7 replies to this topic

[Bogard]

I figure retro game collecting would make a good subject of discussion, so here we go!

I'm starting a retro Sega collection myself, hopefully starting soon with a Saturn system and some games. I already have a Dreamcast and a Genesis, but the Genesis is on it's last legs. I'll have to pick up another model 1 or 2 Genesis in the future.

I also plan on getting CD and 32X units.

Anyone else specializing or collecting retro games in general?

[Nemoide]

Click the Backloggery link in my signature and prepare to ask yourself "what is *wrong* with that Nemoide guy anyway??"
I have way too many retro games (and at the same time, not enough?). I only buy games I want to play, but I also snag bargains when I find them and typically drastically underestimate how long it takes me to finish things, so I've got a huge backlog.

While I don't collect for the sake of collecting, part of me thinks it would be really cool to have a complete collection of American 32X games. There are so few that it should be pretty do-able, but the cost of Spider-Man: Web of Fire has prevented me from really aiming for this.

[CROSSiNG]

Well, about a week or two ago, I picked up an NES, and Final fantasy. I have a few other things too, let me list them.

1x semi-broken Psone
1x X-men Mutant Academy
1x Chrono Cross

1x Sega Saturn
1x NiGHTS into dreams (of course)
1x Daytona USA
1x Madden NFL 97'

[infractus]

Emulators are fantastic and they serve a purpose, but I've always thought having the original cartridge and CD was better.. even if that means having to constantly remove the cartridge and blow it out in hopes that it'll be some magical cure-all.

But, I love it when I go to conventions and stores. They're always asking, "Oh, you like games? What console do you have?" ..most of the time, I get the feeling they're expecting me to say a Wii, PS3 or an Xbox 360.


Starting from the top:
(warning, tl;dr)

NES
- I've finally rebuilt most of the collection of games I had from when I was younger (my parents let a friend of the family 'borrow' my console and games, never to be seen again...). Mostly titles from the Megaman and Mario series. Since then, I've started to expand my horizons and pick up titles that I don't have when I've got some spending money and if the price is right. Snagged Bubble Bobble and Burgertime, Maniac Mansion and a few others. Even ordered the special screwdriver for taking carts apart.. still need to figure out why my copy of Burgertme won't work.

Gameboy Color
-only have a few games, always on the lookout for more. I never owned one of these when I was a kid, so I sort of missed out on some fun. All my friends seemed to have one, though, and we'd get in trouble during schooltime for playing.. XD

SNES
-A good portion of my childhood went to vying over one of these. Two main reasons: Super Mario World and StarFox. SMW was the best thing to ever happen, aside from the first four Sonic games (we'll get to that later). Can't tell you how many hours my friend, her mom, and I spent on it ...only to lose our progress. There was temporary heartache, but we gladly started over. StarFox, I didn't get to play until much later when I inherited the SNES my grandparents weren't using. They advertised it in Nintendo Power magazine years ago, and I freaked out because it looked so stinkin' awesome.
Best moment: I was at a thrift store, stumbled across a bag of 20+ SNES games for the low low price of $25.

N64
-A Christmas present from my dad back in '96. I suffered horrible heartache that night, 'cause after the thrill of tearing apart the wrapping paper and going, "OMG NINTENDO 64!" ...we realized the TV didn't have component input and had to go get the RF adapter. But, in the long run - everything worked out and I became the best StarFox64 player ever.
True story.

Wii
-Whee! Actually, my poor Wii has very few hours logged on it. Long story, that. When games finally drop in price into my nonexistent budget, I've got a backlog to catch up with. I never knew what I was missing out on with the party game titles.

DS
-I almost feel like asking who *doesn't* have a DS. They're great! ..especially pictochat at huge conventions XD


Sega Genesis
-I remember getting this for Christmas ...we got home from our holiday tradition (go out to dinner, parents would have a friend come over while we were gone and put the presents under the tree, eat the cookies and drink the milk we left out, then leave -- made it feel like Santa was really there!), and I recall seeing a box whose dimensions I thought looked too coincidental to NOT be a Genesis. So, turns out it was totally a Genesis. Didn't have that many games growing up, although we rented from time to time. I don't know why my parents never really bought me any titles. They seemed to think that just because I beat the game that it didn't have any replay value - so what was the point. Eh, years later, I've gone back and snagged up some titles from those days .. and my friend and I have merged our collections.
Sonic 1 was like, the coolest game ever to me. I was always impressed with the soundtrack and the level design. Sonic 2's level design always felt a bit empty to me, and the soundtrack wasn't quite as appealing.

Sega CD
-A whim of a purchase when I moved away for college. There's a badass little games store up in northern Florida that has a fairly impressive collection of older stuff along with newer stuff. Haven't spent much time with the system, since when I bought it I didn't have any games for it. I'm actually surprised how many titles I've found throughout my thrift store adventures for very reasonable prices. Picked up Lunar: The Silver Star (practically new in case) for $3.

Sega Game Gear
-Ohh, battery eater. Is it me, or did the Sonic titles they produced for the Game Gear seem like, 10x harder? I've yet to go back and replay them now that I'm older.. but I always wondered.
And recently, one of my other friends gave me his Game Gear (with a sweet GG carrying case) and a bunch of games. I just can't wait to play ShaqFu.

