2023 Pedal Build Wind Down

As 2023 winds to a close I can officially say there are only two planned builds left. I still need to put together the super secret project, but as far as from scratch builds only two remain. The two left are planned just to have tiny little builds for November and December. When I say tiny, I really do mean they're tiny little builds. One is 6x6 and the other is 7x7 sized stripboard with less than ten components all in, so we'll see how those work out. In total I've done thirty-nine builds this year alone, and with two more that means I will have built over forty circuits in one year. Looking back I see where there has been lag time between builds and I know that if I were to put in more effect I could easily build fifty in a year, but for 2024 I do plan to focus more on housing the circuits I've built this year, rather than building in mass again.

The reality being I don't really need many more pedals. I already have delays, reverbs, tremolos and a ton of overdrives and distortions. What else do I need? I am thinking of building a looper so I can build a new pedalboard. Apart from that I might just build a few easy circuits to see how I can modify them or use different component values like I did with experiment #64. For 2024 I do have a few ideas that are almost locked in as builds though, such as a Boss Spectrum clone, a Bearhug compressor with a few modifications, and a couple Cornish clones to use up my single op-amp stock. I'm still debating building a Deep Blue Delay clone, and maybe, just maybe I'll try my (left) hand at another HM-2 clone. Firstly I will do some more testing with the HM-2 clone I built before I dedicate more materials to another one. I actually think I might know what I did wrong with that build, and if I'm right that I was wrong it may sound better once I get it dialed in.

In 2024 I really do need to use up my LM741 and TL071 stock, as the large majority of the circuits I've built use dual op-amps. Speaking of, I also need to use up my fake TL072 stock, which I've learned work well with very little to no gain pedal circuits. I also have a few TL074s and a single LM324 which probably could use good homes. I think you get the idea of how this works. I have parts, parts need homes, search for homes, find many circuits to build, oops I need more (x value) resistor/capacitor, etc. and the cycle just keeps repeating itself. It's not that pedal circuits are the only reason to have the components around, but it is currently the most fun and easiest reason.

Masters of Distortion

In a previous entry I questioned whether or not my Maxon DS-830 Distortion Master clone was truly a master of distortion. I can definitively say it is, but after some testing I've come to find that things aren't exactly perfect with my build. When I tested the circuit through my Noisy Cricket it sounded ok, but I was merely looking to see whether or not the circuit and controls worked. When I tested the circuit through Kali there was an odd sag that seemed to oscillate. I would hit a chord and the distortion would slowly swell in and out. I started troubleshooting the build by first checking the input JFET. The circuit requires a 2SK246Y, but I don't have any clue where to get one of those. Instead I went with a JFET from the same parts board I sourced the SC1815 transistors this build also requires and used a K223. 

Since I had the foresight to socket the JFET I started testing others that I had. I tried my J112, J113, another K223 and even a 2N5457, but the K223s were the only ones that worked. For completeness sake I turned the K223 around and it works either way. *Shrug* While I was swapping the K223's direction I had forgotten to unplug the power, which I usually do as a precaution, and the sag wasn't there. This told me that it probably wasn't the JFET at all, so it's probably a crappy electrolytic capacitor. When the circuit is powered off and back on the oscillating sag returns, but if the circuit is left powered up for a while it comes to life and works just fine. I'll need to test some of the capacitors and see which one might be causing the issue, or what else it may be. Aside from that I'm happy with how good this circuit sounds when it's firing on all cylinders.

Next up we have the super secret project I've been working on, which requires a screamer type circuit as the heart of the overall build. Since I built my Screaming Pumpkin I've found I'm not a fan of the clean bleed, or whatever you call it, that is common with 808 style circuits. Don't get me wrong, I love my Screaming Pumpkin, and TS808 circuits can sound great in the right circumstance, but this project is most certainly not that circumstance. I listened to demos of TS9, TS10, TS7, TS5 and even other kinds of TS circuits. I finally settled on the TS9 as my circuit of choice. As TS circuits go it didn't take long to put together and once I was done I went through my normal pre-test jitters. I'm anxious whether the circuit will work, and if it doesn't what will I need to troubleshoot/fix. Luckily for me everything went off without a hitch.

This circuit sounds really good, but as always I'm not sure it sounds as close as I wanted to the project circuit I'm going to end up building. Regardless, it is what it is and I will be moving ahead with it anyway. This project also requires a boost, which I just so happens to have a LPB-1 circuit laying around. I will also need to work on adding a blend circuit, which is something I got into earlier this year and built a few. Finally I need to work on some sort of bass boost switch to go along with it. So the project is a TS style overdrive, with a clean blend, a boost and a bass switch. Does that sound familiar?

