sp1nz

Ordered and it wasn't the only thing I ordered. Not relating to Diamond Thieves: Do Mega Cat Genesis/Mega Drive versions have functional differences (60Hz/50Hz) or are they just box inlay color variations of red and blue on the spine?

Love that shit, whether it's in a menu, credits or in print. I loved animal info books as a kid and I saw some horror monster compilation books in a local library; collections of characters / monsters with pictures, lore, stats or whatever is just the bomb. My favorite gaming related bestiary has to be this one: https://dragon-quest.org/wiki/Dragon_Quest_25th_Anniversary_Encyclopedia_Of_Monsters

April and May combo that slay.

I started buying from LRG since the beginning (Breach & Clear Vita) and was buying basically every Vita and PS4 release they put out up to a certain point but after they started pumping out insane amounts of stuff I became picky with what I get while still going for the Vita full set - only skipped Gunhouse Vita from the source but got one second hand (R.I.P. my Revenge of the Bird King Vita, if that's a thing for full set buyers through LRG - depending on how strict they are with it). They do release a lot of games that I want to own physically but it's annoying that with the current pre-order model the turnaround times are very long in most cases. I've ordered 0 PS5 games so far from LRG and I'm likely to be ultra picky with PS5 overall after being a super buyer on PS4. I don't care about full sets from any other "limited game companies" either - there are just too many games being produced, the wait times are long and some companies are doing shady shit, so it's harder to justify the money, trust and time required. I'm probably going to let some LRG / "Limited" stinker games go in the future excluding what stinkers are found in the LRG Vita set. Unless I'm after a set I don't regret missing or letting games go and most LRG sets are just too big and without any concrete cut-off point for me to care. A full LRG set is just never-ending insanity anyways but since you are already so deep into some platform sets, I'm not sure if now is the time to drop the pursuit for those sets but then again that probably only eggs you on to keep going with any new platforms they put out and it's just gonna suck out the fun out of it and maybe other collecting also. I would personally get out of the set collecting, if the amount of money and effort required is becoming a source of worry and stress. It's kind of annoying even how far LRG milks some things like Shantae. I enjoyed collecting for a Shantae "set" but then suddenly there are random PAX exclusive things, random merch and same games on 4 different systems with Limited Editions repeating most of the contents between couple platforms and such, so I guess I'm not even a Shantae setter anymore - though at the end of the day only each unique game release really matters in a series and not every platform's version of them or extra items or swag editions, so in that sense it's not too big of a deal but still speaks of the bloat in the hobby and by extension my annoyance with it. In other LRG news, I reserved a PS4 replacement disc for DOOM: The Classics Collection.

Muted March Some "limited print" stuff as always but I am super happy to get a Sonic the Hedgehog nordic MD rental. The front of the Sonic has the price of 49 kronor and the back has a sticker for Can Can Video, which is some Swedish video store - love stuff like that.

February Funkin' and it's mostly a motherload of LRG blowout sales and pre-orders arriving. The game with too much reflection is Ys IX: Monstrum Nox LE. Nordic rental version of Wonder Boy in Monster World is also my first Mega Drive rental - the game is a certified childhood classic. Shadow Dancer got a vinyl release finally... da bomb. Also really glad I picked the Genesis style Castlevania Anniversary Collection; it was a tough choice between it and the classic NES silver Konami box style, even with me being a huge Genesis/MD fan, but the red and green color scheme sold me on it and it's a beauty when it's in your hands.

You can do a small double-jump, if you time it at the pinnacle of your initial jump.

It was fun playing it on my family's DOS PC but beyond the digitized mocap, fun gore and spooky oriental atmosphere there's not much meat in the game; small cast, shared basic moves and stiff gameplay. I enjoy it enough to play it infrequently but the later installments do it bigger and better. 6/10

January Jammin'

