Retro Megabit

Trading Games at the Flea Market

Posted by Sega Dude on October 5, 2015

Posted in: Games, Genesis (North America), Restoration. Tagged: fred, genesis, my nintendo dimension, nintendo joe, sega. 9 Comments

I didn’t know it right away but it’s been true for a long time now. I know a guy who knows a guy. Really it’s true.

For some time now I’ve been working hard at selling off all of my extra video games stuff. I had the last of my Sega Master System games on Kijiji along with various other Sega consoles, PS2 games, xbox original games and other misc video game stuff.

I was preparing to visit Nintendo Joe out of town at his cottage when he said to me; “Hey, I know a guy. Bring up your stuff that you’re trying to sell”. So I did. It amounted to about four boxes of video game stuff.

What happened? The short answer is the stack of eight new games for the collection that you see below:

Eight new Sega Genesis games for the collection.

As it turns out Nintendo Joe is really good at finding places out in the wild that sell retro video games. This guy that he found has a store in a Flea Market way out in cottage country that I would have never found on my own… in fact I don’t think I’ll ever be able to find it again without Nintendo Joe. This place feels kind of like the Secret Garden. With any luck Nintendo Joe will comment below detailing the address of this magical place!

I actually traded a lot of stuff for these eight games. I should have written it all down at the time because I’m forgetting a few details but this is what I remember. I traded a working Sega Master System with 10 complete games, a few more boxed SMS games and a few other loose Master System carts. As well about a total of 10 complete PS2 and xbox original games and a bootleg copy of Tetris for the Sega Mega Drive. Nothing was rare, uncommon or particularly valuable. In fact about five of the Master System games were Shanghai (a Mahjong game).

Here’s a picture of the Master System and the complete games. An OK assortment of games for someone just starting out; the most exciting being Space Harrier. I had these pictures only because I was going to post them on Kijiji for sale.

flea-market-games-10a
Complete working SMS.

11 Complete SMS games.

I don’t recall the titles of the PS2 and xbox original games but in my area games for those systems are really hard to sell. On Kijiji I would have tried to sell them for $5 each. The Sega Master System and 11 complete games I think I was going to list them for about $130 as a bundle. So a ballpark estimate of the actual ‘street value’ (I say street value because retro video games are like crack to some of us) would be about $180 CAD (maybe $200).

All of the games I received are in Good or Very Good condition except for Skeleton Krew which has some stickers on it. I want to remove them but they don’t look easy… in particular that giant label on the manual. So first I’ll start with the restoration of Skeleton Krew before we get to the ‘glamour shots’ of all eight games 🙂

Microplay! What have you done?!

I thought it would be easier to start with the cartridge. The front sticker looked like it would be the easiest to remove but there was some risk of damaging the cart label. And the label on the back looks like it’s some form of security label but it is stuck to hard plastic and I’m sure I’ll be able to scrub it away.

Son of a B! Right on the label…

Tricky but no label to worry about ruining.

I’ve learned that the secret to removing stickers is heat. A hair dryer is an excellent retro video gaming tool. Who knew?

Applying heat makes a big difference.

This sticker did not come off clean.

It only took a minute or two to get the front sticker off and the cart was starting to look very nice. As for the back I applied heat and peeled the sticker away as best I could. I then used some WD-40 and rubbed the left over residue until it was completely gone. The cart was not difficult to clean up. One down!

That looks pretty good.

Like it was never there!

At first I was just going to leave the sticker on the manual. Unlike the hard plastic of the cartridge or the tough high gloss cartridge label the paper manual is much thinner and more delicate. I was worried about the sticker removing color or even ripping the cover. The first image below took me about 15 minutes to get that far. It was slow and boring but it was working. So I kept at it. Once the sticker was gone there was a lot of goo left which I again used WD-40 to clean up. This time I used a very small amount and made to sure to thoroughly wipe away any leftover WD-40. The result is so much better than I thought. It really turned out well. Because the box cover of Skeleton Krew is a bit sun faded I’m going to say the over all condition of this game is Good (instead of Very Good). In my books this is a huge win.

Slow and steady…

Look ‘n good!

And here’s a final look at all this work. Not bad; not bad at all 🙂

A little more than an hour pealing labels is (somehow) all worth while!

