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SNES Game Collecting (Tips, discussion, and info for like minded collectors)

D.Lo

Member
Oh, haha. You buy from Rose Colored Gaming because you want an fancy pants looking art piece that has a ROM in it. I thought you were talking about the standard stuff where somebody tries to make it look like a retail product.
It's a repro. There's no such thing as a SOM2 retail product.

Part of what they're selling is piracy and part of what they're selling is another person's homebrew work. The only part that's their work is some fan art.
 

Teknoman

Member
I've got Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei, Arabian Nights, Feda, Seiken Densetsu 3, and the first 3 Dragon Quest remakes waiting on translation treatment. I think I should slow down on grabbing all the imports I want with patches...but their so cheap complete (except Arabian Nights...I just ended up getting that cart only since it seems interesting but i'm not too sure about the game).
 

Shining

Member
I'm having a BLAST with my Dragon Quest VI, V, Secret of Mana 2 and Romancing SaGA 3 repro carts on my NTSC SNES!
These games are great and look amazing, crisp and beautiful, I've got them in HD via that $50 SCART converter.

This is truly classic gaming! I dont think anything compares with SNES.

I've got Live-A-Live and Terranigma on the way.

And looking forward to getting:

Star Fox 2
Dragon Quest III Remix
Metal Max Returns
Burning Heroes
Bahamut Lagoon
Arabian Nights
Mega Man & Bass
Lennus II
Front Mission
Shin Megami Tensei
FFVI (retranslated)
Breath of Fire II (retranslated)

and then the Fire Emblem games as they become translated

The SNES just keeps delivering!!!
Only the best play here :)
Don't forget Treasure of the Rudras!
 

ZealousD

Makes world leading predictions like "The sun will rise tomorrow"
It's a repro. There's no such thing as a SOM2 retail product.

I know that. That's why I said look like a retail product. Most repro makers will use standard carts with little modification, print out a label that looks authentic, use boxes using standard retail designs, etc. Most people want repros that look like retail products, even if they aren't.

Part of what they're selling is piracy and part of what they're selling is another person's homebrew work. The only part that's their work is some fan art.

I would probably never buy any of RCG's repros, but he uses a lot of custom parts and it looks like a lot of work to me. If people just wanted a repro they could go elsewhere for far cheaper. If people want to pay extra for artsy-fartsy stuff, I don't see the issue.
 

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
Part of what they're selling is piracy and part of what they're selling is another person's homebrew work. The only part that's their work is some fan art.

... none of what they're selling is the translation patch or the ROM. If people just cared about playing they game, they'd pirate the patched ROM. Isn't this obvious? What does it cost to play Neill Corbett's SD3 translation patch if you want to do so right now? $0.

So why do people pay $50 for a cart? The value clearly comes from the amount of work it takes to program EEPROMs and solder them onto the cart and reassemble it into a physical package.

I think it's certainly reasonable to be critical of the fact that at no point was the original developer/publisher paid and that it's clearly a kind of grey-market piracy that has no parallel elsewhere in gaming or media, but let's not pretend repro guys aren't doing anything. If they weren't doing anything, they'd have a lot more competition than they do. What they do is considered quite difficult and time consuming.
 

Mercutio

Member
This was $40 earlier this year.

God dammit, this hobby is starting to suck big-time.

Perceived scarcity, man. Everyone's worried they won't be able to get things for decent prices in a year or two, so they're all buying now... which in turn is driving up prices and causing real scarcity.
 

IrishNinja

Member
More of y'all are starting to see it: super everdrive + pick up what you want slowly when and if fair prices are seen, that's my plan here. I can get a board for less than that loose sunset riders cost

bu bu bu its msrp was $60 in 1993 and if u adjust for inflation you're getting a deal

Haha I don't know why that guy always tries to bring that up like new in 1993 prices should male you feel better about a $20 game for nearly decades now being like $100 loose
 
More of y'all are starting to see it: super everdrive + pick up what you want slowly when and if fair prices are seen, that's my plan here. I can get a board for less than that loose sunset riders cost



Haha I don't know why that guy always tries to bring that up like new in 1993 prices should male you feel better about a $20 game for nearly decades now being like $100 loose
Yeah, the inflation argument especially doesn't hold water when you consider there is more entertainment competing for your interest now than 20 years ago and the price and culture of the hobby has gotten much cheaper overall. It's comparing apples and oranges.
 

Square2015

Member
Hmm, I had never heard of this game before. Judging by a youtube video I'm looking at right now, it seems pretty neat. Graphically it looks pretty good, aside from the battles. I might have to check it out sometime.

Yeah it would be great to hear some feedback on Arabian Nights for those who've invested in it, it looks so beautiful as a later-gen title. It's average review on GameFAQs is around 7.5/10 though...hmm.
 

D.Lo

Member
... none of what they're selling is the translation patch or the ROM. If people just cared about playing they game, they'd pirate the patched ROM. Isn't this obvious? What does it cost to play Neill Corbett's SD3 translation patch if you want to do so right now? $0.

So why do people pay $50 for a cart? The value clearly comes from the amount of work it takes to program EEPROMs and solder them onto the cart and reassemble it into a physical package.

I think it's certainly reasonable to be critical of the fact that at no point was the original developer/publisher paid and that it's clearly a kind of grey-market piracy that has no parallel elsewhere in gaming or media, but let's not pretend repro guys aren't doing anything. If they weren't doing anything, they'd have a lot more competition than they do. What they do is considered quite difficult and time consuming.
For sure, they're evidently doing quite well. All I said was 'it pisses me off'.

I think it does have other equivalents though - for example, if a company was to nicely box up and sell a fan dub of an anime or movie. Doesn't matter how nice the box is, the core product is piracy and the next most major element is appropriation of others work.
 

baphomet

Member
... none of what they're selling is the translation patch or the ROM. If people just cared about playing they game, they'd pirate the patched ROM. Isn't this obvious? What does it cost to play Neill Corbett's SD3 translation patch if you want to do so right now? $0.

So why do people pay $50 for a cart? The value clearly comes from the amount of work it takes to program EEPROMs and solder them onto the cart and reassemble it into a physical package.

I think it's certainly reasonable to be critical of the fact that at no point was the original developer/publisher paid and that it's clearly a kind of grey-market piracy that has no parallel elsewhere in gaming or media, but let's not pretend repro guys aren't doing anything. If they weren't doing anything, they'd have a lot more competition than they do. What they do is considered quite difficult and time consuming.

Making repro carts is definitely not difficult and charging more then $25-30 for a cart is absolutely gouging on pricing. Outside of a few games, they longest part of making a repro is the time to erase and burn your Roms.
 

SKINNER!

Banned
why pay so much for 50hz?

the nostalgia factor I suppose. Ebay seems to be the only place in the UK you can find old SNES games these days.(Indy video game stores are rare and even they sell old games at stupid prices) The only PAL game I got is NBA JAM Tournament Edition. Currently using an FC twin to play my NTSC SNES. Wouldn't mind an NTSC SNES...one day. Plus, I need to pick up a complete boxed Chrono Trigger...one day.
 
I was browsing a local store on a whim today and picked up a (complete!) used Game Genie, as well as copies of Plok and B.o.b. I never played these titles back when they were released but they looked promising from a quick Google search; anyone have a quick opinion or mini review on either of them?
 

Mzo

Member
Plok is boring and ugly.

B.O.B. is one of those games where you traverse slightly maze-like levels to reach the exit and pick up lots of different ammo types for your gun.
 
Plok is boring and ugly.

B.O.B. is one of those games where you traverse slightly maze-like levels to reach the exit and pick up lots of different ammo types for your gun.

Hmm, that's a shame about Plok. The one review I read said some pretty positive things about it, but oh well. B.O.B.'s gameplay doesn't exactly sound exciting either, but at least it's another decent game on the shelf. Thanks!

They also had a filthy copy of Super Widget and a perfectly clean copy of Indiana Jone's Greatest Adventures, but I think they were asking something like 24.99 for it, which is insane.

A year or two ago I was scanning the typical places for SNES games online and decided to wait until I finished college to bite on anything. At the rate some games are exploding in pro e, it would have been smart to just buy back then and resold everything to help pay off loans.
 

