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GB/GBC/GBA Collecting Thread

-KRS-

Member
You need to set the aperture manually and put it at near the highest you can set it to. That way the picture will have a larger focus area so to speak, and things in the back will be sharper. And when you do that you will usually need a tripod as well because the shutter speed will perhaps be several seconds long.
 
What kind of camera did you use to take that pic? I tried something similar to that arrangement like 3 or 4 years back for a few pictures, and not one of them came out so clear. There were always huge swaths of boxes that were blurry.

I used an Olympus SP-510UZ that I got from my aunt. Sometimes I get stuff like what you mentioned, though. Lighting and proper camera focus are pretty important. A tripod helps a lot, too. I usually take a few shots before I decide on which one to use. I also try some shots with and without the flash on.

You need to set the aperture manually and put it at near the highest you can set it to. That way the picture will have a larger focus area so to speak, and things in the back will be sharper. And when you do that you will usually need a tripod as well because the shutter speed will perhaps be several seconds long.

This would all probably help, too. I just use the "auto" setting on my camera most of the time. Hah.
 

Teknoman

Member
I need to look into the Warioland games. Also if you guys want plastic cases for GB/GBA, best things to use are the original DS cases with the GBA slot. Nice for cover art if you dont have the original box, but you have to do a little editing for GB and GBC games.
 

Madao

Member
there's a lot of GBC/GBA games i really like but i'll never play on a system that lacks light.

the only way i play my old games is GB Player for GC or GBASP+ if i want to play on the go.

also, the oldest GB i have that still works is a GBC. my GBP died years ago and i never owned the brick GB. i have several GBA models though.
 
I've been collecting Super Famicom and Handheld games in Japan for the last year and a half, and I've bought a Game Boy Pocket (original game boy color scheme, speakers are busted but it cost $3 and otherwise looks great) Clear Game Boy Color, Anniversary Game Boy Micro, and Super Game Boy 2. As usual with any hardware I have bought, I didn't see any SGB2s for a while, then I bought one and immediately started seeing them everywhere for half the price I paid (this happened with NGPC, paid $20, could have seen them as low as $5, just bought a famicom, my favorite store got A/V famicoms in, etc...).

I was on the fence about getting a copy of Castlevania: Belmont's Revenge for about $16, since I assumed it would come to the 3DS eshop for much less and that would drive down the original price, but the store that had it sold out, GB games aren't really releasing for the VC anymore, and I haven't seen it in any of my local stores, only some in bigger cities where it's more expensive.

I bought the GBC mostly to play Kirby's Tilt and Tumble, since that won't work on any other system I have, but I do kind of want to rebuy a classic GBA (traded my original in for an SP). I may also get a DSlite (only have a DSi right now, gave my DSphat to a nephew before I started collecting handhelds) so I have something with a bigger screen than my Micro that plays GBA games and looks great. I'm really disappointed that the SP+ never made it to Japan, as that's what I really want.

I HAVE picked up:

Warioland 2-4 (have 1 in the US still)
all of the GB and GBC Kirby games except Dreamland 2 (I used to own it and grew to hate it)
Bonk GB collection
Alleyway
Cattrap
Penguin Wars
Batman
Yoshi's Panel de Pon
SaGa 1
For Frog the Bell Tolls
Megaman 5 (Rockman World 5)
Megaman Xtreme 2
Solomon GBC
Mother 3
Fire Emblem 6
Starfy 1-3
Suikoden Card Stories
Klonoa 1,2, and Heroes
Mr. Driller Ace
Wario Ware: Twisted
 
By far the hardest library to collect complete for. Back when I was younger and still collected games I was so proud of my complete collection of all handheld Pokemon games (I think Mystery Dungeon Red was the only game I didn't have). Pokemon is one of those rare Nintendo franchises that literally had no "bad" titles for any of the Game Boy lines. Every game was incredibly well made and of top quality. Can't really say the same anymore.. :/

And because they don't get as much praise as I think they should:

1135581291-00.jpg
Bkgruntysrevengentsc.jpg
Itsmrpantsboxart.jpg
Banjopilotboxart.jpg
 

madp

The Light of El Cantare
Oh yeah, this is one of my favorite subjects. I'll have pics later. Impressive collections already, guys!
 

