What games look best lined up on a shelf? worst?

[Cmosfm]

I was organizing my collection last night and was noticing how nice some of the games look lined up on my shelf...and how bad some looked. So which ones do you think look best, and worst?

BEST

Sega Master System - Love the white checkerboard look

Sega Saturn - White again, still cool!

NES - loose...I love the loose NES cart look

PS2, PS1 - Don't know why, Just love it

WORST

Genesis - with the mass amount of red, then black, then multicolor, then large sport boxes, they look awful lined up unless you organize them by color.

Dreamcast - They'd look good if they didn't switch from white to black 1/2 way through the systems life.

Atari 2600 - Loose - So many cart variations. O_O

Famicom - THE COLORS! NOOOOOOOOO! MY EYES!

[Aussie2B]

Yeah, Genesis looks pretty crappy. I kind of like the trippy rainbow of Famicom games, though. :P

Sega CD games look really nice lined up. Pretty blue. :) However, the original cardboard ones break the consistency. Loose NES is also a favorite of mine, as is loose SNES.

I'd say loose Super Famicom and N64 are some more crappy ones. They look stupid unless they're in boxes.

[Lemmy Kilmister]

Imports with the spine cards stil on them always look nice. Same with LE and those working designs sets (lunar, arc the lad) and i must say me mint/complete super famicom games add a nice touch. I agree with the loose genesis games, the red,black and all the random company made carts (like EA) look pretty nasty. Though i put all my loose ugly games in a shoebox with airholes in them.

[Sibs]

I'd say the Playstation looks the best on the shelf cuz most of the jewel cases are black(except for the greatest hits cases) and I think the Dreamcast is the worst because the jewel cases color can change from white to black to orange(sega all stars).

[Kroogah]

I second the loose SFC and N64 statement, because you can't tell what the Hell the games are.

My favorite would have to be any of the current-gen systems, with the nice lineup of logos on the spines. Import Saturn and Neo Geo CD are nice for the same reason.

[Daria]

I must be weird because I like how my genesis games look on a shelf, except for the occasional game with a barcode on the spine (Shinig Force) those annoy me. Same for NES games, I like the variety in colors and font logos.

[MarkMan]

I like how PS1 long box games look. And Saturn games too. :)

[anagrama]

NeoGeo carts always look good en masse.
And PAL Saturn games look really sweet in their DVD-esque cases, much better than the clunky US cases.

[Jasoco]

I do like Sega CD's blue and Saturn's white. Too bad a few of the Sega CD games are not in normal boxes. Were there any Saturn ones not in white boxes?

Also, the yellow 32X boxes are attractive. Except the one DOOM game with the backwards spine. What were they thinking?

When Cube games are lined up, I really like it. And if I keep the Players Choice versions separate they look nice by themselves too.

[Half Cab Leroy]

I think loose NES games look nice.

I think that Genesis games probably look the worst.

[hydr0x]

I think loose NES games look nice.


i really don't get it, what looks good about LOOSE NES games? they all (at least the licensed) look the same if they are lined up, what really rocks are boxed NES games, such a variety of style, lovely.

i really like gamecube, snes and n64 too (all boxed), PAL Saturn is also ok :)

[Kamisama]

Atari Lynx does look okay too :)

[Qixmaster]

Boxed NES games (esp megaman 1 - 6 and ninja gaiden 1-3... looking at the sides of those games lined up gives me shivers). I also think boxed N64 games look really nice all lined up.

[charitycasegreg]

Boxed NES games (esp megaman 1 - 6 and ninja gaiden 1-3... looking at the sides of those games lined up gives me shivers). I also think boxed N64 games look really nice all lined up.

ditto...

[DigitalSpace]

PS2 and GC look nice. I also dig loose SNES. PSX and DC for the jewel cases, although longbox PSX is another story.

And boxed NES, SNES, and N64 are always nice if you have 'em.

The worst includes loose N64, for obvious reasons. Loose unlicensed NES carts can be bad too. It's bad enough when you see them at a store in a glass case and can't tell what the hell they are.

[tholly]

as much as i love the NES, i think loose carts look pretty crappy....since they are not all the same style and color (ex. tengen games) so they all dont fit in perfectly....the best games lined up to me are the 3 current gen systems since they all follow the same spine design

odyssey 2 games dont look to bad either...but still not as good as the new systems....

