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This is my first entry, but I am going to try to make this a weekly thing.
There are two big flea markets around my area that open every Sunday.
There are always different people selling their old merchandise.
Here is what I found this week.
As soon as I went to the first person at the flea market, I picked up my first score.
3 Strategy Guides, and an Art Book. Final Fantasy VII, Fable, Final Fantasy X,
and Final Fantasy XII Art Book. ($4.00)
The second score was a little later, after thinking the guides may be my only
pick up of the day. Someone had a giant box that said everything $1.00, I was going to just
keep going, but I saw a few cd cases peeking out, so I decided to stop.
Im glad I did.
Picked up:
Playstation: Tekken (with case and back art), Theme Park (with case & back art), D (disk only).
Sega Cd: Kids on Site (New Still Sealed), Jeopardy (New Still Sealed), Who Shot Johnny Rock? (CIB), Cliffhanger (New Still Sealed), Sol Feace (CB), Sewer Shark (Disk and front of instructions).
Sega Genesis: Hardball (CIB), Power Plug (CIB)
SNES: Madden 96, (Instructions, 2 posters, and other paperwork)
Sega Gamegear: Sonic 2 (New Still Sealed)
and 7 random instruction booklets laying in the bottom.
Picked it all up for $10.
Found these in the Harball Case, 10 video game cards. Thought they were cool and never saw them before.
After the flea market, stopped at a local game store, traded in 20 DVDs I no longer watch, and got:
N64: Doom 64, NES: Tombs and Treasure, A Boy and His Blob, SNES: Street Fighter II, Eye of the Beholder, and Sim City, PS2: Tatio Legends 2, and D1 Drifting GP.
And thats this weekends wrap-up.
Hopefully have more to report next weekend.
Hey everyone, I'm a bit busy since I'm studying for A-Levels (god help me). But here are the four Mega CD games I got in the last few weeks.
Left to right
Top: Psychic Detective Volume 3: Aya and Theme Park
Bottom: WWF Rage in the Cage and Paws of Fury
There is a Domark title, not a great one, I bet it's no different to a Mega Drive version with the poor quality opening. The odd thing is that the Paws of Fury's front cover, manual and CD are the German release Paws of Fury, but back cover is the European BRUTAL: Paws of Fury. Isn't that strange, I've checked they are both authentic covers, how could that happen? Did the seller swap two cases and forgot to check? To prove my point:
<![CDATA[<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/cdS5BSYq3YE&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/cdS5BSYq3YE&rel=0</a>]]>
In other news, went to my local carboot Sunday morning and bought this:
A SWEET ASS SONIC HELMET!
Amount Paid:
WWF Rage in the Cage 10.75
Theme Park 25
Paws of Fury 20
Psychic Detective Series 3: AYA 0.99
Planet Comicon http://www.planetcomicon.com is in town this weekend. There were plenty of comics, movies, and collectibles to be had as well as many artists showcasing their talent. Here's what we picked up yesterday.
All of my pictures are links because it appears that the links are broken when I try to directly link to them from Picasa. If I get it figured out, I'll get it changed.
Continue reading Planet Comicon 2010
Like many of the games we've played here this one needs very little introduction. Its one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful games released for the N64. Banjo Kazooie plays quite simliar to Super Mario 64, but with a much heavier emphasise on collecting items and battling enemies.
So your fellow rfgenners and I in April to play one of the best games the N64 had to offer!
IMPORTANT - Because of a general lack of interest and participation this will be the last month we do an Off The Shelf. If your ever looking to have someone to discuss a game with as you play it, and that game is in my collection, feel free to PM me so we can get to it. Thanks for gaming with me these last few months those of you that have. It was fun!!
It's been a long and cold winter. Four months have passed since I last posted some treasure hunting finds, but I am pleased to announce that the wait is over. The record snowfall that buried most of the country in February has mostly all melted now thanks to a couple of weeks with temps in the 60's and 70's. And that melted snow has shown at least one treasure hiding under it. The warmer temperatures will be getting people into the "spring cleaning" mood, and soon they will be parting with junk they haven't seen in decades. Soon, the garage sales will start to pop up on weekends following the days of unseasonably warm weather and soon enough, flea markets will start opening their gates and the garage sales will be open almost every day of the week.
