NES Pickup - July 7th, 2015

Quick update today.  Another game obtained by way of social media.  As much as Facebook is insufferable with all of its farmville updates and cat videos, every now and then it really does facilitate actual conversation.  Through one of the groups dedicated to buying, selling and trading in retro games I discovered another contact with the game Shockwave.

This is an unlicensed game released by American Game Cartridges in 1990. It was also available on the Maxi 15 cartridge.  With this, my game totals are as follows:

NES Cartridges:  516

Unlicensed games:  40/90

Licensed games:  476/687

A Series Complete

Mark this day on the calendars boys and girls because I have finally finished my Megaman Collection for the NES.  It took better than 7 years to get the last piece of the puzzle but it was worth it.  I had the first game as a kid and played it to death, but I didn't reacquire it until 2008.  Here we are halfway through 2015 and I have finally got Megaman 5; the one remaining game in the franchise.  Megaman is arguably the most prolific series for the Nintendo Entertainment System spawning a total of 6 games on the console.  I don't even think Nintendo's mascot, Mario, has as many direct games. Well maybe if you count all of the spin-offs.  At the very least we can say that the Megaman Series is impressive and all share a lot of great features:  awesome soundtracks, nearly flawless controls, punishing difficulty and great graphics (just to name a few).

This game (and the other I got -- which will undoubtedly bask silently in the shadow of the Megaman pickup) came about from a Facebook group I belong to for buyers and sellers of retro games.  The seller had an emotional attachment to the game and explained that it was from his childhood (or I believe the words he used were it WAS his childhood).  For this reason he was asking a small ransom for the game.  I told him that I could TOTALLY relate to this. I urged him to read this blog to get a better feel for who I was and what my intentions were with this all important bastion of his days gone by.  

I made another offer to him and he stood firm (reiterating that he was wanting more out of the game).  I decided to not push the issue too hard and, instead, reminded him to read about my collection and hopefully come to the conclusion that I am not in the market to make money on his memories and only want to buy the game to add it to my personal collection.  After some thought he floored me by saying that I should be the guy to have the game.  I was dumbfounded and really didn't know what to say.  I was fighting my want to get the game and finish this series and the realization that he was giving the game up to make that happen.  

In the end I'd like to think that the words on these pages made him comfortable in his decision to sell me the game -- knowing full well that I had only the intention of preserving the game and enjoying it with my kids. So he met me after work and I picked up Megaman 5 and Flintstones: The Rescue of Dino & Hoppy.  

I'm dragging on here so I'll end off by once again giving my totals as follows: 

NES Carts:  514

Licensed games:  476/687

Throwback Thursday

Well I fired up the Delorean and took a trip WAY, WAY back to the year 2012.  3 years ago today I was featured on an awesome retro gaming website by one of the coolest ambassadors to the lifestyle that I have ever had the privilege of meeting: Ant Harper.  I would be remiss to say that the passion wasn't already in me to collect, but I think the interest shown by a perfect stranger in my modest collection really helped to jump start my desire to take my collection to the next level.  Ant's website, http://www.retrogamescollector.com, besides being a repository of amazing resources that span the entire industry of retro games (from the earliest computer home consoles right to the consoles of today) it is also a showcase for collectors and fans alike to rub shoulders with like-minded people and fulfill those boundless curiosities for discovery of what is out there.

I am humbled that I was one of the earlier entries to his: Show Us Your Collection section and 3 years later he has featured more than 30 different collections and collectors from all across the globe.  Looking at some of the amazing hobbyists out there I am an instant fanboy and in awe of their dedication to this past-time.  I honestly feel bad calling it a past-time as it is so much more to the people who grew up playing these games.  For many, and I count myself among them, it is a walk through the wardrobe so to speak; a chance to go back to a simpler time.

In the last 3 years I am happy to say that my collection has come a long way!  In July 2012 I had about 260 cartridges, 25 manuals and a handful of boxes and today I have just over 500 cartridges, 80+ manuals and close to 60 boxes.  With these artifacts I have been able to put together about 30 complete in box games.  I still haven't found any games quite as uncommon as the catalyst that started my renewed obsession with collecting these games: Maxi 15, but I have picked up a lot of really great titles. The acquisitions of the last 3 years run the gamut of commons to moderately rare, licensed, unlicensed, favorites, stinkers, black box games and everything in between.

Some of the less common titles I've managed to get my hands on since 2012 are as follows:  Dusty Diamond Softball, Impossible Mission II, Joshua, Galactic Crusader, Double Strike, King of Kings, Pacmania, Pirates!, Balloon Fight, Kirby's Adventure, Chip n' Dale: Rescue Rangers, RC Pro Am II, Clu Clu Land, Kiwi Kraze, Jimmy Connor's Tennis, Megaman 6, Popeye, Ducktales, Empire Strikes Back, Little Ninja Bros., Kickle Cubicle, Toki, Battle Toads, Bomberman, Dragon's Lair, Power Punch II, Ice Climber, Wrecking Crew and Joe & Mac.

The last few years have seen me branch out my search beyond the towns that bookend mine.  I've traveled to the US and further west in BC to attend a retro gaming convention. In addition to games I have also managed to find an official Nintendo carry bag from the late 80s, a NES Advantage Controller and a NES Satellite in the box.

This year has seen me find many new traders, collectors, and friends through networking on social media and answering ads and I am excited to see what the next few years hold.

NES Pickups - July 8th, 2015

Not much to report on the game cartridge front, but I did pick up some boxes and manuals this week. Wednesday evening I did a trade with Shayne for some of my loose cart doubles, a box double and 5 manual doubles.  I came back with 7 new boxes, 5 new manuals and an artwork variant.  So in all I got boxes for:  Rygar, Toobin', Defender II -- this makes Defender II a CiB set. Gotcha!, Total Recall, Target: Renegade and Ikari Warriors 2.

