Nintendo Game Pack (Topps)

Nintendo Game Pack
Topps
1989

Nintendo was big business in the 80's. Video Games, T-Shirts, Watches, you name it - they branded everything. Everyone wanted a piece of the pie and Nintendo was (somewhat) happy to divy it out - Of course with a fair amount of the profit coming back to them for the privilege of licensing a Nintendo product.

Topps' Nintendo Game Pack was a unique twist on your traditional trading card series. While most card packs from the era contained your traditional base set of trading cards, chase inserts and of course stickers, this particular series turned all of that upside down.

Rather than having a base set of cards, it's actually the stickers which are the base series. The inserts on the the other hand are scratch off games which kids could use a coin to play.

First let's take a look at all those fantastic sticker cards!

The series featured five themes; Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Punch Out, Double Dragon, The Legend of Zelda and Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link.

While some cards contained only one sticker, there were others which featured multiple ones of various characters.

As you can see, a lot the stickers featured a tone of action sequences on them making them all the more unique.

Others featured simple logos or  profiles of characters.

These were great. However, the game cards were what really take this set over the top.

Each game featured ten different cards (or screens) and played out relatively the same. You begin on the left side of the card, area 1, and have to meet a certain criteria to advance to the right side of the card, area 2. You  then have to meet a second criteria to win. 

Because each card (or screen) played out slightly different from the next, it would be difficult to sit here and tell you just exactly how to play each one. Well, not difficult, but time consuming. So we won't do that.

This is not a relatively easy set to buy loose. The reason for this is many of the loose cards were either utilized for their stickers, or scratched up as kids played the games. As such,  if this is a series you're particularly interested in your best bet is most likely going to be tracking down sealed packs or full boxes. They're not too expensive averaging around $2.00 a piece for packs. A full box on the other hand can hit you for as much as $100.00. Of course most people who buy full boxes do so to display the box and not open the packs.

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Anti-Eternia He-Man

Anti-Eternia He-Man was a concept first visited in the 1985 Germany released cassette tape entitled Anti-Eternia. However, it wouldn't be until the invention of the Internet that Masters of the Universe fans across the globe would be introduced to the obscure concept of this character and it would be even later before they would get a chance to own a figure.

The premise of the story revolves around Skeletor wanting to open a portal to Anti-Eternia in order to bring its horrible creatures to Eternia to destroy it - Allowing him to take possession of Castle Grayskull. Everything eventually goes wrong with his plan, and Skeletor soon finds himself fighting side by side with He-Man to save Eternia from the monsters he has unleashed upon the land - Including Anti-Eternia He-Man.

What's interesting to note is that while this is a children's story, there are a lot of references to Hell. In fact, Anti-Eternia is itself called Hell by the Sorceress of Grayskull and referenced as such in numerous places throughout various scenes by the characters in the story.

Speaking of the characters in the story - Of course you get He-Man, the Sorceress and Skeletor in it - Which were already mentioned above. Additionally, like most episodes in the television series you'll also find Battle Cat, Orko, Man-At-Arms, Teela, Ram Man, Beast Man, Tri-Klops and Trap Jaw.

The downside to this story is it was only available in the German language. However, sites such as He-Man.org have you covered. They not only have the audio version posted at their site which you can listen to (and download if you like), but also a translated teleplay. It's actually a little fun to listen to and read - If for nothing else a little more He-Man in your life (which is never a bad thing).

Okay, so let's cut to 2016. Now that we know where Anti-Eternia He-Man came from, we can talk about the elusive chase figure from the Masters of the Universe Classics line. This figure really made a lot of collector's angry.

Due to its unique roots and appealing nature to a vast majority of fans, it was incredibly disappointing to find this figure would only be made available as a limited edition chase and not available to subscription holders to buy directly. As is the case with most limited items, the figure sold out quickly and of course ended up in numerous scalpers hands who immediately tripled the price on secondary markets.

The figure itself is actually nothing short of a repainted Matty Collector He-Man figure released in the very first wave of the series and quite honestly who would expect anything more from Mattel. I mean, the entire vintage He-Man line was nothing short of new heads on the same few mixed / matched bodies (for the most part).

Despite this the figure is just so cool. The black body with strategically placed red paint - Like those awesome red eyes - Pull you in and say, "Come on. Buy me. You know you want to." And I do.

This figure proves that age old point - Simple can be better.

Unfortunately, fans of He-Man from the 80's never got the chance to own this figure. However, don't be to quick to kick the ground in defeat. Several high quality customizers have taken it upon themselves to not only create the figure for sale, but also a very nice vintage style card to go with it. Below are two samples of my personal favorite.