[-hellvin-]

I LOVE how my genesis look so far but none of them are sports games, I guess I can see how all the multicolor would get shitty after a while.

But my top picks are Master System, Saturn and Sega CD.

[Balloon Fight]

I am definitely fond of PS1 longboxes and Saturn games. They look so good lined up. I also like how Britney Spears lines up next to that wall in tholly's avatar.

[Aussie2B]

Also, the yellow 32X boxes are attractive. Except the one DOOM game with the backwards spine. What were they thinking?

Natsume must've had the same kind of brain fart with Harvest Moon 64. When you have a boxed N64 game facing up and you look at the left side flap, the title of the game SHOULD be right side up, but for some stupid reason, the Harvest Moon 64 box has it upside-down. :/ That really irks me.

[Ed Oscuro]

Master System boxes don't look awful, but they're far from my favorite. Bland, though sometimes the box art is great. Japanese Mark III/MS boxes look great in the same manner.

Game Boy/GBA boxes look great since they haven't changed in size over the years (here in the US, anyways). Famicom Disk System games look pretty good together.

The best two are probably the Japanese Mega Drive and Neo Geo AES (also imported) boxes. I like x68K and MSX boxes (at least T&E Soft's Undead Line box) a bunch. Famicom/Super Famicom are a bit wild and unruly but they look good too. I like a little bit of havok, after all :)

[Dangerboy]

Were there any Saturn ones not in white boxes?

Techincally...you could count Sega Rally and Virtua Fighter 2, as they were in the Silver label series and stick out like a sore thumb. Also, and the game eludes me, one of them had a whack color scheme, like the grey was the wrong color...too dark I think....

I have to agree on the long box PSX/Saturn/Sega CDs gelling real well together. I thought it would have been cool if Sega had figured out a way to make the bi-color stripes match up to the next game, so that when you're looking at a line up of them it would look like one continous stripe pattern with the game names sticking out.

However, my personal favorite (and yes, it is slightly biased) are the US Turbo Grafx games. I have mine sorted by genre and then alphabetical. That way when a friend asks what are some good (insert genre here) I just yell out colors to them.

The second best would be PSX games. Sexy black spines help the more colorful logos stick out.

The worst...as far as "with box" would have to be the freaking 3DO games...flip top, box, slide box, security box..make up your damn mind, man!

The worst "loose" would go towards any system with no top labels...so most portables, Jaguar, N64, etc.

Neat topic, let's keep it going!

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

I think that a nice shelf of boxed Odyssey2 games looks, in the words of the wise Mr. Strong Bad, "aprettyprettygood."

http://www.thelogbook.com/earl/hizzouse/thumb-5/odyssey.jpg

[christianscott27]

boxed neo-geo pocket very nice

boxed channel F- they look like 70s office supplies, why do i like that?


However, my personal favorite (and yes, it is slightly biased) are the US Turbo Grafx games. I have mine sorted by genre and then alphabetical. That way when a friend asks what are some good (insert genre here) I just yell out colors to them.


dont tell me you've cracked the spine color/genre code?

[Crush Crawfish]

For some reason, I really like the way loose SNES games look lined up. Especially Mega Man X 1-3. :D

I absolutely hate loose GB/GBC/GBA lined up. You can't tell what the hell they are! and GBA games have those little outcroppings at the top (so you can remove the cart from the GBA) and it makes them not line up correctly! It's annoying as hell! Ditto for N64. I've actually contemplated making labels for all these and sticking them on top of the carts!

[sisko]

Iwas initially going to say PS2, but I'm going to have to change my vote to Saturn.

I really dig the white, half uniform, half variety, and sharp edges clean cut look.

Gamecube also looks really nice, but that massive 4 Swords Adventures box throws everything all off :/

[Jasoco]

Gamecube also looks really nice, but that massive 4 Swords Adventures box throws everything all off :/Just wait until Donkey Konga comes out. ;)

[Cmosfm]

Aussie, I have to agree with the Harvest Moon 64 logo. Ugh, WHY?

Anyways, I just remembered the best line up ever. original Black Box NES games. I wish I had a complete in box collection of them so I can line em up on there own personal shelf.