The cartridge variant (and the only game I picked up today was for the Capcom game Gunsmoke.  pictured on the right below).  I never really set out to go after all of the varants and the 3 vs 5 screw games, but if a game falls into my lap like this one did I'm going to grab it!

As for manuals I added:  Golgo 13, Rocket Ranger, Solar Jetman, Captain Skyhawk and Laser Invasion.

These pickups don't change my game total, but I now have a total of:

59 Games Boxes

86 Manuals

30 CiB

NES Pickups - June 10th, 2015

Quick update on the collection.  Another successful transaction with JT or is it TJ?  Anyway I've bought a few lots from this seller through online ads and tonight I received 7 games that I didn't have.  New additions are as follows:  Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Captain Planet & the Planeteers, Day Dreamin' Davey, Hook, Sky Kid, Spellunker, and Spot.

Standouts from this lot would be Day Dreamin' Davey, SPOT, and Captain Planet & the Planeteers. I base this not on the playability of these games, but rather the fact that those three are titles I don't see too often in the wild.  My collection app rates these all between a 7 or 8 out of 12 (yes, that's right, it is a 12point rating system) for rarity.  In addition to the games themselves, I was also happy that 3 of the games came with cardboard Funcoland sleeves. Because Funcoland became gamestop in 2000  (and because they are cardboard and not the standard plastic construction like the original nes sleeves) I find these artifacts to be hard to come by.  I also did not grow up anywhere near a funcoland so when I come across these items it is a bonus.

Nes Carts:  513

Licensed games:  474/687

Nes Pickups - June 8th, 2015

Today I received a package in the mail from Etsy!  This box was the culmination of 2 months worth of correspondence with the seller.  I started off by inquiring about a game she had listed back on April 6th.  After I got a quote for shipping to Canada the seller mentioned that she had some other games that she hadn't listed yet.  She sent several pictures and I ended up getting 3 games in the lot.  It took a little bit of coaxing to get the item shipped off, but it finally arrived today and I couldn't be more excited.  She had mentioned she would throw in a nintendo related item for my patience, but I had no idea she was going to put in all of the extra trimmings she did.  The box contained:  the 3 games I ordered, an extra game (Super Mario/Duck Hunt), 2 sticker packs, a Yoshi Pez dispenser, a Pacman Keychain and a "10-doh" collectible figurine.

One set of stickers says they are from 1992.  The other set look to be from Donkey Kong Country for the SNES and come from Yugoslavia!  The 10-doh figurine is a Lootcrate Exclusive called:  1point 21 jiggawatts and is a clear take on the Back to the Future movies.  The Pez dispenser is Yoshi from the Super Mario series.  This one is very cool because it also adds to my wife's amazing Pez collection nicely! I'm rambling on and on and this is just the throw-ins. But they are very nice to say the least!

The etsy lot added 3 new games to my collection:  Tiny Toons Adventures 2: Trouble in Wackyland, Where's Waldo and Arkanoid.  Of the 3 I think Arkanoid is my favorite.  It represents another port from the Arcade world and unseeded one of my games on the rarity list (according to my game collection app). Even though the lot took a little while to reach me, the meticulous care she took in shipping and all of the extras she sent more than made up for the delay!  Etsy, though a haven primarily designed for Crafters and Artists, is a great place to find deals on retro games.

Nes Carts:  506

Licensed games:  467/687

NES Pickups - June 3rd, 2015

I can't say enough about the integrity and helpfulness of the retrogaming community.  I've mentioned in past entries that I have recently been networking through social media both locally and afar with other like-minded collectors and game enthusiasts.  This has been equally invaluable to gaining knowledge and acquiring new games.  A friend of mine has made it a wonderful habit to comment me on any posts she sees that are nintendo-related on Facebook.  This has given me a leg up on other eager game collectors in my town and resulted in several new additions to my shelves.

The pickups this week are the end result of a full-circle trade that began several weeks ago.  One of my newest contacts has traded with me more than a few times and because he doesn't want to sell me the games he sets a trade value on them and takes doubles of mine in trade.  The last such trade resulted in me getting a less common game and in return he just took 3 of my doubles.  He said he would hold them as collateral for such a time that I might have something he was interested in.

Well recently he decided he didn't want to collect nintendo games anymore and listed several of his games.  Thanks to the heads up from my friend I was able to write him within an hour of them being listed.  He worked out a deal with me for the only trade-bait that I had of interest (a fairly uncommon double).  I valued the game at about $45-50 and instead of giving me the 3 I originally asked for in trade he ended up giving me a total of 7 games.  This is the integrity I alluded to at the outset of this post.

He knew that the 3 games I asked for only equaled about half what the game I was going to give him was worth so he gave me an extra game plus the three collateral doubles I had given him a few weeks prior. In his words: "You were also interested in Life Force so I'd do all 4. I could also return your 3 games I kept for collateral from our last trade and that should make it pretty close to being even". I was taken aback by his generosity and thanked him for the deal!

 

Highlights are likely not what you might expect; I actually was most excited to replace my extremely shabby copy of Mappy Land as I've always been partial to arcade ports and this is one that I am glad to have a nice fresh new label of.  It took better than 2 years to find a suitable replacement but it was worth the wait.  Obviously a close second would be the two new titles I added to the collection:  Battle of Olympus and M.C. Kids. From what I can see watching the reviews of these two games they are somewhat under appreciated titles in the NES library.

Nes Carts:  503

Licensed games:  464/687