Gang of Five (Collecting Toys - August 1994)

I was scanning a different article from the August 1994 issue of Collecting Toys magazine when I came across this one about Japanese toy robots. It seemed fitting to post about this one first and this week, though I won't say why until maybe next month. The article is about five toys made in Japan during the 1950s by Masudaya's Modern Toys, and they are quite rare today. Although I've never specifically collected robots, I have shared photos of some that I do own, and this is the second magazine article about toy robots I've posted this year. The first was The Robot Invasion from a 1984 issue of Boys' Life.

Year 9: August Update

When I went to write this post I was surprised to find that I hadn't actually written a monthly update since February. Unfortunately, I don't have much planned other than to keep scanning some magazine articles, and I do have more video game ads to share eventually. Despite not having a lot of actual work to do, it feels like I've been busy and I haven't kept up on much game and toy news. The best announcement I saw recently was LEGO's Batman Arkham Asylum, a 2,953-piece set that comes with 16 mini-figures, including Batman, Robin, Batwoman, Catwoman, and nine villains dressed in orange jumpsuits. It releases on September 5th at a price of $299.99. Also, now available from LEGO is the Decepticon Soundwave, who joins the previous LEGO incarnations of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. He does transform and has cassettes of Laserbeak and Ravage. The 1,505-piece set is available exclusively at the LEGO online store for $189.99.

Another new toy announcement comes from Jakks Pacific. Apparently there was a Sonic the Hedgehog and DC crossover comic book back in March, and now there are action figures based on it. Jakks Pacific will be releasing a variety of figures, including single Sonic characters dressed as superheroes, such as Sonic as The Flash, Amy as Wonder Woman, and Silver as Green Lantern. There will also be double packs of Superman with Knuckles, Batman with Shadow, and Cyborg with Tails. Jakks unveiled new action figures in its Super Mario line and The Simpsons too.

As far as video games, well, Nintendo did release the Switch 2 since I last wrote an update. That was June 5th, the week before the former week of E3. It costs $499.99 and is less powerful than its competitors as usual, though it is getting some of the higher end games that previously released on PlayStation and Xbox systems. I didn't find anything too exciting come out of the aforementioned former E3 week. Maybe it's because I'm getting old, though I think it has more to do with the lack of originality being shown, plus I don't own any hardware new enough to play most of the big games releasing these days. 

Yep, that was a short update. Sorry it's been such a slow year for the blog!

Thanks for reading,
Jonathan

Masters of the Game: Special Sweepstakes Edition (1992)

Masters of the Game was a newsletter from Acclaim Entertainment that promoted the games it, and its subsidiary LJN, published. I've got a few issues Acclaim mailed myself, all for free, though a couple that I have display $3 and $3.50 cover prices. I can't imagine anyone actually purchased them, as they're quite small, and a video game magazine with coverage of a wide variety of games for about the same price would have been more enticing. Of course, most of Acclaim's games either featured licensed properties or were home ports of popular arcade games, which didn't appeal to everyone.

This particular issue says "Special Sweepstakes Edition" on the front cover, and the back cover does have a quiz and entry form for a contest with an entertainment center as the top prize. While I couldn't find a published date within the newsletter, the sweepstakes shows a cutoff date of November 1, 1992, so I'd guess it was released in fall 1992.

The Death and Return of Superman Game Reviews

A new Superman movie hits theaters this week, as DC reboots its movie universe with David Corenswet replacing Henry Cavill as the Man of Steel. The comic book and game title "The Death and Return of Superman" is fitting in this sense as well, but that's not why I chose this particular game to scan magazine coverage of this week. I chose it because I couldn't find any other Superman video game reviews in my magazine collection. There were 11 Superman games released before the year 2000, my usual cutoff date for blog posts, starting with the Atari 2600 Superman from 1979. Surprisingly, I don't have much experience with any of them, though I think I did briefly take a look at Superman for the Nintendo 64 to see if it was as bad as the critics said, and it was. Sunsoft published The Death and Return of Superman in 1994 for both the Super NES and Genesis, and while the only magazine reviews I found are for the Super NES version, from what I've read, the games are very similar, but with different soundtracks. Both versions were developed by Blizzard Entertainment.

