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[IrishNinja]

The key was to never stop caring about Famicom/NES, instead of not caring from 1993-2010 like it seems most of these youtube morons.

gorgeous pic, just wanted to add to this -
while i co-sign the newjack YT moron thing, man it stung watching shit jump up....i just felt spoiled by prices being relatively the same for like, ever.

i didn't have an NES as a kid, so the first time i had $ leftover in college in like '98, i went to an EB and bought one with the 15 or so games everyone usually would get (marios, zeldas, castlevanias, mega mans, contra and i wanna say golgo 13 and wizards & warriors for good measure)...i don't recall but i wanna say it was nowhere near $100 for everything, because the 32-bit era was in full swing and no one cared about them.

i had to sell my sega & sony stuff during some hard times in the early aughts, but was confident i could buy it back later when things were more stable...literally the first time i noticed trouble was around 2008 when i was trying to replace my lost PSX RPGs/etc and people wanted north of $50 for FF VII, a game that in my mind came in crackerjack boxes. shit felt like it went downhill fast, and by the time i was in a place to scoop up the stuff id lost & others i wanted, it was 2011 or so and you could already feel the bubble starting in places like SNES' scene.

by last year, everything from turbo to saturn to my precious genesis was toxic and i decided to bail and just pick up everdrives. anyway, not sure where i was going with all this but yeah...i'm willing to wager a lot of us didn't really stop caring, we just took that large window of time for granted, and now it's a mess where i'd actually celebrate someone getting Snatcher for a dollar.

 

[Morfeo]

For a while back I traded in a lot of my PAL NES games in favor of the Famicom versions. I have nostalgia for the games, but not for the scandinavian format. Plus I finally get to play some of these games at the correct speed (Mega Man 1&2 for example). I got some ridiculously high prices for those games, since the craze concerning especially NES games with SCN region code here in Finland is really booming. After trading, I got all the same games plus a lot of extra stuff as well for my AV Famicom and some other consoles too.

I've been thinking of doing the same with my SCN games since these days I only collect NTSC, but I've never gotten around to it and most PAL NES games run fine on NTSC consoles anyway. The SCN collectors are really crazy/stupid though. Why the hell would I pay more for a sub-par version of a game, just because it's scandinavian? Fuck that. It's already expensive enough as it is.

A bit late here, but seeing this, I think im going to start do this myself. Just wonder, were do you guys sell them? I have a huge collection of scn-games that i want to change into famicom or at least ntsc, but not quite sure were to find the buyers crazy for scn.

 

[Morfeo]

I'm telling you guys to jump on Conquest of the Crystal Palace before its too late.

I was thinking the exact same thing just last month and bought it. This gem will quickly become expensive!

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

So, playing River City Ransom for the first time. What the fuck am I doing!?

 

[carlos]

So, playing River City Ransom for the first time. What the fuck am I doing!?

beat up people, get money, buy upgrades

if the music changes when beating up people or entering a new area, that's the area boss; go for it if you feel ready, or go back to grinding for upgrades.

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

Are stat boosts from eating food permanent or will they run out after a while?

EDIT: I just ate some egg rolls that said it was raising my defense by 3, but the stat didn't change? Just staid at 15.

 

[entremet]

I never figured out RCR. I felt I was going in circles.

 

[lordmrw]

River City Ransom is one that I haven't gotten around to reviewing yet. Don't know why i keep avoiding it as I liked the game back in the day.

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

Well, I made it to the high school, but I can't get in. Reading online that means I missed a boss? But, I can't go back. How the hell do I get back through the factory?

 

[ElTopo]

River City Ransom is good but once you get that upgrade where your kick attack hits multiple times, the game just stops being interesting because it becomes too easy. At least for me. I want to play that reboot that's been Kickstarted.

I still think the best Beat 'em Up game on the NES is either:

Double Dragon 2
Mighty Final Fight
or Batman Returns

Another problem I have with River City Ransom is that the combat felt pretty shallow.

