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

nice. i like the idea of using older garbage carts, but does he toss in a battery for those needing it, or what? the games he suggested didn't seem to have them.

also yeah, those label s are definitely better than some, let me tell you

The first list of games have batteries, the second list are games without.

EDIT: Cancel that, wasn't looking close enough. Any cart that saves would need a donor with a batter.

What should I get for Super Metroid and Chrono Trigger carts nowadays? I had an offer of $125 for both together, and it seems reasonable as a starting point, but I'm not sure.

$125 is good. That's on the high end for both, so if you have someone offering it, I'd take it.
 

Teknoman

Member
sharp! man i hope he comes through. agreed that > $50 for repors feels jacked, im okay with the genesis ones im looking at @ 37.50 but not much higher than that if i can.

now, with that one site that does Mother 3 translated for GBA, im waiting on that for $45 cause ive seen it way higher on NintendoAge...i think Mother fans in general are just more accustomed to being jacked? heh

either way, i appreciate the heads-up, guess i'll hold off a bit. if you could update this thread (or perhaps we should do a dedicated repro thread? stumps said it should be okay), i'll be your best friend.

Heh yeah that Mother 3 was pricey for a GBA game...but I cant say i'm not enjoying it. Nintendo is nuts for not bringing it over in any form.

The first list of games have batteries, the second list are games without.

Carts can save without battery backup?
 
Carts can save without battery backup?

Err, I wasn't looking closely enough. So, yeah. Anything that saves will need a donor with a battery. He has a list of compatible donors, and I'm sure when he actually gets up and running you'll be able to message him and ask if you wonder about a certain cart.
 
damn, trying to think of the cheapest battery back up SNES game right now...

I assume all of the games he has listed must have batteries since he says they'll work.

So:

NHL 95-97
Madden 95-98

FIFA Soccer 96
FIFA 97-98
NBA LIVE 96-98

If you have a vintage game store around, you should be able to find them for like a dollar each.
 

IrishNinja

Member
yeah, ebay shouldn't be too unkind on those either...i sadly lack vintage stores nearby.
pretty sure ive got one of those maddens about, ill check soon to see if it did indeed bring a battery! of course, kind've a moot point if that OP doesn't return. hopefully he's busy getting it going...or at least the other established vendor carries more titles i want later.
 

Stylo

Member
My collection has been put to a halt because I see that a lot of the games I want are already on the Virtual Console. But I love the feeling of the cartridge as well. $8 for Link to the Past or $25 for the real deal? Someone help talk sense into me! @__@
 

Teknoman

Member
My collection has been put to a halt because I see that a lot of the games I want are already on the Virtual Console. But I love the feeling of the cartridge as well. $8 for Link to the Past or $25 for the real deal? Someone help talk sense into me! @__@

One day your Wii could be sent into the X-zone, and because of Nintendo's account set up for the Wii, you would have to repurchase your games.

Adopt a cartridge today.
 

IrishNinja

Member
^for me, it goes like this:

VC
+ good upscalling
+ fair price, especially on stupid-rare/overpriced SNES stuff
+ less hookups/more shelf space

- they clearly don't migrate well...gonna rebuy some of my wii ones on WU, but not many. and the lack of 3DS play is ridiculous
- lack of user account makes already tenuous feeling of ownership strike me as hollow, as Tekno said

Physical
+ I do not lose these at whatever gen BC fails - especially important for licensed stuff like say Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!
+ plays how i remember it, OG hardware!
+ my shelf looks tight, son

- stoopid expensive sometimes
- batteries can fail you & cause so many tears
- buying on ebay etc, even when you find deals, can be a crapshot sometimes (bootlegs, roach filled carts etc) though buyers do have the upper hand

that's my personal take. the fact that BC seems less & less a priority, coupled with stuff like the forthcoming Retron 5 have me buying up the gaps in my library - also, though logic would dictate this bubble should burst & prices level off at some point, no one seems to know when...some shit could be more scarce by then, who knows.
 

