Yard Sale Finds #11, and…

It seems like that time of the year is upon us.  The time when the weather’s warm, and you need any excuse not to be in the house.  It’s late spring, and it is now, yard sale season.

There were quite a few sales in my surrounding area.  But I didn’t find a whole lot that caught my interest.  I did find some neat stuff though.

First is this freebie.

This was unmarked at one seller’s table.  And when I inquired about the price, she told me I could have it for nothing!

Another angle.

I’m not sure when this promotion ran at McDonald’s, but the last copyright date on the glass is 1965.  Anybody know?

There were tons of vhs and dvd’s available, but they were either horribly overpriced(and some in pretty rough shape), or they just weren’t very desirable.  That being said, I did manage to find a few that peaked my interest.

I am a New York Rangers fan, and these dvds peaked my curiosity, as I’ve never seen anything like these.   One is a random Rangers game from 2009 against the Washington Capitals.  And the second is a National Hockey League “Rule Enforcement” dvd for the 2008-2009 season.  I’ll try to find out some further info on these.

The vhs tape is The Trolls and the Christmas Express.  From what is depicted on the case, this movie seems very familiar.  The animation is unique, and I’d love this to be another holiday movie I can watch during the season.  For 25 cents, there wasn’t much risk.

And video games.

(not pictured : The Genesis controller that I got for free.)

Typically, I wouldn’t buy a carrying case for a handheld system, unless it’s one for the old-school Game Boys.  But, the case that I keep all of my Game Boy games in, it getting crowded and I could use the room.  I can use the case to primarily house my original Game Boy games, while the carrying case can hold the “SP” itself, as well as many games as I can fit.  50 cents well spent!

I went to the sales with my buddy Mike, and like me, he collects NES games(although not on the same scale as I do).  At the first sale we hit, I found the 2 games pictured, in a spot he had just looked at.  He couldn’t believe that he passed right by them.  They’re nothing special, but a great find at $1 a piece.  I have never learned how to play Othello, but it’s a great addition, nonetheless.  The other cart is Flying Dragon : The Secret Scroll(it says this on the top part of the label, while the face says it’s The Secret Scroll : Flying Dragon.).  I have never played this one either, but I have never come across it before, so I hope it’s decent.

Also, Lilo & Stitch for PS1.  I don’t know if the game itself is any good, but a PS1 game for 50 cents is hard to leave behind.  🙂

Now, as you can see, I didn’t find any toys!  That’s the bad news.  The good news, is that I did get all of my Ebay purchases in the mail.  So we’ll take a look at one of those.

G1 Cosmos!!  Cosmos has long been my favorite of the little Transformers.  How could you not love a transforming U.F.O.?  His alt mode is a very classic looking flying saucer.  He cost me a total of $7, but $4.50 of that was for shipping.  But he also came with his Tech Specs, so that’s not too bad.  It’s always nice when I get the opportunity to add another G1 figure to my collection.

I did get a few other things.  The other items are all MISB.  My question is…should I do individual posts?  Or, do I showcase them in a single post?  There a re a total of 3 items.  But 2 of them are related, and have to be written about together.  So, I’ll let you guys choose.  If I don’t get any votes, I’ll see how I want to go about this.

The League of Extraordinary Bloggers – Holy Grails and White Whales

The League of Extraordinary Bloggers is a project that Brian from Cool and Collected started about 2 months ago(for those of you who are not familiar with this, click here for the scoop).  The topic this week is, as stated in this post’s title, Holy Grails and White Whales.

While I could go on and on with stuff I would love to get, the idea is what would we most like to find, and be able to take home with us.  There’s got to be  something that has eluded you, that you think you may never get, or get the opportunity for a chance at.  There are a few things that instantly came to mind.

I collect video games, among other things, so that’s where we’ll start.

What you see above is the very definition of Holy Grail, when it comes to the Nintendo Entertainment System.

I have many fond memories attached to the NES, which is probably why I have so much interest in the system itself.  I collect games for quite a few consoles,  but I have more NES games than all of my other consoles combined(200+).  If you are not familiar with the story behind these cartridges, I’ll give you a little history.

