This past weekend I made it out to a small event that wasn’t only focused on video games, but also on many other facets of Geek Culture such as card games, table top gaming, and comics. I can’t say that I dabble at all in the latter three, but it was interesting to see so many people come together around those activities. I’m starting to learn a little more about them by following a few blogs here, even if it’s only a passive absorption of information. There were only three video game vendors at the event, and I made sure to visit their tables multiple times. I even shook hands with a vendor I’ve seen a few times at other swaps, and now we are on a first name basis! Pretty great!
One man’s table had a raffle for an NES Classic Edition, which I entered but didn’t end up winning. He didn’t draw at the event, so for all I know he just took all the money home with him and laughed all the way to the bank. The same vendor also had a Mystery Bag attraction where he had shoved 150 games into a sleeping bag and was asking people to pay $5 to stick their arms in and pull out something from inside. There were games available to win from most consoles that I’m interested in as well as gift certificates to the table. I must’ve rummaged around in there for a good two minutes looking for something that felt like an NES or an SNES cartridge, and finally I found one. When I pulled it out, it was the grungiest, dirtiest most awful game I could’ve picked for myself: NHLPA Hockey for the SNES. I won’t even taint your day with a photo of it because it’s a really, really gross cartridge. I am trying really hard not to think about what else I might have unknowingly touched in there.
Despite the willies-inducing mystery bag experience, I did find a few interesting things. There was a table of SNES games that was jam-packed with great deals (for once!) and I got a copy of Super Bomberman 2 and The Lost Vikings for $60. Both cartridges are in great shape. I normally would’ve tried to wrangle a deal out of some of the vendors here, but since this was the first time this particular event has ever run, I wanted to support them so that they might be inclined to come back again next year. I did manage to save $5, which is still a savings at the end of the day! Here are the two games:
I used to play the first Super Bomberman with a good friend as a kid and loved it! She also had Mario Paint and we always played Gnat Attack together too. I was the friend who would go and visit her and she would know to go and get out the Nintendo. I only had an NES and a Sega Genesis growing up, so this was the only chance I had to play some of these other games. I’m glad I had the privilege of getting a taste of the SNES in my youth. Based on my impressions of the first Super Bomberman, I’m sure the second will be good too. I’ve heard it has only added and improved upon the first game. The Lost Vikings looks like a fun puzzle game as well. I own it on Steam, but took the plunge for a cartridge copy!
I think the most exciting thing I found was a boxed copy of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening that also came with its manual! I have been eyeballing a boxed copy of this game at a local hock shop for months, and they are asking $80 without tax, which was plenty more than I was willing to pay. I bought my copy from a hard-of-hearing older man whose son did a lot of repeating to him on my behalf. They sold it to me for $70 (they were asking $80 but came down a bit for me), and all of it is in good condition. For anyone wondering, I got the original Game Boy game and not the Game Boy Colour release. I’d like to own the GBC version and play that at some point since I understand it has additional content, but I’m quite happy with a complete copy of the original. Link’s Awakening was one of the first games I fell in love with and I would say is my favourite Zelda game (so far, anyway). It’s a game I’ve played through many times and am looking forward to playing again!
That wraps up the last swap of 2016. Snow will be here any time now, and I don’t know that people actually host these kinds of events in the winter months at all. I’ve never seen advertising for them, anyway. Now we transcend into the darkness of The Wintertime Game-Finding Void. Sigh. I already can’t wait for Spring.
Thanks for reading!
-GG
hungrygoriya 
Great find! Link’s Awakening was the first Zelda game I played, so it’s pretty special to me as well. That little gold box brings back the memories!
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I’m glad it brought back some memories for you. Link’s Awakening was my second Zelda game and I was stuck for years on the Eagle Tower. I finally beat it for the first time last year and it was like a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders!
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Ah Eagle’s Tower! That was definitely one of the trickiest dungeons in Link’s Awakening, and Zelda games in general.
Having to keep in your mind the location of the pillars, and what was above and below you, was a pain – in a good way!
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I just found out that Wart from SMB2 makes an appearance in Link’s Awakening (courtesy of a comment on your playthrough of the former actually) so I kind of want to watch a Let’s Play of it again!
Ewwww to the icky game and it’s not even one you’re interested in either. Sounds like it was a bag of suck D: I know that there are obviously germs on everything surface imaginable, and I know there are plenty on my laptop and phone, but I don’t know, seeing the ick makes it somehow worse.
Hope this last haul holds you well until next year!
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Awww thank you for watching my playthrough! I know the mic volume was a little low, but I hope you enjoyed it 🙂 Wart’s appearance comes later in the game and he isn’t called Wart at all, but it’s totally his sprite!
