Where to buy PC Engine Games in Japan?

[gbapalyer]

hi,

as the title says iam looking for good shops in japan to buy pc engine titles from. i also found a small shop in akihabara where i bought super darius 2 for 2.400 yen back in 2010.
in akihabara i found super potatoe to be reliable and book off. does anybody know other stores as well?
any chances to find a copy of hi-leg fantasy there?

thanks
gbapalyer

[Duo_R]

Is it getter harder to find PCE in Japan?

[RegalSin]

Japan, is not what it was. Every Asian country think they are the Japanese  now. You need to go outside the city areas, into deep Japan, where the wild (cuntry_bumpkins ) people live. so I suggest packing your walking stick, or Train card. They have lots of game stuff in other nations, more or less. It seems when people do reviews, or something becomes popular all the cool stuff, keeps getting sntached.

How is the clean up efforts after the quake/title wave they had??? I think that would answer your question. That is the only that is holding them back, aside the job crisis. I was reading how Japan constructed
tankers, for another country.

Caving into outsiders, make Japan suck, along with small crapple computers.

[SuperDeadite]

If you can't find a copy of Hi Leg in Akiba, then you probably won't be able to find your own hotel either...

[Bardoly]

any chances to find a copy of hi-leg fantasy there?

thanks
gbapalyer

There have been at least 2 copies of Hi-Leg Fantasy posted up for sale and then sold here on this website within the last 2 months, I believe.  If you can't find one over there, then maybe another one will pop up here before too long.

[Yamazaki]

Akihabara is a good start for finding games.

You will most likely find everything you search for. But dont expect to find them cheap.

The Japanese are used know to foreigners scavenging for cheap titles. And places like Super Potato are f*cking expensive even for non-japanese standards.

[gbapalyer]

@yamazaki: yeah, but super potatoe also had some decent deals back in 2010 (like startling odyssey or some other PCE rpgs for less than 8$ each).

maybe i will find everything iam looking for in akihabara. if not then we are also visiting osaka (den den town).^^
i think 3 weeks from tokyo to yakushima should be enough to find everything XD.

[Bardoly]

By the way, if you do come across decent deals, then don't hesitate to pick some extra stuff up for the rest of us who aren't really easily able to take a game-scavenging trip to Japan.  

[Samurai Ghost]

I found Retro Friends and Traders 2 to be the best for PCE stuff. Retro Friends especially. I usually bought stuff online though.

Hi Leg Fantasy happens to be pretty expensive even in Japan, but I have an extra copy if you are interested.

[kazekirifx]

I still find plenty of PC Engine stuff in Akihabara. When in Akihabara, or Nipponbashi in Osaka you can go to Trader and Super Potato, and a few other places nearby. It doesn't pay to check the back streets there anymore for retrogames. They don't have any.

Also check out Mandarake. There isn't one in Akihabara, but there are a few stores peppered throughout urban Japan. It's decent, and the prices and selection are similar to the Akihabara stores mentioned above.
http://www.mandarake.co.jp/shop/

But I think the best place overall in the whole country would have to be the HARD-OFF chain. They're mostly located out in the boondocks in places hard to reach without a car. There aren't any in central Tokyo - only the outskirts. Go to their "junk" sections and you'll find all kinds of cool old stuff. "Junk" means it may or may not be working, so buy at your own risk, but I've found tons of stuff in decent condition that works fine, and the prices tend to be low - sometimes practically free. Most of the locations I've been too were worth visiting, though it can be hit or miss. One of the ones in Fukuoka was too small, and didn't have enough game stuff (no PCE). The best one I've been to was in Yamaguchi City (the middle of absolutely nowhere, and totally not a place worth visiting if you're on a short stay in Japan), but then I haven't been to the ones in Kanto yet, and I've heard some good things about those too.
http://www.hardoff.co.jp/ichiran.php

[SuperDeadite]

Hard Off is great, but it's truly luck what you find.  Even my local one in Shiga has had some really crazy stuff at times, boxed NeoGeo AES's for 5,000.  LaserActives with both PACs for 20,000.  But, Hard Offs are always way off the beaten path, and take some time to get to.  If you are a tourist alone, I really think you'd be wasting your vacation time going to them which may have nothing of interest on that day.

I suppose it's worth it if you only come here for games, but I really think that is a poor use of one's vacation, since you'll spend way more on travel then you would buying it all off ebay.  Places like Akiba and Denden are pricey, but you can't miss them, and will have something you want for sure, without wasting any precious time.

[kazekirifx]

Yeah, I guess I have to agree with Deadite in the end. HARD-OFF is generally too out of the way to visit if you're on a short stay in Japan. Hell, I've been living in Tokyo over a year now, and I still haven't bothered getting out to the Kanto HARD-OFFs yet. It would use up too much of a day, and I might buy too much stuff to carry back to the nearest train station too.

Also, though you can make great finds, like Deadite said, HARD-OFF is all about luck what you find. So, could end up being a total waste of time too. (In my case, I still enjoy looking at all the old stereo equipment, PCs, musical instruments, laserdiscs even if there's no retrogames.)

Sorry to pretty much retract my whole previous post. Stick to the big retro shops in Akihabara and Denden. It's the best use of your time.... and spend the rest of your time seeing historical Japan!

Edit: There's also a HARD-OFF in Akihabara, but they don't have games there. If you can read Japanese, you can check the listings in the link I posted above to see which locations have the "game" logo.

[gbapalyer]

By the way, if you do come across decent deals, then don't hesitate to pick some extra stuff up for the rest of us who aren't really easily able to take a game-scavenging trip to Japan.  

the games are the positive side effect of my japan trip.
visiting tokyo, nikko, kamakura, yokohama, yamadera, kyoto, naha, osaka, amanohashidate, hiroshima, miyajima, yamaguchi, shimonoseki, yakushima should be the real fun. *hehe*

if i come upon something interesting i will buy some more copies.

hope i can carry the somewhat around 90 games safely home XD.

@samurai ghost: please check your pms about hi-leg fantasy. does retro friends have a internet page? where to find it in akiba?

[SuperDeadite]

Yeah, I guess I have to agree with Deadite in the end. HARD-OFF is generally too out of the way to visit if you're on a short stay in Japan. Hell, I've been living in Tokyo over a year now, and I still haven't bothered getting out to the Kanto HARD-OFFs yet. It would use up too much of a day, and I might buy too much stuff to carry back to the nearest train station too.

Also, though you can make great finds, like Deadite said, HARD-OFF is all about luck what you find. So, could end up being a total waste of time too. (In my case, I still enjoy looking at all the old stereo equipment, PCs, musical instruments, laserdiscs even if there's no retrogames.)

Sorry to pretty much retract my whole previous post. Stick to the big retro shops in Akihabara and Denden. It's the best use of your time.... and spend the rest of your time seeing historical Japan!

Edit: There's also a HARD-OFF in Akihabara, but they don't have games there. If you can read Japanese, you can check the listings in the link I posted above to see which locations have the "game" logo.

The Akiba hard-off has no games, but I always visit that shop when i'm in tokyo.  Almost always has a nice stack of classic midi modules in the junk section.  I keep hoping to find an MU-2000EX one of these days...

[blowback]

Awesome thread guys. Heading to Tokyo in Feb for a game specific trip. Will also be checking out the Nakano Broadway mall, as well as the shops previously mentioned. As mentioned, we checked about Hard-off and it looks like its not easily accessible. Too bad, some of the vids on youtube make it look like a cool place to check out.