I had a few objectives going to Japan this year : EVO Japan, obviously, go to places I hadn’t been able to visit yet anf also make a few videos for you to enjoy !
Today I wanted to present to you the first episode of this mini-series, where I’m taking you to Shibuya’s very own Nintendo Store ! This place is huuuge and filled to the brim with goodies ! It’s quite fortunate I’m not the biggest Nintendo fan out there and that my luggage space is quite limited, otherwise I wouldn’t easily come back to France 😆
Voilà le premier épisode d'une petite série de vidéos à propos de mon voyage au Japon ! Je vous emmène au Nintendo Store de Shibuya, où… Ouais, la tentation de tout prendre était très grande ! pic.twitter.com/vo0bvkPmZa
— Kayane (@Kayane) January 27, 2020
The most surprising aspect of the store comes from how tightly organized it all feels ! Basically, it’s broken down into 4 great areas : one for Mario and others for Zelda, Animal Crossing and Splatoon. There are also two other areas with one for the Nintendo Store X Pokemon Center crossover event that’s currently taking place, and an area dedicated to Nintendo Store-exclusive items and more minor series like Kirby (that also has a Kirby Café not too far away, though I didn’t go there). There even was a demo area for Ring Fit Adventure, as it’s a smash hit over there, going on to sell out nearly everywhere !
To be fair, this store remains a goodies-oriented store, not unlike a lot of stores found here and there (and even within the Parco building, as it also hosts the Pokemon Center and the Capcom Store). The goal is to hoard as many items as possible that can’t be found elsewhere or that’s hard to get on the Web. But… Yeah, it’s still a devious concept, as the music and overall feel of the store give off this Nintendo vibe that works wonders !
If you had the chance to go to Disneyland Paris’ Disney Village, it’s basically very similar, though you’d have to replace Mickey with Mario and Minnie woth Isabelle. It’s hard not to feel giddy seeing some of the stuff that’s there and it’s even harder not to let your wallet mysteriously empty itself when laying eyes on any Zelda-themed items !
My only gripe with the whole thing was the lack of less mainstream series, like Fire Emblem or Kid Icarus… Come to think of it, they could’ve made something Smash Bros.-themed as it’d be the perfect place for that ! Mr Game & Watch could be Nintendo’s response to Walt Disney’s Oswald the Lucky Rabbit 😆
I can’t thank my brother enough for being my cameraman on this trip, as well as Ben, who edited the video ! The music you can hear is a remix of the Windmill Hut theme from The Legend of Zelda : Ocarina of Time as heard in Cadence of Hyrule !