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The Nintendo GameCube Appreciation and Collecting Thread.

G

Grief.exe

Member
Here has been my experience with Craigslist so far in acquiring classic games.

GB/GBC/GBA - incredibly easy. I just could not believe the shear amount of classics people had to sell or the low prices I was able to negotiate for.

PS2 - Another easy one though, admittedly, I was able to get the majority of my games from Gamestop during their 75% off sale.

DS - The prices I was able to find were very good, the selection was just horrible. I was sifting through pile upon pile of shovelware in these Craigslist posts before finding even a mainstream game.

GameCube - Impossible. The selection is just not there and when I do find some good games the prices are out of control. Couple that with the inherent difficulty of actually meeting up with unreliable people on Craigslist and you have a recipe for frustration.
 
R

RexRogers

Neo Member
Grief.exe said:
GameCube - Impossible. The selection is just not there and when I do find some good games the prices are out of control. Couple that with the inherent difficulty of actually meeting up with unreliable people on Craigslist and you have a recipe for frustration.
Click to expand...

I've had very good luck with Craigslist and GC games. This is what I've recently found with the prices I ended up paying:

- Silver Gamecube console w/ controllers (silver and orange) - $20.00
- Metroid Prime -------------------------- $0.55
- Wave Race: Blue Storm ------------ $0.55
- Rayman Arena ------------------------- $0.55
- Soul Calibur II -------------------------- $0.55
- Resident Evil 0 ------------------------- $0.55
- Resident Evil 4 ------------------------- $0.55
- Pikmin 2 ---------------------------------- $0.55
- F-Zero GX -------------------------------- $0.55
- Aggressive Inline ---------------------- $0.55
- SSX on Tour ---------------------------- $0.55
- Bomberman Generation ------------ $0.55
- Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes - $24.73
- Metroid Prime 2: Echoes ---------- $4.12
- Resident Evil --------------------------- $8.24
- StarFox Adventures ----------------- $4.95
- Star Wars: Rogue Leader --------- $4.12
- Star Wars: Rebel Strike ----------- $1.65
- Super Mario Sunshine ------------- $20.60
- Super Monkey Ball 2 --------------- $4.12
- Viewtiful Joe --------------------------- $2.47
- Luigi's Mansion ----------------------- $15.00
- Zelda: Twilight Pricess ------------- $15.00

All but two of these were CIB and I've gone ahead and bought whatever components were missing. I made sure to inspect all the discs so scratches are either extremely minimal or non-existent.
 
R

RexRogers

Neo Member
Lol! I am keeping a spreadsheet of all my gaming purchases. Got to make sure I remember what I have and what I need to still get. It also serves to keep my purchases in check, because I could easily go a little crazy.
 
Z

zephervack

Member
RexRogers said:
I've had very good luck with Craigslist and GC games. This is what I've recently found with the prices I ended up paying:

- Silver Gamecube console w/ controllers (silver and orange) - $20.00
- Metroid Prime -------------------------- $0.55
- Wave Race: Blue Storm ------------ $0.55
- Rayman Arena ------------------------- $0.55
- Soul Calibur II -------------------------- $0.55
- Resident Evil 0 ------------------------- $0.55
- Resident Evil 4 ------------------------- $0.55
- Pikmin 2 ---------------------------------- $0.55
- F-Zero GX -------------------------------- $0.55
- Aggressive Inline ---------------------- $0.55
- SSX on Tour ---------------------------- $0.55
- Bomberman Generation ------------ $0.55
- Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes - $24.73
- Metroid Prime 2: Echoes ---------- $4.12
- Resident Evil --------------------------- $8.24
- StarFox Adventures ----------------- $4.95
- Star Wars: Rogue Leader --------- $4.12
- Star Wars: Rebel Strike ----------- $1.65
- Super Mario Sunshine ------------- $20.60
- Super Monkey Ball 2 --------------- $4.12
- Viewtiful Joe --------------------------- $2.47
- Luigi's Mansion ----------------------- $15.00
- Zelda: Twilight Pricess ------------- $15.00

All but two of these were CIB and I've gone ahead and bought whatever components were missing. I made sure to inspect all the discs so scratches are either extremely minimal or non-existent.
Click to expand...

Holy shit good job, how much time a day do you spend on CG looking for stuff like that, I would think other people would snag that stuff up way before I would even learn they are there at those prices.
 
R

RexRogers

Neo Member
zephervack said:
Holy shit good job, how much time a day do you spend on CG looking for stuff like that, I would think other people would snag that stuff up way before I would even learn they are there at those prices.
Click to expand...