 

[D.Lo]

gorgeous pic, just wanted to add to this -
while i co-sign the newjack YT moron thing, man it stung watching shit jump up....i just felt spoiled by prices being relatively the same for like, ever.

i didn't have an NES as a kid, so the first time i had $ leftover in college in like '98, i went to an EB and bought one with the 15 or so games everyone usually would get (marios, zeldas, castlevanias, mega mans, contra and i wanna say golgo 13 and wizards & warriors for good measure)...i don't recall but i wanna say it was nowhere near $100 for everything, because the 32-bit era was in full swing and no one cared about them.

i had to sell my sega & sony stuff during some hard times in the early aughts, but was confident i could buy it back later when things were more stable...literally the first time i noticed trouble was around 2008 when i was trying to replace my lost PSX RPGs/etc and people wanted north of $50 for FF VII, a game that in my mind came in crackerjack boxes. shit felt like it went downhill fast, and by the time i was in a place to scoop up the stuff id lost & others i wanted, it was 2011 or so and you could already feel the bubble starting in places like SNES' scene.

by last year, everything from turbo to saturn to my precious genesis was toxic and i decided to bail and just pick up everdrives. anyway, not sure where i was going with all this but yeah...i'm willing to wager a lot of us didn't really stop caring, we just took that large window of time for granted, and now it's a mess where i'd actually celebrate someone getting Snatcher for a dollar.

For sure.

I've sold certain things I'm dirty about now. I sold some rare Saturn games which have tripled in value since.

I'm lucky in that I mostly care about Japanese releases, which have in general remained more sane.

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

River City Ransom done:

Pretty weird ass game.

 

[Teknoman]

i'm willing to wager a lot of us didn't really stop caring, we just took that large window of time for granted, and now it's a mess where i'd actually celebrate someone getting Snatcher for a dollar.

Bingo.

 

[Kyle]

For sure.

I've sold certain things I'm dirty about now. I sold some rare Saturn games which have tripled in value since.

I'm lucky in that I mostly care about Japanese releases, which have in general remained more sane.

I've been a player and a 'collector' my entire life, I never stopped enjoying and playing games. I've ran into some tough times and lost most of my collection (theft) but I kept chugging along. With the way things are now though I'll probably never get back everything I lost.

That's why I have done the same and just went the route of collecting Japanese titles... Picked up a famicom, av famicom and continue to collect JP titles instead. Even doing this I can still feel the creep on ebay prices, etc, it feels never ending.

Everdrive feels like a better investment day after day.

 

[OnPoint]

River City Ransom done:

Pretty weird ass game.

Yo congrats. RCR isn't the hardest game, but it's one of those games that lets you craft your experience around how you want to play. If you want an easy time, grab Dragon Feet, level up your kicks and get the Texas Boots. You'll fly through the game with no problem. If you want something more challenging, you can choose to forego upgrades like that and just fight clean and natural. There's room for all sorts of strategies. I think it has probably the deepest combat system on the NES just through sheer variety, at least of the games that I've played.

And to anyone who gets lost, the game tells you to go back to Sherman Park to fight Blade when you defeat Rocko. I didn't get that when I was a kid because I didn't bother reading. It blew my mind that you had to go back when I played this as a kid (also having not yet played Metroid or Blaster Master), since I had only played linear games up to this point.

As an aside, my studio just released a game and we're doing a giveaway here on GAF. It's our strange take on the classic SHMUP, and while the graphics aren't in the NES palette or limitations, I wrote the whole soundtrack and did the SFX in Famitracker. If anyone's interested, please check out the game's thread.

 

[papo]

River City Ransom done:

Pretty weird ass game.

Pretty AWESOME weird ass game. One of my favorite games from my childhood.

 

[-KRS-]

A bit late here, but seeing this, I think im going to start do this myself. Just wonder, were do you guys sell them? I have a huge collection of scn-games that i want to change into famicom or at least ntsc, but not quite sure were to find the buyers crazy for scn.

I've yet to sell any games, but there's a Facebook group called Loppis Vilda Västern that I know people sell games like crazy in. And there are other groups as well. I don't have fb myself though. Otherwise I suggest Tradera.com. This is all assuming you're in Sweden.

Edit: ok so according to my friend Loppis Vilda Västern is filled with a bunch of hoarders and resellers, so maybe don't sell any games there if you want the best value for them. So I say your best bet is probably Tradera.com. If you put them up there and clearly mark them as being scn people will bid them up to what they're worth most of the time.

 

[Mega]

gorgeous pic, just wanted to add to this -
while i co-sign the newjack YT moron thing, man it stung watching shit jump up....i just felt spoiled by prices being relatively the same for like, ever.

by last year, everything from turbo to saturn to my precious genesis was toxic and i decided to bail and just pick up everdrives. anyway, not sure where i was going with all this but yeah...i'm willing to wager a lot of us didn't really stop caring, we just took that large window of time for granted, and now it's a mess where i'd actually celebrate someone getting Snatcher for a dollar.

