dvertov

1 hour ago, Dr. Morbis said:

That's backwards: it was developed over here and then reskinned to be less realistic and more cartoony to cater to the Japanese market.

Not according to Hardcore Gaming 101. The Japanese version was released in 1990, the NA version in 1991. They wrote a good article about it: 

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/power-blade/

Power Blade for the NES was originally Power Blazer, starring a wimpy Mega Man knock-off. Not only did the character get turned into a badass Schwarzenegger knock-off instead, but the gameplay was changed to make him significantly more powerful, the levels and bosses were redesigned, and a lot of quality of life improvements were added. 

6 minutes ago, RH said:

All I can say is condition, condition, condition.  I assume it's in excellent shape for an old, first-edition magazine intended for children.

It's ok. It's faded, there's a big bend at the top of the cover, and there's wear on the spine. One photo of the interior. I've been scoping these out since last year and I feel like I definitely could have picked one up in this condition for less than $100 six months ago. 

Hmm.

1 hour ago, DefaultGen said:

They probably bought it for $30, like how Piko owns Wisdom Tree, Fake Atari owns Atari, and Fake Intellivision owns Intellivision. I actually have no idea how rights for these defunct companies works. Collectorvision also has LJN and Exidy,

I figured it was something like that, but with publishers like those I was hoping there would be a good story there. I would love to see some new homebrews sporting that LJN rainbow. Although I might be hesitant to play them.

56 minutes ago, TDIRunner said:

Definitely getting Shantae, but I undecided on which version.  I would like the have the soundtrack, but I don't really want any of the other stuff, so I will probably end up with the standard edition.  I see a price for the CE, but I haven't seen a price for the standard yet.  I was originally hoping for it to be $30, but now I'm guessing $40.

I'll probably get the standard GBC game and also the new release of Risky's Revenge just announced today. I'm a sucker for officially-licensed reproduction carts. Can't help myself.

23 hours ago, DefaultGen said:

I'd rather not because similar to @cartman's sentiment, I'm worried about overlooked variants. One day people might discover that only so-and-so PCB date code goes with so-and-so box date code or minor manual revision and my CIB was technically incorrect because no one ever thought to check that.

21 hours ago, Mr. CIB said:

Cartman position while noble isn't realistic if you are a CIB collector.  Unless you purchase a game sealed or directly from a trusted source that purchased it sealed there is no way know. Even now there is probably a few people who keep up with date codes for NES games and a handful across all consoles.  In this case I rather be a Jack of all Trades and a Master of None.

This was my concern - I don't know what I don't know, and while I'm not worried about exact variant matches affecting the value of my own collection, I'd prefer not to add to the chaos already out there. I think my goal is probably going to be only combining CIBs if they're already obviously compromised, like they're missing a manual or the seals don't match, etc.

Does anyone know anything about the development for Dead Tomb? Does it look like it's worth a physical copy? Also, what's the story on how the publisher ended up with that Acclaim license?

I'm a mostly cart-only collector thinking about upgrading a few of my games to CIB, and I'm curious how "frankensteining" a full CIB set is viewed around here. I've tried to get the more obvious details straight in the past (making sure the seals match, getting the right dust cover with the right game, etc) but I'm sure I'm missing a lot of minutiae about variants. Also, it seems like so many CIB listings on eBay are so obviously cobbled together already that it's almost impossible for a casual collector to tell what is actually an original set and what isn't. Am I a monster for slapping together CIBs like this? Or is it no big deal?

6 hours ago, The Strangest said:

When SoR4 was revealed to be getting a retail release and a bunch of LRG customers threw a fit because it was no longer limited, that blew my mind. Like it’s a legitimately good game first of all, and I can’t imagine just buying something because you were told it’s limited. Not judging anyone, it’s just not my MO.

I think it's great that Limited Run allows this. So you get the "special" release for the crazy collectors and the mass market version for normies, and it keeps in line with LRG's original, laudable goal of getting more physical copies of games into circulation and out of the digital-only abyss. If that's a problem for you, invest in something else.

11 hours ago, DefaultGen said:

Besides, the only true rare games are homebrew. Rare games don’t come off assembly lines, they’re like 30 carts made in some guys garage!

Hell yeah. I've bought quite a few limited print Switch games over the last year, but the one pickup I value most has to be my Kickstarter white-cart version of Alfozo's Arctic Adventure.

2 hours ago, Tabonga said:

One that I couldn't resist was the Thimbleweed Park boxed edition.  It had enough neat extras that it was like the old Infocom packages,

That one looks fun, and at least the box isn't too huge.

