NES

All posts tagged NES

Pick-Ups – CIB NES, Kirby’s Adventure and More…

Posted by Sega Dude on September 13, 2020

Posted in: Games, NES, Nintendo. Tagged: Dobule Dragon, Final Fantasy, Gauntlet, Kirby's Adventure, NES, nintendo. 3 Comments

I made some recent sales on my local classified as I downsize my loose cart collection of Nintendo NES and SNES games. I then took that money straight to Retro Game Bros. in the hopes of finding some nice complete Super Nintendo or NES games.

I’ve decided that I want to chase complete games rather than loose cartridges and because that means spending more money I’ve decided that I’m OK having less games in the collection.

Of course I would love all my complete games to be like new and in super mint condition but I know that’s not realistic. Complete and mint games are hard to find and will be very expensive. And with the somewhat recent trend of ‘Graded’ games prices seem to have no upper limit.

So I’m truly content with having games that show some ~~wear~~ love.

But this does not mean I’m left scraping the bottom of the barrel. Below is my new Complete in Box (CIB) Kirby’s Adventure. Right away you’ll be able to see where it’s aged but all in this is a very good copy of the game.

Thanks to the Video Game documentary series called High Score I’ve learned that our beloved Bald and Pink Kriby was named and imaged (in a fashion) after the attorney John Kirby who successfully saved Nintendo from Universal Studios in a dispute over Donkey Kong and his similarity to King Kong. Thank you John!

In order to help judge retro video game value I’ve been using two web site: www.pricecharting.com and gamevaluenow.com.

I’ve started to notice a trend where these two site don’t always show a similar value for some games and most times when this happens GameValueNow will show a higher value. Sometimes the spread between the two values can be significant. So I’ll often take an average between the two to give myself something to work with.

In the case of Kirby’s Adventure there is a small different of $10 CAD between the two sites; giving the game an average CIB value of $75 CAD (~$57 USD). RetroGameBros. asking price was $80 CAD. But that is not what I paid. Without even asking they were slashing prices left right and centre for me. They’re good like that 🙂

Their sticker price for the four games I purchased were as follows:

Kiryb’s Adventure $80 CAD (~$60 USD)
Final Fantasy $80 CAD (~$60 USD)
Double Dragon II $50 (~$38 USD)
Gauntlet $25 (~$19 USD)

For a total of $235 CAD (~$178 US) and I paid $200 CAD (~$152 USD).

Also consider that Final Fantasy’s averaged online value is about $130 CAD (~$99 USD). With Double Dragon II at about $68 CAD (~$52 USD) and Gauntlet at $33 CAD (~$25 USD).

Next up is the first ever Final Fantasy. A game that the developers Square thought would be their last before going bankrupt. But instead it sold extremely well and we’re still getting Final Fantasy games 20 years later.

Thanks to the box cover I can see that I am missing the Game World and Dungeon map as well as the Monster Chart. I’ll have to keep an eye out for those.

Should I have gone for a near mint graded Final Fantasy for a cool $1,500 CAD (~$1,140 USD)? Hells no!

I wasn’t intending on adding Double Dragon to the collection but after seeing the price and how nice the condition is I decided to go for it.

I guess this means I’ll be hunting for Double Dragon 1 and 3 as well.

Gauntlet is another iconic video game and also not a game I was planning on buying for that price it was hard to say no.

The outer box shows the most wear of all four of these games but it’s nice to see that inner sleeve looking so new. This is very different from the standard dust cover sleeves that most NES games came with making Tengen’s Gauntlet a bit unique.

Speaking of cartridge dust covers. The three I received with these games look like aftermarket non-Nintendo sleeves. But it won’t be long before I can swap them out. My buddy Nintendo Joe has a pile of authentic Nintendo dust covers that he’ll be giving to me.

Nintendo Joe is getting very close to having a complete NES game library. Check him out on Instagram.

Pick-ups – CIB NES. It has begun!

Posted by Sega Dude on February 4, 2020

Posted in: Collection New Additions, Games, NES, Nintendo. Tagged: CIB, Excite Bike, Ice Hockey, legendary wings, Mario Bros., NES, nintendo, Super C. 5 Comments

So, I’ve jump down yet another rabbit hole.

