While there's snow on the ground in the above photo, which I took about a week ago back home in upstate New York, I'm currently living it up in some Arizona sun. I wish I could say we're part of the jet set, but the truth is, my wife and I are stranded here. We were supposed to be in Arizona for a two-day business trip, but a snow storm got our flight cancelled. It ended up being a five-day vacation thanks to some new friends, who happen to have a huge home arcade! (More on all that in the next article.) I'm excited to make this my first "long-distance" entry: Ironically, Sound Go Round now seems like an exotic locale!
Vestal NY's Sound Go Round is a destination for anyone who loves physical media. With video games spanning every generation, a great selection of vintage toys (some still on their cards), movies, records, CDs and more, the place is a treasure trove of awesome. I took about 100 photos at the store, and it was tough to choose which ones to include. I figured it was better to err on the side of excess, so I used over a fourth of them. Take that, dialup!
Being a lifelong Transformers fan, I had to get photos of some of their Robots in Disguise. (If you share my love for these incredible toys, you'll appreciate Retro Injection's reviews of Monsterbot Repugnus and Powermaster Optimus Prime.)
Won't someone give Jazz a home?
Long before the Game Boy, Nintendo's Game and Watch series made gaming on the go a reality. Here's a re-issue of the Mario Bros. Game and Watch. These handhelds were the Japanese standard for portable fun during the '80s, when Tiger LCD games were making waves in the west.
And speaking of games, I was elated when I spotted Tomy's Atomic Arcade Pinball. This is the toy I used to put in my blanket forts, and I credit it for inspiring my home arcade. It occurs to me now that I never had any batteries in my game. I'm not sure that was an oversight on my parents' part.
The Tick cartoon was a brilliant Saturday morning romp. Like many works of genius (among them Freeks and Geeks and the animated Freakazoid!), the show was misunderstood and short lived.
Robocop was a bizarre franchise to adapt into a children's cartoon. I don't think that thesis statement needs any support. Robocop and the Ultra Police didn't get a lot of love from toy-buying parents. This figure came with 100 caps, to totally stink up the house.
I had to showcase some of Sound-Go-Round's cassette collection. If you appreciate the warm sound of analog, you'll love the site's tribute to tapes.
The store has a room for board games and role-playing titles. That isn't really my scene, but I won't disparage any facet of geekdom.
I really wanted this Batcave playset when I was a kid, but I didn't have the tenacity to save my allowance money for it. (Although I did manage to scrounge fifty bucks to buy a Ninja Turtles Technodrome.) Don't answer the door, Robin!
Super Street Fighter II on the Sega Genesis was one of my go-to games in the '90s. I still have my cartridge, purchased from the late K-B Toys.
I think I've found my new mantra!
Revisit your childhood in Sound Go Round at 305 Vestal Parkway East in Vestal, NY. Best of all, they're located two doors down from Moonwalker Arcade, an old-school gameroom with a heavy emphasis on pinball.
If you're looking for something specific (or you're just lonely), give them a jingle at (607) 785-0002. Finally, here are Sound Go Round's hours, saving you the trouble of looking them up. Tell them Dave from Retro Injection sent you, and be charged an extra fifty percent!
