Inside The Vault #6-June 2025

 

 WELCOME TO INSIDE THE VAULT!

Vault fans, summer is in full swing, and with that has come the usual increase in great inventory in our store, where we continue to do our best to serve our community with prices that don't insult you or your wallet!

We have already had a number of adventures in search of great items as well as gracious offerings from the people that make this community so great as well as keep the engine that is Nick D's Video Game Vault running smooth!

 Continue to look for great items on our Facebook page as they come in!

In today's newsletter, we look at the very first video game our owner ever played at the tender age of 5, and how it started a love that turned into a dream that became this business!

Staff Picks, and a look at one of the more mysteriously unique consoles in history, are also to be found inside!

Aaaand the debut of Nick D's Top 5, where this issue we look at 5 cartoons that either never got a video game, or deserve better than what they got!

We're inside The Vault, people, so let's head on through!

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 JUST LISTEN TO THAT ROLL! 

The year was 1986, summer time. I was only 5. Still, I can recall it vividly, me in my Osh Kosh shirt and suspenders, sitting on my father's knee, watching what would become a vital part of my life. 

Obviously as a kid, I didn't buy my own video games. That job belonged to my father, who was a successful traveling businessman for Stanley, selling door systems up and down the eastern seaboard. My father was an avid bowler in high school, and as I'm sure was the case for many at the time, smitten by that wood paneling look of the Atari 2600.

5 year old me didn't bowl. In fact, I don't think I bowled until I reached double digits, and well, let's just say I'm pretty awful at it. My magical "moving my hands to somehow magically Jedi power the ball into place" doesn't work. Bummer, I know.

What did work however, was Bowling on the Atari 2600. That's right, just bowling. No licensing, no brand name or sports figure attached to it, just bowling. In my kid Nick mind I often envisioned those greasy, smoky, deliciously 80s bowling alleys that I spent more time at the arcades in them as the setting for the title.

 I mean, maybe there was a bright orange bowling alley out there, complete with a peculiar baby pink fleshed blue clothes wearing bowler who had just the most awesome strike victory dance, complete with overly digitized bloops and bleeps, right?

I mean, this was late 70s Atari, and not only did developers have to find inspiration somewhere, they knew how to party!

While I did go on to play other Atari games, Kangaroo, KABOOM!, Congo Bongo, and Keystone Kapers, to name a few, I always came back to Bowling. Mainly because I just enjoyed it so much, but also because I believed I was a Jedi Master of sorts with it, even if it appeared as it does now, as blind luck.

With Bowling, like other Atari games, obviously, relying on just a simple joystick and one button, there's not a whole lot of precision that goes into playing it, or so it would seem. I think getting a strike in this game, still, 45 years since it was first released in 1979, is more about luck than it is skill. 

I remember the first time I achieved this as a 6 year old. I was pumped! Today, at 44, whenever my wife or anyone else who watches me play it asks me how I do it, I don't really have an explanation. "I just move the joystick at the last minute to send the ball dead center," is all I can say with a shrug, mainly because its not a full proof plan!

Bowling was the first video game I ever played, and it opened my mind, and later, yes, my heart, to the endless possibilities and emotions video games can elicit in a person, thus making them, to me, perhaps much younger than most, a work of art. They also became the vessel of which a lot of my storytelling is attached to.

Whenever I wonder what my life would have been like, had my father not purchased an Atari 2600, and put me on his knee for some frames of bowling, I'm immediately glad I don't have to.

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JUNE STAFF PICKS 

NICK D

Excitebike 

Wii Sports

Test Drive Unlimited 

JOEY 

Tomb Raider (Survivor Trilogy)

Bomberman 64 

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End 

KATHY

Super Mario Bros 3

Cooking Mama

New Super Mario Bros

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 WEIRD  SOUNDS:THE JVC X'EYE

 Video game history is littered with some weird and unusual as well as fascinating pieces, systems, handhelds, controllers, you name it, but we're shining light on something that was, in the most 90s gaming sense, kind of ahead of its time, while still having a quirkiness about it that is both endearing and somewhat intimidating.

 

In March 1994, a console from the joint partnership between JVC and Sega was born, called the JVC X'Eye was released. Combining the forces of the Sega Genesis and Sega CD into a single console, it was a daunting task, made further dismal by the astounding price tag for the time of $500!

