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Metroid All Mine

I've been a gamer for a long time and while it is true that I like video game related collectibles and clothes and whatnot, I don't exactly own much in the way of such things. Well okay, I have a small pile of Pokemon and Bahamut from Final Fantasy 8 and 10, and a scattering of Final Fantasy, Legend of Zelda, and Mega Man figurines. Still, I don't actively collect video game related stuff. That said, I did trip over something on Amazon.com that made me squee...

Photos to make you jealous below the fold.

I Will Push Over Your Grandmothers For a Mega Man 9 Press Kit

We're all friends here at 61 FPS and I believe in being straightforward with my friends. Therefore, I don't think I need to keep it a secret that I am willing to do some pretty reddish work at night to get my paws on this sexy, sexy Mega Man 9 press kit.

I have a fish-scaling knife. I have Jethro Tull on my iPod. It's Go time.

Threats of violence aside, I have to admire the firm grasp Capcom has on fan nostalgia. Sure, the company is teasing us like a kid holding a steak just out of the reach of a chained dog, but there aren't too many other companies out there that are willing to make fun of their past atrocities. Cover-ups seem preferred. Look at Konami's wretched attempt to erase "WHAT IS A MAN" away from the Internet lexicon with the re-translation of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night on the PSP.

The Impetuousness Of Youth

When I was writing up my lament about the end of good instruction booklets, it occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, I don't deserve really cool pack-ins. I didn't really appreciate the work that went into designing and translating the old texts. How many of us did? We were naught but children.

I remember a few years ago, my mother found our old Super Mario Bros 3 instruction booklet and handed it over to me like the corpse of a pet. Every page was marred with angry slashes of red crayon. I'm not sure if I'm to blame or if was the work of one of my brothers.

Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you got 'til it's gone? I never thought beyond my selfish 9-year-old world and even thought that I could someday make a bundle off some desperate retro game collector bulding up an 8-bit legacy for his apathetic children.

Are any of your old games and instruction booklets still in good condition? Or at least, aren't covered in words that will offend your grandma?

about the blogger

John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself.

Derrick Sanskrit is a self-professed geek in a variety of fields including typography, graphic design, comic books, music and cartoons. As a professional hipster graphic designer, his recent clients have included Nerve, Pitchfork and MoCCA, among others.

Amber Ahlborn - artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.

Nadia Oxford is a housekeeping robot who was refurbished into a warrior when the world's need for justice was great. Now that the galaxy is at peace (give or take a conflict here or there), she works as a freelance writer for various sites and magazines. Based in Toronto, Nadia prizes the certificate from the Ministry of Health declaring her tick and rabies-free.

Bob Mackey is a grad student, writer, and cyborg, who uses the powerful girl-repelling nanomachines mad science grafted onto his body to allocate time towards interests of the nerd persuasion. He believes that complaining about things on the Internet is akin to the fine art of wine tasting, but with more spitting into buckets.

Joe Keiser has a programming degree from Johns Hopkins University, a tiny apartment in Brooklyn, and a fake toy guitar built in the hollowed-out shell of a real guitar. He writes about games and technology for a variety of outlets. One day he will stop doing this. The day after that, police will find his body under a collapsed pile of (formerly neatly alphabetized) collector's edition tchotchkes.

Cole Stryker is an American freelance writer living in York, England, where he resides with his archeologist wife. He writes for a travel company by day and argues about pop culture on the internet by night. Find him writing regularly here and here.

Peter Smith is like the lead character of Irwin Shaw's The 80-Yard Run, except less athletic. He considers himself very lucky to have this job. But it's a little premature to take "jack-off of all trades" off his resume. Besides writing, travelling, and painting houses, Pete plays guitar in a rock trio called The Aye-Ayes. He calls them a 'power pop' band, but they generally sound more like Motorhead on a drinking binge.