Hey guys! It's been quite a while since I last did a toy review due to my busy schedule at work but, no worries as I will be featuring some really awesome collectibles coming soon! In the meantime, prepare for some gaming nostalgia as I would be sharing with you a short review of one of the cutest and iconic video-game based Nendoroid toy I've ever collected: The Nendoroid 544: Kirby's Dream Land - Kirby!

Nendoroid 544 Kirby from Kirby's Dream Land

The toy actually came out to be more than what I was initially expecting. It came with the stand, 4 interchangeable and expressive face plates, a star rod, sword, awesome hats, and even a fireball! The toy also made use of magnets to give kirby a more flexible and easy way to pose without the worry of scratching the toy's surface. Of course, as expected from Good Smile, they made use of their high quality plastic material and as for the paint job of his face; the way it was expressed in each faceplate was spot on, just the way you remember him in the game.

Here are the many looks you can do with Kirby:

 Absorbing power and skills - Kirby style!

 Kirby flying by keeping air in his mouth :D

 The Legend of Zel-- I mean Kirby. :P

 Kirby and the Star Rod!

Fireball!!!!

Overall, I had a lot of fun playing with this collectible and it really brought Kirby's character to life. If you are an avid fan of this cute pink blob or even a Smash Brothers enthusiast, then it truly is a worthy collectible for you to play with, display and keep.

A special shout-out to Hubbyte Toy Store for helping me get my hands on this adorable find! You may also order from them should you wish to grab one of your own. Simply click here to visit their online shop. Lastly, a special thank you as well to my good friend, Mark Cham, for taking the photos of my Kirby toy!

Thanks for reading this feature and watch out for my new reviews very soon! :)

Since I was a kid, I always had this huge fascination with the culture of Japan. From playing their unique and intriguing video games and consoles, watching loads of awesome anime series and Japanese films, to building and playing with the likes of Tamiya, Gundam, Pokemon, etc.; it's no wonder how the idea of me visiting Japan one day became a serious childhood dream.... and just recently, that same childhood dream finally became a reality!

Last August 4-13, 2015, I was finally able to embark on my lifelong dream to visit the land of the rising sun (and robots, monsters, video games, etc etc etc) with my family. I was so excited that I even plotted out all the places and things I wanted to visit and experience the moment we booked our tickets (which was about a year ago). As the nerd that I am, I felt like that this was also a chance for me to rekindle my childhood nostalgia by making specific stops to some special places that I recalled hearing and seeing behind the screen and manga pages. 

If you find yourself feeling the same way I did since childhood, then this blog entry series is my special guide for you based on my personal experience should you ever decide to come and visit Japan. I hope that you would enjoy it as much as I did. I will be dividing this blog into several parts so that you can click and choose which activity you're interested in checking out depending on your personal preferences. :)

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If you love Pokémon as much as I do, then this is definitely a must-go-to place. Since the Pokémon franchise is widely popular around Japan, it actually isn’t too hard to spot a Pokémon Center in different cities and prefectures. However, if you are in Tokyo and on a short trip, I strongly recommend that you might as well visit the biggest Pokémon Center in all of Japan, located at the 2nd floor of Sunshine City, Ikekuburo. (You can reach this area via the Tokyo Metro Marunochi and Yurakucho line, or the JR Yamanote Line)

When I first arrived to Sunshine City, I could not contain my excitement since my childhood nostalgia was kicking in every time I spotted signs of Pokémon around the mall. 

With the awesome Pokémon displays!

Upon entering the Pokémon Center, you’d be welcomed by a giant Pokéball and ring that is similar to what you see in the actual Pokémon Center in the game. (Sadly, there isn’t any nurse Joy around to attend injured Pokémons) 

Where are you Nurse Joy? :P

Charizard and Pikachu greet you upon entering the Pokémon Center

As I walked in, you’d see a wide array of extremely cute Pokémon plushies, collectibles, capsule toys, shirts, caps, and other Poké merchandise to choose from. There are also several booths scattered around the shop where customers can play mini games to win exclusive prizes. I was able to snag a lot of cute exclusives during my visit and to add to the excitement, they gave me a free CD to take home that contains the music video of Slowpoke (it's a bit weird but hey, its Pokémon-- what's not to love!). 

My Pokémon stash!

You also get a sneak peek preview of the new addition to the Nendoroid Pokémon Series-- N. N will be released later this year so be sure to pre-order yours from your specialty toy stores nearest you!

Nendoroid #537 Pokémon - N with Reshiram!

Of course, the shop was also fully equipped with big statues that feature several popular Pokémons like Charizard X, Lucario, and Pikachu to name a few. Best part of all for Pokémon gamers— you can actually get exclusive and special Pokémons for your game when you bring your Nintendo 3DS, regardless of it being a Japanese or North American version. 

Mega Evolutions!

Charizard X

On the side, of the exit, there is also an arcade area where you can try out Pokken— which is a Pokémon fighting game designed by the creators of Tekken. 

Pokken Tournament (I apologize if the pictures are a bit blurred, I was too excited!)

You can also grab a bunch of awesome Pokemon capsule toys found near the entrance of the store. I was able to score an exclusive Pika-Charizard mini figure during my visit for only 300 Yen. :)

Mini Pika-Charizard figurine! :)

Couldn’t get enough of the Pokemon craze? Well, Sunshine City also has the official Pokémon Café located at the 1st floor. In this cafe, you get to enjoy extremely cute meals that are Pokemon themed and designed that will definitely make you smile! They also have a take-out counter where you can order specialty drinks, pastries, and more. Heed of advice though due to so much popular demand, I recommend you come early to book a reservation should you wish to dine here. 

The Pokémon Cafe entrance

The cute menu!

 Pikachu cakes anyone? Got to try the Choco-Orange one and it was good!