Unfortunately while these figures are really awesome, the price point is...Well...Not so much. At 299.90 Euros. To put it in perspective for most of our readers - That's $367.52 USA. That's also the price point for either one - Despite whether or not you buy the one with or without the cassette. Sorry, b that's way too much for a custom figure.

I won't deny these are high quality customs, nor will I deny how awesome they look. However, if I'm going to spend that price point on a figure, it's going to be an authentic release.

Sadly, we'll have to suffice for just borrowing the photos from the site where these two figures can be found for sale - HERE.

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He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Erasers (Panosh Place)

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Erasers
Panosh Place
1984

Ah, good old Masters of the Universe Day. A day where fans of the series can enjoy a day in celebration of our favorite heroes and villains from Eternia. Are you celebrating the day?

Masters of the Universe has had some unique merchandising based on the series (Toothpaste tube toppers anyone?), and today we're going to look at one such oddity.

In 1984 Panosh Place released this fabulous set of erasers based on some of the characters from the series. They were so colorful and well designed that they could have indeed been used as stand ins for figures you didn't necessarily have.

He-Man*Teela

There were eight 3 1/2" erasers in total released - Each one packed on their own amazing cardback full of background artwork from the show.

 Orko*Ram-Man

It's interesting to note that for something one would think would be used to erase pencils for every kid across the globe in 1984 there are actually a decent amount of loose ones available in great condition. Perhaps most kids did indeed play with them as opposed to doing school work.

Man-At Arms

This set shouldn't be confused with the Mattel eraser series released in 1985 exclusively to Italy. That set contained artwork more so in line with the standard action figure line and included; He-Man, Skeletor, Man-At-Arms, Beast Man, Stonedar, Rokkon, Whip Lash, Buzz-Off, Hordak, Orko, Leech and Mantenna. It's also near impossible to find any of them - Which is why we won't be showing them here.

Skeletor*Beast Man

Admittedly the cardbacks on the opposite side were lacking in any eye catching detail. A simple black and white logo for Masters of the Universe and Panosh Place as well as the typcial UPC and legal mumbo jumbo - Yawn.

Mer-Man

Though it can be challenging to track down all of the characters, surprisingly the majority of them are fairly common on secondary markets. Mint on card ones will set you back roughly $10.00 to $30.00 a piece while loose ones in good condition range from $3.00 to $7.00. That's not too bank breaking for some fantastic (and obscure) He-Man collectibles.

Well, that about does it for us for this post. Check back throughout the day for more MotU fun. If you've got a website with a post for the day feel free to throw the link in the comment section so our readers can head to it.

Good journey!

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Tomorrow...

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Painted Memories: Finish Him!

Please share your own thoughts, memories and stories in the comment section.

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The Answer To The Question Nobody Asked: Cracker Jack Vs. Crunch 'N Munch

As a self proclaimed consumer of popcorn I pride myself on eating delicious popcorns of all flavors. Okay, not really pride, but I eat the stuff at any given opportunity. Butter, Moose Tracks, Caramel, Cheddar, Plain, it's all good.

In a recent visit to Walmart, my girlfriend brought home a box of Crunch 'n Munch as well as a bag of Cracker Jack (there is no "S" on the end of that despite popular pluralizing of the word). So I did the only thing I knew I could do efficiently - Eat them both.

However, before I dug in, I wanted to see what exactly the difference could possibly be between both brands. I mean, caramel popcorn with peanuts is caramel popcorn with peanuts no matter how you slice it, right?

So much to learn you have.

In a side by side comparison there are very noticeable differences. Crack Jack popcorn is considerably darker showing a color I would identify with in terms of caramel. Meanwhile, Crunch 'n Munch has a much lighter color which I would say more so distinguishes itself as butter.

Let's go in for a closer look.

For a snack that boasts it's caramel popcorn and peanuts, there's definitely something missing here from my handful. Where are the peanuts? Answer: At the bottom of the bag. If you want a combination of both flavors you're definitely going to have to dig deep - Or you're already at the bottom of the bag, which just makes me sad.

Taste wise, Cracker Jack popcorn is crunchy with a delicious candy coating. It has a nice caramel flavor and the husks get stuck in your teeth quite nicely. Okay, maybe that's not a perk, but it is common with popcorn.

Overall, it's really tasty.

