Hauls: Space Frogs and Cowardly Dogs

You know the drill by now: Playing haul catch-up again before any bells start jingling and we're hit with another year change. Let's skip any additional preamble and get to some nerd ephemera!

Banjo-Kazooie (N64)

This one was unexpected! See, my Mom was thrifting and came across a random box of gaming-related goods. After a bit of badgering from my Dad (he loves fiddling with retro gaming tech), she decided to buy it. After she brought it home, I was surprised to find THIS gem nestled in said box. The original Bear/Bird adventure! Needless to say, I wasted no time in re-adding it to the small N64 collection that I've been rebuilding ever since my original console and carts fell to the cruel mistress of being sold during the Gamecube era. Still works perfectly, too! (After a bit of cleaning.) Feels super nice to have this original cart again after the duo's big comeback in Smash.

Pokémon Adventures Black 2 and White 2 Volume 4

This one was actually a stray Birthday present that was delayed past the actual day after it was already pre-ordered. This volume (finally) brings the B2W2 arc of the manga to an end. Excited to finally head to Kalos in 2022!

The Disney Afternoon Adventures Volume 1: Just Us Justice Ducks and Other Stories (Amazon)

Invader Zim Volume 4 Deluxe Edition (Amazon)

This batch of books is courtesy of a rather nice Amazon deal from a while back where you could get 15 bucks off an item priced at $25 or more TWICE IN A ROW. Thanks to that, I was able to score both for less than the full price of just one! 

Now I'm only one hardcover short of owning all of Oni Press' Invader Zim Deluxe Editions and I've finally dipped my toe into the ocean of Fantagraphics' Disney comic collections! When I heard that not only were they collecting the strips based on the Disney Afternoon shows that ran in Disney Adventures magazine back in the day in nice hardcover collections, but also that they were STARTING with the multi-part Legend of the Chaos God crossover, I knew that I HAD to score this! (Not sure why they buried the Chaos God inclusion behind adaptations of a Darkwing Duck episode and A Goofy Movie in the marketing, but hey, I don't know the ins and outs of selling hardcover Duck books.)

Michelangelo Plush

This guy was another of my Mom's thrift finds! His mask has a hard time actually covering his eyes, but he makes a nice companion to my IDW TMNT collection on my bookshelf. (Which is also flanked by a Raphael bobblehead.)

Wreck-It Ralph: Ultimate Collector's Edition (4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital Code) (Disney Movie Insiders)

I already own Wreck-It Ralph on Blu-ray and don't yet have the means to play 4K discs, but being able to finally add my favorite movie to my digital collection (my old copy was just a BD/DVD combo pack) while at the same time future proofing it for my physical shelf all for the best price of free courtesy of DMI? Yeah, that's amazing. Now I can watch it anywhere and the sequel doesn't have to look so lonely alongside my other digital copies!

Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo meets Courage the Cowardly Dog (DVD) (Amazon)

STUPID DOG(S)!! I don't really pick up Scooby-Doo films that often, but I'm a sucker for crossovers, so any time they throw an unexpected mash-up into their future projects, my interest becomes piqued. (Like when they resurrected Batman: The Brave and the Bold for a team-up back in 2018.) This year's mix is one that A LOT of people would probably be surprised that they haven't done earlier (barring a few Cartoon Network promos): Scooby-Doo and Courage the Cowardly Dog. Despite it being almost two decades since the series ended, the Courage characters are still as charming/twisted as ever and they mix well with the Mystery Inc. gang despite the disparate art styles. It's a really fun little nostalgia trip of a movie filled with a lot of what you'd expect from both sides and a TON of fanservice. I'd recommend it if you grew up watching either or both of these dogs' escapades on the tube. Just a fun, wacky little cartoon crossover film.

