For this issue we have a very popular musician that serves as an MC for Kick The Can Crew, MCU! We’ve infiltrated his game room, which feels more like a secret base, that he maintains despite moving frequently.
Interview/Photo/Text: Kaze no Iona
In collaboration with Retro Consumer Game Fun Club
There are all sorts of games, consoles, and a lot of game related items and records scattered throughout your game room.
(MCU) I move a lot and so I get rid of things sometimes, but never the game stuff. And I’ve liked displaying the toys that I had ever since I was a kid, so that’s why I display the different items that I have like this.
Taking a quick look around, you have so many items and games in here that you can’t even see the walls behind them all. You can tell that all of this is very meticulously placed.
(MCU) I planned it all out and stacked it like I was playing a game of Tetris! (Laughs) I like having so much in here that you’re not sure what to look at. And I’m not very fond of rooms that are too chic or didn’t feel lived in (Laughs)
The part of it that really has the biggest impact on first glance is the cocktail cabinet that’s right in the middle of the room.
(MCU) I got it when I moved into this place, but it’s one of the most treasured things in my collection since I can also use it as a desk to sit down and write lyrics at.
And in the corner you have an upright cabinet, as well as a monitor for playing console games.
His room is also equipped with both a cocktail and upright arcade cabinet in game room ready to play. He has a curtain hung up with Sonic the Hedgehog on it, and various game related items are scattered throughout the room. His favorite game companies are Sega and Capcom, in particular.
(MCU) Only about three people can fit in this room at a time, but I really like to get friends together and hang out in here drinking and playing games. It’s great when we have one person playing the cocktail cabinet, one on the upright, and one playing Famicom on the monitor. The sounds really blend together, and it feels like being in an arcade.
As I recall, the first console that you ever had was a bit of an odd one.
(MCU) I couldn’t buy a Famicom back in the day, so the first console I ever had was a Super Cassette Vision. And I may have it to thank for loving games as much as I do today. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact reason.
But I guess you finally got a Famicom when you were in middle school?
(MCU) The first Famicom game I bought was “Touch”. It’s not very highly regarded, but I got really into it and I still like to play it now. Incidentally, my favorite game is Aighina no Yogen. The music is really cool, and I like just about anything from Vic Tokai.
Apart from the game related items, I can’t help but notice the gacha machine that you have here. It’s straight out of an old-timey candy store.
(MCU) Koyama from Retro Consumer Game Fun Club told me before that I should worry about where to put things once I’ve bought them, and I thought that was really cool! (Laughs) When I was going back and forth over whether to buy it or not, it was those words that made me buy it. Of course I had to make room for it once it arrived! (Laughs)
What do you currently want most for your collection?
(MCU) I’d really like a PC-8801. I’ve been thinking I should just buy one and then worry about where to put it afterward too! (Laughs) I’d also really like some kind of electro-mechanical game too. Maybe “Piccadilly Circus”, since it’s so easy to understand. And even though I think this is probably overdoing it, I also want an Astro City cabinet.
This room of yours with so many nostalgic things everywhere feels more like a secret base. I suspect you’ll keep on collecting retro games and items?
(MCU) There are people who don’t look back on the past, and I think that’s cool in its own way. But I really love the 80s and 90s, and I think I’ll keep on looking back on them quite a bit.