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Showing posts with label Donkey Kong. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Donkey Kong. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Avane 2015 Shopping Guide: 10 Gifts for Retro Gamers

We have tons of vintage game collectibles for sale. Gaming goods are our primary personal collection and because we like them so much we stock a bunch of them.


Mario Brother 8 bit Fortress Accessory Holder:

NES 8 bit Mario accessory for sale
This is a delightful wooden accessory holder shaped like the 8 bit fortresses at the end of the levels in the first Super Mario Brothers game. Perfect for holding Wii motes, or pencils or just about anything else (one of ours holds Animal crossing cards) While this is a new Japanese release, it's still sure to make any vintage gamer's day.


Sonic the Hedgehog Knuckles Plushie:

Sonic the Hedgehog Knuckles Plush for sale.
Back when Sonic and Knuckles came out, it was the coolest thing most gamers had ever seen. Not only did we get a sweet new sonic character, but he could be back ported into the previous Sonic games. Thus everyone's love for knuckles was born. This plush isn't that vintage,  but it still looks like the same knuckles we all fell in love with 20 years ago. A fun gift for any fan.


1989 Legend of Zelda Link Shaped Gum Container:

Vintage Legend of Zelda Figure Gum Container for Sale
This is a super vintage NES era Link gum container, note his delightfully simplistic old school character design. Everyone loves the Link, so there's pretty much no way to go wrong with this gift choice. This one is empty so for added fun you could fill it up with the recipients favorite candy too.

Final Fantasy VIII Seifer Figure:

Final Fantasy 8 Seifer Figure for sale
Final Fantasy has been a staple game series for the last 26 years, but the PS1 era games were among the best. Anyone who owned a Playstation and had even a passing interest in RPGs put at least few hours into the games. Final Fantasy VIII has long been a fan favorite and Seifer was an antagonist many of us loved to hate.  This figure is in great shape and Seifer even still has his gunblade, a fab gift choice for any FFVIII fan.

Punch-Out!! Sticker Card:

Vintage Nintendo Punch-Out!! sticker for sale.
Nintendo put out a whole line of these hints and tips cards with stickers on the front and tips for a random NES game on the back. This card has a great image of Little Mac giving glass Joe one heck of an uppercut. Punch-Out!! is a classic game, but was pretty under marketed, there's not a lot of merchandise available for it. So this makes an unexpected and fun stocking stuffer for your favorite retro gamer.

Virtua Fighter UFO Catcher Plush Pai:

Virtua Fighter Pai for Sale
I'm old enough to remember when Virtua Fighter was the hottest thing in the arcade. While other games where still relying on old 2D sprites, Virtua Fighter introduced us to the world of 3D fighting. By today's standards it's pretty amazingly polygonal and pretty ugly, but that doesn't mean it doesn't ignite the flame of nostalgia. This is UFO Catcher plush features Pai in her Virtua Fighter 2 outfit and thankfully is a lot less blocky than her in game counterpart. She's got her original tag and is the perfect gift for retro fighting game enthusiasts.

Vintage NES Promo Box Rad Racer:

Vintage NES promo box for sale.
This is an incredibly hard to find Mock Up Box for the NES Classic, Rad Racer. This features full box art from the front and the back of the game on heavy weight card stock. This was probably used in stores in lieu of letting customers handle actual games before purchase. A really unique piece for anyone's collection. If you know a hardcore NES fan, this is sure to be one of the most unique things they've ever gotten.


 1982 Donkey Kong Sticker Card of Mario:

1980s Mario from Donkey Kong Sticker for Sale
I know this will be hard for some people to believe but at one time Mario wasn't a plumber, he was a carpenter. Not only that,  he sported a curly handlebar mustache and was in love with Pauline instead of Princess Peach. It's crazy but true. This card is part of the Donkey Kong card collection (of which we have several if you're looking for vintage DK/mario/pauline goodness) and is a really fun image of that earliest incarnation of the Mario we know and love today. A great choice to give your favorite Mario fan a laugh.