In 1990, Nintendo held a video game championship across the country(not unlike the one in the movie The Wizard).  There were competitions in cities across the nation, looking for the best Nintendo player in that city.  Then the “best” players from each age group would play against each other in the finals of the tournament to determine the winner.  I’m not sure just how these were distributed, but I do know that some went to the champions and finalists, and some were given away in a Nintendo Power contest.  There are only 90 of the gray cartridges, and just 26 copies of the gold one.

The games contained within are Super Mario Brothers(get 50 coins), Rad Racer(complete the first course), and Tetris(get the highest score you can).  There is a dipswitch on the outside of the cart, that you can use to adjust the amount of time to play.  Even though all the games are pretty common, the cartridges are not.  This is something I’m pretty sure I will never own, but it’s nice to dream of finding it a at a garage sale or flea market.

And there are a few toys that came to mind as well.  Now, there are a lot(tons), of toys that I would love to add to my collection.  There are plenty of lines that I collect, and others that I would like to collect.  But there is one line that stands above the rest, and that’s Transformers.  Or more specifically, Generation 1 Transformers.

The first of the two?

Transformers and I go way back.  My brother and I received our first Transformers on the Christmas of 1984 or 1985.  We got one each, and they were both Megatron.  Megatron is high on my want list, but Ultra Magnus is just a little more important to me.  You see, when I saw Transformers the Movie back in 1987, Ultra Magnus quickly became my new Favorite Transformer.  My older brother ended up getting it for me, I believe, for my 9th birthday in 1988.  For some reason I didn’t have it very long.  My stepmother, took him away for some reason(probably jealous that my younger brother didn’t have one), and I never saw him again.  I’m sure I probably cried my eyes out, because I really wanted that toy, and really loved it for the short time that I had it.  So, maybe, finally getting him again may give me some closure.

And the one I wanted, but never got.

Soundwave, is perhaps the coolest looking Transformer in robot mode(and a little dated in alt mode).  I knew a few kids who had this guy, and boy, did I want it!  There were quite a few times I would pick out cassette 2-packs(for Soundwave or Blaster), when we would ask if we could get a toy(you know what I’m talking about).  I have had a few chances to pick this guy up, but at the time(s), I just didn’t have the $40-$50 to spare.  But that may all change when the toy show comes to town on April 22!

Check out what has eluded Reis over at Lair of the Dork Horde.

Brian talks about the item he would love to add to his ever-growing King Kong collection over at Cool and Collected.

And Tim searches for “The Non-Existent” over at Flashlights are Something to Eat.

New Old-School Additions

Happy Easter!

Yesterday I happened upon some fine new additions for my NES, and Game Boy collections.

As you can see, most of these were marked to sell for $10 each.  I ended up being able to snag all of them with the PS1 memory card for $20!  Tetris is the only game in the lot that I already had.  Excellent deal!  I ended up beating Super Mario Land in one sitting last night.

But I also managed to find a good deal on some games for my NES collection as well.

These were only $3 each.  There were a few others I could’ve used for the collection, but these were the best of the bunch in my opinion.  There was also a very nice looking Zelda cartridge(mint!), but I already have it(maybe I should pick it up if it’s there on my next visit).  All of these games are games that I haven’t previously(I may have played Code Name Viper) played before, so that’s a plus.

But, there was also something in the box of games that was also $3.  And it was previously devoid from my collection as well(surprisingly).

I picked this up before I even looked at any of the games.  This gives me a reason to play every single NES game that I own.  Though it came it’s original box, it is missing the code book.  I’m sure I’ll have no problem finding codes.  I’m surprised it took me this long to finally get a Game Genie.  Maybe I was holding out to find one still in the box(always a plus).

But this is probably my favorite thing about it.

No wonder my dad never bought us one!  And that’s marked down by $35!  I really dig the old Electronics Boutique logo.

Reminiscing With Old Comic Book Ads #2

This past weekend, there was a little(and I do mean little), comic convention at the local SUNY college.  There were a handful of vendors, and lots of people playing Magic The Gathering.  There was a Batman coloring contest, for which they only suplied you with crayons to color him with.  I of course went with the old-school blue and gray look, that he sported in Super Friends.  I had only $5 to spend, so I had to spend it wisely.  So, I went ahead and checked out the $1 boxes, and found 5 comics that I thought were worth picking up.  Four out of the five ended up being New Mutants comics.  But were her to talk about the ads contained within.