Day 31 List with 5 song picks from each participant besides me: AverageOliver98 Day 10: [1993] Kirby's Adventure - Vegetable Valley [NES] Day 16: [1993] Mega Man IV - Wily Battleship Stage [GB] (A) Day 20: [2020] Helltaker - Vitality [PC] Day 23: [2016] Raiden V - Fortress of Philosophy [PS4] (A) Day 27: [1994] Super Metroid - Maridia Drifting Sand Underwater Area [SNES] Aguy Day 03: [2010] Sid Meier's Civilization V - Sicilienne [PC] Day 08: [2001] Super Smash Bros. Melee - Break the Targets [GC] Day 15: [2001] Golden Sun - Fusion Dragon [GBA] Day 18: [1994] Sonic 3 - Act Clear [GEN] Day 19: [1990] Silver Surfer - High Score [NES] fox Day 16: [1990] Power Blade - Power Windmills [NES] (A) Day 16: [1999] Final Fantasy VIII - Balamb Garden [PS1] (C) Day 16: [1997] Bomberman 64 - Blue Resort [N64] (D) Day 17: [2008] Burnout Paradise - Cities in Dust [PS3] Day 28: [1989] Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Shredder [ARC] 0xDEAFC0DE Day 01: [1993] Overlord - Title [NES] Day 04: [1986] Ghosts 'n Goblins - Intro [C64] Day 16: [1998] Buck Bumble - Theme [N64] Day 21: [2015] Grim Fandango Remastered - Casino Calavera [PC] Day 25: [2012] Gravity Rush - Douse Shinundakara [VITA] ZeldaFreak Day 04: [2005] Shadow of the Colossus - The Opened Way [PS2] Day 06: [2015] Undertale - Temmie Village [PC] Day 15: [2009] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks - Stagnox [DS] Day 20: [2011] The Binding of Isaac - Sacrificial [PC] Day 23: [2011] Terraria - Day [PC] (B) rdrunner Day 06: [2013] Battleblock Theater - Buckle Your Pants [X360] Day 09: [1989] Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse - Aquarius [NES] Day 17: [2012] Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed - Ocean View [PS3] Day 29: [1997] Star Fox 64 - Andross Brain [N64] Day 30: [2011] Catherine - An Die Freude [PS3] PII Day 02: [1989] Willow - Battle Theme [NES] Day 05: [2004] Katamary Damacy - The Moon and the Prince [PS2] Day 16: [1987] Getsu Fuma Den - Overworld Theme [NES] (A) Day 17: [1990] Rad Racer II - Still Alive [NES] Day 21: [1990] Dragon Warrior IV - Endor Casino [NES] nesmaster14 Day 05: [2005] 10,000 Bullets - D.O.L.L. [PS2] Day 06: [2000] Mario Artist: Talent Studio - Po Pi Pa Pi [N64DD] Day 07: [1993] Cannon Fodder - Intro [AMI] Day 16: [1991] Yume Penguin Monogatari - Stage 1 [NES] (A) Day 16: [1996] PaRappa the Rapper - Chop Chop Master Onion's Rap [PS1] (C) tigerwolf Day 05: [1999] Saiyuki: Journey West - Daily Smile [PS1] Day 12: [2013] Guacamelee - Temple of Rain [PS3] Day 13: [2021] Actraiser Renaissance - Birth of the People [NS] Day 15: [1995] Marsupilami - The Circus Boss [GEN] Day 26: [1990] Thunder Force III - Stage 3 (The Grubby Dark Blue) [GEN]

Well the category I created for Day 23 is First Person Dungeon Crawler, even though I'm not adding that descriptor on my actual list to keep it uniform and within single lines. I put in both original and super arrange version of the song Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan - Battlefield - Brush With Death, also called Battlefield - One Step From Death or Battlefield - The Fall of the Final Enemy depending on the source but it's called Battlefield - Brush With Death on spotify, so I'll go with that, although I took the Battlefield part out for it to fit nicely on the line. The original version is menacingly groovy jazz fusion played by real musicians and the super arrange is for the most part a chiptune demake until it gives you a surprise pummeling with some epic saxophone. I love the duality of these versions a lot. Give them a whirl.