Grief.exe

Member
I assume all of the games he has listed must have batteries since he says they'll work.

So:

NHL 95-97
Madden 95-98

FIFA Soccer 96
FIFA 97-98
NBA LIVE 96-98

If you have a vintage game store around, you should be able to find them for like a dollar each.

I went by a local thrift store the other day to check out the collection, they had pictures of shelves full of Super Nintendo games.

When I got to the store, there were shelves full of these games you listed...mfw
 
What is the best way to clean your system and games?

Coffee filters and rubbing alcohol? Like with processors?

I've always used q-tips and rubbing alcohol. But make sure to get the kind that is the highest percentage of alcohol so there is less water. Then I use compressed air to get any little fibers out that the q-tips left behind.
 

Mzo

Member
What is the best way to clean your system and games?

Coffee filters and rubbing alcohol? Like with processors?

Bet way to clean the games is to open them with a security bit and go to town on the connectors with Brasso or something similar. All my NES and SNES games work first try these days.
 

IrishNinja

Member
tell me this hasn't happened to anyone

EVER

might be. I opened up my snes console and found 3 spider eggs, a dead spider, and a dead beetle

I recently opened a few of my carts just to see if any of them needed cleaning before I replaced the batteries in a few of them (Namely Earthbound and Mario All-Stars). Everything seemed in pretty great condition... until I opened the copy of Breath of Fire I bought a few weeks ago.

Opened it up... and pretty much every bit of space not occupied by the board was absolutely littered with dead roaches. It was the grossest thing I've seen in a while. Got some rubber gloves along with a few other safety measures and cleaned the thing out. Far and away the most unpleasant thing I've had to do in a while. It'd be great if I never had to do that again.

...
i'm curious, but this is a fucking pandora's box here, and i'm leaving them shits closed
 

Grief.exe

Member
So let me get this straight.

I need a 3.88mm Security Bit for NES/SNES/N64 Games

I need a 4.5mm Security Bit for SNES/N64/Gamecube systems

I need a Triwing for GBA games and systems
 

Kainazzo

Member
So let me get this straight.

I need a 3.88mm Security Bit for NES/SNES/N64 Games

I need a 4.5mm Security Bit for SNES/N64/Gamecube systems

I need a Triwing for GBA games and systems

Sounds right, and you may even be able to get them in a bundle for super cheap. These must've become a lot more common in recent years; I remember a lot of enthusiasts just swore by the melted pen method. I wasn't having any of that!
 
Mother 2 Get!

I just bought Earthbound, U.N. Squadron, TMNT 4, Kirby Super Star, Battle Clash, and Shodai Nekketsu Koha Kunio-kun. For $35. Yeah, for all of them.

Plus, I got Mischief Makers (for the N64) for $10. It's great to have TMNT 4 again after having traded mine for Metal Combat. The EB sticker is in pretty bad shape, but who cares? It's Earthbound! For freaking $15! I am now the proud owner of the only known Earthbound cart in my country (I've heard rumors about another one existing but I'll believe it when I see it.) It feels... good!

Now I'm on the hunt for Mega Man X3.
 

IrishNinja

Member
...Yakuza, i'm pretty sure dropping a post like that without a specific location is/should be a bannable offense

reveal your sources! or sell me mischief makers for $10 and i'll let this slide
 
...Yakuza, i'm pretty sure dropping a post like that without a specific location is/should be a bannable offense

reveal your sources! or sell me mischief makers for $10 and i'll let this slide

Haha! Sadly, this is Cuba we're talking about. You live in Florida, right?

The guy who sold me these actually wanted to trade them for my Mega Man 7, Chrono Trigger and Stunt Race, but he took the money instead when I declined! He probably expected me to haggle too...

Isn't Mischief Makers around $10 on ebay? I'm looking for Goemon 1 & 2 and Castlevania (and maaaybe Mickey Speedway USA) to complete my N64 collection. Sadly, I've never seen or heard of a Goemon 2 cart around here...

edit
Here's Earthbound. Please excuse the ghetto technology, I took this with my 3DS and it's pretty dark here.

