So, after 8½ years, I've finally displayed my CIB SNES collection
Well, half of my CIB SNES collection, anyhow. Last weekend, during the 3-day Labor Day weekend, I set out on a quest to finally pull my SNES cartridges, manuals and boxes out of their hiding places (i.e. bins, boxes, cabinets) and finally, I sat down to assemble and piece them together. I was inspired by Youtube movie critic Chris Stuckmann when I saw his N64 video this past June. He had his N64 CIB games covered in spiffy looking sturdy clear box protectors. I went on to contact Dan Godkin from RetroProtection.com, put in an order for 200 and began my quest to display my collection finally... after 8½ years.
So just to preface this... I have around roughly 400 complete SNES American games with their original boxes and manuals. I only put together 200 this past weekend, and plan to do the other 200 sometime later this month or next. I am done buying, essentially. I really haven't bought anything since 2012's 3 Ninjas Kick Back box. Most of these games, manuals and boxes were procured in 2006-2007, when they didn't cost me much, especially when compared to today's prices. For example, I got the Hagane box and manual for like $10 total back in 2006
I'm not going for a complete collection, as that never interested me. I only wanted to buy games I was ever curious about and wanted to own (still ended up being a good 55% of the SNES library).
OK, enough yapping, on with the pictures!
Here's how it began Friday night... right before the big 3-day weekend. BTW, I love the feeling I get on Friday nights as soon as I wrap up the work day. There are few feelings better in the world than "punching out" on a Friday, knowing you have the next 50 or so hours to relax, hang out with loved ones, play the next video game on your queue, or take care of various projects around the house. LOVE THAT FEELING.
I had kept all my SNES stuff hidden away all these years. It was time to finally put them together. It became a 3-day project. Finally, on Monday night it was completed...
I stood back to admire it for what felt like 30 minutes. The retro gaming geek inside me wanted to shed a virtual tear, lol. It was so beautiful, and I sort of kicked myself for waiting almost 10 years to do this. But, doing it so late did give me a chance to be reflective, as I flipped through over 200 box covers and manuals... lots of memories came roaring back to the surface. Of how I acquired a game, of the memories I had playing these games over the years. It was awesome to recall.
BTW, I know, I need to put them in ABC order. That's the next weekend project, along with putting up the 200 others still waiting to be assembled. Oh, that black box with no label at the bottom right there is Robocop vs. Terminator, which was the only SNES game to come in a special "hard shell" box if I'm not mistaken. It's also the only one without a label on any of its sides.
Can't wait to get the other half of my collection boxed together and then put them all in alphabetical order. Gonna look real sweet. BTW, Riddick Bowe Boxing is an interesting one. I think it might be the only SNES box that doesn't incorporate a traditional "mostly black" side. I thought that was kinda cool. It sticks out. You look at it and it catches the eye because it's different. I haven't played the game yet myself, but I've been wanting to since 2006 when I first bought it, lol. And I've heard some decent things about it. Playing through my SNES library is essentially a lifetime project! I've played maybe 200 the last 8+ years, and still have about 200 more to play/beat. It's the library that keeps on giving.
Look at that! Just gorgeous
As a gamer, there are few things more satisfying than to walk into your game room/cave and scan your hundreds and hundreds of complete games. It's like you took a time machine back to the '90s when you were a kid standing inside a SOFTWARE ETC. gawking at all these titles, dreaming of the day where you could own even just a fraction of them. Today, many of our collections rival the ones we saw in gaming stores back in the day. Even, surpassing them. It's a trip! It really blows my mind when I sit and think about it for a moment. One guy put it best years ago when he said "I feel like I'm fulfilling my childhood dreams."
It's an awesome feeling to finally see my SNES collection displayed. I love knowing I can pick any of these games to play at any time, whenever the whim strikes. And, it just looks badass. I know SNES boxes get a bad rap but, maybe it's because I grew up with them, I personally love the way they look. Now, how fragile they are, not so much. But the look itself, I dig.
I still gotta box the rest of my stuff up and put them all in ABC order. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. It was a really fun Labor Day weekend project... one of those gaming-related weekends that you'll remember forever. Don't you just love those? They're the best, especially the ones where it kind of falls into place naturally.
I also did a brief write-up of this on my website and shot a 4 minute video. Feel free to check out either below:
http://www.rvgfanatic.com/7443/1893806.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=al24ka93ek8
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Originally Posted by Retromangia
