The Final Four

Many apologies for the total lack of updates for the past month...and for the sporadic updates lately in general.  Trust me, I haven't lost interest in writing for this blog, and I've definitely had my eyes peeled for the remaining NES carts I need for my collection.  But as it goes, I haven't picked much of anything up in the last few months.  Ask any Nintendo collector and they'll tell you that the market has exploded in the last year and a half and prices have gone crazy.

So what I thought I'd do today is reveal the remaining 4 games I would need to obtain to consider my licensed NTSC Nintendo collection complete.  Here they are, in reverse order of likelihood that I'll ever get my greedy little paws on them.

Stadium Events

For NES collectors, this is the grail game for the collection.  According the story that by most has been accepted as truth enough, Stadium Events was given a limited release by Nintendo licensee Bandai.  The game was meant to be paired with the Family Fun Fitness pad that allowed players a new control experience.  Once the big N saw the possibilities ($$$) in such a peripheral, they purchased the license for the game and pad, pulled Stadium Events off the shelves and replaced it with World Class Track Meet (same excat game, different title screen) and the Power Pad.  If you're like me, then you have fond memories of cheating at the game with your cousins by getting down on your knees and using your hands to break world records in the 100 meter dash and pissing off your parents downstairs with all the noise.

So there you have it - an early release, the requirement of a peripheral to play plus a short shelf life equals a rare game.  It's estimated that only a few hundred made it out into the public's hands before the recall, and of course even fewer would have lasted the 25 years since then.  Prices for carts are a sure 4-digit proposition.  I have a mortgage and two car notes - so unless I stumble upon one in an old lady's flea market booth, then this one won't be adorning my shelves.

Flintstones: Surprise at Dinosaur Peak

Here we have another rare game with an interesting story.  From what I've read and heard, F2, as it is shorthanded by the collector community, was a late-era release for the NES that was only available as a Blockbuster rental exclusive.  Any carts that you see now are former rentals that were either sold to the public after Blockbuster began to liquidate their NES stock, or were taken home by employees.

Because of the ex-rental nature of the game, collectors of boxed or (gasp) sealed games have fits with this one as very few copies stayed partnered with the cardboard.  In the last 18 months I've seen the price online jump 300% for just the cartridge - way out of my range.  However, it is common looking enough that it has been obtained rather cheaply from retail stores unwise to its value, or in pawn shops/flea markets/garage sales at a bargain.

Panic Restaurant

Taito published some of the best games on the NES.  Bubble Bobble is a top 5 favorite of mine, PowerBlade is sorely underrated and Arkanoid is hypnotic and frustratingly difficult, but extremely fun.

But Taito collecting is a double-edged sword.  Games like Bubble Bobble Part 2, Little Samson and Power Blade 2 have all seen massive spikes in value and are often among the last to be added to a complete collection.

Panic Restaurant falls into that category - about 2 years ago it could be had for $75 whereas nowadays they fetch $150-200 - yet another victim of reduced availability and being a highly playable platformer.

I've come close a couple of times to getting a hold of a copy (in the wild even!) but as of now I'm still waiting.

Nobunaga's Ambition 2

Goddamn strategy games.  I could've picked this one up ages ago for $25 which I didn't feel was extroardinarly high, but I put it off because quite frankly the game didn't interest me much.  I figured I could just pick it up later any time.  But then something happened.  All of the copies (there used to be many) online dried up.  eBay, Half.com, Amazon, etc. all ran out of stock.  I'm convinced, though I lack any solid proof, that some jerk bought up all the copies and manipulated the market.  Explain how else the price of the ONE copy on eBay would be posted up at $150+.

Look, I'm all for someone making a buck and getting the most they can for the goods they are selling.  But if I'm right then this just takes the fun out of collecting games.  I try my best to give reasonable deals to others on the rare occasion that I sell off some games.  If I use eBay I usually start my auctions at .99 cents.

So that's my rant on Nobunaga 2.  Game that I have no interest in playing, therefore I'm not going to spend a big chunk on it.  I'll trip on it one day at the flea, pick it up for a buck and be done with it.

Thank you for reading Little Gray Squares.  I hope to have more content for you in the future - if I can add to my collection you'll know about it soon enough.