iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 7h

Got to use the word homunculus at the dentist today, that was a good time.

010

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

It’s The Star Fox™️ game for the Nintendo Switch 2™️ system. You say the whole thing, like A Tribe Called Quest.

A Nintendo music notification on a phone screen, it reads:

Nintendo Music
Sixty-two tracks from the Star Fox™ game for the Nintendo Switch™ 2 system have been added, plus a playlist featuring tracks from each...

The titling of Star Fox grows more cumbersome by the day. This never happened to Lylat Wars.

031

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

This was made more fun by approaching this as games that would have lasting impacts rather than games that ended up being all time favorites. These are all games I’d list in my overall favorites, but perhaps not top 10. These games lead me to what would become my favorites.

A three by three grid of nine game titles, starting left to right from the top:

Shenmue
Outrun
Incredible Crisis
No One Can Stop Mr. Domino!
Spy Hunter
Cosmic Conflict
Final Fantasy Legend II
Astro Warrior
Mechwarrior 2

150

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I’ll use this Chrontendo screenshot to remind everyone that the Sega Ages version of Phantasy Star on Switch is the gold standard for how to keep a classic RPG accessible while retaining its natural charm.

030

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

I’ve been on a kick of watching movies that I only remember as previews on various cassette tapes we rented when I was a kid. Milk Money (1994) was impressively bad. Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead (1991) was surprisingly fine. Unremarkable, but fine.

110

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I never realized that Japan didn’t get the burnout series. It’s a shame they missed out on both this amazing title localization as well as getting Burnout 3.

020

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

This is a good read, and touches on elements of both physical and mental health that at best are often only mentioned in hushed tones.

111

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Between the upcoming Zelda remake and the recent Starfox remake, I really miss strategy guides. I’d usually only buy them if I got really stuck, or really loved a game and wanted to play it again with a sort of reference book.

110

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Whataburger’s spicy ketchup has got to be in the running for best regional condiment worldwide.

020

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

If you’d told me 15 years ago I’d have specific mahjong and pachinko games I was on the lookout for, I’d have called you insane. That being said, I can only guess as to when the horse racing sim part of gaming madness shows up in the mind.

030

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

I’m constantly impressed by the selection on Kanopy. If you’re in the US, check your local library to see if they offer it. Between it and Tubi I have zero regrets about canceling all but two (Night Flight Plus and Rewind-O) of my streaming subscriptions.

000

Reposted by Earl Gray III

TarZangief @tarzangief.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

"Neutral in the culture war"

112155815322

Reposted by Earl Gray III

Brandon Sheffield @brandon.insertcredit.com · 30/07/2026

In response to the unprecedented number of game developers laid off this year, we have created a bundle on itch to benefit a Game Industry Hardship Fund, managed by @videogameworkers.bsky.social. More than 100 games for 10+ bucks! Please share widely and donate generously! itch.io/b/3802/game-...

2037243073

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

I love ArtDink, but every time I see a copy of Arctic for sale, it remains where I’ve found it. I just can’t bring myself (yet) to purchase a game that captures the feel of navigating around a fender bender at rush hour.

000

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

A local game shop is selling these TCG card storage bins. The real blast from the past is the product photo featuring the Marvel (and DC) Overpower card game, something I hadn’t encountered in the wild since about 1998.

021

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Stumbled across this while at B&N for the Criterion sale, and I’m psyched to read it. I was unfamiliar, but it seems up my alley. Plus, we could always use more magazines based on regionally specific vernacular.

The Summer 2026 issue of Movie Jawn, a movie magazine for film lovers. The cover features Barbara Streisand and Ryan O’Neal as seen in What’s Up, Doc.

000

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Wow, either these fires are something else, or Chicago really needs to improve its draw distance.

110

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

The Famicom bootleg parade continues with Mobile Suit Z Gundam: Hot Scramble. Dare I say it, the pale mauve coloring looks better than the official cart! It is kind of weird seeing a Bandai release in a standard Famicom style cartridge, though.

An unofficial (bootleg) release of Mobile Suit Z Gundam: Hot Scramble for the Nintendo Famicom. The label features the Zeta Gundam amidst a space battle, as well as the title. Beneath the Japanese lettering, the English words HOT SCRAMBLE are written. The cart’s color brings to mind taro bubble tea.

Normally, this cart would be in a Bandai Famicom cart, black in color and with rounded edges. However, I love the look of this thing. Odd carts and colors are among the key reasons why o love bootleg games.

