I didn’t expect to be doing this so soon. When some people expressed interest in me doing a blog post about my rare game collection, I figured it’d be happening a few months down the line when I have nothing to say. But, other than new art assets I’ve been working on, I really don’t have anything to write about today… so here we are. Apologies if this is the sort of self-indulgent thing that makes you roll your eyes, but I’m actually pretty proud of my game collection so far.
So, with that in mind please indulge me.
Sorry for the blurriness, for some reason I can’t find my digicam anywhere and had to take all of these using my cell…. Anyway, this is our primary game cabinet. We currently own 475 games and our collection is valued at over $5000 USD. I like going to flea markets, pawn shops, and conventions looking for treasures, and we’re fortunate to live within easy travel distance of seven game resellers, a couple of which are really good.
This is our entertainment center, where all our currently “on deck” games sit, including our entire collection of handheld games. You can also see some of the consoles we’re currently using.
I know that 475 isn’t a massive collection by many standards, but we try to keep things focused on games we would actually play. This leads to weird situations like us treasuring bargain bin games like Alpha Protocol and Shadow Madness, but I don’t have a lot of interest in a game like Hagane or Intelligent Qube.
In our living room there’s a glass case that contains the “crown jewels” of our collection, plus a few other odds and ends (in this pic you can see a reproduction “shield key” from RE1, some very not valuable collector’s editions, some RWBY statuettes and Nekochan’s ammonite fossils- the bottom two shelves hold my Amiibo collection). This is why I (ironically) don’t play a lot of PC games, by the way. PC games don’t hold a lot of the same value (hell, digital games are effectively valueless), and besides I just like the feeling of being able to survey and obsess over my collection, holding them in my hands, organizing them, etc.
Front and center are these beauties that I bought just last January. I haven’t played any of Eternal Blue yet, and I was about halfway through Silver Star Story when my memory card got corrupted. 🙁
The FF3 here is actually Nekochan’s original from childhood. The CIB FF2 was a lucky find I bought for her birthday ages ago.
Terra and Celes still have got to be two of my favourite game protagonists.
Chrono Trigger, as you may recall, is our agreed-on greatest game of all time, so of course we’ve got to have it CIB. This copy is also Nekochan’s from the ancient past. My mom was kind of a bitch about video games and forced me to sell my previous consoles and games whenever I upgraded. When I bought an N64 (with my own paper route money, may I add) I was forced to sell my entire collection to my little sister for $50, which included not only my own copies of FF3 and CT, but also gems like Donkey Kong Country and Mario Paint that I have yet to replace.
CIB Star Fox isn’t particularly valuable, but it gets pride of place for personal reasons. Ask Nekochan about it sometime if you’re interested.
Rounding out our SNES gems are Lufia II and Earthbound, which are both really valuable as carts alone. They’re both relatively recent purchases, too- I picked up Lufia II after seeing it had jumped in price a few months back, and we picked up Earthbound at a convention just last year.
I used to love StarTropics as a kid, and finding it CIB (yes, including that fucking letter) at a flea market last fall was a really nice surprise. It was a real trip opening it up and finding the ad insert for Nintendo Power!
The Ghostbusters Video Game is a great example of trash that I love. It’s worth around $25, probably closer to $40 with the signature, but I love the experience of playing it- total nostalgia crack and I don’t even care. The autograph, in case you can’t make it out, is from Winston Zeddemore actor Ernie Hudson. I wanted to try and get the entire team, but unfortunately that’s impossible now (as if Bill Murray’s general weirdness didn’t make it nigh-impossible before Harold Ramis’ death, but I digress).
This is currently our greatest treasure, which was a huge shock to me. After RPGs, Survival Horror is my next-favourite genre, and I had picked up Rule of Rose ages ago because it was a seriously creepy game, but after awhile it seemed that I was the only person who knew anything about it. When I first began cataloging our game collection and taking it seriously, I was pleasantly surprised that RoR was valued at around $90- a respectable number, considering that many “rare” games don’t even resell for what they cost new at release. I figured that me and a handful other collectors knew about RoR, and that was it.