 

Additionally, a 32X modification to the console was available all the way up until 2014, so the possibility (and enormous price tag!) of having an all in one Sega console did exist.

 

But it isn't the price tag, or the capability of playing three different kinds of Sega games that makes this both a weird and totally 90s console.

 

It's the fact that the system has a full size microphone port and the capability of playing karaoke discs so that you can sing and follow along on your television! Some of you younger readers of our newsletter might find this not interesting at all, but it was a pretty cool thing for the time!

 

The name leaves a bit to be desired, but in a way, that's another reason it stands out, if nothing else, as a beacon to a time when companies were trying anything, and I mean anything, to get gamers (and karaoke party masters?) to buy their product!

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NICK D'S TOP 5!

 It's here and for our debut we're taking a look at cartoon shows of yesteryear that either a)never got a video game, or b)got one and it just didn't capture the essence of the show! 

 

In no particular order..

You mean to tell me no one could figure out how to make a game about Bluffington's most famous and totally neurotic citizen? Think about it, a Metroidvania style, quest fetch game roaming the streets of Bluffington and interacting with all its quirky residents? Mr. Dink as a shopkeeper where whenever you buy the most expensive thing in his ever changing stash prompts a "Very expensive"? Whenever you save the game and quit Skeeter Valentine says "See ya later, Doug!" *honk honk*

Ugh, such a missed opportunity, and no that atrocity of a Gameboy Color Disney Doug game doesn't count. Blech.

 

 This may be the toughest one on this list to conceptualize in that The Angry Beavers and the team behind it broke the fourth wall and made Nickelodeon's parent company Viacom, very, very angry on their way out of their lineup with their final episode that never aired because of all the fourth wall breaking. It more than shed a little light on how poorly Nickelodeon and Viacom were treating their properties at the time, especially when it came time for the shows to go into syndication. 

 

Yes, my personal favorite cartoon show did see involvement in the Nicktoons Racing game, as well as recently in the Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl, but to be fair to the developers of both of those games, neither showcased the brothers Beaver in the truest least spootastic way. 

 

Truthfully you could put them in any genre of game with just them and the elements of their show and it would be absolutely hilarious. 

 

Yes, we got a SNES game, and it was pointless, and not in a fun ha-ha kind of way either. Why a standard platformer wasn't made is still an unsolved mystery all these years later. At this point I'd settle for a party game or even a beat em' up, as odd as that might be. Still, so disappointing. 

People may be quick to tell me about the Intellivision and Atari 2600 game, and I'd be quicker to tell them that was terrible. Seemingly anything else either was released only in Europe, or on PC and smart devices. My hope is someone gets a hold of this license and gives it the same treatment as G.I. Joe or Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in the classic beat em up style, but for now, I can't accept what is as good. 

I think, more so than any other cartoon mentioned on this list, I am shocked, thoroughly, that this show didn't get the same treatment on the NES that so many other Disney cartoons of the time did. To my knowledge this show NEVER got a video game. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but I don't believe it did. And man, what a great cartoon to make a game from, right? Simple enough. This cartoon screams the Ducktales treatment as far as gameplay is concerned. Will it happen? I don't know. Fingers crossed.

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THANK YOU!! 

 Thank you for joining us for this newsletter. Look for our next issue very, very soon!

GAME ON!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

Inside The Vault #5-May 2025

 WELCOME!!!

Vault Fans, our May 2025 issue of our monthly newsletter "Inside The Vault" is live!

 Inside this issue we're going to talk about some of our best summer finds over the years and why we still utilize yard sales and flea markets over 12 years in filling our store with inventory!

We're also going to take a look on what we feel is a growing trend in gaming right now, rekindling a genre and breathing new life in it, as well as where we think it may be headed!

We got Staff Picks and a look on one of Nick D's favorite games that he stumbled upon as a kid, answering the question if it still holds up today!

Thank you for joining us this month. Let's not waste any more time and get "INSIDE THE VAULT!

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SUMMERS OF HUNTS

One of the most exciting things we do all year, for you, our loyal customers, is of course, game hunting! Obviously in the fall and winter months, this isn't as much of a force in obtaining our inventory, relying mainly on what we obtain from all of you, and by gosh we're grateful!

Still, nearly 13 years into doing this, and there's still an adrenaline rush and excitement that is palpable in going out and searching for treasures to bring back to all of you! Getting up super early, searching frantically, keeping a keen eye open for things, it is a blast!

