Author | Lightnews

Peter Paltridge @peterpaltridge.bsky.social · 27m

Always impressed by people who can shift artstyles and make it look easy. Not all have the gift!

Peter Paltridge @peterpaltridge.bsky.social · 2d

Good heavens, man, this can't be canon. Has she ever been seen eating this monstrosity? I guess there are eight episodes yet to be released, so it could still happen, but...yikes

1

Peter Paltridge @peterpaltridge.bsky.social · 3d

Here's the overall mound I wound up with after the luckiest PRGE in history. I'm not a reckless spender, I budgeted months in advance for this event
#PRGE #PRGE2025

Peter Paltridge @peterpaltridge.bsky.social · 3d

This is the line waiting for the second panel I went to, "The Charles Martinet Experience." No photos or videos were allowed. Martinet was one of the warmest people I've ever heard and gave a speech about kindness and loving yourself. It's a crime that no one will ever hear it outside of that room.

1 1

Peter Paltridge @peterpaltridge.bsky.social · 3d

Found Shroomy
#PRGE #PRGE2025

1

Peter Paltridge @peterpaltridge.bsky.social · 3d

The woman in the corner of this photo said offhand to a merchant, "My uncle produced Mass Effect and he is so full of himself."
#PRGE #PRGE2025

A woman whose uncle produced Mass Effect and is full of himself

1 1

Peter Paltridge @peterpaltridge.bsky.social · 3d

The Discotek Media table is back! I wasted a whole half-hour idling in this area because I simply could not decide what to buy. Could you?
The one I picked is in the last post. #PRGE #PRGE2025

1 1

Peter Paltridge @peterpaltridge.bsky.social · 3d

Old pinball machines have such interesting art (though the gang on that "Comet" one looks rather unnerving). As I was taking these pictures, the guy who owns the machines walked by and showed me how to play. Lucky Moment #3
#PRGE #PRGE2025

1 1

Peter Paltridge @peterpaltridge.bsky.social · 3d

Your goal is to rescue Will from the Upside Down by playing through eight "chapters," collecting tree-light wall letters and mashing a Demogorgon head in the kisser whenever it appears. I sucked at it, so this is what I gathered from watching other people play
#PRGE #PRGE2025

Bald man playing Stranger Things Pinball. This was a couple taking turns in two-player mode

Blonde woman in ponytail playing Stranger Things Pinball. This was a couple taking turns in two-player mode

1

Peter Paltridge @peterpaltridge.bsky.social · 3d

YES! Come to "Papa"
#PRGE #PRGE2025

Marquee for Stranger Things pinball machine

Large view of Stranger Things pinball machine and someone playing it

1

Peter Paltridge @peterpaltridge.bsky.social · 3d

Actually, forget the "as if" pillow -- what I REALLY need are two Spider-Men pointing at each other on my fridge forever. Too bad they were $30 each!
#PRGE #PRGE2025

Surprised Pikachu saying "THEY'RE MAGNETS!"

A magnet-ized version of the Spider-Man meme

1

Peter Paltridge @peterpaltridge.bsky.social · 3d

You know what? Archie, Urkel and Stimpy would actually get along really well. Somehow, this doesn't feel random at all
#PRGE #PRGE2025

"You saved your own spit...WAIT HERE!" Archie Andrews

1

Peter Paltridge @peterpaltridge.bsky.social · 3d

I'm not into Clueless but I need this pillow. In fact I think one should be in every home
#PRGE #PRGE2025

Assorted junk from FMV games based on movies and TV shows

A prop from the unreleased Clueless II, which had a surprising supernatural twist. This is the pillow Cher was turned into after being cursed by an evil witch.

