It's been a pretty good year as far as adding rare games to my collection, going through what I picked up this year I was tring to figure out an order, Rarity? Value? Best games? In the end I put together games that where ether rare, had a good story, or something I have wanted for a long time and finally was able to get. I put file pics for the consoles and a pic of all the games at the bottom.
So here are my personal best pick ups of 2019.
The first three are honorable mentions....
33. Pac-Man 2 (Select-A-Game Machine)I picked up a Select-A-Game Machine handheld a few years back, It was the second handheld ever made. But I had no games for it. I watched auctions for a long time just looking for a game for the system, I hate having a game console and nothing to play on it. One day one finally came up and was at a good price, a loose copy of Pac-Man 2. Most of the time I see Pac-Man 2 it's sealed and they want $200-$300 for it. But I was able to get the seller to sell me the loose game for $40.
32. Poop Slinger (PS4)Probably the only modern game on this list, With all the S**t that came with this game and it's still going for about a grand online. With only 84 copies at the moment I'm lucky to have been able to get a copy. There's still a chance the rest will show up, but if they don't this is the holy grail of my PS4 collection.
31. Kirby's Air Ride (GC)Why is this on the list you ask? Well it's because for many years I've been hunting this game I had a problem with it. Not that I couldn't find the game, oh no. I found it several times and I always passed on it, why you ask? Because every time I found it it was the Player's Choice version. I try and avoid players choice or greatest hits versions unless it has something different. Finally I found a copy that wasn't insane priced and it was the black label. Yay the curse is broken. lol
Now on to the Top 30...
30. Mushihimesama (PS2)This was a game I've always wanted but just never found a copy at a good price. Every time I made offers it was rejected or counter offered with $1 off. Finally someone accepted my offer but I was kinda scared about buying it. Why? Because they only showed a file image. All he listed was good condition. I tried asking the seller questions but it was confusing how he answered. I can tell he didn't speak English. I even sent a google translate asking about box, manual, condition etc and he never answered back. For the price I took a chance hoping I wouldn't get a disc only copy. When it came (took a month to get to me) I see it was in great shape and complete.
I also love the cover art on this game.
29. Shinnyuushain Tooru-Kun - AKA Mikie (Sega SG 1000)I have a brother who's not big into video games, He loves my collection but it's hard to get him to play any of them. Early this year Me and all my bros went to the biggest arcade you can go to, it's called the Galloping Ghost. While all my bros where having a ball playing all the arcades, my one bro looked kinda lost, he'd test a game and move along quick. I saw an arcade called "Mikie" I've never seen this game before and had to try it. My bro saw me playing and I made the joke it was a game named after him. (his name is Mike) I was trying to figure out the game when I let him try and he finally found a game he wanted to play. He and I must have spent an hour figuring out this game alone. He loved this game and I liked it too. I never heard of Mikie so I looked it up and found out it was only released in Japan and Europe. Then I looked up if it was released on any consoles and it was. On the ZX Spectrum and the SG 1000. The ZX Spectrum was dirt cheap but the game wasn't very good on that system. (still bought it) but the SG 1000 was a lot better. Of course the game is rare. lol
But still found a cart only copy for a good price.
28. Kang Fu (CD32)This was a game I was going after way before AVGN made a video, in fact the one the Nerd got was the one I was trying to get because I was talking to the seller about a deal when it suddenly was sold. It was the only one on Ebay and right after it sold the Nerd did his CD32 review a month or so later. After the review another showed up and again I made an offer to the seller and he took it.
27. Sega Ages (SAT)Every time I go to gaming expos I look for Sega Saturn and CD games. I rarely find them in the wild and this game was on my hit list for a long time. I found a vendor who had it and I made an offer and he kept telling me no. Then by the end of the show I asked one more time and he finally broke and gave it to me at the price I wanted.
26. Lords of Thunder (T16CD)It's super rare for me to get a new TurboGrafx game today, anytime I pick one up it's a big deal. Found this at a show and the seller made me a deal and I had to grab it.
25. Segagaga (DC)This has to one of the games I have been asked "Do you have..?" and had to say no. It's famous for being the last Sega game on the DC in Japan and it's weird premise. Its pretty much an RPG about the gaming developing industry, enemies parody Sony Playstation and Nintendo.