I fell off because of limited space, focus on school and tight money. I wanted to go lean and portable. I have a solid little GBA and DS collection. Then I went digital out of convenience. It was only this year I noticed SMB3 and other common titles for like $20 in a local shop and laughed, thinking that the store owner had made a ridiculous overpricing mistake.

Well, shit really did change a lot. People used to give me NES games for free because they were too busy playing their 32-bit games and saw the old stuff as lame, outdated junk.

Remember years ago reading forums and someone would ask: I have these dozen old games, Zelda, Mario, Double Dragon, etc, are they worth anything?! Everyone responds NOPE, common stuff worth a few bucks! EBay, the growth of gaming as a popular hobby, rise of retro and nerd pop culture, LPers and the overall interconnected and hyper-aware gaming community guarantee that we will never have a time of ultra-cheap games like that again. At least not for a long time if this is indeed a bubble. Gamers are now super vigilant about what they have on their hands.

In 5-10 years, I can see a console like the Wii U having a Dreamcast-like reputation due to the first party output and its games commanding crazy SNES-level prices.

 

[sixteen-bit]

I fell off because of limited space, focus on school and tight money. I wanted to go lean and portable. I have a solid little GBA and DS collection. Then I went digital out of convenience. It was only this year I noticed SMB3 and other common titles for like $20 in a local shop and laughed, thinking that the store owner had made a ridiculous overpricing mistake.

Well, shit really did change a lot. People used to give me NES games for free because they were too busy playing their 32-bit games and saw the old stuff as lame, outdated junk.

Remember years ago reading forums and someone would ask: I have these dozen old games, Zelda, Mario, Double Dragon, etc, are they worth anything?! Everyone responds NOPE, common stuff worth a few bucks! EBay, the growth of gaming as a popular hobby, rise of retro and nerd pop culture, LPers and the overall interconnected and hyper-aware gaming community guarantee that we will never have a time of ultra-cheap games like that again. At least not for a long time if this is indeed a bubble. Gamers are now super vigilant about what they have on their hands.

In 5-10 years, I can see a console like the Wii U having a Dreamcast-like reputation due to the first party output and its games commanding crazy SNES-level prices.

Probably inevitable. Heck, that's how Gamecube is now.

 

[RadarScope1]

I've gone back and forth but could kick myself for being out of collecting from about 2009 through early this year. That's when prices spiked. I was carefully building my collection and making lists of hidden gems and valuable games in fits and spurts from 1998-2009. I didn't buy tons but it was a steady haul. Then I got a HDTV and couldn't play older stuff so I put it in the closet for a few years. I came back to it last winter and it's a whole new ball game.

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

And to anyone who gets lost, the game tells you to go back to Sherman Park to fight Blade when you defeat Rocko. I didn't get that when I was a kid because I didn't bother reading. It blew my mind that you had to go back when I played this as a kid (also having not yet played Metroid or Blaster Master), since I had only played linear games up to this point.

This is exactly what happened to me last night when I posted I had made it to the high school. Had to go all the way back and found him.

 

[OnPoint]

This is exactly what happened to me last night when I posted I had made it to the high school. Had to go all the way back and found him.

Yeah, the text is rarely ever important. But in that single moment, it definitely is.

 

[RadarScope1]

I wonder if Konami's move out of the console space for good will spike prices of their classic games and franchises? Many are already high. If know we will never see another traditional Castlevania again, does that move the needle on interest in Castlevania carts, for example?

 

[sixteen-bit]

I wonder if Konami's move out of the console space for good will spike prices of their classic games and franchises? Many are already high. If know we will never see another traditional Castlevania again, does that move the needle on interest in Castlevania carts, for example?

I'm sure. I remember the Zettai Zetsumei Toshi games surged when part 4 got canceled and Irem went under. They leveled off eventually though.

 

[TeaJay]

A bit late here, but seeing this, I think im going to start do this myself. Just wonder, were do you guys sell them? I have a huge collection of scn-games that i want to change into famicom or at least ntsc, but not quite sure were to find the buyers crazy for scn.

There's a Facebook group for retro games in Finland too. That's where I sold most of my stuff, and a local auction site, Huuto.net.