November and December arrivals:

My VGMC 3 picks: Day 1-30 List Day 31 List VGMC 4 - Lunatic mode: Day 01: [1991] Golden Axe II - Intro Theme [GEN] Day 02: [1996] Heroes of Might and Magic II - Magnificent Field (Grassland Theme) [PC] Day 03: [2000] Harvest Moon 3 GBC - Fall [GBC] Day 04: [2020] Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition - Bury the Light [PS5] Day 05: [1997] Treasures of the Deep - Shipwrecked [PS1] Day 06: [1995] Cho Aniki: Kyuukyoku Muteki Ginga Saikyou Otoko - Blue Sky Frog [PS1] Day 07: [1998] Jazz Jackrabbit 2 - Carrotus [PC] Day 08: [1997] Final Fantasy VII - Crazy Motorcycle Chase [PS1] Day 09: [1993] Sonic CD - Wacky Workbench Zone: Present (JP/EU) [SCD] (A) Day 09: [1993] Sonic CD - Wacky Workbench Zone: Present (US) [SCD] (B) Day 10: [1994] Super Street Fighter II - Cammy Stage [GEN] Day 11: [1994] Streets of Rage 3 - Percussion [GEN] (A) Day 11: [2011] Streets of Rage Remake - Percussion [PC] (B) Day 12: [1994] Wild Guns - Desolation Canyon [SNES] Day 13: [1989] Disney's DuckTales - Transylvania [NES] (A) Day 13: [2013] Disney DuckTales Remastered - Transylvania [PS3] (B) Day 14: [1996] Wild ARMs - Courage (Dungeon 2) [PS1] Day 15: [1991] Wonder Boy in Monster World - Boss Theme 1 [GEN] Day 16: [1990] Mouryou Senki Madara - Symphony of Destruction [NES] (A) Day 16: [1994] Yuu Yuu Hakusho: Makyo Toitsusen - Sub-Space 2 [GEN] (B) Day 16: [1997] Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - Marble Gallery [PS1] (C) Day 16: [1997] Mischief Makers - Volcanic [N64] (D) Day 17: [1999] Gran Turismo 2 - North City [PS1] Day 18: [1993] Gunstar Heroes - Stage Clear [GEN] Day 19: [1991] Dragon's Fury - High Score Table [GEN] Day 20: [2019] Xeno Crisis - Dunes (Area 3) [GEN] Day 21: [1999] Pokémon Gold & Silver - Goldenrod Game Corner [GBC] Day 22: [1991] The Simpsons - Two Goons [ARC] (A) Day 22: [1989] The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! - Intro Theme [TV] (B) Day 23: [2012] Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan - Brush With Death [3DS] (A) Day 23: [2012] Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan - Brush With Death (Super Arrange) [3DS] (B) Day 24: [2021] Super High Ball: Pinball Platformer - Super High Ball Theme [PC] Day 25: [2021] Monster Hunter Rise - Kamura's Song of Purification [NS] Day 26: [2006] Mushihimesama Futari - Sea of Frozen Crystals (Stage 2) [ARC] Day 27: [1999] Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver - Pillars Tomb [PS1] Day 28: [1997] SaGa Frontier - Last Battle ~ Emelia [PS1] Day 29: [2008] Ketsui Death Label: Kizuna Jigoku Tachi - No Remorse [DS] Day 30: [2014] Shovel Knight - A Return to Order (Ending) [PC] (A) Day 30: [2010] Xenoblade Chronicles - Agniratha, Mechonis Capital (Night) [WII] (koifish) (B)

Most story-driven games and games with static puzzles are very engrossing the first time around but oftentimes there's no real reason to play them again unless so much time has passed that you forgot everything.

Ordered a Deluxe Edition.