And yes, a big bag of suck sounds like a perfect descriptor! The ick is that brown/grey colour that looks like glue that gets every little thing stuck to it and is impossible to remove. You probably know the stuff! *shudders*
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It was a lot of fun! I’m looking forward to seeing more of your LPs. Your voice is really chill and soothing lol so the volume thing didn’t bother me in the least.
Blech, I know exactly what you’re talking about.
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That’s so great to hear! Thank you for your feedback. I am pretty soft-spoken by nature and I guess that translates well to an LP!
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It’s fantastic for an LP! I’ve heard a number of styles, and you’re method while not ostentatious is still enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Although I do follow a few LPers who are super enthused, but it’s more of the “Are they upbeat/excited about what they’re playing?” that’s the major question. I stopped following this one person because they were so derisive about the game they were playing, and it was just such a downer and off putting. They also scrolled through dialogue way too fast and it’s like, “Um, you’re showcasing the game. People need to see that.” I’m trying to watch and absorb good methods for LPing so that when I try it I can have good habits 🙂
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I am not normally a super over-the-top enthusiastic kind of person, so I’d feel like a total fraud if I acted that way while recording gameplay. I find that kind of boisterous conduct a little off-putting when I’m watching an LP, and some of my favourites just included someone talking and explaining when required! When someone is yelling a lot, I find it jarring! I’m normally watching for the game itself and not so much the person, as you’ve mentioned here!
When I stream, I read all the text aloud because it not only helps the viewers, but it also helps me! I tend to skim if I don’t do it that way, and I normally miss stuff. That’s no good in an RPG, obviously!
I would adore seeing an LP by you someday! I really like hearing writers’ voices so I can hear them in my head when I read things they’ve written. It makes people seem more real!
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There are a few over the top people I follow (chugaaconroy is probably one of the most famous), and I do get startled easily from yelling. Thankfully, some of them usually warn beforehand. My currently favorite has an English accent, which is just heavenly.
I would read all the dialogue, too. Heck, I do that now when I play by myself! I…also kind of do different voices…usually English accents, because it’s my favorite. I probably sound awful hehe.
I want to do an audio recording of my fanfiction once I get the proper equipment. I do have Audible, which I might be able to use without more expensive equipment, but I still want a better web camera. I’ll do an LP one day, once I get myself together.
I may upgrade my WordPress account so that I can put in audio files. I made a few for my Question of the week, but without the upgrade, you need to have a third party like YouTube or Vimeo to use.
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Goodness, sometimes I wish I had an accent that was more distinguishable to people in the same continent as me! The best I can do is a horribly exaggerated French Canadian accent which usually makes people angry/offended rather than happy!
I’d definitely listen to an audio recording if you ever put one together. I like to read along with someone. I’ve half debated reading out my blogs and recording them for anyone that is visually impaired, but WP doesn’t seem to have something built in to accommodate users with those kinds of disabilities. It would be nice to see!
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I can hear a bit of your Canadian accent! I’ve got a bit of the nasal Pennsylvanian accent if I don’t curb it hehe. I have this weird “recording” voice that almost sounds English. I think it’s because when I used to sing in choir, the directors wanted us to soften our vowels and not sound so, well, Pennsylvanian since that accent is horrible for singing.
It really is a shame. You have to have an upgraded account in order to put audio or video without a third party. I think the same as you that it would be a nice option (without having to pay for it) for the visually impaired. I know I enjoyed it for when I’m at work and want to listen to something while I’m doing that. I’m thinking of upgrading though because it’s around $8 a month ($100 a year). That might be a plan in the new year.
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I’ll have to find some kind of sound recording of a Pennsylvanian accent! I’m curious about those nuances now. I have a hard time distinguishing accents from the US because frankly, a lot of them sound “normal” because of television shows. It’s interesting that you have to change how you use language when you sing to make it sound “prettier”. I noticed that a lot with people from the UK – to me, they all sound American when they sing and then suddenly get a huge accent when they’re just speaking normally. So weird!
Hooray for upgrades! I might consider upgrading at some point just to have more picture storage. I’m up near 10% already. Perhaps I just need to post less photos 😛
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I’ll admit my voice is really, really weird and I code switch a lot (change my inflection depending on my mood and who I’m talking to). I sometimes sound really valley girlish, and I tend to pick up people’s accents very easily so if I hang out with my family, I’ll get more of a Philadelphia accent. I’ve heard some non-American friends say that they can easily recognize and emulate Southern accents because they tend to stand out lol.
Yup! I didn’t know Eric Clapton was English for the longest time until I was watching some show with him speaking, and I was like, “Whaaaaah??” and then there’s Adele who doesn’t sound remotely English then you hear her speak regularly and it’s like “Whoa London accent!” I remember reading or watching something about why that is and it has to do with the way you enunciate vowels in the type of singing they do. Haha, they don’t sound English when they sing, but classically trained Americans kind of do.