Above is the cover for The New Mutants #100, which, as you can see, was the final issue of the series.  The characters you see in The New Mutants are the members who ended up making X-Force.  Even though the cover is done by Rob Liefeld(ugh), it’s still very memorable to me.  This issue hit stands a few months before I turned 12, so this was a time when I was heavily into comics.

On the inside cover, we have an ad for Double Dragon III for the Nintendo Entertainment System.  While I presently own all 3 Double Dragon games for the NES, I only had and played the first one when I was a kid.  This ad had me believing that this was a can’t-miss game.  It’s okay, but it’s not the blockbuster my younger self thought it would be.

Now this was a game I had and played!  In my opinion, I find this to be the second best Mega Man game on the NES(with Mega Man 2 being the best).  This was a can’t miss series in the NES’s heyday.  The comics of this era are peppered with NES ads(which is awesome), and this was one of the better ones.  Some of the other ads had insae scenes depicted, which made the games seem a lot cooler than they actually were.

This is an ad I remember seeing a lot of!  I never got into playing Dungeons and Dragons, but believe me, this was an ad that peaked my interest every time I laid eye upon it.  Looking at it now, it still has me interested.

Here’s an ad for one of the hardest Nintendo games ever!  I have never played this game, even to this very day.  I definitely wouldn’t mind adding it to my collection, but I don’t think it would get played very often.   But wait there’s more!

This Silver Surfer contest gave you a chance to win you very own “Customized Silver Surfer Jet-Ski”.  I wonder if anyone really won this, and if it still exists.  Hell, I’d like to see what the Silver Surfer watches look like.  You had to send in a photo of your high score to enter, and you could enter as many times as you wanted.  I would really like to see the high scores that won prizes.

This is another one I remember seeing a lot of!  I’m pretty sure I bought a few 3 Musketeers bars because of ads like this.  I mean, c’mon, reading comics and eating candy go perfectly together(as long as none of the said candy ends up on the comic).

Is it any surprise that the las ad in this comic is another ad for an NES game?  This is by far, my favorite ad in this comic.  Nintendo and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were 2 of my biggest childhood vices, and this put both together.  Yes, there was an NES Turtles game before this one, but this was the game to have!  I just love how the arcade cabinet is dripping with retromutagen ooze.  So many things to like in this one.

There were only 3 ads I did not cover(not including ads for subscriptions).  2 Were for baseball cards, and another was for a sci-fi book club.  But let’s not forget that I bought four other comics.  And I plan on covering the ads from those as well.  There will be a little variety, as the comics range from 1982-1989.

Yard Sale Finds #10 and Other Recent Acquisitions

I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday(if you have it off).  A big part of my area was hit pretty hard with tropical storm Irene and it’s pretty hard to swallow.  Many people, including my wife’s grandmother, have had their homes severely damaged or completely lost.  But everyone is working together and trying to rebuild our communities.  All I would like to ask of those who read here, is to keep those who were affected in your thoughts.

The yard sale finds we’ll be looking at today are from last Saturday, the day before Irene hit.  But we’ll also take a look at some other acquisitions that were not procured at yard sales.

First up.

The Best of Unsolved Mysteries is a “best of” from the days when Robert Stack hosted the show.  I won this brand new on Ebay for less than $10(including shipping)  While the most recent incarnation of the show with Dennis Farina is a pretty good show, it didn’t have the eerieness of the original series.  I think Robert Stack’s voice and the way he presented the stories had something to do with it.  I was intrigued with this show when I was younger.  The stories would scare the shit out of me, but I couldn’t stop watching.  I’ve watched about half so far, and I think, being that we are now entering the spooky Halloween season, this will be a perfect fit on a chilly fall evening.

Now some yard sale finds.

If you have read any of my previous “Yard Sale Finds” posts, you will know that I am a fan of old children’s books.  I typically gravitate to books I remember from my childhood.  And these are going to be books that I will read to my kids(we don’t have any yet, but we’re trying).  The hard cover Winnie the Pooh book is from a series of many that we had growing up.  I now have5 of them(3 Ducktales, and Peter Pan).  And who doesn’t remember The Berenstain Bears?  These were great books that taught us life lessons, and right from wrong.  Mercer Mayer’s artwork has always stood out to me, and I’ll always recognize them among any books.  And you can’t go wrong at 25 cents.  I got all three books for 1 dollar(the Disney book was 50 cents).

