Actually going to try for complete licensed NES set

[KalessinDB]

...god help me.

Google Doc with what I have. Highlighted titles are titles I currently have in-hand, though I imagine I'll have some stuff in transit to me fairly often as I do this quest.

I'm interested in anything you have to sell/trade/giveaway. Cart only preferred, manual's a nice touch but I'm typically not going to pay more than a dollar or two extra, same with box. I'm honestly intending on putting mine in aftermarket boxes kinda like the Universal Game Cases (from here). That being said, I'm not stupid enough to try to complete this in the next 6 months or year, I'm willing to be patient. Looking to get deals and happy to buy large lots (even lots that include stuff I already have if the price is right).

Current count (using NA's semi-official list): 151/677 licensed, 32/95 unlicensed

Original post with rambling thoughts behind the spoiler.

Basically, a while back I realized that I was getting too scatterbrained with my collecting. I've had basically anything I have any nostalgia for - playing, renting, borrowing, seeing in a magazine, etc - for years now. I've sought out lists to see what to buy, both "best of" lists and "worst of" lists (I'm looking at you, oldschool Seanbaby.com). And lately, I've just been kinda getting anything that was cheap and sounded fun (sometimes only one of those two qualifications)

But the happiest I was when I was collecting in recent memory was when I finished my Virtual Boy US set. A system that I don't even really have any nostalgia for, though I admit I do quite enjoy the system now that I have it. And I think it was because I could say I had completed something and had everything (in some manner of speaking - yes there's homebrews and imports and NFRs, but still). And I really liked that feeling. Thought about trying to recreate it for the 32x or the Jaguar since they're small libraries too, but I don't have the love of those systems.

My #1 love, the thing that got me back into retro gaming around 2000, the thing that's always been my biggest collection (~1000 games total over ~25 systems and ~200 of them are for the NES) has always been the NES. So I figure why not? Let's do this.

713 licensed games per Wikipedia (will update with something more accurate if I find it, but most stuff's blocked at my work). 113 unlicensed games (because I know me, I'll want those too - I already have a fair number, not just Tengen either). 826 games, not including pirates which I won't start down. With the roughly 200 I have, I'm at 1/4th of the way before I start. The good news is, the number of >$100 games on the NES is relatively low when you're looking cart only. There's still too many, but compared to SNES I'm good, it seems slightly past its peak prices.

My biggest regret is losing my copies of the Aladdin games at some point long ago when I was moving every year just out of college But hey, I can track them down again!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand GO!

[BoneSnapDeez]

Doesn't seem that insane as most of the super-expensive games are unlicensed.

I'd still try to snag a complete Tengen library. Those are actually worth playing.

Good luck.

[TSTR]

Sick dood, good luck!

[dunpeal2064]

Yeah, this is super cool. Out of what you have left, what do you think will be the most expensive stuff to add? Do you have a particular game that you are saving for the end? Are you counting Stadium Events for this collection? (For your sake I sure hope not! )

Definitely keep us posted on how things are moving along, I always enjoy seeing people tackle collection goals.

[ninjainspandex]

Well you are probably going to want to reconsider this when you look up prices for Little Samson and Flintstones Surprise at Dinosaur peak

[dsheinem]

kudos to you

god help you

[ninjainspandex]

What are you going to do about Stadium Events? the cart alone is going many thousands of dollars, that is when it comes up for sale

[CRTGAMER]

Doesn't seem that insane as most of the super-expensive games are unlicensed.

I'd still try to snag a complete Tengen library. Those are actually worth playing.

Good luck.

THIS. Maybe try the smaller bites of NES series first to salivate your madness from maxing out your credit. On top of that, the Tengen NES games are a good set of games to collect. Maybe make all the Tengen series CIB to stave off the huge challenge of a complete NES library?

Will you also look into getting any "official/unofficial" NES multi game carts? Not the FC carts which there are so many but actual NES slot multi game?

However, if you do go all nuts and not taken away in a strait jacket, please post the complete collection with pics and stories of how you find some of the more uncommon titles.

[Exhuminator]

Only seeking licensed games means this could be a reasonable task. There are a few titles that will hurt the wallet all the same. An admirable goal, good luck to you sir.

[Gunstar Green]

Doesn't seem that insane as most of the super-expensive games are unlicensed.

I'd still try to snag a complete Tengen library. Those are actually worth playing.

Good luck.

Even though they're unlicensed I always considered the Tengen carts officially part of the fold. Probably because of their overall quality and their history.