Crunch 'n Munch gets points for having the peanuts incorporated into the popcorn. Unlike Cracker Jack which simply tosses the peanuts in the bag as an afterthought, Crunch 'n Munch is mixed together adhering the two into one.

Also unlike Cracker Jack popcorn, Crunch 'n Munch is stuck together in clusters. Whereas with Cracker Jack you get each individual piece of popcorn.A perk if you don't intend on shoveling the snack into your mouth, but rather enjoying each piece.

It turns out that buttery color isn't deceiving as that's honestly what it tastes like - Buttered popcorn. I don't get a sense of caramel flavor out of it - At all. I even tried sucking on a piece to experience the flavor more and it still more so represented a butter flavor more than anything. Admittedly the popcorn is slightly softer giving it an almost fresher taste. That's appealing.

Overall, if I'm in the mood for a caramel popcorn snack I'm going to have to go with Cracker Jack. I don't hate the fact it's crunchier than Crunch 'n Munch, though I will admit I'd love to see and taste a softer / fresher version of the brand. In the end though, it wins out on the caramel flavor and honestly that's what I'm after when eating caramel popcorn. It's also healthier for you in terms of calories, sodium and fat - You know, if you're into that sort of thing.

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Retro Spins: Aretha Franklin - Who's Zoomin' Who?

Aretha Franklin
Who's Zoomin' Who?
1985

Freddie Mercury swore the best singing voice he ever heard was that of Aretha Franklin. He all but idolized her.

Meh...She's okay. Ms. Franklin does get a very well earned nod of respect for having released albums over the course of fifty-eight years - Her first being 1956's Songs of Faith and her latest being 2014's Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics. Forty-One albums in all - And mind you, that's just the studio ones. It doesn't include her handful of live contributions or the massive amount of compilations.

As for me, I only know the Aretha Franklin from the mid 1980's era - Freeway of Love, Who's Zoomin' Who, Pink Cadillac and so forth. Which brings us to her July 1985 entry, Who's Zoomin' Who.

The album is peppy and upbeat for the most part with tracks that make you feel good and want to shake your money maker or tap your foot. Then there is the other side of the coin which features sultry blues like ballads sung with belting emotion. Its a fantastic mixture of hot and cold - If you take my meaning for it.

Overall it works well, but I have to admit the slower stuff is kinda of boring to me. I'm not big on ballads to begin with, so it really has to be a good one for me to take notice. For me, I'll stick to the peppy side of things on Who's Zoomin' Who.

I do have to call out that album cover though. Wow is that 80's. Bright color clothing, jump ropes, boomboxes on shoulders. Says it all, doesn't it?

Thanks to the wonderful world of singles, Aretha Franklin jumped onto the charts with Freeway of Love in June of 1985 - A month before the album officially hit vinyl racks. In October, Who's Zoomin' Who joined it on the charts followed by Sisters Are Doing it For Themselves.

Though Freeway of Love would drop off the charts shortly after, the latter two tracks stuck it out on the charts for the remainder of the year and through February of 1986 when they would drop off, but Another Night, the second track on the album would peak on the charts. Another Night would remain on the charts until April. From there, songs from Aretha's 1986 album would begin charting.

Not bad for an artist who was forty-three years old in 1986, huh? Maybe Freddie Mercury was right.

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Monster Force (Playmates Toys)

Monster Force
Playmates Toys
1994

Monster Force is a very short lived animated series by Universal Cartoon Studios in 1994. The series ran in syndication, and was typically aired side by side with another Universal property, Exosquad.

The main focal point of the show was centered around a group of teenagers who with the help of high tech weaponry fight against classic Universal monsters. Some of the team members are driven by personal vendettas, while others are in it for the sake of saving humanity.

The show featured eleven recurring characters, and out of them seven were produced in action figure form by Playmates Toys in 1994. The figures featured impeccable quality as expected from the company behind Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Each figure was unique in both sculpt and paint, and featured a slew of accessories. This wasn't a bad line at all - It was just unfortunately based on a cartoon that failed to reach a mass audience.

 Creature From the Black Lagoon*Doc Reed Crawley*Dracula

 Frankenstein*Lance McGruder

Luke Talbot - The Wolfman*Tripp Hansen

When the animated series was cancelled after just thirteen episodes so to was the action figure line. Since then, both seem to have fallen into obscurity.

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Muckman: A Lesson In Proper Toy Buying Etiquette

As many of you may recall, I mentioned in a prior post how Muckman from the Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line had been cropping up at locations such as Ollies and Ross. I personally found this out when my girlfriend surprised me with a mint on card one from Ollies.