Jakks Pacific Mighty and Mecha Sonic Figures (Amazon)

Hadn't picked up any of Jakks Pacific's new Sonic the Hedgehog figures, but the second that they announced that MIGHTY THE ARMADILLO would be one of the first Classic characters added to the line, I KNEW that would have to change. The fact that they also decided to release MECHA SONIC (the semi-final boss from Sonic 2 not to be confused with his more well-known brother from Sonic CD) for the 30th Anniversary made getting into them EVEN MORE irresistible. These aren't always the easiest to score online for a decent price, but thanks to Amazon, I was able to get them both for retail! (Ten bucks a pop!) They're both SUPER cool (though Mecha's a little small compared to the other Classic characters and Mighty has trouble standing with his huge head and weaker legs) and I'm always pumped to add more characters without previous figure representation to my collection! (Here's hoping Fang and the Hooligans aren't far behind.)

Hot Wheels Mario Kart Blind Box Vehicle (Got Monty Mole!)

My Mom bought this for me. My chasers were the Cow and Trophy, but Monty certainly isn't a bad score.

Sgt. Frog: The Complete First Season (SD Blu-ray) (Rightstuf Anime)

Ohhhhhhhhhh man, this is a big one. Haven't really brought it up around these parts, but I'm a HUGE Sgt. Frog fan and there's always been a little gap in my heart ever since Funimation abandoned releasing the anime on DVD after 2011. Well, earlier this year, that hole was at last filled! Discotek announced that they had acquired EVERY SINGLE EPISODE of the show and had plans to release it on Blu-ray! The long-dormant Keronian sympathizer within me burst forth like an explosion and started obsessing over Space Frogs once again! I eagerly awaited every bit of information on their first release while finally reading through the manga. Now, at last, the start of a new era for the show has arrived.

While it's a Blu-ray, Sgt. Frog (mostly) isn't an HD show, so that means they could squeeze all 51 episodes of the show's first season on to just two discs and STILL have room for extras! (That's the equivalent of EIGHT DVDs from Funimation's previous release.) Speaking of extras, there's a nice selection of neat ones! There's, of course, the prerequisite clean opening and endings, but also promos for the show's original airing in Japan, the test episode of Funimation's dub that was originally up on YouTube and featured some differing voices and localized names ("Pekopon" became "Planet Wuss" and "Natsumi" became "Natalie," etc.), and even the trailer for ADV's aborted dub! Throw in a bunch of super nice touches like improved English subtitles for both the original Japanese and Funimation English dub, full English credits for every episode at the end of each disc, and the use of different art for both the slip and inside covers of the case and you've got a release that I was just THOROUGHLY impressed by. Needless to say, I can't freaking wait for the other six seasons. (Especially to finally experience all of those previously-unreleased-in-the-states episodes!)

Marvel Legends Retro Collection Spider-Man 2099 Figure (Big Bad Toy Store)

Capping things off with another addition to the Marvel Legends collection! Miguel O'Hara, AKA, Spider-Man 2099, is one of my personal favorite Spider-Men, but I missed out on his previous Marvel Legends figures when they were new and they quickly soared in price. Lucky for me, then, that they finally announced a rerelease (in 90's Spider-Man TAS-style packaging) a short while ago. Feels great to finally have a Miggy on my shelf! (Though, now I want them to rerelease his later suit. I actually REALLY like it.)

That'll do! I might post again before Christmas depending on if a certain item comes in around then, but we'll just see how things shake out. Either way, I hope ya'll enjoy the upcoming holiday season to its utmost! 🦃🎄

30th Birthday Haul

Welp, I'm now officially as old as Space Ghost claimed to be in Coast to Coast. Kinda surreal, not gonna lie. Celebrations yesterday were pretty relaxed (it being a Monday and all), but we still enjoyed a nice little family gathering with a friggin' awesome cake:

Courtesy of a combination of my Sister's hard work and some edible printing. Having the same birth year as one of your personal favorite gaming franchises definitely has certain advantages.

Anyhoo, let's get on to the gifts!

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury 

New Pokémon Snap

Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time (Switch)

NEO: The World Ends With You (Switch)

This year's gaming haul places the spotlight on LONG awaited sequels that you probably wouldn't have expected by a long shot just a few years back. (Well, except for 3D World. I definitely awaited the port for a good while, though.)