D.Lo

Member
why pay so much for 50hz?
Well, generally PAL packaging is much nicer. True for almost every generation, and every system. Of course the are exceptions, but Konami SNES games kept the fantastic NES silver boxes, and later kept the format but branched into other colours. USA black boxes are drab in comparison.

And the game itself isn't 50Hz, just the system in runs on. Pretty much every PAL 3rd party SNES game received no PAL conversion, and runs perfectly at 60Hz on a system with a switch or an NTSC system with converter or the lockout removed. Same goes for most NES, Master System and Mega Drive games, only Nintendo 1st and 2nd party games consistently had any PAL conversion at all (a curse back then but an odd bonus today).

Secondly, most buyers are not savvy, and simply want what they had as kids, or what they couldn't afford as kids. They happily play it on their 50Hz system. They don't know about superior NTSC versions and don't care.
 

Garcian

Member
I'm having a BLAST with my Dragon Quest VI, V, Secret of Mana 2 and Romancing SaGA 3 repro carts on my NTSC SNES!
These games are great and look amazing, crisp and beautiful, I've got them in HD via that $50 SCART converter.

Care to point a brother in the direction of said Scart converter please?
 

-KRS-

Member
Regarding Plok, it for some reason has recently gotten itself a loud fanbase which is hailing it as one of the best and most innovative platformers on the SNES. I don't really agree with that statement but it's not bad in my opinion.

Same goes for most NES, Master System and Mega Drive games, only Nintendo 1st and 2nd party games consistently had any PAL conversion at all (a curse back then but an odd bonus today).

The PAL optimized games are a curse today though. :(

I started collecting PAL games so most of my collection is PAL, but now that I have NTSC systems the PAL optimization is holding me back from enjoying the games in 60hz.
 

djtiesto

is beloved, despite what anyone might say
I'm having a BLAST with my Dragon Quest VI, V, Secret of Mana 2 and Romancing SaGA 3 repro carts on my NTSC SNES!
These games are great and look amazing, crisp and beautiful, I've got them in HD via that $50 SCART converter.

This is truly classic gaming! I dont think anything compares with SNES.

I've got Live-A-Live and Terranigma on the way.

And looking forward to getting:

Star Fox 2
Dragon Quest III Remix
Metal Max Returns
Burning Heroes
Bahamut Lagoon
Arabian Nights
Mega Man & Bass
Lennus II
Front Mission
Shin Megami Tensei
FFVI (retranslated)
Breath of Fire II (retranslated)

and then the Fire Emblem games as they become translated

The SNES just keeps delivering!!!
Only the best play here :)

Where do you buy the repros? I'd love to get some of these for play on my actual SNES (and SupaBoy) instead of just on an emu. Especially since I want to start Emerald Dragon SFC soon.
 
Where do you buy the repros? I'd love to get some of these for play on my actual SNES (and SupaBoy) instead of just on an emu. Especially since I want to start Emerald Dragon SFC soon.

Personally I think it's better to just play them on an Everdrive/SD2SNES. You can play on actual hardware, it's cheaper than buying a bunch of repros, and you're not contributing to the destruction of old games (even if they are just sports garbage).
 

-KRS-

Member
Personally I think it's better to just play them on an Everdrive/SD2SNES. You can play on actual hardware, it's cheaper than buying a bunch of repros, and you're not contributing to the destruction of old games (even if they are just sports garbage).

I agree with this. I'd rather own the actual Japanese release of a game and just play the translation patch on my flashcart.
 

Gunsmithx

Member
Personally I think it's better to just play them on an Everdrive/SD2SNES. You can play on actual hardware, it's cheaper than buying a bunch of repros, and you're not contributing to the destruction of old games (even if they are just sports garbage).

I've had this arguement with a friend, I always say one day you'll want Madden '95 and it'll be like 100 bucks! Also don't they have to use donor carts with special chips like the sa-1 or superFx? means more then sports games are getting killed. Cheaper in the long run to just get a good flashcart.
 

D.Lo

Member
The PAL optimized games are a curse today though. :(
Yep. I generally ran PAL games on NTSC hardware for years, and Nintendo first party stuff just doesn't work. They were the only company that consistently bothered back then (Sega's rudimentary efforts such as Sonic 2 simply sped up the music), but now it breaks it.
 

