Wednesday, April 27, 2011

More Video Game Shopping Porn! Another Boatload of Famicom Carts!

Well, my indignant boycott of Omocha Souko for selling me a broken console lasted for all of three days. They just know me to well. Cheap Famicom carts are my Kryptonite.

And today did they ever have some cheap Famicom carts.

They had put out another pile of carts for 100 yen (about1$US) each. I ended up buying 19 of them.

First, I got these eight here. All of them are carts that I needed and with these acquisitions my collection has moved past the 650 mark, almost 2/3 of the way to the entire set.
Solomon no Kagi (Solomon's Key) was probably the best one in this lot. I've been looking for a cheap copy of it for a while, this is the first time I've seen one for less than 2,000 yen. I haven't played it yet so I don't know if its any good, but what a deal. I was really psyched to get a copy of Family Basic V3 too.

Next, the Ice Climbers. These were probably the best deal. Two copies of Ice Climber, one complete with box and manual, for 100 yen each:
The box is a bit beat up and the carts are a little scuffed, but what a deal. I love the Ice Climber box art, it is probably my favorite cover art from that series of early Nintendo carts with the gray boxes. Something about the maniacal expression on the face of the pink guy amuses me.

I also got a "boxed" copy of Wrecking Crew:
I found this to be interesting. The box and manual aren't original, they were made by a shop called "Famicom House" which used to make its own manuals and boxes for used Famicom games it sold. I think they are kind of neat.

Famicom House, incidentally, still exists and is still called "Famicom House", but it is a grossly misleading name. They have a location near my place, but they only sell games for new systems these days. So if you are looking for Famicom games, Famicom House does not have them so don't bother. They also seem to have diversified heavily into the pornography market, as about 2/3 or so of the floor space is curtained off and devoted to adults only stuff.

Back in the day, though, they were probably a pretty good place to buy Famicom games. Judging by this copy of Wrecking Crew, anyway.

Rounding out my purchase were the eight games featured in the photo at the top of this post. I already have those games, but figured they would make for good trading material someday!

Related Posts:

- Mega Bargain of the Day: 3 Consoles and a Game for 10 Bucks
- First Famicom Carts of 2011
- Mega Bargain of the Day: Family Basic, Family Trainer and Climber Stick
- Retro Game Shopping Will Never be the Same Again

9 comments:

  1. Oh, MAN! I am sooooooo jealous. I swear, if that CIB copy of Ice Climber were on eBay, it would go for $40 or $50, even with the box scuffed up a bit. $1 you say? Grooooooan. Still, I'm happy for you!

    I like that particular piece of box art, too. Actually, the box art produced for Balloon Fight, Ice Climber and Wrecking Crew all are pretty great :)

    I see Dig Dug, Mario Bros. and Spartan X (Kung Fu) in that top pic. Are those recent acquisitions, too?

    ReplyDelete
  2. LOL, yay! That Ice Climber was an insane bargain, if I had been drinking something when I saw it in the bargain pile I would have done a massive spit-take!

    I completely agree about the box art too, Wrecking Crew and Balloon Fight are also great. Most of those gray box ones are really nice.

    The Dig Dug, Mario Bros. and Spartan X (along with everything else in that top pic) were also in the bunch I got yesterday!

    ReplyDelete
  3. You got Crisis Force for 100 yen?!? Now that's what I call a bargain!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yeah, pretty good deal, eh? I like Crisis Force and its a relatively hard one to find!

    ReplyDelete
  5. This post inspired me to see if I can finally get my Famicom working on my US TV. It sat unplugged and unloved while I was playing my SNES.

    Fortunately, it was no problem. Reading some instructions online, I plugged the RF switch from the SNES into the Famicom turned on channel 95 (which happens to be C-SPAN?) and it worked!

    Bad news was that I had to abandon a bunch of my games back in Tokyo because they wouldn't fit. It's not too bad, since I got all the ones I was playing the most anyway, and the rest were just some lame RPGs I got in one of those big bundles.

    Of course, now I can't go to Akihabara and pick up games at Super Potato or Retro Game anymore... :(

    ReplyDelete
  6. I wish there was shops like this over here. I pretty much have to buy retro stuff from eBay exclusively. Nice buys though, Solomon's Key rules! (although I've not played it on the NES, obviously!)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nate - it is great to hear that you got your Famicom up and working on your US TV! I think I'll probably be dumping a huge number of RPGs (and mahjongs, golfs, etc) when I leave this country, if that ever happens!

    I know that retro game shopping will be one of the big things I miss about living here too....but at least it gives you another reason to come back (I'm sure there are a lot of other reasons as well)!

    Simon - yeah, I wish there were good game shops like this in Canada too. I was never really a "gamer" before I moved here, actually. The presence of the shops with these lovely, cheap, Famicom carts turned me into one!

    I have to try Solomon's Key now! Glad to know it is a good one!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. BTW, last week I saw a cheap CIB copy of Ice Climber on eBay. The box was stained, but I was considering buying it anyway. Well, while I was considering the purchase, someone else bought it. Doh! Won't let that happen again :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. LOL, I know the feeling! The only thing worse than "Buyer's remorse" is "Passed up a bargain remorse" (also known as "Not buyer's remorse")!

    ReplyDelete