So, what’s left? Ah yes, those glamour shots I promised you. We might as well start with Skeleton Krew. Yeah, it’s pretty much like the image above but more… Glamorous, wouldn’t you say?… No? Well, here it is anyways:

Skeleton Krew

Below is Virtua Fighter 2. It’s almost mint except for some mild sun fade on the case spine.

Virtua Fighter 2

I use to play a lot of The Lost Vikings on the PC a very long time ago. It’s an excellent game and very similar to Trine and Trine 2. The case is not in great shape but everything else is.

The Lost Vikings

Time Killers is a game I only just learned about this year. At that time I hopped onto ebay to get an idea of how much this game might cost and I was pretty disappointed when I found out. It appears that it’s a harder title to find and sells for $30 CAD loose or $100 CAD and up when complete. I would not have paid that much so it was nice to find it at the Secret Garden Flea Market. It’s in Excellent condition.

Time Killers

Tinhead is a pretty good platformer and for me this was an upgrade. I previously had a beat up copy which was missing the manual.

Tinhead

I’ve wanted Blaster Master 2 for a long time but at about $60-$80 CAD it was also too expensive for me. The game looks really good and the idea of a platformer where you drive around in your vehicle and are able to disembark and walk around is very cool. The game does some really neat things. I have tried it out and it’s hard. I haven’t been able to dig in deep enough for a full fledged verdict but so far so good! Because I was so keen for this title I picked it up even though it’s missing the manual. Otherwise it’s an Excellent shape.

Blaster Master 2

And again another title (Sunset Riders) that seems to command a pretty high price tag at about $100 CAD. )Keep in mind that ebay prices are a premium and should be considered the most amount of money a game might ever be advertised for.)
So my benchmark is inflated. But since I didn’t pay those inflated prices I am enjoying the comparison 😛 This is also a game that I’ve only discovered relatively recently. It’s in Excellent shape except for ‘Cody B.’ who put his name on the manual cover.

Sunset Riders

And finally Bubsy. I remember buying this as a kid and being a little bit disappointed because I felt it was not as good as Sonic the Hedgehog. I’m looking forward to revisiting Bubsy and seeing how he’s held up over the years.

Bubsy

There you have it. I traded a lot of games for these eight and I feel good about it. If you consider my estimated value of all the stuff I traded that would mean these games cost me about $22.50 (or $25) CAD each if I had managed to sell them all instead of trading them. Or even less per game if you consider that I’ve been sitting on those Sega Master System games since about 1999 when I started buying them for super cheap.
How much was I paying back then? I really can’t remember for certain but I believe the first 10 complete games I bought cost me $20 total. Yup, that’s $2 each. A few years later I was buying complete Genesis games often for $5 or $10 each. I also traded a lot of my Master System doubles for Genesis games.

But i digress…

So, if Nintendo Joe feels like sharing the secret location of this treasure trove store maybe you too can stop by and make a deal with my new buddy Fred.

But if nothing else, since I now know a guy feel free to tell your peeps that ‘you’ know a guy who knows a guy.

EDIT: April 2023 I discovered that Skeleton Krew has risen in value and since I was not attached to the game I sold it for $300 CAD (~$220 USD).

This was my Kijiji ad:

“Selling Skeleton Crew for the Sega Genesis.
Original box (both sleeve and inner tray), original manual and original cartridge.
Tested and working.

Over all good condition. Box cover shows mild sun-fade. See Photos.

Selling for $300 firm.

Recent ebay.ca sold listings -> $360 CAD
Pricecharting.com -> $445 CAD”

Neo Geo Label Restoration for Four Games (Bang Bang Busters…)

Posted by Sega Dude on October 3, 2015

Posted in: Games, MVS, Restoration, SNK Neo Geo. Tagged: Bang Bang Busters, Ironclad, Kizuna Encounter, labels, mvs, neo geo, neo-geo.com, reproduction, shadowkn55, Super Sidekicks 3. 3 Comments

About six months ago I discovered a user on the forums at neo-geo.com by the handle shadowkn55 who makes very high quality replacement labels for Neo Geo MVS cartridges. At that time I purchased eleven label which really improved the look of those games. All those details can be seen here.

