Destination: Next Level Games

Next stop on our impromptu trip to Wales was Next Level Games in Pontypridd.

(of course we totally forgot to take a photo of the store both times we've visited and I can't find one on the net!)

This store seems tiny from the outside but it's like Aladdin's Cave when you get in there! Last time I was here I didn't buy much but this time I went a little mad, treating myself to my second console of the day, a turquoise crystal N64, Crash Dummies for the Master System, Echo the Dolphin on the Mega CD, Pokemon Colosseum for the Gamecube and a walkthrough guide for Animal crossing Wild World. I also got given a NES Zapper gun and a copy of Sonic for the Master System with a photocopied cover.

Tachiko also treated himself to a second home console, this time breaking away from the Nintendo franchise and heading into Sega territory with a Dreamcast, again in a stunning condition with minimal if any signs of aging! Following his love of Crystal consoles he also nabbed a clear Gameboy Pocket (the only handheld I am missing from my gameboy collection), a boxed copy of Flashback on the SNES, Soul Calibur 2 for the Gamecube and a free rumble pack for his new Dreamcast!

We were also given a few other freebies, an empty N64 controller box and a carrycase designed to fit a gameboy pocket pictured below with our other freebies.

Again we spent quite a bit of time chatting to the owners (again their names have escaped me sorry!) about our collections, eurogamer, midnight launch pickups back in the day and the trails of running a retro game store. 

To find out more about Next Level Games and to see what amazing things they'd got in stock check out their facebook page here: Next Level Games Facebook Page

Tachiko and I discussed the possibility of heading over to Newport to check out Toy Army but decided that given the time Toy Army would be closing by the time we got there so we decided to stay in Pontypridd for a little longer before heading for home, We popped into Game where I found a copy of Animal Crossing 'Let's go to the City' for the Wii and a walkthrough guide for Pokemon X&Y on sale! I also bought a couple of magazines from the newsagents :)

Before long it was time to head home but we thoroughly enjoyed every minute of our trip to Wales and that retro game retail therapy itch was well and truly scratched....or so we thought!!

Destination: Super Tomato

So after seeing and playing some of the exciting new games that Nintendo has in store for gamers in the near future, Tachiko and I were feeling the need to indulge in some Retro Retail Therapy and where better to go than to Wales?

Admittedly we probably should have done this the day after Eurogamer as the 4 hours of driving to Cardiff and back to Oxford nearly killed me but it was totally worth it!!We knew we wanted to hit Super Tomato in Cardiff and Next Level Games in Pontypridd with the possibility of checking out Toy Army in Newport on the way home if there was time (there wasn't) but we'd also heard about another game shop 'Retrobution' in Llanelli, sadly Sat Nav stated that this was another hour and 30 minute drive after Cardiff so maybe we'll go there the next time we stay in Wales.

Anyway, we stopped at Super Tomato first.

After getting our heads around the stores changed layout since we last visited earlier this year we started looking at all the lovely stock on offer. Shockingly I didn't actually spend half as much as I thought I would and nowhere near as much as I did the first time we visited but I did come home with a lovely reconditioned NES in the mint-est box I have ever seen and a boxed copy of Kirby's dream course (total sucker for a Kirby game, I love that pink marshmallow!)

Tachiko came away with a SNES for his collection (unboxed but in stunning condition, not even the slightest hint of yellowing) and a couple of unboxed games for it -warpspeed and FIFA '96 (freebie from the bargain bin!) 

We were also given Columns for the Sega Game Gear as another freebie (again I found it in the bargain bin) and Tachiko 'won' a GBA game from the vending machine for £3 :)

All in all we spend a good couple of hours in the store browsing and chatting with one of the owners (sorry I've forgotten his name) about some of our latest pickups, eurogamer and reminiscing about our last visit to the store but pretty soon our parking time was running out (parked right outside the shop!)and it was time for us to move onto Next Level Games in Pontypridd.

More on that next time but Super Tomato hasn't seen the last of us yet! To find out more about Super Tomato and updates on the latest things they have instore, check out their facebook page via the link below and give them a like :)

Super Tomato Facebook Page