Only jumped into NEO so far (RPGs are kinda my thing and I adored the original), but just knowing that I'll still have one of my favorite 3D Mario games (complete with a bonus adventure), a Crash game with a super appealing cartoony aesthetic plus playable Dingodile, and a frigging POKÉMON SNAP SEQUEL to enjoy once I finish it is brain-meltingly exciting.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection Volume 11

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection Volume 12

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe Volume 3: Karai's Path

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe Volume 4: Home

Ghostbusters: Spectral Shenanigans Volume 2

Ghostbusters: Crossing Over

My reading material for this year sees my return to IDW's fantastic TMNT books with both my first offerings from their hardcover compilations (believe it or not, it was actually FAR cheaper than going for the individual trade paperbacks featuring these same stories) and the remaining entries from their Universe spin-off book that I still needed for my collection.

 

Also along for the ride are a couple of IDW's Ghostbusters books (both the last piece of Volume 2 of the ongoing that I needed and the Crossing Over mini-series) that officially complete my collection of Dan Shoening and Erik Burnham's collaborations up through 2018. I'm looking forward to seeing how an interdimensional portal created to get the Ninja Turtles back home (yes really, read these) leads to just about every 'buster in the franchise at that point (including the sprites from the New Ghostbusters 2 NES game) coming together to avert catastrophe like they do. It'll be the perfect appetizer for Afterlife!

Pokémon DP: Sinnoh League Victors The Complete Season 

Pokémon Adventures: Black 2 and White 2 Volume 2

Pokémon Adventures: Black 2 and White 2 Volume 3

It's Pokémon's 25th and Snap isn't the only new treat I've got to enjoy from the franchise! First, the final DP set officially completes the Sinnoh arc on my DVD shelf. Then, one of my personal favorite manga series returns after a bit of a hiatus (long story) to present the climax of Black and White's two-arc story. Looking forward to completing Ash's Gen 4 journey before my personal revisit on the Switch this holiday as well as finally getting back to collecting Adventures regularly.

Transformers Generations WFC: Kingdom Voyager Class Optimus Primal

Transformers Generations WFC: Kingdom Voyager Class Dinobot

Last but not least, in addition to the very nice cake (as well as a fun evening out to see Black Widow), my Sis got me these two beautiful beasts. I don't really talk about Transformers much here, but I'm a HUGE fan of the Beast Era of the brand, so to see Hasbro putting out modern versions of the Beast Wars cast that are pretty darn accurate to the way the characters appeared in the show (barring some more realistic touches to the beast modes) is a dream come true, especially in the case of my favorite character, Dinobot. His beast mode transformation is a bit finicky, but robot mode is just impeccable, blowing the 10th Anniversary version of the original figure that I owned previously completely out of the water. It feels so good to have a mostly-complete (barring Cheetor) initial Maximal cast standing all cool on my shelf together. A perfect way to celebrate 25 years of Beast Wars. (Yep, another Anniversary. When it rains, it pours.)

That should about do it for this year! Not exactly sure when the next post will be, but you can expect at least one before the holidays roll around. Until next time.

Hauls: A Singing Keychain, a Plush Mouse, and an American Japanese Egyptian King

As has become customary on this blog whenever there's a post so close to the beginning of August, I've got a few straggling hauls to share before my Birthday in two weeks. That calls for a quickie before the main event! (So quick a haul post, in fact, that I've actually listed the entirety of the items in question in this post's title, albeit in jokey fashion.) Commence to sharing!

Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory (Switch) (Walmart)

Much like the situation with WarioWare Gold last Summer, this deal was simply too good to pass up. I initially skipped Melody of Memory at launch because a rhythm game mostly consisting of recycled assets with minimal new story content didn't really justify a full $60 purchase in my eyes. However, Walmart's site recently listing it at twenty bucks (a whole THIRD of the full price) finally got me to bite. 

After beating it and unlocking all the songs, I'd definitely say that I'm glad that I waited for a price drop. It's a neat little change of pace brimming with that typical Kingdom Hearts flavor, buuuuuuuuuuut it's not terribly long or content-heavy. If you're a KH fan (especially of the awesome Yoko Shimomura tunes), you'll find plenty to love about it, just don't go in expecting an experience on the level of the main RPGs in terms of length or depth. It's a rhythm game with a Kingdom Hearts twist that mostly just recaps the story of the series as a whole with a couple bonus scenes at the end teasing future games. Make of that what you will. Definitely had fun with it, though, and the ending has me VERY curious to see the next game.

