Saturday, August 11, 2007

I have a problem.

Diligent readers may have picked up on the vibe that the crux moment, such as it is, of the Reviewieran experience occurs in the post-market economy. The CD-Game Xchange. The local Goodwill. The used rack or clearance rack at a primary retailer.1

"So you guys are cheap, big fecking deal," you say.

True, but the Pleasure of the Deal lies in the Thrill of the Hunt. It might seem, shall we say, loser-ish, to venture to Goodwill, espy a copy of Streets of Rage 2, think that US$4.99 is too much, go to the Xchange, see that thier copy is $9.99, grab Vectorman for US$3.50 instead, then go BACK to the Goodwill & get that copy.

And then, 1 day, you wake up & you have the pictured collection, acquired entirely at a single Goodwill, & every single thing for US$4.99 or less.

Annotated Collection

A. Dreamcast microphone.
B. Dreamcast VMU.
C. Dreamcast 4-in-1 Memory Unit.
D. Ecco the Dolphin
E. Beyond Oasis
F. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: the Hyperion Heist
G. Bio-Hazard Battler, a pretty rad shmup.
H. Contra: Hard Corps.
I. Partially obscured for good reason: Sonic Shuffle.2
J. Soul Calibur.
K. Shenmue.
L. Phantasy Star Online 3
M. Resident Evil:Code Veronica4
N. Sonic Spinball
O. STREETS OF RAGE 2!!(!!)
P. Golden Axe II5
An Ms. Pacman Genesis cartridge has been accidentally excluded.6

Also not pictured: 3 Dreamcast consoles, 4 controllers, at least 1 more VMU & a third-party MU.

Also, the Genesis console Fat found for me at his Goodwill.

-d.d.

1 Okay, "clearance" isn't exactly "post-market," but its really close. "Pre-post-market" close, even.
2 The stuff of nightmares.
3 A truly great day: I acquired the 4-in-1 MU, the mic, Soul Calibur, Shenmue, and Phantasy Star Online all one rainy Wednesday evening! I also got the rare Gundam: Side Story, or whatever its called, tho I sold that to Fat. None were more than US$4.99
4 I'm surprised to admit how much I've actually played this version of Resident Evil. I've dabbled w/ at least 2 versions on the PlayStation, & was completely uninterested. This one hooked me (sorta), tho. Go figure. Maybe I just never cared for Raccoon City.
5 Fat found Golden Axe II & Sonic Spinball for me @ his local Goodwill.
6 The vast majority of my Genesis collection being cartridge only - no case, no booklet - I am faced w/ a looming crisis. For tho' I can survive w/o the booklets, the lack of cases gets under yr skin. I figure I have 2 options: (A) Buy shitty sports games that ARE in thier cases, like Joe Montana Football & multiple editions of NBA/NFL/NHL/MBL 19xx. Take the game home, throw cartridges in a shoebox, throw shoebox in the toilet, take now empty case, print out a different slipcover from the 'nets, & taa-daa I have a case for the games I actually, y'know, like. (B) Order ONE HUNDRED empty cases from these guys. Which is too much? Spending $3-4 to get an individual spare case? Or dropping $40 for 100 empties?

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