My head is going to explode, what consoles should I get?!

[MadaoBob]

So.... yeah, going to Japan next week, was originally planning to just grab a Wonderswan when I heard of this trip 3 months ago.

Then I came across the pokefami, thought to maybe add that to the list too.

Then the Neo Geo Pocket, maybe grab that. Then the Saturn.

To add on to my headache, I thought that maybe the original Super Famicom would be cheaper than the pokefami, so I could perhaps switch to that.
orz

What should I get?!
I know that I definitely want a Wonderswan, but for the SFC. should I get the PokeFami, or an original?
And if I could, a Neo Geo Pocket Color or a Sega Saturn?

Please give me advice my esteemed seniors!

[Niku-Sama]

skip the Saturn, if your getting one just because its Japanese and not because of some sort of special edition that wasn't available here its pretty easy to mod a another region console to play Japanese games.
I have 2 launch complete Japanese Saturn systems I got in a lot with a bunch of other untested stuff, I mainly bought the lot for the square button famicom box and manuals so I can have a complete square button famicom set
any way I have done nowthing with them because a mod cart is so much easier than having 2 systems out on a shelf, it was cool they had all their sales receipts and paper work

in addition to those a SFC might be neat but are cheap on ebay even after shipping. I've paid $1 for SFCs and shipped them for another 8-12.

I think you have the right idea about the portables though

a few other systems that might be interesting would be a Twin Famicom, if you can find a Square Button Famicom those are pretty rare, probably easier to find in person than waiting for one to show up on ebay, or an A/V famicom.
also X68000, its a old gaming PC but they usually aren't cheap and some of them had other game system add ons. if you went to Hard Off stores they used to have them very cheap but usually untested

hard off in general would be a good place to hit up for any of this.

so I would get the wonderswan and neo geo pocket color, skip the poke, sfc and Saturn.
load up on games for those systems maybe? SFC games play just fine in a US system after breaking the tabs out in the cart slot, playstation games are cheap and probably find a cheap PSX system (PSX as in first playstation) or mod chip an existing one still.

when I went to japan years ago I bought only a few hardware items the rest were games. I got a Twin Famicom, Regular Famicom and a boxed complete 3D system for the famicom. I bought the regular famicom for about $35 before I came across the twin famicom the next day. I didn't know how they would do returns so I figure'd I would just hang onto the regular one and I bought the twin for about $180....this was about 7 years ago now so prices have changed a lot

[celerystalker]

The WonderSwan is the only one of those systems that is exclusive to Japan. It's neat and all, but the library is super heavy on RPGs and visual novels, so be wary of the language barrier if you don't read Japanese. If you do go for one, go all out and get a SwanCrystal, which has easily the best screen.

The NGPC has a small, but excellent library loaded with cool games, many with little to no language barrier. It's a really fun handheld.

Saturn and SFC are both awesome systems loaded with cool games. Both can also get ridiculously expensive to collect for, so it really depends on what kind of games you want to play.

[MadaoBob]

skip the Saturn, if your getting one just because its Japanese and not because of some sort of special edition that wasn't available here its pretty easy to mod a another region console to play Japanese games.
I have 2 launch complete Japanese Saturn systems I got in a lot with a bunch of other untested stuff, I mainly bought the lot for the square button famicom box and manuals so I can have a complete square button famicom set
any way I have done nowthing with them because a mod cart is so much easier than having 2 systems out on a shelf, it was cool they had all their sales receipts and paper work

in addition to those a SFC might be neat but are cheap on ebay even after shipping. I've paid $1 for SFCs and shipped them for another 8-12.

I think you have the right idea about the portables though

a few other systems that might be interesting would be a Twin Famicom, if you can find a Square Button Famicom those are pretty rare, probably easier to find in person than waiting for one to show up on ebay, or an A/V famicom.
also X68000, its a old gaming PC but they usually aren't cheap and some of them had other game system add ons. if you went to Hard Off stores they used to have them very cheap but usually untested

hard off in general would be a good place to hit up for any of this.

so I would get the wonderswan and neo geo pocket color, skip the poke, sfc and Saturn.
load up on games for those systems maybe? SFC games play just fine in a US system after breaking the tabs out in the cart slot, playstation games are cheap and probably find a cheap PSX system (PSX as in first playstation) or mod chip an existing one still.

when I went to japan years ago I bought only a few hardware items the rest were games. I got a Twin Famicom, Regular Famicom and a boxed complete 3D system for the famicom. I bought the regular famicom for about $35 before I came across the twin famicom the next day. I didn't know how they would do returns so I figure'd I would just hang onto the regular one and I bought the twin for about $180....this was about 7 years ago now so prices have changed a lot

The WonderSwan is the only one of those systems that is exclusive to Japan. It's neat and all, but the library is super heavy on RPGs and visual novels, so be wary of the language barrier if you don't read Japanese. If you do go for one, go all out and get a SwanCrystal, which has easily the best screen.