Frogger Cartoon Model Animation Cel:

80s Frogger Cartoon cel for sale
Back in the 80s there was this lovely thing called the Saturday Morning Supercade, it was a block of cartoons based on the popular arcade games of the day. So Pac-Man, Frogger, Q-bert, Donkey Kong and others all got Saturday morning cartoons. This is a model cel from an episode of Frogger (model cels are used by animators to determine color and height differences between the main characters and other characters a given episode). This hand painted cel is a one of kind collectible perfect for any truly old school retro gaming fan.

Mega Man Met Figure:

Mega Man Met figure for sale
Mega Man has been a gaming classic since the first game hit the scene back in 1987. Capcom hasn't done much with the plucky little android lately, but that doesn't make him any less beloved. This is a Japanese Keshi (small rubber eraser like figures sold in capsule machines) of a met. Met as been causing trouble for Mega Man as long as the franchise has been around and is easily recognized by even the most casual mega man player, a great choice for any Mega Man fan.


We seriously have tons more gifts perfect for the retro game lover in your life, so if you don't like this list check out the rest of our  gaming memorabilia for sale.

Don't forget to stop by our shop:
 

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Last minute Christmas shopping guide: 11 Gifts for Retro Gamers

There's a few shopping days left before mailing cut offs. So if you're looking for a unique vintage collectible, we've got you covered. If you've got friends or family with a flair for the geeky we've probably got the perfect something in stock at www.avaneshop.com right now!

 We're doing a series of these shopping guides and this is our final guide, gift for retro gamers.

We have tons of vintage game collectibles for sale. Gaming goods are our primary personal collection and because we like them so much we stock a bunch of them.


Sonic the Hedgehog Knuckles Plushie:

Knuckles plush for sale

Back when Sonic and Knuckles came out, it was the coolest thing most gamers had ever seen. Not only did we get a sweet new sonic character, but he could be back ported into the previous Sonic games. And thus everyone's love for knuckles was born. This plush is a lot newer but it still retains Knuckles' vintage flair. A fun gift for any fan priced at just $8.


1989 Legend of Zelda Link Shaped Gum Container:

Vintage Legend of Zelda Collectible for sale
This is a super vintage NES era Link gum container, note his delightfully simplistic old school character design. Everyone loves the Link, so there's pretty much no way to go wrong with this gift choice unless the recipient tries to eat the 24 year old candy. If you don't let that happen it's $13 worth of vintage gift goodness.

Sonic The Hedgehog Joyride Figure:

Joyride Sonic the Hedgehog Figure for Sale

Sonic has been a fan favorite ever since his first game hit the Genesis back in 1991, and with good reason as the vintage sonic games are some of the best ever made. This particular Sonic is made by Joyride and was a aprt of the hard to find 90s line of Gamepro figures. He's a piece missing from a lot of sonic collection a great gift choice for $40.

Final Fantasy VIII Seifer Figure:

Final Fantasy 8 Seifer Figure for sale
Final Fantasy has been a staple game series for the last 26 years, but the Playstation era games really took them up a notch. Anyone who owned a playstation and had even a passing interest in RPGs put at least few hours into the games. Really those 90s days of excellent PS1 RPGs hasn't been matched since.  Help a friend remember those glorious PS1 days where the JRPGS were plentiful and well crafted by giving them Seifer with his trademark gunblade just $10.

Tekken 3 Xiaoyu and Panda Figure:

Tekken 3 Figure for Sale
Tekken was the fighter that defined fighting games for the PS1 and Tekken 3 is certainly one of the best Tekken games ever made, if not the best. Xiaoyu's first appearance is in Tekken 3 (though she's in every subsequent game) and this vintage figure from 1998 features her in her original outfit with panda. She's only $12 and the perfect gift for an old school Tekken fan.

Vintage Super Mario Brothers Trophy Figure:

Mario Trophy Figure for sale
This is a vintage 1998 Mario Trophy Figure featuring Bowser and Princess Peach. This has both of them with their original 80's character designs. This is in great shape and would be sure to delight any retro Mario fan. It's an awesome gift priced at $30.

