Game Swap Adventures

A couple of weeks ago, we got out to a smaller swap event, and I tell ya, I found some really great things I’ve been looking for there.  Just in time for the cooler weather to settle in, too.  That just means a nice cold winter coming up with lots of great games on tap since I don’t usually partake in beers!

There were a few things I’ve been wanting for NES for a long while, and those were Journey to Silius and The Krion Conquest. I’ve seen a few people play through Journey to Silius in the last few months, and I’m especially in love with the soundtrack.  I think it’ll be a difficult game to master, but I hope to be able to beat it at some point.  And who doesn’t love something reminiscent of Mega Man?  I loved Little Nemo: The Dream Master, so I can’t wait to see what The Krion Conquest is like.

I was inspired to pick up even more NES stuff since a familiar vendor was trying to part ways with some of his games for cheap.  He was mentioning there’s been a downturn in NES sales lately, so he was looking to offload a few things. The Immortal in particular has a great soundtrack that makes me laugh at how sneaky it is sometimes with all its traps.  There’s something about the battles in that game that crack me up every time I see them going down.  I also made a point to find Kickle Cubicle after I saw NES Friend’s review over on YouTube.  I don’t know what I initially thought this game was, but I didn’t think it was a cute puzzle game!  It looks great and like a nice fun way to unplug my brain which I’m needing more and more of these days.  And Jaws, well… I just wanted it.  It’s one of those games I always see and never pick up because I want other things more, and the price here was too good to pass up.

I did manage to sneak in an uncommon Game Boy Color game from another vendor that was looking to move his stuff for a reasonable price.  Wendy Every Witch Way is something I’d seen around the internet as a great game that nobody seems to have, so naturally I picked it up.  I almost missed it since it was obscured by some other games in a case, but I’m glad I found it.  It was in very good condition and worked on the first try.  I love when that happens!

I did pick up Hybrid Heaven for N64 after seeing a few people chatting about it in a livestream.  It was described to me as a Wrestling RPG (oh really?) which intrigued me for many reasons, but mostly because I want to see what the heck this game is and why I’d never heard of it before!  I thought I’d gotten the four total RPGs for the N64, but it seems like I’ve managed to add another to the mix.  There are never too many RPGs, even if they’re seemingly weird and unconventional.

A nice find for me was Vanguard Bandits for the PS1.  The Demo CD was not in the greatest shape, but the game itself was pretty much pristine.  I don’t think I have too many more PS1 games I want to track down now that I’ve found it.  This, like many other games I’ve bought over the years, smells like laundry dryer sheets!  I’m not sure why people tend to store their stuff around their dryers or with dryer sheets inside their storage boxes, but it’s a weirdly comforting smell compared to something like cigarettes, I suppose.

A swap wouldn’t be a swap without some Sega Master System things, and I was lucky enough to find a copy of Rambo III in great condition with its manual.  A long while ago my boyfriend bought a copy of a different Rambo game thinking it was this one, but alas… the wrong game didn’t even use the light gun like he was hoping.  We’ve finally remedied this after a long wait, and though it’s probably not going to be my favourite game by any means, I’m definitely willing to give it a try sometime.  My light guns don’t get nearly enough use.

More Sega always makes me happy, and I did manage to reel in a few loose Sega Genesis games.  I stumbled upon a table that had so many things I never usually see out and about at these kinds of things, and High Seas Havoc was the first thing I picked up from that particular table.  It’s a platformer that people often compare to the Sonic games, and I can’t seem to stay away from things with pirates in them.  It felt like a pretty natural buy.  I also picked up Blaster Master 2, which I’ve heard is a bunch of junk, but it’s the first time I’d ever seen it in the wild.  It’s mine now!

We also finally got a copy of Gunstar Heroes!  I can’t say how many times I’ve seen this around at a swap and it’s been waaaay more than I was willing to pay.  I’ve been patient, and I finally found a box and cartridge combination for a decent price.  This was much more my boyfriend’s pick than mine, and I think he’s happy to finally be able to cross that off his list.

Last not but not least, I found a copy of Skeleton Krew for the Sega Genesis.  It’s an isometric adventure game that looks pretty great, and I rarely hear anyone even mention its existence out there in the world.  This is probably the most expensive game I picked up, but thankfully I had lots of stuff to trade to get it.  Apparently a lot of people were interested in it, and I was the lucky person who was able to take it home.  Hooray!

I’m pretty sure this’ll be the last swap I make it out to for the year.  The weather has turned pretty cold already and there is snow coming up in the forecast, so travel to any remaining events might be unpredictably tricky… back to eBay and scouring the classifieds for another cold winter of collecting.

Thanks very much for reading!

-GG