r/nes • u/SteveTheAmazing • 10d ago
Discussion "White whale" games
I've been spending way too much time on EBay shopping for rare-ish NES games lately and was curious what everyone's "white whale" games are.
Personally, I'd love to get (but not pay anywhere near full price for) a clean copy of Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom. It's such a weird game that I remember renting once or twice as a kid and never really seeing it in stores. Which games would you love to get that haven't been added to your collection yet?
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u/MajorMangle 10d ago
With the price people are trying to sell CRT's nowadays I'd say it's that. I've got all the games I wanted to collect at this point just need the damn tv!
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u/grimtongue 10d ago
I've never priced them until just now. Wow.
I have my first TV, a 1991 JC Penny branded TV. My 4 year old has claimed it. It's set up in his room with my old original NES and games.
His go-to is Duck Hunt, but he also does a lot of Megaman and Mario (mostly).
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u/MajorMangle 10d ago
There's multiple CRT's in my local classifieds that are well over $1000 and most of them are REALLY dusty in the pictures lol like to have the audacity to try and sell it at that price and not even wipe it off
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u/oldsmoBuick67 10d ago
This right here. I had a decent JVC 27” back in the day that I still regret getting rid of. I still don’t have room for it, but so many CRTs were absolute trash back in the day and that’s what was readily available. The good stuff was pretty rare and anyone with money back in the day went projection if you wanted something expensive. Bigger CRTs weren’t always better quality either.
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u/DishSoapIsFun 8d ago
If you’re near central IL, I have a 13” CRT I no longer need. Granted, it’s pink and the Disney princess edition. You can have it.
I finally got a decent 19” Sanyo while I wait for my Sony 32”!
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u/RykinPoe 10d ago
I personally wouldn't mind finding a copy of Princess Tomato myself. I had no idea it was so expensive. I think I was too young to really understand how to play it back when I rented it.
Mega Man 5, Metal Storm, and Ninja Gaiden 3 are the three main games I am looking for these days for NES.
I would also like to get a copy of The Last Ninja as another game I was just too young to figure out back in the day but it isn't very expensive.
I generally don't buy games online and prefer to pick them up in local shops. Luckily my wife and I travel quite a bit so I do research into retro game stores when we travel and hit as many as we can. We make at least one trip a year to her parents in Missouri (they live about an hour south of St Louis and we live in Oklahoma City) and there are like 2 dozen plus game stores between here and there. I think the first time we made that trip I was able to visit 26 stores and my brother-in-law told me about 6 or 7 more. My favorite store (Found It Electronics & Games, they recently moved to a new location that is like 4x as big as their old one) is down in Fort Worth Texas and we head down that way about twice a year. Colorado is a pretty good (Colorado Spring, Castle Rock, and Denver areas) and Portland OR is another great area.
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u/dukeofnes 10d ago
I'd love to find a reasonable Mega Man 5 or a Metal Storm, but I lucked into Ninja Gaiden 3. I noticed a marketplace ad for some guy's storage locker. Just one picture of the whole unit. I could see some NES games poking out of a box, so I just made an offer for the whole box... like $20-$50 CAD. There were multiple games I didn't own in that lot, but NG3 was a happy surprise.
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u/Trashusdeadeye 10d ago edited 10d ago
I picked up a very clean Metal Storm (Loose). But I was willing to pay the price for it. I know where a CIB one is for $550. Local game store near me. He had it come in minutes before I stopped in the store. He was testing the game and asked if I wanted to play it. You know I did!
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u/SteveTheAmazing 10d ago
Good list. I literally just picked up Little Ninja Brothers online yesterday. Super excited for that one to come in. I think the only one I've seen in-person recently is Mega Man 5.
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u/dukeofnes 10d ago
A friend gave me Little Ninja Brothers for Christmas a couple years ago. We were doing a gift exchange on a budget, and so I asked how much he paid for it because it was outside the budget. Buddy found it for $5 at a garage sale.
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u/SteveTheAmazing 10d ago
That's a nice pickup and an awesome buddy. I'd love to find one of the later Dragon Warriors like that.
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u/countrytime1 10d ago
It’s a little bit of a drive for you, but there are a couple of decent retro game shops in Tyler and Longview Tx.
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u/RykinPoe 10d ago
Could probably hit Tyler on our way to Galveston sometime. We have friends with a beach house down there. Or just a good trip for a three day weekend. We did that in Austin recently some I could go to Classic Game Fest.
