Retro Megabit

OK, get ready. I’m about to go the long way around…

Depending on your age you may remember He-Man action figures. In particular He-Man himself and Skeletor. The toys for these two characters each came with half a sword. These two halves (if you had them both) could be connected together to make one whole and hefty sword. To my memory the cartoon never really addressed this nuance of the toys and that helped elevate this mystery into something almost mythical for me as a kid.

So that first time that I was able to put these two half swords together it was totally AWESOME!
It wasn’t really ‘awesome’, but I managed to build up the idea so much that it felt very meaningful. Playtime became a conflict about the good guys or the bad guys getting both halves; and then totally dominating the other side.

The only reason I’m taking the time to explain this is because I haven’t felt this inner kid level of excellent for something that is actually trivial (but fun) in a long time.

Today I received an authentic cartridge, the actual game, to complete my Japanese Sega Mega Drive Gleylancer. As I clicked the plastic cartridge in place into my once empty Gleylancer case in the back of my mind I could hear the kid in me squealing with delight. And it felt totally awesome.

Gleylancer is a really good space ship shoot ’em-up that unfortunately has one of those ‘run away’ price tags that is commonly seen in the Retro Video Game scene. Is it truly rare? I don’t know but I suspect maybe a little bit as it was exclusive to the Japanese Sega Mega drive and never made it to the European Mega Drive or the North American Genesis. It can always been seen on ebay so I’m reasonably sure it’s not truly rare.

It’s common to see a complete good condition Gleylancer list on ebay for somewhere between $300 and $400 USD.

But what is the game actually selling for? Below are recently sold listing for Gleylancer. Disregarding those two reproductions (fakes) only two authentic and complete Gleylancers have sold recently. One for $319 USD and the other for $271 USD. So yes, it can be a very expensive game and it would seem that only a very few people are willing to pay for it.

I got sucked into hunting down Gleylancer after I managed to get a good deal on a case and manual from the neo-geo.com forums for $60 USD from a fellow member. It was my hope to someday find a cheap cartridge to complete the set. You can see my previous post about scoring my Gleylancer case and manual here.

So, did I find myself a cheap authentic Gleylancer cartridge? Hells no! But in the end I did a bit better than ebay sold listing for a hard to get game that is actually worth having.

My case and manual cost me $60 USD plus the loose cartridge in this more recent transaction that cost me an additional $135 USD. Leaving my grand total at $195 USD for a  complete good condition Gleylancer.
Close call! That came in just under $200 which psychologically helps with the ‘acceptance’ stage of being frivolous. However, Canadian dollars are what are relevant to me which means I spent ~$260 CAD on this game. I do believe the wife will be mildly upset until she finds out that with this purchase of this one cartridge every single game I have in my Japanese Sega Mega Drive collection is now 100% complete. Booya! Just when she thought I couldn’t possibly be any dumber I go and do something like this and totally redeem myself! Right?

I thought I did about as well as I could for this game. But it turns out I could have done a lot better. Shortly after I received my Gleylancer cartridge I found the following ebay listing for the same cartridge for ~67 EURO (~$72 USD). Not to mention that ‘maker offer’ option.

Some lucky Dude bought this Gleylancer listing after I had to pass it up. I hope they know how well they did.

If I had only waited a few more weeks I could have completed my Gleylancer for $60 USD less; $135 USD instead of $195 USD. That’s a huge difference and I would have felt like a bandit had I managed it. But I didn’t and I’ll try to take from this a moral that as gamers and collectors we really need to be patient.

Am I still pleased with this purchase? I am. And it’s because Gleylancer is a really fun game. Check out the longplay recording I made of Gleylancer for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis.
Yeah, that’s right I beat the game… no big deal.

Thanks to Zebbe I have discovered a fan translation to the introduction of Gleylancer by M.I.J.E.T. And what I discovered is a really and truly good story to go along with this excellent game. The more I discover about Gleylancer the more impressed I am.

“STICK TO IT AND BELIEVE IN YOUR POWER!”