24. Polybius (Atari 2600)A few years back a guy on Atari Age forums advertised a homebrew of Polybius. I wanted a copy but missed out. He only made like 20 copies. I always loved the urban legend of Polybius and wanted a copy (of some kind) on the Atari. I searched for atari repro makers on Etsy, Ebay and few a few others but none had this game in their repros. Then Hard Copy Games Announced the game. They only made 80 copies if I recall, I got one that morning to try and get a copy but the game sold out so fast I couldn't even finish paying for it.
I thought I lost the game again just like the urban legend. Then I saw on a Facebook group someone willing to sell his copy. I messaged him an offer and he excepted. I didn't pay anywhere near what Ebay sellers are asking but paid over what Hard Copy Games was asking.
Now I can mess with people with the urban legend of Polybious on my Atari. lol
23. Kowai Shashin (PS1)This is a game I only recently found out about, I was watching horror games on the PS1 and they added many Japanese Horror games. One was Kowai Shashin, they talked about how the game sold poorly because people really thought the game was cursed or Haunted.
The game is about exorcising spirits from real photos of haunted places and accidents. I loved the spooky lore of the game and looked it up but found it was extremely rare. Only one or two are ever on Ebay and are usually sealed because I guess no one bought it. lol
I finally found a seller who was on Euro Ebay who had a sealed copy for a quarter of the price everyone else was asking. I had to message him and ask if he'd be willing to sell to me and ship to the US and he was okay with it. Now I'm stuck with do I open it and play it or keep it sealed. I don't wanna get cursed.
22. Goldstar 3DOI had every US 3DO but the Goldstar, I passed on it many times in the past then it became impossible to find. I saw an open bid online for the system and a few games and I ended up getting it all for under $100. Now if I can find the LG Alive 3DO I'll have all versions.
21. Koei PasoGoA hand held that's not only rare, but a system that pretty much just plays different variations of Go. Not a gaming console I'd ever play often but a rare piece of gaming history I'm glad to add to my collection this year.
20. Umihara Kawase (SFAM)This was a game I've wanted for a long time, every time I looked it up people wanted over $100 for it. Then it was remastered and released on Vita, I got a copy for Vita then kinda forgot about the Super Famicom version for awhile. One day I looking up Super Famicom games and looked up Umihara Kawase again, to my surprise I see one copy selling for $25 buy it now. Looking at other auctions it had come down in price but most still wanted $60-$100, I just bought the game, I feared it was a repro, but once I got it I saw it was an original.
19. Super Ghosts & Ghouls (Super PC Engine)I always wanted another game for my Super PC Engine, I was looking online when I found a copy of this game for super cheap and the only reason was it was missing it's slip cover.
18. Kid Dracula (GB)There's only a hand full of Game Boy games I really want bad, this was one of them. I picked this up from a vendor at an expo for a decent price. The game is next to mint.
17. The Rumble Fish 2 (Atomiswave)I was doing an expo and brought my Atomiswave and hooked it up for people to play. It got a lot of attention. People came up to me asking about it and wanting to buy it. I told them it wasn't for sale. One guy asked about the games I had, I told him I was mainly looking to get all the games that you can use a Joystick with because racing games, light gun games and other special controlled games would not work with a joystick. He mentioned if I had Rumble Fish, I told him no because I don't think I can use the Joystick with it. He looked at me strange and told me I could, It's a fighting game. I was surprised to find out this was a fighting game, I just saw the title Rumble Fish and thought it was a arcade fishing game and never looked up the game. lol
After the show I used some of the money I had left and found a copy of part 2 for good price and picked it up.
16. King of Fighters XI (Atomiswave)Atomiswave games are not exactly easy to get, you almost have to buy them online. You also have to be careful of bootleg copies from China. After showing off the Atomiswave at the show I got the itch to get a few more games, I got Rumble Fish 2 then I made a few offers on other games but the only one that accepted was a copy of King of Fighters XI.
15. Sinclair ZX Spectrum 2+This was a console I've always been on the fence about collecting, But the model 2+ had a built in tape deck and I figured I'd see if I could get a deal on one. Well I ended up getting a lot with over 100 games for about $150. I had issues finding the right PAL converter to get it to play on my HDTV but finally I got the right part I needed and was jumping for joy when I finally got to play it.
14. Palmtex Super MicroOne of the earliest hand held consoles (third if I recall) I got a deal on the system and all three games. This thing is fragile, I'm honestly afraid to use it much just because I might break it.
