WUT?! We got TRICKED (And TREATED) By Video Games Monthly!

In this episode, we unboxed and check out our October 2022 box from video games monthly, where we got TRICKED (And TREATED) By Video Games Monthly!

I recently resubscribed to Video Games Monthly, a monthly subscription service that sends you anywhere from 3 to 10 retro video games right to your mailbox. The reason I returned was simple. First of all, convention season is over for me so I won't be picking up many additional games for the rest of the year. But the big reason why I resigned up to video games monthly is the fact that they have added the option of Japanese GameCube games to their offerings. Since I recently picked up and am repairing a Panasonic Q, I thought I would give this a shot.

I currently subscribe to the three games per month tier, as that will often get me anywhere from 3 to 5 Games per month depending on if I get a 1Up or 2UP. The systems I currently have selected that I would like them to send me games for are of course the Japanese GameCube, the Sega Master System, and the Nintendo Famicom. In this box, I did get a card for a 1UP, which was conspicuously missing, more on that later, and three exceptional games.

Shinobi
Sega Master System
Value: $21
The Sega Master System is one of my favorite systems to collect for. The games look, sound, and play terrifically, and for the most part games on the system will be a new experience for me. I know are good friend Gabbo from the Pixel Game Squad loves the Shinobi series, and this is my first entry into it. It reminds me of a ninja-themed version of Bad Dudes, as it is a side-scrolling hack and slash. One thing somewhat weird, I did try to capture footage through my Master Drive adapter going through my JVC X'EYE, and I was getting a weird graphical glitch towards the bottom of the screen. I don't know if this is a compatibility issue or what?

As I do with all cartridge-based games I get from video games monthly, I did open Shinobi up to take a look at the pins. I'm very happy to say that this is perhaps the cleanest cartridge I have ever gotten from them. The pins were bright and shiny, there were no deposits of carbon or other Gunk on it either. This is what I pretty much expect subscribing to a service like this, and I was thrilled to see this sort of quality.

Japanese Nintendo GameCube
Biohazard
Value: $16
I love Resident Evil 4, I recently mentioned that it was one of my top games to play around Halloween. However, I don't have quite the love for the earlier games that some others just do. I know they've been re-released newer systems with refined graphics and much better controls, and really for me, the control scheme is what kills these games for me. I don't know who thought tank controls were a great idea, but they weren't. Still, having a terrific title like Biohazard for the Japanese GameCube in the collection is pretty awesome, especially with the instruction manual, both discs, and the outer sleeve.

Japanese Nintendo GameCube
Super Mario Sunshine
Value: $21
Anytime I can get an imported Mario game into my collection I am going to love it, and Super Mario Sunshine is no exception. This copy even had the club Nintendo information inside of the game box, that's really neat. Mario Sunshine may not be my favorite in the series, and for me, the camera controls are bass-ackwards, its still an amazing title. What makes me really excited for this, honestly, is going to be playing it through my Panasonic Q using Retro-bit Prism component video cables into my RetroTink 5x. Sure, the Prism HDMI adapter looks pretty good, but it's going to look exceptional scaled up five times.

So about that 1Up card, I messaged the boys over at Video Games Monthly and brought up the fact that I got a 1UP card, and yet I only got three games in the box. They said that they would send me out a new game in the morning to which I told him not to sweat it, they can throw one in my box for next month. Then I totaled up the value for this month's games:

Shinobi: $21
Biohazard: $15
Mario Sunshine: $21
Total value: $57

For a box that I paid $35 for, plus tax and shipping, this was a very good value in my favor. As such, I am willing to write off that 1UP, even though they said they would send me one, as they sent me what I paid for and then some. I appreciate the fact that they would send me an extra game, but to be honest it's not necessary this month. Now if this box were full of Japanese RPGs, we'd have words.

UPDATE:
Joe from VGM messaged me this morning and provided a tracking number. This was totally not necessary but totally appreciated.

The footage used in this review are used under the Fair Use laws, referenced below:

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/107

#VideoGamesMonthly #PanasonicQ #GameCube #Nintendo #Sega #MasterSystem #MasterDrive #MarioSunshine #Biohazard #ResidentEvil