Second only to actually playing awesome retro video games is making them look ‘new again’. I recently had my favorite print shop (Lamin-8) print up 12 covers for some of my loose SNK Neo Geo and NES game cartridges.
Even before these covers got put into cases they look great. If I had more wall space I think these would make great posters for the game room.
First up are the mighty Neo Geo MVS Shockboxes. These beasts are very large and beautiful!
There is something about giant electronics packed in really large plastic cases that just screams RETRO. But if you have played some of the best the Neo Geo has to offer then you know that SNK’s old slogan still holds true: The Future is Now.
Unfortunately something happened with the print job for Captain Tomaday and it printed much too small for the Shockbox case. I’ll have to revisit the Captain next time when I have more covers to print.
Next up are eight covers for some of my NES cartridges. Although not entirely authentic these lined up BitBoxes look so much nicer than loose carts.
With the exception of Kid Icarus I’ve managed to find manuals for these games.
Two parts authentic and one part aftermarket. Not bad.
What really helps with these aftermarket BitBoxes is that the cover art is the same artwork that you’ll find on an authentic NES cardboard box. Giving the final product very authentic look despite being a very different style case.
Beautiful. I could just stare at these all day. Who’s with me?!
I started collecting NES and Super Nintendo games much too late to try for complete boxed games. Personally, the cost is too high now. But I’ve found that occasionally you can get manuals to go along with NES and SNES carts for reasonable prices but you have to be very patient. One of the last purchases I made on ebay before recently closing my account are the following games from a seller who appeared to be a collector that was unloading his collection. These three auctions were a little bit extra exciting because they included the original manual for each game. This is what I call ‘life simplified’.
Super Mario RPG gets a lot of hype as being a really good game so I went the distance and spent a good amount of money to get it in the collection with an original manual at a cost of $95 CAD all in.
I haven’t played all the NES Mega Man games and I’ve been told many times that they are not all made equal. But since Mega Man is such an iconic game for the NES I would like to have all six one day. This Mega Man 4 with manual which cost me $52 CAD.
And finally, Kirby’s Adventure with manual at a grand total cost of $24.50 CAD. Kirby feels like a bargain compared to the others above.
This was not a cheap purchase but they are some really good titles for the NES. And it wont be long before I have these games and manuals in some very nice looking aftermarket cases.
Do you enjoying collecting Retro Video Games from the 80’s and 90’s?
Then allow me to bend time and space and give you a glimpse into the Golden Era of Retro Video Game Collecting!
Recently I found a very old receipt tucked inside my Japaneses Sega Mega Drive game Assault Suit Leynos. Clearly 1998 was the time to be buying games for your Sega Genesis or Mega Drive.
Have a look at this Video Games Connection receipt from July 30, 1998 (in Canadian dollars).
Oh yes, you read that right (and just in case you can’t see the image):
Batman $10
Rolling Thunder $10
ESWAT $10
Dino Land $10
SD Valis $10
Magical Hat $10
Heavy Unit $10
Assault Suit Leynos $10
Even after tax that is just $11.50 per (complete and like new) game. Ah, good times…
I bought my Sega Genesis sometime in the launch year of the system and I was buying games from Video Games Connection all through the consoles life span and beyond. I even paid Video Games Connection $30 to modify my Genesis so that I could play Japanese Mega Drive games. The larger Japanese Mega Drive plastic cartridges physically did not fit into the Sega Genesis and that was the only form of region protection for a long time (much later Sega added software region locks to some games). At the time Video Games Connection told me they would have to cut the plastic of the Genesis case to widen the slot for the larger Japanese cartridges and they also told me that they had to do ‘a little technical work here and there’. That last part was a lie to help sell the $30 service. I didn’t know any better and to be honest I bet I would have been content to pay the $30 (Mom actually paid) even if they stated that cutting the plastic was the only work required. There was no need to lie.
But Look! Complete Mega Drive games for $10 each! All is forgiven.
I still have my original Sega Genesis and I’ve since widened the cartridge slot even more on my own because Video Games Connection original work was not wide enough to fit the extra large Japanese cartridges made by a company called Sunsoft.
What I find surprising is that I have re-bought every one of these games more recently except for Assault Suit Leynos. Which means that I likely traded or sold those titles in the receipt for other games. I did a lot of trading back then. And it looks like I no longer have Rolling Thunder 2 for the Mega Drive. Hopefully I traded it for something worth while because Rolling Thunder 2 is a pretty good game.
