No, not that kind of coke.

I have what most people would consider an unhealthy addiction to cola. Pepsi is my drink of choice, but since arriving in Japan, Dr. Pepper has been prescribing my fix. Back home in Australia, it's hard to come by. But here in Japan, you can find it on just about every corner. Needless to say I can't get enough of the shit. On average, I drink about 1L a day, which as it turns out, makes me an amateur:

Anonymous said:

"that is nothing. 2 to 3 liters a day is a habit. Give it up guys, you are amateurs."

So 1L isn't really a big deal, at least to anyone other than my dentist. But when you enter cigarettes into the equation things gets interesting. If I had to choose between quitting smoking or drinking cola, I'd quit smoking in a heartbeat. Heck, I'd probably give up pot too. And I love getting high. Sugar high.

At ¥120 a can, cola is relatively cheap. But when you drink 2-3 cans a day, it adds up. In 90 days, I will have spent approximately 300 AUD on cola. And that's just in Japan. Back home, cola is nearly twice as expensive. You do the math, I don't wanna. It will only remind me of all the cool shit I could've bought instead. Like a plasma TV. But what good is watching TV if you don't have a cola by your side?

Now if you'll excuse me, I've off to get another hit.

As some of you may know, I recently fell in love with a potato and bought a SNES. A Super Famicom to be exact. And not just any potato, a Super Potato. Well, since then I've added 4 games to my collection so I thought maybe you'd like to see for yourself:

As you can see, everything is boxed. You can buy unboxed, but personally I prefer paying the extra ¥ for a box and instructions. And since most of these games don't play in English, I'm not just buying these games to play, but to collect. The only problem with buying everything boxed is getting all this shit back home. So far I've spent ¥21,445 (300 AUD) which I think is a bargain, but my parents probably won't be too happy when they find out what I've been spending their money on. Nevertheless, I still have dozens of games I wanna pick up before I leave.

As for what I've been playing, well, I'm still working on Gradius III. That game is brutal. Also, I've beaten Donkey Kong Country and started on Diddy Kong's Quest, which has been a bit dissapointing so far. It seems to lack the charm that made the first one so great. Perhaps it's because they replaced Donkey with Dixie, or the fact that Diddy fucking raps if you finish a level with him selected. Yeah, I'm sure that shit was cool back in '95, but nowadays it's just lame. On the other hand, Dixie on guitar is pretty badass. But what's really dissapointing is the soundtrack. I haven't come across a track anywhere near as memorable as Aquatic Ambience, but I've only completed 15% so hopefully it redeems itself.

Wonder Boy

My earliest gaming memory dates back to playing Wonder Boy on the Commodore 64. I think I was 3 at the time. Or 4. Or was it 5? I dunno. What I'm getting at is I practically went from sucking breast milk to sucking at video games. But it wasn't until that fateful afternoon at my neighbours house when I fell in love with video games. When I first laid my eyes on Sonic the Hedgehog, I almost soiled myself. I remember that night begging my parents for a Sega Master System II. I had to have one. Strangely, I don't remember if I got it for Christmas or my birthday, nor do I remember even getting it. I just remember playing the shit out of it.

Perhaps even stranger, is that I don't remember much of Sonic. Instead, the game that I'll never forget is Alex Kidd in Miracle World. The fact that it came built-in must have something to do with it, because that game is a pain in the ass. I downloaded a ROM a while ago but I still couldn't beat it. So while most kids were playing Mario, I was getting my ass handed to me by Alex Kidd. Sure, I played Nintendo at other kids houses, but I mostly grew up with SEGA. This continued into the 32-bit era. Once again, while most kids were playing Mario, I was playing Crash Bandicoot. Only this time it was me handing out the ass. I fucking rule at Crash Bandicoot.

Looking back on it, I could've just asked my parents for a Nintendo 64. But I was a fanboy. At the time, consoles were like football teams to me. You pick a side and roll with it. But whereas most fanboyism stems from being unable to afford another console, I was just a jackass. But deep down I loved GoldenEye as much as the next kid, and years later I would buy a N64 to play all the classics I missed, particularly Ocarina of Time. But like Final Fantasy VII, you had to be there. And I wasn't there.

Which brings me back to the SNES.

Super Potato

Since I'm relatively new to Giant Bomb, I've been catching up on past Bombcasts. And since I'm in Japan, I figured what better Bombcast to listen to than the ones recorded in Japan last year. In this one, they take a trip to Akihabara and more importantly, Super Potato. Where am I going with this? Well, since beating God of War, Guitaroo Man and Parappa on the PSP, I've needed my gaming fix. So I hopped on a train and followed the guys footseps. I went to Super Potato.

And bought a SNES.

Well, a Super Famicom to be exact. I picked up Super Mario Collection and Super Metroid to go with it. Needless to say, it was like being a kid again. However, this wasn't the childhood I remembered. The one with Alex Kidd and Sonic. This was the alternate reality. This was the Nintendo reality. I returned a few days later and picked up A Link to the Past, Chrono Trigger, Earthworm Jim and Final Fantasy VI, but was dissapointed to find no option to play them in English. I should've seen it coming, but a misleading wiki lead me to believe otherwise. Not to mention Super Metroid has the option to play in English.

So I've beaten Super Metroid already and just today I beat Earthworm Jim, I'm probably gonna return to Super Potato tomorrow to add another game to the collection. I'm thinking either Gradius III, R-Type III or Yoshi's Island, but I'll probably end up buying all. If you're willing to pay more, they come boxed & sealed, which makes me happy because I'm anal about that sort of shit.