I was literally sitting at home the day Nekochan and I were leaving on vacation a few weeks ago, waiting for Nekochan to get back from a mani-pedi appointment so we could depart, and a video about the most valuable PS2 games happened to be in my feed. I gave it a watch, happily noting the Nekochan and I owned over half the list, but seeing RoR at number one made my jaw drop. Since the last time I valued it, there has been a massive FNAF-fuelled resurgence in the Survival Horror genre, Cryaotic and Best Friends Play have done LPs, and the increased demand drove the price to around $300. It’s been in the cabinet ever since.
Anyway, that’s it for my games collection for now. If you want to know more, drop me a comment, but please understand that my collection is not for sale. I’d be interested in hearing if there are any other collectors in the HC fanbase!
Oooh, complete startropics including the letter? Nice. I only managed to have a rental store copy that they sold me instead of getting rid of it(which was later lost in some very unfortunate shenanigans that cost me roughly half my collection). I am a bit of a collector, but I rarely keep the boxes/booklets/etc due to too much moving over the course of several years. I still have a whole bunch of the games themselves, though. SNES/NES/N64 games all tucked into some boxes and the disc games in binders.
Ogre Battle, both the SNES cart and the PS1 cd, are probably my most treasured parts of the collection. The entire Suikoden series, including 2, is also up there. Sadly I lost my copy of Valkyrie Profile to the aforementioned shenanigans, but I did manage to replace Azure Dreams and Parasite Eve at least. I’m honestly not sure how “valuable” any of my games really are, though, I just like having them. ^_^
Rule of Rose is one that slipped my notice entirely. I think I saw the game back in the early PS3 days sitting around a bargain bin and looked at it but saw horror and just didn’t bother since I’m not into horror. Kinda wish I had though, seeing how valuable it turned out to be!
Ogre Battle is definitely on my wishlist, ditto the Suikoden series and Valkryie Profile. We do own Parasite Eve (I’m actually playing it right now- my friends and I do “Survival Horror Thursdays” before game night). Azure Dreams is a new one to me, though.
The next thing I’ve set my sights on is a copy of E.V.O. for the SNES.
Azure Dreams is a monster trainer/mystery dungeon game on the PS1. With some really terrible but I love them anyway dating-sim esque stuff baked in, you can date like all the girls in town at the same time and they’re all cool with it. It’s fun. Also SUPER breakable if you know what you’re doing and get the right monsters~
E.V.O., huh? I love that game, but sadly never owned it, merely borrowed from a friend. I chose to buy 7th Saga instead when I did have the chance to buy it, I remember this clearly.
I remember it clearly because oh BOY was that a mistake. >_<
7th Saga isn’t terrible, imho. The game was grindy and you could get into an unwinnable state, but they did some really interesting stuff with the characters and the rivalry/alliance system. I remember killing a certain dwarf in cold blood to get his runestone….
I might keep an eye out for that Azure Dreams, but the MGC app only has it listed for Gameboy Color. Weird.
My first playthrough I got Valsu as the traitor apprentice. I was Wilme. Unwinnable state is exactly what happened there. >_<
And I didn't know there was a version of Azure Dreams for the GBC. *looks it up* Ah, so it was. What I'm finding is calling the GBC version "stripped down" though, so if you can find the PS1 version that would be better!
Yeah, what had actually happened was that Azure Dreams must have already been recommended to me, so I already had it on my wishlist, which meant it was automatically subtracted from search results.
Damn, what a collection! And I was happy by owning a copy of Final Fantasy VII(US Version) still Sealed in my cabinet, but my game collection of around 35 or so titles is nothing compared to yours. I also like to own games that i like to play every once in a while, so my collection is really small but with a lot of good titles in it.
I’m also a huge fan of survival horror, owning one copy of each RE and Silent Hill ever launched since PSone Time, including gamecube and ps2 versions, with the exception of RE 5 and 6 which I bought digital copies because those are the ones i don’t like much. I also have original copies of both Parasie EVEs, Chrono Trigger(PSone), Megaman X and X2 for SNES and my favorite game of all times Shadow of Colossus.
BTW Right now I’m playing Front Mission 5 (great mecha game from square enix), and next in line, RE 1,2,3 and then Fallout 1 to 4 again.
Thanks! I’m currently working on Persona 4 Golden on my own time, Parasite Eve with friends. We’re almost done PE (halfway through Chinatown), after which we’re firing up Silent Hill 0rigins.
