Quest for the Holy Retro Grail!

Retr0gamer

So anyone got stories about a game they really wanted to get their hands on or console that eluded them for years or an item you wanted so badly you jumped through extraordinary loops to get. Post your stories here! I'll post mine when I get home since I'm meant to be working :P

o1s1n

Neo Geo arcade machine.

It all began when I was about 11 or 12 playing one in a little village in Wicklow called Tinnahealy. There was a pub called O Connors that always had a couple of JAMMA cabs out back in a really run down snooker room. Before the Neo it was Rastan Saga and Moonwalker.

We'd throw our 10p coins into the Neo like there was no tomorrow. The Marquees said that it contained NAM 1975 and Windjammers. It didn't though. Which as a child, I found very confusing.

Luckily there was Metal Slug and Puzzle Bobble instead. Which you all know is the best combination of games in an arcade machine ever.

I remember saying to myself back then that one day I would own my very own machine with those exact games.

Years wen't by, I continued playing them in arcades about the country. Always saying that one day I'd have one. No matter what.

Two years ago Mitchomagic happened to send me a link to a JAMMA cab on ebay down south in Ireland somewhere. (The location escapes me right now). It was 120euro and included a Neo Geo 1 slot MVS board. I was living in my parents house at the time so there was no way in hell it was getting in.

I bid on it anyway.

Turns out nobody else seemed to want the damn thing and I won it for its starting price.

'Bugger, wtf am I going to do now?!'

My uncle owns a courier company. I rang my aunt to ask her a huge favour..she said grand, no problem.

A week later I get a call saying they actually can't do it as it would cost way too much.

'Bollocks!'

I was about to apologize to the seller when my other uncle got on to me and it just so happened that he was helping someone move into a new house in the very same village. I couldn't believe my luck.

They picked the cab up that week and brought it back to their house. Where it sat in their shed for about 4 - 5 months.

In preparation I began buying MVS carts. Metal Slug X. Puzzle Bobble. Both sitting there taunting me for almost half a year.

Finally, afer my painful wait, he said he'd be able to drop it up to the parents house. Much to my mothers delight. I assured her that I had planned on moving to a new apartment soon and it wouldn't be there long.

The delivery night came. I was like a child on christmas morning. In fact I was worse than a child on christmas morning. I'd brought a mate of mine up to the house to prove the thing was coming (He was convinced I was full of sh1t). Took three of us to live in out of the van and into the house and wheel it into the kitchen. Scraping some of the wooden floor on the way. (!)

After years and years of waiting, there it was. My very own Neo Geo JAMMA cab. a giant 6 foot monolith in my parents kitchen.

And there it still stands to this very day.

ghostchant

Went on a 50-mile round trip to a gamestop in the middle of nowhere In Florida because they apparently had a BNIB famicom edition gameboy micro. Was sure that it was a computer error but there it was in the case behind the counter when I came in, they didn't believe me when I said I wanted to buy it, had been sitting there ignored for 3 years. Not the most exciting story but was plenty exciting at the time! :P

justbrian

My holy grail is nightmare circus for the megadrive. Probably never get to play it either.

Jack burton

I will get my hands on one of these someday

o1s1n

Fingers crossed this time next year I'll have my very own house and will finally be able to liberate the cab from my parents kitchen.

Then I'll start turning it into the above. Have that Neo Geo marquee and control panel overlay ready and waiting to be installed!

Even have two of those digital coin counters.

Jack burton

Well I'm coming up for the beers night when that happens!

o1s1n

/Turns freeplay off.

:pac:

No, that would be mean.

evillive

not that i have tried to get one, but how cool would a sit in Star Wars or Empire Strikes Back cab be??

Jack burton

I think I may have hit a complete goldmine, I mean were talking about the warehouse from indiana jones worth of goodies.

update soon

Atavan-Halen

Jack burton wrote: »

I think I may have hit a complete goldmine, I mean were talking about the warehouse from indiana jones worth of goodies.

update soon

*Eagerly awaits*

o1s1n

atavan-halen wrote: »

*Eagerly awaits*

I'm really afraid it's an arcade giving cabs away for free. As I don't have any room.

I don't care! I'll get rid of my bed if I have to!!!

Atavan-Halen

If it is, I'll bring one home anyway. See if my mam will notice

Kidchameleon

Jack burton wrote: »

I will get my hands on one of these someday

Me too, I dream of what four games id like...

Shapey Fiend

justbrian wrote: »

My holy grail is nightmare circus for the megadrive. Probably never get to play it either.

Do you really want it though? It looks fantastically frustrating. I think I read the version released in Brazil wasn't actually finished. Ultimately it's just an western 16 bit game so I wouldn't get that fussed about it.