Fortunately, for me, I've already found a couple treasures this year, without having gone to a single garage sale! Finding my first treasure of the year is a tale of mystery, hard work, more mystery, and a lot of cleaning.
Continue reading Treasure Hunt Chronicles 2010 - #1
Well this is a little late, but better late than never huh.
So, 2009 was a very interesting year for me. I finally got weekends off at work, so I thought that I would be going to alot of yard sales and flea markets. But unfortunatly that was not the case, as my money was going to other things, and my weekends were spent on having quality time with my wife and kids. So most of my finds were from craigslist. And although I didn't have very many scores, most of them were quality scores.
My first score of the year was from Craigslist, they had a bunch of gameboy and gba games for 3.00 a piece. So here is what I picked up.
My second score was actually given to me for free. He told me to keep what I needed and sell the rest on Ebay for him. So I kept the CIB games, Controller, and system box. and sold the rest of it for him.
My third score was my best score ever. A guy posted an ad on craigslist for boxed Nintendo games, he had 88 total games and I got 63 of them. They were minty fresh and all CIB. The first 10 I got for 5.00 a piece, the rest were 4.00 a piece.
My next few scores were OK. Nothing too exciting. Double Dragon (PC) was at goodwill for I think 3.00. The three playstation games were 2.00 a piece.
My next score came from craigslist, and I was extremely happy to get Chiller CIB. I got these for 3.00 a piece.
The next score came from a church rummage sale. Sealed for 3.00 I think.
Next was my birthday presents from my wife and 2 toddlers.
My next score came from a pawnshop that I used to frequent. But don't really go to that part of the metro area anymore. I think I paid 10.00 total for all three.
Next was a purchase from Tynstar here on RFGeneration.
And last but not least another craigslist ad for a total of 15.00. I drove late at night into the middle of nowhere to get this lot but it was worth the drive just for the Adventure Island 3 CIB.
So like the title said, It was a SLOW but QUALITY or PRODUCTIVE year. I doubled my CIB NES collection in one year.
2010 has started even slower but I believe I will be hitting more yard sales this year.
GameSpite Quarterly No. 1: (Game Boy) x (20 Years) = Retrospective
If you are not aware of http://www.gamespite.net, then I suggest you put on your reading glasses, direct your browser in that general direction and set aside a serious amount of time to think about retro-games. It's a fantastic website that offers thoughtful, funny, brainy, and at time brutally honest essays on games of yore. What's even more wonderful is that in the Spring of 2009, GameSpite began a quarterly campaign to compile their website essays into journals that share a common theme. And the premier issue was dedicated to our friend, the Game Boy.
Now in theory, you can read pretty much the entire contents right on the website (save for a handful of the bonus essays that were only included in the more expensive hardcover edition). However, holding this little book in your hand is really something special. You see, this is the first time I've seen a claim to condense the Game Boy's 20 year history into a single tome something of a reality. What makes the book work so well is that it doesn't allow nostalgia to distort the history into something it wasn't. In fact, there are are essays on all of the Game Boy's primary threats and they are completely forthcoming about the Game Boy's hardware inferiority in each case. Likewise, it is not just the "classic" games that are mentioned, nor is it the "overlooked gems"-only; there are chapters about games that we may all remember playing or that seemed important at the time that are total duds.
Each essay is generally short (usually less than 5 pages) and covers a specific topic: be it a game, accessory or competitor. But the book as a whole works both as a brisk primer for those just getting into Game Boy collecting and as a wonderful recollection for those of us that have been interested for the past 20 years.
