Game Collecting Thread

[Ecto Jedi]

$60 off Kijiji, complete with A/V cables and two controllers (no sign of yellowing). Pretty solid.

So:

Any SNES gems you'd recommend I track down?
Any locales in the Toronto area selling old games for cheap?
Any websites/eBay sellers doing same?



Please help.

[CyberCubed]

I assume you've played most of these Nintendo games already, but just to list the best of the best:

Super Mario World
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Siper Mario All-stars
Super Mario Kart
Super Mario RPG

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Super Metroid
Starfox
F-zero
Super Punchout

Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country 2
Donkey Kong Country 3

Kirby Superstar
Kirby Dreamland 3

Turtles in Time
TMNT: Tournament Fighters
Killer Instinct
Adventures of Batman and Robin

Megaman X 1-3
Super Castlevania IV
Wild Arms
Zombies Ate my Neighbors
Legend of the Mystical Ninja
Contra III: Alien Wars
Super Turrican

Chrono Trigger
Final Fantasy
Actraiser


Plus many more. The Super Nintendo isn't considered one of the best consoles ever made for no reason.

[Redeemer]

yep^^^^
Pretty much a good list to start.
My personally favorite is TMNT in time and Donkey Kong Country.

[CyberCubed]

Ah not to mention Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, but the sequels on current gen systems are much better.

[Peanut]

You picked an awful time to get in. SNES prices are/have been skyrocketing for about a year. Stuff that cost $20-$30 a few years ago costs $70-$80 now. Stuff like Earthbound regularly go for upwards of $200+ these days. CIB games are starting to get out of the question. Again, CIB Earthbound is well over $300.

Also, don't bother looking for stores around Toronto. I've been banging that drum for awhile now and the scene is awful. Over-priced and no decent stock. I'm assuming there's a re-seller out there snapping stuff up from around smaller places (Value Village etc) because I've had almost no luck in the last few months finding sh*t. Most stores around here also price according to eBay, which is an absolute sh*t show. Even the closer flea markets, like Pickering, are an absolute joke. I was there on the weekend and was pretty f*cking frightened by the prices. We're talking Kirby Superstar for $80 and anything that wasn't a sports game hitting $30 without question. Your best bet is camping eBay auctions, but unless you're totally committed you're going to get trounced, because competition is huge right now.

My first piece of advice is to look into Super Famicom eBay auctions. SuFami games like the DKC 2-3, Mega Man X and Super Metroid go for waaaay cheaper and the language barrier isn't an issue with games of the sort. In case you weren't aware, the SNES can indeed play Super Famicom games and requires very little work to do so. There are two little tabs inside the cart slot of the SNES that are easily removed with a pair of pliers and they're the only things stopping Super Famicom games from fitting in the slot. Easiest mod in history.

My second piece of advice is to focus! Focus in on what you want, set your price and drive for that one thing. If you constantly wait for "a better price" for games you really want you'll almost never get them. I floundered on the SFC Parodius games and could never pull it off until I sat down and said "I want these. I'm willing to pay $40+ for a CIB of these games. F*ck it!" and I bid super aggressively.

Good luck to you, sir. It's not an easy (or cheap) collection to begin. I'm here to help, though.

Edit: If you're looking for cheap good stuff, there's very little out there now that doesn't command dumb prices, but there are a handful that are still reasonable. Stuff like Star Fox, Super Punchout, Super Ghouls n' Ghosts, the Star Wars games, the first DKC and Super Mario World can be picked up for $15 or under. Past those few things really start to ramp up. Maybe if you gave me a price range you're looking for I could give you a better list of good stuff to find, but cheap simply isn't an option anymore. Unless you want old sports games or bad licensed sh*t no one wants.

[Ecto Jedi]

Originally Posted by Peanut

Edit: If you're looking for cheap good stuff, there's very little out there now that doesn't command dumb prices, but there are a handful that are still reasonable. Stuff like Star Fox, Super Punchout, Super Ghouls n' Ghosts, the Star Wars games, the first DKC and Super Mario World can be picked up for $15 or under. Past those few things really start to ramp up. Maybe if you gave me a price range you're looking for I could give you a better list of good stuff to find, but cheap simply isn't an option anymore. Unless you want old sports games or bad licensed sh*t no one wants.

Yep, I've perused through a few of the used game stores around where I live (Dufferin area) and, yeah, as a general rule you get f*cked up the ass. It's a joke. Like, come on guys, are you actually in the market to sell these, or is it your goal to just have them sit in the display case? Still, some of the games I'm looking to pick up are nostalgia purchases only, so there's still hope in finding some decently priced cartridges.