I'm probably going to import/source an Astro City/Blast City/Egret cabinet once I finish college next year and get a job (big ask I know). That or a pinball table. I'm kind of torn about it because now you can buy arcade quality sticks and put MAME on your television set the appeal of having a standalone cabinet isn't what it was. There's no home replacement for pinball.

o1s1n

Shapey Fiend wrote: »

Do you really want it though? It looks fantastically frustrating. I think I read the version released in Brazil wasn't actually finished. Ultimately it's just an western 16 bit game so I wouldn't get that fussed about it.

Weird game to have as a holy grail alright. It super rare and I'd like a copy myself but not very good. There are Megadrive games that are just as rare but more interesting/playable.

Shapey Fiend wrote: »

I'm kind of torn about it because now you can buy arcade quality sticks and put MAME on your television set the appeal of having a standalone cabinet isn't what it was. There's no home replacement for pinball.

But but but..no! A television isn't a low res arcade monitor. You don't stand in front of your television a foot away. It doesn't have a marquee, colourful control panel or coin mechanism.

It also doesn't momintarily act like a shrine to whatever board you have in it.

Just get a cab! There's nothing like it

nmblade

The gem of my collection is a copy of Snatcher for the Sega Mega CD. Not that difficult to get, you just need to fork out a large amount of money for it. Well worth it though!

justbrian

o1s1n wrote: »

Weird game to have as a holy grail alright. It super rare and I'd like a copy myself but not very good. There are Megadrive games that are just as rare but more interesting/playable.

There are better and rarer, but it's just one of those games I have always wanted since I heard about it.

LoGiE

I finally picked up something I've always wanted......
A Midway Jamma Cabinet (There huge!). As you can see this one is a Mortal Kombat II cab and is in excellent condtion. The sound coming out of this bad boy beats my other cab hands down. :pac:

o1s1n

Wow!!!

You lucky lucky git

There was one of them on adverts a while ago. Is it the same one? Looks to be in fantastic condition.

LoGiE

Yeah, I stopped by Mitch's last weekend to pick it up. He's probably supplied cabs to half this people who post on this forum by now! After I gave it a wipe down and a hoover inside it looks almost new:) The plan is to put a 1069 in 1 into it for now while I redo the artwork and controls on my other cabinet.

Myrddin

nmblade wrote: »

The gem of my collection is a copy of Snatcher for the Sega Mega CD. Not that difficult to get, you just need to fork out a large amount of money for it. Well worth it though!

I don't like your post one bit, it's gonna take me all night to get that salt outta my wound.

LoGiE - that looks very close in design to my Tekken 3 cab, which someone told me on here it was a converted Killer Instict cab...if it's anything like mine they are BIG. What size monitor, 25" Hantarex?

LoGiE

It is indeed a 25". A converted original Killer Instinct cab you say? That's going to be my next cab purchase as soon as I can track one down! There's a crazy amount of room in them but in fairness it just makes it easier to see all the connections or tinker with switches etc.

o1s1n

LoGiE wrote: »

It is indeed a 25". A converted original Killer Instinct cab you say? That's going to be my next cab purchase as soon as I can track one down! There's a crazy amount of room in them but in fairness it just makes it easier to see all the connections or tinker with switches etc.

Nevermind the crazy amount of room in the cabinet, you must have a crazy amount of room in your house to fit three of them! Especially monsters like that Midway one.

I may get a candy in the future to go along with my woody. Really want one that rotates for shooters. But that would seriously be my limit. And I'd probably have to sell off a load of other stuff to make the room.

Myrddin

Well thats what a user here told me after seeing pics. It looks identical to yours, but yours is in much better shape. All the decals on mine have aged horribly & some are torn. The room in it is insane, easily suporting me during its adaptation for a JPAC.

I wouldnt mind putting all new decals on it at some point, but I'd prefer to keep it original, so I'd be willing to bet Tekken 3 decals are near impossible to find. And incase anybody is wondering why someone who likes original things put a JPAC in his cab....I took nothing from the cabs internals, only adapted them. I could have it running a jamma board in about 10/15 mins again if needed...but after running Hyperspin, Soft15khz, & a JPAC together...I can safely say I wont be making any further changes.

LoGiE

Do you rate hyperspin? I'm probably going to build a mame cab in work and was wondering what frontend to go with. Mala, Hyperspin or Maximus. Soft15khz also looks like a winner.

Myrddin

LoGiE wrote: »

Do you rate hyperspin? I'm probably going to build a mame cab in work and was wondering what frontend to go with. Mala, Hyperspin or Maximus. Soft15khz also looks like a winner.