Parallacs

Member
Here is my gameboy collection (pre-GBA, boxes not included):

XVMngVL.jpg


The top row are my childhood games.

I've blurred out my sister's name from her games which she gave me after playing once.

I have all the "Castlevania" games with Kid Dracula being the highlight of my collection (though it isn't a Castlevania game, the boss appears in Symphony of the Night).

I have a gameboy light. I sniped an eBay auction for it along with a green gameboy color and pokemon gold. So much fun and nostalgic of my childhood timex!

I always grab printers and cameras when I find them for a dollar. One of the cameras was 99c at gamestop. Probably the last game I got there (besides Xenoblade).

Kid Dracula is the only game I have worth more than $40, though Cast. Legends is close.
 
And...here's my modest collection.

5s3qKuA.jpg

cw4lfD0.jpg


God, my camera takes such shitty pictures at night because there's no lighting in here.

I used to have literally dozens of original GB games, this is all I took with me when I moved from NY to California.

Overall, I don't have a ton, but I like my little collection.

And yes, I have 2 copies of Golden Sun: Lost Age. One boxed, one loose.
 

Evenball

Jack Flack always escapes!
and here's my current collection:


I used to have MANY more games, but I sold them in bad times. I always kept Shantae though, because it's a great game and now it worth like a 2nd mortgage. They only printed about 40,000 copies of Shantae. I sold my boxed copy of Megaman 5 over 10 years ago and I am going to eventually replace it when I can find one for the right price. That cartridge with a speaker on it is a pocketvoice. it can record and playback audio.

The deal with Megaman 5 is it is unique among the gameboy megaman games. the first 4 were watered down version of their NES siblings, but 5 was an entirly new game with planet-based robot masters and a whole different story. It's easily the best of the gameboy mega mans.

I often have trouble finding games at thrift stores, though Pokemon yellow there was bought at a goodwill 3-4 years ago. Ebay is not so bad for Gameboy games as most collectors are too busy finding SNES games. The boxed Revelations: the demon slayer was a recent purchase through ebay for less than $20. Pawn shops always seem to have a few games, they are a good place to look.

here's another super-expensive game: Ninja five-o http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ninja-Five-...9146?pt=Video_Games_Games&hash=item23276b271a
Good luck finding that one, GAF!
 

madp

The Light of El Cantare
Okay, here's my stuff. My GBC and console boxes are in storage, but this should do for now:


And yet, there are dozens more games that I'd like to add to this before I can feel like I have a complete library of good GBA games. What really slows down my progress is that I buy all of my games complete, which forces me to be more selective due to the higher cost and for more niche titles, it can be months between complete copies surfacing on ebay (what do I have to do to find a copy of the Robopon games that aren't for sale from a fixed price gouger?) It's a shame that the collector market for the GBA is so small because it's a really vibrant library and I love to see other people appreciate it, but I guess anti-handheld bias is always going to hold it down outside of the super-rare stuff that obsessive collectors desire regardless of platform.

Anyway, I'm really glad to see that this thread exists and I hope to hear about everyone else's collecting experiences.
 

Parallacs

Member
Here is my gubah collection. Nothing valuable.

5jAgxEI.jpg


Top row were my first games.

The blue GBA,black SP (pre-ordered from Lik Sang) and the Famicom Micro were all my original systems. Everything else is eBay.

Of all these, Harvest Moon is probably my favorite.

I got Monster Guardian when I visited Japan back in 2002. The game was like 500 yen. Rhythm Tengoku was a good $40 but came with the box and stickers and is a much greater game.

I also have all of the Castlevania games for GBA of course.

The cart off to the right is my Cart of Shame-VI. My wife got me it years ago off amazon and obviously got scammed. I don't buy from Amazon anymore.
 
Here is my gubah collection. Nothing valuable.

Top row were my first games.

The blue GBA,black SP (pre-ordered from Lik Sang) and the Famicom Micro were all my original systems. Everything else is eBay.

Of all these, Harvest Moon is probably my favorite.

I got Monster Guardian when I visited Japan back in 2002. The game was like 500 yen. Rhythm Tengoku was a good $40 but came with the box and stickers and is a much greater game.

I also have all of the Castlevania games for GBA of course.