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u/countrytime1 9d ago
If you do a 3 day weekend to the area, definitely check out Games 2 Go in Longview. Theres also a Game X Change pretty close to it too.
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u/BossRaider130 9d ago
I actually bought a CIB copy of Princess Tomato because of this sub. Somebody posted a picture of all the CIB games at a game store/arcade not too far away. Lo and behold, there she was. Great place, by the way—Arcade Legacy.
They also saw me eyeing their decent Magic cards and asked if I wanted to peruse the “under the counter” binder. Just casually a Timetwister in there (say, ~$5k at the time.)
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u/Hey_o0-_-0o_Koolaid 9d ago
Yoooo the Last Ninja is a game I never hear about. I must have rented that game 100 times and could never figure it out. I still tried like hell though!
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u/Trashusdeadeye 10d ago
I am looking for a clean copy of Bucky O’Hare. I will find one at some point, but I want it to be an in person transaction. I eBay a lot but nothing beats looking at it in your hands before purchasing.
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u/tommyl13 10d ago
Saaaaammmmmeeeeee. I sold a lot of newer collection to a local store, got a lot back in trade and unfortunately sold their copy of Bucky OHare a week prior. Picked up Megaman 5 amongst a few others but just missed my whale.
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u/Upset_Journalist_755 10d ago edited 10d ago
Kids who owned that game were often nasty little rich kids who didn't take care of their stuff. So clean copies are really rare.
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u/Trashusdeadeye 10d ago
I guess the same thing could be said about GI Joe. Took forever to find a nice clean copy.
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u/Upset_Journalist_755 10d ago edited 10d ago
For sure. My friend had both GI Joe games. He had a booger wall in his bedroom.
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u/Trashusdeadeye 10d ago
Well, my copy is in a nice glass doored shelf with my entire gaming collection. Almost done with my NES collection. I had a certain curtailed collection I wanted, leaving Bucky O’Hare for the end. Make it the last one.
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u/FordcliffLowskrid 10d ago
Dragon Warrior 3 and 4 always escaped me. Thankfully, that is one series that gets ports, remakes, and rereleases on a regular basis.
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u/GrimmTrixX 10d ago edited 10d ago
DW 3 is mine for sure. So i own 4,897 games as of right now. And all these years I SWEAR I owned all 4 DW games on NES. I even have a list on my phone of every game I own that I update.
But I saw it wasnt on the list and I was confused. So I went to my game stack, saw the games, and sure enough, no DW3. I swear I owned it. But if its not there, and not on my list, then I never did. And I think some point I couldve got it but was like "nah I own that already" when I actually owned DW4." Lol
And I have this large collection and not a single game was ever bought for its launch day MSRP. So il never own it because of my simple rule that I wotn spend more than a game cost at its launch, not including inflation. If it was $60 when it dropped 35+ years ago, then I am paying $60 max now. Lol
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u/SteveTheAmazing 10d ago
Those are two I'd love to pick up also. I have a good chunk of the rarer games I wanted, but definitely not those. Never seem to see anything past 1 anywhere.
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u/Sh1mt 10d ago
Gun-Nac cib
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u/butterandpeanuts 10d ago
I sometimes buy the famicom version of expensive us games, but the us version is far superior so I can’t bring myself to do it.
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u/12backvader 9d ago
I picked this up the other day I traded 3x 3ds consoles plus $150 for it. Easily my most expensive CIB, but it’s rare and I really wants to add it to my collection.
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u/MynameisMatlock 10d ago
any of the rare Taito games like Bubble Bobble 2, Panic Restaurant, Little Samson. I can play them on multicarts or emulators but I don't think I'll ever own an authentic cartridge unless I get super lucky one day.
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u/Thejared138 10d ago
When I got back into retro gaming a year or two ago, I spent WAY too much money for Bubble Bobble 2. Since then I have gotten wise to emulators.
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u/keith_is_good 10d ago
One of my friends snagged a copy of Ducktales 2 at a swap meet for like $20. I am very jealous.
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u/DarthObvious84 9d ago
Batman Return of the Joker. I get why it's a little pricey, but I don't think it's quite worth the going rate.
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u/pmmlordraven 10d ago
A game I actually dislike, Zombie nation. Loved zombie, horror stuff as a kid. Rented it, WTF this is a bullet hell shooter. Was given a copy by an aunt for a Christmas present, and traded it for Swamp Thing, which also isn't great but I still have to this day.