This is an awesome movie!  The disc looks like it’s never been removed from the case, and on top of that, it was only 50 cents!  Chevy Chase, John Candy, Dan Aykroyd.  What’s not to like?!  If you haven’t seen this, check it out if you get the chance.  It’s funny, weird and entertaining.

All 3 of these glasses/cups were in a “free” bin at a church rummage sale.  When I was a kid we had a bunch of those Giants glasses, which is why I got this one, even though I’m a Packers fan.  The Kermit one is a Welch’s jelly jar, but make no mistake, these were marketed as collectible cups.  The product itself was in the premium.  And the Masters of the Universe cup is from a 1985 Burger King promotion.  I can’t tell you much more about it because we primarily went to McDonald’s when we wanted fast food.  They’re all great, and I have my wife to thank for finding them.

At the same rummage sale they had a tub full of toys, and you could stuff as many as you could in a big Ziploc bag for a dollar. What a great deal!!

First, on the left is Raphael from Jim Lee’s TMNT line.  Jim Lee is an amazing artist, and I like his take on the Turtles.  I have never come across these before, and now I can say these are pretty cool figures.  These are bigger than the typical Playmates Turtle figures, and has different articulation than the classic ones.  Next to him is Rat King from the original series(he was released in 1989).  I already have Rat King, but this one has very little wear, which makes it’s condition better than the one I have.  Then we have Mike the Sewer Surfer from 1990.  I love the little details they put on this figure(as well as others, including Rat King).  And lastly is Pizza Tossin’ Raphael(stamped 1993, released in 1994).  The only other time I’ve seen these, I ended up buying them.  I don’t think they’re rare or anything, but they’re quite different from the other TMNT figures produced around the same time.  Now I just need to find Pizza Tossin’ Michaelangelo, and I’ll have all four!

And that’s not all I was able to stuff into the bag!

First we have a 2009 Plankton Burger King toy.  It’s nothing special, but it was still in it’s box, and I like the styling(and I watch Spongebob too…so what?).  Next to Plankton is a Domino figure from the 1995  X-Men/X-Force line.  X-Force was a hot title when it first came out in 1991, and Domino was one of my favorite characters in that series.  Next to Domino is a little Batgirl figure from 1993.  There are no other markings I can find to tell where it came from.  Still pretty cool nonetheless.  Then there’s one of my favorite finds!  “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase from Hasbro’s 1991 WWF line.  These figures were very cool.  All of them had an action that would imitate some wrestling move.  Lifting Ted’s arm will bring his right foot up, and releasing it would send it stomping down(and this one’s still works).  And lastly is a The Corps figure from 1992.  I didn’t know what it was when I found it, but I was drawn to it’s neon green coloring.  Further research tells me that this is Shark(version 1), from 1992.

We’re not done yet.

Each of these games cost me only 1 dollar each!  Non of them have their instruction manuals, but the games are in great condition, which is what matters most.  Out of the three, I’ve only played Metroid Prime.  Starfox Adventures should be fun, even though I don’t think it revolves around flying.  But instead of Metal Arms:Glitch in the System being in it’s case, there was this.

The Legend of Zelda Collector’s Edition!  This disc contains the original Legend of Zelda, The Adventure of Link(The Legend of Zelda II), Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask.  It also contains a 20 minute demo of The Wind Waker, as well as a couple of videos.  This wasn’t for sale in stores.  The only way you could get was if you bought a specially bundled Gamecube which came with the game.  Or, you could have gotten it through a special promotion from Nintendo Power.  The disc alone usually sells for $25.00+, but I already own a complete copy.  But I had a friend who was interested, so we made a trade.

Here’s what I traded it for.

This is an original Nintendo storage chest from the days of the NES.  Shortly before I took these photos, I ended up breaking a part of the bottom drawer(I guess I was a little too rough).  The top drawer can house 2 NES controllers as well as a Zapper.

I love how the spaces for the cords, is labeled chords.  Could this be a case of what is considered Engrish?  This is just one of those things that makes the history of Nintendo’s first console interesting.

The bottom drawer can house 28 NES cartridges.