Nostalgia Is a Hell of a Drug Part 3: The Lowrider Kid!

As a kid I had a small collection of 1:18 scale diecast model cars and a rather large collection of 1:24/1:25 scale model kits. Though they were all different kinds of cars they all fell victim to the fact that I was really into Lowriders. Even before AMT and Revell started making lowriders kits I was going to websites like Pegasus and Hoppin Hydros to get wheels and accessories to build my own lowriders. Now, let it be known I was great at painting the interior, engines, and setting up a stanced lowrider chassis, but I couldn't paint the body for shit. That's one skill I just could not master. I'm sorely disappointed to this day, as I really need to learn to spray paint for my guitar pedal building hobby. It's been years since I've tried, so I might be better at it these days, as I've learned how to be more patient.

The first official lowrider kit I can remember was AMT's 1970 Chevy Monte Carlo, which came with various hydraulic cylinders so you could stance it almost anyway you wanted. Model kits including extra parts to allow you to customize how you built the car wasn't new, but this blew my tiny little mind back then. The car was green on the box, but moulded in an off white/ grey color, so I knew mine was never going to look great. Even so, I built what I could, stanced it how I wanted and still enjoyed what I had created. I also had quite a few 63 and 64 Impala kits. I did paint one of the 64 kits blue, but the paint started to run on the rear quarter panel. I didn't care, it was the best I could do, so I lived with it.

Then came Lindberg, hitting heavy with their kits that included hydraulics. These were already moulded in nice colors, all I had to do was put them together. I had EVERY one of them, although I never got into their Pocket Hoppers line. My favorite by far was the S10. I actually still have one of the 63 Impala Red's Hydraulics Jokers that still works, kind of. I also bought the Hoppin Hydros Linberg D's, which were an upgraded lowrider wheel and white walled tire set for each and every one of them. It becomes apparent that I, at that age, had no clue what money meant.

Years later I bought a pre-built 1966 Bonneville kit off ebay thinking I could fix it. The previous owner had already setup the hydraulics, but the wiring was a rats nest. I tried to fix it, but all I really did was take it apart and forget how it went back together. I also tried to mate a Dodge Caravan kit with a Lindberg hydraulic chassis, which was going great, until I could never get the body to sit straight on the chassis. I also bought a metallic hunter green Chevy dually that I lowered and added wire wheels to. Soon after some company started producing a line of diecast bodied ones that looked a lot like mine. I have my suspicions they might have used mine as inspiration, I'll explain more at the end.

Something I only saw for a short period of time in the early 2000s and never seen since was a huge radio controlled lowrider with hydraulics and everything. It wasn't the Radio Shack Lowrider, but whatever it was never really lived up to the hype the ebay listing had promised. I used it the day I got it and put it back in the box for display, and as with almost all of my other model cars it was eventually sold. I even made my own lowrider from a super cheap remote controlled car I bought at a dollar store. There is also some other cheap lowrider car that came with a key fob that I have somewhere. I'll try to find those and add pictures below.

As a part of this hobby I also still have a small collection of Lowrider and Lowrider Bicycle magazines packed away. In the back of Lowrider Bicycle, if you flipped the magazine over, you had a whole half that was dedicated to lowrider scale model cars. I used to look at those cars and wish I could do stuff like that. It wasn't until model car companies started painting the bodies that I ever actually felt I was anywhere near that level, of course I still wasn't, but I felt as if I was.

Now way, way back in the old days of 2002 I started a website that, looking back, was poorly named. Low Ridez N 1:24. Yep, the early 2000s were a veritable wild west of misspelling to come up with something catchy. I wanted to be a one stop shop for all small scale lowrider information, and I really thought I was. I added anything and everything that came across my path that had to do with lowrider model cars, as well as photos of my own builds. Now all that's left is the web archive, but when they crawled the site they never archived the photos, which were literally kilobytes in size but whatever. So having my builds posted wasn't a concern, until I saw the diecast lowrider duallys that looked like mine. Maybe they did, maybe they didn't, it doesn't matter twenty years later, but to me it just seemed odd.

Prepainted 1977 Monte Carlo Snaptite

Upgraded wheels for the 77 Monte Carlo Kit

Dollar Store Blazer with real Hoppin Hydros wheels.

Oddball remote lowrider toy.

Autumn is Here!

