End Labels

So my latest project has been making end labels for my Super Famicom carts. I have no idea why enables were not included on SFC carts however not all Famicom games had end labels, seems at that point it was up to the game producer to decide if they wanted to include the end label. On both the Super Famicom and N64 in Japan had a unified look and sadly no end label.

So anyway I decided that my SFC cart collection was getting rather large and I wanted a way to find a game quickly without pulling out every single cart saying "no, no, no, nope, no, mmm, no, no, ahhh finally!". I decided that I would make the label fit between the two style lines on the cart and only sit on top of the upper half of the shell that way if I needed to replace the back for any reason (cracking or discoloration) I would be able to do so. I took the measurements of the space I was going to use and entered it into Illustrator CS6. I wanted it to look pretty official so I put the SFC logo on the left side and the Nintendo logo on the right.

After I made a few I printed them out and used some 3M Super 77 spray adhesive to apply the labels. I was not sure if the spray would really work that good but it was really effective with no side effects (bleed though etc). Its been about a week or so and I have made some more labels and the ones that I had already put on are as secure as day one so all is good on that front. I really happy with how it turned out as finding games is a breeze now.

I also picked up a few new games, on the Saturn I got Sonic R ($3), on the N64 I got Yuke-yuke! Trouble Makers ($3) and on the Famicom I got Pajama Hero Nemo ($5).

For the Game Boy I got Hatena? no Daibouken ($1), Rockman World 4 ($5), Pachinko Seiyuuki ($1), Ducktales 2 ($3) and Tiny Toon Adventures 2 ($3).

Finally on the Super Famicom I grabbed another copy of Cotton 100% ($5), Magical Drop 2 ($3), Smash T.V. ($10) and Axelay ($10) I have all ready added the end labels those last two.

Hey its more games....its been a busy month

The other day I actually made the hike to Hard Off, which is about an hour away from where I live. Its funny because when I left my house I had no plans to go there at all, in fact I was going to the post office to ship a game I had sold. However when I got to the post office it turned out that they closed 10 before I arrived so I decided to check out a recycle shop about 10 minutes away. When I got to the shop it turned out to be a bust nothing new at all, it had been about 2 or 3 months since I had been there so I was hoping to see new stuff even if it was stuff I wasn't interested but nope nothing. After I left I saw a bus that was going to a place that I could then just on a subway then switch to the train to get to Hard Off and for whatever reason at that moment I just felt like I really wanted to get on that bus. So I made the trek there and took a look around.

At Hard Off I found zip, nada nothing. A big bummer because I had come from so far and this was the second location in the day that had looked just like the last time I had visited with seemingly no new stock. I made my way down the street to Eco Book to see if they had anything of interest.

When I got there I noticed that they had changed the layout somewhat but the games were still in about the same location. I also noticed right away that they were now selling PC Engine and Neo Geo CD games though there stock was limited to about 10 games for each console. Still it was nice to see as I had always wondered why they didnt have PC Engine games. I picked up another copy of Kyukyoku Tiger ($10) this one had the case so that was nice. Making my way to the Playstation games I was able to find another copy of Street Fighter Zero 3 ($3) which was nice to find.

Looking at the Saturn section I found a few games that were not there the last time I had come in but the prices, while not bad, were not great. Still I grabbed Tetris S ($3) and Panzer Dragoon ($3). I also grabbed another copy of Marvel vs Capcom 2 on the Dreamcast because at $5 the price was right.

For the original Xbox I found a copy of Panzer Dragoon Orta a little steep at $20 but I normally only see the platinum hits version of the game. I had brought my US version of the game with me to japan but after I had issues with my system last year it was replaced by microsoft with a japanese console and unfortunately that game is not region free. I also picked up Arcana Heart 3 ($15) for the 360, its an all girl 2D fighting game.

Then came the Super Famicom which had a good amount of new games in but the prices were prohibitive. I passed on Rockman X and X2 both had asking prices of around $12 but I had bought those titles here before and paid only $3 each so yea not this time. I also got another boxed copy of Street Fighter II Turbo ($2) this is the 3rd boxed copy I have now but I just can't pass it up at that price. I also got a copy of Super Gen Jin ($2). Then came the find of the day a loose copy of The Firemen ($15) an awesome game that was never released in the states but did get a PAL release. Normally this game is about $50 on eBay which is too high for me to pay even though I have wanted this game for awhile. I know theres a boxed (faded box) copy at a store near my house but they are asking $65 for it so I just couldnt justify it.

