When I first started collecting games I was well past the age at which I had first played most of the games I own now. In fact, some of them I owned when I was younger but re-sold in an effort to acquire new games. Some, like Chrono Trigger, I never owned at all as a kid but beat multiple times by borrowing or through renting (Ahh, good ole Midnight Video).
The first RPG that I beat myself was Final Fantasy IV on SNES. "FF2" in North America. I had watched my father play through most of the game while he was off from work recovering from back surgery. It was the first and last RPG he played, but the first of many for me. I had missed out on the first wave of NES RPGs by virtue of being pretty young when the NES was at it's peak, but I was the perfect age to fall under the spell of the SNES.
The only two games in my collection that are legitimately, authentically owned by me since the time of original release and play-through are Lunar: Silver Star Story for PS1 (though I originally beat it on Sega CD...thank you Video Tech for renting Sega CD games back in the day!) and Lunar 2: Eternal Blue for PS1. Those games I received the day they were released, and have owned them since. Lunar 1 was a pre-order directly from Working Designs in the late 90's. We had to get a friends Mom to phone the company and order the games for us with her Visa, and they mailed us each a playable demo disc (which I still have, shown below).
The rest of my games (though I may be wrong and will correct above as needed) were all acquired after I turned 20 and graduated University. I had disposable income, I had knowledge, and I had time. I went about collecting all the games I had played/beat/traded when I was younger as well as some that I missed.
My first large acquisition was a 250+ title bulk buy for $170. In retrospect, the seller either didn't know what all they had, didn't know how to value it, or was really really desperate for money. The collection was listed for $300+, we negotiated and I picked it up that night. The collection was:
- 4 SNES systems in various states of functioning.
- 4 NES systems, same condition.
- 1 knock-off NES system
- About a dozen loose controllers, light guns.
- A NES track pad
- A NES Satellite (wireless) controller
- 60 SNES games (The most notable being Megaman X2, a couple low end RPGs)
- 190ish NES games...the most notable being Final Fantasy 1, both original Zelda games, Dragon Warrior 1,2,4 and Megaman 1-6.
After getting this great collection, I thought I would collect all the NES games ever made. How cool and retro would that be?? That fell through, as I realized I wasn't a big Nintendo head, I just wanted to own the games I actually loved playing back in the day. So, with that realization, I decided to piece out that collection I bought for $170 and use the proceeds to acquire the RPGs I actually loved (and wanted!) from the systems I actually played: SNES, PS1, GBA, DS, and PS2. The Megaman titles alone as a set fetched more than $170, and I have no idea today how much I actually made from selling that collection piece by piece, but the only things I still have are the systems and about 10 games. I estimate I made at least $300 after covering the cost of the collection, and all of those proceeds I used to acquire other games.
I don't collect much gaming memorabilia, even if it related to a gaming series I love. No plushies, no stickers, no action figures, etc. There are exceptions, but not many. If it's not game, chances are I am not terribily interested. Excpetion to that: Strategy guides. I don't often use them, but I will collect them along with the games.
Not everything I have is CIB (complete, in box) but a lot of my best items are. I am very proud that NONE of my games are "Greatest Hits" or bootlegs. I absolutely LOATHE the neon green PS1 labels, and the red PS2 labels are only slightly more tolerable. Nonetheless, I do not own any, and will never own anyway. Black label all the way.
If you have any questions for me or would like to discuss a trade please contact me through this blog! Thanks for reading!