Ah, Autumn. What can you say about Autumn that hasn't already been said? *shrug* I guess you can say whatever you want about Autumn, I'm not your Dad. As for myself, as the darkness comes rolling in earlier and earlier, the temperatures start to drop off, just like leaves from the trees, I like to get stuck into an RPG. It's been a while since I have, but I like to give myself an RPG to get stuck into that takes up multiple days, if not months of my time to simply while away the cold months. Back in 2011 I finally sat down and played through Dragon Warrior (Quest) 1, a few years ago I played through Dragon Quest 2 and I set up Dragon Quest 3, fully intending to play it immediately, but guess what? Yep, I forgot.

Since I've been going through and beating NES games lately the urge for my Autumnal RPG playthrough has been super strong. So this year I'm thinking I'll surely play through Dragon Quest 3. Another reason is because I really, REALLY want to get back into Dragon Quest 8. Yeah, that's a hell of a leap isn't it? Well, I'm just going to have to work my way all the way back up to DQ8. It's the only way! The problem with Dragon Quest 3 is which version do I play? The original NES version? A translated Enchanced Super Famicom version? The Game Boy Color version? And I'm even reading there was a Super Enhanced Wii version? So many choices, so little time to decide.

As for pedal circuit builds I built the Distortion Master clone and it turned out - well, it turned out. It's distortion, I don't know if it's the master of distortion, but it sure is distortion. If you read my last entry you might recall (go back and read the final paragraph, go on. Go on! I'm giving you time. GO!) that I said I wanted to find projects to build in November and December just to say I've built pedal circuits in those months. Well, I found them. Super simple circuits that are less than half a dozen parts on a 6x6 piece of stripboard. Ten minutes each and I'll have myself a new pedal circuit. One build is planned for each month. I'm also still working on the mystery project, but it's going to take a bit of mental gymnastics to figure out how it goes together. Again, I'll show you when it's finished. By finished I mean complete and working, or I've set the fucker on fire so it can never hurt me again.

Shot for the Moon, Landed on Mars

One of my first circuit builds this year was a Kay T1 tremolo clone. To say it went poorly would be an understatement. The first problem was the layout has an error in it, which the author still has not fixed. Only after asking on the DIYPedals subreddit was the error in the layout brought to my attention, as well as how to fix it. Once it was fixed I was getting much better results, but it still ended up just being a warbly overdrive. Building a tremolo was really just an exercise in seeing if I could do it, and with such lackluster results I wasn't ready to try it again. However, I actually was, because I'm an idiot sometimes!

The Vico Vibe really got into my head and I wanted to build one so bad, but I just could not do another transistor-based tremolo and have it fail like the Kay T1 clone. While searching for help with the Kay T1 clone a nice young chap by the name of Ian kept telling me to shoot the moon, by which he meant build a Shoot the Moon tremolo. This one uses two op-amps and has four controls, so again I wasn't really willing to use all those parts just to face another failure. But, sometimes we just need to push through the fear of failure and do what needs to be done, so I did. I built the chopped down version of the circuit that boils it down to two controls, a shape switch and an internal trim pot.

The simplified Shoot the Moon tremolo is such an easy circuit to build, but even so I had my pre-test jitters thinking there surely had to be something I messed up on. The final step of any build is to put the op-amp(s) into the socket(s) and plug the power into the pedal to see what happens. I have a large stock of janky op-amps that can't take too much gain before they get fizzy. They were sold to me, and marked as TL072s, but in any high gain overdrive/distortion these things fizz more than Mentos in Diet Cola. I have learned that for low/no gain applications these things work amazingly. I don't know what they actually are, but so far they're sound absolutely amazing in this tremolo circuit. Which also means this tremolo circuit sounds amazing.

I was elated! Finally, a tremolo circuit that works and sounds awesome. I will say I haven't ran humbuckers through it, nor have I given it the Kali test to make sure it sounds good through my tube amp, but so far I am very happy with the results. I didn't heat shrink the LDR and LED yet, and I may not as they seem to work really well just the way they are. I did test it in a dark room, so I'm guessing an enclosure might be good enough, but I might heat shrink them in the future. The adjustable gain is a nice addition, and since I will most likely set it slightly above unity and forget it, I'm glad it's an internal trim pot.

