1/3 TOMY collection series : 1980 TOMY Digital Daredevil

Alright. This post will be a part of a 3 series of TOMY goodness which has a little obscurity of old school video gaming.

Ive seen quite a few weird video game stuff but a video game which runs via dynamo , film and lots of gears? electro-mechanical? I should have known! =D

Ladies and gents my first of the three part collection, a 1980 Tomy Digital Daredevil.

A very futuristic looking retro gaming piece. Can really compare it to brand new toys when it comes to looks and style.

When i got this stuff i was really amused and at the same time confused. The question that popped my mind was "how the the hell does this thing work?" (in the first place i should have thought that it might not be working anymore ha ha)

As i checked the battery compartment , it requires a "C" battery, so its a bit bizarre for me , i never saw like this one before so i was really curious to test it out immediately.

There are gauges all around this bulky unit.

There is a gauge which says "TIMER" . I actually discovered that you need to turn this to the "s" mark which represents start then turns slowly while game play is on up to the part that says "f" which represents finish. (this feature is found on every unit of this 3 part TOMY collection)

When i fired the thing up, It was loud! Nope, it doesn't have speakers or sound from the game it self, it was noisy because the gears started rolling. You can literally hear the gears functioning in the machine.

This unit really is in a good cosmetic condition . Very minty looking all over (almost) aside from this noticeable sort of scratch.

Ugh. Yea, bit frustrating to see this! its light but the material used in the screen was like semi glass plastic that scratches are really seen.

The game instruction can be seen at the back

In this particular unit, Digital daredevil, your character is a guy on a motorcycle which jumps on obstacles lik car's , drum's and etc. I guess it was sort of the motorcycle stunt-riders Evil Knievel & Ernie Devlin madness at the time.

You can also shift gears! It does go berzerk and really fast when in high speed. It is needed to go pass long barriers.

Screen flashes red lights whenever you miss a jump or hit and obstacle. (ill post a video of the actual game play soon)

If you get bored already , you can adjust the difficulty level at the right side of the unit.

Its very enjoyable to play. I just wished it had a longer or other sets of film rolls to go with =D

"I am programmed to beat you" . - 1977 Milton Bradley Comp IV / 4

the 7's always bring a smile on me, specially when we talk about the years.70's in particular. 70's where the hippies and gizmos where not even half pop yet. Those were some of the years you pertain when you say "back in the days". I wasn't around that time yet but, when i picture the nostalgic events from stories of people i meet, i think 70's was really one of a kind experience and enjoyment.

Bright lights and flashy colors, and now considered obscure, video games were around and very much alive. Back then, table tops are one of those flashy things that you can have and brag about, and i think this 70's baby is one of them.

(BEFORE THE TLC)

The dust of time !

Its a retro 1977 Milton Bradley comp 4 (IV) . Its a sequencing game that looks really vintage. The design and craftsmanship is very 70's . Typical table top design powered by very bright led lights.

Artistically designed curves and buttons. Quality materials as expected i can say.

The game is played like this, computer chooses a random number sequence and you will try to guess that combination. You try to enter the combination as few tries as possible. To increase difficulty or level the combination can go up to 3, 4, or 5

Played by calculator like number pad

We may find it really boring compared to other video games really. but i think it was hell of a fun "back in the days". Now it lacks the action, graphic content and sound that we all look for =D

Like the game itself. The inside is very simple and all quality. Of course i gave the same treatment . cleaning treatment.

Disassembled it first

Powered by bright LED lights on the main board!

Cleaning......








Drying .......







re-assembly ....



(AFTER TLC)



Cleaned the number pads a bit

The screen

The cleaned Milton Bradley Comp IV (ready to play!) yes it works perfect !

I also researched that there were other country releases of this game. Logic 5 in U.K. and Pythaugoras in Japan by Takara. Was re-released in 80's with an additional blue shade color on the screen.

*By the way the quote "I am programmed to beat you" was the comp IV's promotional phrase being it a sort of computer video game back then. It was printed huge in front of the box. NICE !!!

Hand held feauture III : 1990 Sega Game Gear

Among all the handhelds i have (i do not have much), this is my all time favorite to play, as i am not a fan and an avid collector of handhelds, i have so much memories about this retro game gear that's why i treasure it.

I did not have it as a kid, but one of my friends did ,So its not bizarre how i fell in-love with it. I remember trading with it for some of my toys for days or over the week end, but of course he did not agree most of the time, he wanted to play with it as much as i did. I was also asking him if he knows someone who is selling sega game gear , that same toy that he had. That same question over and over again ha ha ha!

game gear logo (reminds of the logo which became a sign back then that a tv set is colored)

I got so attracted with every game cartridge because of the art. Very genesis looking colorful full art stickers that is over the game cartridge. I always fantasize how the gameplay goes whenever i look at the characters which are in the cartridge cover. Very nicely done. A kid would definitely love that!