I remember playing a rom of the SNES Front Mission back in college, and I remember that was a pretty good time.
The game I want to add to my collection right now is Legend of Mana, the second best PSOne JRPG, after the masterpiece that’s Chrono Trigger, and FFVII makes 3rd in my Top RPG List for PSOne.
The original front mission was released again for NDS a few years ago in the USA, Front Mission 2 was released only in japan and FM3 was released in north america too, Front mission 4 was launched for PS2 with a us version but FM5 was another japan only game.
Luckily there’s a group that tranlated FM2 and FM5, you just have to patch the ISOs to play in english, but the FM5 copy I have it’s a japanese original and imported, so I have to play the hard way.
I never liked azure dreams very much though, Monster Rancher 2 was better as a monster trainer game in my opinion, I also liked to play Harvest Moon Back to Nature, simple plot but a great gaming experience for me.
I also have Back to Nature. Love the Harvest Moon games. Also, Legend of Mana is really good… aw, shit, I lost that save file too, didn’t I? 🙁
Well, Azure Dreams wasn’t that much of a monster trainer game. It was part monster trainer/part mystery dungeon/part dating sim/part town contruction/100% glorious mess of concepts that all mash together in a way I love. For pure monster training action, nothing beats the MR series(yes I love pokemon too, but I like MR more~). I’d call 4 the best, then 2 > 1 > DS > EVO > 3.
Legend of Mana hype is legit, I love that game too(also a wonderfully chaotic mash of concepts~), but never got into the Front Mission games. Only one I played was FM4 and I drifted away from it after like 5 hours or so. It didn’t hold me, dunno why.
I haven’t played MR in years, but back in the day I ended up buying a Blink 182 CD just because it unlocked a unique monster….
I First found about Front Mission when a friend lend me his old copy of FM3 for PSOne, considered the worst by the fans but I liked, sure it’s not the best but it’s fun to play, FM5 was the last game of the core series and ties a lot of loose ends in the franchise, there have been other FM games since then, but nothing worth playing.
FM series it’s like a RPG/Strategy/Tactical Game all in the same package, the gameplay is easy, the story’s top notch and the design are more realistic than most mecha series. Only downside it’s that the games are really time consuming and in some parts really grindy.
you have good taste in games i own some of the same ones
you showed. makes me want to blow the dust off them and play them
A little late, but whatever. XD
Seriously, play all of those Lunar games, they aren’t well known, but they are fantastic games. I’d stay away from the DS one, as I can go on for hours about how garbage everything in that game it. Running lowers your HP, and every time an enemy hits you, it has a random chance of just breaking equipment, with no way to fix it. Oh, and you HAVE to choose between gaining experience points OR items and money after combat, you can’t have both.
Anyways, on the subject of games that may now be well known, but are fantastic. I’d absolutely have to recommend Alundra for PS1. It plays very much like The Legend of Zelda games, but with WAY more interesting story. Don’t bother with the sequel though.
Also, the Grandia series has been one of my most favorites, having a combat system that I think it hands down the best in any RPG game I’ve ever played. It’s all about cancelling your enemy’s attacks, rendering them useless. If done right, you can win entire matches without letting the enemy get a turn.
I’ve also loved the Wild Arms series, Wild Arms 2 being one of my most favorite games, kind of, like, ever.
I could go on forever, so I’m just going to stop here. XD
We have all the Wild Armses and most of the Grandias. Alundra is a new one for me.
I was getting through Silver Star Story, but them my memory card got corrupted and had to be formatted….
Late to the party, but whatever!
Quite a collection you have there, I have a fair amount of games too…but nothing like you do! Azure Dreams is fun, it’s like someone sais *let’s do pokemon with dating and dungeon crawling!* Monster Rancher is fun, even if Holly flunks Basic Biology 101 (a very-obviously-female pixie is a *boy*?) Having beaten Lunar and Lunar 2, be prepared to have your heart wrenched a few times, both are very well done! Do you have Final Fantasy Tactics? It’s like Ogre Battle, with a very deep story – even if the translation is horrid in places. Earthbound is super fun, have no idea what that one is going for now, it was ridiculous when I bought it a few years ago. Seems that your tastes range all over! 🙂