As I’ve been down sizing my Super Nintendo and NES collection the idea has started to grown in my head that I’d like to get the games I really want in my collection ‘complete in box’ (CIB). This past weekend I now have my first five CIB NES games.

And thanks to Retro Game Bros. it was so much easier than I expected!

I already have most of the NES titles I want, but they are loose cartridges (some with their manual). Finding just a box for sale is really hard to do. I thought I’d be stuck re-buying games just to get a box. But as I was browsing and chatting at Retro Games Bros. I was told they would be more than happy to take a cartridge out of a complete game and sell me just the box and manual. This is a first for me!

I’m not sure how long I stood there blinking but when the shell shock wore off I pulled a few games off the shelf. And what Retro Game Bros. did was subtract the value of the cartridge from the price and I ended up with the following:

Super Mario Bros. 3 box and instructions cost me $30 CAD (~$26 USD). Because Nintendo decided to go with cardboard boxes and because of the age of these games I’ve set my expectation that my NES collection will not be as pristine as my Sega collection. Which I’m content with and as you can see my new CIB Super Mario Bros. which is not mint is still in really good shape.

Hey, did you notice that black circular sticker at the top edge of my Super Mario Bros.? According to Wata Games that little variant is going to be worth millions and retire me! I can’t hardly wait…

OK, yes, Super C is not quite as exciting as the original Contra but this box and manual was still a great score at $35 CAD (~$26 USD). The condition is not quite as good as the above Super Mario Bros. 3. But it is good and hopefully someday it will be joined by Contra!

Who knew Excitebike was getting harder to find complete? Just like the Mario games Excitebike holds a lot of nostalgia for me. It is such a fun game! Nintendo has always been great at finding really fun game mechanics. This Excitebike box and manual cast me $40 CAD (~$30 USD) and again you can see these games are far from mint but I don’t mind at all.

Legendary Wings wasn’t on my short list of NES games that I want but it is a good game and for $20 CAD (~$15 USD) for this box and manual I couldn’t pass it up.

Believe it or not Ice Hockey was on the short list of must have games. Like the Mario games and Excitebike it holds a lot of nostalgia for being one of the first games I played at a friend house when the NES was new. Also, with a price tag of FREE there’s no downside here! Thanks Retro Game Bros.!

Ice Hockey had a few Toys R Us stickers and I was OK with them being there as there from the games original retail days. But in the end I decided to try and remove them. Armed with my wife’s hair dryer I went to town. It took a really long time. These stickers were old and that glue did not want to let go.

But with lots of patience’s it worked out very well. Once the stickers were removed there was some residue left over. I applied a very tiny amount of WD-40 to a paper towel and gently rubbed away the residue. This worked because the cardboard boxes are glossy. This would not work on plain paper like a game manual.

Here’s the short list of my NES games I’d like to make CIB someday:

Baseball
Castlevania
Contra
Ghost ‘n Gobins
Kung Fu
Metroid
Punchout (Any version)
Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. 2
The Legend of Zelda
The Adventure of Link

What does CIB mean for you?

For me I’m happy with Cartridge, Instruction Booklet and box. I believe for some CIB means Complete in Box. And does your version of ‘complete’ mean absolutely everything that came with the game originally (dust cover, plastic bag, pamphlets, etc)?

Pick-Ups – To be this good takes Analogue

Posted by Sega Dude on January 19, 2020

Posted in: Article, Hardware, SEGA. Tagged: 8bitdo, Analogue, genesis, mega drive, Mega Sg, NES, nintendo, retro-bit, sega, snes. 4 Comments

So I did something crazy and it feels great! I purchased the extremely high-end and very expensive Mega Sg by Analogue.

Easy now, stop your gasping. I did get the wife’s permission first.

I’ve been borderline desperate to get my hands on this (dare I say) perfect Sega Genesis / Mega Drive replacement console since it’s release on March 25th, 2019. However, the steep price tag of $190 USD plus $50 USD shipping had held me off. I just could not justify the ~$310 CAD grand total; regardless of all the high praise this modern 16-bit wonder has been receiving.

