I replied to a tweet a few days ago from @gamesyouloved that went like this:

"if someone wants to start a retro game collection
what's the best way to do it?"

My reply:

"If I were starting now, I'd go for quality over quantity and buy like, one good game every paycheck or something."

I've been thinking about this tweet and its replies for a few days now, and I'd like to elaborate on it. Of course, to answer this question, there are so many variables to consider, and each person will have his or her own set of circumstances which will dictate what can be done. Note that the question is about collecting specifically, so while I'd naturally lean on emulation, this article will be about how I would build a physical collection from scratch today if I had to.



I have been imagining what it would be like if I owned no video games and wanted to start collecting again today, with all my knowledge and experience intact. The first thing I'd do is buy a copy of Dragon Warrior. Yes, this game's price has inflated like all others, but it can still be had for about ten bucks for a loose cart. I'd go ahead and build my collection around that, but I wouldn't approach it the way I did the first time around, where I needed to have the "classic" collection of NES (Contra, Punch-Out, Castlevania etc.). Instead, I think I'd hunt for bargains on some of the cheaper games that I know are good. Looking at pricecharting as I write this, there are still dozens, if not hundreds, of NES games that can be had for under $10, and some of them are great. I'm not a huge NES fan anymore really, so I'd probably grab 5-10 games and be done with it.

Having built a nice little NES library, I'd want to move on to the SNES. The first thing I'd do is grab the Super Mario World & Super Mario All-Stars combo cart. Seems you can get a copy for just under $30, and it's worth every penny. Unlike the NES, there isn't quite a glut of games under $10 for the SNES. I'd also have to drop approximately $20 to grab a copy of Tetris Attack for my wife. After that, my "must haves" are creeping into the 'once every paycheck' territory I mentioned in my reply tweet. Looks like Turtles in Time is going for about $60 and for my money way more fun than the last COD or FIFA at that price. However, unless you're independently wealthy, you can't load up on tons of games at prices like that, hence 'once every paycheck.'

It's been all Nintendo so far; I think I'd pick up a PlayStation 2 next. As some of the responders of the tweet noted, PS2 consoles are widely available and allow you play both PS1 and PS2 games. Now that we're into disc based systems, there are plenty of shovelware inexpensive quality titles on both systems. My splurges here are Metal Gear Solid for under $30 and Persona 3 FES which can be bought new at the time of this writing for about $35.

I'd love to talk about how cheap XBOX 360 collecting is, but I don't think it's considered retro yet. I like where I'm at with this collection. I'd actually buy most of my games online, as I do now. I used to love hunting specifically for games in brick and mortar stores, but honestly we all know that isn't what it used to be, and it doesn't really thrill me anymore.

With the base collection set as outlined above, I'd carefully consider each purchase after that. All the games I've bought so far in this imaginary scenario are ones I have played before. I have to admit, I kind of miss researching a game I haven't played to death before buying it. I feel like I haven't done that in a really long time. I'd definitely check out some new games I've never played rather than stockpiling ones I owned previously. The more I think about this scenario, the more I wish it was real.

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