If you're new to us, you might be wondering why we do this, especially since sometimes certain kinds of games can be harder to find, but the answer has been the same all these years. We don't want to insult you with inflated bogus prices. We want to pass the savings onto you, and the best way we can do that is putting ourselves in the situation where we can dictate prices, and in the way that we have always referred to as simply "sane pricing." 

While we don't get surprised quite as much as we used to these days, it still happens, and some of those surprises have stood with us over the years, further reinforcing the drive and necessity for us to obtain our inventory this way. 

Here are just a few of the surprises we've experienced game hunting over the years:

Knick Knacks and Paintings-Admittedly, your humble scribe and resident video game store owner tends to write off most yard sales with an overabundance of knick knacks, and this is usually because they either don't have any video games whatsoever, or whatever was there has already been sold. At the same time, and always to her credit, my wife Kathy encourages me not to give up so quickly, especially when the yard sale is a big one, as this was one summer day a number of years ago.

With a sign that said "More Stuff Out Back", we went around the home to the backyard and garage. With a sigh of disgust, I saw tables and tables of, what else, knick knacks, along with Christmas decorations. Here we go, I thought.

Then it happened. My eyes locked onto something my mind couldn't comprehend was there, sitting, factory sealed, on a table, surrounded by Christmas decorations. Mario Paint, the game, the mouse, the box, sealed with a Sears catalog sticker on it. Crazy. 

There's No Room For A Gamecube-Admittedly, we attended way more yard sales when we lived in the Mid Valley area, but maybe this was because we always found interesting things, or in this case, interesting situations that were to our benefit. Literally right across the street from our home in Jessup, Kathy and I found a box with a Gamecube and a few games in it. Not just any games, however, but really, really good ones, primarily all the Mario Party Gamecube titles. The couple heading the yard sale was merely asking $30 for the whole box!! They said they were selling things low because with babies and a smaller home, they just didn't have the room for a lot of things, including this Gamecube, so thank you, babies!!

I Hate Estate Sales, But My Wife Doesn't-Another moment from our Mid Valley hunting years. I personally do not like estate sales. In fact, in some instances I loathe them. This is because you can never seem to get to them early enough to actually have a chance at scoring any good items, video games or otherwise. Walking into this estate sale, my eyes immediately spotted a complete boxed Donkey Kong Country SNES set, with some boxed SNES games right beside it. There was already someone on the phone, telling an obvious reseller, what was there. I walked into another room, seeing an Atari 2600 and a few paltry games, while my wife never left the area where the SNES was. After moping in the room a bit (I mope, I want to give you all cool stuff!) my wife came into where I was and asked for my wallet. I asked why. She told me she needed to take money from the ATM because she had got the SNES and games! I was stunned! The phone guy drastically low balled the estate sale folks on the items, while my wife offered a very fair amount for it all. The phone guy was outbid, and the items were coming to the store with us!

So you see, while we could buy our inventory strictly online, that would require us to upcharge you on these items, and I've never wanted to do that. Just know we are always, always looking for items to put into our store. Game hunting, relying strictly on what is brought into us, it may limit us in some ways, but it makes it where in the end the ones benefitting the most are our customers. That's the way it's been, and will remain!

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Galaga 98' (Nick D)

Final Fantasy Legend II (Joe A)

Batman (Joey P)

Disney Dreamlight Valley (Kathy)

Red Dead Revolver

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A Growing Trend: The Rekindling Of The Classic Beat Em Up Style

We're not going to say you're living under a rock if you haven't picked up on this growing trend in gaming, but you'd be hard pressed to find a gamer, especially a longtime fan of the beat em ups of the late 80s and early 90s, that hasn't noticed the growing resurgence in the genre, that while it never really went away, wasn't truly feeling like it used to for quite some time.

You can point at Streets Of Rage 4, or even Double Dragon Neon, but the point of this article isn't to pinpoint where this swell began, but more so take a look at what it accomplished, while throwing out some ideas for where it could be headed.

It's one thing to appreciate where we've been, in that there have been and are classic beat em up franchises that have got that necessary shot in the arm, an appreciation for both its past, while paving the way for a new direction.

