Collection Additions Volume 11: TurboGrafx Goodies And More

Hello dear readers and welcome back to the game room once more. With a bit more time and effort on my hands, I've stepped up my collecting game a bit in the last few weeks. With an eclectic pile of stuff there's a lot to discuss, so let's dive into it.

So firstly, there's the obvious TurboGrafx-16 items. Unlike many other consoles, extra TG-16 controllers in working condition are a bit hard to come by these days. You have to be fairly patient to find one for a good price, and when you do you need to jump on it. I had been on the hunt for one for quite a while now, since the TG-16 was the only console I owned with only a single controller for it. Honestly, it's hardly even worth having since most TG-16 games are only one-player, but for the relatively uncommon situations where I might have a friend over who would say "hey, let's break out some TurboGrafx games and play them together!", and then I whip out TV Sports Hockey and am like "yeah, let's do this!", now I'm covered.

But wait, there's another problem. The TurboGrafx-16 has only ONE controller port! Yeah, I did not even realize that until the second controller came in the mail. How ridiculous is that! Hell, even the Atari 2600 had a second controller port and that came out over a decade earlier.

So what is one to do in this situation? Why, spend even more money just to be able to play with a second player! And not just a second player, but up to four others with the TG-16 Turbotap. Yes, a multitap was required just to be able to play with a second player. Seems excessive, but hey, I only need three more controllers now to a get a sweet session of Battle Royale going. I did happen across one with the original box & instructions though, which is always cool to have.

Next we come to a fantastically rare TG-16 game, Bonk 3: Bonk's Big Adventure. Now the Bonk series might not be all that well known to the average gamer, but it's a really great one and fantastic addition to any library. Bonk actually spanned multiple consoles, from the NES to SNES, something I was not aware of at all until I did some digging. Anyway, Bonk's Adventure is one of the more common TG-16 games, while it's sequel, Bonk's Revenge, is on the more uncommon end but still readily available. However, Bonk 3 is very hard to find, having been released quite late in the life-cycle of the TG-16.

I spotted a Hu-card only copy on eBay for quite a bit of cash, but a decent enough price that I had my eye on it for a while. I kept a lookout for other game only copies, but the only other two listings I saw were a complete one for $800 and a sealed one for an even more ridiculous price. Finally, when no other copies came up, I decided to go for it. And I'm quite happy that I did, because Bonk 3 officially became one of the rarest games in my entire collection once I received it. I haven't played it extensively yet, but it is definitely worth showcasing in my collection given it's rarity. I'd probably rank it at #4 out of the rarest games I own, behind only complete copies of Mega Man X2 and X3, and of course my crown jewel, a complete copy of Spider-Man: Web of Fire for the 32X.

Anyway, moving on we have two Nintendo pieces: an emerald blue Gamecube controller and Snowboard Kids for the N64. The emerald blue Gamecube controller might not seem like anything fancy at first, but this color of controller was never released in the U.S.; yes, it's a Japanese exclusive color. I love the way it looks and couldn't resist grabbing one, even though I already have five other Gamecube controllers. Well, now all I need is 3 more, another Gamecube, two network adapters, and another copy of Mario Kart: Double Dash in order to have an eight-man tournament...

Uh, yeah, where was I? Oh yes, lastly we have Snowboard Kids for the N64. I admittedly knew pretty much nothing about this game, I mostly just purchased it as a special request from my girlfriend, who had it when she was a kid and had been dying to play it again. So being the chivalrous boyfriend that I am, we went straight to the local game store and snatched it up, then promptly went back to my house and played it. It's...uh...interesting to say the least...

It felt kind of like a poor man's version of Mario Kart 64, if you ask me. I tried to persuade her to try that instead, but she wasn't having any of it. Oh well, we all have that one game from our childhood that might not be very good to others, but we love it simply due to the nostalgia factor. I mean, I absolutely love Ghostbusters II for the NES, so I'm not immune either.

So that's all for this edition, thanks for reading and as always, game on.

Collection Additions Volume 10: Tax Return Season Glory

Hello dear readers and welcome back to the game room, where video games are the only thing on my mind when I get those lovely checks in the mail from the federal government and the state of New York. I unfortunately have to make this entry another quickie since I have a lot of very important things unrelated to video games to do today (what a world we live in, right?), but I did get quite a nice haul from my latest venture, too good not to discuss. That said, let's have a look:

It may not look much, but this pile of plastic and metal cost nearly $500. Amazing, right? It was mainly due to the Turbo Grafx 16 games, which if you're unfamiliar with, are the baseball card-sized chips on the bottom (and one in a jewel case on the left). I've developed a bit of an addiction to buying TG-16 games, since they are often quite obscure and the console on a whole had a pretty small library (only 94 so-called "TurboChip" games). As with any other console, its library ranges from dime-a-dozen sports type games to very uncommon and rare games like Super Star Soldier (the one on the right). I honestly don't know what makes these games so rare, if they are just great games or had a low print run or what, since I haven't been able to really sit down and play each one of them in an extended session yet, but some of them do look quite interesting. The aforementioned Super Star Soldier, for the example, is a shoot-em-up space shooter type game, the very Japanese kind of "bullet-hell" games which launches about a thousand projectiles at you in a minute. But it looks and plays really well, and I will definitely be playing that one quite a bit when I have more time. And on first glance at the others, Devil's Crush is a pinball game very similar to Alien Crush (which I mentioned in my first "collection additions" segment that was also entirely about TG-16 games), Dragon's Curse is like a side-scroller mixed with an RPG, and Neutopia is a bit of a Legend of Zelda knockoff. Tricky Kick, I honestly have no idea. Anyway, like I said, I will have to examine all of them more closely in the future to make sure I get my money's worth.

Moving on, we have an undisputed video game classic for the Super Nintendo, one that any 90's kid will probably remember well: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time. This game was an absolute hit in the arcades and kids would be lined up around the block to take control of their favorite turtle and battle Shredder and the Foot Clan. Unlike many other arcade games though, it managed to gracefully make the jump to home consoles and retain its fantastically fun gameplay. It's a side-scrolling beat-em-up, which do tend to get monotonous after a while, but Turtles in Time still manages to keep it fun throughout and still have a lovely sheen on it over 20 years later. Just grab a second player and you have an instant afternoon's worth of fun.

Lastly, we end on two related games for the Nintendo 64: Chameleon Twist 1 and 2. These aren't rare games by any means at all, but they are definitely fun games worth owning. I distinctly remember renting the first game from Blockbuster back in the late 90s and spending a weekend trying to beat it, ultimately never being able to do so. So I have a long-standing grudge to settle there, and although I've never actually played the second one, if its anything like the first one I will be able to move right onto it after I finish the first.

So that's all for now, I apologize once again to the most likely two or three people who read this regularly that I've been slacking on entries lately, but after my big test next Saturday I'll be able to focus a lot more on gaming that I have been lately. So for now, thanks for reading and as always, game on.