 

[IrishNinja]

In 5-10 years, I can see a console like the Wii U having a Dreamcast-like reputation due to the first party output and its games commanding crazy SNES-level prices.

oh, absolutely this - look how bad the GC scene got a few years back. now imagine a much smaller base - we've already got physical copies of Pikmin 3, NSMB Luigi and others getting tricky to find; it's gonna be crazy.

 

[entremet]

oh, absolutely this - look how bad the GC scene got a few years back. now imagine a much smaller base - we've already got physical copies of Pikmin 3, NSMB Luigi and others getting tricky to find; it's gonna be crazy.

I think so, but NSMB Luigi is available on disc again, but this time as a combo pack with NSMB U.

I'm sure people will want that Green standalone disc.

 

[RadarScope1]

Any toaster NES owners have experience with Fami converters (the kind with a ribbon or pull string)? Any particular type to seek out (besides the old Honeybee one - $$$$)?

I would love to own an AV Fami at some point but it seems like buying one of these converters from eBay is a cheaper option in the meantime.

 

[BocoDragon]

oh, absolutely this - look how bad the GC scene got a few years back. now imagine a much smaller base - we've already got physical copies of Pikmin 3, NSMB Luigi and others getting tricky to find; it's gonna be crazy.

Keep an eye on the Wonderful 101. That disappeared from store shelves quickly and I don't see used copies often.

 

[Sakujou]

hey guys, iam not into NES collecting (started with snes games 10 years ago)
so a couple of years back i bought a gameboy-cupboard.
when i cleaned my videogame room i realized that it came with another bag of games i never opened

at first i thought like please let there be some holy grail games...

but then there were only goonies1+2, ski or die, jack niclas golf, top gun1+2 and sword and serpent copies.

all german copies...which didnt got open till today. are they worth any money?
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a380/MoK_Videl/killer3.jpg

i think except my copies seen in the picture there are probably 10-15copies flying around(i hoped for some good shit, but my bad)

i hope someone gives me some good insights.

 

[Flizzzipper]

Okay, I need to get an nes controller with turbo for some shooters. What are my options besides the Advantage and Max?

 

[RadarScope1]

Okay, I need to get an nes controller with turbo for some shooters. What are my options besides the Advantage and Max?

A lot of people like the Four Score. You can use whatever controller you want and add turbo functionality to it. Added bonus of a cord extender and 4-player functionality for games that use it. Otherwise look at the Sansui Joycard or a Beeshu Zipper.

 

[TeaJay]

i hope someone gives me some good insights.

I can't comment on the german market but the CIB games seem to be in good quality, so maybe a collector would want them, even though the games themselves aren't really rare.

Also do try to keep your lunch inside yourself.

 

[D.Lo]

Also do try to keep your lunch inside yourself.

lol

 

[-KRS-]

Any toaster NES owners have experience with Fami converters (the kind with a ribbon or pull string)? Any particular type to seek out (besides the old Honeybee one - $$$$)?

I would love to own an AV Fami at some point but it seems like buying one of these converters from eBay is a cheaper option in the meantime.

I used to use an NTDEC one until I got my AV modded Famicom just recently, but I can't recommend that one. While it always worked great with every game I used it with, it seems that the PCB is somewhat thicker than regular carts. The grip on it was always a bit firmer than regular carts when pulling it out. Eventually one day when I pulled it out one of the pins on the connector had become bent and was pointing straight down! I fixed it by pushing a regular NES cartridge in there so it was bent back again, but the next time I used the converter it happened again. So I stopped using it out of concern that the pin would eventually break off if I continued. It's actually what pushed me to finally get an actual Famicom for my FC carts.

I have a third party connector with gold-plated pins in my NTSC NES though. Maybe an original connector that doesn't have a very firm grip wouldn't have that problem.

Oh and another thing about the NTDEC converter is that it didn't seem to have a lockout chip in it, so I had to disable the lockout chip in my NTSC NES (which I planned to do anyway) for it to boot the games. I think the Honey-bee one has a lockout chip inside it. So that might be another concern with other converters. But if you already disabled the lockout chip any converter will probably work fine.

 

[OnPoint]

Anything to look out for when purchasing an AV Famicom?

 

[sixteen-bit]

Anything to look out for when purchasing an AV Famicom?

make sure the seller packs it carefully

 

[OnPoint]

make sure the seller packs it carefully

I forgot that happened. Holy crap. Any details on the seller, so that I can avoid them?