As for the game itself? It’s decent. Think of it as a sort of proto rail shooter/Space Harrier imitation, but with a few side scrolling levels added in for variety. That being said, the game would be far better without said scrolling levels. Worth a look if you’re exploring Famicom games, or just love Gundam.

Zeta Gundam is my favorite of the Gundam series.

130

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Excuse me, Crocodile Dundee, would you mind naming your favorite Japanese arcade game manufacturer?

The back of a bootleg Famicom cartridge. Its unofficial status is made noticeable by the molded “Toito Corparatian” above the back label, which is written in Japanese and is probably about not freezing your Nintendo games in blocks of ice. The accepted spelling of the aforementioned company is Taito. You know, the Zoo Keeper people.

070

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

I bought a box of bootleg Famicom games, and I think my favorite so far has been this extra tall, brilliant yellow Makaimura/Ghosts ‘N Goblins cart. That’s just the regular Famicom label if you’re looking for a sense of scale.

A video game cartridge compatible with the Nintendo Famicom, but not made in any official capacity. Specifically, this is Makaimura/Ghosts ‘N Goblins, the Capcom published and Micronix made port of the arcade game. It’s a shade lighter than banana yellow, and is roughly double the height of the average Famicom cartridge. It’s also pretty heavy, owing to the higher than average number of chips needed to replicate the official cart.

151

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

I picked up this paperback Robotech book at a used bookstore yesterday. There’s something charming about seeing Macross characters in the 1980s sci fi paperback style. More info in alt text.

A paperback copy of the fourth entry in Del Rey’s adaptation of Robotech from the late 1980s. Robotech is written vertically on the left side, and the cover notes that this is volume four of the first generation. (More on that in a second for those unfamiliar).

The title is Battlehymn, with the description reading “Two years of fighting…and Gloval knew that it had just begun…”. The author is Jack McKinney, who I’ll have to look up later.

The cover features Rick about to take off in his VF-1 while Zentradi forces make their attack. Front and center is the image of Breetai, making an expression as if he thinks he may manage a hole in one on a mini golf course. Miriya is also here, fresh from the local SDF-1 video arcade. The scene is brimming with protoculture.

The “first generation” tag at the top refers to the Macross saga, which was the first of three separate animated series cobbled together to make Robotech in the US. Liberties were taken, and as such, things aren’t a 1:1 march to Super Dimension Fortress Macross. This makes things occasionally confusing for newcomers, in no small part due to the the licensing nightmare of watching this stuff in the west. Alas, all that glitters is not Harmony Gold.

121

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

This didn’t happen to me, but my dad has often told a story about how in shop class his teacher deemed his work so terrible that said teacher threw it into the furnace mid class. He then sent my grandparents a bill for the wood. My grandparents confirmed this happened and that they refused to pay.

020

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

I defend golf video games for all these years, and the sport itself betrays me? How rude. Whoever did this was no Fernando Almeida. Thank goodness for insurance!

A freshly made indentation on a car windshield made by an errant golf ball that went wildly and literally off course. The impact crater is surrounded by small shards of once a large sheet of fully intact glass.

180

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Still thinking about this mounted collection of Bobby’s World trading cards I saw at an antique mall yesterday.

Twenty trading cards from the 1995 Fleer Ultra Fox Kids Network trading set, all featuring characters from the 1990-1998 animated series Bobby’s World. The cards have been placed in protective cases, then mounted in some sort of faux brass display frame. Entries include Cool Bobby, Uncle Ted, and Heeere’s Bobby!. Time was put into this, and I really wish I had even some idea of what the backstory of this set is. I assume it was at one point made for some sort of Bobby’s World enthusiast, but the study of Bobby’s World fandom is sadly still in its infancy. This set is currently on sale for $95, and is a bit too rich for my blood. However, it would act as a great statement piece for any living room, Captain Squash fan club, or Howie Mandel centered place of worship.

1306

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

Psyched to get a chance to wear this Zeta Gundam pin I picked up a few weeks ago. I rarely run into official Zeta stuff to wear out and about, so this pin gets a solid Quattro/5.

060

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

The mystery of the Hard Off game pad has been solved! Just a regular old PC game pad, but it would pair nicely with a Gateway 2000 tower.

