Doorway to Dorkness, located in Doncaster, United Kingdom, is a retro games store that has been open for just 5 years. Since then, it has kept growing, and growing and growing, transforming it into one of the most valuable gaming collections under one roof in the country.
What started as a collection that could fit "inside 4 bookcases" has now turned into a remarkable, clean, well-managed independent retro games shop that many of you demanded we visit.
So, with SEGA's help (Shinobi: Art of Vengeance has sponsored the show, and it's why you see no ads on this article, for your viewing pleasure. Thanks SEGA!), we got in our cars, travelled 150 miles up north and scheduled a day with the Doorway to Dorkness team.
To cut to the chase, we were not disappointed. It's a superb store with an array of video games, consoles, trading cards, vintage toys and gaming accessories ready to be spectated or purchased.
The owner, James Matthews is a delight to talk to; he can tell you about his unique history with what is... the lack of video games as a child and how that developed into a passion for building his business.
He gave us an enjoyable, friendly tour around his store, briefed us on how it has evolved over the years and showed us some of his most valuable possessions. What was clear was the devoted mission to build a store that can please a wide range of gamers.
From those wanting to spend £2 on a loose game for the Playstation to consume on the weekend to avid collectors looking for graded gems worth thousands of pounds. It's truly a special place for gaming enthusiasts, and I want to show you around.
The First Steps Into The Doorway
The exterior is like any normal storefront, but what you will quickly notice is the recent expansion. The old door has been closed with shutters, and that part of the store has been converted into a new area, almost doubling the floor space.
The main door will be protected by a large 7ft Orc statue, previously used to promote the original Warcraft games back in the early 2000's. Bypass this beast and you will see a well-organised, bright, clean store filled with all types of video games and collectables.
The cleanliness and the modern storage systems, matched with the fact that there isn't any product on the floor and each product being labelled using a barcode and a printed sticker, add to the overall professional feel of the store.
To the right, you will notice the checkout desk, to the left, a wall featuring hundreds, if not thousands, of PS2 games. Directly in front of you a number of isles featuring loose cartridges from GAME BOY games, to Nintendo 64 and even an array of GAME GEAR games, which is a delight to see as it's such an underrated handheld.
On top of the storage systems, the sky seems to be filled with boxed consoles, scattered all around the first room, with mixed conditions and editions. You can find an array of normal and limited edition boxed consoles to your liking.
Amongst the loose games Doorway To Dorkness hosts a huge collection of sealed games. It's in fact one of the biggest sealed collections I have seen in a retro games store, which is impressive as Forgotten Worlds in Scotland (which we have also toured) is likely 3x the size of this store, but with far less sealed product.
This goes to show how varied Doorway To Dorkness is in comparison. The first sealed product I stumbled across was an array of Playstation 2, Gamecube and Nintendo DS games.
Sealed games are incredibly rare these days, and focus on a certain collector, but there's no denying they're beautiful to look at. I found a red sealed Mario Kart DS game, which, for those that don't know, is the earlier version of Nintendo DS games.
A few months forward, Nintendo moved to black seals, meaning that collectors are seeking the rarer and far more limited red sealed Nintendo DS games to add to their collection. Doorway To Dorkness has both.
What I did notice as someone who explores retro game stores for a living, is that James uses high-quality, secure numbered padlocks on the valuable storage systems. When I ask to inspect something, he would simply add the number.
Whereas typically in other stores, the owner would be shuffling through hundreds of keys, trying to find the right one, wasting valuable time for both themselves and the customer. So this was a nice, fast touch that any member of staff can manage, and likely safer too.
One of my favourite parts of the shop was the SEGA Mega Drive section. It was my first console as a child, and exploring the massive collection of games was a trip down memory lane for me. SEGA made remarkable game boxes.
The biggest selection of games by far happens to be XBOX games. There are thousands to look at, and many nostalgic limited edition products too, such as the golden Gears of War Lancer from the original 360, boxed and sealed!
The games are reasonably priced too, from £2 boxed with manuals to an XBOX console bundle with KINECT for under £100. Again, XBOX was a console I had as a kid, with many vivid memories, so it was fun to find games that I never knew existed.
The T Junction?
The store is that big that there's an actual T junction inside, allowing you to go one of three ways. I know, you're thinking, why the heck is this guy excited about going three different ways?
I don't know either, but I got an overwhelming moment of excitement at this part of the store as it comes by surprise and it shows the sheer scale of the store. It's the part of the store that they expanded into and allows for you to explore either the VHS and magazine area, with hundreds of POP figures to choose from, also.
Or you take the other direction and it opens up into an area filled with even more games, loose consoles and thousands of collectable toys. This extra part of the store is bigger than the first room!
The "Toy" Room
This isn't the official name for this area, but 80% of the room is toy-based, so that's what I am going to call it.
Before you actually get to the toys, you'll be greeted with an array of loose consoles. Consoles that you can pick up and inspect yourself, which is quite nice. From old ATARI's to refurbished XBOX 360's, you'll find the condition and console you want without any hiccups.
Opposite that is a selection of Japanese games, from One Piece Nintendo' Wii games to GAME BOY Advance games. The selection isn't huge, in comparison to other stores we have been to, but that's because James "doesn't really focus on Japanese games".
Next to that, you'll find an area filled with accessories, controllers and boxed assortments for an array of consoles. So if you're looking for a retro-fighter controller for the Nintendo 64, they got it.
If you're after authentic used wired controllers for your retro consoles, they got it. Or even vintage boxed arcade sticks, they got it!
Moving into the toys section, you will find a huge selection of both vintage and modern toys. For example, there are retro action figures, Micro Machines, Batman collectables, hundreds of old school wrestling toys, more STAR WARS products than I've had hot dinners and TMNT collectables in great condition.
I was pleased to see a large Handheld Tiger Electronics section, too. From Shinobi devices to Lion King to a Sonic handheld that I have never seen before, let me know if you know what this one was called, or the history behind it. It looks wild!
One of the weirdest products I found was a Frogger handheld from the 90's that forces you to use its legs to move the Frog on the small LCD display. It's incredibly uncomfortable but one of the weirdest devices I've seen.
So I had to snag it for the collection and open it up for a short. It was boxed, admittedly with slightly broken packaging, but it cost me just £19.99, which I thought was a bargain to explore a piece of nostalgia, unopened.
Should you visit?
The answer is yes. I made a 300-mile round trip to take a look at this place and was astonished by the sheer selection of games, consoles and toys.
You could easily spend a few hours in here simply exploring, and any budget is welcome here, which is always nice to see; there's nothing worse than going into a games store that feels over-priced.
It's one of the UK's best retro game shops, and I believe Doorway To Dorkness will continue to grow swiftly over the years with James wanting to expand more and more as his collection grows.
I think this store will see more trading cards come through its doors over the years, alongside a bigger collection of Japanese games and more toys. I wouldn't be surprised if we visit again next couple of years and it's in an entirely new location!
