collecting Saturn import SHMUPS

[Iron Draggon]

well now that I've spent $300 on a single game for the second time in my quest to get all the Saturn import SHMUPS that I always wanted to get way back in the days that all the Saturn SHMUPS weren't really very expensive to obtain, if you could manage to find an importer who could get them all for you, I've realized that I'm getting very close to my ultimate goal now... I'm only 2 titles away from having 20 out of 60 titles, so I'm almost a third of the way to owning every Saturn import SHMUP ever made, and if I can manage to get another 10 titles, after I get just 2 more titles, I'll be halfway there!

that's pretty amazing too, considering that I only managed to get about 5 titles way back in the day, and I only started trying to get more about 2 years ago now... so in those 2 years, so far I've gotten about 15 titles, 2 of which cost me $300 apiece to get... most of the others cost me somewhere between $50 and $100, which is about what they cost way back in the day, so I think overall it hasn't really been too expensive trying to achieve my goal

now if I can just manage to come up with about $500 for Radiant Silvergun, the rest of the titles in my immediate wishlist will only cost me about $1000 all together, so I reckon that I'm only about $1500 away from halfway now... and that's after spending about $2500 so far, so it only takes about $4000 to get halfway there, if you do it like I've been doing it... buying nothing but factory sealed copies, and shopping around for the best deals possible... it may be more like $5000 to get halfway there by the time you add in all the import fees for shipping and handling and insurance when really necessary, but if that's the case, then it should only take about $10,000 to get them all... and that's a very scary number when it's preceded by a dollar sign, but it's still a hell of a deal for 60 SHMUPS when compared to the price of buying the arcade boards for all those titles... so I still think it's an affordable goal... especially considering that if it cost you $100 apiece to get them all, it would only cost you $6000 to do it, so $4000 more due to the value increase on some of those titles, plus shipping and handling and insurance isn't too bad... and if it really only takes about $4000 to get halfway there, then it should only take about $8000 to get all the way there, and that's only $2000 more than buying every game at $100 apiece... which makes it very affordable!

I know if you're willing to buy used copies, then you can get every SHMUP for even less, but that's my point... if it's that cheap to do it the more expensive way, like I'm doing it, then it's really cheap to do it the cheapest way... so I don't see why anyone who really wants to own every title shouldn't be able to achieve their goal fairly quickly, if they're willing to invest the necessary time and money in doing so... even in today's market, it doesn't take alot of time and alot of money, as long as you don't get in too much of a hurry for it... that's when you get really screwed on prices... being too desperate... jumping on the very first game you see in your wishlist, as soon as you see it, instead of waiting until you know for sure that you prolly won't get it at a better price later... I spent about twice as much as I should've spent on one of those games, before I learned that lesson, so I was lucky... but take my advice and don't let it happen to you too... always compare prices before buying, and if you can't find any other prices to compare, then ask around before buying... find out who had to pay what for it, and when... and if you're really lucky, you might find out where to get a better deal that way

I'm prolly just preaching to the choir here, but I'm really amazed at how close I've gotten to my goal now, and how quickly I've gotten there... it seems like I'm still just getting started on it, but not because I'm getting impatient... it only seems that way because I really haven't been at it for very long yet... 2 years may seem like a real long time to some, and it is a long time, but it's not really a long time... the last 2 years have seemed like they just flew by

so after 2 years of daily searches on ebay, and other online import outlets, this is what I've managed to accomplish so far... a list worth drooling over...

currently owned titles:

Assault Suit Leynos 2
Battle Garegga
Blast Wind
G-Vector
Guardian Force
Gun Frontier
Hyper Duel
Kingdom Grand Prix
Kyukyoku Tiger 2 Plus
Metal Black
Skull Fang
Sol Divide
Sonic Wings Special
Stellar Assault
Strikers 1945
Strikers 1945 2
Thunderforce 5
Wolf Fang

currently wanted titles:

Batsugun
Chaos Control
Chaos Control Remix
Don Pachi
Do Don Pachi
Fantasy Zone
Gekirindan
Planet Joker
Radiant Silvergun
Shienryu
Soukyugurentai
Terra Cresta 3D

both lists combined, for inspirational and motivational collecting purposes:

Assault Suit Leynos 2
Batsugun
Battle Garegga
Blast Wind
Chaos Control
Chaos Control Remix
Don Pachi
Do Don Pachi
Fantasy Zone
G-Vector
Gekirindan
Guardian Force
Gun Frontier
Hyper Duel
Kingdom Grand Prix
Kyukyoku Tiger 2 Plus
Metal Black
Planet Joker
Radiant Silvergun
Shienryu
Skull Fang
Sol Divide
Sonic Wings Special
Soukyugurentai
Stellar Assault
Strikers 1945
Strikers 1945 2
Terra Cresta 3D
Thunderforce 5
Wolf Fang

halfway there... the last list above is halfway there... and I'm almost there...

