Retro Megabit

Pick-Ups – SNES and NES Games from eBay Auction

Posted by Sega Dude on January 16, 2017

Posted in: Games, NES, SNES. Tagged: Kirby's Adventure, Mega Man 4, NES, nintendo, snes, Super Mario RPG. Leave a comment

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.

Collecting like it’s 1998!

Posted by Sega Dude on December 25, 2016

Posted in: Community, Mega Drive (Japanese), SEGA. Tagged: $10, 1998, mega drive, receipt, sega, video games connection. 7 Comments

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!

**Update**
I recently found a copy of Rolling Thunder 2 locally.

Pick-Ups – Gleylancer Has Come Home!

Posted by Sega Dude on December 2, 2016

Posted in: Collection New Additions, Games, Mega Drive (Japanese), SEGA. Tagged: ebay, gley lancer, Gleylancer, mega drive, sega. 10 Comments

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!”

TANGLEWOOD: An original game for the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive Now on Kickstarter

Posted by Sega Dude on November 13, 2016

Posted in: Community, Genesis (North America), Mega Drive (EURO), Mega Drive (Japanese), SEGA. Tagged: Big Evil Corporation, kickstarter, Matt Phillips, Tanglewood. 2 Comments

I woke up this morning to a very welcomed post from BIG EVIL CORPORATION about a Kickstarter Campaign for Tanglewood.

What is Tanglewood?

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!

Nintendo NES Classic Edition in Stores Now!

Posted by Sega Dude on November 11, 2016

Posted in: Community, Games, Hardware, NES, New Release (Hardware), Nintendo. Tagged: in stores now, Nintendo NES Classic Edition. 8 Comments

NES Classic Edition Gold

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 flippers scalping 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.

“NES Classic Edition will return 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

Pick-Ups – GameSwap Volume 2

Posted by Sega Dude on November 5, 2016

Posted in: Collection New Additions, Games, Genesis (North America), NES, Nintendo, SEGA. Tagged: genesis, manual, master system, NES, nintendo, p.o.w., poster, sega, ultima iv, universal soldier. 2 Comments

It had been far too long since my last visit to one of my favorite local retro video games stores. As chance would have it I was recently passing by and I took the opportunity to visit GameSwap.
And man, am I glad I did.

I didn’t score any ultra-rare video games that any collector would drool over. Nothing so dramatic. In fact, the only video game I did buy is not the highlight of the trip. But the miscellaneous stuff I found for great prices kept pilling up until I was thoroughly stoked about my visit to GameSwap.

First up is the game I purchased; Universal Soldier for the Sega Genesis. The uninspired cardboard box and unique cartridge almost make this game unrecognizable as a Sega Genesis game. So much so that I had forgotten and took a picture of it along side some of my Sega Master System games by mistake instead of with my Genesis Collection.

The game is almost the same experience as Turican but it’s not as good. I’ve read that Universal Soldier is a re-branded version of Turican II. But where Turican is good Universal Solider feels unpolished and even unfinished. However, for a really friendly price of $20 CAD it was great to experience this game first-hand for myself.

Now the fun miscellaneous stuff starts. I asked the owner of the store (a great guy that I’ve enjoyed chatting with over the years) if he had any NES or SNES manuals. He thought about it for a moment and answered something to the effect ‘I don’t know. Have a look in these.’ And he brought out three boxes stuffed with stuff. This is a nice example of the personal touch that you just can’t get online. I must have spent about 30-45 minutes carefully digging through everything.

The first misc. thing of interest I found was a poster for Eternal Champions. Normally I wouldn’t go out of my way for something like this but here is was and it was in excellent condition. I don’t need a poster like this to consider my copy of Eternal Champions complete but it’s still a very nice touch. Now my Eternal Champions is MORE complete!

Or is it?…

Eternal Champions Poster

Eternal Champions Poster Back Side

Sega Genesis Eternal Champions

When I got home I went searching for my Eternal Champions eager to make it ‘more’ complete. Only to discover that I didn’t actually have the game for the Sega Genesis. I have it for the Sega Mega Drive. Well, now that I’ve got this really nice poster that fits so nicely in the game case there was only one thing to do. I hopped onto ebay and found myself Eternal Champions. The good news is I was able to buy one for $25 CAD including shipping. Plus the $5 I paid for the poster I’ve got myself an excellent condition Eternal Champions!

The next find, and very similar discovery, was a poster for Jurassic Park. Also for $5 so I thought ‘why not?’.

Jurassic Park Poster

Jurassic Park Poster Back Side

Sega Genesis Jurassic Park

This time I actually had the game for this poster and now my Sega Genesis Jurassic Park ‘more’ complete as well! I did discovered that my Jurassic Park is a little beat up. The case, manual and cartridge have enough nicks and dings to make the over all package feel a bit bruised. I may buy another one if I can find as good a deal as I did with Eternal Champions.

