Video Game Collecting

Altered Beast for SEGA Master System is an interesting port.  I’ve never understood the draw of Altered Beast on any platform (arcade or Genesis) but it was popular enough to make it the launch title ans pack in for the Genesis originally.

This version looks great but its slow and suffers from flicker.  Its almost as if the frame rate is cut in half because some animations seem choppy when the shouldn’t.  These gripes are minor as the game still retains it’s arcade feel to it.  The music is decent but the aound effects like many Master System games sound like bursts of static.

If anything the most endearing quality to thia game is the box art (which I failed to take a photo of.). It looks like a mix of oils and water colours and it has the Altered Beast arcade logo on it in bright blue.  It’s a welcomed departure from the typical Master System box with generic text and child like doodle.

Hey, enjoy this video of a a week in retro video game collecting.  We’re gonna see all sorts of neat things like following up on LukieGames and NES_Headquarters cleanliness with Goonies II for Nintendo NES.  We also check out a thrift store and find a Capcom launch title for the Super Nintendo.  We find a couple Nintendo Game Cubes for $7 bucks a piece and an cheap original PlayStation.  We also open a near mint copy of Rastan for SEGA Master System and Super Thunder Blade for SEGA Genesis!

Happy Kid Icarus Day!  Today is about as authentic as Valentine’s Day.  My son calls Kid Icarus the “Cupid Game” (he is four) so in my household it fits.

Anyways we have a few things to look forward to in the coming days.  We’re going to check out another Lukiegames and Nes_Headquarters purchase; then we are going to punch our way down memory lane with a pre-Neo Geo SNK game for the SEGA Genesis.  We’ll try Super Thunderblade for the first time and we’ll verify a perverted secret of a SEGA Master system game.

I’ll also be adding Atari 5200 and Intellivision to the videogame price guide website before March 1st.

And finally we’ll receive a lesson in karma when I give a free game away to a perfect stranger!

A “hot tip” left as a comment on this blog leads to a thrift store with a handful of games for SEGA, Nintendo, Atari, and Intellivision.

I visit the Broad Acres Swap Meet and find an excellent SEGA Master System find. I hadn’t been to the swap meet for a few weeks so it was worth the trip. The weather was perfect, and there were plenty of games to browse. We also get caught up on a few recent Atari 2600 purchases.

In case you’re wondering this is the info about the song: Chuy Lizarraga y Su Banda Tierra Sinaloense – La Peinada (La Peinadita)

Some excellent swapmeet finds were found today at the Broadacres Swapmeet in Las Vegas.  The morning started out slow with some clown selling an Atari with boxed games for $50.  He insisted they “were mint” despite the boxes being crushed and the layer of dust on everything.  Pass!  Wonder Boy for SEGA Master System would you believe SMS games were 3 for $5?  Lufia II for $8.  Dang!  The Dusty Diamond All Star Softball… $3 or two for five, thus the copy of Super Spike Volley Ball.

Jinks! Earlier I read about how SEGA Power Base converters might be faulty in their old age due to bad capacitors. So that was my first thought when Pro Wrestling for SEGA Master System took a dump on me.

It was weird, I played and won one match then the game glitched. I restarted it and it would crash on the title screen. Repeated attempts and a needless cleaning cured nothing.

Instincts told me it was the Power Base converter, why else would a game just stop working? So I tried Rastan but it worked fine. Tried Pro Wrestling again and it still crashed.

Boooooo!

After that goofy VS. Super Mario Bros. post (which was a joke by the way) I felt I owed everyone a real post so let’s discuss Rastan for SEGA Master System…

I was nervous to play Rastan. I got the game over a month ago at the Classic Gaming Expo but refused to touch it.  I was afraid that if I played it and it didn’t live up to my expectations I’d be disappointed.  When you enjoy a game so much and have an unrecognized world record for it, situations like these are stressful.  Rarely do arcade ports look, feel, and sound like their coin-op brothers, but in the case of Rastan, this isn’t a bad port.

Those expecting it to be arcade perfect will probably be disappointed.  There are some very noticable changes including:  A.) You get 1 life only; B.) The world and the castles are laid out differently; C.) You can fall on fire and not dissolve; D.) The enemies act a little differently; E.) You have a health bar instead of the ‘heart bar’;

But these changes do not make this version of Rastan bad at all.  Everything is in there from the arcade version, it’s just a little bit different.  The music is close enough and the graphics are fantastic – but a little small.  The best comparison is to suggest that this is a ‘lite’ version of Rastan. 

I’m not sure why the programmers opted for a one life scenario and removed the instant death.  It makes the game a little easy but there are some people who say the arcade version is tough (I do not agree).  Perhaps this was to balance it out.