Here’s what re-buying the games cost me (CAD).
Batman (couldn’t find my cost)
ESWAT $23 (Purchased June 2014)
Dino Land $15 (Purchased February 2012)
Valis SD $35 (purchased July 2014)
Magical Hat $60 (Purchase July 2016)
Heavy Unit $20 (purchased June 2014)
What I enjoy most about finding this receipt is that it validates my memory of what I remember paying for these games (and many others from back then). Over time memories can get skewed and it’s great to see that what I thought I remembered actually was.
Video Games Connection turned it’s back on Video Games and the store changed into a Travel Agency (same owners) a very long time ago… but the Sega Dude is still going strong!
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.
Tanglewood is a brand new and original game for the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive, to be released on cartridge in winter 2017.
Some time ago the web site for BIG EVIL CORPORATION was originally focused on tutorials, examples and tips on how to write code for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. Despite not knowing how to code myself I still enjoyed following along as best I could. What I got out of it was the fact that there are talented and interested people out in the world who know how to write games for old consoles and they were busy sharing their knowledge. Back then I had hoped that something like this might eventually happen.
Now, years later, Matt Phillips of BIG EVIL CORPORATION has an even larger foundation of skills and tools at his disposal and he’s ready to make Tanglewood a reality.
The Story so far…
“Set in the realm of Tanglewood, the game follows a young creature, Nymn, separated from the pack after the sun sets. Unable to get back to the safety of the family’s underground home, Nymn must find a way to survive the night terrors and get to morning. Tanglewood’s world is a dangerous one after dark; guiding Nymn you must use your skills of evasion, traps and trickery to defeat predators.”
“Tanglewood is a platforming game with puzzle elements, and can be described as a mix of the Mega Drive titles Another World and The Lion King.”
Visit the Kickstarter Campaign for Tanglewood for all the details. Hopefully you’ll be as excited about this release as I am and pledge for your own copy!
It’s November 11th and the Nintendo NES Classic Edition has been released and it’s in stores now!.. I mean it was in stores. It looks like this instant hit is sold out everywhere.
Last night I went online looking for any signs of pre-orders or where I could buy the NES Classic the next day. I found nothing. When does the Internet ever come up empty? This morning every web site I checked showed the product but none had stock to sell.
At 9:40am EST today I called my local BestBuy and I was told they had 40 NES Classic’s and they were sold out instantly. There was a line-up outside before the store opened. There is no ETA on new stock for BestBuy. However, I was told that the next batch will be eligible to reserve online for in-store pickup.
My wife also spent some time today trying to track down a NES Classic for me. She was checking some of the same big name stores but in different locations and she also came up empty. She still gets full points for trying!
I have exaggerated a bit. I actually did find available stock for the NES Classic for sale. On eBay I found several flippersscalping the NES Classic for about $200 CAD compared to the actual retail price of $80 CAD ($60 USD). For myself personally, those sales aren’t an option.
Here’s my prediction (and recommendation). Nintendo’s production of the NES Classic Edition will catch up to demand. If you want to save a lot of money wait for regular stock to come back. I have not read anywhere that Nintendo is making a limited run of the NES Classic. And for the most part ‘limited’ is just a marketing tactic. Products are only limited to the maximum number of units a company thinks they can sell.
**Update 2017-11-06: It’s been many months with very limited re-stocking of the NES Classic Edition. Re-selling of this gem at greatly inflated prices has become common place. The NES Classic Edition has been so much harder to get than I first thought it might be. But there is some hope. Nintendo is promising more stock this coming Summer 2018.
But each to their own. If someone where to pay an inflated price for a NES Classic I cannot say it’s a mistake for them. It’s easy for me to wait. Like many of us retro nuts I already have most of the NES games that I want for my original NES. If you really want to play some great old classic and don’t have any access to the 30 games included in the NES Classic I can understand a heightened desire to dive in right away.
What do you think of Nintendo’s NES Classic Edition? Is it for you? When will you buy?
Courtesy of GameXplain have a listen to the ‘Nintendo Power line’ re-opened for three days only for the launch of the NES Classic Edition. It’s not the same service offered in the 80’s and 90’s but instead you’ll hear a prerecording of game tips for the 30 games included in the NES Classic Edition available to anyone curious enough to call. It will give you a good idea of what this decades old Tips Hot-Line service was all about.
Nintendo Power Line (425) 885-7529 Open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. PT Nov. 11-13, 2016
Retro Megabit 