I picked this GBA game up off of ebay and the clock battery was dead, so in this video I replace it.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
Superplexus - Three Dimensional Marble Maze Fun!
The Superplexus is a three dimensional marble maze. incredibly fun, think of it as the arcade game Marble Madness but in real life.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
How to Buy Arcade Games
Links to things used in this video:
- http://forums.arcade-museum.com/
- https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mufumbo.craigslist.notification.android
Hopefully you will find this useful if you are looking to buy an arcade game for you home.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Worst Toy Ever - Stinkor
If you ever had one of these I am sure you feel the same way. Why would anyone make a toy that stinks like a skunk???
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Crazy Kong Fan playing some serious Big Kong!
Crazy Kong Fan stopped by on his way home from FunSpot and shows us how to play the incredibly difficult Big Kong. Some amazing barrel steering and he also shows us the barrel stage cheat.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
Arcade Repair Tip: Ordering Capacitors
When ordering capacitors from mouser.com you can enter a customer part number, use this to help you later when you install the capacitors!
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Monday, October 3, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Friday, August 5, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
How to: Serial Number Plates for the Virtual Boy Arcade Cabinet
Thanks everyone for all the views on the video on Youtube! This video shows how I made the custom serial number and dedication plates for my Virtual Boy Arcade Cabinet.
Files:
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Arcade Virtual Boy
So why did I make this arcade style cabinet for my Virtual Boy? Well there were several reasons. First, I picked up an extra Virtual Boy from the local flea market for $5, but was missing the power supply, stand, and controller. I wanted to make use of this extra Virtual Boy so I would need to replace these parts. Then one day I was picking up an empty Simpson's arcade cabinet in a storage unit from a fellow collector and he showed me an Atari Battlezone he had. I had not seen one of these since the 80's. I struck me that the game's graphics looked a lot like Red Alarm (a Virtual Boy game). It also shared other things as well, the periscope style display, and it had dual joysticks, while the Virtual Boy had dual d-pads.
I have always thought that the Virtual Boy was a fun and unique system that was underappreciated for several reasons. The main reason was the stand, it is this tiny, cheap almost afterthought. I often wondered if Nintendo had a designed a better stand, but then replaced it the current one to cut costs. Anyway it makes the system very uncomfortable to play. You have to always be hunched over a table to play it. Most people back in 1995 when they thought of VR they expected a headset that would be held to your head with a strap. I can imagine there are liability risks with selling a system like that, especially when little kids would be playing it.
The Virtual Boy is considered to be a failure on the part of its designer Yokoi Gunpei. At Nintendo he had designed and produced some of my favorite game and systems. It seemed not right that the Virtual Boy be regarded poorly. So this cabinet was created to bring more attention to the Virtual Boy and how unique and fun it is and I have dedicated it in the memory of Yokoi Gunpei.
Design:
As I said above, Atari Battlezone was a major inspiration for the design of this cabinet. The controls mimic Battlezone with how I have the dual joysticks mounted towards the center with the buttons on the outside. Also each of the joysticks are top fire sticks with the buttons mapped the L and R buttons on the Virtual Boy. I also added additional L and R buttons on the sides of the cabinet for playing Galatic Pinball, it gives the game a more authentic pinball feel. The cabinet styling is modeled after 80's Nintendo arcade cabinets like Donkey Kong, Popeye, Punch Out, etc. The base is a smaller black platform and control panel resembles a Nintendo design. The Virtual Boy mounts on a sliding rail so that the height can be adjusted for the user. It also uses the original clamp from the Virtual Boy stand so that the Virtual Boy headset can be removed and replaced easily.
Artwork:
Most of the artwork on the cabinet consists of the Virtual Boy logo and Nintendo logo. A friend Ed cut out the artwork from vinyl for me, which really makes this project look like a legitimate Nintendo product. I designed the control panel graphics and marquee.
Dedication:
I made a dedication plaque dedicating this to the memory of Yokoi Gunpei, I hope that this is not seen as an offence to anyone.
Electronics:
The electronics in the cabinet are fairly simple. I used the circuit board out of a Virtual Boy controller and created an arcade style wiring harness from it. The power for the unit uses a standard Super Nintendo power supply. And I used a PC power supply 3 pin 120v socket on the outside for the power to the cabinet. Inside there is a standard 120v power outlet that the SNES power supply plugs into. Also the marquee light bulb plugs into the other socket. The power is turned on and off from a toggle switch on the back which turns off the power to the outlet.
Video:
Gameplay:
I have found that this cabinet really improves my enjoyment of playing the Virtual Boy. It is more fun you play it in this arcade style and less of a bother trying to find a surface to play it on.
Thanks:
- Primarily thanks got to my wife, who tolerated all the time I spent on this project when it would have been better spent with her.
- Thanks to Yokoi Gunpei for designing all the wonderful games and systems in his career;
- My father for his assistance with the cabinet woodworking and rail mount;
- John (Kawydud) for cutting the vinyl artwork;
- DogP and Ian (RetroHacker) for their technical assistance;
- Phetishboy for his advice and inspiration when it comes to painting and restoration;
· I also want to thank all of the members on the KLOV forums for the encouragement and advice.
More:
Here is the thread on the KLOV forums where I log my progress building this cabinet
Slide show:
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Donkey Kong Junior Monitor Issues
This is how this Donkey Kong Junior came when I got it, I have yet to start working on it yet. Right now it has a Playchoice 10 in it.