I decided to put all of my games with manuals, as well as some of my favorite games in that drawer.  It’s a nice piece, and it opened up some room on my NES book case.

I got these bendable, plush California Raisins from a thrift store called Richie Rich’s.  I may have mentioned this place before, I don’t really remember.  Originally, I only wanted the one with the sunglasses.  He was marked at 2 dollars, but it was a half-price day!  So I gladly paid a buck for him.  Richie knows me, so he made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.  He said I could take the rest of them for an additional 50 cents!  I only had 46 cents worth of change in my pocket, and he said that would work(he just wanted to get rid of them).  One of the females is missing the decal on the lips, but it was basically free.  Anybody interested in taking off of my hands?

Here’s a hint of what’s up next.

Anyone fancy a guess?

Jboypacman Strikes Back, and…

Long time no see.  It seems as though when we hit summer time, I am hardly in the house.  And when I am, I find myself being as lazy as possible.  And these are the reasons why I’ve been scarce on the ‘net these days.  But, lets get to the reason I’m writing tonight.

Jboypacman from Revenge from the Cosmic Ark and Invader from the Cosmic Ark sent me another care package full of wonderful toys and other stuff.  And here’s what was in the box.

Oh!   Where to start?!

Here we have a mini Guitar Hero LCD game.  I’m a fan of the video games, but I can predict that I’m gonna suck at this version(too small for my hands).  The Garbage Pail Kids are from some of the more recent releases from 2004 and 2005.  I have a whole lot of these, and I’m pretty sure there’s a few from the ones Jboy sent that I need.  Also pictured is the Transformers : Dark of the Moon novelization.  Having seen the movie, and not being too big on books, I can’t promise that I’ll eventually read this.  But it’s still cool, none-the-less.

First up, is a sweet Captain America Mega Bloks’ mini figure.  I never even knew they made these!  This is a nice addition to the other Mega Bloks Marvel Universe figures that I already have.  I think it looks fantastic considering how small these guys are.  The car is a Hot Wheels Classic Packard.  I’ve seen cars like this, but never had a name to go with them(see, toys are great learning tools).  Also, we have a sumo wrestler Lego mini-figure.  Not much to say about the sumo, other than it’s a pretty sweet addition to my slowly growing mini-figure collection.

And here are my favorites!

I’m sure any of you frequent readers know that I’m a huge TMNT fan.  And Jboy sent me 2 figures that I needed.  First is Super Shredder, who you may remember from TMNT II : The Secret of the Ooze.  In his hands is Krang, which is great, because the one that currently sits in my collection has a tentacle that’s broken off.  Rounding out the trio is Charbroil figure from the “G.I. Joe : The Rise of Cobra” line.  Excellent(picture me saying that in my best Mr. Burns voice).

Jboy also sent me a sweet Thundercats shirt.  I did a short post about it when I bought the same one a few months ago.  If you are interested, I will be holding a give away for this specific shirt(details at the end of this post).  Thank you Jboy for everything!!!

I’m sure you noticed the “And…” in the title of this post.  And that’s because I have more to show you.

In the past week I have been the winner of several Ebay auctions(it seems like such a long time since I bid on anything).  Today, the first of many packages arrived.  And it happened to be something that was on my 2011 Toy Collecting Goals list.

On my Toy Collecting Goals for 2011 list, I listed that I wanted to add any Jawa figure to my collection.  Coincidentally, I owned these exact 2 figures many years ago.  Both the Jawa and the Gonk Droid were packaged together when they were released.  And the action I won had both figures and the Jawa’s blaster still in the plastic tray that was originally on the card.  So I got 2 awesome figures to add to my small Star Wars collection.  I have to say that I love the light-piping job they did on the Jawa(he glowing eyes look awesome in the right light.

But that’s not all!  I also added some more great games to my ever-growing video game collection(again).

For $3.99 each, I got both of these games complete with dust sleeves and their instruction manuals.  I have never payed Dirty Harry before, but I hope that a game that stars Clint Eastwood is a decent play-through.  Seicross, on the other hand, I have fond memories of.  My brother and I used to play this game for hours with my dad.  For some reason I always think of Mag Max when I think of this game.  I’m pretty sure that we ended up getting both Seicross and Mag Max at the around the same time.  Now, at over 20 years later, I’m not sure how it’ll hold up, but it should be a good time playing it after all these years.