Virtua Fighter UFO Catcher Plush Pai:

Virtua Fighter Pai for Sale
I'm old enough to remember when Virtua Fighter was the hottest thing in the arcade. While other games where still relying on old 2D sprites, Virtua Fighter introduced us to the world of 3D fighting. By today's standards it's pretty amazingly polygonal and kind of ugly, but that doesn't mean it doesn't ignite the flame of nostalgia. This is UFO Catcher plush features Pai in her Virtua Fighter 2 outfit and thankfully is a lot less blocky than her in game counterpart. She's got her original tag and is the perfect gift for retro fighting game enthusiasts priced at just $6. 

Vintage 1987 NES Promo Box Art RC Pro AM:

Vintage NES promo for sale
This is an incredibly hard to find Mock Up Box for the NES Classic, RC Pro AM. This features full box art from the front and the back of the game on heavy weight card stock. This was probably used in stores in lieu of letting customers handle actual games before purchase. A really unique piece for anyone's collection, if you know a hardcore NES fanis sure to be one of the most unique things they've ever gotten and it's a deal at $12.

Vintage 1980s Pacman Mug:

Vintage Pacman Mug for Sale
There's not a lot to say about Pac-Man other than seriously, who doesn't love Pac-Man? You could give this mug to your grandma and she'd know who it was how many video game characters can most of us say that about? This mug feature's Pac-Man's old design where he still had a nose and the ghost have arms. At $12 this is a really delightful gift sure to make anyone's morning coffee better.

 1982 Donkey Kong Sticker Card of Mario:

1980s Mario from Donkey Kong Sticker for Sale
I know this will be hard for some people to believe but at one time Mario wasn't a plumber, he was a carpenter. Not only that he sported a curly handlebar mustache and was in love with Pauline instead of Princess Peach. Crazy but true. This card is part of the Donkey Kong card collection (of which we have several if you're looking for vintage DK/mario/pauline goodness) and is a really fun image of that earliest incarnation of the Mario we know and love today. Just $2 to give your favorite Mario fan a laugh.

Street Fighter Alpha Pencilboard:

Street Fighter Alpha Pencil Board for sale
Street Fighter Alpha was one  of 1995's best arcade games,  and was a treat for Street Fighter fans who  had to wait 4 years for a game that wasn't just a variation on Street Fighter II. It introduced new character and storylines that became part of the standard story for the games. This Street Fighter pencil baord has an awesome image of Akuma and Ryu facing off. it would look fantastic in anyones game room, a great gift choice and it's on sale for just $6.


We seriously have tons more gift perfect for the retro game lover in your life, so if you don't like this list check out the rest of our vintage (and newer) gaming memorabilia for sale.

Don't forget to stop by our shop:
 

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Last minute Christmas shopping guide: Gifts for Retro Gamers

Just starting your Christmas shopping or just looking for a perfectly unique present that you can't find in retail stores? We've got you covered.  If you've got friends or family with a flair for the geeky we've probably got the perfect something in stock at www.avaneshop.com right now!

We're going to do a series of these shopping guides over the next few days and this is our sixth  and final guide focusing on gifts for retro gaming fans. Be sure to check our  previous guides for Sailor Moon Dolls, Sailor Moon Toys, Anime Collectibles,  15 gifts for 80's Kids & 10 gifts for 90s kids.

We have tons of vintage game collectibles for sale. Gaming goods are our primary personal collection and because we like them so much we stock a bunch of them.

Spyro The Dragon 32 inch Plush Doll:

Vintage Spyro the dragon plush
This Spyro Plush falls a bit outside the realm of retro having been released in the early '00s, but it's still his old loveable character design popularized in the late 90s PS1 days. I remember back when Spyro was the "face" of the PS1 along with Crash Bandicoot and Sweet Tooth (Needles Kane) from Twisted Metal. The perfect gift choice for thos who fondly recall picking up gems, hunting dragon eggs and trying to set those annoying egg thieves on fire. Due size and rarity he's priced at $50 but it's a small price to pay for such an awesome present.

