World of Nintendo Metroid Samus

Straight out of planet Zebes comes Samus Aran a bounty hunter set on destroying Mertroids.  This toy version of Samus was made by Jakks Pacific and is part of series 1-2 from their World of Nintendo toy line.  This release also includes Samus in morph ball form as an accessory (the first print of this toy had it as a mystery box).

The quality of this toy is very impressive when compared to the price (around $12 Canadian).  It comes with multiple articulation points, although it is limited in the shoulders.  That’s not an issue for me though because I just want to be able to pose her while standing, which is easy.  And while the paint colorway may make it seem basic, it’s actually quite detailed with multiple colors spread throughout; even the morph ball is well painted.  I am very impressed by this figure, and it helps me build up hype for Metroid games and upcoming releases.

Metroid Wiki:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metroid

Jakks Pacific:

www.jakks.com

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk-g_HarcWY

Batman Toy Biz 1989 Action Figure

This Batman toy figure came out the same year the 1989 movie Batman by Tim Burton was released.  While it is part of the movie toy line, it’s funny how even back then you didn’t get a large variety of figures and playsets for a movie.  The company that made the toy line was Toy Biz, who actually made other DC Comics figures as well.  My favorite of course was this version of Batman.  Besides TMNT’s this was probably one of my most played-with toys as a kid back in 1989/1990.  From what I’ve read online a few years ago, there are actually a couple variations of the head sculpt.

The cool features from this toy are the accessories such as the Batrope, speargun, and Batarang.  The retractable Batrope or Batman's utility belt as it’s most commonly known, in particular was what I liked the most and was something I constantly broke from overuse as a kid.  Thankfully I was able to find this mint condition toy a few years ago for cheap.  While it’s not the most popular toy to collect, it’s very special to me and it’s one of my most prized toys from my collection.

Batman (1989 film):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_(1989_film)

Toy Biz Wiki:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toy_Biz

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdyyHc-4Iy0

Red Dead Redemption 2: Predictions

Here are my predictions for Red Dead Redemption 2.  As we all know Arthur Morgan is the new protagonist and the story takes place 12 years prior to the first game, Red Dead Redemption.  I found that odd at first, so it made me question why Rockstar Games would do that.  This caused me to come up with several storylines for RDR2.  In my story; Dutch van der Linde is the leader of the gang and as such starts off as a man who cares about every member of his gang.  His member’s follow him because they feel he’s doing good despite their wicked ways; just like Robin Hood.  Unfortunately this lifestyle eventually catches up to them, and the Bureau of Investigation starts chasing after the gang threatening their outlaw ways.  Dutch then suggests the gang should do one last bank heist and retire.  The gang is reluctant at first for fear of their wanted levels, but eventually concedes.  Arthur however finds out that Dutch is planning on stealing all the bank money and leaving his gang behind.  By the time Arthur is privy to this information it is too late, because the gang is off to the bank heist.  Arthur then races to save his friends, but again he is too late because most of them have died or have been captured (John Marston).  Arthur then decides to go after Dutch.  This leads to a grand shootout between Arthur and Dutch.  In the end Dutch escapes Arthur, but Arthur is left with all the bank money.  The game then goes into the future a few years later (Spoiler alert for first RDR) and we see Arthur is at the grave sight of John and Abigail Marston.  He just read in the newspaper of their deaths and is here to help raise/guide Jack Marston.  Jack eventually avenges his father’s killer, but must now travel to New York City or Washington to kill more BOI agents; this leads to Red Dead Redemption 3.  Can you imagine travelling to New York City in the 1920’s?  Jazz, the Babe, Harlem, mob shootouts, prohibition and a zeppelin floating over the NYC skyline.

Red Dead Redemption 2:

https://www.rockstargames.com/reddeadredemption2

Top Favorite: Shawarma

My favorite shawarma is from Family Shawarma & Falafel.  I’ve been coming to them for years because they offer the most delicious shawarmas in town.  Their chicken and meat is nicely seasoned (not very strong) and very flavourful.  For me they’re the perfect meal for late night and weekends when you’re hungry and want to eat cheap; two shawarmas are currently $7.95.  Here’s how I like to prepare mine: chicken, hummus, tahini, lettuce, extra tomatoes, turnip, garlic sauce and hot sauce; all nicely wrapped in a pita and then grilled for a minute.  My mouth keeps watering every time I think about it.

