The Boot-Legacies

Dendy: A Semi-Deep Dive Into Russia's Favorite Famiclone You, dear reader, if you're here you are likely familiar with the 'Famiclone' scene.  A Famiclone is the colloquial term for a fake Nintendo console named after its Japanese original -  The Nintendo Famicom (Family Computer).  The Family Computer housed many pivotal series in the 8-bit gaming era like  Mario , Castlevania , Contra , The Legend of Zelda , Dr. Mario , and the like.  What if I told you the rise of the Nintendo Entertainment System, and the Famicom were not the worldwide phenomenon that the western world perceived them to be? Enter: Famiclones, the answer to the worldwide surge in 8-bit gaming in the late 80s and 90s. Numerous famiclones exist with varying aesthetics, some strange and others almost identical to the original Nintendo consoles. A particularly interesting famiclone that sticks out of the crowd, and had even established itself as the  console in the Russian market is...

Magic: The Gathering Meets Pokémon The Boot-Legacies , in classic bootleg sense, focuses mostly on Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon bootlegs. Rightfully so, they are the pinnacle of bootleg goodness, and frankly absorb much more of the market space than bootleg Magic: The Gathering - this reflects a bigger message in terms of their audience appeal. Magic fans tend to lean more toward 1:1 clones of cards (sometimes referred to as proxies), because it is more played, rather than collected.  So, I wanted to approach  Pokémon Monday a bit more flavorfully this week to reflect my own interest in a Magic: The Gathering design space. Long story short, the fun, cool, and whatever fake Magic: The Gathering card scene is limited only to counterfeit cards and fan-made/alter art (cards that are 1:1 functionally but look different). Given my growing affinity for fake Pokémon cards, and my love for commander (a Magic: The Gathering format focused on a key creature and a strategy around...