I also looked around the Game Boy section and found Pac-Man ($1), Solar Striker ($3) and a game that I had been trying to find for awhile F-1 Race ($2).

Today I broke out my backlight modded Game Boy and played some F-1, the game is really a lot of fun and it really makes me wish I had a chance to play it with the 4 player multi-tap but that will likely never happen. Still its a really fun game.

Quick pick up

I went to the store the other day and and wasn't really planning on getting anything but then I found a copy of Mario Collection which is Super Mario All-Stars in the states. I had been looking for this game but the price had always been around $15 to $20 so I was really excited to see they were only asking $5. I also picked up Vampire Hunter for the Saturn ($1) I didnt really need it but at that price I just couldnt say no. 

I also grabbed Smash Bros on 3DS but the hack to region free my US 3DS doesn't allow me to save anything. I really don't want to get a Japan 3DS this region lock crap is the worst.

Some more game pick ups

A few days ago I had some time to kill before my bus would be leaving to take me home so I found a game store and looked around. There really wasn't much but I did pick up Senko no Ronde Rev. X ($4.50) for the Xbox 360. I have the sequel already but at that price I figured what the heck.

So I went to a museum today and while I was out I we stopped at a Book Off and I was able to find boxed copies of The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons ($5 each). This game seems to be popping up lately.

I also was able to find Street Fighter Zero Fighters Generation ($15) which is for the PS2 and a game that I already had but I couldnt help myself. Finally I was really happy to find a copy of Vampire Darkstalkers Collection ($15) also for the PS2. I just love the artwork on the cover. Both of these games have collections of 5 games each so its a pretty nice deal.

Then while still out on the same trip we came across a Book Off Plus and once again we stopped to check it out. The game section here was not as good as the last place but I did grab Time Crisis 3 ($7.50) and XII STAG ($2.50) both on the PS2. I also grabbed J League Pocket 2 ($2.50) for the Game Boy Advance.

While that store was not great for the games I did find 2 Ninja Turtle toys ($9 each). This was the first time I had seen TMNT toys in the wild here in Japan so I was really excited to see them.

Gameboys and a few Saturn games

Its been a little while since I updated anything here in the mean time I worked on fixing a few gameboys that I had picked up awhile back. Most needed to have there screens repaired and I took the opportunity to wash and clean the cases and buttons so I spent a few hours going though them.

Last week I found that the Saturn section of Mandarake had got some new games in. Being that the Saturn is my favorite console this always makes me very happy to see. I didnt really get any great deals this time but the prices were still good. I picked up 2 copies of Strikers 1945 II ($32 each), Keio Flying Squadron 2 ($56), Dodonpachi ($20), Street Fighter Zero ($1), Stellar Assault SS ($59) and Astra Superstars ($61). So I spent a lot of money but got some good stuff there all of which was about half of what I would have to pay on eBay out of all those games I was actually most excited to get Dodonpachi as I really love that games music and game play.

Then today I went back to the same store and picked up Kirby 3 in the box but no instructions ($10) on the Super Famicom, Street Fighter Zero 3 ($4) for the Playstation which completes the set of 1,2,3 on the PS for me. I found Picross in the box ($2) for the Gameboy, I have Picross 2 in the box so I was happy to get that one.

Finally I picked up Battle Garegga ($102) on the Saturn, it seems like a lot of money I know but this game is about $250 to $300 on eBay so I feel it was a good price. In the past I have seen this game at this store but they were asking about $300 for it. This copy does have a slight crease on the instructions but its hardly noticeable when its in the case.

They also had a Skeleton (clear) Saturn in the box they were asking $65 which was tempting and a really good price considering it goes for around $400 to $700 on eBay. If I had more money with me and didnt already own a boxed Skeleton Saturn I would have picked this up, there was also the issue of carrying it around for an hour or so that I had to kill. Also shipping consoles is a pain so yeah.