Games picked apart:
Baseball
Battletoads
Bionic Commando
Castlevania: The Adventure
Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge
Daedalian Opus
Donkey Kong '94
Final Fantasy Adventure
Final Fantasy Legend II
Final Fantasy Legend III
Gargoyle's Quest
Gradius: The Interstellar Assault
Heiankyo Alien
Kid Icarus: Of Myths And Monsters
Kirby's Dream Land
The Legend Of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Mega Man (series)
Metal Gear Solid
Metroid II
Nemesis
Ninja Gaiden Shadow
Operation C
Picross
Pokemon Red/Blue
Street Fighter II
Super Mario Land
Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins
Tennis
Tetris
Wario Land II
The book also includes essays on the Game Shark and Game Boy Camera as well as competing hardware such as Atari's Lynx, Sega's Game Gear, SNK's Neo Geo Pocket and Bandai's WonderSwan. All in all, it's a fantastic read. Highly recommended.
I knew it would happen eventually, and it is here.  1,000 unique software titles in my collection! The 1,000th title added was "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time w/Master Quest" for Gamecube, one of the more rare titles I had been looking to add to my collection.
One of the main reasons I love collecting Game Boy games is that it gives me an excuse to relive my youth. Truly, many of the games that are highest on my wishlist aren't what you would consider classics. And in some cases they might not even be considered great games. But when you're young and your only source of games is what happens to be in stock the at the toy store the day your parents decide to get you a new one, you learn to love an ordinarily overlooked game because you can either spend some serious time with it, or just do your homework instead.
One such title that fits into this description is the 1990 Konami release Skate Or Die: Bad 'N Rad. This is a title I played the hell out of in my pre-teens based mostly on the merits of the NES Skate Or Die titles, along with the promise of an experience that would be equally bad AND rad -- two very enticing words to adolescents of the the 1990's.
This Game Boy sequel bares very little resemblance to the first NES game. The original game focused more on open-ended skating and the ultimate goal of becoming a skateboarding champion. Or at least shutting up that mohawked jerk at the skate shop. Bad 'N Rad on the other hand plays out like an adventure game. On a skateboard. You must skate through each level and dodge lots of spikes, rats, thugs, and for some reason people in life rafts with tridents.
 
Similarly to what Konami did with their Game Boy Contra games, they decided to split up the levels in Bad 'N Rad between sidescrolling levels and overhead levels. This seemingly offers a challenge to gamers that are better than one or the other, which ultimately probably helped make the game last a bit longer. Unfortunately the other thing that made the game last so long was the extreme cheapness of the obstacles! You might land in water and get hit by it twice. Or a rat might run at you from a two pixel buffer zone between you and the end of the screen. And there are a lot of spikes in the town this skater lives in. But none of this really stops the game from being fun. It instead calls for a certain blend of eye-hand coordination along with level memorization which is somewhat similar to the approach that Konami took with their early Castlevania games.
  
Like most of Konami's early releases for Game Boy, they put an awful lot of detail into the graphical details as well as the music. In fact, the music in this game is certainly on par with the original NES release. The sound effects are few, but good when they do pop up. Most importantly the gameplay is stellar. Left and right will make your skater coast appropriately with enough control over speed; A jumps and B crouches which is a great touch when you use it to go through large pipes and other interesting tricks.
Later Konami released a Game Boy sequel titled Tour De Thrash which I never got the chance to play. And though I won't try to say that Bad 'N Rad is a completely unheralded classic, it's certainly classic to my own gaming memories. And it's definitely worth picking up if you happen upon it.
Thought I'd try something new: Write medium length essays (which I love) about things other people might like, but have them be about something I like. Make sense? Sorry about the name, though. Got it caught in my head while I was on the can and couldn't shake it (sorry about the pun, also).
Whenever a top ten (or twenty) list of all time favorite games is started on the Internet, or during podcasts when gamers talk about gaming innovation, design, or just a fond childhood remembrance, Clash at Demonhead (CaD) is usually mentioned. Now I'm not calling it revisionist history or anything, but things weren't always like that.
In the halcyon years of my youth (and yours, no doubt), the NES was the talk of the playgrounds. Until junior high, video games would be the object of most serious talks, with the NES being at the forefront of many of these discussions. Strategies for Mario and Zelda were oft debated seriously, with secret tricks and special moves being coveted and closely guarded by their creators. However, in 1989, there was no talk of CaD. At this time, the gameplay (what Wikipedia calls an open platformer) was unique. Castlevania 3, which would become the closest comparison for gameplay was over a year away from release. The only proof that this game was real consisted of a small (in it even existed) two-sided flap at Toys R Us, and a small preview in Nintendo Power, but when you are sharing shelf (and page) space with games like TMNT and Ninja Gaiden, this effort was not enough to garner much attention.
