Retro game collecting is still alive and well in my heart. While I haven’t been running into as many cool deals out in the wild as I used to, I’m glad to know a couple of people that also love video games and collecting as much as me. Occasionally, I’ve had the opportunity to purchase games from friends wishing to downsize or purge their games, and this post will cover two separate purchases from a lovely person I’ve known online for at least 6 years!
First up are some handheld games for the Game Boy, Game Boy Colour, and the Game Boy Advance. These were all actually included as a bonus and were a complete surprise when they arrived. The Game Boy game is Battle Arena Toshinden, a one-versus-one fighting game. This kind of game usually isn’t my cup of tea, but I’ve been consistently impressed with games I’ve discovered on the Game Boy and will go in with an open mind. I’m sure it’s fun, and hopefully easier than later games that require you to become one with controllers and combos. Toobin’ on the GBC looks like a prettier version of the NES game that I’m more familiar with. Floating down a lazy river and avoiding the local wildlife along with other obstacles makes for a good and challenging time. Onimusha Tactics and Rebelstar: Tactical Command are both tactical RPGs for the Game Boy Advance. Now that I’ve logged some time with strategy games like StarCraft and had some success playing Final Fantasy Tactics, these could be a great way to follow up and enjoy more of that kind of gameplay on the go.
One of the side-scrolling Sailor Moon beat-em-ups got a lovely reproduction release, and my friend sent this along as something for my husband to fix. The cartridge never worked even when it was brand new, and a closer look at the internals verified that it needed a little extra soldering work/repair before it would actually play. Thankfully, after not too long, it was fixed up and ready to test out. It’s in great working condition now, and I really love all of the extras that came along with this package. The stickers are awesome, and while I’m not usually a huge fan of pink, I think it’s fitting for the cartridge. It makes me want to go out and buy a big pack of bubble gum.
I never thought in a million years that I’d own an Atari Lynx, but here we are. This was another item that was included in the package in non-working condition, and after a little research and capacitor replacing, it was good to go! Those little pouches on the case are where some of those Game Boy games I mentioned earlier were hiding. I actually owned a single Lynx game before getting the system, and it’s Cyberball Tournament. I had no idea that it was a football game, and I’m going to be on the lookout for more things to try out in the Lynx library because footballin’ just isn’t my jam.
One of the big draws for my first purchase from this friend was the allure of Nintendo DS games. I’m now able to livestream stuff from the NDS via a modified original DS system, and that change made me a lot more interested in seeing what was out there for this library of games. There are quite a few awesome titles here, all complete and in excellent condition. Fast Food Panic, Big Bang Mini, Hotel Dusk Room 215, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, Glory of Heracles, Retro Game Challenge, Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies, Izuna 2, Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey and Okami Den were all included. I’m especially excited for Retro Game Challenge, which I understand was based on Game Center CX. If you’ve never had the pleasure of watching Game Center CX, you’ve been missing out. Much of the series has been subbed in English and is worth a watch if you love retro gaming. Dragon Quest IX and Hotel Dusk Room 215 also have my attention!
Xenoblade Chronicles for the Wii was something I’ve always been interested in playing, but never found for the right price. I can’t say I’ve really had the opportunity to dabble in an RPG that’s this new (unless Dragon Age counts, and that was well over 10 years ago now!), but lots of the graphics remind me of my first foray into the turn-based RPG realm: Final Fantasy X on the Playstation 2. Next time I’m hankering for some motion control goodness, this might be something I look into starting up.
Ah yes, the PSP. I’d spent quite a while looking for an AV cable that can be used with specific models for livestreaming but never had any luck. I knew a few people that had a horrible time capturing from one with a third party cable, but now I’m able to play PSP games on stream using a soft mod, no cables required. I haven’t yet, but I’m really excited to sooner than later. Gran Turismo The Real Driving Simulator, Ultimate Ghosts ‘n Goblins and Half-Minute Hero were included in this purchase, with the latter being the one I’m most interested in. I’ve gotten most of my racing kicks out of Super Hang On for the Sega Genesis, but I’d definitely be down to try out some Gran Turismo on handheld and see what it’s like. Ultimate Ghosts ‘n Goblins is something I’m not sure I’ll enjoy, but who knows? I suffered through the NES game a little while back, so maybe it’s time to settle in and try out a new challenge. Maybe. Don’t quote me on that.