In the August 1994 issue of GamePro, writer "Lawrence of Arcadia" enjoyed the game quite a bit, awarding Superman no lower than a 4.5 out of 5 across the magazine's four ratings categories. I also scanned a four-page strategy guide from GamePro's September 1994 issue that features the game on the cover, and it's the only video game magazine I own with a Superman cover. Maybe it's just the timing of my magazine collection, mostly from the late '80s and early '90s, but Batman and Spider-Man saw a lot more time in the video game spotlight than Superman. Electronic Gaming Monthly's four "Review Crew" member (Mike Weigand isn't part of the scoring), rated the game a 6, 5, 5, and 5, so very average and much lower than competitor GamePro. 

Pin & Button Collection

I never specifically collected pins or buttons, but I still ended up with quite a few. Although only a handful are related to video games or franchises associated with toys, I thought it would be fun to share some photos of them. This isn't my whole collection as I opted to leave out some, like political buttons and one promoting beer (a Spuds MacKenzie button), since this blog is meant for all ages, and there are likely others I don't have in my button/pin box and can't recall what they are. Also, a few have already appeared on the blog, such as the Star Wars and Batman buttons. The photos are grouped in themes and some pins are still sealed in plastic. One more note, I've not been to all the locations featured on the buttons, as some are souvenirs from places my parents visited.

Video Games

I acquired all of these for free from my former job working on a video game database. A few may have been packaged with games while the rest were handed out at conventions or included with press materials. Unfortunately, the SimCity pin yellowed over time.

Disney

The Disney buttons might all have been purchased or acquired at the theme parks. Two of the pins at the bottom right were handed out at the entry gate during one of Disney World's anniversaries, the 15th I believe. I'm not sure what The Disney Fair is, but that's one big button.

Characters

Here are buttons representing Star Wars, Batman, Smurfs, Sesame Street, The Flintstones, and Peanuts. That Ewok button has flashing red lights for eyes but I cannot find the type of batteries it uses, plus the insides are corroded and wires need to be soldered to repair it. I know I own a second one that I haven't looked inside of yet, perhaps that one is in better shape, but probably not.

NASA

All three of these buttons were likely purchased at the Kennedy Space Center in the fall of 1986. The one in the upper right is from the 21st space shuttle mission, dubbed STS-51-J, that deployed satellites for the Department of Defense. I think the space shuttle pin might actually be a tie tack, but tie tacks are pins too.

Locations

I've been to many of the spots featured on these buttons. Bullet Hill School was built in 1762 and is a historic site in the town I grew up in, it's not a school I attended. I'm not sure what the pin that looks a bit like the Phoenix, AZ flag is. I thought it might represent Phoenix but it has something else on it, maybe an airplane. What is World Fest '99? I don't know. The Internet tells me that World Fest is America's largest international festival. I'm sure it was my parents that went to Silver Dollar City and bought those buttons. The only reason the Ontario button is on its own is because I took that photo in May and the others in February. It's a recent acquisition from an estate sale, though I have been to Ontario a few times.. 

Sports

As some of you know, I grew up in Connecticut and so I'm primarily a fan of teams from the Northeast. I've also lived in Arizona and many of the Diamondbacks buttons and pins were purchased by my mother because she likes them. I did attend the first Diamondbacks game in 1998, the 2011 MLB All-Star Game, and Super Bowl 30 fan events, not the actual Super Bowl game, and have the pins representing those. Many of the random team pins are from cities one or both of my parents visited or they passed through airports in those cities and purchased a button as a gift. Unfortunately, I've never been to the Olympics, though I do have two Lake Placid buttons and five pins, most recently a 2024 Paris pin I got for free from my Internet provider. 

Everything Else

Some of these, like "Born to Shop" and the others in that photo, as well as Bananarama and probably the 1983 "Reach for a Rainbow Today" button from Russ, originally belonged to my sister. Space Jam could have gone in the sports group above, though it is a movie so I paired with with Bio-Dome, a movie I've never seen. Gainfield is a school I attended and I don't know what the 29th anniversary button is for, however, based on the colors I believe it is Caldor, a store that turned 29 in 1980.

While the red-eyed, demonic-like Ewok button is great, and I'm sure I liked the ice show, I don't remember it. I'd say my favorite buttons tend to be associated with fond memories, or at least things I still sort of remember. I can recall visiting the Bronx Zoo with my grandmother, watching Sha Na Na on TV with my family, and experiencing Epcot Center for the first time. Those three buttons stand out, as does the NASA Challenger button, which is probably my favorite overall, even though it is a sad memory. My sister and I stayed home from school to watch the shuttle launch on television, and what happened that day is not something you ever forget.