Not much time at all really. I have an app on my phone set to look for certain keywords on CL every 15 minutes. I just take a glance when a notification pops up. There've been some awesome SNES deals that I've snagged of there, too. Mega Man X3 for $75 for example.
 
T

televator

Member
RexRogers said:
Not much time at all really. I have an app on my phone set to look for certain keywords on CL every 15 minutes. I just take a glance when a notification pops up. There've been some awesome SNES deals that I've snagged of there, too. Mega Man X3 for $75 for example.
Click to expand...

Care to divulge the name of this sorcery? Funny thing is I'm more curious as to what kind of people sell a bunch of great GC games for less than a buck a piece. Haha
 
K

Koppai

Member
zephervack said:
My last 2 catches, slowly getting all the games I want, still cant find F Zero but the search continues

2iBLXvY.jpg



Glad to finally see them together

c0PhSjB.jpg
Click to expand...

This dude tried to sell me a copy of F-Zero but I just have too much right now: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/member.php?u=112790

Try there :)

I recently paid $65 for Cubivore lol, wtf! And Also got Chibi Robo for $30 (no manual though :/)

HolyMoly - you have an amazing collection :)
 
R

RexRogers

Neo Member
televator said:
Care to divulge the name of this scocery? Funny thing is I'm more curious as to what kind of people sell a bunch of great GC games for less than a buck a piece. Haha
Click to expand...

"Clapp" is the name of the app I use and there's a notification component that you install separately. Both are free on Android; no idea about iOS.

As to the people selling games, who knows what they're thinking. I'm not about to turn down a cheap box of games, though I might feel guilty about the deal I'm getting. Somehow I always seem to get over it.
 
G

Grief.exe

Member
televator said:
Care to divulge the name of this scocery? Funny thing is I'm more curious as to what kind of people sell a bunch of great GC games for less than a buck a piece. Haha
Click to expand...

Just ignorance. Thankfully, they haven't checked ebay yet to see the inflated values of these games.
 
Z

zephervack

Member
RexRogers said:
"Clapp" is the name of the app I use and there's a notification component that you install separately. Both are free on Android; no idea about iOS.

As to the people selling games, who knows what they're thinking. I'm not about to turn down a cheap box of games, though I might feel guilty about the deal I'm getting. Somehow I always seem to get over it.
Click to expand...

Whats the name of the component? I installed the app and dont see any options for getting notifications.
 
V

Version 3.0

Member
oatmeal said:
So I got Zelda: TWW Japanese version today..

HOW DID I NOT KNOW THEIR CASES WERE SMALLER?!?!?
Click to expand...

They're cool, aren't they? I've always thought Nintendo should've used them over here. What a great way to make Gamecube games eye-catching. As it was, they looked just like PS2 games. At least Microsoft had the foresight to color-brand the Xbox with sickly puke green (trying to evoke "cool" a la the Matrix, of course).

The Gamecube was mocked for its size, color and handle. I say they should've played those up as strengths, especially since they refused to admit it was a powerhouse.
 
O

oatmeal

Banned
Leondexter said:
They're cool, aren't they? I've always thought Nintendo should've used them over here. What a great way to make Gamecube games eye-catching. As it was, they looked just like PS2 games. At least Microsoft had the foresight to color-brand the Xbox with sickly puke green (trying to evoke "cool" a la the Matrix, of course).

The Gamecube was mocked for its size, color and handle. I say they should've played those up as strengths, especially since they refused to admit it was a powerhouse.
Click to expand...

They're WAAAAY better.
 
R

RexRogers

Neo Member
Figured I'd bump this thread and post my current GC game collection. I still have about 5 or 6 titles on my to-get list (I'll have to check the spreadhseet later), but it's almost there! I'm not going for anywhere near the complete library, just the games that I know I'll want to play. The first game is Agressive Inline and didn't come with the case when I bought it (sad), but the rest are all CIB. I'll probably sell Sims2 at some point... just don't care for it.

DSCN0656.jpg

DSCN0658.jpg


On a side note, I finally picked up my in-laws' Wii, so I was hoping to get some side-by-side component video testing done. I want to know if the GC really does offer a higher fidelity picture when using component hookups or if they're practically equivalent. Any suggestions on what in-game scenes to use as comparison shots?
 
T

the thoroughbred

Member
IrishNinja said:
holy crap how did i not know this
Click to expand...
Won't work with a PAL GC. Well the functionality is there, but the games are 576i and it won't play American or NTSC games natively. And you would need a TV that can accept the cable and NTSC input.

As you can see I put a lot of thought into going NTSC in the UK for my entire GC collection. I decided not to in the end. TVs in those days wouldn't have played the NTSC input.
 
Lynd7

Lynd7

Member
For any future GC games I get I am going with the NTSC ones, my PAL Cube collection is too big to consider re-buying everything.. I'll just have to live with it lol.

I didn't have any understanding of video things back then, and being the age I was it would have been harder to buy things from overseas.
 
K

-KRS-

Member
Lynd7 said:
For any future GC games I get I am going with the NTSC ones, my PAL Cube collection is too big to consider re-buying everything.. I'll just have to live with it lol.

I didn't have any understanding of video things back then, and being the age I was it would have been harder to buy things from overseas.
Click to expand...

At least it's not so bad with the GC. Most games seem to have an option to run them at 60hz.

NES/SNES/N64 on the other hand... yeah we got the short end of the stick there.

Edit: Right, progressive scan won't work with PAL games. But 60hz 480i sure works and still looks great with an RGB SCART cable on a CRT.
 
I

I am Christina Aguilera

Member
RexRogers said:
On a side note, I finally picked up my in-laws' Wii, so I was hoping to get some side-by-side component video testing done. I want to know if the GC really does offer a higher fidelity picture when using component hookuin-game scenes to use as comparison shots?
Click to expand...

I've seen comparison shots done elsewhere online before (I'm blanking on where), and I may be tempting fate in this thread by posting as much, but my takeaway was that both the Wii/GC being practically equivalent and the GC offering a slightly higher-fidelity picture are true.

On a screen by screen basis, the GC shots were just a *little* crisper and the colors more pronounced, but not in any way that would matter to a vast majority of people, or that would make the much higher price of the GC component cables worth it.

Your mileage may vary! I'd be interested to see your results.
 
O

oatmeal

Banned
RexRogers said:
I've had very good luck with Craigslist and GC games. This is what I've recently found with the prices I ended up paying:

- Silver Gamecube console w/ controllers (silver and orange) - $20.00
- Metroid Prime -------------------------- $0.55
- Wave Race: Blue Storm ------------ $0.55
- Rayman Arena ------------------------- $0.55
- Soul Calibur II -------------------------- $0.55
- Resident Evil 0 ------------------------- $0.55
- Resident Evil 4 ------------------------- $0.55
- Pikmin 2 ---------------------------------- $0.55
- F-Zero GX -------------------------------- $0.55
- Aggressive Inline ---------------------- $0.55
- SSX on Tour ---------------------------- $0.55
- Bomberman Generation ------------ $0.55
- Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes - $24.73
- Metroid Prime 2: Echoes ---------- $4.12
- Resident Evil --------------------------- $8.24
- StarFox Adventures ----------------- $4.95
- Star Wars: Rogue Leader --------- $4.12
- Star Wars: Rebel Strike ----------- $1.65
- Super Mario Sunshine ------------- $20.60
- Super Monkey Ball 2 --------------- $4.12
- Viewtiful Joe --------------------------- $2.47
- Luigi's Mansion ----------------------- $15.00
- Zelda: Twilight Pricess ------------- $15.00

All but two of these were CIB and I've gone ahead and bought whatever components were missing. I made sure to inspect all the discs so scratches are either extremely minimal or non-existent.
Click to expand...

jesus...
 
V

Version 3.0

Member
I am Christina Aguilera said:
On a screen by screen basis, the GC shots were just a *little* crisper and the colors more pronounced, but not in any way that would matter to a vast majority of people, or that would make the much higher price of the GC component cables worth it.

Your mileage may vary! I'd be interested to see your results.
Click to expand...

I've done my own comparisons and this was what I saw, too. The Gamecube produced deeper color saturation, and that's about it. If the picture was any sharper, I couldn't tell by flipping inputs. Maybe a true side-by-side would show it.
 
J

Jamix012

Member
Leondexter said:
I've done my own comparisons and this was what I saw, too. The Gamecube produced deeper color saturation, and that's about it. If the picture was any sharper, I couldn't tell by flipping inputs. Maybe a true side-by-side would show it.
Click to expand...

From my own comparisons this is similar to what I found. For a game like Pikmin 2 (both on Wii and GC) or Twilight Princess the order is the following.

Wii U (playing Wii Port) >> Gamecube with component > Wii with component

The Wii U is a significant step up from both, but the Gamecube is marginally better than the Wii.
 
A

aza

Member
I have a question about component cables and whether or not they're worth the investment. Will the difference in image quality really be as drastic as in the following image?

2132330-zeldacompositevsprogressivescan.jpg
Click to expand...

I just got my GameCube hooked up to my HDTV, and the image output looks a lot like it does in the top image (blurry). If the difference between the two is really that large, I'll seriously consider scouting for a pair of component cables.
 
Lynd7

Lynd7

Member
aza said:
I have a question about component cables and whether or not they're worth the investment. Will the difference in image quality really be as drastic as in the following image?



I just got my GameCube hooked up to my HDTV, and the image output looks a lot like it does in the top image (blurry). If the difference between the two is really that large, I'll seriously consider scouting for a pair of component cables.
Click to expand...

If you have it hooked up via composite currently, you will receive a substantial upgrade.
 
P

PumpkinSpice

Banned
aza said:
I have a question about component cables and whether or not they're worth the investment. Will the difference in image quality really be as drastic as in the following image?



I just got my GameCube hooked up to my HDTV, and the image output looks a lot like it does in the top image (blurry). If the difference between the two is really that large, I'll seriously consider scouting for a pair of component cables.
Click to expand...

There will be a significant and noticeable upgrade, and you'll be able to do 480p. I think in that picture the person taking it just didn't focus right in either picture, but depending on your TV's processing component will look a lot less blurry.

For GameCube specifically the component cables are definitely not worth the insane price they go for, but if you have a backwards compatible Wii, component cables are a cheap no-brainer upgrade.
 
A

aza

Member
Thanks guys. I do currently have it hooked up via composite. I don't want to pay the $150+ they're asking for the cable on eBay, but I am going to try and see if I can find it at least below $100 maybe within the next month or so.

I've also considered buying a backwards compatible Wii, but I really do like having the form factor of the GameCube sitting on my entertainment center. If I'm really unable to find a component cable for a decent price, then I'll consider going down that route.
 
E

emb

Member
I think I'm just going to get some S-video cables for my Cube (and most of my systems) and be done with it. The rabbit hole for high quality connections runs too deep, and paying out like crazy for improved IQ just isn't what I think I wanna do.

On a completely unrelated note, I played some GCN games over the past week.

I went back and finished (well, really started over) P. N. 03. The controls are weird to get used to, but it's pretty fun once you get in the flow of it. This game is surprisingly hard too. The last boss took me a bunch of tries, and some levels felt really long (until you realize you can run through most stuff). I wish full autofire was in effect the whole time though. It literally hurt to play until I got the Ultra Fusion suit.

I also knocked out Pac-Man World 2. I'd been on the next to last world for 10 or 15 years. Around a year ago I played up to the third level from last. Now I finally went ahead and just got to the end. I'm really tempted to collect more coins though.

Rounded out the week with some co op in Gauntlet Dark Legacy. It's so simple, but so good.
 
Z

ZealousD

Makes world leading predictions like "The sun will rise tomorrow"
aza said:
Thanks guys. I do currently have it hooked up via composite. I don't want to pay the $150+ they're asking for the cable on eBay, but I am going to try and see if I can find it at least below $100 maybe within the next month or so.
Click to expand...

S-Video will still give you a substantial upgrade over composite. It won't be as good as component of course, but it's a nice middle ground. And waaaaay cheaper.
 
A

aza

Member
ZealousD said:
S-Video will still give you a substantial upgrade over composite. It won't be as good as component of course, but it's a nice middle ground. And waaaaay cheaper.
Click to expand...

I don't have an S-Video input on my TV, just component inputs :(. Is there any way to convert it? Or am I stuck needing the component cables for a higher quality image?
 
E

emb

Member
aza said:
I don't have an S-Video input on my TV, just component inputs :(. Is there any way to convert it? Or am I stuck needing the component cables for a higher quality image?
Click to expand...
Honestly, if I were you I would spring for either a CRT (if you have room) or a Wii with component cables (if you don't). Both are cheaper than the GCN component cables, and have other benefits.

(I don't actually know the answer to the question though.)
 
C

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
S-Video cables aren't really very cheap either. Unless you get lucky you are usually looking to pay $50+ for those.

The cheap ones that include a composite output are almost universally garbage, and these are generally what you are going to find. Don't trust pictures, especially on Amazon.
 
J

Jamix012

Member
chaosblade said:
S-Video cables aren't really very cheap either. Unless you get lucky you are usually looking to pay $50+ for those.