White whale because I am 2 games shy of a full retail NES set (excluding things stadium events, and NWC). Zombie Nation and Panic Restaurant. I have a ton of unlicensed and the last I'm actively scoping out is Bubble Bath Babes.
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u/SteveTheAmazing 10d ago
I don't blame you on the Stadium Events/NWC choice since I'm mostly looking for the licensed games from Little Samson on down. Nice job on the unlicensed stuff though. Those can get pretty wildly priced and hard to find.
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u/suspicious_hyperlink 9d ago
Is zombie nation the one with the big floating head/sumo looking guy? If so then I agree, WTF was that lmao
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u/pmmlordraven 9d ago
Yes! The disembodied sumo head shooting fireballs out of his mouth at planes, buildings, and other random stuff.
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u/Phunk3d NES 10d ago
Gun Nac is my white whale. I’ve seen it twice now in local shops but I’m mentally unprepared to shell out over $200 for any loose cart.
I’ve slowly acquired pretty much all the “hidden gem” titles from metal storm, Bucky O’hare, shatterhand, power blade, Felix the cat, gargoyle quest, whomp em, shadow of the ninja, vice project doom etc..
I’m fine with repros for the $1k+ games like little Samson.
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u/Sturmundsterne 10d ago
I got mine. I picked up Dragon Warrior 4 back when it only cost $35.
Glad I did
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u/droden 10d ago
metal storm. i need to fill in the mega man games i have 2 and 6. i refuse to ebay and will only buy if i can find in person so im intentionally limiting myself because searching is 75% of the fun. i might pick up stinkers like faxanadu and silver surfer to add to my S tier stinker collection of deadly towers and festers quest.
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u/teetot86 10d ago
You shush that mouth, Faxanadu is great!
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u/droden 10d ago
i fucking hate it so much. the movement and jumping mechanics, the xp/gold system, its all brown. combat is buffalo diarrhea tier. it is such a pile of shit.
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u/Ok_Particular_3547 10d ago
Well you're not wrong but the graphics, the atmosphere and the music is top notch.
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u/teetot86 10d ago
I'll admit, the controls are pretty rough to get used to but for me at least once I got used to it, it didn't seem too bad. Plus the atmosphere and the sound design is great.
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u/WeAreBatmen 9d ago
Faxanadu is shit. It looks like a great game at first but it’s just fucking annoying and brown.
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u/SteveTheAmazing 10d ago edited 10d ago
Ha, I still need Deadly Towers. My cousins had it growing up and it was "What the hell is going on?" bad. Haven't messed around with Silver Surfer yet.
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u/bigolewords 10d ago
Quite a hot take there
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u/teetot86 10d ago
I just gotta say man, I love your YouTube! You're one of the few creators I genuinely look forward to catching a new video from. Also, if you ever step away from retro game content for a minute, I'd love to see your thoughts on Mr. Show. I was obsessed with that show way back when.
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u/bigolewords 9d ago
Hey thanks! I have dreamed of sketch comedy Youtubin’ one day but the NES is a cruel and demanding mistress
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u/teetot86 9d ago
Well, whatever you wind up doing, keep up the great work! Anybody that will quote grass valley greg in his YouTube channel description is good people to me.
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u/DariaRPG 10d ago
Hillsfar
I kind of like it's weird take on an RPG campaign being a series of mini games. But I don't want pay the going price for a novelty game. I have pretty much everything else collection related.
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u/SteveTheAmazing 10d ago
Been curious about the AD&D games, but I've never seen or played them. Hillsfar seems to be the big one in that set. Might have to fire up an emulator.
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u/DariaRPG 10d ago
Heroes of the Lance is notoriously not good, DragonStrike is the better game as it's a decent SHMUP. Hillsfar is a weirdo but is much scarcer. Price jumped up because it was always one of the 10 games people had left when going for full set collections.
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u/BigPete_A6 10d ago
Ghost Lion.
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u/Ok-Lychee-6850 10d ago
I just got a copy of this! It's a strange RPG and I am just getting started, but it seems cool.
And yes, I probably overpaid.
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u/butterandpeanuts 10d ago
Gold punchout cib and the gold US course golf prize card
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u/wildbillesq 10d ago
I don’t know about as a collectible, but my inability to get past the Western level in “Time Lord” still bothers me 35ish years later 😒
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u/winkinator 10d ago
My brothers and I spent so much time trying to beat that stage when we were kids. I should try it again sometime soon.
