Last time I promised you another Retro Quest update before too long, and here it is. First of all I collected a bunch of stuff from my brother – mostly old PS2 and Xbox games of little interest (Ratchet & Clank, Jak & Daxter, Metal Gear Solid 2 and a few others…), but I also managed to find amongst them all a nice little gem of a PS1 game. There was also another charity shop run which ended up with some great finds, so let’s get started…
Game: Tombi
Platform: PS1
Source: Storage
Cost: £0 (boxed, no manual)
The first grail find of the week – not a holy grail mind you, particularly as it is missing the manual, but still a nice little thing to find sitting in the games chest there. I have fond memories of the little pig-grabber and his particular blend of adventure-platforming. The graphics are very nice, the gameplay responsive and its a pretty challenging game in parts. One of the things that I will never forget is the music, which even though quite repetitive is still completely awesome – it kind of reminds me of Monkey Island actually.
Anyway, finding this is obviously a great thing to add to the collection. Interestingly enough, it still has it’s original price tag on it of AUS$64.95 (with a $5 off if you pay cash sticker, so $59.95). Complete copies of this game regularly go for about £50 – £60 pounds on eBay.co.uk, so it’s one of those very few games that have actually retained their value after all these years. Now if only I can find a manual for it…
Game: Vectorman
Platform: Mega Drive
Source: GameStation
Cost: £2 (complete)
I couldn’t resist going back to the local GameStation as I knew this game would still be sitting there. The first time I was in there I didn’t get it because I thought it was one that I already had – but since that turned out not to be the case I picked it up this time. The £5 Virtua Fighter 2 is still sitting there, and if it is still there next time I’ll probably pick that one up too. They also had a few cheap Dreamcast games which I’m kind of wishing I picked up, but hopefully they’ll still be there next time. Haven’t had a chance to play this one yet, but from what I’ve heard it’s a solid little action-platformer with some nice graphics.
Game: Resident Evil 3 – Nemesis
Platform: PS1
Source: GameStation
Price: £3 (complete)
The Resident Evil series are amongst my all-time favourite games, easily. The Gamecube remake of the first game is just a masterpiece of gaming as far as I’m concerned, and I even enjoy a lot of the crappy offshoots such as Survivor. In fact, for me the new action style that the game has taken in Resident Evil 4 and 5 is in many ways a step backwards – where’s the survival horror, the creepy atmosphere, the thrills and chills? Thankfully one of the recent DLC packs for Resident Evil 5 (Lost in Nightmares) has shown that Capcom still knows what the survival horror genre is…but who knows if they will ever return proper.
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis is actually the only game (actually, there’s also Resident Evil Gaiden for the Gameboy Colour) that I haven’t played, and boy am I looking forward to this one! The next time I have a weekend free you better believe I’m putting aside some serious survival horror time!
Game: Final Fantasy Chronicles (NTSC-U/C)
Platform: PS1
Source: Charity Shop
Cost: £1 (complete)
Final Fantasy IV and Chrono Trigger for a pound?! Yep, that’s right. When I first walked into this particular charity shop I wasn’t expecting too much, all you tend to see are crappy PS2 games and a few PS1 sports games, but there was a small pile of PS1 games and this caught my eye immediately. Now, I didn’t even have any money on me at this time (not expecting to find anything) and I quickly walked out of the shop with that excited rush of a discovery in the wild. Copies of this tend to go for about £20, so it’s a pretty nice return there.
Interestingly, this version is a Canadian one and has a red stripe across one diagonal reading ‘Francais’. The manual is, as expected, in French…but I’m wondering if this means that the game will be as well? I don’t have an NTSC compatible PS1/2 to play this on yet, so if anybody knows please do leave a comment!
Game: Persona (NTSC-U/C)
Platform: PS1
Source: Charity Shop
Cost: £1 (boxed, no manual)
Now, if I’d just left this post by saying I had found Tombi and Final Fantasy Chronicles you’d kind of see why I was excited about the finds…but then quickly your attention would fade and you would look at me with that particular blend of pity and condescension. But it was what I was to find next to Final Fantasy Chronicles in that charity shop that was to be my first trophy kill in the wild! Sitting behind FFC was a copy of the first Persona game, missing a manual granted but with the same low low price of just a single GB pound.
Incomplete copies such as this one usually sell for about US$60 (if it had come with the dang manual that would have been pushed up to about $100), I think mostly because of all the recent attention the series has gotten with Persona 4. It was a truly great feeling to find one uncommon game with FFC, and then seconds later see this case pop out before my eyes! I’ve often heard of others finding some really great things at charity shops and car-boot sales for ridiculously low prices, but this is the first time anything like that had happened to me. It’s a great feeling, and I think after this I’m well and truly hooked on this quest…I’ve had my first proper taste and I like it!
Total Spent: £7
Retro Quest Running Tally: £74.25
So those are the finds I’ve manged to add to the collection this week – I’d love to hear from anyone who has found rare games out in the wild for pennies on the dollar, it’s always great to hear such stories. Let us know what your best find was: whether it be in the attic, at a charity shop, or down at the local car-boot sale.
Until next time – happy hunting!