Well, all I really have left to say is Thanks Ian! This tremolo circuit works, it works great and sounds great! Had he not suggested it, I may not have ever given it a try. So what we've learned here is from failure (the Kay T1 clone) we've been set on the path of something greater. Fear of additional failure kept me from testing that path, but eventually I decided to overcome that fear, and I'm glad I did. It's almost as if guitar pedal circuit building is teaching us life lessons. Funny isn't it? I still have a few builds left in the year and I've decided to plan small builds for November and December, just so I can officially say I've built during those months. Remember, I solder outside so my builds are very weather dependent. Should I get good weather for a singular November and December build the only month I've not built in would be February. We might just have to rectify that in 2024!

De-Repurpose

About ten years ago I picked up a Johnson Amplification J3 footswitch from a thrift store for about $2. Even though it looked like it had done a world tour, or two, I knew a few bucks would be a solid investment. Since I've never owned a Johnson amp, or their little modeler, I've never known if this thing worked or not. For years it sat in my closet without any purpose, until I started wanting to build a DIY A/B/Y box. It seemed to fit those needs well, in fact too well, but my A/B/Y didn't need three switches, so I had to sort out a way to plug the middle hole on the top. I would also need to drill additional holes for LEDs and the additional outputs.

Eventually I got around to drilling the holes and putting everything into place, but I never bothered soldering it together because I was really put off by the middle hole. Hindsight being more than just looking at big, round booties, I should have thought it through before drilling the additional holes and just left it alone. In the end I used a small 1590A enclosure and made a very simple A/B switcher and at that point the A/B/Y project was completely dead. Now I just had a J3 footswitch with extra holes and no wiring. So what do I do with it now? I rectify my stupid mistakes and fix it up, duh!

Lucky for me I had enough foresight, which has no questionable quip, and took photos of the insides so I could replace them, should I ever decide to do so. Which I have, obviously, that's why you're reading this right now. I'm sorry. I got everything set up and removed the excess outputs and LEDs, then I soldered back the coupled pair of 1N4148s which I always left alone, even when I needed them for pedal builds, and used the images I took all those years ago to rewire it back up. If you'll refer to the opening paragraph of this blog entry you'll remember I've never owned anything this footswitch will work with, so I still can't tell you whether it works or not. I can tell you that aside from some extra holes, which are now bugging me more so than just the middle hole when I wanted it to be an A/B/Y box, it's back together to the best of my ability.

Below I've provided the images I took before tearing the footswitch apart. These may help someone rewire theirs, or you can tell me that mine isn't wired correctly. The previous owner may have rewired it to work with something else, I'm not sure. That's the problem with having nothing to test this thing with. Again, it's wired to the best of my ability and that's what matters right now.

Nostalgia Is a Hell of a Drug Part 2: My Cursed Willow Playthrough

In the late 90s I got really into emulators (NESticle anyone!?) and started searching for RPGs I had never heard of. I played through my cartridge copies of Final Fantasy and Crystalis more times than I can remember, so I wanted to expand on that by playing through more RPGs, even if it was just through emulation. Games like Legend of the Ghost Lion, Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom, Sweet Home and Dragon Quest were titles that came up frequently, all of which I gave a try, even if only brief. Yet, one game was mentioned that I never really paid much attention to until later in my life: Willow.

Fast forward to 2008, I remember this because Adult Swim was just starting to air Clerks The Animated Series, when I'm burning emulator discs for the Dreamcast. Yes, I was up at 5am burning emulator discs for the Dreamcast to play NES games. You still have a shred of respect for me? Set it alight and watch it slowly turn to ash and disappear. After the disc was burnt I put it into my Dreamcast and started sorting through all the games it came with, one of which stood out, again that's Willow. At this time I had watched the movie a couple of times and was more interested in playing it, especially since I knew it was from Capcom. So I booted into Willow and started playing.

I was immediately hooked as the gameplay was very Zelda-like, and while not the most expansive RPG, there are only 16 levels to be earned, there is still a lot of RPG elements and a ton of gameplay to be had with this game. At some point I quit playing the emulated version and bought myself a real cartridge version. I started playing through the actual cartridge version in about 2013, and I remember having such a great time throughout. That is until I got to the boss, Bavmorda. NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING worked on her. I lost time and time and time and time again. I found all the items, I was max level, I was trying my best and simply nothing worked.

Upset that I couldn't beat the game I packed the cartridge away and forgot about it until about 2017, when I tried again, but this time I used a youtube walkthrough video. This time I was going to beat the game, because I had the power! Youtendo... power? However, it simply wasn't destined to be. I saw the strategy, I copied the strategy and then I noticed that my magic cane wasn't taking anywhere near the same amount of her HP away. What the heck is going on? Yet again I tried and tried and tried, but still nothing worked. So I tried another password I found online and wouldn't you know it? She was taking the correct damage this time. But you know what? I was so pissed off that I had played through the game only to get a whack ass password I packed the cartridge away yet again and forgot about it.