I Only have 5 cartridges as of now. =) i don't mind really. Im in search of the game power rangers for it was the game i used to play allot when i borrow it.

With this Very nice pirate? boxed street fighter cartridge.

Not unlike the Sega master system cartridge that came with no artwork in the cartridge. Plain text (Choplifter)

I was lucky back in the days that i did not have to deal with this sega game gear's main drawback. Battery issue. It has the TV like lcd on it. (with the back light and color graphics) which sucks up your 6 AA battery real fast. Good thing my friend had an ac adapter to go with the system.

One remedy also aside from the power adapter(which kind off spoils the idea of being it a handheld) sega game came up with a portable rechargeable battery pack, the sega power back. It humps just right at the back of the unit.

Like a camel back. Which makes the unit sort of heavy.

It can be attached and locked at the back of the game gear with this screw.

You can charge it for time and then bring it with you for play. But i assume you still need to bring your batteries for it does not last that long really ha ha ha!

If you want a TIP, I noticed some physical features with a china made game gear (working) with my japan made game gear (defective) , aside from the obvious difference at the back

You can also notice the lcd cover . The japan made game gear is flattened and glass clear edgy look compared to the china made embossed roundy look.

I dont know what's more durable but over the years of liking Sega game gear because of the crisp graphics. Oddly, the most common problem that i encounter with this system is that the LCD(which also it strength) it fades, black's out and leaks. The power tripping also is a common defect of Sega game gear's around. Its very hard to repair this stuff that most people just display them.

Hand held feauture II : 1982 Bandai electronics LCD solar power AKURYO NO YAKATA (terror house)

This is the second edition of my hand held feature. If you want to see my first edition, you can just click here

Since i am not really a fan and an avid collector of hand held retro gaming stuff, i treat every hand held that i have bit different. But not to be mistaken, i really appreciate them also. Just like any retro gaming stuff.

This small pieces always seem to come ahead of the time. Like this Bandai Electronics LCD solar power . (i haven't cleaned it yet so sorry for the photos)

The embossed style, for a random reason, reminds me of the famicom disk system.

It is a very interesting retro hand held. Imagine 1982 and you have a hand held with full LCD graphic game, powered by SOLAR energy. That is definitely an innovation to hand held gaming! Cant imagine PSP's powered by this =D

Yes! No batteries needed!


When you open the unit. From a dirty white purity, this thing will shock you with a very bright RED inside.

Its pretty much close to a Nintendo game and watch i guess . Just doesn't have the acetate which showed permanent artwork which is included in the game. With this, Everything pops up when the unit accepts bit of solar energy.Its Like your dual screen Game and watch just the Solar panel on the other screen.

There are 2 series that came out in this LCD SOLAR POWER, 1st series included 6 game variations and the 2nd series (which had 2 LCD panels for an intended 3D effect) included 4 game variations. My LCD solar power titled " AKURYO NO YAKATA" or terror house, is included in the second series and is pretty much famous compared to other games.

The game as far as i know has 2 levels, It runs on a story of a kid/guy who fights bats, ghosts , zombies and etc on a haunted house like setting. Nice and detailed graphics i can say that.

I really think what made it so cool and stand out was the SOLAR ENERGY feature. Very environmental friendly and saves you allot of money! from batteries and hey! It doesn't actually need allot of sunlight to power it up just a well light space and it will turn on.

Very Nice 4 way direction Joystick! Up, Left, Right, Down buttons. Has the Start/Attack , Select, ACL, and interestingly sound on/off button!

sound is quite impressive i can say ! it is loud! plus you have the option of putting it off.

Durability is Top notch i can say. Its beat up and really nasty outside but when i got to it and placed it under a good sunlight, the thing just fired up ! and the LCD showed very clear and detailed graphics with no lines and dings!

Hand held feature : Nintendo game and watch Green House

Its very nice to see retro gaming handhelds from time to time. I admit however, that i am not really a fan of them. But, i like them! just not into collecting them. I just don't get that feeling of satisfaction from them like the ones that i get from consoles.

This Nintendo game and watch is one of the first handhelds that i owned and very first Game and Watch for that matter

The game is called "Green house" . Its a pretty cool game . Basically, you gain score by protecting plants and spraying the pests with insecticide (i assume). This issue of GW is pretty cool because of its dual screen feature. Yes, dual screen like those of today's seventh gen Nintendo DS

Nintendo Game and watch is a very though built to last machine. They were already around as early as 1980 and they still do exist, allot of them, until now.