Case in point: Hit the Ice by Taito. Terrible, terrible game. But $10 isn't too bad a price to pay, I suppose. I found Street Fighter II, boxed, for $20. That ain't bad either. ClayFighter and C2: Judgment Clay I've found for $10-$15. (Haven't actually bought any of these yet, mind you.)

But the real gems I'm looking for -- Battletoads and Double Dragon and Battlemaniacs at the forefront -- are fetching absolutely ridiculous prices. Turtles in Time and Tournament Fighters are two of the worst offenders too, unfortunately. So I'm off to eBay for those.

[Storm Eagle]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

Ah not to mention Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, but the sequels on current gen systems are much better.

If he owns a PS2 or an X-Box, he's better off getting Midway Arcade Treasures 2 since it has arcade-perfect versions of Mortal Kombat II and 3. It's for GameCube too, but the GameCube controller probably wouldn't be very good for those games.

I'll just recommend Illusion of Gaia. It's the only game I own that hasn't yet been mentioned. There's also Mega Man 7, except I have that through the Mega Man Anniversary Collection disc for the GameCube.

[Ecto Jedi]

Originally Posted by Storm Eagle

If he owns a PS2 or an X-Box, he's better off getting Midway Arcade Treasures 2 since it has arcade-perfect versions of Mortal Kombat II and 3. It's for GameCube too, but the GameCube controller probably wouldn't be very good for those games.

I have all three Mortal Kombat games on my PSP Midway Arcade Treasures disc, but they're awfully flawed ports. Mortal Kombat I and II look like great buys for the SNES. I'm definitely in the market.

Spotted Killer Instinct for $15. Love that black cart.

[UsagiYojimbo]

Originally Posted by Ecto Jedi

Any SNES gems you'd recommend I track down?
Any locales in the Toronto area selling old games for cheap?
Any websites/eBay sellers doing same?

Final Fantasy 2 and 3 were epic. I also adore Zelda: A Link to the Past

[Cure]

He was definitely trying to be a show off. Also, you escalated it, Mew, not anyone else.

[Mew]

Originally Posted by Cure

He was definitely trying to be a show off. Also, you escalated it, Mew, not anyone else.

None of those things are true.

[Cure]

Vincent Valentine is the only one for me.

Nah, Red XIII can get it, too

[CyberCubed]

Also Resident Evil 2. Its still a shame to this day Capcom never remade that game like they did with REmake on Gamecube. It was the most popular of the classic games.

[Ecto Jedi]

Fair enough, guys. I wouldn't be able to come up with that comprehensive a list of N64 classics. Super Mario 64? GoldenEye? Uhh...Cruisin' USA?

Speaking of Resident Evil 2, that actually would count as a classic -- for the N64 -- or so my scared shitless ten-year-old self would argue. Still can't believe they managed to compress CG video onto that cart. My mind was effin' BLOWN.

[oldmanwinters]

When it comes to mid-tier N64, I think the WCW/WWF games were pretty impressive for their time. The body models look like they have a decent number of polygons and the animation is surprisingly smooth.

Originally Posted by Ecto Jedi

Fair enough, guys. I wouldn't be able to come up with that comprehensive a list of N64 classics. Super Mario 64? GoldenEye? Uhh...Cruisin' USA?

You know, I still kinda like Cruisin' USA. It's quite a chore to play through the entire cross-country mode, and the graphics aren't quite as sharp as the arcade game that wowed my 6th grade self, but for a sprite-based 90s racer, it is enjoyable. It's no Daytona USA or Ridge Racer, but I still had fun with it when I picked up the cart for a couple of dollars. Now, granted... I don't think I've played it again since.

The N64 did have a surprisingly high number of racing games, with many of them coming courtesy of Midway (the Cruisin' franchise, California Speed, San Francisco Rush, etc.), the Extreme G series, Wipeout 64, and the Nintendo 1st party stuff like WaveRace, Excitebike, 1080 Snowboarding, and F-Zero entries.

One game I hope to have to time to get into one day is Jet Force Gemini. I've even found a vintage Player's Guide for it, so I can try to get hints the old school way.

[TheCanadiandrome]

yeah i'd say i loved the WWF/WCW/ECW games on my N64 over the PS1 games.

so when it comes down it to, if i ever decide to buy any more vintage consoles, i'd love to get a PS1, Dreamcast, GameCube, and Xbox

[Dawnatello Turtle Chick]

Originally Posted by Ecto Jedi

Fair enough, guys. I wouldn't be able to come up with that comprehensive a list of N64 classics. Super Mario 64? GoldenEye? Uhh...Cruisin' USA?