-KRS-

Member
There are also some games which have no apparent PAL optimizations done to them, but have graphical glitches when running at 60hz. Like Rush 'n' Attack in which the background glitches out a bit at the top half of the screen. But it's thankfully pretty rare. And Rush 'n' Attack is still playable despite the glitches because you only ever move on the bottom half of the screen.

And Mega Man 2 is not PAL optimized, but they have certainly done something with the music because running it in an NTSC unit makes the music run at the correct speed but it sounds a bit odd.

:(

Edit: Oh and Sunsoft was also one of the few who were consistent with their PAL optimization. At least on the NES.
 

TheMoon

Member
I was browsing a local store on a whim today and picked up a (complete!) used Game Genie, as well as copies of Plok and B.o.b. I never played these titles back when they were released but they looked promising from a quick Google search; anyone have a quick opinion or mini review on either of them?

B.O.B. is awesome (but also super hard and might get boring after a while) and I hate the password system. But damn do I love the funky music.
 

Peltz

Member
Personally I think it's better to just play them on an Everdrive/SD2SNES. You can play on actual hardware, it's cheaper than buying a bunch of repros, and you're not contributing to the destruction of old games (even if they are just sports garbage).

Can flash carts run games like Star Ocean and Star Fox 2?
 

Mzo

Member
Personally I think it's better to just play them on an Everdrive/SD2SNES. You can play on actual hardware, it's cheaper than buying a bunch of repros, and you're not contributing to the destruction of old games (even if they are just sports garbage).

Yes.

I agree with this. I'd rather own the actual Japanese release of a game and just play the translation patch on my flashcart.

Yes.


YES.
 

Kainazzo

Member
Can flash carts run games like Star Ocean and Star Fox 2?

Several flashcarts can play Star Ocean, so long as it's an expanded ROM (7.6MB instead of 6, I think?). No flashcart can play Star Fox 2, as you need the SuperFX chip. SD2SNES can theoretically, but support hasn't been added yet.

I'll echo that it's worth it to get a good flashcart over a repro. My SD2SNES is awesome, if only for the mods. There are so many ways to play FFIV again!
 

Peltz

Member
Several flashcarts can play Star Ocean, so long as it's an expanded ROM (7.6MB instead of 6, I think?). No flashcart can play Star Fox 2, as you need the SuperFX chip. SD2SNES can theoretically, but support hasn't been added yet.

I'll echo that it's worth it to get a good flashcart over a repro. My SD2SNES is awesome, if only for the mods. There are so many ways to play FFIV again!

So, all I'd have to do is download prepatched roms and then flash them onto the cart? How are saves handled?
 

Kainazzo

Member
So, all I'd have to do is download prepatched roms and then flash them onto the cart? How are saves handled?

Correct. You can also easily patch ROMs using Lunar IPS. Saves are handled either in a different directory or hidden on the ROM list. I've never had to look >_>. It's all handled automatically, as if I were playing each game on its own cart.
 
Re: PAL optimizations, I'd noticed that the PAL version of Thunder Force IV plays the music at the correct speed, regardless of whether or not you're running it at 50Hz or 60Hz. Unusual, as usually the music playing slower at 50 or faster at 60 would be a telltale indicator that optimization happened - but nope, it plays at the same tempo irrespective of your specified refresh rate.

It does mean the timing of the intro is screwed up at 60Hz, though; since the intro itself is slowed down but the music is not, they start it later, adding some sound effects to the initial shot of ships zooming off to the right. At 50Hz, it stops when the words "THUNDER FORCE IV" finish warping in, like it does in the NTSC versions (albeit the NTSC-U version says "LIGHTENING FORCE" [sic], as the game's title was changed because why). At 60Hz, however, it goes past that, almost until the demo starts.

Just an amusing observation I'd made.
 

hypotc

Member
I'm getting this in the mail in a about a week.

50/60 hz switch + region switch + widened cart slot. This will be a great addition to my original, near mint original PAL console.

GOODBYE SLOW PAL GAMES <3

dewcZ6D.jpg




American SNES consoles look so silly, so I decided to get a modded PAL console.
 
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