My Pika Citrus drink

Overall, my Pokémon adventure in Japan was surely a fun walk down on my childhood memory lane. Definitely would recommend this to all those who fell in love with the Pokémon franchise. 

One happy kid at heart!

That's it for now. Be sure to watch out for my other awesome adventures and geeky recommendations during my recent trip from Japan soon! 

Last December 2014, The Mega Tokyo Pokemon Center in Tokyo's Ikebukuro finally opened its doors for all the Pokemon trainers and enthusiasts around the world to visit, shop and enjoy. Known to be the biggest Pokemon Center in the world, you could probably imagine the anticipation, excitement and hype that Pokemon fans all around the world felt. I, myself, residing in the Philippines would dream to be able to visit this specific Center when I visit Japan someday. After all, Pokemon has always been one of my childhood favorites. 

Mega Tokyo Pokemon Center opens!

Photo Source

During the opening of the store, I read in an article from Kotaku that hundreds of fans lined up to get first dibs on some of the exclusive limited edition goods, like the Pikachu Charizard Plushies, since they were going to be offered only on the weekend when the store was officially launched. Knowing that these items would become rare eventually, it was no surprise that people would do anything to get their hands on it immediately. Lucky for me, I was able to purchase one of these rare plushies with the help of my good friend Arra Abella of Style Reader and the Hubbyte Toy Store!

Some of the limited edition exclusive goodies for the opening weekend!

Photo Source

Even if the plushie I got was not the big one I initially thought I would get, I still am overwhelmed with how incredibly adorable it looked. Charizard has always been my favorite fully evolved Pokemon since the first generation and it was amazing to see how they transformed the super cool fire/flying type Pokemon into something so lovable and cute. Of course, Pikachu being the most iconic Pokemon in the entire franchise, the combination was simply unique.

A wild Pikachu/Mega Charizard appeared! :D 

Unlike other stuffed toys that I have encountered, I believe that this plushie was surely a bang for your buck. They really made use of a full bodied Pikachu plush toy that was complete with his brown stripes, horns/ears, and even its original tail despite being covered with the poncho. Even the Mega Charizard Y Poncho was quite detailed as it has the three horns on top, eyes, a pair of wings, a fire type logo button on the center, a tail with spikes and fire on the tip! It may not be much for many but to me, it is a plus as it gives full appreciation, quality and value to the toy. I have experienced some stuffed toys that "hide" other details by using its other props or clothing (e.g. a stuffed toy with hair curls and a cap but hair curls only exist until the rim of the cap)

The back of the poncho of Pikachu :)

The toy was made with very soft and high quality materials. In fact, its quite comfortable to hug and feel the toy's soft fur sink into your fingertips while playing around with it. The only thing I guess I wish they could have done was place the option to remove the Poncho. It would have been nice to have made my other stuffed toys at home wear the Charizard Poncho! But other than that, the toy is perfect as it is. The toy also came with the official tag from the Mega Tokyo Pokemon Center to prove its authencity. Of course, I am not going to remove the tag. :)

The official tag makes this cute baby LEGIT! :)

Snuggle time with Pikachu/Mega Charizard! :)

This is definitely a Pokemon toy that I would strongly recommend to have especially if you are a big fan of the Pokemon franchise. Other than being a rare collectible to date, I'm sure that the nostalgia and joy it brings to you alone is definitely worth the investment. Thanks so much to Hubbyte Toy Store for making this investment possible!

You may check out amazing toy deals when you visit their store here.  

Thank you for reading and stay tuned for my upcoming reviews and events! :)

Growing up even before the video game industry boom, board and card games we're surely one of the best ways to entertain, interact and play with friends. From playing a game of Monopoly at my grandmother's house with relatives, learning how to play Magic and the Pokemon Trading Card game, exploring new board games with my childhood friends or challenging my brothers in Battleship and Pokemon Next Quest - these were the glory days that seem to be making a comeback since last year. With the recent popularity of board and tabletop gaming cafes rising around the Metro, I thought it would be interesting to post about some of my latest discoveries in the world of card games - Boss Monster.

I was first introduced to 'Boss Monster' by my brother who borrowed a set from his friend. I would recall him insisting that I should play at least one game of it with him despite my hectic schedule to see how easy yet fun the game can get. Without a doubt, I fell in love with the game on my first try. I eventually introduced it to my friends who came over my place for our usual "Game Nights" and soon enough, the joy of the game was growing. After a number of games played, I was decided to get my own deck.

The game started out as a kickstarter project by Brotherwise Games. The objective in the game is pretty simple: Become a Boss, build a dungeon, lure adventurers, and destroy them! The set comes with 155 full-color, pixel art-illustrated cards that can accomodate up to 4 players. It also has a quick start guide and an instruction booklet to get you started. The overall design was inspired from classic video games which also gives the players a sense of nostalgia as they remember the old classic 8-bit games we once enjoyed playing.

Box Contents

Every turn you get to build/upgrade/destroy a room. Depending on how you build your dungeon is the key to winning the game. There are also spell cards that you can use to either boost your moves or interrupt an opponent's kill streak which adds up to the challenge of the game. 

Building a Dungeon!

The Boss Monster card game overall is a fresh take on strategy card games which can be enjoyed by kids and adults alike. I personally enjoyed this and I would recommend that you all give it a try at your local puzzles lounge before buying your own set. I believe that Brotherwise Games is also developing an app for this game that can be enjoyed into your smartphones and tablets. But for me, there's nothing like enjoying a good old-fashioned strategy card game with friends over a few snacks or drinks than playing on screen. You can get your very own copy of the game at Neutral Grounds for only P1,125. You may also buy Ultra Pro card protector sleeves for it for as low as P35/100pcs. 

Hope you like my review! :)