 

Pichu Plush

My Mom found this little fella while thrifting. He makes a nice little bookshelf companion for that Detective Pikachu Plush I got for Christmas last year. (Never would've thought that this blog would see a second Pichu item after the amiibo, but the thrift works in mysterious ways.)

Power Rangers Lightning Collection King Sphinx 

Last but certainly not least, I won this dude in a Twitter giveaway. (Thank you once again to razzle1337.) Pretty cool to get a monster for once and he makes a nice addition to the bad guy ranks of my Lightning figs. (Quite a big one, too. He's such a large figure that I had to rework my display!)

That should do it for July. See ya in two weeks for my big 3-0!

Hauls: "THEY'RE BABIES!!!!!!"

It's the first post of 2021! The world's starting to heal just a bit (Got myself one of them fancy vaccinations two weeks ago), a Pokémon Snap sequel is coming at the end of the month, and a cool (and funny) new season of Power Rangers is on the air. I'd say this year's off to a pretty solid start (and has the potential to get even better with some of the choice announcements made or leaked thus far in nerd culture), so let's dive right in with some hauls, shall we?

NECA Tokka & Rahzar Two-Pack (NECA Store)

Ohhhhhhhhhhh MY yes. Ever since NECA started making movie-based TMNT figures, these guys were at the verrrrrrrrrrry TOP of my wishlist. Tokka and Rahzar have seen several plastic adaptations over the years, but none have really captured their original film designs quite so accurately. Just owning a Tokka figure complete with his ridiculously spiky shell that isn't just a retool of an existing Slash figure is a personal dream come true and their accessories are just as on-point. (You can see Venompool enjoying the splendor of the Traditional Pre-Fight Donut (TM) in that second pic.) The stupid infants complement "Big Mama" Super Shredder in my NECA TMNT display quite nicely and I'm really happy to have completed what I consider Secret of the Ooze's "trio" in my collection with such high-end figure representation.

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete Twelfth Season (Amazon)

More Christmas cash purchases! Since I finally caught up on my SpongeBob DVD collection during Christmas proper, I used some of my gift cash to pre-order the latest season. Some choice episodes on this set, including the 20th Anniversary special, "SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blow-Out." In fact, a chunk of the included eps have yet to even air on Nickelodeon in the US! Only downside is that it's not quite the "Complete" 12th Season just because they left one episode out of the release: "Kwarantined Krab." That one also hasn't been aired in the states and you can probably guess why based on the title. A case of unfortunate timing if ever there was one. Hopefully it'll be included on a future set after this whole deal cools down.

Sonic Select Book 3 (Amazon)

This was yet another item brought to me by gift money and it officially completes my set of Sonic Select books! (Now I just wish there was an affordable way to get ahold of Sonic Archives 13 so I can complete THOSE to a certain point. Pretty sure NOBODY thinks Endgame is good enough to spend 500 BUCKS ON.)

Ghostbusters Volume 7: Happy Horror Days (Amazon)

Ghostbusters Volume 8: Mass Hysteria Part 1 (Amazon)

Ghostbusters Volume 9: Mass Hysteria Part 2 (Amazon)

Ghostbusters comics! I was originally going to wait until Volume 3 of the Spectral Shenanigans collected series to grab these particular stories, buuuuuuuuuuut that book was delayed all to thunder and we haven't heard a peep about it since. That combined with these books hitting low stock on Amazon without a restock in sight as well as IDW pulling all their Ghostbusters stuff on digital storefronts made me realize that it was really now or never if I ever wanted to own these.

Power Rangers Lost Galaxy: The Lost Galactabeasts (Book)

South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut (DVD)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) Volume 8: The Search for Splinter (DVD)

Thrift store haul from a trip there with my Mom after a dentist appointment! My favorite find is definitely the TMNT DVD, since I don't actually own much of the 2003 show. I only really got super into both the show itself and DVD collecting after the franchise had changed hands and everything was going out of print. Nickelodeon also hasn't put out anything for it barring a couple of random one-off discs, so OOP treasures like this are the best you're gonna get as far as physical media goes, unfortunately. (Hopefully the show can get great numbers on Paramount+ to inspire a little physical initiative to move forward.) DVD includes part of a Peter Laird interview as a bonus and the case even still had an insert advertising Mirage's then-current TMNT ongoing comic series! A nice little surprise.