13. Mad Panic Coaster (PS1)This was a game I first saw on a YouTube video and I knew I wanted a copy, it's kinda rare and usually people want over a $100 for a copy. After many offers I finally got a complete copy and got to play it and it's a weird hidden gem.
12. Pu-Li-Ru-La (SAT)A game I've wanted in my collection and to play. It's Japanese weird and a beat em up. It's been on my want list for many years til finally I got someone to cut me a deal I couldn't say no to.
11. Sega Master System CompactA rare Sega Master System only released in Brazil, the console is also a controller and can even be used Wireless (kinda)
I got one in the Box no less for about $100, an odd game console for sure.
10. Color Bar Generator (Atari 2600)This was a "game" to be honest never crossed my mind to get, I just happened to stop at a hole in the wall pawn shop and looked through their games, I bought a couple then started talking to the guy and find out he's a game collector too. He tells me he had a rare game I might be interested in and shows me the Atari Cart. I first thought... Is this the real deal? I had to look it up. The guy gave me a price on it and I knew this was one of those if you don'y buy it you'll never get a second shot at this. He din't except cards or paypal so I had to put money down to hold it and come back the next weekend. It's worthless as a game, but valuable as a piece of gaming history.
9. Demon's Crest (SNES)This game took me forever to find in the wild. I saw it online and shows but they always wanted a price I didn't want to pay. One day I stop in my local Gamestop and see the clerk cleaning up some SNES games, I ask what they got in and he shows me Demon's Crest. My eyes widened and I knew it was coming home with me. After my Elite discount I got it for about $60.
8. Rakugaki Showtime (PS1)This was a game I've wanted for years, but it was always pretty expensive, one day one popped up on Ebay with an open bid and I got it way under what others wanted for it. This is a game worth playing if you get the chance.
7. Paranoiascape (PS1)This was a weird game I saw in a video of random PS1 games from Japan and I knew I had to get a copy. Only one problem, no one was selling any copies. After a year of searching one finally popped up on Ebay for a pretty high price. I was able to talk the guy down to a much more fair price. Funny thing is now there's four copies online. lol
6. IGS Poly Game Master (PGM) CustomI been searching for a Custom PGM for a while, I even started buying games while they where still cheap. If you don't know what this system is its the China answer to the Neo Geo MVS. Most of the games even feel like knock offs of MVS games. I finally found a guy who customized arcade mother boards to be gaming consoles and he gave me a deal I had to take.
5. Sega Naomi CustomThe Sega Naomi was an Arcade mother board that pretty much gave birth to the Dreamcast. The same guy who had the PGM had this and made me a deal on both and I had to get them.
4. Elevator Action Returns (SAT)I'm a huge Elevator Action fan, I played the Arcade back in the day and still hunting for an Arcade to go in my Arcade room, I found out there was a Sequel arcade, I played the Elevator Action 2 arcade and wanted to know if it was released on console. Well it was but only in Japan. Later when I got a Japanese Saturn I looked up the game and found out it was not cheap. After much waiting and watching Ebay I saw one up for open bid. I figured it was going to go for over $200 but I watched it. I waited til the last minute and snipped a bid and got it for about $100.
3. Rendering Ranger R2 (SFAM)This is the most expensive Super Famicom game that was a public release. A great game that I that would be hard for me to get unless I wanted to blow close to a grand to get. Well I did my 3rd Game Expo and made some good money that day selling extras. I couldn't find anything to use the money on at the show so I looked online. I found a copy of Rendering Ranger and made an offer. They guy excepted and I used the money I made to get one of the hardest games on Super Famicom to get in my collection.
2. Aero Fighters (SNES)This was a game I thought would haunt me, It's the one SNES game that's was released to the public that is super expensive. I did an expo selling my extras and made about a grand, I knew I wanted to get something super rare and a seller offered me this game at a price I would never see again. A great game for sure, but if it wasn't for selling so many games that day, I might have not gotten this game.
1. Commodore SX-64This has to be the best find this year, I stopped at a garage sale and saw it on the table, The guy knew what he had but I still got WAY under what online would ask. This is the first portable computer and plays cart games with ease. I asked to test it out at the sale and she ran with no issues. Even came with a game and joystick. The thing weighs about 25 pounds with its tiny three inch screen. lol
I Love it.
I'd love to hear your best pickups of 2019, it doesn't have to be 30 but maybe top 3. Go ahead and list them below.