Update – Every Collection has its Gem

Posted by Sega Dude on May 2, 2012
Posted in: Community. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

My artist buddy sent me a little update to the Phantasy Star poster he’s been working on. He just began adding some detail and slowly it’s starting show some life.
(Previous related post)

Odin is starting to look like the tank I always knew he was. He looks tough,weathered and experienced. Just the kind of person who would hunt without any regard for self preservation. Just the kind of person you might find turned to stone in the depth of some cavern.

His armor in this drawing struck me as awesome. Phantasy Star has managed a balancing act where it sits right in the middle of super technology and the middle ages. Where laser guns, iron axes, light sabers, leather armor and wands are all formidable. It’s as if Algo received its technology unnaturally. As if by chance it was brought to them or some catastrophy knocked their civilization back a millenium leaving remnants in it’s wake. Odin’s armor looks very advanced yet simple enough to use. And it looks like it would be right at home in any of Phantasy Star 2,3 or 4. It’s a small detail that in my eyes really ties Phantasy Star one to the Mega Drive sequels in a way that the original Master System art work couldn’t.

Noah and Alis are not as detailed yet but they are taking shape. I do love how Noah’s cloak and Alis’ hair are whipping around in the wind. Feels very epic. The whole image feels as if they now understand the task before them. Even though Myau is also not yet as detailed as Odin he (she?) stands out. What a great impression of this little titan. Very different from any others I have seen and very cool. The slender face and huge ears rock. I use to wonder how we went from Myau to Nei (from PS2). I always felt they must share some evolutionary steps.

If you’re thinking I’m a little too preoccupied with Phantasy Star I’d think you’re right. I just can’t help loving this game.

Concept Sketch

Sketch Update

Although it’s far from done it is really shaping up to what I knew Kalman could do; which is nothing short of awesome. Thanks man!

Peace of Mind. Mega Drive Touch-Ups.

Posted by Sega Dude on April 30, 2012
Posted in: Collection New Additions, Games, Mega Drive (Japanese), Restoration. Tagged: , , , , , , . 13 Comments

Gentle Touch-Ups

Have you ever received something you ordered and it was not in as good condition as you were hoping? In the world of collectibles and online shopping it happens to me from time to time. Sometimes I can deal and sometimes it’s pretty disappointing.

Recently I received some outstanding games that are going to become real highlights in my collection but three of them were not 100%. Even though the damage was not very bad these games are special (a.k.a. expensive) and the imperfections were visible and as a good nerd this caused me some stress.

Some people may feel like this is cheating but after doing these touch-ups I feel better about my purchases.

Fortunately the damaged areas were on spots with just a single color and with no images or graphics. By chance I recently picked up a set of Sharpie markers in twelve different colors. Yes, I’m sure you know what’s coming. I’ll tell you this; dabbing the right color on a marked area worked better than I thought it would. In person the touch-ups look better than they do in the pictures below. What was once small white marks that jump out are now simply gone. If you know what to look for you will find the touch-ups but regardless the game looks great.

Damage front, bottom right.

Restored front, bottom right.

Damaged back, top left.

Restored back, top left.

Damaged front, in case.

Restored front, in case.

I forgot to take a ‘before’ picture of the back side while in the case but the visual appears is the same as what you see in the above two ‘in case’ images.

And here is the final glamor shot of Splatterhouse Part 2:

Mega Drive - Splatterhouse Part 2
I’m looking forward to posting the other eight new games that arrived with Splatterhouse Part 2. And I might have set a new record for the amount of money I’ve spent on a single game!

Update: Here are the other eight games that arrived with Splatterhouse Part 2.

Save

New Additions – Two Genesis Games

Posted by Sega Dude on April 29, 2012
Posted in: Collection New Additions, Games, Genesis (North America). Tagged: , , , , , , . 1 Comment

Here are two nice little Genesis additions. Earthworm Jim is in excellent condition but the price snuck up on me. It was listed for $15 on ebay but shipping was pretty high for a single game at $10 and I got hit with some tax for about $3. Ultimate Qix is in very good condition and came in pretty cheap at $10 with shipping.