As some of you know (the database says , the CaD is a wonderful game, and one of the many elements that made the game so enjoyable was its size. There were many other games that featured hubs (hubs being screens connected together to form a continuous world, with the ability to traverse backwards or forwards at will), but none that also featured exploratory gameplay elements last featured in Metroid. Nearly any body of water, lava, or a seemingly bottomless pit contained more screens. Simply buy a jetpack, scuba gear, or a lava suit from the merchant and you can traverse anywhere. And that brings about the items. While there certainly isn't a multitude, there were enough to keep a gamer satisfied throughout the length of the game. Mix in the afore mentioned suits and jetpack with three different weapons, a shield, power boots (for jumping), a few potions, and three special powers (earned after reaching certain parts of the game) and you have a real winner. If that wasn't enough, there are tons of enemies, with a larger than average amount of bosses to fight. The visual style of the game is definitely anime, with many of the enemies giving off a serious Mega Man feel. The main character, Bang, looks like he was lifted directly from an anime cartoon, and will even shout over his shoulder (at the player, maybe?) if you don't move him constantly. Really, there is just so much fun here, you even mine for gold at one point. Well, you shoot the wall, but you still get gold!
But as in any game there are a few cons. The first and foremost is that it is not always apparent that you are doing damage to a boss. Most have hitting animations, but they also sometimes look the same as a weapon having no effect at all. Also Bang's main weapon fires a small bullet, and since many of the enemies in CaD are moving through the air, timing can sometimes be difficult to hit them. While the game can be completed very quickly, the real fun lies in exploring every nook and cranny, and that is where the last complaint comes from. In order to get a password (unfortunately, CaD had no battery), you had to buy a Microrecorder, which is only available to buy in the Shop (though you start off with one). At the Shop you also have the opportunity to purchase portable Calls, which will summon the Shop should you need it. So what is the problem, you ask? There are only a few physical Shop locations in the game, and it is entirely possible for you to be out of microrecorders and in desperate need to leave the game. While this was a serious problem when we were young (and would have to leave the NES on; a dangerous prospect), it is alleviated some with the popularity of emulation (especially NDS and PSP emulation). But if you have some moral issues with emulators then...
In conclusion this is just a great game that every serious platformer fan or retrogamer should play. If you don't have it then eBay is a viable option (I notice that 4 of you have the game on their wishlist), but maybe you'll find it on a Hunt this year, and then you'll be in for a treat. With a game as good (and criminally overlooked) as CaD, there is a good chance that you may discover it for the first time, and that is something I think we can all be a little envious of.
No new toys lately  so I thought I'd just post my current gaming set up.
Not very impressive, I know. It's only temporarey, I don't have any shelves yet, so everything is kinda shmushed together. I keep all the controllers and accessories in the drawers below, the only reason the 64 controllers are out is because me and my friends play ALOT of 64, so I keep it on easy access. The TV only has one HD input, and it only goes up to 480p, it's kinda old. My Wii is hacked, so I can play games off of an external harddrive. I have to use an A/V switcher just to hook up everything, I have 4 systems and a cable box, the TV only has 3 total inputs, one being HD. I'll update when i get to work on my real gaming room.
Slackur, you most certainly didn't ask, what are your opinions of Sony's newly announced (er, named) 'Move' motion controller?
*stares blankly at Dance Dance mats, Wii balance board, Rock Band drum kit, Playstation Eye, Playstation Eyetoy, Gamecube bongos, various plastic guitars, Odyssey 2's The Voice, Virtual Boy, NES Power Pad, Zapper (new and old), various Wii remotes, nunchucks, and classic controllers, Beatmania controllers, Dreamcast mics and keyboards, Taiko drum master, 360 live vision camera, various console mice, SNES Super Scope, Genesis Menacer, Master system 3d glasses, and the Xbox Silent Scope Sniper Rifle literally littering the space between my living room and utility closet*
Eh. Good for them. I'll try it after a price drop or on sale.
