April Game Pick-Ups!

It's been a while since I've posted anything on my blog other then hockey related. As the weather starts to get warm my thoughts start changing to vintage video games. While many people play games during the winter, I find that I game the most in the summer time. I grew up with this habit during my public and high school years. My sister and I would game heavily in the morning and later at night.

I found these games at the local Goodwill on 50% off day! I arrived a little after noon and while the store is usually picked through by then, I was lucky to find the game counter more stocked then usual!

I'll start with my Sega finds! This game is a must own for any video game hockey fan! I really enjoy the old Sega hockey games. I have yet to play this one and might not get to it for a while thanks to the next game..

NHL 97! I have wanted this game for a long time! I tracked one down last summer for $5: cart only and it was in rough shape. I passed on it and I'm glad I did. For a $1.50 I got the complete version of the game with a working save battery! I have already created my own player and started a season!

Another MUST have for any Sega collector! This is character that launched the Sega craze! I own Sonic and Knuckles 2 but have not yet owned the first version of the game until now.

X-Men was HUGE in the mid 90's and this game was tough to find, especially to rent as it was always out. I'm really happy to pick this game up and I'm excited to try it out!

The last of my Sega game pick-ups is Tazmania. I always wanted to play this game as a kid but never got the chance. I really liked the Warner Brothers produced cartoons as a kid, so this makes it a nice add for my collection.

Moving on to NES, this is a GREAT pick-up for me and a must have in any NES collection. The Super Mario/Duck-Hunt is the most commonly owned version of this game. The Super Mario only cart can sometimes be tough to find in shops for under $10.

Cool looking game cart, terrible game. It's really, really bad although I only played alone. It could be fun playing with a few other people. This one will most likely sit on the shelf for as long as I own it.

The last of the Goodwill pick-ups, Heavy Shreddin' for NES. I've never seen this game before and that alone makes it a sweet pick-up. I have yet to play this game, although I have seen screen shots and it looks like a lot of fun to play.

It's very rare to find a large amount of games like this at the Goodwill, so it was a huge thrill to find a haul like this. My day was not done though and my next find topped all of the above finds!

I was at Sears (not in my area) looking at washing machine's with the girlfriend when I wandered over to the electronics section. Surprisingly they had a video game cabinet (most Sears don't anymore in my area) and I spotted this game:

Released around Christmas of this past year, this limited edition bundle includes Super Mario 1-3, the lost levels, a CD with Mario Music and a book on the making of Mario. This limited edition game sold out in most areas within a week of release and at one point was selling for around $70-$80 on Ebay when the game retailed for $29.99. I quickly bought the game for the $29.99 and although it only sells on Ebay for around $40 it was a great pick-up and something I have really wanted to add to my collection. When I asked the sales associate he told me that they had been sitting around since Christmas!

Some great pick-ups to my gaming collection and I hope to continue to find vintage games like this at rock bottom prices!