The cart off to the right is my Cart of Shame-VI. My wife got me it years ago off amazon and obviously got scammed. I don't buy from Amazon anymore.

Can I have one of your Micros?
 
Damn, I think the only GB game I have a complete copy of is FFV Advance. (And the box is in less than favorable condition...)

I still have the manuals for a lot of my games, but man, do I wish I kept the boxes.
 

Stencil

Member
I hope this isn't a bannable offense or anything, but I've got complete copies of Final Fantasy Adventure (GB) and Pokemon LeafGreen (GBA) for sale in the B/S/T Thread if anyone is interested.

That being said, I love playing on my OG Grey Brick Gameboy. I just got a JPN copy of Fushigi no Shiren (or something... Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer) for GB at Pink Gorilla in Seattle. Awesome.
 

Mzo

Member
The only cardboard boxes I ever kept were for GBA games. It looks neat and all, but it puts me in the awkward position of not being able to buy any naked carts lest I break the streak. I just took a picture as I was moving stuff around today:

BC8H1S5CcAAyHD1.jpg:large


The shiny one under MMBN2 is a sealed MMBN3 =X
 

Parallacs

Member
Just ordered a Game Boy Light and some games. Woo.

Nice! did you get it from a japanese website or eBay?

The only cardboard boxes I ever kept were for GBA games. It looks neat and all, but it puts me in the awkward position of not being able to buy any naked carts lest I break the streak. I just took a picture as I was moving stuff around today:

BOXED GAMES

The shiny one under MMBN2 is a sealed MMBN3 =X

Holy Crap this is a nice collection. I have never even seen the box for Warioware Twisted before haha.
 

Borman

Member
Nice! did you get it from a japanese website or eBay?



Holy Crap this is a nice collection. I have never even seen the box for Warioware Twisted before haha.


Ebay. I had been holding off, but there was a decent one for relatively cheap. Picked up a few games that I know would be cheaper online, but it'll be off to the local game stores to do some picking soon.
 
I hope this isn't a bannable offense or anything, but I've got complete copies of Final Fantasy Adventure (GB) and Pokemon LeafGreen (GBA) for sale in the B/S/T Thread if anyone is interested.

That being said, I love playing on my OG Grey Brick Gameboy. I just got a JAP copy of Fushigi no Shiren (or something... Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer) for GB at Pink Gorilla in Seattle. Awesome.

Damn, wish I hadn't missed out on your Minish Cap.
 

Het_Nkik

Member
The only cardboard boxes I ever kept were for GBA games. It looks neat and all, but it puts me in the awkward position of not being able to buy any naked carts lest I break the streak. I just took a picture as I was moving stuff around today:

BC8H1S5CcAAyHD1.jpg:large


The shiny one under MMBN2 is a sealed MMBN3 =X

What's the boxing game and is it anything like Punch-Out?
 

Teknoman

Member
What's the boxing game and is it anything like Punch-Out?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5agxewF-N7w

Sorta, yeah.

Here is my gubah collection. Nothing valuable.

5jAgxEI.jpg


Top row were my first games.

The blue GBA,black SP (pre-ordered from Lik Sang) and the Famicom Micro were all my original systems. Everything else is eBay.

Of all these, Harvest Moon is probably my favorite.

I got Monster Guardian when I visited Japan back in 2002. The game was like 500 yen. Rhythm Tengoku was a good $40 but came with the box and stickers and is a much greater game.

I also have all of the Castlevania games for GBA of course.

The cart off to the right is my Cart of Shame-VI. My wife got me it years ago off amazon and obviously got scammed. I don't buy from Amazon anymore.

Ouch, you guys could've returned that and told em it was a pirated copy or something. If the seller didnt accept, Amazon probably would have either forced the return or just refunded you the money.
 

Timeless

Member
"Recommended Games" for collecting? Or for playing? Either way, Japanese-exclusive games are the way to go. Soundvoyager will get its proper recognition... someday. Mother 3 is great, but you already knew that. It may be too late to buy a copy for "collecting" purposes. Then again, the value could just keep going up. E-cards can be worth crazy amounts as well. Japan got tons of exclusives in that department. Maybe Famicom Minis will be valuable because of their somewhat unique packaging?