What gets me are those games like G.I. Joe Wrath Of Cobra and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind, that not only give us something we never truly got for these brands, but also expands on the little we did get, while also showing the differences in where the genre could be heading. 

Truly, when you look at games like Karate Kid Street Rumble, while not perfect, show us that the door is pretty wide open for classic style beat em ups. So much so, it's hard to pinpoint what's next for it?

While we all certainly have our wishlist (Bucky O'Hare!!!) as well as the possibility of expanding on beat em ups of the past (The Punisher, COWBoys of Moo Mesa), I think things are so wide open and unpredictable things like deep cuts (M.A.S.K.? Gargoyles?) as well as true beat em ups for franchises like Transformers is always going to be a possibility.

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On The Case With Deja Vu

The year was 1990. I was 9 years old when summer had hit and I needed to find a new game to play on the NES, at least over the weekend, but so many of the known popular and just downright good games were rented out. 

My gaze fell to a game called Deja Vu, featuring a strapping detective I'd later find out was named Ace Harding, trenchcoat and all, looking all mysterious and film noir like on the cover. I had never played anything like it before, and 35 years later, I can say the same.

Deja Vu had actually already been released before 1990, 5 years prior in fact, but in black and white on old Macintosh computers. When the jump was made to the NES 5 years later, this game after another point and click adventure, Shadowgate had already emerged on the scene. This would be the 2nd in a point and click trilogy from Kemco that followed up with Uninvited a year later in 1991.

Whereas Shadowgate focused on a more fantasy fiction style, and Uninvited the horror genre, Deja Vu was truly a straight from film noir style classic taking place in post WWII 1940s Chicago. As Ace Harding, private eye, you awaken from a medicine induced black out, unaware of what exactly happened, and more importantly, who you are!

As the game progresses, you are tasked with picking and choosing what items to take, as well as what direction to go. You quickly find out you were framed for a murder, and now not only have to figure out who you are, but clear your name as well!

Deja Vu has a soundtrack that can only be described as smoky bar jazz, tunes that fit the game like a glove and further give it that film noir vibe.

So...

Why You Should Play Deja Vu: If you already enjoy point and click games, the likes of Shadowgate, Uninvited, and Maniac Mansion, to name a few. If you enjoy both film noir and retro video games.

Why You Shouldn't Play Deja Vu: If you're not a fan of the genre, or a fan of actually having to use a walkthrough to play a game. Deja Vu can be frustrating for some going in blind.

Deja Vu is one of my favorite and most unsung games in the history of the NES alone. That doesn't mean it will be one of yours.

But, if nothing else, I hope me speaking on this, how I stumbled upon the game, teaches at least one gamer out there to be open to the possibilities of discovery.

GAME ON!!!

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THANK YOU!!!

We will see you next month, for more exciting adventures here, "Inside The Vault!!!"

 

 

Inside The Vault #4-April 2025

 

WELCOME TO ISSUE #4!

Welcome one and all to our fourth issue of "Inside The Vault", a monthly look at Nick D's Video Game Vault and all the comings and goings within! 

Spring is most definitely in the air, and for us that means yard sales, flea markets, and other outlets for us to obtain the items you, our loyal customers, crave! 

While we certainly appreciate each and every item that comes through our doors that we get from all of you, it will be nice to return to the "open wilds" of video game hunting, as we call it.

 In April's issue we're going to talk about where our store is headed with some necessary updates, how we price out the items we buy, so you know just how we do things, as well as a nice little story about our owner's favorite birthday memory (he turns 44 on May 1st!)

So strap in tight, settle in, because Issue #4 of "Inside The Vault" is ready to roll!

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UPDATES FOR YA FACES!

That's right, folks, some updates on our store from us to you!

-The long awaited touching up and redesign of our walls is indeed happening. We have sections already designed as to what is going to go where. This is still slated, if at no other time, at some point this summer.

-The same can be said about our Master Sword themed front window, which is going to be transformed into something far less bland and more so fitting of what sits in the front of that window. We'll be providing updates in the weeks and months to come.

-Next month we will be accepting applications for our 2nd year of monthly pop up vendors, which will begin in June. Only two vendors per month from June to December, so that means only a dozen slots will be available to be filled. Keep tabs on our Facebook page as an announcement on those applications will be coming very, very soon.

-The TMNT arcade cabinet is slated to be repaired very soon, and after that, we will be looking at updating and revamping our RetroVerse Lounge a little bit in the coming months. 