so as I froth at the mouth for enough money to buy a factory sealed copy of Radiant Silvergun, just so I can finally own it and open it up and play it, I'm gonna continue to search for the 12 titles remaining to get me halfway there, and I'm gonna get the 2 titles required to get me a third of the way there just as soon as I can... starting with a simple search for Fantasy Zone, which is getting a little more expensive now, but it's always been relatively cheap... and then I'm gonna buy the big gun, the big bad Daddy of them all... Radiant Silvergun... it won't feel like I'm really a third of the way there without that one in my currently owned list, instead of in my currently wanted list... I just won't be able to look at only 10 titles remaining, after I buy just 2 more titles as being nearly halfway there, if I see Radiant Silvergun still in my wishlist... looking at that $500 price tag on it makes it feel more like I'm only a fourth of the way there... it has loomed over my mostly empty wallet for 2 years now, taunting me with its false rarity by popular demand... and I am crazy as hell to even be considering spending that kind of money on a falsely rare game, just so I can open it up and play it, but I'm gonna do it... I'm gonna get it... and after I do, I may be content to stay at a third of the way there for a while, or I may start pushing really hard to get halfway there before I rest... I dunno yet... I only know that Fantasy Zone is next, and then I go nuts... even more nuts than I already am... after spending $300 on just one game again, just so I can open it up and play it, like I wanna do with the big one... the one that rules them all... the one that all collectors absolutely must have!

and so my quest continues... just 2 games away from a third of the way...

[Spartacus]

I collect shooters myself and I would NEVER consider a Saturn shmup collection complete without Steam Hearts!

I'm a bit suprised that you're not interested in Choaniki, Keio, or any of the Cotton or Parodius games. Just to name a few off of the top of my head.
I think I bought RS about a year or two ago and I've never once played that game! I guess I've just taken everybody's word for it that it's great and spent my time collecting and playing other crappy shooter's that most people have never even heard of! The odd thing about crappy shooter's is that I almost always have fun playing them!

[anteis24]

I'm not too much into imports, but one of my better purchases was the following off ebay for $550:

White import Sega Saturn MIB
Action Replay plus 4MB cartridge
Battle Garegga
Chatting Parodius
Cotton 2
Darius Gaiden
Do Don Pachi
Gunbird
In the Hunt
Layer Section
Layer Section II
Radiant Silvergun
Salamander Deluxe Pack
Sengoku Blade
Sexy Parodius
Soukyugurentai Otokuyo
Steam Hearts
Thunder Force V
Twin Bee Deluxe Pack
Twinkle Star Sprites
Virtua Figher Remix
Panzer Dragoon Saga (US version)

[Iron Draggon]

my list above is just my immediate future wishlist... the rest of the SHMUPS are on my distant future wishlist... so not to worry, I am interested in games like Steam Hearts and Choaniki and Sexy Parodius and all that stuff... I'm just not placing all of those games real high on my priority list right now... I really wanna get Radiant Silvergun and get that BITCH knocked out of the way, so I can get back to collecting the rest of what I want for a reasonable price...

why on earth I didn't listen to that salesman practically trying to force me to buy Radiant Silvergun for only $75 way back in day, I'll never know, but I sure wish that I had listened to him... $75 seemed a little high for it to me at the time, but if I had known what would happen to it after 10 years on ebay, I would've been telling that salesman to ring up a whole case of that game!

so yeah, I could've gotten every Saturn SHMUP for only $50 apiece way back then, if I had shopped around enough... and that only would've required a $3000 investment at that price per game... but I still think that about 2 or 3 times that much to get them all now isn't a real bad deal, after a decade of time has passed since the glory days of the Saturn came and faded away...

however, I look at a deal like anteis24 got and I get a little envious... you are well on your way to having a great Saturn SHMUP collection with only $500 less in your wallet... and that would be enough for me to get that factory sealed copy of Radiant Silvergun that I want so badly now... it's hard to believe that even now a gamer can get such great deals on used games... anyone wanting to get into Saturn importing can do it for less than the cost of one of the current consoles... that's really amazing to me, considering how high the prices of Saturn import games were inflated before I started trying to collect more than I had from way back in the day... there was a time when you could hardly touch anything imported for the Saturn, if you didn't have triple digits to spend on it... so I'm glad it's back to being affordable...