Digimon Card Game Promotion Pack Version 0.0 Special Edition

Dragon Ball Super Card Game - SS Rosé Goku Black, Unison of Extermination and Super Saiyan God Son Goku/SSGSS Son Goku, Soul Striker Reborn Cards

Won another Premium Bandai giveaway, so I got yet another version of those same six Digimon promo cards from two posts ago. These ones come packaged in a folder rather than a pack and are Special Edition, meaning their foil effect is more apparent than the subtle shine of my previous versions of them. (The second photo shows the comparison.) Probably gonna keep them in the folder, though, as they look nice in there and I've already got plenty of copies of those cards to actually use if I can find Packs or Starter Decks in the wild one day. Also included in this prize package were a couple of neat Dragon Ball Super promo cards. (The God Goku is reversible!)

Banjo & Kazooie amiibo (Best Buy)

Terry amiibo (Best Buy)

More additions to the amiibo shelf, including a particularly long-awaited figure for me personally. Never did I ever imagine when Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was first announced that Microsoft would not only work with Nintendo to bring my favorite Bear and Bird to the roster, but they'd also sign off on an amiibo of them, complete with Jiggy-themed stand! Just the sight of them in a single figure display alongside Mario, Bowser, Mewtwo, King K. Rool, Pac-Man, Ryu, Mega Man, Sonic, Cloud Strife and all these other gaming icons just feels SO right and the detailing on them in superb. (They even included the Rare logo on Banjo's backpack!)

Also along for the ride is Terry Bogard, joining his friends Ryu and Ken in the third-party fighting game representation!

Ghostbusters 101: Everyone Answers the Call (Amazon)

Lastly, another Ghostbusters book I picked up for similar reasons to the ones above. This one in particular should be a fun one because it's the first crossover between the universes of the original and 2016 films.

That's everything I've built up since January! Not sure when I'm going to post next, but you can expect something in August at the latest! (Summer/Birthday times are on the way again.)

The Christmas Fallout - 2020!

Christmas has come and gone and I'm sure it was a really weird one for a lot of people for obvious reasons. My own celebrations weren't affected too badly, which I'm really thankful for, but regardless, I hope you were all still able to have a nice holiday despite whatever individual circumstances you've been dealing with.

Anyway, it's time for the annual Fallout post, where I regale you with the pile of excess that my loved ones so generously bestow upon me each year. You can also share your own hauls and celebrations in the comments below, so feel free to contribute some holiday joy.

$20 Nintendo eShop Gift Card

Nintendo Switch Online 12-Month Individual Membership (Not pictured.)

Sonic the Hedgehog Craftables Blind Box Figure (Got Super Sonic!)

Pokémon TCG Dusk Ball Tin Set

Super Mario Premium Tech Decals Heroes Set

Lots of Candy (Not pictured.)

Stocking filling! Renewed my Nintendo Switch Online membership through 2022 and picked up AVGN 1 and 2 Deluxe with the Nintendo cards while the super neat Pokémon tin netted me both a GX and a full art. Not sure how great they are as pulls since I'm only a very casual TCG player, but at the very least they're extremely purty. Rounding things out are some candy (mostly Kisses and Reese's mini cups), some Mario-themed tech decals for whenever I feel like decking out a future device and a really cool if kinda frustrating to build/keep all together Super Sonic figure! (The position of his feet combined with the pegs and peg holes result in some falling out unless you wedge them in just right.)

Super Mario 3D All-Stars 

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Switch)

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales Launch Edition (PS4)

Marvel's Avengers (PS4)

Interestingly enough, this year's game haul ended up being exclusively Mario and Marvel-focused. 