Hyperspin for me was the only man for the job. I tried all the other contenders before deciding on HS. Check out this thread, there's a video of my cab running HS near the bottom. I'm planning to put a brand new harness in my cab at some stage, so maybe Ill hunt for decals then

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055920362&highlight=hyperspin

NeoKubrick

I've only been interested in collecting games onward from the Nintendo 64-era, and it's been relatively easy and cheap collecting the games I wanted to, but one thing I want and what will surely elude me for another five years at least is Tetris The Grand Master 3: Terror Instinct. If I only had the money: http://www.tetrisconcept.net/forum/showthread.html?p=36930

o1s1n

NeoKubrick wrote: »

I've only been interested in collecting games onward from the Nintendo 64-era, and it's been relatively easy and cheap collecting the games I wanted to, but one thing I want and what will surely elude me for another five years at least is Tetris The Grand Master 3: Terror Instinct. If I only had the money: http://www.tetrisconcept.net/forum/showthread.html?p=36930

n64 on? Serious? Any particular reason why? You really are missing out on some fantastic games. IMO the best games ever made. Both consoles and arcade games.

I'm totally the opposite and only really collect pre n64 stuff!. Buy the odd n64/ps2/360/Wii game, but that's about it.

I've never seen/heard of that cab by the way. Looks awesome!

NeoKubrick

o1s1n wrote: »

n64 on? Serious? Any particular reason why? You really are missing out on some fantastic games. IMO the best games ever made. Both consoles and arcade games.

I'm totally the opposite and only really collect pre n64 stuff!. Buy the odd n64/ps2/360/Wii game, but that's about it.

I've never seen/heard of that cab by the way. Looks awesome!

Yeah, there are some great games before that era, but I just wasn't old enough to appreciate it or had the money to buy games (I only had Super Mario World, DKC, and DKC2 for the SNES, but what great games they were!). So, I missed that era. That said, I wouldn't mind buying Super Metroid, and I just searched:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Super-Metroid-SNES-Super-Nintendo-NEW-Sealed-VGA-85-/320552609645#ht_4362wt_1137

That is a thing of beauty.

o1s1n

It's never too late to go back and start rediscovering things you missed. I wouldn't just consider it about nostalgia. Good games are good games!

Although your bank balance is probably screaming 'JESUS CHRIST NO! DON'T LISTEN TO THE MAD ****ER!!!'..it's probably right.

Definitely pick up a copy of Super Metroid. Fantastic game. Stay away from sealed copies though, that's one game that's meant to be open played!

And feckin hell, the price of the VGA sealed one. They'll never get that much for it. Maybe in another 20 years or so when these games are proper old.

NeoKubrick

o1s1n wrote: »

It's never too late to go back and start rediscovering things you missed. I wouldn't just consider it about nostalgia. Good games are good games!

Although your bank balance is probably screaming 'JESUS CHRIST NO! DON'T LISTEN TO THE MAD ****ER!!!'..it's probably right.

Definitely pick up a copy of Super Metroid. Fantastic game. Stay away from sealed copies though, that's one game that's meant to be open played!

And feckin hell, the price of the VGA sealed one. They'll never get that much for it. Maybe in another 20 years or so when these games are proper old.

Yeah, even if I had the money, I wouldn't spend more than than €100 on a single console game - still a beauty though. And it's a great game: shamelessly downloaded it on the Virtual Console a year ago.

Retr0gamer

Ok never put up my stories.

First big ebay buy for me was Suikoden. I had a copy of Suikoden 2 that my friend formerly of konami sent me but I didn't want to play it until I had played the first game in the series. Unfortunately the game couldn't be found at all in Ireland. After about 2 years of looking I went onto ebay got in a bidding war and it ended up costing me 50 sterling when it usually went for 30 at the time. Still it was an excellent game and playing the first game made the second game even more worth it.

I really wanted to play Xenogears since the old games moderator was always going on about how amazing it was and how the story was brilliant and at the time I was a major Squaresoft fanboy. It was going for 80 dollars at the time. I got it from buyrite games for that price but they turned out to be awful.I got the game but it was so heavily scratched that it crashed on the title screen. Sent countless emails to them and they were all ignored and 6 weeks later they went bankrupt. Was flushed with cash so decided to get it from NCSX next. Paid 50 sterling (about 80 dollars at the time).This one at least worked. Then 2 weeks later squaresoft decided that since there was so much demand for the game they were rereleasing it the month after for 20 dollars. Turns out the game wasn't all that either. The story was a convoluted mess trying to ride of the wave of neon genesis evangelion and the gameplay was't much and the whole second disc was two of the main characters sitting in a chair talking about the rest of the story because the dev team got pulled off the project to finish FF7.

Always wanted a saturn so I could play Radiant Slivergun but after falling in love with Panzer Dragoon Orta I knew I needed a saturn for Panzer Dragoon Saga as well. I paid a little over the odds for a japanese V-saturn that was prechipped but it was so worth it! Still haven't gotten my hands on a copy of Radiant Silvergun but it will be mine I tell you all!

If anybody is wondering what games to buy for a console then check out the guides on Racketboy:

http://www.racketboy.com/

He has guides nearly all the retro consoles on the rare and expensive games for the system, the defining games on the system, the hidden gems and the games that can be picked up cheaply. Really good resource.