"Common" game that eludes you

[leatherrebel5150]

I'm wondering about some games that have eluded you that should be easy as pie to find whether in the wild or on the internet.

I'm have almost completed my cart only N64 collection and yet some carts I still can find like NBA in the zone 2000 and Olympic hockey nango '98. I mean they're friggen $5 sports games ans they never show up, even on ebay. I should clarify that I only go for auction listings that have pictures on ebay.

So what are some games you can't find that should have been easy to get.

[Informationator]

Uniracers. It's common as all get out but after collecting 1/3rd of all SNES games (I buy 20-40 game lots at a time and sell the dups) it's still somehow not in my collection.

I've always wondered what that last game will be... ...the last one I get to complete my collection.

[Loremaster]

Well, I already tracked it down, but Sonic 3 was my common unicorn for quite awhile. Was just looking for Cart only, and seemed like nobody within a couple hundred miles had it!

Right now, it's the majority of worthwhile original Xbox games. There's no place that sells 'em around here, unless I want to drive for 2 hours, and even then they don't have what I'm looking for.

[Baloo]

I can't seem to find a copy of Panzer Dragoon Orta for original Xbox near me!

[snes_collector]

Uniracers. It's common as all get out but after collecting 1/3rd of all SNES games (I buy 20-40 game lots at a time and sell the dups) it's still somehow not in my collection.

I've always wondered what that last game will be... ...the last one I get to complete my collection.

I swear Uniracers isn't as common as everyone makes it out to be. I've been collecting for about 7 years and have NEVER saw a copy in the wild. Could be a regional thing, but there is never many for sale on the forums either.

[Fatalstar64]

For me it's Yoshi's story for N64 and if I do find it they want $30 for a loose cart so I'll have to keep looking. Super Metroid eluded me for quite the while but since I got a copy I see them all the time go figure.

[fahlim003]

A cheap copy of Donkey Kong Country for SNES. I had a chance to score one with a complete system (2 controllers, etc..) for $15 and balked. I haven't seen another copy locally under $10 since.

[Nebagram]

I had trouble tracking down Super Metroid for ages too, then again I am extremely tight-fisted when it comes to bidding on ebay (eventually got it for something like £7).

Ones that have evaded capture so far for me include Wario World, Wonderboy 1 on the Master System, Tetris DX (GBC) and Um Jammer Lammy with that last title being top of the 'gah crap why can't I find it anywhere' list.

[pseudonym]

I remember it took me quite awhile to find decent black label copies of Crash Bandicoot 1/2.

[crazyjackcsa]

I swear Uniracers isn't as common as everyone makes it out to be. I've been collecting for about 7 years and have NEVER saw a copy in the wild. Could be a regional thing, but there is never many for sale on the forums either.

It isn't that common. 300k worldwide.

Shortly after the game's release, DMA Design was sued by Pixar for allegedly copying the unicycle design and concept from their 1987 short film Red's Dream. Mike Dailly, one of the developers at DMA Design, commented, "The problem with Pixar was that they seemed to think that any computer generated unicycle was owned by them."
DMA Design lost the lawsuit, and as a result, Nintendo had to terminate production of further Unirally cartridges. According to Mike Dailly, "The deal was that Nintendo wouldn't make any more carts so Unirally only sold the 300k initial run".[1] Many reviewers and players believe the game would have been quite successful, given its critical praise, had it not been limited to its 300,000 production run.

[BetaWolf47]

Gradius for NES. I've seen two copies and passed on both of them. The week I decide to buy them, they're gone.

Ristar for Genesis. I don't know if this is common or not, but I have never seen this in the wild. It's my most sought-after Genesis game right now.

[leatherrebel5150]

For me it's Yoshi's story for N64 and if I do find it they want $30 for a loose cart so I'll have to keep looking. Super Metroid eluded me for quite the while but since I got a copy I see them all the time go figure.

If you are a member over at nintendoage there is someone selling yoshi's story for $7.

[cheesystick]

@ crazyjackcsa - Thanks for that info. I never knew that. It is a crying shame; that is a great game and more people should have had a chance to play it.

Well, I have been collecting SNES games for about 10 years. I suppose my response is based more on games that I have believe to be rare and uncommon, yet the DP guide states as being fairly common. Now, the DP guide has served pretty well for me in terms of rarity and I think it is mostly accurate. However, at least in my region, here are the games the suppository "common" games that in 10 years of searching I virtually never saw:

- Syndicate: This game is strangely SO much easier to find for the Jaguar. You know how many of them are on eBay right now? Only a single copy. There are more copies of Aero Fighters on there than there are of this game. I have only seen one copy in the wild and I bought it instantly. The DP guide that I have puts this at an R2. I have found it to be much more rare than that.

