Retro Finds of the Week (vol. 9)
It’s time, once again, for a quick look at some cool stuff I’ve stumbled upon. This week was definitely better than last time with several great items that I ended up bringing home with me. With that said, let’s begin!
A Giant Game Boy Cartridge Hiding a Secret
Technically this isn’t what we would necessarily consider “retro”, but it’s retro in its aesthetic. A co-worker of mine has been getting into 3D printing and designed this Game Boy inspired case for some of his Nintendo Switch game cards. The front slides off to reveal 15 slots for games and includes mounting holes on the back to hang it on the wall if desired. This one was later finished with a reproduction holographic Pokémon Yellow label, but he’s also making them in different colors for games like Pokémon Red and Blue, Super Mario Land, and Tetris. I would love to pick some up from him someday if he decides to start selling them, and even suggested he alter the design to have ones that are designed to hold Game Boy/Game Boy Color carts.
An Early 2000s Dell OEM keyboard
I’ve been finding an awful lot of PS/2 keyboards at my local Goodwill, and this one was only $6.00. I forgot to grab the model number, but you can tell from the design that this one shipped as part of the OEM desktop setup for those old Dell OptiPlex towers that were everywhere in the early 2000s. I feel like I remember using one of these at my Grandma’s house just after high school circa 2003-2005. It’s nothing special, and I already have two Dell Keyboards (and 3 or 4 PS/2 keyboards) that I like, so I passed on this one.
A Couple of PS1 Games
Now here was an increasingly rare thing to see; original PlayStation games! There used to be a time when these were fairly common, but nowadays when I see video games at Goodwill it’s 7th generation shovelware and the occasional 6th gen sports title. This time, however, I found a copy of RISK: The Game of World Domination — my favorite classic board game — and Wipeout XL.
Unfortunately, RISK was missing it’s cover booklet, but it was still in its original jewel case. It even had an original insert included! Wipeout, on the other hand was perfect. I’ve never played it but was always curious about it as a kid when I would see it on the shelf at Blockbuster. I planned to get them anyway, but for just $1.00 each it was a steal in my book considering Wipeout goes for $25+ on eBay and my local retro game shop.
Halo: The Fall of Reach Blu-ray
In the same bin as the PlayStation games, I found a Blue-ray copy of Halo: The Fall of Reach for $2.00. This was an animated miniseries that released alongside the Halo 5 collector’s edition, but aside from that I didn’t know anything about it. I like Halo though, so I got it.
Sony 5-Disc CD Changer
Finally, I found this sweet looking 5-disc changer from Sony. I forgot grab the model number, but I really wanted it. While it was only $11.00, I just don’t have space for it right now so I had to leave it. Hopefully it made its way to a good home.
My Haul from this Trip
I walked out with a light haul, but I’m happy with everything I found. I got RISK and Wipeout XL for $2.00, Halo: The Fall of Reach for $2.00, and a copy of Kung Fu Panda on DVD for the kiddos. All-in-all, not a bad way to spend $6.00 in 2025.
As I was about to leave, I realized that I forgot to check the Fall of Reach case. This is important as sometimes the disc will be missing. To my chagrin, the movie wasn’t in the case… however, a random copy of Halo 4 for the Xbox 360 was. I was disappointed about the movie, but I also didn’t own the game so it’s kind of a wash.