The NGPC has a small, but excellent library loaded with cool games, many with little to no language barrier. It's a really fun handheld.

Saturn and SFC are both awesome systems loaded with cool games. Both can also get ridiculously expensive to collect for, so it really depends on what kind of games you want to play.

Hmmm..... good points you both have there....but a couple of details I have to add on.
My gripe with the ebay thing though, is that I live in Singapore. As much as some SFC/SNES can be purchased for cents over there, the shipping stacks it up to about USD50-100 for me, which kinda sucks for me.
So I was planning to grab the console while I was there, hoping I can find something a bit cheaper without the shipping fees included.

Also, wow, didn't expect replies suggesting other consoles though, thought I was only asking about SFC, PokeFami, NGPC and Saturn. o.O
Will think about it guys. I don't expect myself to pick up TOO much though. I'm on a budget!

I wonder if 300, 000 yen will be enough..... ;w;

[Retronick]

Hmmm..... good points you both have there....but a couple of details I have to add on.
My gripe with the ebay thing though, is that I live in Singapore. As much as some SFC/SNES can be purchased for cents over there, the shipping stacks it up to about USD50-100 for me, which kinda sucks for me.
So I was planning to grab the console while I was there, hoping I can find something a bit cheaper without the shipping fees included.

Also, wow, didn't expect replies suggesting other consoles though, thought I was only asking about SFC, PokeFami, NGPC and Saturn. o.O
Will think about it guys. I don't expect myself to pick up TOO much though. I'm on a budget!

I wonder if 300, 000 yen will be enough..... ;w;

I say go for the Saturn. You can get Japanese software for very little and there are a ton of great arcade, fighting, platformers, and shooting games for it. Saturn Bomberman is also a relatively cheap import (unless you're buying the U.S. version which is coocoo bananas expensive). It really comes down to what you're looking to play. Saturn is my jam, but I owned that when everyone was going nuts over the PSX and N64, much like how I had a TurboGrafx-16 during the OG console war ;P.

I'm going to jump on the off topic bandwagon and say get a PC Engine if you want quality shooters, which is something else you didn't mention, that's also quite plentiful in that part of the world and a unique experience for very little green. You can also get cheap 5-player Bomberman in 3 different flavors.

[FieryReign]

I'd be all over one of those PC Engine LTs. So slick and cool looking. And I hear PCE chips can be had for dirt cheap over there.

[Retronick]

I'd be all over one of those PC Engine LTs. So slick and cool looking. And I hear PCE chips can be had for dirt cheap over there.

Yeah buddy! Get a Core Grafx and Super CD-ROM and go to town. The PCE chips are even getting cheap state side. Bomberman '93 HuCard is only about $15-$20. TurboChip will set you back almost $200 for a complete copy...

[MadaoBob]

Yeah buddy! Get a Core Grafx and Super CD-ROM and go to town. The PCE chips are even getting cheap state side. Bomberman '93 HuCard is only about $15-$20. TurboChip will set you back almost $200 for a complete copy...

I'd be all over one of those PC Engine LTs. So slick and cool looking. And I hear PCE chips can be had for dirt cheap over there.

I say go for the Saturn. You can get Japanese software for very little and there are a ton of great arcade, fighting, platformers, and shooting games for it. Saturn Bomberman is also a relatively cheap import (unless you're buying the U.S. version which is coocoo bananas expensive). It really comes down to what you're looking to play. Saturn is my jam, but I owned that when everyone was going nuts over the PSX and N64, much like how I had a TurboGrafx-16 during the OG console war ;P.

I'm going to jump on the off topic bandwagon and say get a PC Engine if you want quality shooters, which is something else you didn't mention, that's also quite plentiful in that part of the world and a unique experience for very little green. You can also get cheap 5-player Bomberman in 3 different flavors.

Woah woah WOAH! Slow down there guys! That's alot of info there!

Hmm... PC Engine, huh.... Heard that prices were gg up on those..... yeah, if I'm lucky to spot a PCE for a cheap price, yeah I'll try....
Meanwhile I've stumbled across another issue about the Saturn....
The danged power supplies are inside it!! orz
Oh well, hope that I'll get lucky and find a 240v one there..... which I doubt my chances will be high enough...

[Steve W]

And I hear PCE chips can be had for dirt cheap over there.

I've heard the opposite, because of all the foreigners going to Japan and buying up all the PC Engine games they can to either collect or resell, that large sections of shelves are empty except for the more expensive titles. And a lot of smaller game stores have shut down because nobody's trading them in anymore, there's too many places online to resell their old games at a good price rather than getting a fraction of what their old games are worth when trading them into a game store.

The website Rakuten opened up to international sales, and so I ordered a bunch of cheap PC Engine games. And now there aren't any PC Engine games, consoles or accessories there, it's all been bought up. Last search I did on that site didn't turn up a single item. When I first went there, it had possibly hundreds of games and multiple cheap consoles and controllers. It's all gone now.