1989 Legend of Zelda Link Shaped Gum Container:

Vintage Legend of Zelda Collectible for sale
This is a super vintage NES era Link gum container, note his delightfully simplistic old school character design. Everyone loves the Link, so there's pretty much no way to go wrong with this gift choice unless the recipient tries to eat the 24 year old candy. If you don't let that happen it's $13 worth of vintage gift goodness. (we also them available in blue & red)

Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Knuckles Figure:

Sonic Knuckles Figure for Sale
Back when Sonic and Knuckles came out, it was the coolest thing most gamers had ever seen. Not only did we get a sweet new sonic character, but he could be back ported into the previous Sonic games. And thus everyone's love for knuckles was born. This figure was technically a Sonic 3 promo but probably came out  a few months after Sonic 3 was released to coincide with Sonic and Knuckles. This Knuckles is just $3 and his special lock on technology allows him to be placed just about anywhere one needs some vintage gaming nostalgia.

Final Fantasy VIII Zell Figure:

Final Fantasy 8 Zell Figure for Sale
Final Fantasy has been a staple game series for the last 26 years, but the Playstation era games really took them up a notch. Anyone who owned a playstation and had even a passing interest in RPGs put at least few hours into the game. Really those 90s days of excellent PS1 RPGs hasn't been matched since. So for $4 Give Zell to friend to help them remember those glorious PS1 days where the JRPGS were plentiful and well crafted.


Super Mario Brothers 3 Wristband:
Super Mario Brothers 3 Raccoon Mario for Sale
This is a newer product only a few years old but features Mario's vintage classic SMB3 Raccoon Design embroidered on the front. Mario 3 was one of the greatest games ever made so you're sure to have some on your gift list who's appreciate this, and it's easy on the wallet at only $6.

Tekken 3 Xiaoyu and Panda Figure:

Tekken 3 Figure for Sale
Tekken was the fighter that defined fighting games for the PS1 and Tekken 3 is certainly one of the best Tekken games ever made, if not the best. Xiaoyu first appearance is in Tekken 3 (though she's in every subsequent game) and this vintage figure from 1998 features her in her original outfit with panda. She's only $12 and the perfect gift for an old school Tekken fan.

Vintage Super Mario Brothers 2 Mario on Vine Figure:

Vintage Mario Figure for Sale
This is a super vintage 24 year old figure from SMB2. Applause did a a set of these Mario 2 figures with Mario in various situations and this particular one is Mario climbing a vine, no word however as to whether or not there's a hoopster nearby. This $7 figure features Mario old school character design and would be well loved by anyone with an appreciation for NES Mario. (we've also got Mario Jumping a Koopa and Mario with  mushroom from this same line)

Virtua Fighter UFO Catcher Plush Pai:

Virtua Fighter Pai for Sale
I'm old enough to remember when Virtua Fighter was the hottest thing in the arcade. While other games where still relying on old 2D sprites, Virtua Fighter introduced us to the world of 3D fighting. By today's standards it's pretty amazingly polygonal and kind of ugly, but that doesn't mean it doesn't ignite the flame of nostalgia. This is UFO Catcher plush features Pai in her Virtua Fighter 2 outfit and thankfully is a lot less blocky than her in game counterpart. She's got her original tag and is the perfect gift for retro fighting game enthusiasts priced at just $6. 

Vintage 1987 NES Promo Box Art Rad Racer:

Rare NES Promo Box for Sale

This is an incredibly hard to find Mock Up Box for the NES Classic, Rade Racer. This features full box art from the front and the back of the game on heavy weight card stock. This was probably used in stores in lieu of letting customers handle actual games before purchase. A really unique piece for anyone's collection, if you know a hardcore NES fan this $25 gift is sure to be one of the most unique things they've ever gotten.

Vintage 1980s Pacman Mug:

Vintage Pacman Mug for Sale
There's not a lot to say about Pacman other than seriously, who doesn't love Pacman? You could give this mug to your grandma and she'd know who it was how many video game characters can most of us say that about? This mug feature's pacman's old design where he still had a nose and the ghost have arms. At $12 this is a really delightful gift sure to make anyone's morning coffee better.

 1982 Donkey Kong Sticker Card of Mario:

1980s Mario from Donkey Kong Sticker for Sale
I know this will be hard for some people to believe but at one time Mario wasn't a plumber, he was a carpenter. Not only that he sported a curly handlebar mustache and was in love with Pauline instead of Princess Peach. Crazy but true. This card is part of the Donkey Kong card collection (of which we have several if you're looking for vintage DK/mario/pauline goodness) and is a really fun image of that earliest incarnation of the Mario we know and love today. Just $2 to give your favorite Mario fan a laugh.

