RETRO RECAP: An Overview of RGX 2019
A few weeks ago, we blasted to the past as Retro Gaming Expo 2019 held its first year at the Fisher Mall Expo Hall. Merchants, artists, cosplays, life-size figures and many nostalgic franchises were featured aside from the various enthusiasts that attended the event; among these enthusiasts are members of the UP AG, with some being volunteer workers and organizers for the event.
The convention featured various games such as Super Mario, Super Smash Bros. 64, Tekken Tag Tournament, Sonic and many more. Along these various games are the consoles that started it all, such as the fourth generation Nintendo Game Boy line and various second-generation home video game consoles from the 1970’s exhibited in the event.
WHAT IS RETRO GAMING EXPO?
The Retro Gaming Expo is “the ultimate gaming and collectors’ convention that will bring you back to the good ol’ days”. It is the first of its kind in the Philippines where gamers and enthusiasts get to enjoy retro-themed booths, contest, exhibition matches, and exciting giveaways. The convention lasted for two days, from the 22nd of February until the 23rd of February, on Friday and Saturday respectively. It features exhibits of consoles dated all the way back from 1976 (second generation), and provides a free play interaction for the enthusiasts to enjoy the nostalgic games that existed. Other free-to-play games included a lot of different board games available to play, which we view as an acceptance of the gaming community towards tabletop games as its predecessor.
THE EVENT
Spicing up the event were the raffle giveaways that encouraged attendees to completely explore the entire convention; the prizes at stake were the Guitar Hero guitar and a DJ Hero turntable. Up next were the tournament matches that were open to attendees such as the Tekken Tag Tournament 1. Different merchandises were also present, ranging from figurines to old nostalgic consoles such as the Nintendo Game Boy Color. There was also an extremely wide selection of games including well known classic such as ‘The Legend of Zelda’ for the NES and cult classics like Ghosts and Goblins. Various artists also came with their amazing works offering them for an affordable and reasonable price. A sample work came from the Pixel Hero PH booth and their popular Minecraft shades.
Check out the artists and tabletop exhibitors that came in the Retro Gaming Expo:
Pixel Hero PH https://www.facebook.com/PixelHeroPH/
SketchyGerry IG/FB/DA: @SketchyGerry, sketchygerry@gmail.com
MM Tees IG/FB: @MMTees2016, mmtees2016@gmail.com
MichFranc FB/Twitter: @MichFranc, IG: @MichFranc.exe
Ralph Nochete FB: hundredstrokestudio, IG: nomeatcomics
Celty Kishitani YT/IG/Twitter: @cosplayercelty, WordPress: worldofcosplayercelty, Tumblr: celtynishinra, FB: celtykishitanicosplay
Nina Pacardo IG/FB: wildeggnog, nina.pacardo@gmail.com
Annaliza Lachica Japanimation, Smart: 09204238851, Globe: 09055859040
Emmanuel Centeno Ronin Panda, FB: emman.centeno, IG: notemman30, emmanuelcenteno1993@gmail.com
Jose Antonio San Juan Psychopotato, psychopotato001@gmail.com, IG: psychopotatoarts
Reingale A. Rafael The Rusty Cat, rustycat028@gmail.com , Artstation: artsation.com/therustycat, Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/therustycat, DA: therustycat
Xelalanana, Twitter: @xelalanana, xelalanana.com, behance.net/xelalanana, xelalanana@gmail.com
COSPLAY COMPETITION
The most awaited major event were the cosplay competition, featuring cosplayers such as Vaune Roulema as a Khorne Berzerker and John Barnabe as Iron Man. There were a total of 13 different contestants who wanted to share their love of cosplay and to entertain the attendees with their amazing costumes. The other cosplayers portrayed characters we all know and love such as Ermac from Mortal Kombat and Sheik from the Legend of Zelda. The variety of the costumes was mind-blowing, as characters like Sheik were smaller in scale, but still incredibly intricate. Meanwhile, there were also costumes like War Machine and Iron Man that had LEDs and even moving parts. Amongst these cosplayers, there were also vloggers that documented the event and posted it on their pages.
Check the cosplayers on their pages:
John Barnabe: www.facebook.com/Magnetosphera
Karen Mae de Vera: www.instagram.com/kraken_mae
Vaune Roulema: www.worldcosplay.net/en/member/BlackVoidSociety
Also see the vlogs we found from other vloggers present at the event:
Crunch: www.youtube.com/watch?v=59XfKf5KWgA
Lara Krystle: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP7TYLec-48
ZING!: www.youtube.com/channel/UCIY4jG4pWN7oo1LEgbndGVA
CONCLUSION
Overall, the convention was successful in bringing together the gaming community to celebrate old-school games that started it all. From die-hard gaming enthusiasts to old-school gamers who wanted to experience nostalgia, people flocked to the event to experience or re-experience an age of gaming gone but certainly not forgotten. From our perspective as UPLB students/gamers, it opens a wide variety of opportunities that the gaming community offers and how it can contribute to our history.
PAGES OF TABLETOP:
Sting-a-Win: (Yes, but they also had their own table showcasing their game. Game Detectives table featured multitides of tabletop games) https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Board-Game/Sting-A-Win-261557937828427/
Game Detectives: https://www.facebook.com/GameDetective/
UPLB Game On: https://www.facebook.com/theguilduplb/
Berlin Manalaysay (Creator of Combatron): https://www.facebook.com/berlin.manalaysay.7
The Epic Gaming Regiment (Publisher of Combatron): https://www.facebook.com/theepicgamingregiment/
9 Lives:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/promeworks/9-lives
Also see Retro Gaming Expo’s FB page: www.facebook.com/events/120918345501544/