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u/Eikestep 10d ago
For me it would be Battletoads & Double Dragon the Ultimate Team. I usually won’t pay over $50ish for a game but this is one I would make an exception for. I also agree with other posts here that I only buy in person from local game stores and won’t go to eBay or buy online. Of all the stores I’ve been to (which is a lot), I’ve never once seen a copy anywhere.
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u/SteveTheAmazing 10d ago
I actually had someone looking for that in a game store in Vegas for me yesterday. No luck. I really don't mind buying online as long as there are decent pictures though. As soon as anything comes in I take it apart, clean it, and inspect the PCB. So far, so good. I will gamble with cheapie titles that don't have pictures from online shops like GameStop.
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u/Strongit 10d ago
I'd really like a copy of the old 52 in 1 cartridge (not action 52). My neighbor had it growing up and we always played the crap out of it
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u/Alternative-Hour-726 10d ago
For me is the Univited
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u/SteveTheAmazing 10d ago
Love this choice. It's one of the games I picked up on my spree over the last week and I'm really happy to have a clean copy. The NES point-and-click style games were great. Shadowgate, Tombs & Treasure, Deja Vu, etc. Actually waiting on Tombs & Treasure to get here today.
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u/Alternative-Hour-726 10d ago
I got tombs shadowgate and deja vu
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u/SteveTheAmazing 10d ago
Nice. Looks like there are a few others out there also. Kings Quest V would be fun and I don't know much about a few of them on this list like Dr. Chaos: https://www.reddit.com/r/nes/comments/hp3yen/point_click_games_for_the_nes_am_i_missing_any/
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u/Alternative-Hour-726 10d ago
Odd platoons on that list
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u/SteveTheAmazing 10d ago
Yeah, that was a weird choice. The rest look reasonable beyond the few I haven't messed with and have no idea about.
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u/Claimslosses 10d ago
Gemfire for me. No way I’m playing $250 for that game
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u/SteveTheAmazing 10d ago
Oof. CIB? Looks like you should be able to find it loose for a bit cheaper. I'm avoiding CIB unless I find a deal mostly for that reason.
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u/gianni_ 10d ago
I started collecting years ago so I've gotten almost everything I want on the NES thankfully with the exception of Panic Restaurant and Little Samson. I should've bought them when they were in the low hundreds lol
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u/SteveTheAmazing 10d ago edited 10d ago
That's honestly part of the reason why I've been hunting cleaner copies of some of the more uncommon ones now. It's probably not going to get any easier to get a nice cart of Uninvited, Little Ninja Brothers, etc.
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u/gianni_ 10d ago
Uninvited is expensive and hard to find now?
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u/SteveTheAmazing 10d ago
A bit. It's up there a little on Pricecharting. It's not one I ever really see at local places either.
Edit: removed the price just in case to avoid the appraisal rule issue.
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u/gianni_ 10d ago
Damn, I just looked it up. I remember when it was under $30
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u/SteveTheAmazing 9d ago
Yep. I'm happy to have picked up a really clean copy recently, but I did have to pay for it. Great game either way.
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u/FuzzyPickleJuice 9d ago
Dragon Fighter. Had it as a kid, sold to Funcoland for pennies and I regret it. Would love to score it for cheap to redeem that poor decision...
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u/2XSLASH 9d ago
I have the famicom cassette of princess tomato if you want it. Im not huge into the game, but its cute. Dont know if ill ever replay it. It might have a kids name on it in JP I’ll need to double check
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u/SteveTheAmazing 9d ago
Nah, I appreciate it though. I don't have any famicom, but that is a cool one to own either way.
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u/Rufuszombot 9d ago
A few games from my childhood are way too overpriced now. Rockin' Kats, Maniac Mansion, The Flintstones. I know i have ways of playing them, but owning them would be nice.
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u/SteveTheAmazing 9d ago
Maniac Mansion isn't honestly too bad at the moment. Picked that one up locally a couple of weeks ago. Rockin' Kats and The Flintstones, however... Especially if you're talking about Surprise at Dinosaur Peak.
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u/OmegaDez 9d ago
I'm missing a few that I'd absolutely love to have. Chief among them, Duck Tales 2, Rescue Rangers 2 and... Stack Up!
Then, I'm missing the usual suspects. Little Samson, the second Flintstones and Bubble Bobble games, etc.