More recently I purchased another batch of labels and I’ve managed to clean four carts and apply the new stickers. And again the transformation is awesome.

Nice new labels by shadowkn55 from neo-geo.com.

Above are brand new reproduction labels for Bang Bang Busters, Ironclad, Kizuna Encounter and Super Sidekicks 3. When you see the images below you’ll know why I decided the original labels had to go.

The new and the old.

Beat up labels or entirely missing labels!

For starters both Bang Bang Busters and Ironclad are games that were originally developed for the Neo Geo but never actually got released. It was only later when the ROMs were found in the wild that people started putting the games on cartridges. Which is why these two games didn’t have any labels at all.

Bang Bang Busters is an excellent game that is very similar to Snow Brothers. Ironclad is also a good game and is very similar to R-Type; complete with charged shot and a detachable pod. I haven’t beaten these games but they feel very complete and polished. They are really nice additions to my Neo Geo collection.

On the Kizuna Encounter label you can see two tears; one tear to the left of the title and one to the right. Originally the sale SNK game cartridges were restricted to a particular region and the carts could be tracked by their serial numbers. So if someone who purchased a game later wanted to sell it they would often remove the serial number so that SNK could not track the cart back to them. Seeing two tears like this is pretty common on Neo Geo MVS carts.

The label on Super Sidekicks 3 looks like it might have already been a reproduction. It did not have rounded corners, seemed to be thinner paper and was matt like regular paper (That’s just a guess). That suspicion combined with how beat up the label was made it easy for me to decide to replace it.

Nicely applied.

Looking almost like new!

Above is the final product. I love it. They look fantastic. I’m always a little conflicted when altering an original product but I feel the two labels I removed here were beat up enough to warrant the reproduction labels.

A Small Update for ‘Project Y’ by Watermelon Team

Posted by Sega Dude on August 28, 2015

Posted in: Community, Genesis (North America), Mega Drive (EURO), Mega Drive (Japanese). Tagged: Goldenboy, project y, Radchek, water melon team. 4 Comments

No, Watermelon’s much anticipated upcoming video game for the Sega Genesis code name ‘Project Y’ is not yet done but there is some news. Not only do we get another little glimpse into the game but we also get to see that the game is getting some serious TLC. Recently on WM’s Magical Game Factory Boards I saw the following images.

On the left you’ll see a very unique looking character or ‘sprite‘ (created by XGolenboyX) that was complete and ready for the game. On the right you’ll see the same character but as he looks now after the artist has gone back to enhance his previous work.

I don’t yet know who this dude is but I know that when I get a chance I’m gonna beat him up!

What was finished and complete has now been reworked and improved! It’s so awesome that the Project Y artists are taking the time to pour even more effort and love into Project Y.

Looks like Tug has been hitting the gym extra hard getting ready for the upcoming release of Project Y.

Above is the playable character Tug (also created by XGoldenboyX). The enhancements from the left images to the right are really noticeable. Not only does Tug look even more defined and fantastic but he looks totally ready to throw down and turn some punks into pulp.

Update: Shortly after making this post XGoldenboyX surprised us with a two additional images of Project Y. Thank you XGoldenboyX!

Again we can see yet another sprite getting the treatment. Right away I noticed the added definition in this guys muscles and the cool cut-off gloves.

Mutant Punk Freak! Is he doing a slide tackle or getting knocked on his butt?

And now (below) we get to see the full image of the Indian Boss. He looks like trouble 🙂

Project Y Indian Boss by XGoldenboyX

New to Project Y? Check out the following link which shows a ‘Work in Progress’ video clip of the game:

Have a Peak at Watermelon’s Project Y WIP Video

Water Margin a Tale of Clouds and Wind

Posted by Sega Dude on August 24, 2015

Posted in: Community, Genesis (North America), Mega Drive (EURO), Mega Drive (Japanese), New Release (Game). Tagged: a tale of clouds and wind, genesis, mega drive, piko interactive, sega, shui hu feng yun zhuan, water margin. 8 Comments

The video game ‘Water Margin a Tale of Clouds and Wind’ was originally an unlicensed game for the Sega Mega Drive released in 1996, exclusively in Asian regions.

