One of the highlights of the Tokyo Game Show, apart from the games themselves, is the Merchandise Corner. It’s typically not far away from the Indie Corner and the VR Corner, and many companies set up shops here with goodies that will make your inner child and wallet scream in equal measures. I generally steer clear of this area, to be honest. Far too many temptations. But this year, I wasn’t attending alone. My son came with me, and he really didn’t want to miss out. I figured that I might as well give you all a little peek at what kinds of things you can find.
First of all, there’s what I picked up. Yes, I actually got something this year. You see, SEGA had a really nifty capsule toy machine where you popped in about five dollars in change and got a replica Mega Drive cartridge that fits in the Japanese Mega Drive Mini. Some of my friends kept trying until they got the whole set of 15 that were available, but I steeled my heart and opted to only try once and live with what I got. The result? Bare Knuckle 2, or as it’s known in the West, Streets of Rage 2. Not bad at all.
As for my son, his first priority was Square Enix’s music section. He picked up a Final Fantasy Jazz Collection CD that has a really nice package design. We then wandered over to Capcom’s area where he snagged a Monster Hunter figure. Finally, we headed to Square Enix’s general merchandise stand where after much hemming and hawing, my son selected a Red Mage Chocobo plush doll and a deck of Chocobo playing cards. Not a bad haul, unless you’re the shmuck paying for it all. Who was that again? Oh, right. SADFACE.
These are but a few things of the many items on offer in these shops each year. There are cool mobile phone cases, figures galore, buttons and badges, all the music CDs you could ever want, and even cakes shaped like Mega Drive/Genesis controllers. Yes, you can eat the cake controller! Genesis truly does what Nintendon’t on this particular point. Just be warned that if you want to get the most out of the Tokyo Game Show Merchandise Corner, you’d best bring a lot of extra money.
