Restoring Floppy Wonky Cardboard Game Boxes \o/

Spurned on by my friend NuckingFuts forum thread on underground-gamer, and various tutorial videos, we tried to take some floppy, old, and miffed up cardboard NES boxes everyone has that don't close anymore, and make them somewhat decent again. Instead of just copy/pasting the thread from there, I'll just post my part of the experiment and my results thereof.

First, the summary of the idea and what the tutorial videos tell you to do. The idea is to soak/dip the unfolded flattened cardboard box into water, squash it between something with protection and weights, and let it dry for 2 whole weeks. In the original video *linked at end*, the box was entirely soaked for an extended period of time, and was sandwiched between two sheets of tin foil, and had a large book and weights put on top of it, and left to dry in that state. The results were quite nice in the end. However, I got as good if not similar results using slightly altered methods as I will explain.

I wanted to contribute to this, so I found a test box of my own, in this case a Official NES Cleaning Kit. As you will see in the pictures that will be posted, the bottom end of the box was really miffed up, wouldn't close anymore, and the side spines had a crease up their middles.


You can see the ragged bottom


Uncloseable


I do not own the accessory that goes into the box anymore, so I figured this was the perfect candidate to try this process on without consequences.

I took the box and unfolded it completely and flattened it. I then filled my kitchen sink with luke warm water and dipped the box into it for merely a second or two, no longer, as according to others results, the longer it soaks, the longer it takes to dry. I then took the wet box and let it drip dry for a moment to let excess water wick away. I then proceeded to take two plastic ziplock bags and sandwich the wet box in between them, and proceeded to put a large book on top of the sandwiched box, with two weights on top of that, as you will see in the next set of images.



Between two baggies.



Under the weight of religion...



And even more weight, I used 6.5kg x 2 weights.


Then the trick is, to have it be as completely flat as can be, and let it dry under the weights for an extended period of time. The original video stated that a 2 week period should be the ideal time, whereas it was found that as long as you do not over soak, 2 weeks is ridiculous. Mine however, having only soaked a second and left flat between the bags under the weights, took only 24 hours to completely dry. Although, after about 12 hours, it was close to dry, so I took it from under the weights and let it air dry normally, which in my case was an alright thing to do.


Here are some of the after shots:


Nice and flat...



I'd say thats pretty square!



Looking good!


And, here is the finished experiment:



Ta-dah!


Alright, now for my thoughts and a few other things. Anything in bold, was either only done by me so as to deviate from the original experiment to gain better results and understanding. IE: I used zip lock bags instead of tin foil, I used less weight, I used less drying time, I used luke warm water instead of cold, and I let it finish drying not weighed down. Even with those variables changed, it seems the trick still works, as my box is now ten times more rigid, the flaps close into place as they should now, and the box stands up straight.

I would have to say, if done properly like has been shown by me here, and by NuckingFuts in his forum thread, the tutorial youtube videos, and my own experimentation, that this is a totally viable way to "fix up" ragged boxes with bad tabs. This does *NOT* however do ANYTHING for the cosmetic damages the box may have sustained over years of abuse.

Also a note on fading. There was absolutely none on my test box. Most of these NES boxes are coated in a type of wax of sorts, and the water really only soaks into the bare parts on the inside.

I urge people to try this themselves and experiment with it. I wouldn't start with your priceless prized game box at first until you get the idea and understand all the logistics involved. Give it a shot, with some boxes I've seen, what've you got to loose?

Thanks for reading.

LINKS:

YouTube Tutorial Pt 1 - LINK

YouTube Tutorial Pt 2 - LINK

British Kid Response 1 - LINK

British Kid Response 2 - LINK

In which I speak of a personal hero of mine.

I'd like to start by addressing that we as humans hold hero's of ours above all others. I could go into the logistics of what makes a proper hero, but that is all up to interpretation by the individual. Being as I am into video games and the culture thereof, my personal hero happens to be an eccentric game designer/creator by the name of Richard Garriott.

Richard Garriot, aka Lord British has been making ground breaking CRPG's since the late 1970's. The games that I speak of are none other than the Ultima series. Whether you've played them on the computer, or their ports on systems like the NES and SNES, its hard to avoid having contact with them in some fashion or another. If however, you've no idea what these games are, then perhaps you've been living under a rock or you are a "Casual Gamer". I use the term "Casual Gamer" to mean someone who plays Mario Bros and Sonic the Hedgehog.

Through the years, Mr. Garriott has produced some of the most enriching and pivotal games of the genre, as well as breaking new ground with new gaming technology. If you look at the games in the series since the original Akalabeth, you can certainly see how far they've gone and went since the beginning. Most people however, started their exodus into the worlds of Ultima starting with part 7, which in my opinion is the best out of the 9+ games.

Also a thing to note is how he pretty much created the original MMORPG, Ultima Online. I can recall my first expierence with that very vividly, as I was hallucinating on Geltab LSD. The vivid graphics, the enriching sound, the simple point and click interface, and the hundreds and thousands of other players really captivated me. Although very dated, there are still fan made servers in which you can still play this oldie but goodie. I recommend that any World of Warcraft fan go and see their roots. "Oh, but Bluddy... that game is so old and drab, how could it have EVER been so popular?" Well, that is probably because the only things you've been exposed to is the newest generation of crap that companies will dish out at you. That isn't your fault, though, and I won't hold it against you. But, if we forget the past, we are doomed to repeat it.

