Nintendo NES & 11 Games

Has been quite some time since the classic, average Nintendo NES appeared on Retro Treasures, and that's one of the reasons I simply had to link to this NES & games & Zapper auction. Seller ships only within the US, and has packed the working console you see above with a Zapper light-gun, two controllers, all necessary bits and bolts, and 11 games including Mario Bros 3, Metroid, The Legend of Zelda and Tetris. 

Out of this World (Genesis)

Out of this World (a.k.a. Another World outside the US) by French maestro Eric Chahi is a visually stunning, exploration heavy, and rather brilliant 16-bit arcade-adventure, that -collector or not- you simply have to play. Grabbing this boxed Out of this World copy for the Sega Genesis might be the way to go, provided you are a US resident and care for eBay auctions that is. Cart, box and manual seem to be in perfect condition. 

The Retro Treasures Collection

I had been searching for ways to make the Retro Treasures facebook page more interesting for quite some time now, and have thus -and finally- decided to start posting pictures of my gaming collection there. You can see them piccies from the first bunch of the Retro Treasures collection here. Expect more or less regular updates. Oh, and some hardware should soon make its appearance.

GameBoy Pocket & 6 games

We all love the Game Boy and we all love the Game Boy Pocket, and that's why most of us should care for this GameBoy Pocket auction. It does after all come with six mostly brilliant games, that are both defining of and perfect for the GB: Tetris, Super Mario Land, Super Mario Land 2, James Pond, Pokemon Yellow and Double Dragon 2. Seller ships only within Europe.

King's Quest (Master System)

As the Artful Gamer definitely knows his stuff and has already recommended we play the Sega Master System version of King's Quest I -yes, despite the painful in-game typing system apparently- I had a search around eBay, and this is the best boxed King's Quest SMS deal I could find. Seller ships worldwide. Mind you, I did expect the thing to be more expensive...

Bury the Monsters

Bury the Monsters by Romtec is a rather obscure and quite rare little LCD handheld, that was released back in 1982. You can apparently grab a working one via this Bury the Monsters eBay auction. Seller ships only within the US.

The Super Famicom Jr.

Both the Super Famicom and of course its westernized SNES were incredibly popular 16-bit gaming machines, but of course you know that and have most probably spent more than a few days of your lives enjoying such classics as Super Metroid and Super Mario World. On the other hand, you might also be aware of the fact that the Super Famicom Jr. is the rarest part of said successful 16-bit Nintendo family, and thus the more expensive one too. Happily you can grab a decently priced one via Play Asia by following this aptly named link: Super Famicom Jr.

Panasonic (M2) 3DO FZ-35S

The M2, essentially 3DO 2, never managed to get itself produced, despite actually being an almost finished system, that already had more than a few games under development. Bits of the M2 technology were instead utilized in such rare systems as the 3DO FZ-35S by Panasonic. The FZ-35S was built to the M2 spec sporting dual PowerPC 602 CPUs, but with a whopping 16MB of RAM, a DVD drive and networking capabilities.

The machine is of course both rare and expensive, but you should really try your luck on this Panasonic M2 System 3DO FZ-35S auction. The system is a fully functioning 3DO M2, that impressively comes with two software disks: an original Pontiac 'kiosk' DVD, and a beta version of 3DO Studios' IMSA Racing - a fully working, playable prototype game. Seller ships to most parts of the world, and includes the system's box, manual, power lead and its mouse. 

ZX Spectrum 16k

Well, I guess you should really hurry, as this 16K ZX Spectrum auction will be over within the day, and a major Sinclair collectible will temporarily be lost. Mind you, this computer has allegedly never been used, comes complete in its box and sports all the manuals, bits and software you'd expect it. Seller ships only within the UK.

bargain.bin retro review: King's Quest (All formats)

When King's Quest was originally released for the unsuccessful IBM PC Jr. in 1984 it was groundbreaking. Its amazing graphics, interactive 3D environment and fairy-tale/fantasy plot had never been seen before. In fact, it was such a ground-breaking game, that despite being released for a doomed platform, it went on and became a smash hit, while being ported to everything that could load a game and defining a new genre; the modern graphical adventure game.

Designer and Sierra co-founder Roberta Williams had created in the original King's Quest a flawed but unique masterpiece, that managed to awe gamers throughout the 80s. Players, assuming the role of valiant Sir Graham, had to help the benevolent yet tragedy-stricken King of Daventry reclaim the three magical treasures that would help save the kingdom and suggest a proper heir. Hence the game's subtitle Quest for the Crown, which trivia lovers will be thrilled to know only attached itself to the game after 1987 and its Amiga release.

The game itself used the now classic, familiar and always limited Sierra parser, whereas King Graham could be moved around the screen with the help of the cursor keys. The puzzles were mostly tough, though admittedly solvable with the help of the more widely know fairy-tales, helping create a most whimsical atmosphere, despite the countless deathtraps awaiting for Graham. Then again, the animated 16-colour graphics, the dozens of screens, a passable -then impressive soundtrack- and the novelty of the whole thing made sure any limitations were overlooked.