[Jasoco]

Aussie, I have to agree with the Harvest Moon 64 logo. Ugh, WHY?

Anyways, I just remembered the best line up ever. original Black Box NES games. I wish I had a complete in box collection of them so I can line em up on there own personal shelf.Agreed. Those boxes had a nice theme to them. Best looking game boxes ever IMHO.

[vincewy]

Hmm, never thought of how it looks on the shelf, I only collect games for systems that rock, but I can think of:

Best:

Japanese Neo-Geo AES (large side panels and all dif colors)

FM Towns Marty (even larger case than NG AES)

Jp Mega Drive (unlike ugly all-red US cart boxes, besides, all games are packaged in plastic snap box)

US Sega Saturn (a few games come in silver cover, but the rest large boxes)

PC-FX (had NEC not switched to regular jewel cases later down the stage, this would reign on top with FM-Towns Marty)

besides those, all games with DVD cases are cool, but other than US Gamecube, PS2 and Xbox games aren't worth collecting (very few exceptions though)


All games using standard jewel cases, regardless of color (or variations), are the ugliest on the shelf, so all other systems mentioned earlier look a lot better (NES, SMS, N64, etc) than any jewel cases display.

[Daria]

And some games look so good on the shelf by themselves that you just have to show them off. My dragon Quest Sword and Zelda GBA (jap) immediately spring to mind.

And some of the older NES era fantasy boxes are pretty nice too. CastleQuest and Ultima spring to mind. And Traysia (genesis, the artwork wraps around the box as a continous picture). I love that kind of epic looking stuff.

[Nez]

I hate loose N64 cart becouse I cant find out what they are unless I pull em out. Its just a pain in the ass.

Best id say the Snes boxed games. Black background with the title clearly displayed perfect.

[robotriot]

My favorites are boxed VC4000 games, the've got this styleish font in white on black background, with the huge numbers and the red VC4000 logo - a bit like the DP design here :) Current gen is also nice.

CD32 is pretty ugly though, there's no standard at all (some games came only in paper hulls) - I prefer the way Core Design did their games, that should have been the standard :(

[PhoeniX]

I would have to say that as a rule Sega products look the best on a shelf. Sega CD and Saturn look the best (except for the cardboard cd games). As far as the discontinuuity between genesis and dreamcast games, try organizing them chronologically, it sounds nuts but organizing games in a unique fashion like that makes a collection all the more a conversation peice. I am reminded of the film High Fidelity (john cusack) in which he organizes his music autobiographically... anyway I digress, seriously imagine looking at a well catalouged collection of SMS, Gen, 32x, sega CD, saturn, and dreamcast games all on one shelf and due to the chronological ordering only a few games (e.g. genisis EA titles and such) that don't look very nice together. I don't want to sound like a fanboi, but sega has had consistently good packaging throughout its console history

[thegreatescape]

I like the PAL Dreamcast cases- all blue with the white logo on the top of them all. The PAL saturn cases look alright, but not all of them have the little "screenshot" on the spine, which is a shame coz they would look rather good if they all had it.

As for Mega Drive- they look good as long as theyre together. Newer Blue spines together, black ones, EA, and the cool white EA sports ones (im kinda fond of the white EA sports ones myself).

Worst would be any of the wierd EA mega drive boxes- theres only a couple of games with them, but theyre like old school VHS cases. they look yuk, are easily smushed AND the plastic goes brittle @_@

Im not really a fan of loose NES carts either, or the green x-box cases. Ive only got one, but i cant see boxed PAL game gear games looking great either..

[Naiera]

Anything with a spinecard, really. Worst is probably MASTER SYSTEM and PCE HuCARD games.

[Arcturius]

WORSTDreamcast - They'd look good if they didn't switch from white to black 1/2 way through the systems life.

Dreamcast:
Boy I'm glad we got different cases over here in Europe the Dreamcast cases are all blue spined wide cases and look great on the shelf.

Saturn:
Black cases with the logo on the bottom half of the spine Looks great ruined only by the evil EA cases that look out of place.

PSOne:
Same sized cases as the PAL Dreamcast looks great all lined up too though the silver 'platinum' range ones don't seem to fit in and look better kept seperated.