010

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

Before I turn in, here’s a mystery controller I picked up at Hard Off for ¥800. It’s an elongated SNES style controller with a 15 Pin connector and a switch like you’d see on a turbo controller. The controller itself feels like new plastic, but the buttons seem worn. More info in alt text as usual.

A SNES esque controller that is black with super Famicom colored buttons to the right, and buttons labeled C and D that would normally be start and select. The classic A/B/X/Y buttons are indeed A/B/TA/TB. If I had to guess, those mean turbo A/B. The shoulder buttons are labeled C. And D. There is a small switch to the right of the D Pad that is labeled C.D. with options for off and on. It’s all kind of baffling.

The back of the controller. The label looks to say EI Games, an SEO nightmare. There’s also a QC pass label and a serial number. The controller seems to be made in the Philippines. It looks like the back panel can be removed, but I’m not currently near a small enough screwdriver to investigate. We can also see that the controller uses a male DB-15 pin connector. More info on the feel of the thing in the next photo.

So two things: 1) This controller is unused, no doubt in my mind. The cord is wrapped in plastic, and the controller itself has that fresh plastic feel. However, weirdly enough, the buttons seem to be used? They have the release sign of being in a drawer with other plastics for years on end. Again, I won’t have a screwdriver small enough to open this thing up until I get home, so who knows what’s the deal with all of these quirks.

The obvious answer is famiclone or something of the like, but the wild thing is how quality this plastic is. This isn’t famiclone quality, it’s legit as good as you’d find on an SNES. It feels like one of those Lodgenet controllers.

I realize this is probably a whole lot of nothing, but isn’t this odd? I can’t wait to be corrected about how worthless this thing is. Maybe I’ll be lucky and it’s a Neo Geo controller in an SNES form factor. If so, I’m about to straight up conquer Magician Lord.

170

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

Heading out to the outskirts of Chiba today to do some game hunting with a friend. Hoping to knock off some of the more elusive obscurities off my list. Some Simple Series entries too, of course.

251

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

I’m both astounded and psyched that there’s a Tomica Hummer H2 Limo. It’s an absurdity tied to such an incredibly specific time. It’s like coming across Pimp My Ride gacha figures or a Uniqlo/MTV Room Raiders collab.

A Tomica toy car modeled after the Hummer H2, but in a limo form.

I promise you these existed. I saw them. One showed up at my senior prom. Nobody liked the couple that emerged from it. There is no greater consumer symbol of American hubris in the early 2000s than the Hummer H2, and perhaps there was no greater foretelling of our descent into absurdity than the fact that someone looked at a vehicle that made around 11 miles per gallon and said “you know what, let’s make it bigger.”.

Here it is, folks. A tiny monument to an America that could only be defined accurately in a mad libs.

And it’s pink. They often were. No clue why. A+.

083

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

You know, I’ll always associate Reebok Pumps with the classic blue/white/orange Patrick Ewing color scheme, but I have to admit they kind of work with a Gundam theme.

Two pairs of Reebok sneakers, insta pump style. On the left we have one colored to bring to mind The Principality of Zeon from Mobile Suit Gundam, and on the left we have ones colored to more match the associated colors of the Earth Federation.

Here’s the thing though. That’s too deep a red to match Char’s colors, and the use black as an accent also doesn’t fit his style nearly as much. As so, I posit that these shoes are -actually- an homage to Johnny Ridden, the Crimson Lightning. He was often confused on the battlefield for Char, and I like to think getting his own shoes acts as a great first step to him getting more credit as one of Zeon’s more talented and sympathetic pilots. He’s got that misguided sense of honor you’d hear about in the First World War.

Weird that he was always so loyal to Kycilia though. Rule number one? Never be loyal to a Zabi. Then again, I imagine someone taking up arms on behalf of the principality probably wouldn’t heed that advice on the regular.

Patrick Ewing would’ve made a good mobile suit pilot.

020

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Brunch is neither a word nor a meal that has served a purpose in society. It’s just our collective half measure against the real enemy: restaurants that insist you can only eat breakfast food in the morning. Give me my 9 AM pastrami, dammit!

020

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Intentional or not, this ad features several opponents from Mahjong Cop Ryuu.

040

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Happy Trans Day of Visibility to all my friends in the community. I’m happy you’re here! Both my life and the world at large is better with you in it. Don’t let the bastards grind you down.