I could go on and on and on about Ultima and Mr. Garriott, but I will leave this post with a few YouTube videos. The first is a GameSpot interview with him which runs at a solid 15 minutes, and I recommend watching it. The second is a "cribs" type video wherein he tours you through his Castle/Mansion. His eccentricity and absolute passion about what he does is very endearing. If you had that kind of money, would you tell me you wouldn't be eccentric and do what you wanted? One last thing I'd like to note about him before I leave this post, is how he is also in the works to become a space explorer. His father was a astronaut, and he also hopes to become one, as he is in competition with the Virgin company to send people into space. He also hangs out with Steven Hawking, and how cool is that? And with that I say ciao.






And a extra video, an interview with him and his father Owen, about their love of space, being an astronaut, and a few other things. This was a interview for Forbes.

A game review: CADASH - Genesis/Megadrive

Well, this is my first game review. I see so many game sites that actually pay people to write reviews and idiotic blogs that are biased and hardly make any sense. So, I figured that I would try my hand at it, and I also figured I'd start with a game that I had never played: CADASH for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive system.

Lets see, where to begin. I knew nothing of this game, and was inspired to play it when I saw it for sale on eBay and couldn't recollect it. Apparently, it is a action RPG of sorts, very similar to Rastan for the Sega MasterSystem. If you have never played Rastan before, I recommend you download Kega Fusion Sega emulator and the rom, plus this game as well. This game, however, is everything that Rastan wished it could have been in the mid-80's. With the choice of either being a Warrior or a Wizard, you can actually play Cadash through twice without much boredom. There is also a two player mode which I have not tried because, like most of my nerdy bretheren, I have no friends to try it with... Well, that and my second USB controller has went the way of the piper and shit the bed on me. But, I digress, back on topic I go.

As you will see, its rather hard to tell if your warrior is a dude or a chick, although you can tell from the first menu when you chose that it is indeed male. But, the graphics of the time weren't very kind to us. This games graphics, however do excell over other similar games like Rastan and Kensiden. I've noticed through playing it that quite a few other games that came out later have bitten off a few things from this game. A few examples being: There is a flying harpie with tits that throws out a series of diagonal knives from its feet... Where have we seen that before? Castlevania: Symphony of the night! As most people that know me will tell you I am Mr. Observation and I notice these little things. Also, there is a large plant that vomits on your head that is VERY much like the Venus Flytraps from Symphony as well.. Which is rather weird, because they are definatly not made by the same company, or companies that are even remotely related. I guess that game designers remember key things from their youths or their game playing that they'd try to recycle as they thought it might have been cool. But, who knows? I sure as fuck don't.

Onward with the review, I must say that the control is pretty decent. I mean shit, there was only three buttons on a Genesis controller. The only problem is the jumping. Why it took so many years for game developers to perfect code for jumping in platform games, I do not know. But, other than that, its simple hack and slash, jump around and hack and slash again. There are variable attack moves you can do, such as a downward spike when you jump onto a enemy, and a upward swing motion to hit things above you. A nice touch.

The storyline of the game is just like that of any other action RPG. Your a brave hero, and you must go on quests to fulfill your destiny. In this game, there are quite a few different "COUNTRIES" you can go to through the use of these blue glowing magical teleporter doors. Why they call them countries I do not know, as when you go through one you end up in a forest, or a water level, or some dumb shit. There are towns with Item and Weapon shops, and your classic Inns to restore your health. The monsters in the game repopulate at a insanely fast rate, so it is VERY easy to gain enough money in the first level to buy as many Antidotes, Medicinal Herbs and Continues to get you up passed level 10. If you sit in the first level and keep killing the pig men, within 10 minutes you will have a good 2000+ gold. Can't get much easier than that. The monsters go up in strength alot faster per level than you do, so stick around and gain as many levels and as much money as you can, as by the time you get to the 3rd "country" the monsters are so strong you can hardly kill them and get by without half dying.

I'd definatly recommend this game to anyone that enjoys Genesis Classics, or action RPGs. Now that I am sitting here thinking about it, the game is A LOT like Astasynax / Faxanadu for the NES, just with MUCH better graphics, game play, and without that stupid password save. I have yet to find a save point in the game, so using your emulators Save State function is essential.

Give this old classic a chance, and I think you will be pleasantly surprised. I know I sure was. I have yet to play a 2nd time as the mage for a prolonged period of time, so I cannot comment on the hardness/easiness of that compared to the warrior. And here, I leave you. So, with that, I say enjoy and look forward to more.




Thank you for taking the time to read this short review. Please look forward to more. If you are interested in recommending games for me to play and review, please feel free to send me a message, and do not be afraid to post comments. And most of all, PLAY THE GAME! All these games can be downloaded via a host of websites, and there is an emulator for every system ever made. So, go get your game on.

-Bluddy / Charlie