Name: Family Shawarma & Falafel

Address: 2778 Victoria Park Ave, North York

Phone: (416) 496-8010

Super Mario Odyssey Starter Pack

Well, I have to say today was a good day because Nintendo released Super Mario Odyssey with a starter pack.  The starter pack includes the original game and a traveller’s guide book.  The traveller’s guide is what I’m most excited for because (in my opinion) it acts like an “unofficial” manual.  While I love Switch games, one thing that I hate is their lack of physical manuals.  I’ve been a Nintendo fan since the 80’s so having a manual is part of the magic of owning a game.

The traveller’s guide book offers a simple overview of the game and the worlds to explore in beautiful colorful pages.  And just like a traditional manual it gives you a basic illustrated guide on how to use the controls.  I will definitely cherish this guide book and hopefully Nintendo keep’s doing this for their games (at least the popular ones).  Also included with this starter pack release is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Splatoon 2.

Nintendo:

https://www.nintendo.com/games/game-guide?pv=true#filter/switch|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|featured|des|starter%20pack|-|-

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTuLWcaRDBA

Sony PlayStation Classic

I am so excited to hear Sony is making a PlayStation Classic mini.  Obviously they’re copying Nintendo after their successful Classic mini series, but honestly who cares.  The fans are the winners here because we not only get to play classic games we all love, but we also get to discover new games we never played (especially the younger generation).

I was hoping Sony would do this for years, because I feel it necessary that classic games should be persevered.  It’s kind of like old TV shows and movies, where they were only shown once and then never seen again.  Can you imagine a world where Disney movies or Warner Bros. cartoons were only shown once and then disappeared?  But then thanks to the VCR, DVD’s, TV reruns, and the internet we all get to watch classic movies and TV shows.  And so the Classic mini series now allows us to re-play all those games from the past and also praise and study them for what they accomplished.  Fingers crossed that we get a PS2 Classic mini one day.

PlayStation:

https://blog.us.playstation.com/2018/09/18/introducing-playstation-classic-with-20-pre-loaded-games/

Casio G-Shock GLX5600A-3 G-Lide

When it comes to G Shocks my favorite style are the squares (also known as 5600’s).  I like squares because I grew up using a Timex Expedition Atlantis watch; which is your basic affordable every day digital watch.  That watch was slim and light like a Swatch, but built extraordinarily well (I still own one that is over 20 years old).  After years of wearing them I became used to only using slim watches, which is why I like 5600’s.

This square model is called a GLX5600A-3.  This watch is also a G-Lide, meaning it measures the waves and the lunar calendar.  It’s a particularly rare watch because it comes in a dark green colorway with yellow highlights.  I’m happy I bought this watch when I had the chance because I haven’t seen this color model sold ever again. Unfortunately that’s how it is when it comes to collecting G-Shocks.

Casio G-Shock:

https://www.casio.com/products/archive/watches/g-shock/glx5600a-3

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Fzdlbomj9I

Adidas Stan Smith

The Adidas Stan Smith is a pair of sneakers I never thought I would own again.  I had them as a child and I use to hate them.  Maybe it was my fault because I would play soccer in them and they would hurt my feet.  So anytime I saw the Stan Smith in stores, I would refuse to even look at them from the fear of the pain they had caused me.  But it wasn’t until recently that I slowly started warming up to them.  Their recent popularity caused me to be interested in them once again.  I also decided to do a little research on them as well.  I read about its history and how popular they were in England.  In fact they were so popular that Adidas had to stop selling them for fear of oversaturation.  Little by little my hype for this sneaker started to grow, until I had to buy them.

So far the sneaker has been amazing.  Adidas has updated the insole and they definitely feel more comfortable than what I had as a child.  It’s funny how sneaker technology from the past can seem so archaic by today’s standards.  The leather is nice because it’s thick and still soft, though I’m sure it’s a mix of synthetic leather.  And of course the simple design of the all white sneaker with green highlight and perforated three stripes pairs nicely with jeans or khakis.  I really love this sneaker, and I’m glad I decided to give them another chance.