Earthworm Jim is a good and well known platformer and Ultimate Qix is a good classic puzzle game. I thought Ultimate Qix was a tough but fun game when I tried it out. However if you watch the video clip below you’ll see this player is way too good at it! Looks like once you know what’s going on the game might be very easy.

Earthworm Jim

Ultimate Qix

Earthworm Jim $28 all in
Ultimate Qix $10 all in

New Addition – Saint Sword

Posted by Sega Dude on April 24, 2012
Posted in: Collection New Additions, Games, Mega Drive (Japanese). Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

For a long while this has been a game that interested me. It looked like an ok platformer and I liked the cover for it. I found it interesting that the cartridge for this game doesn’t have the normal ridges on the edges like most Japanese Mega Drive games do. Maybe that’s how TAITO did their carts? It’s funny how it looks a bit unfinished.

It’s also interesting that this game (and a few others I’ve noticed) doesn’t have any screen shots on the back. If you were to pick up this game at the store the case wouldn’t give you any idea of what kind of game it is.

Of course I tested it out and it’s a bit rough around the edges but not bad. It’s a platformer and even though the levels go from left to right there is still some exploring involved. And if you can figure out where to transform into your different forms (Winged Man, Merman, Centaur) it really pays off. The level one boss was easy but still enjoyable. It’s also sporting some pretty good 16-bit tunes as well. I’m sure I’ll be playing this one again.

Saint Sword $22.50 including shipping.

Saint Sword

The Sega Collection!… not mine but Kalman’s

Posted by Sega Dude on April 23, 2012
Posted in: Community, Games, Sega Master System. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Well how about that. A good friend of mine fired off a quick IM to me today to show off his Sega Master System Collection that he just pulled out of storage and gave a home.
He calls it “The Master Shelf”. He’s cheeky like that.

I’m loving my video game collection and I’m realizing that it’s even more fun when I see others are feeling the same love for their own collections. I can easily add stopxwhispering and geewl to this list as well.

I got a real kick out of seeing this picture. I really do like how he’s faced the games. Some of his highlights are well presented and everything looks neat and clean. Although if he moved one game from the second section from the left to the far left the symmetry would be much better! You listening Kalman?
He’s a wildly awesome artist so I can’t help but think he’s done that on purpose for artistic expression or some je ne sais quoi… I don’t know, he’s the artist.

Kalman’s Sega Master System Collection

Kalman’s Phantasy Star Prototype.

And when I’m talking about Kalman I can’t help but think of my Phantasy Star poster that he’s working on for me. The image to the right is a mock-up of what he has in mind based on some of the things I wanted to see. I’m very excited about being the proxy for bringing some new (and what will be very cool) Phantasy Star 1 artwork into the world 😀

Here’s the link where Kalman posted his collection. And don’t miss out on his site for a sample of his work at I am Kalman. Seriously, he’s the real deal. Want your own custom art work? Just ask him: evilkalman@gmail.com

See what I mean. The real deal.

 Thanks Kalman! You made my day today!

Still Haven’t Learned

Posted by Sega Dude on April 23, 2012
Posted in: Collection New Additions, Games, Genesis (North America). Tagged: , , , , , . 3 Comments

Although the end result is a copy of Fatal Labyrinth that is complete and in excellent condition, I’m considering my upgrade method a bit of fail. Some time ago I got the copy you see on the left. It is in great shape but it did not have a manual. Much more recently I found the copy on the right on ebay for $15.25 including shipping. The new copy has some damage but I was going for the manual to complete my first copy. I didn’t really stop to think that I have now spent $15.25 on a manual. Ouch! That’s a lot of money when I think of it that way. True I have this other copy that I could sell or trade but I’ve been pretty bad at posting my doubles and extras. I’ll have to get off my butt and make something happen.

What I only just noticed today when taking the pictures below is that these copies are very different. Both are Genesis but the layout is quite different. Fortunately the cover I like more is in better condition.

One in very good shape, the other a little beat-up.

Here’s my copy of Fatal Labyrinth. I’ve only played this game on Sonic’s Ultimate Collection for the xbox360. At the time I was just achievement hunting but I discovered that it’s actually a pretty good game.

Fatal Labyrinth