Now I'm not a motion control hater, or one of those 'Wii doesn't count as a next generation console' fanboys. I may hate waggle, but the Wii reintroduced light gun games to the mainstream, one of my favorite genres. I still enjoy the challenging and competitive simplicity of Wii Sports and Resort. Raving Rabbids and Wario showed how hilariously fun well done multiplayer party games can be with motion control. Despite being a port, Okami showed worthwhile gameplay enhancements. Metroid Prime Trilogy, Dead Space: Extraction, Trauma Center, and Silent Hill used intuitive and immersive controls that helped develop atmosphere.
My vote for the best use of the Wii remote?
Boom Blox. An incredibly fun single and multiplayer experience that completely requires Wii's (previously unique) controller. This critical darling failed at retail, yet it was the best case to me for what Nintendo was going for; experiences unachievable by conventional controller methods, while leveling the playing field so anyone could learn to play with ease.
Not shaking my stupid plastic wand to jump or hit something.
I love my Wii for those exclusive experiences, along with around twenty or so others that don't rely so much on new control methods. But the Wii has been on the market for several years now, and there are very few games that pull off the requirement of motion control to sell the experience like Boom Blox or even Wii Sports.
The Move has more accuracy, better graphics, and a cool color-changing snowcone controller. But to what end? The Wii's biggest fault for me is not the absence of these things (though I'd rather have the rainbow snowcone than better graphics.) The problem is that the Wii has more proof-of-concepts than new gameplay experiences. I don't want the same light-gun, pull-the-bow-and-arrow, and steering wheel in space experiences I've done all those many times already. Prettier pictures and more responsiveness aren't going to justify the presence of another set of sticks my kids think change the TV channel.
Oh, I'll see some games I'll want to play eventually. Nothing they've shown so far looks very breakthrough to me, but I know I'm a sucker. I buy everything with the word 'Halo' in it despite knowing exactly what I'm getting; an experience whose core hasn't changed much since Wolfenstein 3D. I still enjoy them.
(btw. When purchasing everything with the word Halo in it, you don't end up with as many religious books as you'd think. You even end up with some Nine Inch Nails.)
If Sony wants to sell me on its new "forget we shipped without rumble, made fun of you for wanting it, then shipped with it after we settled our lawsuits" technique, they have to show me what new thing they are doing with it.
I actually have to give MS credit here, because the Milo demo showed me a new and interesting direction for motion control (Seaman and Hey You! Pikachu mixed with EyePet through a hype-mode Molyneux filter.) There are rumors that the protos have lag issues, but even if the final product ships requiring one to douse themselves in molasses so the HAL electronic eyes can keep up , if there is something new to experience beyond popping virtual bubbles and pretend-punching the screen, I'm in.
But if Sony, and later Microsoft with Natal, are going to go anywhere with these newfangled air-guitar imitators, we need to see why we NEED them in the first place.
From time to time I've encountered some pretty awesome ads from the history of the Game Boy line of handhelds. I was 8 years old when the first Game Boy was released, and I've followed the line rather closely. So in a way it's endearing to see this time line grow up with my generation. For your review I've assembled a bit of a retrospective of the Game Boy line and how each new iteration has been presented to the world.
Continue reading How To Get Ahead In Handheld Advertising
Its obvious that most of you guys are pretty crazy into grabbing up games of all sorts. Do you have any other collecting vices? Comics, Sports Cards, Celebrity Genital Molds, Troll Dolls?
Heres some pics of the only thing besides Video Games I've cared enough about to collect.
Thats my Judas Priest collection, minus a few pieces that arnt in the picture. Notable ommisions are the British Steel and Painkiller CDs aswell as a few old tour posters and tour books.
I've acquired everything locally which makes this collection extra special to me. I've gotten every studio and major live release on CD. I'm only missing 3 more records and I've got all the major releases there too. Somehow I've gotten the European cover variants for Point of Entry and Killing Machine locally in North-Western Canada?