King's Quest I spawned seven, mostly brilliant, sequels and went on to become one of the defining pillars of adventure gaming. As for its number of ports, well, that was also quite impressive, as KQI appeared -as far as I know- on the PC Jr, Tandy 1000, DOS PCs, Apple II, Amiga, Atari ST, Sega Master System, Mac and Apple IIgs. Then it got itself an official Sierra remake using the SCI engine and finally a brilliant, fan-made VGA re-imagining by AGD Interactive. Quite impressive, eh? Well, not so in CGA:

Where to get it:
King's Quest (all formats): eBay.com, eBay.co.uk, eBay.de, Steam
Remake: AGDI's amazing effort

More info on King's Quest:

• MobyGames
• Wikipedia
• Gog.com
• Adventure Classic Gaming
• Adventure Gamers
• Sierra Chest
• YouTube

More bargain.bin retro reviews:
Target Renegade (8-bits)
Berzerk (Atari 2600/VCS)
Sensible Soccer (Amiga)

The incredible Amstrad PPC 640

Though most of Amstrad's PCs were cheap, mediocre, yet incredibly popular (in Europe, that is) computers, the company did manage to occasionally come up with unique offerings, just like the Amstrad PPC 640 you see above. It was a relatively portable PC of the mid-80s, that besides it's pretty unique design, sported 2 disk drives, built-in LCD monochrome monitor, the standard 8088 processor, serial and parallel ports, a modem, 640k of RAM and a full-sized keyboard. Shockingly, the thing ran on 10 C (!) batteries or 12V AC adapter.

You can bid on such a (quite rare) beauty via this Amstrad PPC 640 eBay auction. The computer is in full working condition, still looks lovely and comes complete with mains cable, cigarette lighter adapter, manuals, operating instructions, MS-DOS 3.3 disks, carry bag, disk holder, built in phone adapter for modem. Seller ships worldwide. Apparently, you'll have to provide them batteries yourselves...

Altered Beast (PC Engine)

Ah, Altered Beast, what a vastly overrated yet still impressive looking game. It was also quite a hit, and should you care to give it a go on your lovely Japanese PC Engine console you could easily grab a discounted copy from Play Asia. Here's the link. OK. I guess it's still quite enjoyable.

Amstrad Schneider CPC 464

Not all of Europe was graced with the Amstrad CPC 8 bit home-micro series, as more than a few countries had to go for the German and rather less colourful variant of the Schneider CPC. Anyway, what really matters is that the seller of this fully working Schneider CPC 464 sells worldwide, meaning that even non-European retro gamers can find out what the fuss was all about. The micro comes complete with a colour monitor, manuals, a joystick and quite a few games, mind.

Space Quest IV and V

The excellent Sierra Chest sale is still going on, but I really though this lovely Space Quest sci-fi double feature was worth a post. It does after all include the complete, lavishly boxed, perfectly preserved, PC versions of Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers and Space Quest V: The Next Mutation. Seller ships worldwide. If you pay less than 55$ for these two games, you'll have scored a great bargain, oh reader! Oh, and you can find out a ton about them Space Quest games here, whereas here's an old retro review of Space Quest IV by yours truly.

Neo Geo AES & 4 Games

It's still the most beautiful console ever released, isn't it? Well, hardware design taste aside, the home version of the Neo Geo, its AES variant, was a ridiculously powerful and equally expensive machine, that even today remains a perfect 2D gaming collector's machine. You can bid on this boxed Neo Geo AES and find out why by yourselves. Seller ships worldwide, and the included games are Fatal Fury Special, Samurai Showdown, Samurai Showdown II and Art of Fighting 2.

12 Commodore Amiga Games

This auction for 12 Commodore Amiga Games is quite obviously a pretty excellent chance to grab 12 (gasp!) classic, boxed games for your Amiga. They might not be prized collector's items, but they are a great lot for the retro gamer, as such gems as Pirates!, Powermonger, Castle Master, Elite and Forgotten Worlds are included. Seller ships worldwide. 

The Brazilian Caltron 6 in 1

Thanks to Retro Treasures reader Roberto, we can all now happily bid on the rare, Brazilian version of the Caltron 6-in-1 cartridge, disguising itself as this Multi-Acao 6 in 1. This particular NES game war released in 1992, shockingly sports six games (Cosmos Cop, Magic Carpet, Balloon Monster, Adam and Eve, Porter, Bookyman) and still remains in its sealed box. Seller ships worldwide. Oh, and in case you haven't clicked on the previous link just yet, let me tell you this is really expensive. 

eBay Rampage: Commodore 64

Seems the time has come for the resurrection of the Retro Treasures features, starting with this very eBay Rampage focusing on the Commodore 64. It is after all the most popular 8-bit home micro ever developed and a computer that managed to sport excellent music capabilities thanks to the legendary SID chip and some rather brilliant graphics, complete with sprite moving capabilities. The hundred of classic games that appeared on the thing (both on disk and tape) were thus to be expected. The average, unboxed C64 shouldn't cost you more than 50$, 36 euros or 30 pounds.

Nice Commodore 64 lot. US, ends 10 Feb. 2011.

Brilliantly boxed C64 collection. UK, ends 11 Feb. 2011. 