It’s true, a tremendous amount of skill and a quality has been poured into the Mega Sg and I do understand that this product has a very niche audience. I cannot criticize the price tag. It feels appropriate. But at the same time I could not justify it to myself.

So what happened? I found a used Mega Sg. In fact since it’s release this is the first Mega Sg I’ve seen for sale on the second hand market. I didn’t get away like a bandit but I do feel I did well and scored it for a fair price of $240 CAD (~$184 USD). Saving $70 CAD (~$54 USD) really helped. But buying it used also did more. It spared me the risk of duty. Had I purchased it direct from Analogue and had I been charged duty I would have been hit with another $88 CAD (~$67 USD) according to borderbuddy.com. Leaving me with a grand total of $390 CAD (~$300 USD). Ouch…

As a very nice gesture the seller included this retro-bit 6 button arcade pad for free. Which I can use on my new Mega Sg or my original Sega Genesis. Of course the Sega Dude is all wireless now but this was still a very nice thing.

What really made all this fall into place is a little bit of downsizing I’ve been doing. Just a few days after my Mega Sg purchase I managed to sell some Super Nintendo carts. I’ve decided that I want just some of the AAA titles complete with box and manual. As a result I’ve recently sold the following:

Axelay $65 CAD
Super Mario All-Stars (with BitBox Case) $30 CAD (with manual)
Super Mario RPG (with BitBox Case) $70 CAD (with manual)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV Turtles in Time (with BitBox Case) $60 CAD
The Legend of Mystical Ninja (with BitBox Case) $40 CAD
Parodius Da (Super Famicom with BitBox Case) $15 CAD
Pop’n TwinBee (Super Famicom with BitBox Case) $15 CAD
Super Genjin 2 (Bonk 2) (Nintendo Super Famicom) $20 CAD

Netting me $315 CAD which more than paid for my $240 CAD Mega Sg.

You’ll see a few games that I still have for sale in the images above. My prices have all been in-line with pricecharting.com; adding a bit extra if I had a game manual to go along with the cartridge.

I use to buy BitBox cases because I found it hard to find fordable complete SNES and NES games. But now that I’m reducing and looking for just some core games I’m letting go of some great games in favour of a smaller more complete Nintendo collection.

Below are the top three SNES games I’m hoping to track down complete someday:

Super Mario World
The Legend of Zelda
Metroid

I still feel Bitboxes from StoneAgeGamer look great but for me personally, I’m starting to change gears.

So, how is Analogue’s Mega Sg console?

I haven’t had it long so I can’t really praise it as 100% perfect yet but at first glance it seems like it could be. I’ve been testing my Mega Sg with Ghouls ‘n Ghosts and Tanglewood. I picked these two games because I’ve spent a lot of time with them very recently on my original Genesis console with my trusty CRT (tube) TV. The hope was that any differences on the Mega Sg connected to my HDTV would be easy for me to spot.

Of course there is a difference. The image quality of these 16-bit games running on the Mega Sg is off the charts. They run crystal clear as if running from emulation on a PC. And I love it! But that’s it. Everything else feels so incredibly authentic to the original hardware.

I am a very happy Retro Dude these days!

Pick-Ups – Sega Power Adapters and Two Nintendo Carts

Posted by Sega Dude on January 30, 2018

Posted in: Collection New Additions, Genesis (North America), Hardware, NES, Nintendo, SEGA, Sega Master System, SNES. Tagged: genesis, joystick, master system, Mega Man 6, NES, nintendo, power adapter, sega, snes, TMNT, Turtles in Time. 5 Comments

On June 2017 I purchased a nice boxed Sega Master System on my local classifieds (Kijiji.ca) for $100 CAD (~$80 USD). It was almost complete with just two manuals and the console power adapter missing.

It didn’t take long to find the missing manuals but I was concerned that finding an original Master System power adapter could be much harder. But while searching my local online classifieds again more recently I got lucky.

