Game Hunting on Burning Books?! Video Game Pickups in Daytona Beach [VIDEO]
I don’t collect games, so the pick-up video genre is largely beyond me. But when I travel, I make a point to visit the local game stores. And rather than fill my suitcase with knick knack souvenirs that will only gather dust I bring home video games.
I visited The Video Game Dungeon at the Daytona Flea and Farmer’s market in Daytona Beach, Florida as well as Blue Dragon Video Games in Ormond Beach, Florida.
What did I pick up? Watch to find out.
Transcript(ish)
I don’t collect games, so the pick-up video genre is largely beyond me. I watch a lot of pick-up videos, though. I love being a part of a person’s passion, even if only as a spectator. That’s part of what makes the gaming community so great. I don’t have to be a collector myself in order to enjoy the act of collecting. When someone, even a stranger, is happy about finding games to add to their collection, I am happy too.
But when I travel, I make a point to visit the local game stores. And rather than fill my suitcase with knick knack souvenirs that will only gather dust and ridicule (except these love-making pigs I got in Mexico; I stand by this purchase), instead of those traditional souvenirs, I bring home video games. Then, when playing the games I’ll often be reminded of the travel destination in the very same way traditional souvenirs allow. For more about this idea of a curated association, watch my “Do Video Games Ruin Vacations?” video.
I recently traveled to Daytona Beach and Ormond Beach, Florida. My first stop in lovely Daytona was to the lovely Daytona Flea and Farmer’s market, a sprawling indoor/outdoor maze full of, I hoped video games, but upon entering I discovered…not video games. But no bother. Video games do not adhere to US politics. This fact is one of the reasons I love games so much. Everybody loves Mario. So, I kept diligent. Not long into my journey I found this, a bladed weapons dealer with, what’s that, a Hylian shield, a Master sword, and a Halo energy sword! I was getting closer. I could practically smell the NES cartridge rom boards, spit soaked and all from years of being blown into, in ill-fated attempts to conquer the flashing screen of death.
Remote control sumo wrestlers? Not quite what I’m looking for, but surely the geek trail would be littered with such artifacts. So I’ve got to be getting close.
And then, like castle Hyrule itself breaking the horizon, I see it. The Video Game Dungeon. And with air conditioning no less.
The selection here was actually quite incredible. And the prices too. I expected much less from a flea market, especially an always-open place like this. They also had a clone combo NES and SNES system setup to test games upon checkout, which is always a welcome amenity. Needless to say, I walked away happy.
I grabbed a copy of The Ren and Stimpy Show: Veediots!, Aero the Acro-Bat, and Faxanadu, this last game is one I’ve never played, but have heard some great things about. It seems up my alley.
The next day I decided to break for a more conventional game store by way of an unassuming place called Blue Dragon Video Games in Ormond Beach, Florida. The staff were very nice to me and even offered to share this video upon completion. I wish I would have recorded more footage of their store when I was there, but I was in a bit of a hurry.
I could have spent hours at Blue Dragon Video Games salivating over the glass counter goods. But luckily, I took a bit of the glass counter home with me, so I can salivate all I want in the privacy of my own home, away from the judging eyes of people who simply don’t understand the magic of glass countered video games. Which brings me to my pickups. The glass counter chunk in question is Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, a game I’ve wanted for a long time. This game blew my mind when I first played it years ago. I’m excited to jump back in, as I was unable to complete the game back then. I also picked up Wolfenstein: the Old Blood. I’m currently playing the New Order in anticipation of The New Colossus which comes out in October. I’ve heard The Old Blood is a bit of a let down, but I’m so impressed with The New Order so far that I know this is a series I’ll want to experience in its totality.
Overall, the Daytona/Ormond Beach trip was a great success. I’m already looking forward to my next visit.
Let me know in the comments below if you’ve played any of these games you see here in the screen. What do you look for in a video game store? Do you make a point to visit game stores when you travel?
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Visited Locations
Music Credits
- Bit Shift Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