Piko Interactive has recently translated the game into English and is currently selling Water Margin for $55 USD plus shipping. That’s complete with cartridge, case and manual. You even have the option of cart only for $40 but don’t do that 😛
I have already ordered a copy for myself and hopefully the the quality will rival the caliber of a Super Fighter Team or Water Melon release.

I first discovered Water Margin by it’s original name ‘Shui Hu Feng Yun Zhuan’ about two years ago when I bought a loose cart for $15 USD. At the time I had no idea what to expect from the game and when I started playing I was really surprised by how good it is. The gameplay feels very much like Golden Axe except the theme is set in feudal China. There are even three selectable characters and it’s also a two player game. The combat and magic system are a bit more simplistic than something more polished like Golden Axe (or other licensed Sega Beat’em Ups) but the game is worth playing. And despite feeling a bit repetitive it’s a good length and it will provide a good challenge.

Below is my first time playing through level one.

If you enjoy the Beat’em-Up genre I really do recommend this game. Complete with awesome amateurish artwork that really fits the era of gaming it came from 🙂 I could not ask for more!

Cover Art for the new 2015 release of Water Margin a Tale of Clouds and Wind.

What have I done?! I just bought 45 Retro Consoles…

Posted by Sega Dude on August 3, 2015

Posted in: Genesis (North America), Hardware, Mega Drive (EURO), Restoration. Tagged: dreamcast, genesis, master system, mega drive, nintendo, saturn, sega, sms, super famicom. 18 Comments

What do you do if you find 45 of your favorite video game consoles listed for sale on the local classifieds (Kijiji)? Well, you buy them… you buy them all.

Many of the systems you see below do not work for one reason or another. For the ones that do I’m going to clean them up and sell them for a fair price. I want to get them back into the hands of retro gamers. **Yeah, I’m going to pretend that I’m righteous and all that 😛
My other motivation is to have some hardware to work on. I’d love to see if I’m able to repair some or all of the broken consoles.

Those buckets be full!

That’s a lot of Retro.

Both me and these old video game consoles have a long journey ahead of us. I have big plans and I know it will take time.

Will I make any money on this venture? I’m guessing if I do it will not be a lot but at the same time I dove in because the price was right and I don’t think I’m at risk of losing much money either. I paid $180 CAD for everything you see in the bins (I had to give the bins back). So that’s $4 per console! But the lot was sold ‘as is’ and yes many do not work. Before the purchase I estimated that I’d only need about 6 or 8 in working condition to make my original $180 back so it felt like a safe gamble.

Bucket Close-up 01

Bucket Close-up 02

What I was concerned about (which is turning out to be true) is it’s hard to sell loose systems. Most people are going to want a system with a power cable , a video cable and at least one joystick. So I’ve anticipated that this little project will take a long time to complete. But that’s OK and it’s somehow comforting have an army of (mostly) Sega consoles in the basement.

Want to get a better idea of what 45 consoles look like? 🙂 Behold!! Beautiful, isn’t it?

It’s like heaven fell from the stars.

For a loose working system (any Sega Master System, Sega Dreamcast, Sega Genesis or Sega Saturn) I decided to sell each for $30 CAD. Is that a fair price? I think it is except maybe for the Genesis consoles. They are pretty common and I personally believe $20 would be a great price so what does that say about $30? Maybe once I’ve made my money back I’ll considering selling loose Genesis consoles for less… Or Plan B; see below:

This massive heap of consoles actually did come with a bunch of joysticks. But again just like the consoles many do not work. And even if a joystick works I need to be sure it’s working well. However, since some of them are in good order I decided to throw some more money into this venture and buy some third party power and video cables and make a few of these systems whole. Yes, my costs goes up but I think I’ll be able to sell them faster this way. For an additional $160 CAD I managed to buy power and video cables for most of the systems.

I got a good price on the cables at just about $10 for a set (one power cable, one video cable). I valued any good working joystick at $10. So for a complete systems I added in my cost and I’ll sell them for $50 or possibly $60 for those that are in better cosmetic condition or if it comes with a game or something.