Starting with the Mario side of things, the recently-released 3D All-Stars will be a really fun way to revisit the first three 3D installments in the series (especially Sunshine and Galaxy, both of which I've only played once and the former of which I haven't beaten before) while the Switch port of Captain Toad that released a while back will help me gear up for the upcoming 3D World + Bowser's Fury. 

As for the Marvel stuff, I'm very happy to swing back into Insomniac's extremely fun world as one of my favorite Spider-Men while also entering a new battle as Earth's Mightiest Heroes. They also both come with free PS5 version upgrades, so I'm set for whenever I get around to picking one up. (Probably whenever they announce an exclusive Kingdom Hearts title for it.)

Yu-Gi-Oh! the Movie (Blu-ray)

Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution (Blu-ray)

Blu-rays! This particular set I'm dubbing the "Dan Green Double Feature," as both films star my man Jay Snyder. (His real name for those not in the know.) My Yu-Gi-Oh! DM collection will benefit from a digitally remastered, widescreen version of Pyramid of Light (after owning my old 2004 fullscreen DVD for the longest time) while my Pokémon media shelf will see the addition of one of my favorite films of the year. 

Not kidding about that last bit. I didn't really think much of a CG remake of the first Pokémon film when it was first announced, but the English script sticking closer to the Japanese one than the original First Movie dub combined with the stellar performance by the voice cast (especially Dan Green as Mewtwo) really blew me away and brought me back to seeing the movie for the first time all those years ago. It's a great time to be both a Mewtwo and Pokémon anime dub fan.

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Best 200 Episodes Ever

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete Tenth Season 

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete Eleventh Season 

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Pilot, A Mini-Movie, and the Square Shorts 

The SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage!

Like last year with my late celebration of Power Rangers' 25th Anniversary, I'm celebrating SpongeBob's 20th the year after. This mostly means A BUNCH of DVDs, including the first eleven seasons of the show, some shorts I was missing on DVD, and the fan-freaking-tastic musical that I fell in love with around this time last year. (Check it out if you're a SpongeBob fan. Great music, fantastic cast, and the same combination of weird humor and heart you expect from the franchise.)

Oh, and there's a reason I asked for the 200 Episode set specifically despite owning the first 100 episodes on DVD already:

THIS BEAUTY! This gorgeous cast poster featuring almost every single SpongeBob character that has ever appeared on the show was previously only available at SDCC, but when Paramount decided to also include it as a bonus in their 200 Episodes set, I knew that I HAD to have it as a diehard SpongeBob fan. The perfect addition to my room.

Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution (Manga)

Pokémon DP: Galactic Battles The Complete Season

More Pokémon stuff! I'm not usually for book adaptations of films or television I could just watch, but my love of the movie that spawned it, my own Mewtwo fanboyism, a couple of interesting changes, and the sheer novelty of having a manga version of the classic original Pokémon film all came together to make the first item an easy get. As for the second, my trek through the Diamond and Pearl seasons of the anime continues with the third of four, which promises some very fun episodes to look forward to including new evolutions, blatant HeartGold and SoulSilver advertisement, and a full six-on-six battle. Very much anticipating digging into it in the new year.

The Art of Super Mario Odyssey 

Super Mario Manga Mania 

More Mario love in the form of some books. Been meaning to pick up the ENORMOUS Odyssey art book for a while and the 35th Anniversary provided the perfect opportunity to finally do so. Manga Mania, meanwhile, is probably the Mario-related gift that I'm most excited for. Y'see, it's the very first English release the long-running Super Mario-Kun manga has seen and although it's a "Best Of" collection of chapters from throughout its history rather than the first Volume, I'm REALLY hoping it does well enough for Viz to bring the rest of the series over. I NEED to officially own a Mario manga series that has featured adaptations of everything from Super Mario RPG to Donkey Kong Country to Paper Mario: The Origami King and had characters like Starlow and Goombella featured on the spines of the Volume collections. The US NEEDS more non-game Mario media than just Super Mario Adventures and the American cartoons and comics.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Beyond the Grid Deluxe Edition 

Go Go Power Rangers Volume 4

Go Go Power Rangers Volume 5

Go Go Power Rangers Volume 6

Power Rangers: Sins of the Future

Another Christmas, another batch of Power Rangers comics! We've got an extradimensional epic starring a ragtag hodgepodge team of Rangers from throughout the franchise (including someone who didn't get their Ranger form in their actual show), the remaining pre-Tommy issues of Go Go, and a sequel to Power Rangers Time Force. Looking forward to going through these later. (Especially the first and last as they're both a tad divisive among the fandom.)