Because I am a collector, I decided I would not only keep the one I already had (which was opened), but that I would also buy a Zoloworld case to store this very pristine condition one for display purposes. I was happy with this decision and thought nothing more of it.

While out in the wild on a separate excursion, we happened across a Ross. Being a fan of the junk, er....merchandise the store sells, my girlfriend wanted to take a lap. Of course if I'm going into any store I'm stopping at the toy section. As we rummaged through the very unorganized cluster of items I said to myself, "There's no Turtle figures here." Right as the words were forming on my lips, POOF, my girl pulled a lone Muckman out from behind a massive box.

We made the decision to go ahead and buy it.

However, once I got home I really started to feel bad about my purchase decision. I already had one Muckman loose. I already had one Muckman mint on a pristine condition card in carbonite (aka a Zoloworld protector case). Now I had a third? Why?

Why did we buy this figure?

Was it driven by the pure rarity of the figure? Was it a thought of potential financial gain? Was it because I like many people before me took the greed before need path? Or did I really need a third Muckman figure in my life to make me complete?

The sad truth is the answer is yes to the majority of the questions.

We bought this rare figure for the sole purpose of the potential financial gain because we got greedy. We were officially pandering to the biggest thing I despise the most about collecting - Scalpers! Fortunately I came to my senses just as I walked through the gates of Greedy Land and did a 180 back out the door.

I have now made it a point to find a good home for this third figure by way of putting it in the collection of someone else. And no, I won't charge that person the ridiculous $100.00 price tag these things can go for. You out there who want a Muckman send me a message via the comment section with your e-mail address and I'll work out the details of getting it to you at cost. You know, retail price + shipping. First come, first serve...Unless you're a scalper. Scalpers need not apply.

Your e-mail address will not be published.

***UPDATE***

Figure was claimed by Brother Midnight! Check him out in all his open glory! Always a great feeling to help out a fellow collector and put toys in the hands of people who will appreciate them for what they are and not the potential for profit.

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8 Bit Junction: Looping

One of my earliest memories of video games is the Magnavox Odyssey. My parents had one in pristine condition in the original box with all the packed in facets...and I took the liberty of giving it away in the lat '90's. Oops.

Anyway, the point I'm making here isn't that we had an Odyssey, but rather I'm painting the picture that video games were a big part of our household since pretty much the dawn of home video game consoles. As such, we were fortunate to have a ColecoVision when they were released back in August of 1982.

Even though I wasn't as good at it as my brother was, one of my all time favorite games to play on the console was Looping. Like most of the games, it was a third person view side scroller. In the game, you would start from a runway and take off with your plane. From there your goal was to fly across the city either dodging or shooting hot air balloons which got in your way. With a 360 degree control option, you could fly all over the place unhindered.

However, this was just the first part of the level. The second part got much trickier. Once you blasted open the "gate", you were set to the task of navigating through a series of pipes in order to work your way to the end. And, let me tell you about that end. It was box in the middle of the middle of the air which had giant bouncy balls bouncing in your path. You had to make it through this very short section and touch the "end wall" docking station with the tip of your plane.

I was by no means a master of the game. In fact, there were times I would go through all of my lives before reaching the docking station once. Still, it was a blast to play. A classic game from an era of gaming where it was all about skill, hand / eye coordination and timing.

Once completed, it started all over again, ramping up the difficulty with each successful level completion. I was lucky if I got to the second level and can't honestly say I ever made it to the third or beyond.

I'd love to see an updated retro Coleco console much like we've gotten with Atari. I know they released one a few years ago, but it wasn't justifiable to pay $70.00 for sixty Coleco games. They're fun...But they're not THAT fun. The "console" would have to have 200 games to justify that price tag for me.

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Painted Memories: You Will Believe A Man Can Fly!

Please share your own thoughts, memories and stories in the comment section.

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Retro Spins: Lionel Richie - Can't Slow Down

Lionel Richie
Can't Slow Down
1983

Wow, what a monster of an album! Lionel Richie's Can't Slow Down comes right out of the gate with the title track of the album and from there doesn't skip a beat as it jumps into All Night Long, Penny Lover, Stuck on You and rounds itself out with The Only One, Running With the Night and Hello. Hello indeed!

Because the album was released in October of 1983 you won't actually find any of the tracks from Can't Slow Down hitting the charts. Rather, songs from Richie's prior album were still topping.

However, come 1984 that changed - Big time. Penny Lover, Stuck On You, Hello, Running With the Night and All Night Long all hit the charts - Sometimes a mix of these songs in the same week. Lionel Richie was hot, hot, hot in '84!