Adidas Wiki:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adidas_Stan_Smith

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdF2k3nZFR4

World of Nintendo vs. Amiibo

When Nintendo released the 30^th anniversary Legend of Zelda amiibo figures I was heartbroken when I found out that they had sold out and a second release wasn’t likely.  I was also upset because Nintendo was up to their old tricks of intentionally releasing hard to find figures in order to create hype.  To a certain point I’m okay with hunting for collectables, but in this case Nintendo made them difficult to find (releasing in separate stores), and pre-ordering was the only means of reserving them (meaning you couldn’t choose a mint condition package in-store).  While I was upset initially, I did eventually cave in and decided to buy the figures from resellers while the prices were still “reasonable.”

Buying a just released amiibo from a reseller left me with bitter sweet feelings (knowing that my money isn’t going to Nintendo directly).  Meanwhile at the same time I was also collecting World of Nintendo figures. Unlike the 30^th anniversary Zelda amiibo, World of Nintendo figures were much easier to find, and retailed for a great price.  This is why I believe it’s better to collect and support World of Nintendo figures made by Jakks Pacific.  Unless you’re a hardcore Zelda collector, I recommend you stick to buying World of Nintendo figures, and occasionally buying amiibo when there’s a figure you like.  The benefits of WoN figures is that there are plenty to go around, they’re toys that are highly detailed and poseable, and a variety of  characters continue to be released.  And while they lack the features that amiibo add to games, I recommend you just buy NFC enabled amiibo cards online instead.  That way you won’t miss out on those features when you’re playing games and you’ll still have an awesome World of Nintendo collection.

Jakks Pacific:

www.jakks.com

Nintendo Amiibo:

www.nintendo.com/en_CA/amiibo/line-up

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6I0VD_8CJU

New Nintendo 2DS XL Hylian Shield Edition

What’s better than owning a 3DS?  Nothing.  Yet Nintendo always finds a way to sucker us back into buying something we already own, lol.  I’m not mad though, as long as it’s a special edition that’s worth collecting.  I’m usually not a collector of special edition consoles (even if it’s Zelda), but this Hylian Shield Edition I just couldn’t pass up on.  Previous Zelda handhelds have been pretty minimal in design (besides a few symbols), but this edition screams Zelda.  The colours are nice and bright, and resemble Link’s Hylian shield.  I fell in love with this console the first time I saw it, heck I was even first in line to pre-order it at EB Games.  And as if the design of the 2DS wasn’t enough it also comes with A Link Between Worlds pre-installed.  This is a must own for any Zelda collector.

The New Nintendo 2DS XL Hylian Shield Edition was released on July 2^nd, 2018 and retailed for $209.99 Canadian.  It was a North American exclusive, sold only in EB Games in Canada, and Gamestop.  It came with a pre-installed version The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, and a charger.

Nintendo:

www.nintendo.ca

EB Games:

www.ebgames.ca

Ralph Lauren Polo Bear Coffee Mug

One of the best parts of the Polo Ralph Lauren brand is how large and diverse the brand is when it comes to offering items.  Off the top of my head I`ve seen them sell everything from clothing, to shoes, paint, puppy apparel, and even home décor.  Lately though, I have been loving their home accessories, such as this coffee mug.  This mug features the iconic Polo teddy bear in a tuxedo and holding a present.  This stoneware mug is microwave and dishwasher safe, a feature I appreciate because I collect mugs.  While the mug is rather simple in design, it`s something I appreciate more because it`s classy and timeless.

Polo Ralph Lauren:

www.ralphlauren.com

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTkw9-KE41c

Adidas Pure Boost

I’ve been waiting to buy a pair of Adidas shoes with Boost for a while now.  While initially they were selling out fast, I decided to wait until things settled before I bought a pair.  Thankfully my patience paid off because I finally found a nice pair on sale.  The model I bought is called Adidas Pure Boost S81992 and they come in a “trace khaki” colorway.  The bottom is a mix of gum and Boost, while the uppers is knitted with a khaki digital camo pattern.

While they are running shoes, I decided to use them more as walking (mall) shoes because of the colorway.  Just like white sneakers, they’re susceptible to getting dirty if you wear them outdoors (and I want to keep them looking clean and fresh for as long as possible).  So far from the times I have worn them I have to say, Boost is very impressive because it felt comfortable after hours of walking and the knitted uppers allowed for foot breathability (which is welcomed on hot summer days).  I’m glad Adidas is finding success with this sneaker and Boost because they’ve been one of my favorite brands for years and I’ll keep supporting them as long as they keep making these comfortable sneakers.

Adidas:

www.adidas.com

Adidas Boost Wiki:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boost_(material)