The cheap ones that include a composite output are almost universally garbage, and these are generally what you are going to find. Don't trust pictures, especially on Amazon.
Click to expand...

The ones with composite, yes, are usually bad. But for $15ish you can find a perfectly good Gamecube S-video cable on ebay. That's what I used before getting component, and it was pretty much identical in quality to the component cables when running at 480i.
 
V

Version 3.0

Member
Jamix012 said:
The ones with composite, yes, are usually bad. But for $15ish you can find a perfectly good Gamecube S-video cable on ebay. That's what I used before getting component, and it was pretty much identical in quality to the component cables when running at 480i.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't go that far. I used to run s-video when I needed to capture from the Cube, before I had the equipment to capture component, and there's a clear difference. But the Gamecube does have very nice s-video output. It's a much bigger jump from composite to s-video, certainly, than it is from s-video to component.

A related piece of trivia: did you know the Gamecube can output component video and s-video (or composite) at the same time? It won't do it if it's running in progressive scan, but when I realized that back then, I stopped playing on the s-video output when capturing, and played on the component video while capturing from s-video.
 
A

aza

Member
emb said:
Honestly, if I were you I would spring for either a CRT (if you have room) or a Wii with component cables (if you don't). Both are cheaper than the GCN component cables, and have other benefits.

(I don't actually know the answer to the question though.)
Click to expand...

CRT is something I'm also considering...if I don't find component cables, and don't end up going with a Wii, that is likely what I'll do instead. With a Wii, is there a way to go straight to a GameCube game on boot up?
 
E

emb

Member
aza said:
CRT is something I'm also considering...if I don't find component cables, and don't end up going with a Wii, that is likely what I'll do instead. With a Wii, is there a way to go straight to a GameCube game on boot up?
Click to expand...
No, not unless it was in a later update. Wii is all kinds of hacked though, so you can probably mod it in some way to do that.

It's one of the most annoying things about the system, honestly. You can't even use the GCN controller until it's in GCN mode, meaning you have to connect a Wii remote just to play Cube games. You can at least use a classic controller to avoid always needing the sensor bar.
 
T

Timeless

Member
aza said:
CRT is something I'm also considering...if I don't find component cables, and don't end up going with a Wii, that is likely what I'll do instead. With a Wii, is there a way to go straight to a GameCube game on boot up?
Click to expand...

emb said:
No, not unless it was in a later update. Wii is all kinds of hacked though, so you can probably mod it in some way to do that.

It's one of the most annoying things about the system, honestly. You can't even use the GCN controller until it's in GCN mode, meaning you have to connect a Wii remote just to play Cube games. You can at least use a classic controller to avoid always needing the sensor bar.
Click to expand...
You can auto-boot to the Homebrew channel and that is controlled with a GC controller or Wii remote.

I think you can also auto-boot to something like NeoGamma, which can launch GC discs and is also GC-controller-compatible.
 
D

Dreavus

Member
Sweet, a GC thread! Currently trying to hunt down a copy of Mario Party 7, but I'm not in a huge rush. I play the occasional Mario Party board with a group of friends every so often, and that's the only game we're missing on the 'cube.

I am also in the process of assembling the Doomsday device that is the Four Swords Adventures hardware (for a 4 player game). I'm at 1 GBA and 4 link cables atm. Hoping to borrow the rest from various friends soon!
 
I

I am Christina Aguilera

Member
Dreavus said:
I am also in the process of assembling the Doomsday device that is the Four Swords Adventures hardware (for a 4 player game). I'm at 1 GBA and 4 link cables atm. Hoping to borrow the rest from various friends soon!
Click to expand...

I've only made it up to a 2-player game of Four Swords Adventures so far, but it's great fun, even as a 1-player game. Very Link to the Past-esque (shared graphics and remixed music will do that), and while the gameplay is a bit shallow versus other Zeldas, it's great for playing in 30-60 minute bursts.

If it comes down to it, you can always go on shopgoodwill.com or eBay and buy the occasional discounted lot of no-lighting GBAs that turn up there on occasion, but then you're stuck having to work with a very carefully-lit room. The desirable backlit AGS-101 models, unfortunately, currently run around $40-$50 apiece (the pink ones might run cheaper?).
 
IrishNinja

IrishNinja

Member
that Q just looks so baller...i love my purple lunchbox but it'd never get play if that thing was in the house, haha. well, maybe for the GBA player at least!
 
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