Strange

Good list, and good to see you here Makar. I’ll throw in Orcs & Elves. It’s a first person dungeon crawler that was originally developed for mobile phones but was ported to the DS. It’s surprisingly better than you would expect and last I checked it’s dirt cheap.

I’m playing Astral Chain and also playing through every game on Super Mario All-Stars+SMW.

I think the carts look neat, but I have never understood the point of re-releasing cheap and plentiful carts for a premium like this.

Final Fantasy III/VI. You’ve heard countless times about the world, the characters, the music, the story, the villain, etc. Spoilers for a Super Nintendo game: I’ll never forget the feeling of when I first explored the World of Ruin and heard that demented organ under the blowing wind, and going into a town for the first time since the “end of the world” and seeing people sitting in the streets next to campfires, listening to the bartender go on about how he actually misses the days the empire occupied the town because his bar was more lively before the world was destroyed, etc. It just all sat with me in a way no game had managed to before. And the final battle with Kefka mirroring The Divine Comedy was really interesting. I still love the organ solo from the Heaven portion, and the sad and emotional section towards the end of the final movement. You can hear the desperation as Kefka realizes he’s likely finished, and the final attack that causes the screen to go red and shake, it’s all just such a well put together game. I loved every minute of it.

This is a great answer. Before listening to Collector’s Quest, I had only really explored game collecting on the surface. Without context like this, it’s easy for some to wonder why NES may be king, and simply write it off as nostalgia. But when you really start getting into the weeds of the hobby, you see that NES mimics other pivotal points in other hobbies that collectors gravitate towards. Sort of how there were other comics before Superman and other iconic DC and Marvel heroes, but those icons, like the NES, seemed to be the impetus toward something greater (this coming from a guy that will die on the hill that Atari is fun to collect for despite many people writing it off these days). SNES continues with that momentum and builds upon it, but NES is interesting for the reasons previously mentioned. One category of games that interests me in the NES library is games that were ported from home computers like the Amiga, Atari computers, and C64. Castlequest, North and South, Ultima, etc. The SNES got computer games too, but the NES ones interest me more just by sheer fact that they attempted it at the time. The PAL-exclusive port of Elite is something I really wish we got over here in North America.

Hypothetical scenario: You meet a new collector who wants to dedicate all of their time in the hobby to collecting for one console: NES or SNES, but they don’t know which set to go after. Without trying to sway their opinion one way or the other, how do you describe both sets in order to help them make an informed decision? What are their similarities and differences? How would you describe each game library? Why are each interesting in a way that the other isn't? What makes each set fun to collect for? What makes them a pain? (I’ve already got a collection going for both, but I’d love to listen to and just learn something from seasoned Nintendo collectors who have been at this longer than I have been.)

I got lucky and found a cheap copy of Midnight Mutants (priced before the price of it started going up and sat for awhile) and a copy of Planet Smashers. Those two are probably my two rarest 7800 games, although I haven’t seen too many other Scrapyard Dogs, Fight Nights, or F-18 Hornets. It could just be my area though. People are counterfeiting 7800 games now? Geez, I’ll have to study those cartridges a bit more before making a purchase on either.

For 7800 it’s a tie between Food Fight and Galaga, but Galaga is one of my favorite arcade games anywhere. For 2600, so far, it’s Spider Fighter from Activision. I love the frantic/fast paced shooting. Crackpots is another good one. What are yours?

I figured I would start a thread to discuss or show off anything and everything Atari. Individual threads for systems are cool too (like captmorgandrinker’s 7800 thread) but I figured we could have an all encompassing thread to discuss and post pictures of all systems, games, and accessories in the Atari family. 2600, 5200, 7800, Jaguar, Lynx, 8-bit computers: to quote Cole Porter, anything goes. So I found these Atari posters at an antique mall and I have no clue if they’re original or worth the price, but I’m intrigued:

Thanks for this. I recently decided to go after a complete loose set.

I’ve spent over my budget for now, but I may contact you in the future as I would sure like to have one.

I've got a busted 2600 joystick so I may just give that a shot. Thanks! My top recommendation is Food Fight. It's a really fun and addicting game and the 7800 is the only console version of the game (I've heard that the Atari 8-Bit version isn't that great). After that Robotron 2084 (although my favorite version of this game is Robotron X on PS1). I haven't played Ninja Golf and Alien Brigade, but those are usually top recommendations for the system if you can find them.

Before games, I collected music gear/instruments. But that isn't super practical financially or spatially. I also collect memorabilia of my favorite hockey team, Nashville. I've been thinking of expanding my horizons to some other collection but nothing has really stuck like games. I almost got into bullion. Maybe stamps? Old electronics? I love perusing antique stores.

Cool story! I found a 7800 here locally and knowing that it was backwards compatible I decided to take the plunge. Because of the technological restraints of the time, the programmers had to get creative, both with their idea for games and their workarounds for those limitations. That's what makes Atari 2600 so interesting to me. I love seeing something crazy that I wouldn't have thought would be in a game so old and thinking "Wow, I can't believe the programmers thought of that." It's so Wild West and that's what makes it cool to me. And yes, the 7800 controller is terrible. I've heard the game pad that was a European exclusive was better, but there's someone at AtariAge that mods NES controllers to work for Atari 2600/7800 games. I can't remember their name or Etsy store though.

I'm waiting for the day that Wii U games spike so I can cash out and retire. Wii U speculating is where it's at. Haven't you heard that it's the next Sega Saturn?! Any day now, just you all wait...

I'd love to see a rarity guide of sorts for NES. I don't know how they quantified it, but the rarity guide on AtariAge has really helped me discern the rarity of carts out in the wild (or at least, it's a guide I'm putting my blind faith in and trusting). I hate trying to research what the rarer Nintendo cartridges are and only seeing articles or videos of "The RARE$T Nintendo game$ that can make you rich!!!" that lazily list off expensive carts. I want to know which cartridges are actually rare, regardless of whether they're pricey or relatively cheap. Like mentioned, I'm not really sure how best to implement it, but I'd love to see one.

It was between that or "Searching for Friends" from FFIII/VI. Actually yes, I've built it up quite a bit the last year or so. Since no one pays attention to it the carts are really cheap, and a local store near me had cartridges priced at an umbrella amount of $2, so I was able to save that way by grabbing a bunch from there. The 2600 and 7800 are the first systems that I've felt compelled to collect the cardboard boxes for. The price difference between cart and CIB isn't as big as it is with other systems, so that makes it easier, but I'd like to graduate to collecting NES/SNES/N64 boxes too. I also really like the box art from that time. I've heard people mention they don't like pre-NES collecting because it's super Wild West, which is completely true, but that's exactly why I find it interesting. Attached is my most recent Atari pickup that I'm really excited about.

I was more of a lurker and not very active on NA (I’m more active on AtariAge) but I’m happy to see the community taking things into their own hands and I look forward to being here and participating more.