I try to link pictures if I can! Like when I do book covers since they’re not likely to move/change because Goodreads or Amazon are pretty solid sites, but I’m still thinking upgrading would be good idea for the other perks.
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I had no idea Link’s Awakening with the box costs that much now! I have the box for one of the Game Boy or Game Boy Color Zelda games in my basement and I can’t remember which one it is. I thought it was that game but maybe I’m wrong. I’m going to have to go dig it up and keep track of it! I really enjoyed reading about your game hunting as always 🙂
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Thanks for your kind words! Link’s Awakening is starting to get more traction with people these days. I’m not sure why all of a sudden, but it’s becoming more well-loved! I hope that game in your basement is indeed Link’s Awakening. It’s one of my favourite games of all time!
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I’ve been hearing people say that it is one of their favorites. I don’t have fond memories of the game (I found it too hard to figure out back then) but I bet if I played it now, I could probably enjoy it much more. I checked and I do have a Link’s Awakening box! The bad thing is that it is a “Player’s Choice” which almost definitely makes it less desirable. I’m still pleased to have it and I will never live down the day when I decided to get rid of most of my Game Boy and Nintendo 64 boxes. My video game collection is worth some money but it would probably double in price if I had all the boxes still. Oh well!
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I bet if you gave it a whirl now that you’d enjoy it tremendously. There’s a charm to it that I never saw in other games that followed it (I have yet to play through the Oracle games which were done in the same engine, so maybe I’ll see it there again.) I have the unpopular opinion that it’s better than A Link to the Past, and I firmly stand by that.
I wouldn’t fret too much over your “Player’s Choice” box. A boxed game is worth more than an unboxed game, and there isn’t too much of a differential there with earlier cartridge-style Nintendo games. People are pickier over that stuff when it comes to Playstation or GameCube games it seems. I’d be just as happy with a “PC” version if the price was right!
I hear you completely on getting rid of boxes. I kept a few from my childhood, but many of my childhood games only have the cartridge and manual these days. One I really regret getting rid of is my Super Mario Bros. 2 box, and the other was my second copy of Faxanadu. I had a boxed copy and another with just the manual, and I gave the boxed copy to someone that I wanted to experience the game. We aren’t friends anymore, and I still about it often and regret giving it to him! I hope he still has it.
If you ever do sell your collection, I’m sure you’ll get some good money for it. I can imagine just how well you’ve kept things based on your attention to detail and care you demonstrate in your posts! I’d personally be honoured to buy games from someone who showed that much love for their stuff 🙂
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I am not a fan of Link to the Past either which is a lot of people’s favorite. I think Zelda first really clicked for me with Ocarina of Time though I did enjoy the Oracle games a lot too.
I was overjoyed when I found that I at least had kept a fair amount of my old boxed games. A lot of them are Game Boy Advance which aren’t as good as original Game Boy or Nintendo 64 but I found some like Paper Mario in there and Link to the Past. I had the boxes for expensive games (or at least lest time I checked like Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask and even Ogre Battle 64. I’ll take any boxes I can get when it comes down to it. I still can’t believe that a piece of cardboard can be worth $20-$50 depending on the game! Many of the game boxes have been stored away and are in pristine condition so it is nice to have that. I even have a few paperback strategy guides that are in nearly perfect condition though those don’t tend to be too valuable. I am definitely the kind of person who likes to take care of anything they own and so you nailed that part of my personality 🙂
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Ocarina of Time was an excellent game. I just played it for the first time last year and I’m desperate to get to Majora’s Mask in the near future. My backlog just keeps growing and growing, so nobody knows when I’ll actually get around to it!
That’s so awesome about your collection being in such great shape! I’m actually a little jealous of some of your boxed Zelda games. I won’t usually pay extra for a box, but I will throw a little money at a manual or two here or there (instructions or guides). My Link to the Past box is really beat up, and I’m not even sure I have the same country of origin for the cartridge and manual since I bought them separately. Ogre Battle 64 is intensely expensive even on its own, so I haven’t roped in a copy of that one yet! I would love to see some photos of your collection someday if you’re ever feeling up to it. I know it’s not the focus of your work so please don’t feel obligated, but I just love seeing games in good hands that are in great shape!
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I’m glad you got a chance to play Ocarina of Time, I can’t get into Majora’s Mask (I have tried twice and don’t think I beat it either time) but I also have a bad strategy guide which didn’t help.
I am going to be moving soon and will actually be displaying my video game collection for the first time so I’d be happy to take pictures whenever I get around to that. It will probably be a month or two but I look forward to finally showcasing the awesome collection my brother and I collected over the years! Somehow I ended up being the one who takes care of it all, go figure! 🙂
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That’s awesome news! I hope your move goes well. My childhood games are also a mix of mine and my siblings’, so I’m grateful to be the one that scooped them all up when I moved out.
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