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SO, HOW DO YOU GUYS DO THAT?

So perhaps no other question is asked for us more than "How do you price out and determine how much we get for an item we bring into you?"

The truth is a lot of factors go into how much we pay for a particular item or items, but I feel it is super important to start with the basic premise.

We operate on a sliding scale of percentage, meaning the percentage of an item's worth varies in what we pay out, and the most fundamental way of explaining this is that percentage is initially determined by the worth of the item. The less an item is worth, the less we pay out for it, starting at 30% and going to 50%. For us, at this time, it truly doesn't make business sense for us to go any higher than 50%. Could that change? Certainly, and everyone will know when and if that happens.

Additionally, how complete an item is, and the overall condition of it, dictates how much we pay out. This is particularly true of any discs brought into us in very poor shape. If we decide to take the disc, we are taking all the responsibility in making sure it works, so regardless of how much the item is worth, a disc with many, many scratches on it, especially towards the center of the disc, is going to get the lowest possible pay out because of how much responsibility we are taking into our hands.

In over 12 years of doing this, this process has not changed much, if at all, and we think our honesty with this makes many of you comfortable in selling to us, and we certainly appreciate it, but we feel the need to express here that if you're trying to sell an item, and you have a magic number in mind of what you'd like to get for it, we, and all other small businesses like ours, are not going to be the best avenue to take in obtaining that magic number.

While you can certainly ask us, on the phone, or in person, we felt the need to post this here after so many questions on this.

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THE MOST AMAZING BIRTHDAY EVER.

Picture it, Dickson City, May 1990. Your resident video game owner/operator was turning 9 on this particular day, and invited all my friends to celebrate at the best place one could go turning 9 at the near midway point of 1990, Top Dog!

If you're reading this and you're not from the area, or more unfortunately, were born after the untimely demise of what was a Business Route 6 institution in the 80s and early 90s, I'm giving you a pass. Top Dog was a stellar arcade with good (cheap!) food, and drinks that were mandated to either come in Top Dog cups, or those cups with what is now called the official design of the 90s, you know, that purple and teal number. 

On this particular day we were not only celebrating yours truly turning 9, but also his love for video games and most specifically as many kids my age tended to have, a love for the famed Heroes In A Half Shell, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. 

The video games, loved them. The cartoon show, the bomb. The toys, I couldn't get enough, and this is why I will always remember this day in my life, more than any other birthday, because 9 year old me was going to get his first full set of TMNT action figures! That's right, the kid who could barely obtain one every 3-6 months, was going to be blessed by his dear friends with a full set of TMNT action figures, but not just any set mind you, the TMNT Undercover Series set!

Behold! The greatest invention since sliced bread and the lava lamp! Who cares why our TMNT friends needed to go so specifically undercover as things like a samurai (that's a far reach, Leo), a detective (did Don steal Ralph's gear from the movie?), a surfer dude (again, not much of a stretch there, Mikey) and..an astronaut? (I get that Raph was the emo one that wanted to get as far away from people as possible, but really? Cape Canaveral let him in?) 

All that mattered to me was that I had them. I remember spending my time throughout the rest of my party, between bites of hot dogs, challenging The Mega Bucks on WWF Superstars, and clinging to Super Hang On for dear life, checking the back of these boxes for all that sweet, sweet Turtle info. 

I've had many great birthdays, surrounded by some amazing people in my life, but this one still stands out to me, some 35 years later, all because of a gift that really brought me such joy. Turning 9 was a stellar moment for me, all because of the mystic gift of what we call Turtle Power!

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SEE YOU NEXT MONTH!

 

Inside The Vault #3-March 2025

 

 

WELCOME TO ISSUE #3!

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Vault fans, we have reached spring..well, sort of. For us, it is a anticipatory time of great excitement, because we will eventually be at the point where we will not solely be reliant on the finds that are brought into us to buy. We're always super grateful for them, but we notice that they tend to offer a lot of repeats, which happens. With spring and better, warmer weather, comes the opportunities to attend yard sales and flea markets in which to scour for some great deals, that we can then pass along to all of you!

This business has entered its 13th year, and will be entering its 6th at its current location of The Marketplace At Steamtown. There has been, and will continue to be transition and evolution into both making the store what our owner has dreamed it to be, and also to serve the community to its fullest potential. We recognize and appreciate your patience and understanding as we make our way through such transitions. 