1 1

Peter Paltridge @peterpaltridge.bsky.social · 3d

In addition to the return of the NP gallery, this year's museum theme was "The History Of FMV Games." Someone else was supposed to host it, named Roberta, but she died. To compensate they turned her into a cartoon and posted her quotes everywhere.
#PRGE #PRGE2025

2 1

Peter Paltridge @peterpaltridge.bsky.social · 3d

I talk to one of them and he tells me, "Yeah. the con is open until 5, but we have to close at 3 because all this stuff takes so long to pack up." But a second lucky thing happened: he took pity on me and decided to let me through as the last guy to see it. Gave me a guided tour too
#PRGE #PRGE2025

Scattered framed Nintendo Power original art on easles

1 2

Peter Paltridge @peterpaltridge.bsky.social · 3d

It was not until midway through the second day I discovered #PRGE DID have a museum this year, clear on the other side of the Convention Center. I get there and there's this thing happening where a bunch of people are posing for a picture. Turns out they're the staff and it just closed!
#PRGE2025

Ten people posing for a picture, behind a neon "ART OF NINTENDO POWER" sign

2 3

Peter Paltridge @peterpaltridge.bsky.social · 3d

So after a decade of great museum rooms, #PRGE2025 whiffed it. I walked in the usual area and instead of cool rare stuff, I saw a lot of monitors with different playable NES games on them. It was for the 40th anniversary, but it had real Dead Mall Pizza Parlor energy. Esp this sad Mario w/balloons

Good thing you're legally blind and cannot see this. It's got real Dead Mall Pizza Parlor energy, trust me

So does this one, it's just awful. You dodged a bullet here

1

Peter Paltridge @peterpaltridge.bsky.social · 3d

I wish I could say I wowed them with my sparkling wit, but I was completely unprepared for this and mostly just stood there.

There is a Gweneth Paltrow Sliding Doors Alternate Universe where I didn't catch the bus, arrived later, and got a different raffle ticket.

And that's just the beginning...

1

Peter Paltridge @peterpaltridge.bsky.social · 3d

They hadn't torn and mixed the matching tickets, and they were out of time to do so, so they just decided to read off the numbers in the succession they were on the roll.

The first number on the roll was MY number.

Opening page to Super Mario Encyclopedia, signed by Samantha Kelly, Laura Faye Smith, what I BELIEVE is Charles Martinet, Grant Kirkhope and two others I can't make out

1

Peter Paltridge @peterpaltridge.bsky.social · 3d

So I got in the line for the panel, and they handed everyone a raffle ticket for a copy of Super Mario Encyclopedia signed by Kelly and Smith and some other people. They read 15 (yes, FIFTEEN) raffle numbers with no winner until they realized they'd messed the whole thing up.

1

Peter Paltridge @peterpaltridge.bsky.social · 3d

This day was marked by a lot of wild coincidences of timing. There were two panels I wanted to see; the first was with Peach VA Samantha Kelly and Rosalina VA Laura Faye Smith, and it was going to start soon after I got there. And I almost missed the bus; it zoomed right past me and then stopped.

1

Peter Paltridge @peterpaltridge.bsky.social · 3d

The VHS swap meet across from PRGE. Movie Madness is Portland's surviving video rental store and there's a reason it lives today -- it's a great place.

$25 is too much for Tammy & The T-Rex though
#PRGE #PRGE2025

"No, it's NOT ENOUGH"

1

Peter Paltridge @peterpaltridge.bsky.social · 3d

Behold the Neontendo: a 2003 Dodge Neon that's been given a complete NES-ification overhaul. Given what's been done to the engine I don't think it can even be driven anymore. Wonder how they got it in here
#PRGE #PRGE2025

Sign that says "Neontendo: 2003 Dodge Neon SRT-4"

Dodge Neon with NES paint job, NES-looking fake engine and lots of Mario and Luigi plushies on and around it

Side view of the same car, revealing Super Mario Bros carpet mat

1 1

Peter Paltridge @peterpaltridge.bsky.social · 3d

#PRGE Day Two
#PRGE2025

1

Peter Paltridge @peterpaltridge.bsky.social · 4d

Also, I had Gail sign my Max Mayfield poster, because why not. People are going to think Sadie Sink signed it or something until they look closer and go "who's Gail Tilden?"

@frankcifaldi.bsky.social, you were wondering what the heck this was. It was Max.

1