UPDATE: Added pics of the chip. It's legit.Hello. I am user larrygooseman on the retrocollect forums. I made a topic over there but haven't gotten many responses so I'm trying here.
Link to topic there; everything below is a repost:
http://www.retrocollect.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=9413I recently discovered that I own the rare SNES game Hagane. I did some research on it and found that there were only a few thousand copies sold in the US because of a deal worked out between Blockbuster Video and HudsonSoft. Blockbuster had exclusive rights to this game over all other retailers, so the vast majority of these were used as rentals only. There are a few stories of places like EB Games and Funcoland getting hold of a few carts and selling them in their own stores when this game was new, but those copies are exceedingly rare among the ones in circulation and have sold for large sums of money.
The story behind my copy of the game is as follows:
It was originally owned by Blockbuster video, and purchased from one of their lower performing stores in the mid-90's by the owner of (at the time) my local video rental store. The local video rental store went out of business and liquidated their inventory. I purchased the game from there in the late 90's during this liquidation. It is the
COMPLETE game. It has the original instruction booklet, box, cartridge, and dust cover. I verified that the cartridge still works in my SNES today: 2015 May 28.
The box has the usual amount of wear one would expect from being owned by Blockbuster and making its way down the chain through a small business and then to me. One corner of the box has considerable wear, but the other corners are in good shape. The back of the box also has a torn retail sticker on it, unfortunately. It does not appear to have damaged the underlying print of the box too badly, but the glue on this sticker is the obnoxious kind that doesn't rub off easily without damaging the underlying surface.
The cartridge is in fantastic shape. There is no plastic fade on the back-plate, as is common among older SNES titles. It has some sticker goo on it from the labels placed onto it by both blockbuster and the local VR store, but
none of the stickers were ever placed on the front or rear cartridge labels; They are 100% intact with no fading or blemishes. The sticker goo can be removed with a gentle solvent and some elbow grease if it bothers you. The only real blemish on the cartridge is on the backplate, where the small letters "FRV" have been carved into it with what appears to be a soldering iron. This was the local video store's method of proving that they owned the game if theft ever came into question.
The instruction booklet has some minor wear, but overall is in good condition for a game that was rented out. My local video store used to include the instruction booklets in the plastic rental cases when sending games home with customers, so I'm surprised it's in as good of shape as it is.
PICS! Box with proof I own it -
http://i.imgur.com/Xxz6PRI.jpg?1The complete package -
http://i.imgur.com/x32o87b.jpgCorner on the box is dinged up a bit -
http://i.imgur.com/gyxoJix.jpg?1Back of the box with the obnoxious sticker -
http://i.imgur.com/tOgRFdC.jpgCover of the instruction booklet -
http://i.imgur.com/GLJLbZF.jpgInside cover of the booklet -
http://i.imgur.com/9jYo5iU.jpg?1Back inside cover of the booklet (with cool artwork!) -
http://i.imgur.com/TyZGJUf.jpg?1Front of the cartridge with unmolested label -
http://i.imgur.com/XokQ8xI.jpgBackside of the cartridge with unmolested safety label and FRV initials on bottom-right -
http://i.imgur.com/4MUWZYb.jpg?1Verification that it plays on a SNES -
http://i.imgur.com/MaTJjA6.jpgBackside of the chip with cart label:
http://i.imgur.com/s0GtbL2.jpgFront of the chip:
http://i.imgur.com/Ev4G3U7.jpgI see copies of this game in far worse condition than this going for $499 to $599 without the box or booklet. I've seen several confirmed ebay auctions where it has sold for ~$900 with just the game and the box. I have never seen a copy for sale that has the original instruction manual.
Since my copy is complete, my asking price is $1000 USD. Please PM me if you are interested! I will try to check on this once a day but I can't make any guarantees as my day-job has a hectic schedule. I can also provide additional pics if requested, but it may take me a while to take them and upload them. I also don't own a SNES security screw bit for my screwdriver set, but may order one if an interested buyer requires proof that the chip in the cart is an original.