The Nostalgia Box, Perth

Back in the day, my parents had to drag me off my Commodore 64 or Sega. I loved playing Frogger, Sonic and Super Mario Brothers for hours on end. So my son “Little Chef” wasn’t the only one to be super excited to be visiting The Nostalgia Box, Australia’s first interactive video game console museum!

Nostalgia Box is found on Aberdeen Street in Northbridge. Half of the museum is a dedicated exhibit to gaming history where around 100 gaming consoles are on display. These date back to the 1970s through to the present day. Some of these machines look like ancient relics and I didn’t actually realise that consoles had been around for that long.

Each console has a little information about it and some interesting facts like – Pac-Man’s enemies have names. Who knew?! They’re called Pinky, Blinky, Inky and Clyde. You learn something new every day! 

After walking through the exhibit, you can experience playing the classic games in the gaming area. The inviting space is adorned with a vibrant mural of all the gaming favourites of the 1980’s and 90’s. There are twelve consoles set up with games like Duck Hunt, Space Invaders, Super Mario Bros, Street Fighter, Sonic the Hedgehog, Crash Bandicoot and many more. 

Owner, Jessie Yeoh took time out to give us some hints and tips with some of the games and was really happy to help. One of Little Chef’s favourites was the shooting game “Duck Hunt”.

My favourite was Sonic The Hedgehog, though I couldn’t get past the first boss level, so I am a bit out of practice. It has been about 20 years between games to be fair! Little Chef and I also enjoyed Super Mario Brothers, which I revelled in beating him at. 

Little Chef and I had a good time trying to beat each other on the two-player games like Mario Kart too! 

Jessie rotates some of the games, so there’s always something new to discover. Nostalgia Box takes you back to your childhood, as well as giving your children a chance to experience gaming the “old school” way. 

I was surprised to learn that the museum is very popular with adults in their 20s and 30s, but afterwards, after re-living my youth via Sonic The Hedgehog, I’m not that surprised. You’re sure to discover some random old games, as well as have many blasts from the past.

The Nostalgia Box also host birthday parties where you have exclusive use of the museum. There are toilets onsite and also a great range of merchandise and collectables. 

The Nostalgia Box is a unique experience in WA and a stack of fun! A must for gamers of all ages.

The Nostalgia Box
Shop 3, 16 Aberdeen Street
Northbridge
www.thenostalgiabox.com.au 

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