Ironically, as a young child during this period I actually had no clue who the man was until I heard songs from this album. In fact, it wasn't until my young adult years that it actually dawned on me he was part of the Commodores and didn't in fact come out of nowhere.

Honestly, I don't know why I chose this album for the Retro Spin. I mean, we all know it's amazing, right? If it's any consolation, I did end up adding two other songs to my IPOD, but not because I didn't know them - Rather, I just forgot about them.

So, I'll take a mulligan on this one and chalk it up to a refresher course on an album I already knew had fantastic hits on it. All but one song made the cut for my IPOD shuffle. For those wondering, that would be Love Will Find A Way.

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Classic Silver Age Superman (DC Direct)

Classic Silver Age Superman
DC Direct
2006

If you're looking for a solid Silver Age Superman line, you need look no further than - Well, Classic Silver Age Superman from DC Direct. The five figure line was released in 2006, and included pretty much every Superman character which comes to mind when you think of the Man of Steel; Lois Lane, Perry white, Jimmy Olsen, Lex Luthor and of course the man himself, Superman were all included. Not only that, but it's one of the few if not only opportunities to get Beppo - AKA, Superman's super monkey.

Superman (and Beppo)*Lois Lane (as Superwoman)

For those of you scratching your head at the Lois Lane figure above, let us give you a little background.

Lois Lane as Superwoman first appeared in Action Comics number 60 (her first appearance by the way). In the issue, Lois dreams she has received super powers by mean of a blood transfusion from Superman. As the years would pass by, Lois would make numerous appearances as Superwoman - Sometimes with the powers real - But only temporarily.

Perry White*Jimmy Olsen

Lex Luthor

These figures capture everything which was Superman of the Silver Age!

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8 Bit Junction: Space Quest

Ah, Sierra's classic adventure games! How I love them all. Is it possible to choose your favorite? Gosh, I really don't know. Before I jump into this. Let me take a 2 Minute Toy Break. See, this all started in the era 20 Years Before 2000 when things were Branded in the 80's and really fun, but not necessarily Cool and Collected. The Stunt Zombie army had yet to pillage Alexis' Treasures as it was still under the protection of Mr. Smith's Plastic Bubble. Therefore it was still relatively easy to go on Adventures in Gaming after a session of fireworks and action figures which often times resulted in an Action Figure Barbecue. Good thing I always kept a Green Plastic Squirt Gun near my side to put out those Toyriffic fires. Man did those Fully Jointed Play Things take a beating. Such Weird Fantastic Toy Adventures I had back in the day. Thank goodness those toys weren't alive. That would've been horrific to me if ever there was a Revenge of the Toy Box and they all attacked me. I would have needed something massive like a Dinosaur Dracula to stop them. But enough Retro Ramblings. Let's get into today's post. Oh...and G.I. Jigsaw...Cause that doesn't fit into anything above.

I will say this - Space Quest was my first ever Sierra game I played and to this day it remains a rotating title in the exclusive list of games I replay. In fact, I try to play all the Sierra titles at least once a year and have even written my own walkthroughs for them should I ever get stuck - An impossible feat at this point with how many times I played them.

However, I too once struggled with making my way to the end of each adventure game while obtaining all the points. In fact, it wasn't until well into my adulthood that I can even claim to have done so.

For me, I was just excited to be playing the game back in 1986 on my dad's home computer. I didn't know much about computers back then, how they worked, what they did - You know, much like these days where if I can't fix it by poking it with a stick I'm screwed.

What I did know was those rare occasions where my dad would give up the seat at our round table located in the den of our home and let my brother and I play for a while. Admittedly, my brother was always slightly better at the game. Being older I guess gave him an added advantage of puzzle solving. I remember it used to upset me so much when he'd load up his save game and I would see he not only had more points, but was so much further along than I was.

This was probably helped by the fact that he was also far more patient than I was and actually read the story. Meanwhile I was an enter button addict. I didn't want any words slowing up my progress in the game because play times were limited by the timer in dad's head. This of course was my ultimate demise in actually getting good at the game because one has to read the story to get clues and overall trajectory - Something I would find out in my (young) teenage years when revisiting the game.

Mind you, I did make it all the way through to the end of Space Quest when I was a kid. I just needed a little help from my brother or dad who were also playing through at the same time. In fact, Space Quest is probably the first game I ever completed on PC.

