Retro Gaming With Chris

10/09/2026

Getting ready for today's family Goonies adventure right here in Astoria, Oregon, by doing something I've done hundreds of times over the years... watching *The Goonies*!

This is easily one of my most-watched movies of all time. Growing up, I used to watch it on WTBS on Saturdays whenever they aired it. Even now, I'll go through stretches where I watch it every Saturday morning for months at a time. Some movies just never get old, and this is definitely one of them!

But there's something extra special about watching it this morning, knowing we're actually in Astoria and getting ready to visit some of the real filming locations with the family!

There's also one thing about this movie that I noticed years ago and have always found hilarious...

**If the Walsh family is about to lose their house because they can't afford to keep it, how in the world are they affording Rosalita as a housekeeper?!** 😂

Seriously! They're about to lose their home, the whole neighborhood is being threatened by developers, and they're bringing in a housekeeper? I've been questioning that one for years!

And speaking of things I should have thought about before this trip... **I really should have brought one of my emulator consoles so I could play The Goonies II on NES while we're actually here in Astoria!** How perfect would that have been? Watching the movie, exploring the filming locations, and playing the Nintendo game all in the same place! Talk about a missed opportunity for Retro Gaming with Chris!

Of course, it's *The Goonies*, so I'm not going to overthink the movie too much. It's still one of my all-time favorites, and I imagine I'll still be watching it on Saturday mornings for years to come!

Anyone else grow up watching *The Goonies* every time it came on TV? And who else remembers playing *The Goonies II* on the original Nintendo?

**GOONIES NEVER SAY DIE!**

10/07/2026

Thank you to everyone who took a minute to wish me a happy birthday yesterday! I really appreciate it.

I know I don’t post here as often as I’d like. Between working full-time, family, and everything else life throws at us, there are only so many hours in the day.

But I still love doing Retro Gaming with Chris.

I didn’t start this because I was chasing likes, views, or follower counts. I started it because I genuinely love retro gaming, collecting, working on old hardware, and sharing that passion with other people who enjoy it too.

Whether a post gets 10 views or 10,000, I’m still going to enjoy making it.

So thank you to everyone who follows along, watches a video, leaves a comment, or just stops by every once in a while. I appreciate every one of you.

There’s plenty more retro gaming to come. 🎮

10/03/2026

I had to try this trend. 😂

I gave ChatGPT a picture of myself and told it:

“Based on everything you know about me, put me in the ERA where I belong. Use my photo and choose the decade, hairstyle, outfit, and setting. Keep me recognizable and DON’T ask me any questions—you decide everything.”

Apparently, my natural habitat is somewhere between the late ’80s and early ’90s surrounded by video games.

And the scary part is how ridiculously accurate it got. 😂

Nintendo shirt? Absolutely.
NES controller? Yep.
Mario on a CRT? Of course.
Street Fighter II arcade cabinet? I literally own one.
Nintendo, Sega, PlayStation AND Atari? Yep.
Transformers in the background? Naturally.
Backward hat, beard, denim, retro gaming stuff everywhere?

Yeah... ChatGPT apparently knows me a little too well. 😂

I’m not even sure this counts as putting me in another era. It basically just built the room I should be sitting in.

The only real question is: when can I move in?

09/23/2026

Friday’s D-Pad pickups! I completely forgot to post these over the weekend, but I added two more NES games to the collection.

The Adventures of Bayou Billy is one I haven’t played in years, so I’m looking forward to seeing how well my memory of it holds up—and probably being reminded just how unforgiving some NES games can be.

Pipe Dream was an easy pickup for me. I’ve always loved puzzle games, especially the kind where you start out thinking you have plenty of time and then suddenly everything is going horribly wrong. 😂

Two very different games, and both are going straight into the NES to be played!

Another great pickup from Dpad Retro Games & Collectibles!!

09/21/2026

09/16/2026

I love original hardware. There’s something about grabbing a cartridge off the shelf, putting it into the console it was made for, and playing on the real thing that emulation will never completely replace.

