RetroGameCon was back in the Oncenter in Syracuse, NY, on May 16th and 17th for RetroGameCon Spring Edition.  While it’s smaller than the big convention in October, there was still plenty to see and do.  I was able to get out to the event on the 16th and check out the vendors, tournaments, special guests, panels, and more.  Check out everything below.

Vendor Area

If you’ve been to RetroGameCon previously for the main October con, the area that is normally just the freeplay and tournament area was the area for all of RetroGame Con: Spring Edition, with The Oncenter featuring barriers that can close off to separate the different areas of the expo hall.  The spring convention has bounced around to different locations over the last few years, including at the MOST science museum and the Elite Gaming esports arena.  It was actually a busy weekend at the Oncenter, with a dance competition in the other halls and a prom on Saturday night.  There were about 4 main rows of vendors set up for the show, and a great variety of items were available.  There were your normal game vendors selling tons of older games where you can find the titles to fill in the gaps in your collection, along with my personal favorite, vendors with a variety of toys, magazines, and books.  There were also plenty of artists and others making homemade retro-gaming items, so there was definitely something for everyone.  While the show was smaller than the fall show, you could still spend lots of time browsing the vendor booths and trying to find a unique must-have item to add to your collection.  I found a couple of Choose Your Own Adventure books to add to my growing collection of that series.

Freeplay/Tournaments

If you actually wanted to play some games at RetroGameCon: Spring Edition, there were a plethora of stations set up to play everything from classic PC games to NES and some more modern systems.  One of the main features of the freeplay area was that RGC was celebrating the 25th anniversary of the GameCube (yes, we’re all old now) and had several GameCubes set up with some of the best games for the system, like F-Zero GX and Super Smash Bros. Melee, available for attendees.  I played a bit of the OG Typing of the Dead on the original Dreamcast keyboard and blasted away at some zombies with all the bizarre phrases that the game throws at you.  I also played a game I had no idea even existed, and that was a Beetlejuice game, based on the animated series, for the PC.

The full title is Beetlejuice in Skeletons in the Closet, and you control Beetlejuice as you have to fight skeletons with a variety of powers, like spitting slime or launching your head like a missile.  Lydia follows with a vacuum cleaner and has to suck up all the defeated skeletons to move to the next stage.  The main feature of the game seems to be the trippy, sloping stages, but it was a fun, arcade-style action game.  I also tried to compete in a few of the high-score challenges that were going on.  Elite Gaming was hosting a Galaga competition, and I probably played the greatest Galaga game of my life, but I was still about 10,000 points short of the then-current high score on Saturday.  They were hosting a Mario Kart time trial competition, and the winners of both competitions got into the convention’s after-party for free and received a free drink token.  Skill Shot Arcade was also hosting a high-score contest for the pinball classic The Getaway: High Speed II, where the winner would get free admission to the arcade.  I didn’t do as well on the pinball, but I definitely need to figure out when I can get out to Skill Shot and see what else they have to play.

Panels

In addition to the vendors and freeplay, there were several panels and special events throughout the day at RetroGameCon: Spring Edition.

Playing with Fire: Voice Acting Panel

I checked out the panel that featured special guests Daisuke Tsuji, who voiced Jin Sakai in Ghost of Tsushima, and Kenny James, the voice of Bowser in the Mario franchise.  The pair discussed how they got into voice acting and shared tips for anyone looking to enter the industry.  Daisuke mentioned that one of his favorite aspects of making games is doing motion capture, and Kenny told the story of how his throat literally started bleeding while doing the Bowser sounds for Super Mario 3D World.  They also discussed how much they game when not acting, with Daisuke saying he was on his fifth playthrough of Ghosts of Tsushima and Kenny playing a variety of games, highlighting American Truck Simulator and Red Dead Redemption 2, which he’s played through multiple times.  Kenny also mentioned that he’s been really into 3D printing after he bought a 3D printer online after drinking a bit too much.

Rock Band Karaoke

RGC’s popular Rock Band Karaoke returned to the main stage, allowing attendees to rock out.  Featuring a modified version of Rock Band with thousands of songs, you’re sure to find something to sing or play guitar/drums on.  From “Pac Man Fever” to Nine Inch Nails’ “The Perfect Drug”, you heard a wide variety of music coming from the main stage, and it was also fun to see everyone who was doing cosplay on-stage and making it seem like some of your favorite characters were now in a rock band.

Gamecube Trivia

The last special event for Saturday, Gamecube Trivia, tested everyone’s knowledge of Nintendo’s beloved lunchbox console.  The game was actually played via Trivia Anywhere, a site where you can create your own trivia game, have participants join via their smartphones, and see who’s in the lead after each question.  There were over 30 questions about both the games and the hardware of the Gamecube, and, seeing that I never owned a Gamecube, some of them were just a stab in the dark for me.  I ended up in 10th place out of over 20 players, so that’s pretty good.  The top 3 players each received a special cartridge trophy in either gold, silver, or bronze, depending on their placement.  It was a really fun way to end the day at RGC: Spring Edition, and hopefully, there will be more trivia at the October show, and I’d love to see more at other conventions as well.

Sidequests

Since it was a gorgeous, sunny day in Syracuse, I took a break from RGC: Spring Edition to walk around the Armory Square area and check out some of the local stores.  First, though, I needed to get some lunch and hit up one of our go-to locations when we are at RGC, the Salt City Market.  The Market is a food hall with several vendors offering a variety of cuisine.  I chose Soulutions this time and got their haddock sandwich special, which was a massive piece of fish with southern spices.  It was fantastic, and it came with a side of macaroni & cheese topped with hot sauce and chicken, so that was more than enough food for the rest of the day.  After eating, I went to Antique Underground, an antique store packed with vintage goods.  There were plenty of interesting things to see, but nothing jumped out to me as a must-have.  I also walked over to The Soundgarden, which most people go to for their selection of music, but I go to see what they have for Blu-rays and 4Ks.  They always have a large selection of releases from Vinegar Syndrome, Arrow, Criterion, and other boutique outlets, along with bins of bargain DVDs to dig through and even a healthy amount of VHS.  They also have some interesting books, and I bought the horror anthology Twisted Tales to Tell in the Dark, which pays homage to the classic Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series, and it features stories set around Halloween.

Final Thoughts

RetroGameCon: Spring Edition was another great show from the RetroGameCon team.  There was a lot to do throughout the day between the vendors, freeplay stations, tournaments, and panels, and it still had the same fun, laid-back atmosphere that makes the main October convention such a highlight every year.  Even though it may be the smaller version of RetroGameCon, it still felt like a celebration of retro gaming and nerd culture with plenty of opportunities to discover something new, whether it was a forgotten game, a unique collectible, or just a fun experience with fellow fans.  We can’t wait to head back to Syracuse in October for the main show, which is already shaping up to be a must-attend event for gamers.