100

Reposted by Earl Gray III

Dot @dotmaetrix.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

In the spirit of trans visibility, lemme just plug my ongoing project to document as many pre-2010 games as possible that had a trans person on the dev team. You might be surprised by what's on there. There's games going right back to the sixties! dotmaetrix.neocities.org/classictranslist

dotmaetrix.neocities.org

A List Of Games By Trans People Before 2010

301288888

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

The MSX port of hang on is one of my favorite looking cartridges ever, the red on red is gorgeous. Don’t let that Pony Canyon logo fool you, it’s actually a solid take on the the game. (Further info in alt text!)

0152

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

The Tomodachi Life demo is great. The lack of online is a bummer, but this is exactly the kind of game I love. Weird Nintendo is the best Nintendo.

020

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

Ge-Sen Love: Plus Pengo! Is probably one of the best non shoot ‘em up Xbox 360 imports out there, and is also available on Switch! More info in alt text.

A picture of Ge Sen Love: Plus Pengo! for the Xbox 360. the cover features a large pixelated penguin from Pengo.

This is an Xbox 360 port of the Arcade game by Triangle Service, both released in 2012. Ge Sen Love is a sort of arcade skill test set of minigames designed to help you improve your overall arcade skills. It’s charming in the way the somewhat low budget occasionally shows through via the legally distinct non power rangers that function as the player during some of the minigames, and the 360 era Muzak.

Pengo, however, is the real star of the show. This is an updated multi player version of the arcade game from 1982 presented in wide screen and with a giant playfield à la Saturn Bombernan. It gets hectic quickly, and has a bit of a learning curve in order to stay aware of the chaos on screen. Once everyone gets a sense of the gameplay, it’s a really good time, though.

This got a release on the Xbox 360 back in 2012, near the end of the console’s life, and practically post death in Japan. Triangle service put out a good few games on the 360, several region free. If you end up importing this one, make sure you get the non special edition. For whatever reason, the special edition is region locked, but the regular isn’t. Who knows why.

If you want to play it presently, it also got a Switch port in 2019, which should be both far easier to find and far more affordable. If you like stuff like Game Tengoku or Warrior Ware, you’ll get a kick out of this. Check it out!

080

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

I posted recently about how I missed what instagram used to be, and how much fun it was to just talk about odd pieces I had in my collection. Using the powers of alt text, I imagine I could recreate the same kind of post on here. I may even repurpose some old pictures to enjoy the 2010s filtering.

010

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

I haven’t used instagram in years, and I genuinely miss it sometimes. Around 2013 or so there was this small niche of people who liked old games and would post items in their collections. It was far less flexing than it was a bunch of people showing their favorite oddities.

020

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

An import store at the mall had this Raspberry Pepsi Zero Sugar that was surprisingly great. The raspberry flavor matches with cola nicely and isn’t overpowering (or unsettling like last year’s Coke with orange). Check it out if you encounter it, or are in China.

A can of raspberry flavored Pepsi Zero Sugar. The text is in mandarin, and the writing reads from top to bottom: Refreshing and sugar free, Pepsi cola, and raspberry flavor.

000

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Get in loser, we’re going to Edmond Honda’s house.

A boxed, Street Fighter branded toy three wheeler called the Karate Chopper. The box’s illustration features Guile and Ryu on said chopper. Guile fires a missile from some sort of cannon on the back, while Ryu drives. The scene is intense. The box proclaims that this is an official movie vehicle, but I’m currently blanking on this moment in the movie, but that may just be my age. Also, Ryu has more of a Jin Satome look than anything. I would prefer not to be the target of the mutual intensity of these two, even in 1994. I remember Capcom putting out a lot of Street Fighter II adjacent merch, but missed out on this. I was probably too distracted by Spin Fighters.

030

Reposted by Earl Gray III

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

Happy Valentine’s Day to all the Sega lovers out there.

A Master System Girl console from Brazil, it is pink with pastel buttons. Below it is the text “Will You Be My Master System Girl?” As well as “To: and From:” all of this is against a dark pink/slightly purple background. The hue of a pickled egg, if that’s helpful. The whole thing is a play on the valentines cards that were (are?) popular in elementary school.

0123

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

It’s never too early to teach your children that he cannot be stopped.

A domino set named Mr. Domino. While made for children, it also serves as a friendly reminder that No One Can Stop Mr. Domino!

050

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

It took me just under 39 years, but I’ve finally fallen down the Shiren the Wanderer rabbit hole. (Don’t worry, Fatal Labyrinth, I still love you as well.)

020