17 excellent C64 games. US and Canada, ends 15 Feb. 2011.

A Commodore 64 with its disk drive. US, ends 12 Feb. 2011.

Dungeons and Dragons fun for the C64. Worldwide, ends 13 Feb. 2011.

Classic Commodore Monitor. N. and S. America, ends 14 Feb. 2011.

Two cheap and slightly risky C64s. UK, ends 10 Feb. 2011.

A rather mega Mega Mix. Europe, Buy It Now. 

Crystal Castles (Atari 2600)

I've been reading a lovely TVGG post on the incredibly ambitious Crystal Castles for the Atari 2600 and, well, I thought I'd have a look around eBay. Seems the cartridge is happily pretty common and rather cheap. So, uhm, here's an example of a Crystal Castles VCS auction. Seller ships only to the US and Canada.

Sega Mega CD Devkit

Now, this is quite amazing, for it is something I never even knew existed. But what is it? A weird Sega (Mega) CD modification? No, not really. What you see above is a development kit for the Sega Mega CD built in 1992 by Cross Products for Sega in full working order, that been completely refurbished with a new CD drive and new caps on its boards. The thing will also allow you to switch between regions, play NTSC/PAL carts, NTSC CDs and even change its MHz speed. You can bid on it via this Sega Mega CD auction. Seller ships worldwide.  

The original Apple Macintosh

Released in 1984 the original Apple Macintosh 128k might not have been Steven Wozniak's dream computer, but it definitely was an incredibly successful, well designed, very beautiful, quite innovative, successful and ridiculously pricey computer. Then again, you know that, don't you? IF not THEN click.

To own one, you could try this Macintosh 128k auction. The seller ships worldwide and includes an Apple carry bag, the external drive, a keyboard and the highly historic mouse. Mind you, to get the thing working you'll probably have to replace its ROM chips. Other than this, the computer is in excellent cosmetic condition and sports the most beautiful 9" monitor you'll ever see.

Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss

Some people still believe that DOOM was the epitome of early 90s PC gaming in 3D. They are of course wrong, for Origin's Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss was the true king of the era. It also was the first truly (and fully) 3D game to hit the PC, an architecturally beautiful virtual world and a truly excellent action-CRPG. You too can now love it in the privacy of your home with a little help from this Ultima Underworld auction. It's the complete and lavishly boxed edition of the game and the seller ships to N. and S. America, United Kingdom, Australia and Germany.

Alien 8 (MSX)

I really can't be sure, but judging by its artwork I do believe that what you see above is the Japanese MSX version of the classic isometric arcade-adventure Alien 8 by Ultimate Play The Game. If that is indeed the case, then you should by all means grab this boxed copy of the Alien 8 MSX cart. It will run on all European and Japanese MSX micros and the seller does ship worldwide.

Streets of Rage 2 (Genesis)

Streets of Rage 2 is an excellent beat-'em-up indeed. One of the best even really and you can grab its SEGA Genesis cartridge via this Streets of Rage 2 auction. I wouldn't pay much more than 10$ for it though. Seller ships only within the USA.

BitCorp Gamate

The Gamate by Bitcorp might be a rather rare handheld, but it also has the dubious honour of making more or less regular appearances on this very blog. It also is a rather mediocre, yet highly collectible GameBoy adversary. Anyway. To cut a long story short, you dear reader can grab a fully working Gamate by Bitcorp via eBay. The console seems to be in excellent cosmetic order and the seller ships worldwide. Got a decent price-tag too.

Atari 'Woody' 2600 & Games

This Atari 2600 auction is, one must admit, a truly brilliant way to grab a classic, boxed, woody Atari 2600 console, complete with 30 beautifully boxed games, 2 joysticks, 2 paddle controllers and a lovely Atari Catalogue. The games -they do come with their box and manual, mind- include such classics as Super Breakout, Berzerk, Phoenix, Asteroids, Combat, Defender and Brain Games. A couple of these have never been opened either. Oh, and the seller only ships within the UK.

Ultima I (Apple II)

The original Ultima was published for the Apple II in 1980 by the California Pacific Computer Co, a company that would close its doors a mere three years later. So, if you actually want to own the very first Richard Garriott Ultima RPG you will have to bid on this California Pacific Computer version of Ultima I. It's rare and it wont be cheap, but the seller does ship worldwide.  

Learn to Drive!

I wouldn't call Learn to Drive - Highway Patrol a simulation, nor would I describe it as something more than a simple 80s electronic toy, but I still remember playing and being deeply impressed by it ages ago. It was -and still is- a lovely thing, and just like then I'd still love to own one, despite it being quite the collectible. Anyway, you can grab a boxed Learn to Drive via eBay. Seller ships worldwide.

Famicom Network System

The Nintendo Famicom Network System is a beautiful and quite rare add-on for the Famicom console, that functioned as a modem and let Japanese gamers connect to the Family Computer Network System and the online Super Mario Club. You can grab a complete, boxed Famicom Network System in apparently excellent condition, complete with the rare Super Mario Club cartridge via this Famicom Modem eBay listing. Seller ships worldwide.