Another great Japanese exclusive is Rhythm Tengoku (Rhythm Heaven). I see a few of you own it. I fell in love with the game and have since been working on a fan-translation. The game is even better in English: there are tons of jokes that you would otherwise miss.

Spyro: The Eternal Night may end up being valuable someday. Late-in-life GBA game with some minor praise. The Pokemon games may as well be gold because their value is always high.

[I PMed a mod on whether it was okay to discuss my personal project in the forums. I believe this post is within the guidelines the mod told me.]
 

Parallacs

Member
Ouch, you guys could've returned that and told em it was a pirated copy or something. If the seller didnt accept, Amazon probably would have either forced the return or just refunded you the money.

I did, Amazon immediately refunded her but said it didn't need to be returned. They probably had a laugh at the picture.

I played it a bit but it doesn't save. Besides, I have it on SNES and have played it too many times.
 

Mzo

Member
Someone sell me a complete DemiKids Dark >=[

Why is one version so much rarer than the other?

I can still remember seeing Ninja Five-O on the shelves back when I worked at EBX. "Eh, I'll buy it tomorrow," I'd say.
 

The_Afroman

Member
This is so funny that this Thread was started. I recently got inspired to start collection handhelds again.. as my Gameboy was lost years ago and i feel there is less love to handhelds.

I picked up a Red DMG Game Boy of EBay a few nights ago and ordered a red 4led backlight kit for it.. Should be interesting

Picked up some games today at a resell shop. Over paid i think, $5-$14 a game.. but i really wanted to have some when it got here..
 

Lynd7

Member
Nice collections. What do you guys do for replacing the game batteries? Do u solder or just use tape and pressure?

Is there a good way to make them easily replaceable for the future?
 

madp

The Light of El Cantare
Someone sell me a complete DemiKids Dark >=[

Why is one version so much rarer than the other?

I can still remember seeing Ninja Five-O on the shelves back when I worked at EBX. "Eh, I'll buy it tomorrow," I'd say.

No idea. You could actually buy new copies of Light on Amazon until recently, but Dark skyrocketed in rarity. Perhaps Atlus had a smaller print run out of concern that it would sell less due to "dark" emphasizing the demonic imagery more, which probably wouldn't fly with some parents.
 

Parallacs

Member
Nice collections. What do you guys do for replacing the game batteries? Do u solder or just use tape and pressure?

Is there a good way to make them easily replaceable for the future?

I haven't had to do one in a while, but you usually need to solder to remove the dead battery. Leave a dollop of solder on the contact and gently tap it before sliding in the battery.

It takes 10 seconds!
 

Het_Nkik

Member

Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting. It was made by ~Treasure~

I think the anime and games are called Victorious Boxers in the US.

Oh, well I'm gonna have to get it since I'm trying to buy all of Treasure's games :p


Here are my games:

The one wiped out by the flash is Superstar Saga. Imports are Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart, Mother 3 (well this one's box is in English so I don't know why I said that), Rhythm Heaven, and Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest.

Oh, and I also have this game which wasn't by my other games when I took that first photo:

For the Frog the Bell Tolls. It's really good. I recommend importing it and checking out the English patch.
 

goldenpp72

Member
I haven't had to do one in a while, but you usually need to solder to remove the dead battery. Leave a dollop of solder on the contact and gently tap it before sliding in the battery.

It takes 10 seconds!

I've never soldered anything in my life and most of the videos I see on youtube have people fumbling to death with some of these things. I've also seen people have trouble finding the right sizes, etc. Is there kind of a description in the best kind of iron, technique, and where to buy all the stuff from? Any good way to practice, things to watch out for, that kind of thing? It's one thing to test soldering on something worthless but when you put the iron near a copy of Shantae it becomes a scary thing :p
 

plc268

Member
I guess I'll share my collection. I try to keep my collection lean, and only collect the good games, or games I have nostalgia for. I have a couple of holes in my collection, but I'm still working on acquiring certain games.

8469286533_1eb1b9b928_b.jpg

8470381790_d2c80b2709_b.jpg

8470381990_aefbfb1e89_z.jpg


And at this point, I'm just showing off...

8470382360_0d11422ae7_b.jpg
 
The complete lack of Bit Generations games in everyone's collections is criminal. Yes, some of them were rereleased on DSiware & Wiiware in the west. But they're best experienced as intended, as GBA games. Unfortunately I wasn't able to collect all seven titles, but I'd like to think that I own the best four. Dotstream is my personal favorite.

Here's a photo of the few GBA imports that I own.

 

VXLbeast

Member
We need to compile a list of GBA shelfwarmers. I know I found a beat up copy of Sigma Star Saga at another Wal-Mart a while back.

^This sounds like an awesome/hilarious idea. I would love to see that thread.

To echo what someone else said here, Pokemon TCG on GBC is surprisingly fun.

Also, does anyone here have an E-Reader? Man, scanning Pokemon cards into that thing was so fun.
 

madp

The Light of El Cantare
The complete lack of Bit Generations games in everyone's collections is criminal. Yes, some of them were rereleased on DSiware & Wiiware in the west. But they're best experienced as intended, as GBA games. Unfortunately I wasn't able to collect all seven titles, but I'd like to think that I own the best four. Dotstream is my personal favorite.

Here's a photo of the few GBA imports that I own.

I own Soundvoyager and Boundish. Wish I had them all, of course, but Soundvoyager is one of the best GBA games period. I'm glad that was one of the ones I managed to get.
 

Parallacs

Member
I guess I'll share my collection.
And at this point, I'm just showing off...

Here are my games:

So many people in this thread with freaking Shantae! Haha, not sure yet if I want to search for it.

I've never soldered anything in my life and most of the videos I see on youtube have people fumbling to death with some of these things. I've also seen people have trouble finding the right sizes, etc. Is there kind of a description in the best kind of iron, technique, and where to buy all the stuff from? Any good way to practice, things to watch out for, that kind of thing? It's one thing to test soldering on something worthless but when you put the iron near a copy of Shantae it becomes a scary thing :p

Get a really cheap plug-in soldering iron, like $3 - $5. They work a lot better than those stupid coldtouch ones.

Get Lead Rosin Core or Silver (lead free) Solder. Don't get any acid based solder as they are not for electronics. Solder is really cheap as well.

Don't worry about Solder Wick. A quick tap of the wrist is more effective.

The battery used can be found on eBay for ~$2 (Like "Pokemon Battery Replacement"). Once you know what kind it is, buy bulk from amazon or elsewhere. EDIT: Different games use different types. Check first to see if it looks right!

To practice, go to a dollar store or swap meet and buy a remote or alarm clock or whatever. It is really fun.

VENTILATE!
 

Het_Nkik

Member
So many people in this thread with freaking Shantae! Haha, not sure yet if I want to search for it.

I actually got my copy sealed and mint off eBay for $60. This was around 4 years ago, and it was still a good deal then, since most were around $80+ for a used complete copy I think. I'm too afraid to check how much the game goes for now. I just got lucky with this one and was the first to jump on a Buy It Now from someone who didn't know how much it was worth.
 

The_Afroman

Member
I actually got my copy sealed and mint off eBay for $60. This was around 4 years ago, and it was still a good deal then, since most were around $80+ for a used complete copy I think. I'm too afraid to check how much the game goes for now. I just got lucky with this one and was the first to jump on a Buy It Now from someone who didn't know how much it was worth.

Vf3T2u


Yeah....
 

Lynd7

Member
I've never soldered anything in my life and most of the videos I see on youtube have people fumbling to death with some of these things. I've also seen people have trouble finding the right sizes, etc. Is there kind of a description in the best kind of iron, technique, and where to buy all the stuff from? Any good way to practice, things to watch out for, that kind of thing? It's one thing to test soldering on something worthless but when you put the iron near a copy of Shantae it becomes a scary thing :p

The battery sizes I use for Game Boy games are CR 2032 I think. Most come with 2025, but the 32 is a higher capacity that still fits.

I have just used a knife to get the old batteries out before, then used duct tape or something to hold it in place. It's not the most elegant solution though.
 

plc268

Member
The battery sizes I use for Game Boy games are CR 2032 I think. Most come with 2025, but the 32 is a higher capacity that still fits.

I have just used a knife to get the old batteries out before, then used duct tape or something to hold it in place. It's not the most elegant solution though.

Nope.

Almost all GB/GBC games have a CR1616. The pokemon games (except for yellow) have a 2025.
 
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