There are still a few big whole to fill in such as Halfords other bands after leaving JP and Glenn Tiptons Solo album. I've got a few of the Tim Owens albums, but as you can see in the picture above the are not allowed to touch the REAL Judas Priest stuff. Man that guy sucks.
These are two of my favorite pieces. Neither are overly valuable, but are just really cool items in my mind.
The CD is a live recording of Rob Halford filling in at a couple Black Sabbath concerts on vocals. Its pretty poor quality, but its awesome to hear some Sabbath songs with an actual singer (Ronnie James Dio stuff aside, because he is freakin awesome in Sabbath. Ozzy sucks!!!). Whoever made the CD also added a few bonus tracks such as Rob singing Delivering the Goods with Skid Row, a song with Ugly Kid Joe and a few other gems.
The Vinyl Album is the 80's Hair Band version of Band Aid. It was organized by Ronnie James Dio and includes guys from Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Spinal Tap, Yngwie, Night Ranger, WASP, Queensryche, Blue Oyster Cult, Twisted Sister, Dokken, Motely Crue, Y&T, Ted Nugent, Queit Riot and others. It has the cheesiest lyrics you can imagine ("Who cries for the children........... I doooooooooo" and "We are Stars!!"), but with the very talented vocalists at the helm, they somehow pull it off. Oh yeah and there is also a 5 minute long guitar freakin' solo with some of the craziest guitarist around at the time that will blow your mind!!
Heres the Video for the song We're Stars:
<![CDATA[<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/P7eqxg92YG0&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/P7eqxg92YG0&rel=0</a>]]>
Check out the awesomeness of the 80s Hard Rock scene all mashed into one song.
So what else are you guys passionate about? I'd love to see pics and hear stories about your non-gaming related collecting habits.
Last week I received the single largest box that has ever been mailed to me. It was a beast of a parcel. Knowing exactly what it was I quickly paid the retarded customs fees ($80!!!) and ran downstairs (slowly and carefully) to my gaming dungeon. My wife and son heard the commotion and came down to see what kind of shenanagins I was getting into.
I was so exciting about the large package I decided to open the small package first (I got two parcels by the way) and get it out of the way. Heres what was in parcel number 1:
A sexy little Sega CDX system, 6 Boxed Genesis games, and 5 CIB Sega CD games!! These are the first Sega CD games I've gotten since I found Sonic CD (My only Sega CD game until now) like 5 years ago, so it was pretty awesome. But not as awesome as what was yet to come. The Sega CDX was more of a practical purchase rather than something I had to have. I've only got a certain amount of shelf space and a Genesis/Sega CD combo is just waaay to big. This is a nice little space saver and a really unique item at the same time.
Enough with the Sega junk, onto the real good stuff!! I grabbed the nearest sharp object, which happened to be a steak knife, and got ready to cut into the large box with surgical precision. After cutting open my index finger and making sure I wasnt going to bleed on anything inside I proceded. I opened the box slowly and gave my wife and kid my best N64 kid impression (OH MY GOD!!! NEO GEO!!! OH MY GOD!!). Thankfully they knew the reference and gave me a little chuckle of support. Behold the NEO GEO AES!!!
I have wanted one of these for over 10 years, but have never felt I had the opportunity to own one being the cheapskate that I am. Being the stand up guy that Terry is know to be he only charged me a fraction of the sticker price!!
And even threw in 3 sweet games with it! Heres a group picture for fun:
The moral of this story is to buy things from Marriot_Guy because he is awesome and has cool things. The end..... or is it?
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We are a community of collectors, gamers and the likes, and some of us enjoy to let the world know what is on our mind. For those members, we have the community blogs, a place where they can publish their thoughts and feelings regarding life, universe, and everything. Some of those members might even choose to write about gaming and collecting! Whatever they write about, you can find it on their blog. You can either see the latest community blog entries in the feed you see to the left, or you can browse for your favorite blog using the menu above. Interested in having your own blog hosted on RF Generation? It's rather simple, first be a registered member, and then click the "My Blog" link that you see in the navigation above. Following those two steps will certainly get you on your way to blogging.
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