That is until literally an hour ago. I tested the old password and yep, it's still shit! So I used the new password and finally beat Willow. Imagine playing through a game all the way to the final level and it just shits out on you. Could I be missing something? Maybe, but I don't see why the game would let me get all the way to Bavmorda and still be missing something. I swear I collected all the items, I have all the swords, shields and magic. Unless there was some dialogue I missed along the way, I don't see there being any reason for the game to make Bavmorda far more difficult, nearly immortal, in my playthrough. I've never had this happen before, and I hope it never happens again. As for Willow, I've beaten it and I might play through it again sometime in the future to see if I get another cursed password.

Here! Try it for yourself. Good luck!

Pedal Season 2023 Coming to a Close

Yeah, I know, but it had to happen at some point. With thirty-six projects built, and three left to go, I just can't keep building pedals simply to have something to do. Looking back I wish I had built more delay and reverb pedals, but the few I did build I remember sounding pretty good. Although I still need to get the Belton brick to complete the Ghost Echo clone. I absolutely had to build the Noisy Cricket amp, or else I wouldn't have built any circuits this year, because my Fender Mustang Mini bit the dust and I just don't have time to look into what it needs to fix it. Ironic, huh? Here I am building pedal circuits but I don't have time to fix the amp I used to test the pedal circuits? Ah well, the world keeps spinning.

Once the building is done I still have a lot of troubleshooting to do. The Kay tremolo still needs the transistors sorted out so it's not a warbly overdrive. The Eric Johnson Fuzz Face clone still needs dialed in, transistors tested. A handful of builds need the correct potentiometer installed, as I used good enough to complete the build and get it tested. I even threw a lot of oddball projects at the wall to see if they would stick, and some of them did. Like my latest build was a slightly modified CMAT Mods Butah with more gain and clipping diode selection. Project 64 seems to have been ok. I built a TS style circuit using a 9 pin SIP IC preamplifier that sounded really good, except the 9th pin is a mute pin that doesn't release when tied to ground or left open, so I need to figure that out. Once that's all done I need to sort out enclosures for every single pedal I've built. Ever - single - one! With painted enclosures now close to $15 each, or more, go ahead and do the maths on that. Yeah, that's going to suck.

Currently there are three builds left on the to-do list: Shoot the Moon tremolo, Maxon DS-830 Distortion Master clone and, because I'm a glutton for punishment, a mystery project that seems like it's going to be extremely complex to pull off. Thanks to pictures of Gary Moore's pedalboard both the DS-830 and the mystery pedal were added to my list of builds. Another example was the Bad Monkey, which I fully admit was never on my radar until the whole JHS thing and Pedal Pawn buying Gary Moore's, then trying to flip it for thousands (did they actually sell it?). I decided if it was good enough for Gary Moore I'll make my own, so I did. 

This might seem to be a bit of a stretch but because Gary used a Deep Blue Delay I decided to build the Faux Analog Echo clone. Could I have built a Deep Blue Delay? Sure. As a matter of fact I may just put that kit together after writing this, but the Faux Echo got there first. Atleast the Deep Blue Delay has layouts, unlike the mystery project. I had to do a lot of research on what it was based on and its history. Now I'm doing my best to put together the material components to try and make a clone of it. Will it work? Doubtful. Will it function? To some capacity. Do I hope it works out smoothly? You better believe it, but I'm also a realist and under no delusion that it will, but I'll be sure to announce it when it's done. If you find pictures of Gary Moore's pedalboard and see an oddball pedal that looks complicated, that's most likely the one.

Pedal Circuit Build 69 Has Come

I knew build number 69 had to be based around innuendo, and I might have stretched it out a bit here, but I think it will come together. What effect pedal is more innuendo driven than the Big Muff Pi? The Big Muff Pi was never really on my radar as I'm not a huge fuzz fan. Sure I built an op-amp Muff Fuzz clone, but that's because the op-amp made it sound better (to my ears) than a normal fuzz. BUT WAIT! Did you know there was an op-amp Big Muff Pi!? *gasps en Español* QUE!? SI! DIME MAS! From what I understand in 77 and 78 Big Muff Pi pedals were/could be built with an op-amp. This is apparently the choice version for Billy Corgan and James Iha from the Smashing Pumpkins. Now, you officially have my undivided attention.