Not crazy lucky, just normal lucky. I found a post that said something like ‘Misc Sega Cables’. I had a closer look and I saw that this seller was offering 1 Sega Genesis Model 1 power adapter, 1 Sega Master System power adapter, 1 3-button joystick and 1 expansion port cover for a Model 1 Sega Genesis. Asking $45 CAD (~$37 USD) for all.

What struck me as pretty amazing is that I had use for every item included. I have a Master System without a power cable and a Genesis which is missing it’s power cable and the expansion port cover. …OK, I don’t really need the joystick but you can never have too many joysticks on hand.

I clicked on the sellers location with the intention of heading over as soon as I could only to discover the seller was in a neighboring province and not at all close to my home city. Looks like my search was too broad!

But this little misc. bundle felt too well matched to my needs to just let go. So I messaged the seller asking if they would take $50 CAD (~$40 USD) and ship to me. They agreed and below is what I received:

Yeah, they look a little banged up but that is normal. I spent some time removing some thick tape residue and dirt and I was left with some pretty nice looking hardware.

The joystick still has some missing details; like some of the white arrows around the Directional-Pad have been rubbed away and there are scratches that don’t show in the photo. I did test the joystick and it works very well and that’s what matters most. I was pulling of Revenge of Shinobi double jumps like a champ! I am curious to try some plastic polish and see if that might be an easy way to really clean up old joysticks and consoles.

Of course I also tested the power adapters and they both work. It was gratifying putting that power cable into the box and making my 2nd Boxed Master System 100% complete!

OK, technically it’s not totally complete. I had a peek in the manual and Sega did not skimp on video connection accessories. Hidden from site under HangOn & Safari Hunt (Pictured below) I do have the very common Coaxial RF Audio/Video cable but originally Sega also included a Composite Audio / Video cable, and two small adapters to help connect your Master System to your TV’s UHF connectors. Composite is not a great video standard to use but it’s beats the RF and UHF so I should find a Composite cable for the box someday. But as is, this boxed Sega Master System has everything required to connect to to a CRT (Tube) TV and play. So of the $50 CAD spent I’m going to say each power brick is worth $20, the joystick $10 and the expansion port cover nothing. Which means I’ve put $120 CAD (~$97 USD) into this boxed Sega Master System. Check out my first post about this boxed SMS here for more details and pictures.

I totally love that this Sega Master System power cable found it’s way home; once again nestled gently in original Styrofoam packaging.

Next up, I went over to my friends house to buy a few games and to continue to chip away at the few remaining NES and SNES games that I would like to have. This buddy of mine regularly buys large lots of games, takes what he wants and sells the rest. And over the years I’ve picked up quite a few games from him.

First up, is Mega Man 6 for NES. Leaving only Mega Man 1 and 5 on my hit list. I have been told that 1 & 5 are typically the most expensive Mega Man games.

The only other game I scooped this time is TMNT Turtles IV Turtles in Time. I love a good brawler and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are always a good time.

Both Mega Man 6 and Turtles in Time cost me a total of $145 CAD (~$118 USD).

Be sure to check out MyNintendoDimension for Nintendo Joe’s pick-ups. As usual he was with me on today’s adventure.

Does anyone out there have any boxed retro video game consoles? At what price do you feel they’re worth while?

Pick-Ups – Guelph Video Game Swap 2017 Plus

Posted by Sega Dude on October 22, 2017

Posted in: Games, Genesis (North America), NES, Nintendo, SEGA, Sega Master System. Tagged: Ace of Aces, Adventure Island II, Aftermarket Case, Bloody Wolf, Ecco the Dolphin, Galahad, genesis, James Bond, master system, NES, sega, TG-16, turbografx-16. 4 Comments

A few weeks before this years Guelph Video Game Swap Nintendo Joe and I went to visit one of our favorite retro video games stores; Retro Game Bros. Nintendo Joe has decided to purge many of his old video games and he brought a lot of stuff to trade. Click here for all his ‘Retro Game Bros.’ and ‘Guelph Video Game Swap’ trade details which include some pretty exciting NES scores.

As for myself I brought in just a few games for trade. Three or four common Sony PS Vita games plus Herzog Zwei and Thunder Force II (both complete) for the Sega Genesis. I traded them all for Galahad for the Sega Genesis and Bloody Wolf for the Turbo Grafx-16.

