Recent Pickups Episode 5: SNEStravaganza!

Believe it or not, this haul had everything to do with an AC adapter. A whole box of 16-bit gaming goodness and what pushed me over the edge was the lowly plug. (Hey, I needed one for a set I was putting together for my brother.) The rest? That's my finder's fee!

Super Nintendo (SNS-101)

Release Date: October 20, 1997

Acquired From: Craigslist guy with a cardboard box
Condition: A little scratchy, not not bad.
Notes: I've wanted one of these things for quite some time, for no reason in particular. Technically, this is not the SNES you want to own, due to the lack of S-video support. But it's just so darn...cute! You won't see too many SNES minis out in the wild, since they weren't terribly popular (they were released well after everyone else had moved onto the N64, Playstation, and Saturn), so pick one up if you find it for cheap!


Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

Console: Super Nintendo
Release Date: November 21, 1995
Developer: Rare
Publisher: Nintendo
Acquired From: Craigslist guy with a cardboard box
Condition: Good enough

Notes: Sequel to the game that proved the SNES was still relevant in the 32-bit era. Remember when Rare made great games? On the other hand, a Donkey Kong game without Donkey Kong sort of feels like the Snake/Raiden switcheroo, and that makes me sad.

Clayfighter: Tournament Edition

Console: Super Nintendo

Release Date: November 22, 1994Developer: Visual Concepts

Publisher: Interplay

Acquired From: Craigslist guy with a cardboard box

Condition: Gray plastic, shiny label. Yup, it's all there.

Notes: Clayfighter is not a good game. Why anyone would want to hold a Clayfighter tournament is beyond me. Despite all of this, I'm glad I own it...because I actually won a Clayfighter tournament sanctioned by Blockbuster Video. I had my displayed in the store, so all could bask in my clay fighting superiority. God, I'm awesome.

Killer Instinct

Console: Super Nintendo

Release Date: August 30,1995Developer: Rare

Publisher: Nintendo

Acquired From: Craigslist guy with a cardboard box

Condition: That sticker. That God damn sticker.

Notes: Remember how bad Clayfighter is? That's how awesome Killer Instinct is. Hands down, one of my favorite games of the era. Somehow, Rare had managed to squish the mind-blowing Ultra 64 game (heh) down to SNES size and keep all of the combos, characters, and pointy CGI boobies intact. ULTRA COMBOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Side Note: I tried everything to get that awful pricing sticker off the game label, but over time the glue has fused the two together, making it impossible to remove one without the other. Those butchers.

Super Mario Kart

Console: Super Nintendo

Release Date: September 1, 1992

Developer: Nintendo, yo

Publisher: Nintendo

Acquired From: Craigslist guy with a cardboard box

Condition: Mama mia! That's a nice!

Notes: If I had a dollar for every copy of Super Mario Kart I've owned, I'd have $4. Luckily for me, a copy of Super Mario cart sells for a lot more than a dollar. This one's in great condition and even came with the snazzy dust cover. What this all boils down to is that I have another copy of Mario Kart for sale. Want it?

  

Alien 3

Console: Super Nintendo

Release Date: May, 1 1993

Developer: Probe Entertainment (heh, "Probe")

Publisher: LJN

Acquired From: Craigslist guy with a cardboard box

Condition: It looks just like I feel.

Notes: Alien 3 is far from perfect, but that's to be expected when you consider the source material. What I find interesting, though, is that with the overwhelming odds, dark setting, tight corridors, and regular lack of ammo, Alien 3 plays sort of like an early survival horror game, well before we had a catchy name for those types of games.

Doom

Console: Super Nintendo

Release Date: September 1, 1995

Developer: Williams Entertainment

Publisher: Williams Entertainment

Acquired From: Craigslist guy with a cardboard box

Condition: Super clean, with box and manual!

Notes: Hell yes, the Super Nintendo had a Doom port. And you know what? It ain't bad! Thanks to the black voodoo magic and virgin blood instilled deep inside every Super FX 2 chip, it looked, sounded, and played better than the technologically superior 32X and Jaguar ports. More importantly, it came in that bad ass red cartridge. Just look at it.

Super Metroid

Console: Super Nintendo

Release Date: April 18, 1994

Developer: Nintendo

Publisher: Nintendo

Acquired From: Goodwill

Condition: Super!

Notes: Here's the thing about Super Metroid: it's awesome. If I could only have five Super Nintendo games, Super Metroid would make the cut. (Sorry, Clayfighter, you were this close.) I could go on and on about the graphics and gameplay, but you're better off just finding a copy (either on the SNES or Wii virtual console) and playing it for yourself. You'll see. It's friggin' Super Metroid.