Marvel Legends Venompool Wave (Venomized Ghost-Spider, Venomized Miles Morales, Carnage, Phage, and Morbius)

Don't usually go for entire Marvel Legends waves (or entire action figure waves in general), but I simply HAD TO when VENOMPOOL was revealed as this particular wave's build-a-figure. A MASSIVE combo of Venom and Deadpool complete with GIGANTIC katana? Yeah, that ticks just about all my action figure appeal boxes. The other figures are neat as well. Don't really care about Morbius or Phage, but I've never owned a figure of Carnage before and Gwenom's always had a super cool design. Not the hugest on Miles' style guide Venomized look (prefer his design from the actual Maximum Venom show), but I love Miles, so I can excuse it. Still, VP is absolutely the big attraction here and is sure to become the gem of my Marvel Legends shelf.

Jakks Pacific Metal Mario Figure

Jakks Pacific Super Mario Odyssey Multi-Pack

Some more plumber action in figure form! My favorites are probably Metal Mario and Mario with Cappy. I love the Mario Kart trophy the former comes with and how all the Odyssey figures feature more intricate detailing than the normal Super Mario figures, mimicking the Mario model from the game. They'll make great additions to the video game figure shelf.

Tanooki Mario Plush

Kitsune Luigi Plush

With the figures came some plushies! Amazingly appropriate ones, too, considering I just finished a replay of Super Mario 3D Land.

Mario Shirts

...aaaaaaand with the figures and plushies came some cool new shirts! I love the Mario Kart one in particular because it doesn't just use art from one of those games, but rather from the Japan-exclusive Famicom Grand Prix: F-1 Race. Definitely an unexpected place to find art from a semi-obscure game.

Sonic Select Book 7

Mewtwo Deluxe Figure

A couple of gifts from my Sis's family. Book 7 (collecting the Princess Sally mini-series and other Sally-relevant stories) brings my Sonic Select collection one book closer to completion while my Mewtwo fanboy side gets another tingle thanks to this HUGE, extremely rad figure of him. Not only does he come in a swank shiny window box complete with art of him on the inside flap, but he even lights up! It's not the kind of figure I would've bought myself (articulated ones are higher priority for me), but I'm REALLY happy to have gotten him as a gift. Just a great, pleasant surprise. Now I just need to find a place for him to flaunt his full glory.

$25 Playstation Store Card

My favorite Cousin also dropped by and gifted me a little PSN cash. Used it to finally score the Kingdom Hearts 3 Re:Mind DLC.

$50 Amazon Gift Card 

Detective Pikachu Plush

Pikachu Sticker (?)

Some family friends also joined in on our celebrations and got me a few things. The Amazon cash is always greatly appreciated and the Detective Pikachu plush that their daughter bought for me with her own money is simply adorable and a great piece for my collection. She picked very well and it was one of my favorite surprise gifts this year.

My Grandma also sent me $50 shortly before Christmas (since we couldn't visit her like usual this year) and I used it to pre-order something I'll talk about in the next post, grab the Captain Toad Special Episode DLC, aaaaaaaaaaand order THIS from Amazon:

Final Fantasy VII Remake (Amazon)

Thank you Square for selling one of your most popular 2020 releases at half price around the holidays! Now I can finally experience the world of FF VII after constantly encountering its characters in stuff like Kingdom Hearts and Smash Bros. (Also thank you to Sephiroth in Smash Ultimate for inspiring this purchase.)

Also used part of the previously-mentioned Amazon gift card to finally score this figure:

Power Rangers Lightning Collection Ranger Slayer (Amazon)

Glad they restocked her around Christmas. Now my Drakkon has his Slayer and the Beyond the Grid team has another member on my shelf.

That's all she wrote for Christmas 2020. I'll see you guys in the new year. (Here's hoping it goes better than this one.)