HNI_0091.jpg
 

IrishNinja

Member
Krelian29, please quote those images (fantastic games though man)

Haha! Sadly, this is Cuba we're talking about. You live in Florida, right?

i do indeed! a cuban friend wants me to go with him to see the homeland next year or so, but i have to research travel restrictions for americans, as im told we can't usually just waltz in, heh

congrats again though man, definitely gonna look around for stuff if and when i make it now! and you're prolly right about MM, never looked it up but ive always wanted to play it

earthbound's title screen is always glorious~
 

McBradders

NeoGAF: my new HOME
...Yakuza, i'm pretty sure dropping a post like that without a specific location is/should be a bannable offense

reveal your sources! or sell me mischief makers for $10 and i'll let this slide

Dude I have a Japanese copy with a beat up box you can have for free if you want it. I won't even charge you shipping.
 
i do indeed! a cuban friend wants me to go with him to see the homeland next year or so, but i have to research travel restrictions for americans, as im told we can't usually just waltz in, heh

Cool cool. Feel free to PM me if you think I can answer any questions about your trip.

earthbound's title screen is always glorious~

Indeed it is~ Specially when it's showing up on my TV, on my SNES, in my room~

Dude I have a Japanese copy with a beat up box you can have for free if you want it. I won't even charge you shipping.

Take up on this offer, Ninja! It's a great game and I don't think the language barrier is very high.
 

-KRS-

Member
What is the best way to clean your system and games?

Coffee filters and rubbing alcohol? Like with processors?

I always do this:
1. Open the cartridge up.
2. Run a soft rubber eraser over the pins using lots of force, although not enough to break the PCB obviously. This removes even the dirt which seems impossible to remove with only q-tips and alcohol most of the time.
3. Dip a q-tip in isopropyl alcohol and lightly run it over the pins to remove any rubber that might be there. Then I take the dry side of the q-tip and wipe it dry.
4. Re-assemble and play!

Never had a game that wouldn't work after giving it this treatment.
Systems are a little more tricky. I've never really had to do it myself. I've heard of people wrapping microfiber cloths around credit cards and sticking it in the cartridge connector. Maybe that works. For NES consoles you can just take out the connector and boil it in water with some soap. Yes, boil it. Then you can dry it in the oven on low heat with the door open.


Edit:
So let me get this straight.

I need a 3.88mm Security Bit for NES/SNES/N64 Games

I need a 4.5mm Security Bit for SNES/N64/Gamecube systems

I need a Triwing for GBA games and systems

And yes. That is correct. :)
 

IrishNinja

Member
you're a peach, McBradders

and damn, i should look into those tools one day...right now i just use q-tips & alcohol on the exposed ends, i usually don't even dry em before loading them - most every game has worked so far, but a few haven't & might require that level of treatment

edit damn you sixteen bit, now im scouring the next for a SNES/SFC copy of Ninja Warriors for less than $40
*edit nevermind! got a beat-up copy for $32
 
So let me get this straight.

I need a 3.88mm Security Bit for NES/SNES/N64 Games

I need a 4.5mm Security Bit for SNES/N64/Gamecube systems

I need a Triwing for GBA games and systems

Yep. Also, The 3.88 mm bit will open GB and GBC games. The 4.5mm bit will also open Genesis, Master System, and Game Gear games too if you have any of those. There are a few outliers, like Tengen and Acclaim games that need Torx bits, but those are common in any tool set.

Bet way to clean the games is to open them with a security bit and go to town on the connectors with Brasso or something similar. All my NES and SNES games work first try these days.

I use Mother's metal polish with similar results. Way more effective than rubbing alcohol.
 