[FieryReign]

That sounds a bit far-fetched. I read the same thing about Japanese retro games stores drying up, not just PCE, all retro stuff. I highly doubt foreigners are flying way over to Japan just to buy all the PCE games up. I'll believe it when someone from Japan proves it with pics and vids. I've already seen some youtube videos of gameshops over there and they looked well stocked to me. If people are doing that then they are retarded. That's the last damn thing I'm going to do if I take a trip to Japan.

[bb_hood]

You dont have to fly to Japan to buy games, they have been sold online for a long time now.
To say that you can find boatloads of good games and systems 'dirt cheap' in Japan is just an assumption.

[FieryReign]

You dont have to fly to Japan to buy games, they have been sold online for a long time now.
To say that you can find boatloads of good games and systems 'dirt cheap' in Japan is just an assumption.

So is saying that all games have dried up in Japan... And that foreigners are going there to buy shit up... A quick search on Amazon Japan says otherwise.

Who said there are boatloads of systems and games for dirt cheap? Don't put words in my mouth.

[bb_hood]

So is saying that all games have dried up in Japan... And that foreigners are flying there to buy shit up...

A quick search on Amazon Japan says otherwise.

Well I never said either, but you can be damn sure they are not dirt cheap.

[FieryReign]

Well I never said either, but you can be damn sure they are not dirt cheap.

Again, don't put words in my mouth.

[celerystalker]

HuCards can be had for a mixed bag of prices, but loose PCE games can be bought up super cheap still, even on ebay. Maybe not the likes of Magical Chase, but great games like Download, Salamander, Momotaro Katsugeki, and tons more can be had very inexpensively. It's at worst no more pricey than SFC or Saturn. I wouldn't go PCE without the intent to do CD as well, though. Too much good stuff to ignore.

[Retronick]

HuCards can be had for a mixed bag of prices, but loose PCE games can be bought up super cheap still, even on ebay. Maybe not the likes of Magical Chase, but great games like Download, Salamander, Momotaro Katsugeki, and tons more can be had very inexpensively. It's at worst no more pricey than SFC or Saturn. I wouldn't go PCE without the intent to do CD as well, though. Too much good stuff to ignore.

100% agree with this. Street Fighter 2 Champion Edition can be nabbed for around $10-$20 (US), and Kato and Ken isn't too dissimilar. Again, the real money comes in if you're trying to collect TurboGrafx-16 stuff.

Regarding the Saturn's power supply, OP. You can get a step up converter to get that thing up to 240V. I think your only other option would be to get a European console. If you find a good deal on a Saturn don't let its power supply stop you from picking it up. Again, this all depends on what you want to play! If you have stuff in mind for the Saturn go that route! I've been very satisfied with that box since 1996.

[MadaoBob]

So apparently everyone seems to be encouraging me to grab a PCE.....
Eh, I'll see how it goes. If I can find a Wonderswan, NGPC and SFC, then maybe not. If I can't find one of them, then the PCE will have to replace one of em....

[Tanooki]

The stuff you can readily get in the US and don't need extra parts or mod chips to do is a waste of money, and yes I get you're not in the US but price wise it seems like a waste of limited fund and space to come back to your home in. I'm not in the place to tell you what to buy, but I think there were some good suggestions here. I get why the PCE comes up, you need a converter module just to fire up Japanese games on a US unit, and the US one the games are just ugly expensive while the regional Japanese stuff isn't so much so that one is your choice. I'd just sit back and think about what would be the most fun and most usable by you. If there's a system that has a unique presence there and not elsewhere, but also has a huge language barrier for the fun stuff you can not read that would be a bad idea, but if something did not have that problem for you, then it probably would be a good choice.

[Niku-Sama]

i say skip the Saturn system still and mod one you can find locally to play Japanese games and get the games there. simple mod, might even find a mod cart for it in japan too.

everything i found through my usual sellers had similar prices shipping to Singapore as it did to the states, some places cheaper, plus your a lot closer than we are

[MadaoBob]

i say skip the Saturn system still and mod one you can find locally to play Japanese games and get the games there. simple mod, might even find a mod cart for it in japan too.

everything i found through my usual sellers had similar prices shipping to Singapore as it did to the states, some places cheaper, plus your a lot closer than we are

Sorta....
It means I have problems getting US & UK consoles without obscenely huge shipping. ;w;
Oh well, gotta deal with what I have...

And I already planned to skip a Saturn if I can't find one with the local voltage, which I doubt that it's even gonna exist there, considering I don't really wanna explain to my relatives why I have a transformer in the house. ;w;
Curse you inbuilt power supplies!

On a side note, thanks everyone for the suggestions! They're a big help!
Now I just gotta sit tight and wait for the day to come......
Please be sooooooooon.....