is something of a transitional figure, so if you skip it, you might be in good shape. Read the whole review.
HasLab G.I. Joe Cobra Rattler Under 3,000 to Baroness Stretch Goal
Via Hasbro Pulse: The Cobra Rattler's UNLOCK 3: G.I. JOE CLASSIFIED SERIES PILOT BARONESS 6-INCH-SCALE ACTION FIGURE is a hair under 3,000 backers away from making it, with 10 days to go. I kind of figured this one would be funded already given how strong it was right out of the gate, but it has another week and a bit to go before everything wraps up.
Something new every day-- unless it's old! Our exciting Figure of the Day continues for you lucky people! Is there anything we won't cover in this column? Probably not!
Old! This long-sold-out Onell Design Glyos Commander Nillin Pheyden Action Figure is pretty great, with a nicely painted silver head and really good thick layers of paint on the limbs and chest. The Glyos factory's paint game never disappoints. Do read on, and come back tomorrow for more fun!
Keshi Corner Adds Cheep Cheep (Super Mario Bros.) 3D Scans
Via Keshi Corner on Archive.org: Cheep Cheep (Super Mario Bros.) 1985 Keshi Gomu Figure. It's neat, because it's kind of dumpy - it doesn't particularly look like the game, but it does look like a 1980s Japanese toy figure..
GameStop Opening Retro Gaming Sections in Select Stores
Via GameStop: Retro Store Locator. It isn't particularly close to me (despite many GameStops around), but they're going to start carrying old hardware and software again. Which makes sense, you can't download a physical cartridge or clone console as of yet. Some of the "retro" stuff is rather recent - one or two generations back, and probably connected to a TV in your home - but they also promise stuff from as far back as the 1980s. Notably, no Atari stuff seems to be coming up and anything pre-NES seems left off. Which feels about right..
Hopefully they expand this program to more stores, because I am unlikely to drive 20 miles to see stuff at GameStop which is also at the local used game shop next to the pizza place. I hope it takes off, because if they can sell more clone consoles, maybe they can sell more new games for old systems too.
Star Wars Review: CH-33P (Cheep, The Vintage Collection)
Via the Star Wars Galactic Hunter Figure of the Day Blog: CH-33P (Cheep, The Vintage Collection). If you didn't get the gold in Paris, maybe you can get one on eBay. This droid isn't C-3PO, but he comes from the droid bins that, sadly, no longer exist. He also looks pretty close to The Clone Wars version, but since it uses the Chopper body the torso and one of the legs don't match. You do get a new dome, and the old body is painted to look more or less like the on-screen robot. For a $70 set, it would have been nice to have had the correct body and limbs though. Read the whole review.
Review: Mattel Hot Wheels Racer Verse Scrooge McDuck
Something new every day-- unless it's old! Our exciting Figure of the Day continues for you lucky people! Is there anything we won't cover in this column? Probably not!
New! This Mattel Hot Wheels Racer Verse Scrooge McDuck came out in the summer, and is pretty impressive with a gold base, painted eyes, clear glasses, and a nice hat. There are a fair amount of parts and pieces molded in color, plus that fancy printing on the face - which looks good in spots, and a little cheap in spots. The end results look pretty spectacular though, and while $6 is a fair amount to spend on a Hot Wheels car... it is pretty cool. Do read on, and come back tomorrow for more fun!
Something new every day-- unless it's old! Our exciting Figure of the Day continues for you lucky people! Is there anything we won't cover in this column? Probably not!
Newish! The Hasbro Transformers Legacy United Deluxe Infernac Universe Magneous Action Figure is going to be available in at least three flavors, all of which are pretty nifty - this is the black one, Walmart has a blue one with a different head, and the main line has a white one too. The textures for the rocky bits are impressive, the head isn't too bad, and functionally, it's pretty neat. You can bolt him on to other figures as weapons or armor, or use him like the worst car Fred Flintstone ever drove. If you've got $25, I'd recommend it. Read on!
Yeah, I'm reposting old stuff. I'm allowed. I've written thousands of these.
Via Tom Lehrer: DAT Recordings. I missed this too - presumably recorded at least partially in the 1990s, there are two MP3s of songs like "The Love Song of the Physical Anthropologist" and "Selling Out" which I have never heard before. He also put up all of his albums as digital files to download, with lyrics, and sheet music.
His site also has downloads of all his albums and boxed sets - this may well be the entire ouvre. If you're unfamiliar with his works, I recommend checking them out - they age extremely well from comedy mostly from the 1950s and 1960s. I'm sure many of the references are over my head as not having been watching news from before my birth. It's brilliant (and now free) stuff.
This week:
Sub-Space Exploration (Super Mario Bros. 2) - in which Toad does mushrooms.
Cool It (Excitebike) - In which you have to zip around in a race without overheating. I still have a hard time with this one.
Curtain Call: Larry (Super Mario Bros. 3) - In which you easily smash Larry Koopa in under 10 seconds.
In the Zone (Super Mario Bros) - In which you dash through 1-2 to get to the Warp Zone to world 4.
Labyrinth Champion (The Legend of Zelda) - In which you burn though Level 1 and collect the first Triforce in under 90 seconds, or your pizza is free.
I had the easiest time with Zelda and Larry, while Excitebike continues to be vexing. At least for me, it seems the ones I play the most now - like Zelda - are still easiest. Despite all challenges being available since I bought this game, I've found I'm coming back every week to do the new (and repeating) trials, so I think I'm getting my money's worth despite owning cartridges for almost all of the originals. (I keep almost picking up Balloon Fight and my Excitebike was a cheapo Famicom eBay lot pickup.)
New Transformers Crossovers: Zoids, Diaclone, Godzilla, More
Via YouTube: T-SPARK SYNERGENEX. There are a lot of things here - I was the most interested in this triple crossover Zoids, Transformers, and Diaclone Shield-D-Prime. This looks like a lot of fun, and it's one of several new teases and reveals in the below video.
These are likely part of Takara-Tomy's 40th Anniversary of Transformers - as the line debuted over in Japan in 1985.
Also interesting, Monster Hunter and Macross are up for crossing over. A Godzilla Optimus Prime is a redeco of Laser Optimus Prime as Kiryu - nothing special - and he's joined by the Grimlock body, with Megatron's head, in black, as Godzilla. It's clever, but lacks the green guy's trademark fins. And green. Kyodo News PR Wire has some pretty good pics of the Godzilla items that aren't in the video.
Via the above video too: T-SPARK SYNERGNEX.. Two flavors are coming with a Zoids kit featuring a Spider-Man figure on top - and they look pretty big, with 1:24-ish articulation.
The toy comes in red & blue or black, and it's a redeco of Spideath from Zoids Wild.
We're taking donations for server costs! Really. One of the rewards is Q&A a few days early - you can read next Monday's installment as soon as it's ready, which can be as early as 1:00 AM my time on Monday!
If you've got a dollar a month to share, please Visit the Galactic Hunter Patreon and help cover our server costs. I'll still put in hours of work, writing, photography, and research - I just need some help making sure that the site costs me only time, and hopefully not money. Thanks for your support!
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We're taking donations for server costs! Really. One of the rewards is 
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