33 minutes ago, Californication said:

I'm waiting on the Arcade. Did you get the console version? I skipped because I own most of the games, but am having second thoughts.

No, I just went with Arcade -- I've never been able to figure out MAME, so I'd never played any of those. I didn't see as much appeal to the Console version at nearly $70. I'd rather save that money for when Darius Cozmic Revelation comes out later this year (hopefully).

Since y'all are talking about SLG: FYI the Darius Cozmic Collection Arcade release for Switch is down to 1% left in stock on its 2500 print run. I finally got mine this week after preordering in April and it is extremely bad ass. Probably a must-own for classic shooter fans.

Just expect to wait on those shipping times if you're outside of Europe... Given that my order spent four weeks lost somewhere over the Atlantic, I think they may be sending the mail out on rowboats these days.

Like others here, I'll buy if I like the game and intend to play it. In that case it's fun to put a special new NES or Switch title on my shelf, and I like the reassurance of knowing there's a decent chance I'll get my money back (and if I'm lucky, some value appreciation) if I ever want to resell at some point down the road. The Hotline Miami and Darius collections were two limited-print titles I've had fun with recently.

Also, I only buy standard releases. I've never come across a collector's set that looked particularly appealing to me. Even when the swag is small like a little pin or postcard, I get nervous because it's one more thing I have to keep track of. I feel like most of the big box sets are made for investors who never open them anyway.

I played around with the rom a bit this weekend and it all looks great. Can't wait to get a physical copy of this one.

Just now, Gloves said:

Generic? Brother, it's hot pink.

Well, that's true. So generic but also, like, rad.

14 minutes ago, Deadeye said:

What design is on the case?

The pink case? It's just a generic audio cassette case, so there's nothing on it right now except a couple of random stickers.

Hi, I'd like a 100+ imports badge, please. After this pic I did a recount and realized two of the loose carts are actually from CIB games, so there are 121 unique items here total.

Knocked these out from the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection (all arcade versions): Psycho Soldier, Ikari III, Street Smart, Prehistoric Isle, Bermuda Triangle, Vanguard, TNK III, and Fantasy. Mind you these were not 1-cc runs -- most of these games are crazy hard and frankly not worth the time it takes to get that good at them (although I really enjoy the collection as a whole). And if somebody else wants to try to beat Athena, please be my guest. No, seriously. Please.

BTW I was looking at the main list and wanted to clarify: the menu lists 24 games total in this collection, IF you aren't counting the fact that several titles include both the arcade and NES versions. Also... I see Gain Ground is listed with this one, but that's actually on the Sega Genesis compilation. 

4 hours ago, Jicsan said:

Finished Jaws on NES this morning.  I needed something to knock out for a bingo square,  and this game is quick and easy.  Compared to other old games, I actually play this one fairly often because it is so short.  It's not a great game, but its pretty fun.  It is a thousand times better than the movie Jaws the Revenge that it's based off of.  Folks into shmups should also check it out.

My family and I tried to beat that game for months when I was a kid. We could all get to the final stabby-boat part with the shark, but could never quite connect. Very frustrating, because the game was always pretty easy up to that point.

What does the t-shirt look like? Is it basically the box art? (Which is great, btw.)

Blaster Master Zero with true ending. Waaaaaay better than the NES original.

Just thought I'd chime in that I got my copy of Mall Brawl for NES this week and fired it up for the first time tonight, and unfortunately I am also having similar glitch problems. I'm playing on an OG NES... The only mod I have on this one is Blinking Light Win installed. This is the first aftermarket NES game I've ever had a problem with on that deck, so I don't think it's the console.

I also beat Carrion... does it count if there are already pre-orders going for a physical release, but only the digital version is actually out yet?

Oh man, do I get to be the one to say I beat Streets of Rage 4? Such a great game. Between this and River City Girls I think beat em' ups are really on the cusp of a revival.

This was on normal difficulty, which may have been a copout. I'm already halfway through a second run to unlock more characters.

Beat Carrion on Switch, a new "reverse horror" game where you play a dna-absorbing tentacle beast (think The Thing) attempting to escape from a containment facility by slithering through air ducts, devouring scientists, and generally causing havoc. It's probably a bit too simplistic to be a true classic, but the gameplay alone makes it one of the more interesting titles I've played in a long time. I'm sure I'll be thinking about this one for a while. Worth the $20 on eShop, at least. Here's a trailer if you haven't checked it out yet.