WTB: Shantae (GBC)

[Hippytipper]

I know this is a pretty rare title, but couldn't hurt to ask here and see what happens
Just cart in nice condish. PM me if you have any leads.

Thanks

[Nz17]

Just out of curiosity, how much have you seen complete copies of Shantae going for lately? I don't see any which have recently sold on eBay, but it looks like loose copies of the game are going for about $200. To me that just seems crazy. It was a good game for its time, but $200 is more than this game is worth outside of the inflated prices collectors will pay due to supply and demand. If you ask me, based upon the quality of this game rather than its scarcity or perceived collector's value, I would say that as far as the actual game inside the cartridge itself is worth from a fun factor and enjoyment perspective, its value would be only about $20 for a complete copy. But obviously people who really want this game are paying much, much more these days!

[Hippytipper]

Trust me, I totally agree. I have my own limit for what I'm willing to spend on said game, it's rare and can be bought for $5 on the eshop, but something I would definitely love to add to my collection especially since I'm a Wayforward fan. This can be said about a lot of games, I feel if I spend over $50 for a cart I'm spending too much. In the end there is nothing I can do as this stuff is only getting harder and harder to find. Mega Man 7 is a lot more common and still just the cart itself goes for around $160 -$200, which is ridiculous (but it's Mega Man). If you were to find a copy for $30, ether the seller is braindead, all ready rolling in it and doesn't care, or he's a friend hooking you up; all of which any collector hopes for

What about Little Samson? $600+ just for the cart. A lot of gamers don't even know about this game. It's obscure and came out during the end of the NES lifespan. Turns out it's a good game, because of rarity and word of mouth it tripled in price over the past few years. As long as people will pay it... (I won't, lol)

[Nz17]

Have you even played this first Shantae? I'd recommend just picking it up on the Virtual Console for ~$5 and playing through it that way first before "committing" to buying a tangible copy of the game. Corporeal copies sell for $200 loose, $400-$700 complete.

I know the joys of playing palpable games instead of ethereal downloads, but in many cases you have to ask yourself which is more important: playing the game or owning the game. With Super Mario Bros. 2 (JP) (A.K.A. The Lost Levels), Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Super Smash Bros., Super Mario 64, Star Fox 64, Mighty Bomb Jack, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, and others, I bought them all on the Virtual Console or redeemed them through Club Nintendo. Why? Some were too hard to find around here (Read that as impossible to find in very rural America.); some were too much of a pain to play with my current setup, needed hardware which was stored away, or required extra hardware or steps; and some were just too crazily expensive even for an incomplete copy.

So I got them all for $0-$10 on the Virtual Console to try them out before deciding whether to "really buy" them or not. And it's a good thing too! For example, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars goes for a ton of money, especially a complete copy. Buy by playing it, I realized I didn't like it - it feels too much like the "pointless" Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario RPG series - so I saved myself a lot of money compared to buying it just because I wanted to try it out without resorting to piracy.

If you are having a mental roadblock about buying a game twice, just consider that $5-$10 for Virtual Console games as a rental price so you can try before you buy. If you think of it as a rental instead of a purchase, it helps to put it all into perspective.

[Hippytipper]

I take it you're trying to convince me the games not worth the price? I get that, and I thank you for the advice.
I'm just a bit curious, you have a copy of the game you're looking to sell yet you're trying to turn off a potential buyer on a WTB/WTS sub-forum.

I do enjoy physical games and prefer them over virtual ones. I have played a little of this on emulator years ago and from what I remember, it's good. I've played many of Wayforward's games as well as Risky on 3DS. They are fun I enjoy them, I like the Developer and dig Jake Kaufman's compositions. So much so I'm willing to pay extra for the original released cart to play on my GBA SP. Trust me, I'm not one of those collectors that throws money at something just because it's rare; I know what I want and what I'm willing to spend.

You are right however, I'm not going near $400+ for a complete copy..

[Tanooki]

I had Shantae even got it at the $5 price point at a flea market maybe 5 years ago too. Trust me when I say NZ17 is right on this game if not in general. It's very NOT worth the price. It is the first Shantae, rough edges and the fun just isn't there like the sequels where they ironed out some really annoying design kinks of the first one. It's not bad, but it's not great either, it's just propped up as great because it's expensive and helps trolls roll it for a higher price.

Also were you saying MM7 isn't rare compared to shantae? The game has a minimal print run done on it like MMX3 because it was so late into the system life for the US market, it actually against the dumb pricing on other same era brandworthy titles was low (and I hate myself for saying that.) MM7 has a lot more fans and background to it than a Shantae title.

I know you have memories from years ago, but I'd double check it for an hour or two first because the series evolved and changed to suit what did work best with it.

[Nz17]

A couple of points:

According to the online DP guide (and this is information from back when the thing was updated every week), the rareness of Mega Man 7 is a 3/10 and the rareness of Shantae is a 5/10, so obviously Shantae is much rarer. I have even seen it written (not in the DP guide) that Shantae is the rarest "GBC-exclusive" game there is!

Personally, I think Shantae 1 is better than Shantae 2. There is much more content, and the best form, the flying form, was left out of the sequels. As an aside, one way I determine whether or not to investigate a game further is by jumping to YouTube and watching videos of the game in question on there where there isn't some nimrod talking over the A/V of the game. It is a good way to check out games you haven't played yet or to refresh your memory of a game if it has been many years or your recollection is foggy.

But the Shantae series and its developer have fallen out of favor with me, and so that is why I am entertaining the notion of selling the game. Please note, though, that I am only considering it... I haven't made up my mind, and probably won't commit to the task. That's because while I could get $400 - $700 selling a complete copy of Shantae 1 online (and that much money could do a lot of good for me), I am hesitant to sell it precisely because it is fun and thrilling to have such a rare, expensive, and sought-after game in my collection! It probably is, at the moment, the most expensive gaming-based item I own. Plus it is cached away in an inconvenient place, and I don't want to have to "dig it out" from where it is stored. And I worry that I won't ever be able to acquire another corporeal copy if I ever wish to replace it... with time it might be too expensive or rare to get another.

Yet I also realize that prices for games aren't based just on rarity, but demand. Right now the Shantae series is riding high in people's minds thanks to a spate of recent and future releases in the series and a successful Kickstarter campaign. Once the furor dies down and new entries in the series stop being released, the price will be much lower in, let's say, another 5 - 10 years. So it is a question of striking while the iron is hot. If I don't sell it "soon," the price won't be nearly as high, and thus it will be an opportunity loss. So I am conflicted about whether to sell it or not.

By the way, if you like the composer's music, he has an account set up on bandcamp.com where you can download his music. I believe he uses a pay-what-you-will approach, and so you can download it all for free it you want.

[Hippytipper]

I came here just to see if anyone has a copy they are willing to sell, as I'm curious just to see whats available. I'm not really ready to throw my money up at the first offer, again just seeing what buyers and sellers have to say.

Thanks again for spending the time to give me advice, but I'll put this on the backburner for now. I've got plenty of other stuff that will keep me entertained for the time being.

Ohh and I've been to Jake's Bandcamp, I have a lot of his catalog downloaded