 

[Tain]

I forgot that happened. Holy crap. Any details on the seller, so that I can avoid them?

It was SHINJITU JP. They at least took the item back, but definitely a hassle given how long the international shipping took.

 

[RadarScope1]

Thanks synt4x. I already plan to both replace my third party connector with an OEM one and will disable the lockout chip anyway. Both will help if I go this converter route.

Different topic - looks like the gouging gods have struck again. Cinemassacre did a video on Jackie Chan Action Kung Fu last week and the price has gone from about $40 to over $100 in a matter of days. Holy fuck. That's a game that has been on my radar screen but I just haven't pulled the trigger. The problem is, I have about 150 games on my want list and you just never know when one of these videos will strike. I guess all you can do is subscribe to them and hit the buy button as soon as they put out a video. Ugh.

 

[-KRS-]

Yeah I've also been meaning to get Jackie Chan for a while but have prioritized other games instead. I'm guessing $100 is for a CIB copy? I really like Cinemassacre but this shit is crazy.

 

[TeaJay]

I also bought Jackie Chan (PAL B version) for 20 € so that wasn't too bad. I can't really buy many CIBs nowadays with current prices, unless it's a bit more non-desired game (I recently did buy Magic Sword CIB for the Super Famicom).

 

[Teknoman]

Thanks synt4x. I already plan to both replace my third party connector with an OEM one and will disable the lockout chip anyway. Both will help if I go this converter route.

Different topic - looks like the gouging gods have struck again. Cinemassacre did a video on Jackie Chan Action Kung Fu last week and the price has gone from about $40 to over $100 in a matter of days. Holy fuck. That's a game that has been on my radar screen but I just haven't pulled the trigger. The problem is, I have about 150 games on my want list and you just never know when one of these videos will strike. I guess all you can do is subscribe to them and hit the buy button as soon as they put out a video. Ugh.

Yeah I've also been meaning to get Jackie Chan for a while but have prioritized other games instead. I'm guessing $100 is for a CIB copy? I really like Cinemassacre but this shit is crazy.

I was literally just about to post if the nes version was better than pc engine too...

 

[RadarScope1]

I'm guessing $100 is for a CIB copy?

Sorry, nope. Loose. Take a look on eBay. Fucking insane. I hope it's just a spike.


EDIT: just called a regional chain here in the Midwest (Vintage Stock) - no copies at any store and haven't had one for a while according to the clerk. Same with a mom and pop store in town but that's to be expected. Figured it was worth a call.

 

[Flizzzipper]

A lot of people like the Four Score. You can use whatever controller you want and add turbo functionality to it. Added bonus of a cord extender and 4-player functionality for games that use it. Otherwise look at the Sansui Joycard or a Beeshu Zipper.

Four score looks pretty cool and I can use the reg controller which is awesome. I did order a max just to try out and have. Thanks.

 

[A Black Falcon]

I have the 4 Score, Max, and Advantage, and for turbo my preferred one is the Advantage because it has dials that allow you to select the exact speed of turbo that you want. With the Max or 4 Score all you can do is turn on turbo and hope it's right for this game, but the Max's turbo button isn't as fast a level of turbo as the Advantage at the top setting... not sure about the 4 Score, though, I mostly just use it as a controller extender and not for turbo.

 

[IrishNinja]

Keep an eye on the Wonderful 101. That disappeared from store shelves quickly and I don't see used copies often.

good call - grabbed that one off a gaffer a while back, picked up toad's treasure tracker for similar reasons (plus its good!). mario kart, smash etc i'm less worried about - the obvious one i'm passing on now cause im broke is Rodea next month, that's gonna be tricky down the road i bet

 

[Khaz]

the obvious one i'm passing on now cause im broke is Rodea next month, that's gonna be tricky down the road i bet

Isn't the Wii version the better one anyway?

 

[TheMoon]

the obvious one i'm passing on now cause im broke is Rodea next month, that's gonna be tricky down the road i bet

Rodea was pushed to November a while ago.

Isn't the Wii version the better one anyway?

Yes. But that comes with every Wii U copy anyway

 

[sixteen-bit]

Isn't the Wii version the better one anyway?

lol, I remember importing the JP version outta panic b/c I wasn't sure if the Wii ver would make it west physically.