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Post by wyldephang on Feb 15, 2018 21:22:10 GMT -5
O.K., I need someone to pull me away from eBay. I just bought a copy of Mario Tennis (N64) and Tekken 5 (PS2). It's been a while since I've added to my Super Nintendo collection, so I made a reminder to myself to buy at least one SNES cartridge before the week is out so I don't lose my passion for SNES collecting. I ended up seeing nothing of interest, but stumbled on auctions for one of my favorite N64 sports games, Mario Tennis. I've been hunting for a copy at a good price and finally found one that closed at a decent bargain. I'm a little less certain why I purchased Tekken 5. I love the Tekken series and Tekken 5 has been on my radar for a few years, but I don't intend to play it right now. Probably shouldn't have bid on that one. As I said, I need an intervention. Actually, hold off until next week; I'm currently watching another auction.
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Post by TrekMD on Feb 16, 2018 8:01:53 GMT -5
LOL Come, take my hand and let's just walk away. Remember ePay can be a dangerous place.
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Post by kokovec on Feb 16, 2018 12:10:04 GMT -5
I ended up purchasing two Electronic Quarterback games recently. One of them was non-functional but I bought it because the case and artwork were in good shape. The other one was working but looked like someone dragged it behind their car. After swapping the parts around I ended up with a decent working unit. As a kid, back in the 70's, I used to own one and played it everywhere I went. 20180216_Electronic_QB by D S, on Flickr
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Post by VectorX on Feb 16, 2018 12:56:06 GMT -5
That's great! I played that a lot too back then, even though I never had one.
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Post by wyldephang on Mar 4, 2018 20:34:35 GMT -5
I'm still addicted to eBay, it seems. I've made three new additions to the collection since my last post: 1943 for the NES, and NFL Blitz and Mario Party for the Nintendo 64. To be fair, I've been coveting these titles from afar for a while. Send help. Mario Party speaks for itself. It's a classic party-oriented multiplayer game that is best enjoyed with three of your closest friends who may or may not still be your friends at the end of the night. NFL Blitz comes to us from a bygone era when licensed sports games weren't the same product re-released year after year. It was made by Midway and does away with all the technical football terminology in favor of mindless fast-paced action. It hasn't aged especially well, but it's still fun to play. 1943 was such a mainstay in arcades that I shouldn't need to explain it. From what I've heard, it made a much nicer transition to the NES than 1942, so that's the one I went with.
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Post by VectorX on Mar 24, 2018 23:12:14 GMT -5
I went to my private box today and Big Blue was there due to coming in second in the last Vector War contest, which was great, as I had missed it the first time around. I haven't had time to check it out too much (but I will tomorrow though!) but it is pretty unique for the system, especially since it's an enjoyable, pretty much non-violent game (except for when the shark gets your diver ). Then I went to two resale shops today. It's funny, you go to one, do a u-turn on the way out, then there's another one not 30 seconds away. Nothing really at the first one, but at the second one they had a copy of Wii Fit Plus. That might not sound like much, but Nintendo did a great job on it, making the exercises fun, such as making your Mii run across a platform on one, timing it right not to have a giant wrecking ball knock you off the platform (just like with the short-lived Wipeout! tv show). I've worn out two copies of that over the years (maybe three) and this one looked brand spanking new, like it had never been used. So not only is it good to have a spare, but it also wasn't marked, which the lady at the counter said it was like a dvd, for only $2. Hah. Then in the evening I walked to another resale shop and found the original Wii Fit. That one wasn't around for long, as the exercises seemed cool at first, then they got boring. Wii Fit Plus took several of those exercises, then added many more, blowing it away. So, I got that one too, which, when I feel like doing some of the exercises on it, will save on the wear and tear of the Wii Fit Plus I'm using now, and then once that one eventually goes, I'll have the one I got today and possibly the original Wii Fit as well, who knows. So, three games today for not even $10, as one of them was totally free. Yeah, pretty good day.
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Post by TrekMD on Mar 24, 2018 23:17:00 GMT -5
This arrived for me this week. It's #47/100.