So we "March" along this month, sharing with you some staff picks, stories on both The Sega Saturn and Paperboy on the NES, as well as a short list of the greatest finds our owner has ever discovered "out in the wild" of the spring and summers of years gone by.

So sit back, relax, enjoy the nice weather as it tries valiantly to gain footing here in NEPA, and, as always..

GAME ON!!

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THE TRAGIC TALE OF THE SEGA SATURN

Certainly this is a story that has been told many, many times, but I've always felt it is one worth repeating in 2025, especially to those who are getting into collecting and enjoying Sega consoles. If you are a younger gamer/collector, you're going to hear and see, a lot of mixed signals on this console and its history. What happened? Was it avoidable? 

If you've read "The Console Wars" (and if you haven't, I strongly recommend you do) you'll find that the one thing that plagued Sega the entirety of its home console and handheld days is that Sega Of America and Sega Of Japan always, always butted heads. There was this air of superiority and "big brother watching little brother" vibe to the relationship, and it caused a lot of issues. While Sega Of America was trying to become a force here in North America, Sega Of Japan always had this sense of urgency coupled with a doubt that Sega Of America could ever do whatever Sega Of Japan deemed as a successful business practice. You had a "hope this works out" versus "we have to move faster, strike quicker" mentalities and the Sega Saturn was probably the biggest example of those two mentalities clashing.

While development for the Sega Saturn began in 1992, it was the 32X, Sega as a whole believing this was a more cost effective way for the consumer to get into 32 bit graphics, that was released first. Sales quickly declined on the 32X and this was a rift between the two divisions of the company because while the 32X and Sega Saturn share a lot of the same components, the Sega Saturn was made a priority in marketing and producing, much to the dismay of Sega Of America, who were still believing strongly in both 2D and 3D gaming, while Sega Of Japan was focused strictly on 3D gaming to compete with Nintendo and later Sony.

Speaking of Sony, Sega did have talks with the company in making a console together, but once again, Sega Of America was focused on both 2D and 3D gaming, while Sony, like Sega Of Japan and Nintendo, were solely focused on 3D gaming, and thus that partnership never materialized. The console wars that were coming, were nearly as intense as the 16 bit one that preceded it, in that everyone was trying to get the upper hand, push that envelope, stay ahead of the game, and Sega Of Japan thought the Sega Saturn would be everywhere by the end of 1994. It was not. They pressured and pressured Sega Of America to get it going in 1995 before the initial scheduled release date, and that created one of the biggest blunders in the history of the video game industry.

While Sega Of America CEO Tom Kalinske had announced a September 2nd 1995 release for the Saturn, earlier that year, Sega Of Japan wanted an earlier release to get ahead of the Sony Playstation, so, just two months after Kalinske's initial announcement, on May 11th 1995 at the E3 Expo in Los Angeles, Kalinske announced the Sega Saturn's release, stating that due to "high consumer demand" that 30,000 units of the system were already shipped to Toys R' Us, Babbages, Electronics Boutique, and Software Etc, which infuriated retailers uninformed of this surprise release, including Wal-Mart and Best Buy. KB Toys, in retaliation of this, refused to carry the system and any of its games. 

The Saturn was given a price tag of $399, which was certainly a lot of money in 1995, so much so that all it took was Sony's Steve Race to utter "$299" into the mic at E3 to send the crowd into applause and pretty much leave the Sega Saturn nearly dead on arrival. Despite two price reductions, the Sega Saturn did not have the third party support the Sony Playstation did, nor did it have the Sonic title, with Sonic Xtreme being canceled, that the Nintendo 64 had with Super Mario 64. 

The Sega Saturn does have some great titles, most notably Panzeer Dragoon, but they all come with either some pretty hefty price tags, or low distribution numbers, thus making them harder to find these days. It truly is a tragedy, perhaps the greatest What If in the history of Sega, but also unequivocally its greatest commercial failure. The Sega Saturn was the bridge between the Sega Genesis and the Sega Dreamcast, the WiiU to the Wii and Nintendo Switch. It's a tragic tale that could have had a better ending, but we'll never know now, will we?

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STAFF PICKS MARCH 2025

NICK D

Need For Speed III: Hot Pursuit 

Jet Force Gemini 

Cobra Triangle 

Joey P

Pitfall! 