I’ve already had these consoles for a few months now and I have made some sales (locally on Kijiji). Slowly but surely it’s happening. So far I’ve sold five consoles and I’ve given away two complete Genesis console to two cousins who I recently found out were into retro gaming. I also gave each of them a flash cart so they’ll have lots to play. Before I bought the flash carts I tried finding cheap loose carts of a few good games and it was so expensive that I just gave up.

Here’s what I’ve sold so far (all in CAD dollars):

Sega Master System – $50 complete and with common game cart.
Sega Master System – $60 complete and with common game cart.
Dreamcast – $30 loose
Dreamcast – $20 loose and broken *It was wanted as a display model.
Genesis – $30 loose
Genesis – free complete *for family
Genesis – free complete *for family

So of my total $340 put in I’ve made back $190 with $150 to go. Not bad, and I think I’ll get there eventually.

This lot also came with a Super Famicom and a PAL Genesis. I think I’ll keep both of those for myself. It also came with two Sega Master System II’s. I was really surprised when I noticed that the SMS II only has a coaxial RF video port; which boasted the worst possible video quality. I like the look of the SMS II so I think I’ll see if I can do an s-video mod on them and make them more desirable.
As it stands I have five consoles left that are working right now. Selling them loose will get the rest of my money back. Selling them complete (which I think I can do) will net me about $100. And if I can fix any of the others, well, that would be just groovy.

SNK Neo Geo MVS Shockboxes and Cover Art

Posted by Sega Dude on July 25, 2015

Posted in: Collection New Additions, Games, MVS, Restoration, SNK Neo Geo. Tagged: insert, neo geo, shockbox, snk, southtown-homebrew.com. 4 Comments

All these many years I have really taken for granted that my Sega Genesis and Sega Mega Drive games come with solid plastic cases. These cases (a.k.a. clam shells or or snap-cases) not only protected the games from damage but they also make them look great. NES and SNES games with their original cardboard boxes are often heavily damaged or just missing entirely. When we were kids and when these games were new we just didn’t care enough to preserve them.
Today there are options; some of which I explored previously with case protectors and bitboxes.

More recently I was really happy to find second-hand ‘Shockboxes’ (snap-cases) for my growing number of Neo Geo MVS cartridges.

Previously when I have purchased new Shockbox cases from Southtown-Homebrew each case with cover art ended up costing me about $15 CAD after the exchange rate and shipping costs from the USA. Admittedly they are expensive which is why I can’t buy as many as I’d like as often as I’d like too. So I was excited to find a bunch of them from a fellow collector. After buying these 18 used cases and having a local print shop print and cut the cover art I’m at about $10 per case. It’s a good chunk of change but still noticeably gentler on the wallet.

Beautifully Massive!

Genesis/Mega Drive next to Neo Geo MVS

Did I say there were big? ‘Cause they’re really big. Above you can see both an open and closed Shockbox to get an idea of how they open. They are very similar to Walt Disney VHS tape cases.
For fun I included ESWAT for the Japanese Sega Mega Drive so you can really see the difference between a true arcade video game cart and a typical home system cart. You’ll also see custom Mini Marquees for NAM-1975 and Samurai Shodown V that I made not too long ago.

Cover Art Inserts

Above is a giant pile of beautiful and freshly printed cover inserts for my newly aquired Southtown-Homebrew Big Bear Shockboxes. There are more here than I currently have Shockboxes for but I do have another 8 Shockboxes en route! Also purchased from another collector.

Shockboxes

And here is the finished product. I am glad I had the print shop trim the cover art inserts. I tried cutting two myself and I could get the job done but it was never perfect. It’s also a fair bit of work sliding these inserts into the cases. They are a very tight fit and it takes some time and patience to maneuver them right into the bottom and into the corners.

When I’m ready to buy more I will go back to southtown-homebrew.com. I’ve purchased many Shockboxes and inserts from them in the past and they always do a great job. If you’re in the USA and spending USD then shopping at southtown-homebrew.com is a no brainer. They offer awesome products paired up with excellent service. It’s really hard to find Shockboxes used and locally so I am very glad that southtown-homebrew.com constantly has stock.

The Sega Dude Highly recommends Southtown 😀

Shockboxes from southtown-homebrew.com
Neo Geo MVS Inserts from southtown-homebrew.com