Digging a little further into these boxes I found a good condition Sega Genesis Model 2 manual. I already have a boxed Model 2 Sega Genesis but since I didn’t recall seeing a large black manual I though maybe I didn’t have one at all. So for $5 I put the Genesis manual in my growing pile of miscellaneous and affordable cool stuff.

Sega Genesis Model 2 Manual

Sega Genesis Inside the Manual

Sega Genesis Model 2 Pack in Materials

Boxed Model 2 Sega Genesis

The left image and top right image are of the manual I purchased. The middle right image is all the stuff I already had in my boxed Model 2 Genesis (hardware not pictured). Turns out I did already have the manual. But mine is a fold-out style pamphlet and not an actual book. So now I have two manuals for my Sega Genesis. Yeah, I know… it’s over-kill. By the way, this boxed complete Genesis cost me $15 CAD at a thrift shop… no big deal.

Continuing; every now and again I would find a good condition NES manual but it took a while before I found one I actually needed. And what I found was a nice surprise. P.O.W. Prisoners of War is not a rare game but after selling off many of my NES cartridges this is one I kept. For a NES title the graphics are very good and I couldn’t bring myself to sell it. The manual I found while rummaging cost me $5. I also bought a manual for NES Ninja Gaiden for $5. Unfortunately I discovered that I already have the Ninja Gaiden manual. So that accidental double will go to Nintendo Joe.

Delving deeper still into the depths of these three magical boxes things started to get even more interesting. Have a quick look at the two images below. You might think to yourself ‘what am I looking at?’. But you know. Deep down you know what it is. Just like my gut was trying tell me the second I saw it and even though I have never before seen this manual or even played the game yet… I knew this was the manual for SNES Chrono Trigger.

SNES Chrono Trigger Partial Manual

Inside the Manual

The reason it’s not instantly recognizable is because it’s missing the cover and the first 8 pages (and the last 8 pages). Even in this state I was worried about how much it might cost. The Retro World is crazy over Chrono Trigger. So I put it aside and expected that it would cost more than I would be willing to pay. In fact I didn’t even ask for a price or make an offer. It took the store owner’s crazy savvy salesman’s intuition to make something happen. He looked at me and said ‘Make an offer. Offer me $20’. I paused… $20 is a lot for a portion of a manual. But it’s Chrono Trigger! And $20 isn’t a ton of money. It seemed like a reasonable offer. So I said “I was going to offer $20 but I didn’t think you’d go for it”. And he replied ‘How about $25’.
Son of a Bee! I’ve been set up!
On eBay this manual would cost me at least $60 and I don’t want to pony up that much money so this felt like it was as good a compromise as I would ever get. I ended up paying $25 and I was still having a lot of fun rummaging through the boxes of miscellaneous goodness.

Below is my ‘not really anymore complete than it was before’ copy of Chrono Trigger for the SNES.

Don’t ask me what’s in the table of contents or what the buttons on the joystick do in Chrono Trigger.
I do NOT know! Those details are not in my manual.
And don’t ask me about any details of the 90-day Limited Warranty.
I do NOT know! Those details are not in my manual.
However, I can tell you that the party member Marle has very power Magic. And that her healing powers are essential to your success.

This box diving adventure is not yet over! A Gold Star for anyone who knows what the below books are. Any guesses?

I wasn’t sure myself at first. But I had an idea. First, I did believed they were for the game Ultima IV. But I wasn’t sure if what I found was from the PC version or the Sega Master System version. The PC version I didn’t really want at all… but the Master System version I really wanted. And the fact that they said SEGA on the back cover I decided that for $20 for all four it was worth the risk. I took them home and started searching for the answer.

I’ve found a few images of both the PC version and Sega Master System version and it really does look like I’ve found the English and French versions for the Sega Master System.

These are images I found on the Internet posted by other collectors.

PC version of Ultima IV

Ultima IV, English, French and German Versions

SMS Complete English Ultima IV

Below are a few pictures of my now complete Ultima IV for the Sega Master System. To me this really is the highlight of this post. I knew these books existed but I never thought I’d ever find them.

Sega Master System Ultima IV

SMS Ultima IV Map Front

SMS Ultima IV Map Back

Complete SMS Ultima IV, English and French

In Canada it’s common that a product will come with manuals/documentation for both English and French. So maybe that is why I found two sets of books in both languages. I don’t know if every Ultima IV for the Sega Master System was originally sold in Canada with both language book sets or if you just got one set depending on where in Canada you bought them from. Regardless I’m very happy to have both sets!

I’m noticing that as the years roll by and I continue to collect I’m learning that obscure or hard to find collectibles have a way of coming around when you least expect them. Be patient and don’t forget to have fun with the stuff you already have.

If you’re in Toronto GTA be sure to pay a visit to GameSwap.