gley lancer

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!”

Pick-Ups - Mega Drive Additions 01
If you’re a Japanese Sega Mega Drive collector you might be looking at these two game pick-ups below and thinking ZOMG!! These are not quite ‘holy grail‘ additions but they do rank pretty high.

These are very hard games to get and in the case of Gley Lancer it’s also a really awesome shooter.
So, what’s all this “almost spectacular” talk?

Well… You see, they’re each sorta missing something.
The actual game…

I came across a fellow gamer on the neo-geo.com forums who had been amassing game manuals and cover art with the intention of at some point completing them. I’m amusing that he completed some through out his time collecting but more recently he decided to sell off the ones that never got re-united with a matching cartridge.

So, what does the Sega Dude think a couple of authentic and very pricey Japanese Mega Drive games are worth that are missing the actual game?

I paid $50 USD for the above empty Slap Fight and $60 USD for the above empty Gley Lancer (plus $20 USD shipping total for both). Yes I know, those prices sound like common prices for complete Mega Drive games. But these two games are truly hard to obtain. I am particularly excited about Gley Lancer which I have wanted for a very long time (and technically I still don’t have). Hunting down some loose carts will be so much easier than trying to find a reasonable price on complete versions.

And as for the cartridge hunt; I’ve already managed to track one down at a price I was willing to pay.

I found the listing above and I made an offer of $80 USD which was accepted. So a loose cart of Slap Fight cost me $87 USD (~$103 CAD).

So if I include shipping, the case, cover art and manual which cost me $60, plus the $87 cart I’m sitting at $147 USD for a complete good condition and authentic Slap Fight. Wow, that is a lot of money for Sega Mega Drive game! And it’s a new record for me on most money spent on a single Mega Drive game. The previous record belonged to my Panorama Cotton at $120 USD ($120 CAD at the time). With the exchange rate as it is now Slap Fight cost me about $190 CAD all in.

This Slap Fight is not in perfect shape but it’s good or maybe even in very good condition. The manual has a curve running down from top to bottom and the there is also a very fine crease running the entire length on the top edge of the cart label. Despite this I’m really happy with this addition. Specially considering how much money it would have cost if I tried the ebay route for a complete copy. While I was working out the purchase of the case and the cartridge I did a search on ebay for complete listings of Slap Fight. Check out what sellers believe this game is worth:

So the cheapest option at the time was about $530 CAD (~$410 USD). Making my now complete Slap Fight with all it’s imperfections $340 CAD cheaper than ebay’s cheapest complete listings. Assuming that each Slap Fight listing above is in Mint condition I still, far and away, prefer my Slap Fight with it’s massively lower price tag.

Regarding the gameplay for Slap Fight. It’s not that great. It suffers from being plain and repetitive. The original Slap Fight was an arcade game from 1986 and I believe it was very highly regarded at the time. It has a pedigree and will be more of a trophy for the collection than something I’ll want to play.

Gley Lancer is a similarly priced game:

That Australian listing for $437 is the lowest I’ve seen Gley Lancer on ebay in a long time. However, it’s still just too expensive. And before I bought my empty Gley Lancer for $60 USD I did offer the Australian ebay seller $220 CAD for their complete copy but it was rejected. I wasn’t surprised and I can’t fault them for wanting more. Other peoples stuff is theirs to do with as they like.

So, the hunt continues for a loose good condition Gley Lancer cartridge for the Japanese Sega Mega Drive!

On a side note. Does anyone remember my previous post titled To eBay or Not to eBay? Well, I managed to go about 6 months before signing up again for a new eBay account. What got me to come back to ebay? 8bitdo Bluetooth NES30 joysticks for $25 each with free shipping. In this case eBay offered the best price I could find for this particular item. I’ll write more later on the NES30, SNES30 and their corresponding Retro Receivers. But the short answer is you should run out and buy one right away 🙂

No no… don’t hold back. Please let me know how crazy you think I am!

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