Well let's see what we can find in terms of layout, shall we? There are a few, but there is something interesting called the Keeley Rotten Apple that seems to take inspiration from the op-amp Big Muff Pi and adds a little bit to it. That's what I'll build, and so I did! But, mine turned out more like a heavy metal distortion than anything near the Big Muff or Rotten Apple. I have no clue how, I really don't. So this will need more experimenting to test and see where I went wrong. Maybe I put something in the wrong place, we'll see. However, for now build 69 is dubbed Smashing Muffkins. This name is based on the fact that it was based on a pedal that was based on the op-amp Big Muff Pi that Billy and James used, but also because Smashing Muffkins sounds like an inoffensive euphemism for fucking.

Going back to the Big Muff Pi for a moment, does anyone remember EHX loaning the Big Muff Pi design to the Rock Band 2 overdrive prop? I call it a prop because it's not a pedal, it's more like a single button controller. Anyway, I really thought the Rock Band 2 overdrive props would be much easier to find, since every thrift store back ten years ago were covered in the plastic guitar controllers. I was wrong. I was very, horribly wrong. Apparently they're more rare than a leprechaun riding a blue unicorn on Flaberstday under a greyscale rainbow while both the leprechaun and unicorn are wearing orange crocs and black socks.

I thought I would find them all over thrift stores, along side the guitar controllers, and since they're essentially 1590BB enclosures I could repurpose them for real pedal circuits. I even thought about using one to build a Mini Muff Pi. *gasps en Español* No, we already did that bit earlier. Perdón. Está bien. Getting back on track, how dare I want to build a clone circuit that I might not like based solely on the fact I had an enclosures that looked kind of like the original? Well you can rest assured I'm not going to spend anywhere near $100 for a Hammond 1590BB that looks kind of like an EHX pedal just to turn it into an actual, working guitar pedal. Even if I could find one of them cheap enough I would rather flip it to someone willing to pay the $100 for one and just buy a ton of unfinished 1590BBs for all the circuits I already have built that need a 1590BB enclosure. That's using your noggin!

With build 69 in the books that brings me up to thirty-five builds for this year, easily doubling that of 2021 and 2022. The good news is I actually have made three more kits to build, so that should keep me busy for a few more days. Then I really have to quit building and start doing troubleshooting. I have some builds that I'm pretty sure I'll need to tear down and rebuild all over, which sucks but I've had to do it before. Mistakes happen and when everything is in the right spot but it still doesn't work properly, there's no better fix than tear it all down and doing it all over again. If I can pull myself away from my new pursuit of beating NES games I think this year's building will be satisfying, as well as a success in learning new things and having pedals I enjoy using.

Nostalgia Is a Hell of a Drug!

Have you ever seen a 40-year-old man more gitty than a kid about to attend their first Taylor Swift concert? Well instead of getting raked over the coals by Ticketbastards all it took for me was a $13 investment in Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest. Castlevania 2 was one of the first video games I purchased all by myself, from a flea market in the 90s. I remember being allowed to freely roam the flea market when I happened upon a booth that had games for $5 each, to the best of my recollection. At this point I had never hear of, let alone played any of the Castlevania games, so I knew absolutely nothing about them, but the label of Castlevania 2 looked cool so I bought it.

I remember rushing to find my parents after I made my purchase and urging them to go home, as I wanted to play my game immediately. Youth, am I right!? That's not how my parents played it, so I had to continue walking around the flea market, now without any money, until they were ready to go home. When I did get home, however, I did all the cartridge blowing and whatnot to get the game going and was dropped into a world of my own making. I was confused. Without a manual I had no clue what I was supposed to do. This was well before Yahoo, Google, or even youtube tutorial videos. So to make the best of my purchase I just walked around killing the monsters, and that became the game's objective to me. I counted how many monsters I could kill before they killed me. That was Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest to my youth addled mind.

Along the way I've lost a lot of my old NES collection, mostly due to youth stupidity, and as an aging man I find myself wanting to collect them, just to have them again. Sure, I could play Simon's Quest on the NES Classic, or even better, an upgraded ROM hack on my modded Wii, but there's something very deeply connected to my memories about having the actual cartridge and holding a real NES controller in my hand while actually playing the game. You know as it was intended and not just as my ignorant childhood mind made it up to be. I'm really glad to finally have Simon's Quest back in my collection. And yes, I am playing it just like I did as a child; on a CRT through RF, and it's really not that bad. This completes my Castlevania Trilogy on the NES, but I have a few more cartridges I plan to track down. Maybe this will become a series. We'll see.