But retro emulation systems absolutely have their place.

One of the biggest advantages is convenience. If you have a collection of games, you can convert your own games for use with an emulation setup and keep the originals safely on the shelf. No constantly pulling cartridges out, swapping discs, or putting additional wear on games that are getting older—and, in some cases, considerably more valuable.

Then there’s customization.

You can organize your library, choose different controllers, customize the interface, add box art and metadata, adjust display settings, use save states, and build one system capable of handling multiple generations of gaming hardware.

That's what I've been experimenting with on my RetroBlock project.

For me, it isn't about replacing the original consoles. I still love collecting and playing on original hardware. It's about having another way to enjoy the collection while learning what these little systems are capable of.

Original hardware when I want the authentic experience.

RetroBlock when I want convenience.

There's room for both.

09/14/2026

Building the Retro Gaming with Chris website has had an unexpected side effect—I’ve been rearranging the game room.

As I’ve started taking better pictures of the collection for the site, I realized some of it needed to be reorganized so you could actually see what’s here.

The cartridge collection got a major overhaul, bringing the NES, SNES, N64, Sega, Atari, and other cartridge-based games together into a much cleaner display. I’ve also been working on the hardware side, getting the consoles, controllers, accessories, and some of the other pieces organized.

It’s still a work in progress, but I’m really liking how everything is coming together. And one of my favorite things about doing this has been rediscovering things in my own collection that I haven’t looked at closely in a while.

The website is getting closer, and I’m looking forward to having a place where I can show off more than just the games I’m playing—there’s a lot more to Retro Gaming with Chris than what fits into a single post.

09/12/2026

The first trade-up experiment is officially in the books!

I brought a pile of duplicate games and extras to the Washington State Toy Show today with one rule: instead of just selling everything, I wanted to see what I could turn it into through trading.

The show was pretty small, so I didn't make a ton of trades, but I'm really happy with the ones I did.

I traded one of my duplicate Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt carts for Spy Hunter, giving me another NES game for the collection.

I traded my duplicate copy of Final Fantasy for the Left Bros. variant of Super Mario Bros. 3. I've wanted to start adding more NES variants to the collection, so that was an easy trade for me.

And then came the completely unexpected one. I traded Kung Fu Chaos for a RoboCop LaserDisc. RoboCop is one of my favorite movies, so the second I saw this, I wanted it. Sometimes collecting isn't about which side gained a few dollars—it's about finding something you think is awesome.

Everything else came home with, so the experiment isn't over. The remaining trade pile moves on to the next show.

Round 1: three items out, three pieces I'm much happier owning in. I'd call that a success.

Now let's see what this original pile eventually turns into.

09/11/2026

The trading experiment starts here.

I'm getting ready for the toy show in Bremerton, and I've decided to try something a little different this time.

Everything in this picture is my starting trade pile. It's a mix of duplicate NES games, Sega Master System games, original Xbox games, OXM demo discs and some other extras I've accumulated.
Instead of just selling it, I'm going to see what I can turn it into through trading.

The goal isn't necessarily to make one giant trade tomorrow. I'm going to look for things that fit my collection—especially NES games and G1 Transformers—but I'm also willing to make trades for something that gives me a better trade piece for the next show.

I'm going to keep track of every trade and see how far I can take this original pile. If I come home with something worth trading again, that becomes the new trade pile and the experiment continues.

Eventually, I'd love to see if a pile of duplicates and extras can work its way up to something I really want.

This is Day 1. Let's see where it goes.

What would you try to trade for first?

09/07/2026

Halloween is my favorite holiday, and September is close enough for me. 😂

The decorations have already started going up, and of course that means it’s time for the first viewing of The Nightmare Before Christmas of the season.

I spend about as much time watching movies as I do playing video games, and this is one of those movies that has become part of the Halloween tradition. I’m sure it won’t be the last time it gets played between now and October 31st.

Anyone else already getting into Halloween mode, or am I way too early?