[fahlim003]

I'm not too much into imports, but one of my better purchases was the following off ebay for $550:

White import Sega Saturn MIB
Action Replay plus 4MB cartridge
Battle Garegga
Chatting Parodius
Cotton 2
Darius Gaiden
Do Don Pachi
Gunbird
In the Hunt
Layer Section
Layer Section II
Radiant Silvergun
Salamander Deluxe Pack
Sengoku Blade
Sexy Parodius
Soukyugurentai Otokuyo
Steam Hearts
Thunder Force V
Twin Bee Deluxe Pack
Twinkle Star Sprites
Virtua Figher Remix
Panzer Dragoon Saga (US version)

$550 shipped? And when did you win this auction if you don't mind my asking?

Needless to say, that's a steal of about $300 at least in todays market.

My list of Saturn shooters:
Radiant Silvergun
Galactic Attack
Battle Garegga
Blast Wind
Guardian Force
Batsugun
Kyukyoku Tiger 2 Plus
Thunder Force 5
Hyper Duel
Gradius Deluxe Pack
Fantasy Zone
Kingdom Grand Prix
Cotton Boomerang
Metal Black
Darius Gaiden
Twinkle Star Spirites
Thunder Force Gold Pack 2
G-Vector
Soukyugurentai Otokuyo

While mostly obtained seperately, this cost me around $1000 and over a period of 2 years. Few of the games were overpaid as I'm aware so, and only Blast Wind and Hyper Duel are missing spines the rest are mint and complete.

Regarding this topic, I'm under the impression that Draggon, you're more of a collector than a player? Even then, I don't see the point of buying a game sealed so you can open it up to play, for example with Stellar Assault SS. Is it your mission to lose a lot of money, since that's what it seems like you intend to do.

Speaking for myself, I'm a player first, then a collector. I obtain, or collect games I like/might like and play them. Otherwise I get rid of them, or don't get them in the first place. It's especially true with shooters, as nobody can really like them all, and since they are many reviews around on all Saturn shooting games, I can't see the merit in trying to get them all. Especially for the likes of Planet Joker and Wolf Fang. Sorry, but I just don't understand your logic here, but to each their own.

[Iron Draggon]

I'm a collector and a player... and my whole deal with buying factory sealed games is because I just can't trust that mint & complete used copies are truly mint & complete, unless I open them myself to confirm their condition... and I really don't feel like I'm losing alot of money... I'm getting exactly what I pay for... the satisfaction of being the first person to play all my games...

P.S.: I couldn't find any new copies of Fantasy Zone for sale right now, so I decided to get Darius 2 instead... I haven't seen a new copy of it anywhere before, so I figured that I'd better go ahead and get it while I can, even if doing so changes all my lists and wishlists... I also found a new copy of Radiant Silvergun for about $400, so now all I need to do is figure out how I can get $400 real quick, so I can go ahead and get it for a total of 20 SHMUPS!

[anteis24]

I made that purchase about 5 months ago. It was a BIN auction, though I think I even talked the seller down an extra $50.

[mb7241]

I made that purchase about 5 months ago. It was a BIN auction, though I think I even talked the seller down an extra $50.

Yup, I remember that auction...that's among the better Saturn lots I've noticed .

[Iron Draggon]

well I just realized that I'm already halfway there to owning all the Saturn SHMUPS... I just got Darius 2, and I forgot that I own Prikura Daisakusen!

Radian Silvergun, here I come... just as soon as I have a small fortune to spend again... after that, who knows what my next SHMUP purchase will be

[Mark III]

I'm impressed you were able to find a sealed Hyper Dual and Steller Assault. Those games are hard enough to find second hand. Radiant Silvergun is not as rare as everyone seems to think it is, but it's always expensive. Hope you find one for a good price and that it lives up to your expectations. It sure didn't live up to mine.

[smork]

You know, Iron Draggon, I think I understand your sealed game fetish a bit. I just bought a new copy of a game I really wanted (Napple Tale for the DC) and I'm really happy. It's alot of fun opening the seal on an older game and being the first to play it.

Still don't think i'd pay $300 for a game I can get mint for $100+, but I at least understand....

Incidentally, I saw a new Radiant Silvergun the other day - didn't catch the price on it, though.

[G-Boobie]

Radiant Silvergun is not as rare as everyone seems to think it is, but it's always expensive.

Yeah, it really annoys me that RS is as expensive as it is; I love that game, and now I have to replace my copy due to theft. Uncool.

We can thank Ebay for games like RS and the gamecube versions of RE 2 and RE3 being WAAAAY overpriced. While we're at it, lets talk Symphony of the Night, Castlevania Chronicles (PS1), etc. etc. etc...

Grrrrrrr!