Midwest Gaming Classic 2023 - We Only Found EVERYTHING!

In this episode, we head to my hometown convention, that's right we are heading to the 2023 Midwest Gaming Classic in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Ever since I attended my first convention back in 2018, there are several that I have absolutely loved going to. The Midwest Gaming Classic is special for me & in a number of different ways. First of all, Milwaukee is home, let's just be honest about that. Any excuse for me to get back home is a good excuse. Second of all, I get to share my home with some amazing people who travel from out of town, like John Riggs, John Hancock, Kris from GameDad, Jay from Square Pegs, & Thor from Hey It's Thor. Finally, I get to attend a convention with my oldest daughter, along with her boyfriend, which is always a good time.

Taking place April 1st & 2nd 2023, heading into the event there are a few things I knew I was on the lookout for. Ever since watching Norm the Gaming Historian's video on Spyro the Dragon, I've really wanted to get my hands on the original three Spyro games for the original PlayStation. Jay from Square Pegs had let me know that Mighty Final Fight was one of three games on the Capcom Classics Mini Mix cartridge for the Game Boy Advance, so I wanted to pick that up too. Finally, I knew the team from Songbird would be on site & I wanted to pick up their new Aries 64 controller adapter for the Nuon, & maybe a game or two.

During Friday night setup, I actually ran into the guys from Video Games Monthly & presented them with the first gift I had for the weekend. I've been making LED light boxes & selling them on my 3D printer store for some time, & I wanted to get these guys one that they could use in a booth. Joe seemed rather speechless. I also made ones for John Riggs, Kris from Game Dad, Jay from Square Pegs, Ryan from Castlemania Games & Rondo products, & the guys from Famicom Dojo. Sean from Famicom Dojo couldn't come down due to a snowstorm, what a baby.

Friday night, Kris, Jay, Thor, Jay's wife, & son & I headed to one of my favorite places from when I was a kid, Peppino's Italian Ristorante in Menomonee falls, Wisconsin. That's legit my hometown, right next to Milwaukee. I haven't been inside this restaurant & quite some time. And I will admit a wave of emotion kind of crashed over me at one point, thinking about how my family used to come here when I was younger. Having lost both my parents now, it was a good memory, but a few tears may have escaped. Thankfully, two people that I went to school with were there & could verify that yes, at one point in time I did have super long hair, and, for the most part, I did hang out in large groups of one. Guess I'm making up for lost time now

I hosted my panel Saturday morning, which you can see linked here:
https://youtu.be/tLAn1Go3QnI

After that, the hunt was on. We had early success, finding a copy of Ripto's. This was promising. Then dumb Gary showed up & I bought Ripto's a second time, thinking I bought Year of the Dragon first. Dummy. I was then able to snag a copy of the very first game, so at least at that point in time I thought the collection was complete! More on this in a bit.

I managed to snag the team from Songbird for a few moments to interview them, such great people & very creative too. They have a passion for the oddballs, the games from the Island of Misfit Toys as it were. I did snag both the Aries 64 & a copy of Iron Soldier 3, which doubled my Nuon game collection.

I just about gave up on finding a copy of Capcom Classics Mini Mix When at one of the last booths I saw it. They're asking $30 for it, I asked if they would come down to $25 as $30 is pretty much eBay pricing, unfortunately they would not. This was the only copy I had seen all day long, so I bit the bullets & spent the 30 bucks.

I also picked up the Midwest Gaming Classic exclusive title from Pico, Moto X. John Riggs had done a video on it the week prior to Midwest Gaming Classic & it looks like a Super NES version of Excitebike. Sign me up! I also picked up a convention sweatshirt, super soft & my wife has already stolen it. Finally, I did pick up a copy of Super Mario Bros 3 & SD Gundam, both of these will be projects in the future on the channel.

Thankfully, Thor was once again there to rescue me. He had bought a copy of Year of the Dragon for me as a gift before I even knew it, so I traded him one of the copies of Ripto's. Thanks for having my back & saving me, Thor!

I had to leave early Sunday morning, but I had such an amazing time just in the day & a half back home in Milwaukee. It's always an amazing time with great friends old & new. I am floored that I got everything on my list this year, I have never gone into a convention looking for specific things & gotten everything. I did it this year. Part of the reason was I kept my list humble, five games & one adapter were all I was looking for, but I got them all. Oh, & the Brewers beat the Cubs.

#midwestgamingclassic #PlayStation #GameHunting