Unfortunately I didn’t get to play much of Rastan prior to writing this, but there was something I was curious about in the manual.  Under the section for tips and tricks it recommends clearing the stages before nightfall or you’ll be pestered relentlessly until death (or something like that).  I know in the arcade version if you hang out in an area for too long the bats will come after you.  But the ‘before nightfall’ remark makes me wonder if the lighting actually changes.  In the overworld levels of the arcade game the landscape does change colors to simulate evening coming, but its not based on time so much as its based on how far you’ve progressed.  Does the SEGA Master System feature the same thing?  I don’t know yet, but if it does thats pretty cool!

Caztro72 (real name Anthony) is an avid “YouTuber” who often posts videos showing his video game finds from various thrift stores. With great enthusiasm he parades the items he’s purchased, how much they cost him, and an estimate of what they are worth (from Digit Press). Clearly he has obtained a wealth of knowledge and experience thrifting so we’ve reached out to him to gain his insight and advice.  Enjoy…

How long have you been using thrift stores for video game finds, and do you recall what the first gaming item that you found?
I’ve been using thrift stores as a means of finding classic video games since GameStop dropped the 8 and 16-bit bargain bins from their stores. This may have been 8 years ago! I believe the first thrift store game I found was Starship Hector for the NES.

How frequently do you visit thrift stores and do you have a specific routine in looking for items?
I usually visit a thrift store once a week, sometimes on a Wednesday morning or Thursday afternoon. I believe the middle of the week is the best time to search these stores as most product from the back rooms have been processed by then and are available for sale. I tend to check behind the main counter before I search the sales floor as most thrift shops consider video games too valuable to be left alone on the regular shelves.

What item are you most proud to have purchased from a thrift store and why?
Hmmm…tough question. I found a Namco Arcade Joystick for the PS1 for 7 dollars at the Unique Thrift Store (my main thrifting store). That was an unusual find. I don’t know who would have donated that stick as they are uncommon and are compatible with PS2. Yes, I’m proud to have found that particular item! LOL!

What about regretful purchases? Do you have any of those?
Oh my! Yes! My collection has gotten to a point where I accidentally buy doubles of games I already own! Just recently I found Shadowgate for the NES at a Salvation Army Thrift. I purchased it thinking that I didn’t own the game. Turns out that I did. Oh well! LOL!

Do you have limits on what you collect and why?
I tend to limit myself in terms of money. Collectors are usually frugal by nature. I try not to buy cartridges over 5 bucks. I also never buy PC games. I just don’t find them collectible. I’m really just a console guy! (Sorry to all you PC fans out there! LOL!)

You seem to have a mixture in gaming tastes, from old to new. Do you have a preference of retro gaming over modern, or vice versa?
Great question. I have a preference for retro more than modern. I started going back to 8 and 16-bit games just as PS2, Xbox, and GameCube were leading the revolution. Long, drawn out story lines, and 3D graphics just don’t make a game for me. I enjoy simple 2D gaming that you can pick up and play with not a lot of commitment. I also prefer the simple 8 and 16-bit ditties over today’s orchestrated music.

What are your thoughts on classic games being re-released on modern consoles like the PSN? Do you feel it diminishes the collecting hobby?
Tough question. Well, I think retro downloads keep the classics alive. So in that respect I am in favor of Virtual Console and the like. And let’s face it, many gamers aren’t going to search out original hardware and software to play the classics when they can just download. True collectors will always search out the original carts no matter what. So these downloads are a nice alternative that I don’t think hurt the hardcore collector.

If you had to pick just one what is your favorite all time video-game?
That is a tough one! I would have to go with Taito’s BUBBLE BOBBLE. I think it captures the essence of what a video game should be. Simple play mechanics that require an amount of skill to master, coupled with dozens of levels, quirky game music, fun game play, and lovable characters!

What made you decide to start talking about your classic games collection and thrifting experiences on Youtube?
I had originally created a YouTube account to upload a video from my vacation in Europe. Then I started to see gaming channels that other people had created. Echo036 in particular had inspired me to start talking about my video game collecting habits. Love his channel!

What gaming websites do you frequent?
I’m not much for surfing the video game sites. I actually subscribe to Nintendo Power, Playstation Magazine, The Official Xbox Magazine, and Game Informer. I like print!! But when I feel like surfing I check out Digital Press’ site and IGN.com.

Is there anyone you want to do a shout-out to?
Big shout out to Echo036! He was the first guy to comment on my earliest videos! And his channel inspired me to build mine! http://www.youtube.com/user/echo036

Is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
To all my subscribers out there I humbly thank you for all your support!! Happy gaming!!

I want to thank Caztro72 for sharing his time with us.  Check out his YouTube channel here: http://www.youtube.com/user/Caztro72

Here we have another thrift store find.  This time it’s Black Belt for SEGA Master System.

I read somewhere prior to playing this game that its Fist Of The North Star… just rebranded as Black Belt with graphical changes.

Well, that’s for damn sure.  It is Fist of the North Star with changed graphics.  Everything is there down to the exploding bodies.

I never understood why only Nintendo Released real Fist of the North Star games and SEGA always released remakes.  They did the same damn thing to the SEGA Genesis version with Last Battle: