Hello. I've been a lurker on this site for many months, and it's awesome to see other fans of the classics! Browsing through pics of individuals' game collections has lit a fire inside of me to start collecting again after selling many of my games years ago.

I want to start with the NES. I've been doing research for a couple days now, but am still having trouble deciding which model to invest in. For example, I've read that the model 2 NES (top loader) is much more reliable with carts, but has inferior video quality. The original model plays games in the best quality possible, but requires a lot of maintainence with the infamous 72-pin connector. I just can't decide. I'd like to get a boxed system, and have seen many original models on eBay this way, but finding a box top loader has been next to impossible for me.

My question: Which NES model is worth investing in and why? Does one have more longetivity then the other through your experience?

Any help is appreciated!