Retro Game Room Spotlight: Allen's Console Collection

I first met Allen (name changed for privacy) when he showed up at the house to buy some VHS tapes. I found out he was a Tom Selleck fan, handed him a Retro Injection card, and he drove off. A couple of weeks later, he stopped by again to purchase my Dragon Quest V Super Famicom cartridge! He'd already checked out the blog. We talked a bit more, and I got the feeling he knew his stuff.

I chanced that Allen wasn't a serial killer, and he did the same for me: He took me up on the invite to my home arcade, where we rocked The King of Fighters '98. It was the first time I'd had any real-life KOF competition in about twenty years. He also called some of his people on the payphone, just for fun.

He told me about his console gaming setup, and I knew I would have to stop over at some point.

A few days later, I rode my scooter to his apartment, right down the street from the old Family Video. An avid anime fan and a narrator of Creepypastas, Allen's a cool guy with a knowledge of retro cinema and classic video games rivaling my own. (I say that with all humility.)

I took almost seventy photos of his finely-tuned game room, which features more than a smattering of '80s and '90s goodness. It was hard to narrow down these highlights!

Allen's getting custom clamshell boxes for the remainder of his NES collection. "I hate cardboard," he said.

Read Retro Injection's exclusive interview with Atari game designer and Activision founder David Crane.

"I'm a mostly retro gamer that enjoys platformers, horror, fighting games and RPGs. My favorite games/franchises are Resident Evil, Silent Hill, classic Super Mario, classic Sonic, Dragon Quest, Tekken, KOF/Fatal Fury, Street Fighter, and Super Smash Bros. My biggest gaming influence or overall my favorite game is Super Mario Bros. 3. I've been playing games since I was very young getting my first Atari 2600, then an NES, then a SNES and so on. I became forever hooked and haven't stopped since."

-Allen

Mini consoles adorn the Sony Trinitron CRT, a must for any true retro gamer!

Allen is proud of his DuckTales 2 NES cart, or as he calls it, "a $200 piece of plastic."

Banjo, Kazooie and "Dragon Quest" Slimes preside over Allen's collection of Nintendo Power magazines.

Former SNK artist Shinkiro's great cover art for "The King of Fighters '97" on the Neo-Geo.

I had a great time talking gaming and movies with Allen; it didn't hurt that he loves '80s horror. Before I left, he let me borrow the complete series of Sailor Moon, so I'm on the hook to see him again. I'm sure it won't be the last time. Let's close this showcase with Allen's hero, the always-awesome Tom Selleck.

What are your favorite retro video games? Give us a shout in the comment box below!

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