Quit Playin Games With My Heart!

Ok, so if you haven’t guessed by now, I am big on rants and raves but today I am going to change pace a little bit and tell you about something I recently discovered, or rather rediscovered: THE MOST AWESOME VIDEO GAMES IN THE WORLD!

No, I am not talking about the new Xbox, the fancy Playstation 3 or the upcoming Wii U.  I am referring to the classics of my childhood and before. Back in the day when you had to use your imagination and didn’t have to follow a lame story line to kill the bad guys.

About a month back I was wondering through the flea market in Cheektowaga and came across a booth that sold the original Nintendo Entertainment system. Now anyone who knows me knows that I am a horrible impulse buyer so what did I do? I bought one of course. And 1 hour and $25 later I was happy as a clam sitting in front of my old (and until recently unused) tube TV controlling Mario as he battles against all manner of 8-bit demons.

It brought back so many good memories I had to go farther. After doing some shopping around at the flea market, craigslist and a few choice local retailers (I’ll get to those in a bit) I was able to acquire a quite impressive starter collection of my favorite childhood games. And the best part? I paid almost nothing for anything! By trading off some old overplayed games and accessories I simply never use and cashing in my change jar I was able to create a utopian oasis of 80’s and 90’s video game technology. Let me give you a mini-tour through my collection:

The starting of my new obsession: a Nintendo NES console, possibly the best gaming system every made. I picked this up about a month ago at a rather unorganized stand at the local flea market that specializes in video games of all types. For $25 I was able to pick up the console, all the cables, 2 controllers and the all time greatest video game cartridge: Super Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt! All in working condition with a 2-week warranty. That might not sound like a good warranty, but come on! We are talking about a 30 year old electronic device marketed to children. To this I quickly added the Zapper gun, another $3 purchase and worth every dime. The system is as temperamental as I remember from childhood and I don’t care what people say, blowing in the cartridge does help it work better. I quickly expanded my collection of NES games by trading 1 Wii game for Wild Gunmen, The Legend of Zelda (IN THE ORIGINAL BOX!), Spy Hunter and Mario Brothers 2 and 3. Playing ANY of these brings back a flood of memories for me!

Playing my new very old NES made me think: What other childhood video games could I get for practically nothing? I did some research and decided to pick up something called a Hyperkin RetroN 3. This unit (almost) flawlessly plays NES, Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis games. Best of all you can pick one up for $50, or in my case a trade of 4 video games I never play anymore!

A few more trades and I picked up Sonic the Hedgehog and Mortal Combat for Sega Genesis, Super Mario World for SNES and a few controllers. After cashing in my change jar I also picked up an Atari 2600 with 20 games including Yar’s Revenge, Pac Man, Asteroids, Combat, Space Invaders and the notorious E.T. The Extra Terrestrial.

Now any time I have a few extra minutes I can sit down with a YooHoo and some pizza pockets and relive my childhood. I think total I spent about $40 of my own money for an entire set up and now have the coolest vintage gaming package ever!

Another plus, since I haven’t got many games yet, if I get bored I can run down to my local Oogie Games store and pick up a new game for a super low price. That’s not shameless advertising, they are REALLY cheap. They have Atari games for a buck! NES games for under 5 bucks, same with SNES and Playstation. Next up I want to pick up an original Playstation ($14 at Oogie) and a copy of Soviet Strike for Playstation (its one of their $1 games if I can find it.)

Now for my critique of my purchases: Everything was GREAT!  Almost. Mario Brothers 2 for NES is to worn and won’t play but its under warranty so back to the flea market it goes. I do have some gripes about the RetroN 3. For one, the sound is slightly off, not enough to distract or even notice much but you can tell on some games. Also the remotes SUCK! You actually have to decipher a map to tell what buttons do what on which platform. ANNOYING! But there is an up side to this. The RetroN 3 has controller ports for ALL THREE PLATFORMS! Allowing you to plug in the original controls, which you can buy second hand pretty cheap. It also allows you to use accessories such as the Nintendo Zapper gun.

If you want to relive your childhood, introduce your kids to the games of your generation, or introduce yourself to something new and different on a small budget here are some helpful hints:

1. Do your research. You can find some awesome deals out there if you know how much to pay. Some people will sell you their Atari or Nintendo for next to nothing just to get rid of it. Others think their near-antique system is a collectors item worthy of a king’s ransom.

2. Check out reviews. ESPECIALLY if you plan to get a retro system similar to the RetroN 3. There are several platforms out there of various quality. You don’t have to spend a lot to get a good one. I really do recommend the RetroN 3, but you can look around and decide for yourself.

3. Check out your local video game stores, and I DON’T mean gamestop. Gamestop is well and good, but they aren’t going to have the true classic 8-bit or 16-bit systems. If you live around Buffalo, NY I really recommend taking a look at Oogie Games. I believe they have about 4 locations. Their staff is GREAT and their selection of vintage games and platforms is top notch. If you look around your city you can probably find a great source for vintage systems near you.

4. Can’t find anywhere around that sales anything you want? Try online sources like ebay.com, nintendosforsale.com, craigslist, amazon.com, etc. JUST BE CAREFUL! Sometimes (especially with games) you can end up spending more on shipping than the games. A good way to get games on ebay is to buy in bulk lots. In the long run you will end up with some multiple copies of the same game but you can always trade them away for things you don’t have.

5. NINTENDO ZAPPER GUN WILL NOT WORK ON PLASMA SCREENS! Don’t know why, it just won’t. Save yourself the headache and just use an old standard TV. Also, Sega Genesis controllers will work on the Atari!

7. (and most important) You can still buy YooHoo at Wal Mart and Tab is also still available but its hard to come by. For those who like Hydrox cookies with their Atari game night, Your SOL. Hydrox haven’t been made since 2008. I personally prefer beef jerky and Mr. Pibb or YooHoo!

GREAT Sources of help

Classic Game Room is a guy on YouTube that reviews almost everything to do with classic games. He has some great helpful hints and ideas. Here is a link to his YouTube profile: http://www.youtube.com/show/classicgameroom?s=7

Oogie Games, Buffalo’s locally owned video game source! They have everything the big chains don’t have! You can usually find a good selection of Atari 2600 and 7800 games and a GREAT selection of NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, Sega Master System, Xbox and Playstation games. They also have all the old systems! If its traded in, they will make sure it works and sell it. They also offer a 30 day warranty on EVERYTHING. Add the fact that they give you more for your trade-ins than GameStop and have lower prices and you have a winning combination! http://www.oogiegames.com/