Sonic And Knuckles 

Super Mario 64  

Kathy

Super Ghouls N Ghosts

Jersey Devil

Tomba!

 

Joe A

Civilization   VI

Golgo-13

Untitled   Goose   Game

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Nick D's Paperboy On The NES Experience

..and the lingering unanswered questions within.

Trust me, I know that's a very long title for a newsletter article, but work with me here, Vault fans. Back in 1988-1989, a much younger yours truly was introduced to Paperboy on the NES. It was one of those games that was consistently rented at Montage Video at the Keyser Oak Shopping Plaza more times than I care to remember. 

I was not very good at it. In fact, it was probably one of the games I was the absolute worst at. That being said, it was one of the first games I worked at, practiced, and did whatever I could to get better at it. Even as I failed, time and time again, one thing remained unchanged. I really, really enjoyed the game. It was the most fun I was having with a video game at the time.

So no, my first experience with Paperboy was NOT on the super cool bicycle styling arcade machine (that would come a bit later), nor was it in the sequel (which was way harder!) It took years, decades even, for me to consider myself not a master of the game, but someone who could put up a decent to very decent high score, as well as finish the game.

The more time passed, as I worked on my skills in the game, I began to realize just why this game was so much fun to me. Because it is completely bonkers. I am not someone who takes themselves seriously. I went to college, fine tuning my writing skills on the platform of the world taking itself far too seriously, and thus, my most favorite forms of media or entertainment are those things that also don't take themselves seriously at all.

It does not take long of you playing Paperboy on the NES to realize just how NOT serious the game takes itself. You are operating a full week of being a paperboy, making sure to either deliver the paper onto the front porch, or if you're slick enough, right into the mailbox. 

Now I've never been an actual paperboy, but one could imagine that throwing a paper onto a porch or into a mailbox, depending on the speed of your bike, might prove challenging. You're throwing while sitting. To me, this would be the most arduous challenge of being an actual paperboy. Meanwhile, the game of the same name throws in things like guys operating a jackhammer, an old woman with a rolling pin, and a stray dog for you to navigate around in delivering papers, and those are just the least insane and random obstacles.

Not only that, but each day offers you a "bonus round" if you will, a chance to get more points after (hopefully) delivering to all the houses on your route and not (more likely) smashing up a bunch of windows or throwing a paper onto a uncontrolled RC car (totally on accident). And what better way to end a day of throwing papers than what appears to be a full on BMX bike track? Because sure, why not?

Over 35 years have passed, since I first started playing this game, and like many weird, zany, out of this world, yet totally fun games of the era, this one has some unanswered questions, if only to this guy writing this article. I'm gonna share with you the ones I feel are the most notable.

THAT'S..NOT BREAKDANCING

While it's no secret that Japanese game developers often based their nation's interpretation of the West in video games of the 1980s and 1990s, there wasn't one Japanese programmer, designer, what have you, involved in the NES port of Paperboy. That alone is enough to make one puzzled at how THIS was looked at as breakdancing.

I understand this was the late 1980s and perhaps breakdancing was starting to lose a bit of its luster, but still, the last I checked, breakdancing never, ever, EVER looked like someone trying to itch their butt or shake loose change from their pockets in the most unorthodox way. I throw a paper at this guy just to shame him. "Sir, stop that! That's NOT breakdancing!"

SO YEAH, ABOUT DEATH

Perhaps nothing is more discussed about this game in sheer puzzlement than the appearance of Death itself. 

 

I don't believe anything is ever explained as to why Death is there, past them being listed as a hazard in this game. What does Death have against our paperboy? Did he make a deal with Death involving his soul? Is he marking houses red for Death so they know who is going to die soon? It's just all so bizarre, plus the fact you can't play as Death, delivering papers, is huge on the lame factor.

 

THAT R.C. CAR!!

Everyone who has ever played this game has their "bane of their existence" hazard, that one thing that breaks up their rhythm in getting through the game, and for me, it is not the tire, the tricycle or go kart riding kid, or even the chasing dog. It is, without question, that R.C. car that drives itself on the lawns of some folks. I can be in the groove, getting papers right where they need to be, and then one of these jerks cuts off my shot by driving right in front of my toss. I still haven't forgiven these mysterious RC cars over 35 years later.

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