Soul Calibur Mitsurugi Action figure:

Soul Calibur figure for Sale
I'm going to come right out and say it, Soul Calibur was the best reason to own a Dreamcast. Don't get me wrong there were great games on the Dreamcast, especially fighting games (I'm looking at you Marvel Vs Capcom 2) but Soul Calibur was the pinnacle. This figure was from the first run of figures for Soul Calibur and features regular character, Mitsurugi the angry Samurai. This figure is new on card and is $15 of gift giving perfection. (we also have Xianghua from the same line)

Donkey Kong Cereal Commercial Cel:


Donkey Kong Cereal Commercial Cel for Sale

Donkey Kong cereal was made for only 2 years from 1982 to 1984, but those who got it remember it very fondly. This is an original Animation cel of the Donkey Kong Cereal Commercial and features DK about to toss some of the cereal's signature crunchy "barrels" down at Mario. It's in really amazing shape for being 30 years old! It's $26 and makes a really unique gift for any Donkey fan.

We seriously have tons more gift perfect for the retro game lover in your life, so if you don't like this list check out the rest of our vintage (and newer) gaming memorabilia for sale.

Don't forget to stop by our shop:
 

Friday, May 24, 2013

Shop Spotlight: Animation Cels and Sketches

Animation cels  are single frames of movement hand painted on acetate. Animation sketches are drawn before the cel can be made. Before everything was done by computers every single movement of an animated series had to be hand drawn and then hand painted by an animator. So in most cases while there are similar cels in a given sequence of animation each cel is one of a kind. Production cels are the animation equivalent of Movie props. We might be a little biased because of our large collection but we really think that due to their one of a kind nature cels are probably one of the best collectibles from any fandom. Here's a small smattering of what we currently have in stock:





This is an awesome cel from the Hentai Sailor Moon parody, Venus 5. This is an action shot of the Usagi/Sailor Moon equivilent, Venus Pink. This cel is an A2 end which means it's the last cel of only 2 in the entire sequence. It also comes with the matching animator's sketch. Venus 5 art is surprisingly hard to find (lots of eechi Sailor Moon fans in the world maybe?)  For just $30 this fantastic action shot can grace your collection.




Sometimes when buying cels it's more about appreciation for the artwork or character designer thanomes with  the show itself. The New version of the Classic Hurricane Polymar (Holy Blood) was only 2 episodes and didn't quite capture the magic of the original as far as most viewers were concerned. However it did boast character designs by Yasoumi Umetsu (best known for his work on Kite and Mezzo Forte) So the series has great art. This is a real cool looking shot of an enemy in the Polymar suit visor. It comes with a bonus cel and is on sale for $5






Angelique is super popular Japanese dating sim game that is a spin on the classic harem meme but making the main character a young girl and harem a bevy of bishounen protectors. In addition to the original games there were a few OVA animations made which is where this sketch is from. We've only seen sketches from angelique twice including the pieces we currently have available so they're quite rare. This is an especially attractive sketch of guardian Oscar and is $10.








This is an animator's sketch from a Donkey Kong Cereal Commercial from 1983. It's a great image of DK and Pauline on top of the cereal box.  To watch the original commercial go here. This piece of Video game (and breakfast time) history can be the newest addition to your collection for $20.







If you were a child in the 80's you or a friend or a sister probably had a charmkins toy. They were cute little character charms made by Hasbro. This is from cel is from a TV commercial that was done by the
 same studio that did Hasbro's My Little Pony Commercials (and it shows). The characters are: Twinkle, Hyacinthia,  Brown-eyed Susan, and Bouncing Bet. Charmkins got one short movie and a handful of commercials so animation art is very rare. This set-up is several cels on a laser-copy background, yours for $30.




As we mentioned earlier we're animation cel collector ourselves and have built up a sizeable gallery (please note that cels in our personal collection are NOT for sale) over the years, so when we decide to sell something from our collection it goes in the shop meaning we've have a decent selection of cels available for sale most of the time. It's also worth noting that while we mostly sell original production pieces made in the process of making an animation, but we do occasionally have reproduction cels, collector's cels and fan cels. Non production cels are just made as collectible items and were not pieces used in the production of a given film or series, they're pretty but usally a lot less valuable (and often can be one of 100's made). When buying cels you should always double check the item you're getting.