Something about those play sessions as a child stayed with me for many years and when I was old enough to have my own computer I was excited to find the games were not only still readily available for the latest and greatest version of Windows 95, but also updated to include VGA versions.

Since then, I have owned many copies of Space Quest (all its sequels and other related Sierra titles). Like I said above, it comes through my rotation of replays frequently. In fact, just a few weekends ago I finished yet another play through of Space Quest V.

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Painted Memories: Wild Stallyns!

Please share your own thoughts, memories and stories in the comment section.

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Perfect!

Remember that time you waited twenty-six years to buy a Pepsi?

Remember when Pepsi charged $20.15 for a Pepsi?

Remember the time you tried to spend $20.15 on said Pepsi only to find out you couldn't buy it?

Remember how you couldn't spend said $20.15 on said Pepsi because Pepsi only produced 6,500?

Remember how said limited Pepsi was supposed to go on sale at a specific time on a specific date and Amazon botched it?

Wasn't that perfect? You know, Pepsi Perfect?

Yes, the day which used to stand for the time Marty McFly ventured into the future to the date October 21, 2015 has forever been soured for many Back to the Future fans. They waited those twenty-six years since the film was released in 1989 for Pepsi to produce and release a Pepsi Perfect only to get slapped in the face - Hard.

Pepsi did indeed follow through with what many fans would hope to happen and did in fact release Pepsi Perfect on this day. However, their marketing plan was such a messy debacle it left many fans up in arms just with its announcement.

Pepsi stated on October 21, 2015 it would produce and release 6,500 bottles of Pepsi Perfect for sale - 1,500 would be immediately carted off to Comic Con, while the remaining 5,000 would be made available on a first come / first serve basis on Amazon - Limit one per customer.

Oh boy, what a mess this announcement was. Did Pepsi truly believe only 6,500 Back to the Future fans existed? Did they honestly think producing such a minimal quantity would go over well? With millions of Back to the Future fans out there this gave a whole lot of people who had waited and waited for such a special occasion a big old middle finger.

Despite this ill feeling which lingered in the air, fans flocked to Amazon in droves to be one of the lucky few to purchase a bottle of Pepsi Perfect - A plan that soon turned futile for the majority of them. Many were met with continuous loading screens, timed out screens and worst of all  a sold out label within mere minutes of going on sale. Even those fortunate enough to get the item into their online cart and thought they had achieved victory soon found themselves with messages that their transaction could not be completed. Anger ensued across the internet.

With bad press surrounding the campaign growing rapidly by the hour, Pepsi made an announcement that it would release a second batch of limited Pepsi Perfect. Once again 6,500 bottles would be made available, this time directly from Pepsi's own website.

Once again tempers flared as angry fans took to any venue they could find who would hear their cries of how even in light of attempting to make it right Pepsi was still infuriating the masses and spitting on the fans. How could anyone possibly get a Pepsi Perfect with such limited production and how could Pepsi feel this was okay? 13,000 was still minimal product to feed a fan base of millions - Only USA resident fans at that.

With more ill feelings surrounding the campaign, many tried once again on November 3, 2015 to get one of the final runs of Pepsi Perfect only to once again be faced with the same issues. Lag outs, unfulfilled orders and in short, no Pepsi Perfect. The outrage continued once again online and to this day remains from bitter fans who will always remember the day(s) Pepsi screwed them on fulfilling their ultimate Back to the Future fandom moment - Enjoying a Pepsi Perfect while watching the Trilogy.

So what was all the hype about? Why was everyone so eager to purchase a Pepsi for $20.15? What's the big deal here?

Well....Let's take a look.

Okay, it comes in a neat box. That's great for collectors. It's got the fun Pepsi Perfect logo on it and if you look closely you can see a little more detail in the corner; 

That's cool. Every collector loves seeing the words limited edition on their item. Makes them feel like they got something special. 

The bottle fits nicely in the center of the box in a little cut out designed specifically to hold it and it's then placed in a plastic bag...To seal in freshness? I don't know.

Let's take it out of the bag and have a closer look. 

Okay, it's a fancy bottle and it looks like tooth rotting Pepsi inside the bottle. It's neat that it's made with real sugar and not corn syrup - Common these days, but not so much in 2015.

So how does it taste?

Well, I wouldn't know. That's actually a Coke I ordered at a restaurant for this post. I'm not about to drink a Pepsi that cost me $20.15 (plus shipping) or that's three years old at this point. Plus I don't like soda. It makes a great display piece in my collection, but that's about as up close and personal as I'm going to get with this thing.

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