Speaking of Resident Evil 2, that actually would count as a classic -- for the N64 -- or so my scared shitless ten-year-old self would argue. Still can't believe they managed to compress CG video onto that cart. My mind was effin' BLOWN.

I picked up another copy of Goldeneye a while back and man-o-man was that rough to play, nothing like I remembered it. It's definitely a classic, but it's definitely one you have to *try* to play. A lot of the racers play pretty well still as do many of the memorable platformers with a few notable exceptions.

Originally Posted by oldmanwinters

When it comes to mid-tier N64, I think the WCW/WWF games were pretty impressive for their time. The body models look like they have a decent number of polygons and the animation is surprisingly smooth.



You know, I still kinda like Cruisin' USA. It's quite a chore to play through the entire cross-country mode, and the graphics aren't quite as sharp as the arcade game that wowed my 6th grade self, but for a sprite-based 90s racer, it is enjoyable. It's no Daytona USA or Ridge Racer, but I still had fun with it when I picked up the cart for a couple of dollars. Now, granted... I don't think I've played it again since.

The N64 did have a surprisingly high number of racing games, with many of them coming courtesy of Midway (the Cruisin' franchise, California Speed, San Francisco Rush, etc.), the Extreme G series, Wipeout 64, and the Nintendo 1st party stuff like WaveRace, Excitebike, 1080 Snowboarding, and F-Zero entries.

One game I hope to have to time to get into one day is Jet Force Gemini. I've even found a vintage Player's Guide for it, so I can try to get hints the old school way.

I picked up Jet Force Gemini a while back as well and it's pretty fun, but I had a huge learning curve on re-learning the control scheme. Still, it's a pretty fun game. And as I said above, quite a few of the racing games are still very fun.

I definitely agree that the PS had waaaaay more really great games than the N64 overall, but there are a handful of N64 titles that are still just great to play. I gotta say that that era of gaming is still the hardest to go back to and play. I can sit down with an Atari 2600/NES/Sega Master System any day and not feel as jarred as when I boot up a PS1/N64. I guess maybe for me, the former is nostalgic and the latter was more of an uncomfortable growth spurt during middle school, where some great things happened but none of them were pretty, lol.

[Peanut]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

Also Resident Evil 2.

Wasn't trying to be comprehensive, just give a list of stuff I like off the top of my head. RE2 fits the bill, but it was an N64 game as well.

Originally Posted by Ecto Jedi

Fair enough, guys. I wouldn't be able to come up with that comprehensive a list of N64 classics. Super Mario 64? GoldenEye? Uhh...Cruisin' USA?

Indeed. You could make a list of N64 games that you could argue trump anything on the PS1, both in terms of quality and importance, but PS1 absolutely stomps the N64 if you start looking at the quality/quantity ratio. PS1 starts to infringe on SNES territory in that regard.

Originally Posted by oldmanwinters

When it comes to mid-tier N64, I think the WCW/WWF games were pretty impressive for their time. The body models look like they have a decent number of polygons and the animation is surprisingly smooth.

I would argue that they're actually pretty close to being at the top of the list on the N64, which is a feat that has yet to be repeated by any wrestling game made before or since. I could argue for Ultimate Muscle on the Gamecube in that regard, but I might be alone in that one.

[oldmanwinters]

Originally Posted by Peanut

I could argue for Ultimate Muscle on the Gamecube in that regard, but I might be alone in that one.

Never played that one and never really watched the show either. I do hear it has a surprisingly good reputation though.

I remember when the UFC game came out for Dreamcast, Next Generation magazine gushed all over it, but I've just never been able to get into that one. It's so realistic that it seems most fights are over in seconds.

Originally Posted by Peanut

Also, because it's the only generation I abandoned completely after it ended/ I get a lot more of those "Oh, I remember this," moments while playing those games, but I still can't go back to it easily.

I never sold off any of my stuff after a generation ended. My tendency has always been to focus on the library of a recently deceased system while ignoring the new stuff for years and years. Dreamcast and Wii U were the only two systems I really got excited about wanting to play them in their hey day. I was also a fairly late adopter of both the NES and Sega Genesis (my first two video game systems), but just never stopped playing them even as everything turned 3D.

[Ninjinister]

Originally Posted by Peanut

I would argue that they're actually pretty close to being at the top of the list on the N64, which is a feat that has yet to be repeated by any wrestling game made before or since. I could argue for Ultimate Muscle on the Gamecube in that regard, but I might be alone in that one.

Dude that Ultimate Muscle game (and its PS2 sequel, Galactic Wrestling) were the absolute s**t. I want another one on modern systems.