These games are not all that special, but I got them for 25 cents each at the local video game store.  NHL hockey is my favorite sport, and I love the games that were released on the second gen. systems.  I recently bought cables and a controller for my Genesis, so I’m amped to start playing games for that system again.

These two TMNT games for Game Boy kick ass, and I also have fond memories of these.  We went camping last weekend, starting on Friday(the day that I bought the games), and I ended up completing both games in the span of 24 hours(my wife is now addicted to playing the first one).  These are really fun games to play.  Of course the graphics aren’t on par with today’s hand helds, but the “fun-factor” is definitely there.  I absolutely love these games.

That’s all for now, and now for your chance to win the Thundercats t-shirt that Jboy sent me.  Below, I will ask 2 Thudercats(from the original series) related questions, and out of the correct answers, I will randomly draw a name.  I will contact the winner by e-mail to get shipping info and mail it off.  Good luck!

1.)- What is the name of the Thundercats’ home planet, AND what is the name of the planet they inhabit after they escape from their home planet?

2.)- Besides Panthro, Lion-O, Cheetara, Tygra, Jaga, Wilykit and Wilkat, who are the other 3 Thundercats, whose action figures now command a large sum of money on the secondary market?

It’s great to be back!!

Wow!  It feels like I’ve been gone forever.  I don’t have a specific idea to go in depth about, but a few of you made some suggestion as to what you would like to hear about upon my return.  The 3 suggestions were toys, video games and something Christmassy(maybe catoons another time Bobby).

First up…toys.  During my absence, I did aquire a few things to add to the collection.  The first is the large plush ALF(officially licensed), my buddy Clark traded to me.  I also managed to find a Transformers Animated Voyager Class Skywarp(review coming soon) for the low price of $12.99 at Marshall’s.  And lastly, my step brother bought me Cybertonian Bumblebee as a Christmas gift(review coming soon as well…as soon as I figure out how to transform the friggin’ thing).

Next up, we have video games.  Jboypacman suggested that I discuss some of my video game interests.  Well, three letters define my favorite video games…N.E.S.  That’s not saying that I don’t play other systems though.  I still play SNES, gameboy, Gamecube and PS2(as well as a few PS1 games).  I just prefer the old school games.  I would love to get a Sega Master System or a Turbo Grafx 16 or even a Wii.  I collect Nintendo games for all of their systems, up to the Gamecube, but primarily for the NES.  Here are a few pics of my growing NES collection.

And lastly, Bobby suggeted cartoons and something Christmassy.  And while I don’t have anything cartoon related to post, it is Christmas time, so I decided to post a picture of our little Christmas tree.  I want to get a few Christmas related posts up, so I’ll see what I can do.  If you’re a fan of Christmas, I reccomend you check out the Advent Calendar over at X-entertainment, I promise, you won’t regret it.  I’ll see you guys in a few days(when I have something else to write about).

My 5 favorite NES games

Tonight, I wanted to show a little love for my favorite video game console ever..the Nintendo Entertainment System, or the NES.  I remember that when my dad brought it home, we were like, the second family in the neighborhood that had one.  To tell you the truth, I didn’t know what the hell Nintendo was until the day my dad brought it home(this was in 1985).  Ever since my first turn at Super Mario Bros. I was hooked!  Now, I always read stories about when people were younger, played this with their friends.  Don’t get me wrong, I played this by myself, with my friends, and…With my dad and stepmom?  Yes, this is true.  My dad was just slightly less addicted to this machine than my younger brother and I were.  In my family, Nintendo was a BIG thing.  For about the first six months after we had the system, we went out every weekend and my brother and I would alternate choosing what game to buy, and my dad would make a selection as well.  The first game I chose was Excitebike(very fun game, not in my top five).  After those initial six months, video stores began to rent them, and my dad was hip to that, so we rented many a game from “Bob’s Video”(seriously, that was the store’s real name!).  Anyways…being how huge Nintendo was to me growing up(and to some extent now), I figured it would be fitting to showcase my top 5 favorite Nintendo games.  There were alot of hard choices to make.  I based my choices on memories of the game, how much I played it, and the fun factor and the playability of the game, even to this day.

