By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
Classic games and toys never go out of style, especially with a generation eager for the nostalgia of their youth. New business owner Joseph Shirk has just the answer.
Shirk officially opened Resets Retro Wednesday, a store that features retro video games from Atari to Nintendo GameCube, 1980s and 1990s toys, movies, and horror books.
“All this stuff is things I’m interested in so I thought, you know, I go to all these different shops and have things that I like and you have to go to video game stores or you have to a toy store or a book store or movie store. So I thought wouldn’t it be great if you just go to a place where you could find all these things in one place,” Shirk explained.
Episodes of Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers played on a small TV in the corner of the shop as Shirk described why he had the shop set up to feature nostalgia from the 1980s and 1990s.
“I get a kick out of it and I watch them,” Shirk said.
Old Nintendo games line the walls and Stephen King novels fill a bookcase in a store that harkens back to the glory days of ‘80s and ‘90s pop culture.
“Everybody in this generation seems to be thinking at this time: ‘I wish I had now what I had back then,’” Shirk said. “Our generation had the coolest toys and stuff. A lot of things are still popular today in different formats like Transformers and the Turtles are still big. But it all started back then.”
Though Resets Retro offers plenty of games and toys, it will also be offering and accepting items to buy, sell, or trade. And if anyone is searching for a specific item, Shirk said he would gladly help out in the hunt for it. And Shirk it’s afraid to go even further to find that specific item from days gone by.
“As things go well I’d like to be able to get somebody’s info and really try to get that item for them or find it for them,” Shirk said. “I’d like to know people’s ideas for what they’d like to see in here and what they want. That’s very important. I want people to feel like they’re interacting and provide ideas.
Shirk said he’s also thinking about hosting retro Nintendo gaming tournaments.
“I would just love to see people — and some younger people might like this too — but someone in my age bracket and some a little younger sitting around and playing something like (Teenage Mutant Ninja) Turtles.”
Despite competing with the newest gaming systems and the latest Madden NFL or Call of Duty games, Shirk believes there is something special to the early gaming systems and simplistic games.
“Sometimes I get a little overwhelmed by how hollow some of the more modern things seem, especially when it comes to video games and stuff. I even played more modern video games for a while and I was like, you know, I don’t know what kind of message this is trying to send.” Shirk said. “I just feel like these types of things overall have a more positive message and feel and they’re more fun and people seem really passionate about these types of items and collectibles. I’m one of them.
“I just think it’s a good positive thing. I think it makes people feel good to collect things like this and relive it and think about it. Especially when you get wrapped up in so many things, you look go back and think, ‘Wow, it was so much fun to have like Turtles and He-Man.’ Then you feel, ‘Wait, I’m not too old to have this.’”
Resets Retro is opened from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It is located at 115 W. Warren St., Bucyrus. For more information call 419-689-2774.