And We Welcome an Xbox into the Retro Game On Family

Missing cables, sticky controllers, not breaking a 50 to buy a console; those are just some of the joys that op-shopping as to offer.

Generally speaking, I don't have much luck when it comes to buying consoles from op-shops. Usually you only find a handful of CD based 90's games among $2 jackets and 50 cent plates, but there is a particular Good Sammy's I know where I bought this Xbox for $30. This is actually the same Good Sammy's where I bought my Nintendo 64 from, so at the moment my opinion on that particular storefront is quite high.

$30 bought me the console, two controllers and a power cable. Sadly, one of the controllers is after market, and the legitimately branded one is missing the part of the cable that is suppose to stop cable breaks. Good idea in theory, but I guess those end bits are easy to loose.
Unfortunately the after market controller I can plug in is quite sticky. It doesn't seem to be anything sickly (Coke maybe?) but it's still putting me off playing on the console for an extended amount of time until I can find a replacement for the end of that cable.
I have played it long enough to know it works though, and I bought Project Gotham Racing from a thrift store for $4 (which seems quite fun from the little I've played). As for the missing audio/video cable, I'm currently borrowing one off a friend. There is an after market replacement coming in the mail though.  

While I don't think I can class the original Xbox as 'retro' yet, it is now in that period of time where the hardware and software is insanely cheap. Considering the Xbox One has just been announced, it's nearly two generations behind now; so it's well on its way.
I should have a five to ten year gap where I can enjoy these prices (which I'm also doing with the PS2 at the moment) so there are fun, cheap times ahead. 

More Games I Won't Get to For Months

I took the Retromobile out the other day for a thrift shop run, just like I had envisioned. I don't quite have my licence yet (t-minus 5 days) but it was in the Retromobile non the less, so I thought it was worth a mention.
It was kind of a last minute thing, so I only went to three places. I'm quite pleased with the end result though.

The first place was a bust. I nearly laughed out loud when I saw a Super Nintendo for $150, but I nearly had a heart attack when I saw a Mega Drive for $175. These over inflated prices are just ridiculous. I don't know who to blame, the thrift stores themselves or all the clueless people on Ebay who are also charging these prices, probably basing their numbers off an episode of Pawn Stars they watched.
Quite a shame really, since that place had quite a lot of games. Too bad they were so expensive, maybe I'll come back in a couple of months when maybe they'll bring the prices down after they realise no one is buying them. Either that, or some schmuck will actually pay the ridiculous prices and the whole vicious cycle will start again.

Moving on. The other two shops were quite successful:

No matter where you move your head, the Hawk will still stare into your soul.

The first place was an independent. There I scored Top Gear Rally on the N64 for $10, but the real bargain was buying Red Faction 2 and Tony Hawk's Project 8 on PS2 for $3 each! I can't believe how cheap PS2 games are these days. I better stock up before people consider them 'vintage' and start charging $30 a pop for them as well. 

Also slightly interesting fact; On the top-left of the Red Faction 2 case, you can see a yellow sticker that says 'Ultimate Games'. I found this awesome because during my childhood that was the only independent game store near where I lived. Sadly it's not around these days, but I built up most of my PSone collection from there when they were as cheap as the PS2 games. These were good games too, not the endless $5 copies of Fifa 2001 you see in the present.

The last place I went was a Cash Converters. This particular storefront is usually skimming on games, but they had one sole SNES game sitting in a cabinet; Winter Gold.
I couldn't see the price, so I decided to Google if it was any good. The internet on my phone was going annoyingly slow (it's usually pretty good) so I only got as far as the Wikipedia page, which was no help on the quality of the game. From there I decided to Ebay search it to at least see what it was worth, but as the loading bar was crawling along a store worker asked me if I needed any help. I took the opportunity to ask how much Winter Gold was, so he opened the cabinet and there was a $5 price tag on the back.
For $5 I decided I would just roll with it. There couldn't be much potential personal lose at that price.

Finally logging on to Ebay later that day, I received a minor shock. For some reason, all the auctions for Winter Gold ranged from $30 to $40. I have no idea why it's that dear, as the 5 minutes I committed to Googling the answer came up with nothing. What I do know is that it was only released in PAL regions, and relatively late in the consoles lifespan too (1996). Why this justifies the high price, who knows. All I do know is that its quite a fun game, and the 3D in it rocks. I guess that's all that matters at the end of the day. 

Possibly the Only Game I've Ever Bought From the Salvos

Salvos: Helping certain struggling families get through hard times, such as sport car owners. 

It's no secret the Salvation Army can be a bit hit and miss when it comes to collecting retro games; hell, its always hit and miss. Usually if there are any games, they're way over priced. Most of the time if I come across a Salvos, I just sail right past because there are better places I could be wasting my time looking for decades old video games.
Yesterday I found a store that seemed to be bucking the trends though. There were hardly any games in there but what there was, was affordable. This particular shop is nowhere near where I live; I stopped at a bottleshop next to it yesterday on the way to a family event, and I thought I mind as well check it out. You really don't know until you try, it could be full of $10 Neo-Geo carts for all I know.
There were about 10 odd games for sale, mostly sports games. I emptied all the change out of my wallet and bought this for $2:

Rad.

For a skateboarding game its quite different from the likes of Tony Hawks Pro Skater, but I'll hopefully get into the specifics of it in a future video review.
It came complete with the instruction manual, and the disk is in a reasonable condition.

Opening the case up revealed this hidden away inside too:



Nice surprise really, I'm always after demo disks to broaden my interest in certain games I wouldn't have given the light of day otherwise. Its from issue 26 of the Official Australian Playstation Magazine.

