Remembering My Game & Watch

Kung sino ang kayang maka-reset ng score sa zero, siya ang pinaka-malupet. Pataasan ng score lagi ang labanan. Kailangan wala o konti lang ang miss. Walang patayan ng unit maipakita lang ang highest score sa mga kaklase. Binabaliktad ang isang baterya para hinde agad maubos. Ito ang mundo ko nung nauso ang Nintendo Game and Watch.

When I was a kid, I got a Game and Watch (the Parachute game) as a gift on my birthday. I was a proud owner. Not every kid has one back then and I could still remember how I took care of it. Maingat ako na hindi mahiram ng kalaro ko na madiin kung pumindot (hehehe). Ako ang master ng Parachute game at kaya ko i-reset ang score sa zero na walang miss. Taob lahat ng ibang bata sa akin sa larong Parachute. Pina-panis ko lahat sila. (Wala yan sa lolo ko!... Hehehe).

Sobrang love ko yung Game and Watch ko noon. Naka-subok na ako dati ng ibat-ibang laro dun sa mamang nagpapa-renta ng mga Game and Watch (na nakatali sa kahoy) pero iba pa din ang dating ng Parachute sa akin. At kahit pa lumabas na ang high-end Donkey Kong na dual-screen, hinde ko pa din ipinagpalit si Parachute ko. I played longer hours on my Game and Watch compared to my PSP now.

Too bad when the batteries died I did not ask my parents for a replacement. Nagmarunong ako at umandar ang pagka-engineer ko noon. Dahil 3Volts ang nakita kong voltage na kailangan nya, nilagayan ko siya ng 3Volts gamit ang isang AC-DC adaptor. Yep. It worked fine and I was still able to play but it did not turned on again after that (ayan, pakialamero kase!). Wish ko nga sana hinde ko din naitapon yun. It could have been one of my treasured collections today though it may be defective.

The Nintendo Game and Watch was the one who opened my doors of interest in electronic gadgets. It will always be a fun memory from my childhood...

Autobots Transformed?

Still digging in our old cabinet, I found my old-school Transformers robots. I said old-school because they were the original robot toys of the 80's. I got a Beachcomber mini Autobot as a gift when I was a kid. With last year's showing of the Transformers movie, toy stores were again flooded with these robots.

I'm a great Transformers fan but I was quite dissapointed on the build quality of the newer toys. I got a small Jazz of the new Transformers version and compared it with my Beachcomber 80's toy. There was a definitely a difference.

The plastic material of the newer Jazz puts it to shame compared with the 80's Beachcomber. The newer toy felt cheap and the color was dull. The plastic also breaks easily. The tires suck unlike the 80's toy who sport Dunlop branded tires. Heck, the newer toy does not even have the Autobot insignia hologram that changes color when you touch it.

I thought the not-so-good build quality were confined to the cheaper versions (priced around 250 pesos) but I have also observed this on the higher-end robots being displayed at the malls (priced around 1000-2000 pesos).

Where have all the good toys gone?...