- Ren & Stimpy: Buckaroo$ - This game was a late release for the NES, but copies for the SNES are almost impossible to find. There are zero available on eBay right now. To put that in perspective, I have three copies of Fire Dogs, the supposedly BlockBuster rental exclusive, and that game goes for super cheap. So why is it that Buckaroo$ is so hard to find?

- Ghoul Patrol: This is the sequel to the beloved Zombies ate my Neighbors. I also heard that this was the only USA-developed SNES game to see release in Japan, but I don't know if that is actually true. However, the DP guide puts this at an R3 and I have never seen it once in the wild. I am still looking for this game.

- Nosferatu: Again, I have never seen this one in the wild. It is also steadily escalating in price, despite it not being a very good or well-remembered game. I finally bought one at a game convention, (does that count as in the wild?), and I'm glad I did. You would think that in 10 years I would see an "R2" at least once. I used to go to thrift stores every single day...

I do realize that the DP guide can only be so accurate because of regional differences. I have never tried to loot the East Coast for games, so I have no idea what things may be like over there. They might be devoid of games that we seem to have plenty copies of. For example, here are some "rare" games that I always keep on seeing copies of: Sonic Blastman II, Pieces, Ren & Stimpy Fire Dogs, and Lamborghini American Challenge. I almost have three copies of each to the point that I just stop buying them when I see them.

[Atarileaf]

Right now its Ms Pacman for the SNES. Sure there are lots on ebay but its one that I should be able to find locally but can't seem to.

[fahlim003]

Ristar for Genesis. I don't know if this is common or not, but I have never seen this in the wild. It's my most sought-after Genesis game right now.
Around here Ristar was cheap and common in the late 1990s. I recall renting it several times. It's value has held quite well so it's not too cheap and it's not common either, especially CIB since it was a later cardboard Genesis release. I've never seen it locally since I last rented it in 1998.


- Ghoul Patrol: This is the sequel to the beloved Zombies ate my Neighbors. I also heard that this was the only USA-developed SNES game to see release in Japan, but I don't know if that is actually true. However, the DP guide puts this at an R3 and I have never seen it once in the wild. I am still looking for this game.
This is strange one but also in 1998 my friend gave me this game, along with NHL 94 and Lagoon plus his spare Super Nintendo and Interact Superpad. I still have it and otherwise have never seen another copy in the wild. Great game.

Interesting information on Uniracers, I remember hearing about the lawsuit a little while back. I've never seen that either.

[Smashed Brother]

In the early 2000's, Sonic CD was my nemesis. I would drive from game store to game store every couple of months, looking for this damn title only to come home empty-handed. You see, back in the day, there were maybe 5 different game stores within a 40-mile radius and they all carried everything from atari up through xbox. I wasn't on ebay or amazon (I didn't even have the internet...or a pc) so gamestores were my only option. I looked around for this game for maybe 2 years? I even had a dream that I went to one of the stores and bought it for $26, only to actually go to that store and not see it anywhere in stock.

I did finally come across it at a gamestore in a town that I had just moved to. Finally, all that searching had come to an end....and you know what? The game wasn't even that great. Ok, but not worth a 2 year search.

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

Astro Warrior for the Master System eluded me for quite a while. Finally found one that didn't have a damaged case.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

A few months ago I would have said Contra Shattered Soldier and Bloodrayne 2 for PS2 (was looking for both CIB), but found both at Gamestop in recent days.

[goatdan]

The final sports title that I got for my complete PS1 longbox collection was Striker 96.

Yeah, I found complete boxed copies of Psychic Detective, X-Com, Discworld and a bunch of others in the wild 10 times over before I found one Striker 96.

[Cryomancer]

Put me down for Super Metroid as well. I SEE it sometimes, but I'm not paying 30+ dollars for the damn thing either. Meanwhile I got Metroid II at a good price without even really looking for it.

[Sysop]

At the moment it is Superman 64. One of these days, this game shall be mine!

[Ackman]

At the moment it is Superman 64. One of these days, this game shall be mine!

Yeah just don't try and play it and you'll be fine. Probably a lot of them were burnt and smashed with hammers so I reckon it would be pretty rare.

[BetaWolf47]

Put me down for Super Metroid as well. I SEE it sometimes, but I'm not paying 30+ dollars for the damn thing either. Meanwhile I got Metroid II at a good price without even really looking for it.

Hah, I actually have a story behind this one. A year or so back, I was talking to a fellow DPer about trading stuff. He had some anime VHSes I was interested in, although he said we wasn't looking for anything at the moment besides Super Metroid. The very next day, I went into a Goodwill and just happened to stumble into it for $2. I consider that the luckiest find ever.