Moral of the story, always check in places you wouldn't usually. While this game isn't the find of the century, it still interested me enough to buy it. Otherwise I would still be one game short and $2 richer.

Super Strike Eagle Video Review for the SNES

It's been a while since I created and uploaded a video for this blog. There is not much else to say about it really.
Watch the video. This is a video post. Words are irrelevant.

A Window to the Past

I've probably walked past this window a million times, as it's on the route that's seperating me from where I work, and the closest available coffee.
Quite an important walk considering it's for the all glorious beverage that is coffee, so I'm surprised I've never seen it before.
This is on the side of an ancient Video Ezy (also a great place to buy caffeine) that's probably been long forgotten about. All the windows at the front of the building of course have all the latest consoles advertised, but this one remains my favourite.

Hopefully the owner keeps on forgetting about it so the retro scene can still keep having a public presense (or a hidden one as it were).

スターフォックス

Hey hey, it's the first game to be added to my collection since my hiatus. Funny (though stupid) story on how I got this; I decided to finally play Starfox as it's probably one of the last Nintendo god-tier series I haven't played yet. Pretty weird, I know. But better late than never.

It all started with me scouring the web looking for SNES versions that weren't there. After every search term I tried came up with nada, I decided to bite the dust and just buy a Super Famicom version instead. Luckily I came across an Australian Ebay Seller who only sold Japanese imports, and I bought this for a fantastic price (it was on sale). The guy selling it did an awesome job of posting it, and I am not remorseful of buying it. It came within three days and worked first try. The only thing I wish I had done was do a bit of research beforehand.
Turns out Starfox was named Starwing in Australia because of some sort of copyright business. Searching 'Starwing' instead results in loads of auctions. I feel like such a noob; it only took one Google search to find that out.

Now I have a cartridge that says 'Starfox' on it, but the whole game is in Japanese. This isn't exactly a gamebreaker though, and makes it kind of cool in a way. The only problem I've had so far is figuring out the controls, but a Google search did help me out on that. I wasn't going to make that mistake again.

Current Games Room Photos

It's a bit odd to be writing two blog posts, two days in a row after a four month absence, but I uploaded these photos today to a Racket Boy thread and I thought I should share them here too.
Racket Boy, for those not in the know, is probably the best darn website on the internet revolving around retro gaming (besides from this one of course ahoohooo). I highly recommend their console starter guides, as well as the forums which are quite active.

Anyhoo, today I cleaned up the room and plugged everything back in. It's great having it all set-up again after so long; for months I felt a pang of guilt every time I walked past it. From then onwards I played some terrible SNES racing game for about an hour. I placed 9th just about every time.

I'm Not Dead Yet!

This morning I woke up with a revelation, a sudden shock of sorts. "My retro blog; my poor, poor retro blog..."
...
"Time to get back into the game!" I said, after wiping away some solemn tears. "Time to continue where I left of!" From there I slapped myself in the face, drank some coffee, and then went and surveyed the damage. Not being active in the sort of thing for months has left everything down in the dumps.
I should get out of the way first that I don't want to spend this entire post apologising for why there hasn't been any posts since January. The fact is, life got in the way. I don't make any money off this blog, and it certainly doesn't cost me anything to keep it going (or keep in an inactive state). I'll be damned if I don't miss it though, something certainly feels lacking when you've built up such a blog just to abandon it.
Time for a damage report!

Numero Uno: The Games Room

Sadly, I haven't exactly been near this room in a while. It's not full of cobwebs though, as another tenant has moved in (in the shape of a sibling).

The whole place has become a bit of a pit though, with a Wii only being used (of all consoles!) and most of the consoles gathering dust.

In this picture: sadness

I can't stay mad though, as that Wii is mostly used to play Gamecube Zelda games, which is really the only good use for a Wii I can think of. Maybe I should purchase a Gamecube, and lighten up brother/sister relations so we can share the land in peace.

Number 2: That Damn Console Shelf

I haven't commented on the build for that shelf since last May, which is sadly an entire year ago now. I'm determined to finish the bloody thing though, mark my words. Here is its current state:

Which is fudging depressing

The only thing really stopping me is learning how to use a handheld sander, that is literally it. Time to stop procrastinating.

#3: The Retromobile

Here is some exciting news; very soon Retro Game On will be free and on wheels!



While I'm not going to comment on exactly how old I am, lets just say I'm too old not to have my licence when I live in an area that has poor public transport.
In less than a month I will do my final test that will enable me to drive wherever the hell I want, when I want. This will mean I will be able to go to more swapmeets, garage sales, op shops etc all on my own terms.

Getting your licence in Western Australia is retardedly strenuous, which is why I put it off for so long. I did my practical driving assessment over 5 months ago. From there I had to wait a minimum of 6 months (while logging 25 hours of driving) before being allowed to do a computer test (I shit you not) that then gets me the shiny piece of plastic I'm after. In less than I month I can do that test, and I'll be free! That car you see in the photo above is from now on classified as The Retromobile.

See!

This is the machine that will take me on magical journeys forging for retro goodness, which will in turn hopefully make for awesome blog posts.

Just kidding, there are no decent game shops in Perth.

Four: Just A Tidbit...

If you type "retro game blog" into Google, a link for this blog comes up as result number 2, just behind 1UP!



Feels good man.

Fin: The State of My Collection

While my collection certainly hasn't got any smaller, it would be a plain lie to the face if I was to say it has grown. Every once in a while I pop into an op shop or a secondhand store if I happen to be walking past, but I haven't come across anything worth buying.
I think the reason being, is that I always go to the same places. Having a drivers licence will certainly shake things up a bit, and maybe I can finally track down a working Atari 2600. So far my only option is websites like Gumtree or Ebay, and the prices on those suck.

Eitherway, stay tuned. More content on the way.