Linkhero1

Member
Pocky & Rocky should be easy to find at a decent price. Wild Guns is annoying. I don't think it's worth the asking price. I'd pay $20 for it but not $150+. At least I have the VC version to keep me happy, though, holding the cartridge in my hands would be awesome
 
Endless Duel is legit. I had no idea about it until some dude at work pestered me to get it. MIND BLOWN.

It's great. I have a lot of nostalgia for the license and my main, Talgeese is so cheap and annoying I love it.

I mean, there was some really busted stuff like Deathscythe's infinite but I feel that game was a revision or two away from being a legitimate tournament-level fighting game. Or maybe I'm just crazy lol.

was going to, but i went with a rough-ass looking SNES copy with free shipping. label's faded/beat up but largely intact, cart looks dirty but i figure that can be cleaned.

Ah cool. The SNES version removed the blood (which was pre-censored to green in the JPN version anyway), but I actually think it looks better like that.
 

Jhriad

Member
I'm going with universal cases and loose carts. Even complete, SNES boxes get dings, smashes and generally beat up quite easily. Collections in universal cases just look so clean and tidy.

http://www.videogameboxprotectors.com/

Also Im sure this has been asked, but is there any sort of database that track the going prices for loose/CIB/sealed game prices?
Don't think there is way to view the difference between loose and CIB, but this site tracks sales:

http://videogames.pricecharting.com/

Pricecharting has a lot of inaccurate data in their database and I'm not sure their prices aren't skewed by the game + manual or CIB auctions as well. Makes me wonder if their prices, which are supposed to be for carts alone, are inflated.

One of the other sources I use occasionally is Rarityguide.com. They do have different prices for cart, CIB, and NIB (new in box) which is nice. I'm not sure how frequently they update their prices though. Best bet is to use multiple sources for pricing information.

roach filled carts

Just when I'd forgotten about this horror story you had to remind me. Thanks for that. *stares in horror at retro cart collection*
 

Credo

Member
Buy CIB and never go back.

This thread is what convinced me to start buying CIB and it's what finally broke me. I've gotten most of the important titles that I'd like to have CIB, but after seeing more recommended titles in here and then seeing the prices for the CIB versions of them, I'm finally going with carts only.
 

Grief.exe

Member
Bed Bugs would scare me more than roaches.

If you get a cart from a bed bug infected house, they are likely to be in there.

I believe they can survive a long time without 'feeding' as well.
 

Teknoman

Member
Bed Bugs would scare me more than roaches.

If you get a cart from a bed bug infected house, they are likely to be in there.

I believe they can survive a long time without 'feeding' as well.

Thats kinda why i'm weary about getting systems from random places.
 
I've just decided to go with carts + Universal Game Cases. If I do get CIB stuff, it'll only be for a few select games. (I did recently but F-Zero CIB just because it's pretty cheap.)

Speaking of which, I should head over to Staples today and see if they'll print a few of those covers for me.
 

alr1ght

bish gets all the credit :)
There's no place to get those SNES cart opener screwdrivers anywhere locally, right? I just need it for one cart and can't justify $5+ on a bit.
 

kazuo

Member
I'd hold off on buying any repros right now. Judging by these two NA threads, I'm thinking it's going to be a lot easier to get cheaper repros in the coming months:

http://www.nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=5&threadid=99498

http://www.nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=5&threadid=97442

I honestly don't understand why anyone bothers buying repro carts when you can get a single flash cart for $50 and play any translated ROM on it.

Either way, it's still "technically" "piracy", so why take up space for bootleg carts?
 

emb

Member
I honestly don't understand why anyone bothers buying repro carts when you can get a single flash cart for $50 and play any translated ROM on it.

Either way, it's still "technically" "piracy", so why take up space for bootleg carts?

Because they look nice enough to add to a collection.

At least I think that's all there is to it. I personally wouldn't spring for them, as they aren't actual releases and still wouldn't really 'count' to me. The idea that I could play some things like Mother 3 though without having to use a flash cart is tempting though; my collector's pet peeves get bothered more by a flash cart than a legitimate looking imitation.
 
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