On being an anal-retentive game collector

Hello. My name is Bryan, and I'm an anal-retentive game collector. (All together now: "Hi, Bryan!")

I know, that's not as bad as being addicted to drugs or drinking to excess, but it's bad enough. After all, it causes me to spend a lot more money on games and systems than I should.

Take, for instance, the complete-in-box Famicom cartridges (below) that I recently bought. Although I believe I got them at a good price, I certainly paid more for them than I would have had I bought them "loose" (without boxes and manuals).



The same will be true when I finally break down and buy a trio of PC Engine games that I've been eyeing up for some time. If I weren't so anal retentive, I could pick up loose copies of Gekisha Boy, Mizubaku Daibouken *and* Parasol Stars for little more than it would cost me to buy a single PS3/Wii/ Xbox 360 game. Instead, I'll probably end up spending that amount (or more) on each of them individually.

I used to be similarly anal when buying systems, but I've loosened up a bit in recent years--i.e., I no longer automatically turn up my nose at them if they don't come with their original boxes and manuals.

OK, I've owned up to my shameful, anal-retentive ways. How many of you are going to do the same?

Note: this post originally appeared on my other gaming blog, iwasateenagepcenginefan.wordpress.com

RE: Something old or something new?

You know how I mentioned (in this post) that I'm wasting way too much time pondering how I'm going to spend the birthday/Christmas money I'm sure to receive from my parents in the next few months?

Well, I'm pretty sure that I'm going to blow at least part of that presumed windfall on a red Twin Famicom. The reason: I recently bought nine old Famicom games through eBay. (Six of them are showcased in the photo below.)

I've been interested in Nintendo's first batch of Famicom games--released on those iconic "Pulse Line" cartridges that can be seen in WarioWare D.I.Y., for instance--ever since I laid eyes on this photo of Donkey Kong Jr., but the high price of many of these titles kept me from buying any of them.

A few weeks ago, though, I came across a pair of auctions on eBay that included nine of these "Pulse Line" Famicom games, each of which came with their original boxes and manuals. Long story short, I ended up winning both auctions for a fraction of what I would have expected to pay for these particular titles.

Anyway, although I'm now the proud owner of nine (of 14) "Pulse Line" games--Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Donkey Kong 3, Gomokunarabe, Mah-Jong, Mario Bros., Pinball, Popeye and Tennis--I currently can't play any of them. Hence, my decision to pick up a Twin Famicom as soon as possible.

In the meantime, check out my Flickr photostream if you're at all interested in seeing a few more photos of my recent acquisitions.

See also: 'Something old or something new?'

Stick a fork (or maybe a spear) in me, I'm done

After putting more hours into it than I care to admit, I've decided to take a bit of a break from Dragon Quest IX.

This isn't the first time I've had to step away from a game with which I've become a tad obsessed. Most recently, I played Animal Crossing: City Folk to the point that it felt like I saw my in-game "friends" more than my flesh-and-blood ones.

Does this ever happen to any of you? Do you become so enamored with a particular game that you play it whenever you have a second to spare?

It ain't over 'til fatguts sings

Late last week, in this post, I mentioned that I'd either beat more of Dragon Quest IX's grottoes or tackle the game's final boss over the weekend. I ended up doing both.

The latter task was accomplished after playing the game for just over 82 hours (yes, 82 hours), by the way. In that time, I won 2,142 battles and completed 29 quests. Oh, and I performed alchemy a whopping one time.

What's next? Well, I conquer more grottoes and complete more quests, I guess. I probably should spend some quality time with the Krak Pot (right), too, don't you think?

See also: 'Slime dunk' and 'I don't want it to end'

Slime dunk

Until a few minutes ago, I thought that, in the world of Dragon Quest IX, a slime is a slime is a slime--i.e., all of the game's slime enemies (with the possible exception of those oh-so-slippery metallic ones) are easy-as-pie pushovers.

Then I came upon a Darkonium Slime (see image to the right)--after spending 30 minutes or so battling my way through the first nine levels of one of Dragon Quest IX's more difficult grottoes.

My first reaction upon seeing the shiny red beast: "Awww! It's so cute!" A few seconds later, all of my characters were laid out like Lindsay Lohan after her latest bender.

I guess that means I have to level up a bit more. Maybe I'll do that this weekend by beating, once again, some of the easier grottoes. Or maybe I'll, you know, tackle the final boss.

See also: 'I don't want it to end'

I don't want it to end

Do you ever find yourself procrastinating as you near the end of a game?

I do it all the time. I did it as I approached the finale of the first two Professor Layton titles, for instance, and I did it as I sauntered toward the finish line of Super Mario Galaxy, too.

Well, I’m doing it again as I edge ever closer to Dragon Quest IX's end credits.

I'm not entirely sure why I'm doing it, though, as it's pretty well known that the title features oodles (yes, oodles) of post-game content.

Oh, well, sometimes it's best to just go with the proverbial flow, wouldn't you agree?

See also: 'Daisy dukes, bikinis on top ...,' 'Sexy secretary,' 'But what about Beyonce's blue ball gown?' and 'The gayest (Dragon Quest IX) party ever'