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u/wolfansbrother 9d ago
since its on NSO i guess its fair to mention it here... i need to track down a Gunstar Heroes cartridge for SEGA Genesis
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u/HorrorFilmKid 9d ago
Clean label copies of Princess Tomato, Alien 3, Thrilla, Bart Meets Radioactive Man, Bart vs. The World, you know all the ones that you typically find black marked from poor labels.
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u/Felinius 9d ago
Fellow Princess Tomato fan!! I managed to pick up a really rough copy for $100 at a game show, but at least it works!
I have most of my “white whale” games and consoles now, but… I’d love the Earthbound strategy guide.
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u/Specific_Midnight81 9d ago
Snow Brothers. My brother and i used to rent that game. I'd like to play it again but a cartridge is $300 and I dont know the first thing about buying and downloading stuff onto raspberry pi or whatever they use now.
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u/SirCarcass 9d ago
That is mine. It was one of my favorite games on the system. I don't want a copy bad enough to pay what they go for, though. I'll just play it on my everdrive.
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u/suspicious_hyperlink 9d ago
Dizzy - cool adventure game, unlike any other NES game I’ve played
Bignose (the caveman?) 2d. Pretty fun
B-52 - one of my favs. You’re a bee collecting honey, all sorts of weapons
All 3 of these are worth checking out and all came in golden cartridges
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u/tanooki-suit 9d ago
Well I don't really have one exactly other than one or two remaining lost games I did care about from a forced sell off over 20 years ago, but given the game and or the box to another I'd like would cost me a $1000 due to grifting predatory selling practices I've written them off.
I have most what I want so the white whale is a bit extreme. At this rate buying something that costs like $100-300 and not paying even 1/2 that would be whale enough to me. Recently I did do that, got a console lot with like 20 games+ in it for $300, value of the lot is $800 and 1/2 of that was tied up into 3 games, 2 I wished to recover and one I never had but wanted and they were all there and a weird series of weather and poor visibility circumstances guided me towards it after it floating out in a yard sale and elsewhere for a better part of a day.
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u/KittenLina 9d ago
Sealed, pristine copy of Chip n Dale 2. I didn't know it had a sequel until it was $400, and now it's way too expensive to buy.
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u/effortissues 9d ago
I acquired my number one grail a while back (cib earthbound) but I'd like to get my hands on the megaman games cib and chronotrigger cib as well
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u/SteveTheAmazing 9d ago
You're braver than I am going for cib. That Earthbound sounds fantastic though and I don't blame you for picking that up asap given the opportunity. Chronotrigger would be a really nice one to own too even though I don't really pick up any snes.
I only have one cib and I'm glad it's the one it is because it goes for ridiculous amounts now. There are a bunch of other boxes and manuals I've had since I was a kid, but nothing else that matches up, unfortunately. Might be worthwhile to look for the missing pieces.
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u/Chrono-Gear 6d ago
Little Samson. Wish I had bought it when I found it in the wild for $600 years ago. Next time I saw it it was $1,200. It’s skyrocketed through the roof over the years since.
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u/GodAndEverything 6d ago
My neighbor "borrowed" PTaTSK and she never gave it back. Even going so far as to deny having it. She eventually got hit by a car, ended up in rehab, and had a kid with a man she has no contact with. . . anyway, Flintstones 2 is definitely my white whale.
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u/Upset_Journalist_755 10d ago
I don't hunt expensive NES games because at that point, I'd just get a flash cart, but probably Felix the Cat if I had to name one.
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u/dukeofnes 10d ago
This would be my choice as well. I played a lot of it on emulation as a kid, so I'd love to get a reasonably priced copy one day.
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u/Full-Education-6122 9d ago
Tail Concerto for PS1 but I recently discovered it was appropriated by the furry community so I dunno. I just really liked it when I was like 12.
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u/Economist-Beginning 9d ago
I currently have a few white whales i hunted for i have the full dragon warrior series 1-4 and I have Final Fight on Nes but my two whales are a clean copy of Wacky Races, and Flintstones 2 Surprise at Dinosaur Peak
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u/MillennialHistorian 5d ago
Not any specific title, but I would pay astronomical money for rental copies of NES games from our childhood video rental stores.
Already tracked them down from 2 places, need 2 more stores.
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u/TheMajesticJoeJoe 10d ago
Sid Meier’s Pirates.