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Post by wyldephang on Apr 6, 2018 17:38:05 GMT -5
More video game acquisitions have been trickling in as frequently as I can manage to find them. The first two were bought within hours of each other: Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped (PS1) and Pikmin (GameCube). Crash is more or less self-explanatory, but Pikmin is an interesting gem for the GameCube that mixes real-time strategy and puzzle elements. The titular Pikmin are a race of plantlike alien creatures who graciously offer to help Olimar, a space traveler who has crash-landed on the Pikmin planet. The object of the game is to collect parts to fix Olimar's ship while saving the mostly-defenseless Pikmin from falling pray to the carnivorous lifeforms on the planet. Pikmin is surely one of the quirkiest games on the GameCube, a console known for bucking convention. I'm looking forward to playing it. In addition to these two games, I purchased a copy of San Francisco Rush: Extreme Racing for the Nintendo 64. I used to own a copy of this popular racing game in the late '90s, but I'm pretty sure it was stolen. (One of my childhood friends was a known kleptomaniac and made away with handfuls of my toys, video games, and Pokémon cards). It's a rather unspectacular racing game and would've been completely off my radar if it weren't for the fact that I owned it as a youngster and wanted to rebuild my collection.
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Post by wyldephang on Jul 16, 2018 9:37:59 GMT -5
So, San Francisco Rush never came in. The seller couldn't figure out how to accept my PayPal payment and he never shipped out the game, so the transaction ended up getting closed. Oh well. That's what I get for not researching the seller beforehand. Since then, I've added a few more titles to the collection. The first game of this haul is Yoshi's Cookie for the NES, a simple puzzle game that can be enjoyed by two players. The gameplay involves matching like squares (cookies) to form columns or rows. This is one of the early games that features Yoshi in the title. In the spirit of sticking with the Mario theme, the next game on the list is New Super Mario Bros. Wii for the Nintendo Wii. Since Mario first became a 3D platforming franchise in 1995, there has always been a contingency of fans that prefer 2D over 3D and vice versa. Unlike Mario Galaxy, which takes inspiration from Super Mario 64, this game is played on a 2D plane and feels more like the classic run-and-jump Super Mario Bros. games of old, albeit with updated graphics. For whatever reason, I skipped this game when it came out, but I'm happy to have added it to the collection--and for a reasonable price, too. Briefly getting away from the Nintendo consoles for a bit, the next addition is Sly 2: Band of Thieves for the PlayStation 2. As some of you know, I started collecting for the PS2 a few years ago. I'm still in the early stages of working my way through the collection, but it's expanding faster than I can play through it! While I wish I could provide a better description of what Sly 2 is about, I simply don't know because I haven't played it yet. It was well-recommended by many in the PS2 community, though. The next two games on my list were birthday gifts. The first one was the Devil May Cry HD Collection for the PlayStation 4. This game features the original Devil May Cry trilogy with remastered high-def graphics. I have DMC and DMC3 for the PS2, but as I said before, I haven't played most of my games, so I'm essentially new to the series and wouldn't mind trying it out in HD for the first time. The next gift is also a PS4 game: God of War. I've beaten it, and I thought it was a phenomenal game with an interesting campaign based on Norse mythology. Seeing as Kratos is no stranger to bucking heads with the pantheon, this time he returns to battle the likes of Baldur and Thor. The ending is a major cliffhanger to lead into the second game of the series--I must admit it came a bit earlier than I was expecting, or would've liked, but that's life. Now returning to the Nintendo consoles to wrap up my last few additions, we have Beetle Adventure Racing for the Nintendo 64. This one is a solid racer featuring actual Beetles designed by Volkswagen. As the title suggests, the races take place not on a racetrack but on scenic roads through mountains and countryside. The graphics are incredible, even for an N64 game, and I can see why Beetle Adventure Racing receives high praise to this day. The next addition is also for the N64: Killer Instinct Gold. This has been on my wanted list for several years now, but it wasn't until now that I could find a copy for a killer (ha ha) price. Killer Instinct Gold won't wow anyone with superior graphics or gameplay, but it's a solid fighting game and I'm a fan of the series. Finally, the last addition to the collection is ActRaiser 2 for the Super Nintendo. Based on a popular SNES that is part-action-platformer, part-civilization sim, ActRaiser 2 does away with all the sim elements of the original game. The action-platforming elements are more polished, but most fans prefer the original over the sequel. It's also a brutally difficult game; I'm not sure if I'll succeed in playing through ActRaiser 2, but I'd like to try anyway. This, by the way, is the first SNES game I've added to the collection in at least two years. It feels good to come back to it. Overall, 2018 has been a fairly productive year for the collection. More as it comes. Edit: I left something out. Add Pokemon: Blue Version for the Game Boy onto the list. Pokemon Red was my favorite Game Boy game in sixth grade. It was a common afterschool ritual to meet up at the playground or on the bus and trade Pokemon because, supposing you owned only one version of the game, you couldn't catch all 151 Pokemon without linking up with a friend who had the other version. I was such a dedicated Pokemon trainer that I owned both versions, but I sold the Blue version to a friend who never ended up paying me for it. I wanted to get him into the game so we could catch and trade Pokemon together, but alas, he didn't seem too interested in playing it either. After summer break, we moved onto different middle schools and I never saw him again. That exchange never did sit well with me, so I've purchased another copy to correct that mistake.