Another copy pasta to start with: "I got PlayStation 1 for my 9th birthday in 1997; It was a complete surprise when I came home from school with a friend that day. The console was hooked up in the living room with Lara Croft proudly standing in the starting cave on the TV screen. Over the following week or two my friend visited me daily and we beat the game." Delving more into the experience: The locations were very interesting and I appreciated how you start with basic animals as enemies but then meet extinct or fictitious enemies in the mix. Deadly traps, obscure paths and secrets create sense of oppression and discovery; the game doesn't hand the raiding to you on a plate and that's cool. To my memory there is music to accentuate certain areas while others get silence and grim ambiance, this enhances the aforementioned oppression and discovery aspects greatly. Lara Croft is a great character and it is cool that they chose a female character to lead such a pioneering 3D game too. It has tank controls but I don't mind them, as they create a sense of danger in the combat encounters alongside the limited ammunition and healing items you may scour in the areas, and the platforming is well designed for accuracy for the tank controls, if you know how to do it - like hold walk while going to an edge -> backwards hop -> start running and holding jump -> maximum distance jump often accompanied with grabbing a ledge. I've beaten the games in the original trilogy once and they're all important to me despite not playing them endlessly. I've tested one or two Tomb Raider after those but they didn't grab me, I'm still curious to play them all eventually, at least the modern variety. The original is not a game for everyone now or even back then but it will always haunt my brain in a positive way, the way successful raiding of historical artifacts from deadly massive tombs should. So I put it as a defining game for me in the thread I linked, naturally for being the first for me on a revolutionary console, still how would I rate it... I think experiencing it back then as it was all fresh and exciting a clear 10/10, even today just thinking of these vibrant memories and how I have a great appreciation for how well the game was made and recently placing it as my GOTY 1996 (I played it in 1997 but I go by release years in this assessment), I have to say it stays a 10 for me. I think everyone should try it for historical reasons, even if they end up hating it. I'm very happy that I grew up alongside game evolution, so I don't feel like antiquated controls or design choices take away from my experiences, they're more like pockets of nostalgia and flavor and I'm very open to most flavors. Also a game doesn't require a huge replayability factor, if any, to be a true great in my eyes. 10/10

September + October arrivals:

Galilei ja Kadonneet Lelut (TL: Galilei and the Lost Toys) - a video game based on a Finnish children's show of the same name. I have played more obscure games on DOS but I still haven't found out what they were.

I have more nostalgia for Point Blank and it offers something different than the usual on-rails campaign most light gun games offer. I remember playing the arcade cab whenever I visited a certain one store with my dad, might've encountered it in some other places too. I most vividly remember the stand-offs with the falling leaf challenge. The most nostalgic light gun cab for me is Area 51 though and Silent Scope rocks the second place. Point Blank would be my third pick, if I were to buy arcade cabs.

The way Wata grades seals now asks for the end buyer to be an expert in a system that is not explicitly explained to them. Sure there are different seals and methods of sealing for different platforms and that can result in said platform possibly not being able to get maximum grade seals in an uniform system but it feels unintuitive and dumb to go with a mixed system. It'll produce bigger money results though when you have your As or even A+s with gaping holes that buyers don't seem to care about due to the letter being there on some systems. Of course the games on a single platform will compare to each other in seal grades but not at all to other platforms. Disgustang.

I wouldn't pay 4 figures for a 10 grade of any variant of Genesis Sonic 1 CIB and I'm the Sega fanboy here.

You can't just look at overall sales numbers and equate them to a single region or a country unless the game released in a single region or a country. Also Final Fantasy VI was released as III in America and Dragon Quest V and VI never had American releases for the SNES. Super Famicom versions never came sealed in Japan so you'd be talking about "qualified" Japanese graded games for the exact RPGs you mentioned, not about anything that could have a seal grade anyway. No clue why Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball hasn't shown on HA though. FF III SNES on HA past sales: https://www.ha.com/c/search-results.zx?N=0+790+231&Ntk=SI_Titles-Desc&Nty=1&Ntt=final+fantasy+iii+snes&ic4=KeywordSearch-A-K-071316 Small FF VI (III) comment on USA sales: https://nintendoeverything.com/sakaguchi-says-final-fantasy-vi-didnt-sell-well-in-the-u-s-when-it-originally-hit-the-snes/

It's not a market correction yet because the buyers will clearly sell them on HA for 2 million, 3 million... gorillion!

The Bydo Empire sends its regards. EDIT: I got too focused on the R, thinking R-Type. Well robot fish oil sends its regards.

European SNES NOS finds are not too uncommon occurrence and they are usually non-English copies or re-releases of common/uncommon games but once in a while there are finds that can affect the market a lot. Super Widget -FAH NOS find affected its market a lot, since it was a rare game that only had -FAH code version and it came with a poster too. My luck would have it that I had bought a low condition copy for megabucks way before that. Big box German Lufia's and Italian F-Zeros are not in high demand, so depends on what else they found. My guess is that it's a nothingburger.