The price tag on Galahad was about $60 CAD (~$48 USD); which is higher but close to recently sold listings on ebay. Bloody Wolf’s $60 price tag was also similar to it’s recently sold listings on ebay. So the prices I paid weren’t great. But undoubtedly those ebay listing would have come with additional ‘Global Shipping Services’ fees driving the ebay cost higher than what I paid. And with Retro Game Bros I was trading in games and not handing over cash which really does feel better when you’ve got stuff to unload. Also, being a brick and mortal shop Nintendo Joe and I got to chat up some equally potent retro dudes; which is a fun bonus. In fact we kept the Retro Game Bros late; well past the regular closing time for the store. I’m sure they wanted nothing more than to go home but Nintendo Joe and I would have none of it. It was a wonderful evening.

The Guelph Video Game Swap was very small but it didn’t matter because we knew Flavio would be there. Who’s Flavio? He’s a friend who regularly buys large lots of games for his own collection and then sells the doubles at game swaps. It’s common for Nintendo Joe and I to have Flavio put games aside for us that we later collect at these swaps.

Both Ecco the Dolphin and Ace of Aces cost me $25 CAD (~20 USD) each. I’m really happy with these prices especially considering the like new condition.

Daffy Duck in Hollywood is harder to come by and it cost me $60 CAD (~$48 USD) while James Bond 007 the Duel cost $25 CAD (~$20 USD).

Again the condition of these games is really good. Part of the reason for this is that Flavio will always let me swap cases, manuals, cover art and carts for better ones. He’s really a driving force in keeping my Master System collection pristine!

Flavio also sold me Adventure Island II (NES) for $25 CAD (~$20 USD). Both James Bond and Adventure Island II I bought from him well before this swap. I just didn’t get to blogging about them until now.

The next two games from the Guelph Game Swap didn’t come from Flavio. For a long time I’ve seen Jurassic Park Rampage Edition list for a lot of money ($50+) and I never understood why. So for a long time I have been passing it up. Then at this game swap I got a nice complete copy for $20 CAD (~16 USD). And after checking sold listings on ebay it feels like $20 is the new going rate for this game. Personally, $20 for a complete good condition Genesis or Master System game is a real sweet spot for me. It’s hard to pass up a game with such a friendly price.

I know Casino Games is not very exciting but when it comes to Sega Master System games; if I don’t have I want it. For $20 (my sweet spot price point!) and in amazing condition I was happy for this addition. I’m pretty sure the seller was also happy to unload it.

This last game was a surprise find at a local store called Game Center from earlier this fall. It wasn’t cheap at $45 (all-in) (~$36 USD) but cheaper than current ebay sold listings. And this also completes my TMNT trilogy on the NES.

Recently Flavio commented that I must be getting close to a full Sega Master System library. Over all these years of collecting I’ve never paid any attention. Now, after working on a list for Flavio of the remaining games that I don’t have I know that I’m 54 Master System games shy of having every title for the system. Although this is not a pure set. My collection is mixed with US and Euro versions. Canada typically received European releases because Canada requires both English and French on product packaging. And it was easy enough to end up with US releases simply because of Canada’s proximity to the USA. This mix doesn’t bother me. I’m just after the games. A bunch of these will be easy to get and others will not. I’m curious how close I will get and how long it will take.

Here’s what’s left on my Sega Master System Wish List:

Adams Family
Andre Agassi Tennis
Arcade Smash Hits
Assault City (Both Versions)
Astro Warrior/Pit Pot
Asterix Great Rescue
Ayrton Senna GP
Bank Panic (card) *I have the cartridge version
Bart vs. the World
Buggy Run
Championship Hockey
Chase HQ
Cheese Catastrophe
Chuck Rock 2
Cosmic Spacehead
Dr Robotnic Mean Bean Machine
F16 (cart) *I have the card version
Fantastic Dizzy
George Foreman KO Boxing
Great Soccer (card) *I have the cartridge version
Home Alone
Impossible Mission
Incredible Hulk
Krusty’s Fun House
Line of Fire
Master Games
Masters of Combat
Micro Machines
Mortal Kombat 2
Ms Pacman
My Hero (cart) *I have the card version
Olympic Gold
Ottifants
PGA Golf Tour
Power Strike 2
Putt Putter
Robocop 3
Sega Chess
Sega World Tournament Golf
Sensible Soccer
Smurf’s, The
Smurf’s Travel the World, The
Sonic Spinball
Speedball 2
Star Wars
Streets of Rage 2
Summer Games
Super Off Road
Super Tennis (cart) *I have the card version
Superman Man of Steel
T2: Arcade Game
T2: Judgement Day
Tecmo World Soccer 93
Ultimate Soccer
Winter Olympics
World Cup Italia 90
~~World Games~~
WWF Steel Cage Challenge

I have my work cut out for me! And I’m guessing it will take me a few years to get there.

Pick-Ups – CGCC Summer Swap Meet June 2017

Posted by Sega Dude on July 29, 2017

Posted in: Collection New Additions, Games, Genesis (North America), SEGA, Sega Master System. Tagged: alien storm, Captain Silver, Double Dragon, Dracula, Dragon, genesis, master system, NES, phantasy star 3, sega, World Cup USA 94. 3 Comments

Sometimes it really is all about who you know. Every single video game I purchased at the CGCC (Classic Game Collectors Canada) Summer Swap this past June was from my friend who regularly sells at these events. We worked out our deal ahead of time and later when Nintendo Joe and I arrived at the swap I handed over my money to Flavio and collected my loot.

Flavio is my source for hard to get Sega Master System games. And although some of the games are not cheap I trust his judgement on fair value. First up are a handful of Sega Master System games. Starting with Dragon the Bruce Lee Story complete for $65 CAD.

Below is the PAL/Euro version of Captain Silver which cost me $25 CAD. I don’t actively seek out variants but when they come my way for a good price and are significantly different I do enjoy picking them up.

The PAL Captain Silver has very unique cover art and it also has six levels compared to the US version with four levels.

Below is my US Captain Silver which I’ve had for many years now. I don’t recall what it cost me.

I know, I know… a sports game. And for $40?! It’s not a common title and these days it’s not often that I come across a Master System game that I don’t have. So here it is, World Cup USA 94 for the Sega Master System. Recent sold listings on ebay show it has sold for between $22-$60 CAD. Prices lower than what I paid were from auction vs. ‘Buy it Now’.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula I already had but I was able to get a manual for $20 to complete it. It feels great completing a game.

I was also missing the manual for this cartridge version of TransBot and Flavio was happy to give me one for free. When it comes to poaching game manuals from him he’ll just charge me the difference of what he’ll have to reduce the games price by after having its manual removed. In the case of inexpensive games he’s been very generous and will often just give them to me.

What he also does for free is allow me to upgrade any of my games if he has one that’s in better condition than my own. I had Alien Storm but the back of the manual had a massive sticker on it and the spine of the cover art also had a sticker on it. Both of these stickers appeared to be from factory and put on because of regional requirements but I still didn’t like them. Now, thanks for Flavio my new Alien Storm is minty new and the upgrade cost was nothing. I’ll also often swap cases with missing hanging tabs for cases with tabs still intact. If you’re a maniacal collector you’ll understand the value in this!

The following two NES games also came from Flavio. $15 for Double Dragon loose. It’s a classic that I felt I should have.

And $5 for Hogan’s Alley, also loose. I felt like having more light gun games in my NES Collection.

The following 6 inserts cost me me $5 total. It was very common for most Sega Master System and Sega Genesis games to come packed with pamphlets/posters/advertisements/catalogs when they were new and I like adding these to any of my games that don’t already have them. It makes the game feel more substantial.

This next addition is a small gift from Flavio. It’s not something I would have spent a lot of money on but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s really very fun to have. My Sega Genesis Phantasy Star III is now super ultra complete! In addition to having Phantasy Star III with the cart, case, manual, map and hint book I now also have the pamphlet that advertises the hint book which was sold separately (unlike the hint book for Phantasy Star II).