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Post by wyldephang on Aug 3, 2018 17:40:32 GMT -5
O.K., I've been bitten pretty hard by the collector's bug. Over the last few months I've been bidding, making offers, and getting decent prices on a large variety of games for multiple systems. But I swear I'm done! (Fingers crossed.) Instead of accompanying each game with a lengthy write-up, I'll get straight to the point and list them by console. For the NES: Baseball Stars and Marble Madness. For the Genesis: Road Rash 2. For the SNES: Super Bomberman and Super Play Action Football. For the N64: The New Tetris. And for the PS2: Crazy Taxi, Gran Turismo 4, Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, and Xenosaga: Episode III.
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Post by VectorX on Aug 3, 2018 17:52:31 GMT -5
But I swear I'm done! (Fingers crossed.) No you're not For the NES: Marble Madness. How is that version? I was surprised at how decent the control was for the Genesis version. I thought nothing could beat that arcade trackball!
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Post by TrekMD on Aug 4, 2018 10:07:49 GMT -5
Oh, you're never done and it is very hard going to a retro event and not get something or seeing some nice offer and getting just one more game. Believe me, I know. LOL
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Post by wyldephang on Aug 4, 2018 15:57:55 GMT -5
But I swear I'm done! (Fingers crossed.) No you're not For the NES: Marble Madness. How is that version? I was surprised at how decent the control was for the Genesis version. I thought nothing could beat that arcade trackball! You're right; I'm probably not done. I've never played the arcade version, but the NES port controls well. The physics engine feels right and it's not too difficult to maneuver the ball around the field. The challenge is in adjusting to the viewing angle.
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Post by VectorX on Aug 16, 2018 23:13:58 GMT -5
^Sounds like it works pretty much the same as the Genny version, but then the control pads are a bit similar between the systems. Well, I just found the Jakks Pacific Ms. Pac-Man plug and play unit at a resale store today for $8 Hopefully it's a good unit, because I had some confusion over it for a bit, as the control unit was sitting on some kind of flat base. What the heck? Then it came apart in my hands as I was turning it over. Oh, the bottom part is a cordless unit? Well, that's dumb, in case it screws up but the controller still works fine. Unless you can find someone to fix it then you're pretty screwed. Then it seemed a bit finicky in playing. The controls would cut out and all. I played a couple of games of Pole Position, which I hope that twisty joystick holds up, since twisting the joystick is how you steer your car. I had that go out on my two Retro Arcade Featuring Pac-Man units, as the twisty part went out on one unit right before the 90 day warranty expired, so I returned it (what the hey, it worked for 11 out of the 12 games...but then I realized that wasn't good enough. And the warranty was still good). Months later the twisty part went out again. I can still play 11 out of the 12 games though. Anyway, I'd play Bosconian for a few minutes (nice to have diagonals this time around, as my other unit doesn't do those! Which totally ruined Xevious [along with taking out the moving hexigon-shaped tanks and the mother ship!]!), then the ship wouldn't respond. I'd keep on turning the control unit on and off, not knowing if it was finicky or if that was why someone donated it. Then I took it off the base and found on the control unit also runs on batteries. I took them out and put them in the Wii Fit board, turned it on and voila, only one bar and it was in the red, rather than four full green bars! So back for more batteries in the morning, as I just got a four pack last week! Bah ha ha...nice to have gotten just a 12 pack for cheaper, but oh well, I didn't see this one coming. Hopefully that'll be it for this. (It also has Mappy, Ms. Pac-Man [the only one my other unit doesn't have], Galaga and New Rally-X.)
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Post by TrekMD on Aug 26, 2018 18:54:29 GMT -5
Here are my latest arrivals...
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