From the Game: Yujin Famicom Gashapon (super-tiny Nintendo systems!)

Once again, it seems that Japan gets far cooler video game toys than we do. You know those little vending machines in supermarkets that give you small toys in plastic bubbles for a few quarters? They have those in Japan, only they're called "gashapon" (from the popping sound they make when you open the bubbles), and they tend to be way more awesome than the sticky hands and Homies figures we get.

These little gashapon are from the Yujin Nintendo History collection, and they're tiny replicas of the Family Computer, better known as the Famicom, the original, Japanese version of the NES. They're ridiculously detailed, and include five different Japanese versions of the NES hardware and its various accessories.

From the Game: Gradius’ Vic Viper Model

Japan gets cooler video game toys than us. It's just a sad truth of the world. The land of the rising sun is chock full of replicas, trading figures, action figures, and various knick-knacks based on video games. Usually, it's very hard to get these items in the United States unless you import them online. Fortunately, there's a neat little import toy shop in the East Village that carries many of these awesome Japanese video game toys. This is one of them.

This is the Vic Viper from Gradius, one of several trading figures in Yujin's Shooting Game Historica Collection. The collection includes models of the ships from several famous shoot-em-ups, including Gradius, R-Type, Darius, and even Fantasy Zone. They come in blind boxes, meaning it's a crapshoot whenever you pick up a box (unless you get the entire case). I got lucky on my first try, and found the easily recognizable fighter from the very first Gradius.

From the Game: Infocom’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (for the Apple II)

They really don't make games like this anymore. Back in "the day" (in this case, the mid-80's), Infocom made text-based adventures. You see, back before 3D graphics, bump maps, particle effects, and dedicated video cards, computer game graphics had two settings: ugly and nonexistent. Infocom embraced nonexistent graphics and made a name for itself programming games that used nothing but text. You typed what you did and read what you saw. It was a simpler time, more reliant on the mind's eye than a graphics accelerator.

What Infocom lacked in graphics, they made up for in creativity, dedication, and tons of ridiculously awesome things they stuffed in the box with their games. Infocom invented "feelies," little physical replicas of things from their video games, and one of the driving forces of From the Game. Nearly every Infocom title came with a few doo-dads and knick-knacks straight from the games themselves.

Of all of Infocom's games, The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy is one of the most beloved. It embraced the spirit of the book wholeheartedly, with insane humor and truly brain-wracking puzzles. It also came with some truly awesome feelies.

From the Game: War for Cybertron Optimus Prime and Bumblebee

This was inevitable. Hot on the tails of the surprisingly good Transformers: War for Cybertron video game, Hasbro has released Transformers toys based on the game. The game that was based on the cartoons and comics. That were based on the toy. I love it when things come full-circle. Hasbro eventually plans to release Megatron and Soundwave, but until the next wave comes, we'll have to make due with the heroes of the Autobots, Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. They've been part of the mythos since the beginning, and their latest incarnations are surprisingly awesome.

From the Game: Junpei’s baseball cap from Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3

The latest release of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 is out, and it finally brings one of the best RPGs of the Playstation 2 era to portable gaming. Persona 3 Portable adds a few features to the game, tweaks the interface, and, most importantly for this feature, comes with a fairly rad pre-order bonus at Gamestop. If you preordered this game at Gamestop, then you got this hat, a replica of Junpei Iori's from the game.