Now, this list might not suit everyone.  I’m pretty sure they’re all classics.  I wanna get this out of the way before we start…Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles(the first one), almost made this list.  I know alot of people cite this game as being to hard and hate playing it.  I too believe it is hard as hell.  But, Everytime I play it, I end up enjoying myself playing it.  I don’t even want to hear about the under water bomb-disposal stage being to hard.  If you take your time, it’s not so bad.  However, after that it’s a bitch!

Let’s get down to business.

Coming in at number (johnny) five is…Metroid.  I remember getting extremely frustrated with this game when we first got it.  I would get the initial power-ups, and then I would get stuck, and than I’d play something else instead.  After I got over sucking at it, I decided to give it my all.  Friends helped me.  Nintendo Power helped me.  And I finally beat it.  This was one of the most satisfying video games I have ever beaten.  Nowadays, this would take me months to beat.  But I guarantee you one thing, if you can make it to Mother Brain with missles, I can beat it from there!  Here is a picture of the cartridge from my collection(all of the games within are my own), as well as a screen shot(all taken from Google images) from the game.

Coming in at number four, we have everybody’s favorite 8-bit shooter.  Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, Select, Start.  Ring any bells??  I hope at least 85% of you knows what this is.  This is the classic 30 lives code for Contra.  Out of all the gun upgrades in this game, I’m a fan of the spread gun(Matt over at X-E prefers the laser).  This was a game that my dad would play with me and my brother.  I remember one time I said that I wanted to get the flame thrower that just came on screen, and my dad was pissed saying that he needed it, and I expressed how I needed it.  Then, it came down to him telling me to take it…awww.  I refused, and he said to take it or he would turn the system off.  Me, being the hard-headed person I am and was, still refused and he turned it off.  I think I went outside and played with toys and dirt and he watched a baseball game.  Another fond memory I have of this game is…My dad had acquired a gun upgrade that he didn’t want and said, “I needed that like I need a hole in my head.”, and immediately got shot.  We laughed about that every time that game was played.  And yes, I can beat this game.  Haven’t tried it recently withhout the 30 life code though.

The next game on my list is what started my obsession, of course it’s Super Mario Bros.!  I used to play this game non-stop.  When I discovered the warp zone to levels 6-8, I had my older brother, who was babysitting us at the time, call my dad at the restaurant he was at with my stepmom to tell him the good news.  It stands the test of time in my book.  I will play this game and beat it anytime it’s in an NES.  There’s nothing much I can tell you about this game that you already don’t know.  Well…maybe…Before Mario Bros., Mario was known as Jumpman.  Long story short, at Nintendo’s office in New York, their landlord was an Italian man who looked like Jumpman, his name was Mario.

I played Duck Hunt alot too…Fuckin’ dog!!

The next game is a game that I consider, a game that I’ve mastered.  I only consider Super Mario Bros. and this next game, games that I have mastered.  Meaning 10 out of 10 times i will beat the game with one life and no continues, without warping or passwords.  Sometimes it’s 9 out of 10, but hey, we all drink sometimes!  This was a game where I got my tips from school before I got my subscription to Nintendo Power.  This was a game before the ear-biter, was an ear-biter(Mike, you were the shit in The Hang-Over!).Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!  All of your opponents were racial stereotypes, this shit wouldn’t fly nowadays, but I guess Punch-Out for the Wii proved me wrong, in a way.  Some of the shit your rivals say in the original wouldn’t be on the Wii version, right(I don’t own a Wii)?

And, the moment you’ve all been waiting for, my number one NES game of all time(any game for that matter), The Legend of Zelda.  This game was all I played for quite awhile.  I’d wake up early on weekdays so I could eat and get dressed before school, and play some Zelda.  I would wake up before cartoons on Saturdays and play me some Zelda.  For some reason, I was the only one in my family to really like this game.  We all played for a little while and then, it was just me.  I have a few questions like Matt…Why did that Moblin give us rupees?  Why were we only allowed to carry a maximum of 255 rupees?  And why was the cartridge gold?  I love the gold cartridge version.  The only other gold cartridges for the NES were The Adventure of Link, unlicensed games, and the NWC gold cart(of which only 26 were confirmed to be produced).

Well, those are my top 5.  Discuss your top 5 in the comments.