Hey all,

To me and many others, the Super Nintendo is the pinnacle of RPG gaming. It was the platform on which role-playing games were given the push from being "grind and find dungeon key, repeat" to games with real depth and captivating storylines. Although nearly every system has its share of good RPG games, it is hard to deny that the SNES tends to have the most and the best. Yes, there are games such as Phantasy Star II which did much more to revolutionize the genre than any SNES game. I don't dispute this, and I respect such games for their roles. The fact remains that if you want a lot of great RPG gameplay, the SNES is the prime candidate, bar none.

Because these games are highly valued by their owners, they are often classified as being "rare". We all know what happens to the guy who spouts off about Chrono Trigger being "uber rare" - it's not pretty. Regardless of how many copies are in existence, it is relatively uncommon to find Super Nintendo RPG's in the wild, especially fully complete (which brings me to the rant about how extra maps and posters have disappeared. I will, however, leave this for another time, heheh). As I have already stated, the reason it is difficult to find these games in the wild is because people hang on to these quality games - A majority of the copies are in the hands of those who know what they are.

What does this all boil down to?

It can be a bitch to collect SNES RPG's.

Therefore, I propose ITT we share observations and advice on the topic. Over the years, I have bought and sold countless copies of these games and I can share a few tidbits.

1. Decide what your goal is early. Do you want to get a full collection? If so, GOOD. LUCK. I personally restrict myself only to games I would ever consider playing. A game that I want to play seems like it has a home in my collection, whereas something I'd never play usually ends up as trade fodder. Sometimes a smaller collection can feel more rewarding than a big one. It allows you to spend more time assembling and playing each game, thus giving you more bang for your buck and more satisfaction. To me, this means almost no strategy RPG's, and few Enix games. All of the Koei stuff is collectible, but I just can't get into it. Likewise, many of the Enix games are good, but a large portion of them stink badly. 7th Saga anyone? *insert shudder here*

2. Chrono Trigger will always be considered the big fish in the pond. It's a good game, no doubt, but it will always fetch a premium, and I advise anyone starting a collection that you don't have to begin with the big fish. If you wait patiently, you can score a nice copy of CT for a good price. Focus on some of the cheaper stuff first.

3. Posters, in particular can be BITCHES. What is a poster exactly? Something pretty that you hang on your wall. Guess what kids did back in the day? They tacked those mo-fo's on the wall where they died an untimely death. The Secret of Mana poster is IMO one of the nicest, and has almost always been absent in otherwise complete copies of SoM I have had. When the poster is available on eBay by itself, it can run $10-15, so certainly pay attention for the SoM poster in this particular case. Of course, this goes for ALL games, but this is just a particular example I have noticed.

4. It's getting very late, so I am going to post a final thought for now. Let's talk about instruction manuals. It is HARD to find instruction manuals for these RPG's in good condition. In the SNES days, developers included all kinds of good stuff in their manuals - often times mini-walkthroughs. This resulted in heavy use of the manuals. Always check the integrity of the spines of manuals. Often times, you will find decade-old scotch tape in the middle of the book, which is a total pain. If you are lucky enough to get very nice manuals, just be careful. It takes a lot less than you might think to put a nice crease in the cover. Putting a manual into a box already holding a cart tray is a bad idea. Do it the other way around.

I don't know if this is making the wheels crank in anybody's brain, but I feel like it's generally good advice. Collecting SNES RPG's isn't exactly mainstream, but it can be as easy or as complex as you want it to be -- There will always be a nicer component available, the fun often lies in upgrading those components. Of course, if you're loaded, forget everything I've said and shell out the big bucks on eBay for mint everything. If you're not loaded, then use care and learn how to spot a good deal.

Anybody else want to offer up some info? Make it as specific or as broad as you want, just throw it out there.

I'll end the thread by posting my collection as it currently stands. I recently purchased a huge amount of complete RPG's to fill out my loose carts and to get some nicer manuals and stuff. It's looking pretty good! Most of them are complete, with only a few notable parts missing. (Secret of Mana poster, I'm looking at you...)

I'd like to see some other folks' collections!