This is the start of the second purchase I made from my pal, and what a way to start: A Turbo Express!! This is essentially a handheld Turbografx 16 that plays hucard games, and I’m pretty excited to finally have one of my own. A while back now, my husband had the pleasure of fixing one of these up for a friend, and he lent us his entire game library to test the repair unit out with once it was fixed. The one I bought here works (it just has a single dead pixel on the screen), but we’ll still probably open it up and clean it, and check for any internal issues since these systems are notorious for having leaky capacitors after this many years. It’s a very cool thing to own, and I’m happy to now have copies of Neutopia, Takin’ it to the Hoop, Hit the Ice, and Bonk’s Adventure. My tiny little Turbografx/PC Engine collection is growing steadily!
There were two Switch games included as a total surprise, including Plane Scape Torment and Icewind Dale. I hadn’t heard of either of those prior to seeing them included in this compilation, but from what I’ve heard from my better half, they’re excellent games that I’ll definitely enjoy whenever I get around to trying them out. Funny enough, I recently saw a copy of Icewind Dale at a thrift store for sale, but it was way too expensive to purchase. The other Switch game is Waku Waku Sweets, and I have absolutely no idea what this one is. It looks cute enough though!
Two of the games I was really keen to pick up were Ys titles: Seven, and The Oath in Felghana on the PSP. To date, I’ve only really played Ys Vanished Omens on the Sega Master System, Ys III: Wanderers from Ys on the SNES, and Ys IV: Mask of the Sun on the Super Famicom. I loved my experience with each of them and have always wanted to expand further into that series, so I suppose it’s time to play “the other Ys 3” and try my hand at Seven one of these days as well. I’m sad to see the loss of the bump combat, but nonetheless, it’s great that there still so many RPG adventures I haven’t gotten to try yet. I think the thing I’m most excited for is the soundtrack. These games never fail to impress in the music department.
All of these games were included for the Sega Genesis were a complete surprise. Streets of Rage 2 Mega Man Edition is apparently a romhack that substitutes characters from that series into the normal Streets of Rage 2 game. This isn’t something I would’ve ever sought out on my own, so I’m glad someone shoved it onto my plate for me. Now, the Ooze and Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures are a bit notorious. The Ooze looks like it’s nearly impossible to finish based on watching a friend’s playthrough, and from what I’ve seen of the Pac-Man game, I’m not sure I’ll be able to get too far into it either. His little screaming face on the label art says it all: run while you still can. The last game in the lineup there is Super Hydlide, a “bad” game that I’m curious to try out for myself. It came to my friend with a disconnected battery, and there’s a new one in place now. I’m able to try it out any time, though I’m not sure I’m in any particular rush to play these four. Maybe the Streets of Rage game…
My jaw hit the floor when I saw this game in the parcel box because Silly Bandz suddenly flooded back to me, but more importantly, I have no idea how they managed to make a game out of this. I’ve watched a little bit of gameplay footage to see what it’s all about, and it’s a brand-themed version of Angry Birds by the look of it. What a strange adaptation of something you were supposed to collect and wear. And unfortunately, the Silly Bandz pack wasn’t included with the purchase!
Last but certainly not least is the Arc the Lad Collection for the PS1. This is a game that I’ve wanted to own since I passed up on a copy many years ago. Someone had been selling a copy of the big box version locally, but at the time, we’d already bought a few other things from him and drew a spending line there. Ever since, I’ve regretted not picking it up, but now I have the smaller version of the game without all the bells and whistles (no big manual, standees, etc.) but all the gaming action I could possibly want from this series. It feels really good to have this in the collection and it’s strangely relieving to have finding this game off my mind after all these years.
And there you have it! Quite the haul from a pal of many years! I’m happy to give these games a new home and share them with everyone while I enjoy them too.
Thanks for reading!
-GG