You're welcome, exit.

[djshok]

For me it's Gunstar Heroes for Genesis, just can't seem to pick that one up anywhere and everytime I see it online it costs a little more than I want to pay for it.

[ishashobar]

Yeah just don't try and play it and you'll be fine. Probably a lot of them were burnt and smashed with hammers so I reckon it would be pretty rare.
So that's why I can't find any copies of shaq fu in the wild.

I seem to have trouble finding almost any common nes Carts. One day, i will find a Legend of Zelda cart.

[Cryomancer]

Hah, I actually have a story behind this one. A year or so back, I was talking to a fellow DPer about trading stuff. He had some anime VHSes I was interested in, although he said we wasn't looking for anything at the moment besides Super Metroid. The very next day, I went into a Goodwill and just happened to stumble into it for $2. I consider that the luckiest find ever.

You're welcome, exit.

Get me another one and I can offer you some VHS anime in exchange probably, haha.

[killersquirel]

ET for the atari vcs. I swear I can't find a single copy of this game anywhere.

-mike

[Cryomancer]

ET for the atari vcs. I swear I can't find a single copy of this game anywhere.

-mike

Keep digging!

[BetaWolf47]

Get me another one and I can offer you some VHS anime in exchange probably, haha.

Heh, I doubt I'll ever get that lucky again. Biggest coincidence in my collecting experience ever.

[GameNinja]

For what it is worth, although everybody talks about how common some Atari carts are I have never seen one in the wild at all.

[sfchakan]

You haven't been around long enough then, GameNinja. You should eventually run into some.

I still remember BigLots/Odd Lots selling boxes Atari games for $1-$2 in the second half of the 90s.

[Aussie2B]

I can kind of back up GameNinja, actually. While I have seen Atari carts in the wild, I bet it's been fewer than 10. And that's in over 10 years of collecting (albeit, I only really hunt over the summer). And I've never once come across an Atari system. Oddly enough, I've found more Intellivision and Colecovision games, but even then that's probably no more than 20 games a piece. No systems in the wild for those either. Had to pick up my Colecovision here on the board, and I still don't have an Intellivision to play my carts on.

I would say that the vast majority of stuff I find is from the NES and later. Most people that no longer want their pre-crash stuff probably got rid of it many years ago. And those who haven't probably have it buried so deep in the attic that no one will find it until someone dies, haha.

[NayusDante]

Definitely Shaq Fu. I could go on Amazon and buy a sealed copy for under $10, last I checked, but that doesn't seem like it should be necessary...

[cityside75]

I can kind of back up GameNinja, actually. While I have seen Atari carts in the wild, I bet it's been fewer than 10. And that's in over 10 years of collecting (albeit, I only really hunt over the summer). And I've never once come across an Atari system. Oddly enough, I've found more Intellivision and Colecovision games, but even then that's probably no more than 20 games a piece. No systems in the wild for those either. Had to pick up my Colecovision here on the board, and I still don't have an Intellivision to play my carts on.

I would say that the vast majority of stuff I find is from the NES and later. Most people that no longer want their pre-crash stuff probably got rid of it many years ago. And those who haven't probably have it buried so deep in the attic that no one will find it until someone dies, haha.

Weird, must be a regional thing. I was just out doing some shopping today and between Play N Trade and Half Price Books, there must have been well over 100 Atari carts, all commons. Many have been languishing there for months/years too. I'd say I run into an Atari 2600 system while garage sale-ing at least once every 2-3 weeks.

[Glitch695]

For whatever reason Donkey Kong Country 3 never turns up around here for under $25, and I still don't have that game. I saw it one time in the wild: at a rummage sale. I said 'oooh!' in a Homer Simpson donut reaching voice and grabbed for it, only to find the person at the rummage grabbing it first saying it wasn't supposed to be out there, then taking it in the house.
Not cool.

[BenG76]

A common game that has eluded me for a while is Digger T Rock for the NES. Its a cheaper game but I have never seen it in the wild or any video game store. I once won one on Ebay and didnt end up getting it.

[ButtonMasher123]

It took me forever to find Contra for the NES at a decent price. Its seems to be on the same rarity level as other in demand action games such as the Castlevania and Ninja Gaiden series of games, but yet it always sells for 2 to 3times the amount of those games.

[Bloodreign]

Ikari Warriors III, the first two are all over the place, this one, I've never seen on game hunts. Stuff I do buy off ebay or forums, I wind up finding a ton of afterward. There's a few more as well, including one that isn't common, Lolo II NES, I missed a copy by 1 day at a local game shop. :(