Sega Saturn
-Kind of the gem in my collection. I barely remember hearing about the release of this console when I was younger.. granted when they were on the market, everything in life was chaotic. Years and years later, I found one while on vacation (another tl;dr story). Years after that, I discovered NiGHTS.

Dreamcast
-Yet another glorious moment of gaming I missed out on.. until I bought a barley-functioning one at a pawn shop, then later inherited a bag of Playstations and Dreamcasts from my friend when he still worked at Toys'R'Us. Surprisingly, a bunch of the stores around where I live sell their DC games *really* cheap. Like, I picked up Shenmue in very good condition for less than $10.


Playstation
-Bought this mostly only for the sake of playing Crash Bandicoot and Tony Hawk. It was a whim purchase after I started my first official job and was making ridiculous money.

Playstation 2
-Inherited when the family got a PS3 for the holidays.



Lately, I've been finding controller pads in the thrift stores. Found an analog mission stick for the Saturn, the NES and SNES advantage pads, and a fighter stick SG-6 for the Genesis.
On the lookout for a few different things.. I'd like to snag the Virtual Boy and a 32x. The store not too far from here has both, but it's a matter of $$.

I'll post a picture of my swag when I get my office back in order. It's a terrible mess at the moment..

[Bogard]

No tl;dr here, read the whole thing. Awesome collection Infractus.

My Saturn hunt will have to wait for now, family vacation is this weekend.

[The Exile]

I don't go out of my way to 'collect' games but I do have a lot of Mega Drive and Saturn games (quite a few Master System games as well) and I have been looking at Let's Plays of Saturn games recently to try and buy good ones before they get too expensive. I agree there's something special about owning the original of something!

[MidgitLD]

Ey! This is my kind of thread! XD

A midgit's list of collection pieces: (In no certain order...)
-Sega Genesis (a 16 bit at that!)
I found it at a garage sale for a dollar with a controller. When I got home, it wouldn't play my games, though. They're 32 bit. XD;; Whoops!

-White Japanese Sega Saturn
An awesome souvener that I was given by a fellow NiD fan in Japan that I visited one year. I was also given a copy of NiGHTS and Christmas NiGHTS for it. They're currently the only two games I own for it and is the only time I played NiGHTS. It doesn't get much use since I can't read Japanese.

-Dreamcast
A generous gift from one of my older brothers after DAYS of begging. XD; I asked for it just to play Sonic Adventure 2 on. It was also the last DC that the store I bought it from had. Don't have very many games for it, but it's gotten plenty of use.

-Sega GameGear
I forget how I came into possession of this. I think it was a Christmas gift. I only owned a few games on it and I'm currently missing one of the battery covers, but it still works.

-PS1
Christmas present from my day when I was but an uber wee midgit. It was my main console for a while and I refused to part with it when I bought the next system.

-PS2
The reward of busting my tiny tush on a blueberry farm for an entire summer. XD It's a first gen model and still works like a charm.

-PS3
Recently required from my roommate when it's harddrive got corrupted due to the power flickering so much one evening. All I have to do is replace the harddrive in it. <3

-PSP
A tough little 1000 series model that's survived my college years, my moving to Texas, AND bricking. The screen has some slight damage in the background from getting too hot in my car one day, but it still runs like a trooper! One day, I'll get a better model to play on. (I'm 2torn between getting a later model PSP or upgrading to a Vita.)

-SNES
Bought it off of a former friend before we split ways. Got a few of my faves on it, like Starfox, and acquired Battletoads for it. (SWEET pogosticking Primus, old school difficulty. D: )

-N64
Another later life purchase. I once owned the Best of the Year 1999 edition of LoZ: Ocarina of Time, but it was stolen (along with the entire system and a slew of other games) by one of my brother's past girlfriends. X_x I've gotten replacements for everything I lost, but still... Gold cartridge gone foreva... T^T

-Gamecube
Bought off of another past friend before we parted ways. Run of the mill black casing. Become the temporary love of my life when MMX: Command Mission came out. <3

-Original Game Boy
the BRICK. Another later life purchase that was intended for my mother. It even has Tetris! I plan on repossessing it on my next trip home. XD

-Gameboy Advance
Bought when I was teenager so I could play MM Battle Network. Arctic White color.

-DS
First grey brick edition bought from a friend of another friend. The notch on the stylus is broken, so it's a challenge to keep track of it. I've been on the hunt for a replace since I bought it. I'm torn between retiring it with a 3DS or a 3DSXL...

I mainly collect systems that are connected to my childhood or are part of a line that I want to own. I still want an Xbox and 360, yet I'm iffy on the Wii is there's not much on it that appeals to me. I also still want to try and grab an American Saturn and some games for it, but that's on the backburner.

[Thoughtcrime82]

I'm not a big time collector but do have a few treasures...

Dreamcast, with a few games (powerstone 2, Marvel VS Capcom 2) - at one point had a sealed copy of JSR but took it out to play it, 2 x brand new sealed pads, 2 x brand new sealed VM units.

Saturn with Nights and Sega Rally, Baku Baku Animal, Saturn Bomberman, Puzzle Fighter 2, Burning Rangers , JP copy of Nights w/white pad.

Still have my old NES but don't have the cables so don't know if it works.

My SNES is at someone else's house much to my disappointment - must get that back.

This stuff doesn't have a high £ value but it has immense sentimental value.