~Stephanie

Don't forget to stop by our shop:
 

Monday, September 21, 2009

Collection oddities: Donkey Kong Card Game

I've finally managed to get together another collection oddity post. If you've read the oddities featured in this blog previously, you'll notice that we collect a wide of variety of strange objects from our various fandoms. One of the weirdest things that are more than a one-off bad marketing move (I'm looking at you crazy Irwin Sailor Moon toys), are Board games based on video games. There are lots of these based on games from pacman to Myst. Like most other things we feature in these weird little spotlights, it was most likely a bid to capitalize on the latest craze by branding as much varied merchandise as possible and hoping some of it resonated with the public. Outside of some game branded remakes of classics ( Uno,  Risk, Monopoly and Jenga that I can think of), this trend seemed to have  mostly died out in the late eighties/early nineties. Apparently most consumers didn't think moving video games to the tabletop was desirable, in fact it probably seemed more than a little ridiculous. If you check out our other oddities posts you'll note that ridiculous is right up our alley when it comes to collecting so these are perfect for us.

Collecting them is only half the fun though, to truly appreciate these monuments to corporate greed, you've got to play them. So one lonely night we decided to break out the Donkey Kong Card Game licensed by Nintendo, made by Milton Bradely.



First we've got the box cover, it's based on the original arcade graphics and says that it's "Based on the thrill a minute arcade game". Most of us weren't lucky enough to be able to have an arcade machine at home, and this was in 1981 so Donkey Kong was not yet available for home play. So naturally you'd want all the fun of Donkey Kong in the comfort of your own home with fewer quarters involved. So any arcade junkie would have rushed to snap this up and prepare for hours of in home fun with their friends and neighbors. Sure it's hard to imagine an insanely exciting board game, but this was marketed to geeks after all the same people who were playing D&D, people who know how to enjoy tabletop fun. So let's get the box open and start the fun!



Contents include 4 Mario pawns, a Donkey Kong, girder cards, a base girder and the instructions. Not very exciting looking for this angle, but hey we haven't gotten started yet so let's get started. The first step in getting started is of course to read the instructions. Here we hit a definite snag, the instructions are incredibly complex and confusing. There are a lot of important details left out. However if you approach it like a logic problem, you'll eventually figure out what to do in most situations. If not just make up your own rules as you go, to my knowledge tournaments aren't held for this game so it's unlikely you're going to run into any opposition regarding any rules you may have had to fudge.

The object of the game is to build a series of ladders and girders using the cards in your hand. You then roll the dice to determine how many spaces along the girders you can move (indicated by little dots). Once you get to the third girder you place donkey Kong at the top and try to be the first player to reach him so you can end his barrel throwing mayhem and be declared the hero. If you manage to build another girder above him, you place up one more, Donkey Kong is always placed on the top level. Making things a little harder are that you can place fire and barrel cards which the other players can not pass, if they hit one of these cards they have to go all the way back to the beginning unless they have a remedy card, which shows either Mario with a hammer or in a jumping motion, to cancel them out.

We started our fist game and as there were only two of us playing it went by pretty quickly if you don't count all the times we had to peek at the rules to see how something worked. For the second game we added another player and I'm not sure if it was because of the extra player, or just because of gameplay progressed, but things went much slower the second time around. The second game also yielded a much larger construction and much more competitive game. It's hard to tell in the small pictures but quite a number of "trap" cards and "remedy' cards were used. Overall I have to say that the game is surprisingly fun, especially if you make the arcade noises while doing certain actions. (Admittedly noisemaking might be reserved for advanced players/super nerds.) It is absolutely nothing like playing the arcade game, though who was really expecting it would be? It's a great piece of Nintendo history, and is actually a pretty fun vintage gaming collectible. You can enjoy it even if you don't love awful and ridiculous things that should have never made the market.

~Stephanie Don't forget to stop by our shop for video game collectibles:

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