Sinclair ZX Spectrum Interface 1 & Microdrive

The notoriously unreliable ZX Microdrive by Sinclair was an interesting, cheap, innovative, but deeply flawed alternative to disk drives, that will nowadays make sure your Spectrum collection is complete. It does look beautiful, you see, it's quite collectible and -for a brief period- was all the rage. So, uhm, why not bid on this excellent Interface 1 & Microdrive auction? Besides the boxed Microdrive itself, you will also be getting the necessary ZX Interface 1, 4 Sinclair Microdrive cartridges, 2 Ablex Microdrive cartridges and Romantic Robot's Express Tape to Microdrive utility. Seller ships only within the UK. 

Nintendo Gameboy Light

One of the rarest versions of the GameBoy, also happens to be its very best. What am I talking about? Why the Game Boy Light of course. The 1998 back-lit Game Boy, that runs on two AA batteries and produces a stunningly crisp image. As it's highly collectible, you should be ready to spend around $200 when bidding on it via this Game Boy Light auction. The seller ships worldwide and is selling a complete, boxed console in great condition.

PC Engine CoreGrafx

The PC Engine might have typically been an 8-bit console, but, in reality, it was on par with the best the 16-bit era had to offer and its excellent arcade ports are all the proof you'll ever need. The 1989 PC Engine CoreGrafx is the very same essentially 16-bit console, only re-released in a shiny new case and with a modified controller. Oh, and you can buy one via this PC Engine CoreFX auction. Seller ships worldwide. The console seems to be in pretty great shape too.

Scapeghost (BBC Micro)

Scapeghost was released in 1989 and was the last text adventure by the legendary Level 9. It also happens to be one of the company's best games and a rare offering that lets you enter the ethereal shoes of a ghostly detective who will have to solve his final case and avenge his very own death. To grab its lavish, disk-based version for the BBC micro do give this Scapeghost auction a try. You'll be bidding on the complete boxed game. Seller ships worldwide. 

The Bell & Howell Black Apple II

The 1979 black Bell & Howell computer you see above is essentially a disguised Apple II Plus with slight modifications, that was produced by Apple for Bell & Howell in an attempt to breach the educational computer market. The micro was after all only sold to educational institutions, which Apple had up to this point failed to penetrate. As for the computer itself, it's quite the beauty, it's one of the rarest Apple II models and it's widely known both as the Black Apple II and as Darth Vader Apple.

You can bid on such a machine via this Bell & Howell Black Apple II auction, that includes the micro and two Bell & Howell/Apple disk drives. Just make sure you carefully read the description before bidding. Seller ships worldwide.

Panzer Dragoon Limited Edition Xbox

This does feel a bit awkward as the Xbox is still not retro enough for this blog, but the Panzer Dragoon Limited Edition Xbox that kind reader Steve discovered is quite the collectible. This particular console is number 122 out of 999 and comes complete and factory sealed in its original box, meaning you'll be getting the Panzer Dragoon pendant, Panzer Dragoon Orta, a soundtrack CD, a white Xbox, a controller, the required cables and more. The console an exclusive for Japan, but -happily- the seller ships worldwide.

Stellar 7 (PC CD-ROM)

There I was browsing through the pretty amazing Dollar Madness section of Magisterrex.com (where everything costs less than a dollar), when I run into a lovely little bit of treasure: the PC-CD vesrion of Stellar 7. Oh, yes, the 1995 Sierra-published Dynamix remake of the Dynamix action classic that was an impressive re-imagining of Battlezone and one of the first sci-fi/FPS/driving/tank-sim games I truly enjoyed was there in all its CD, VGA glory. Complete with a manual in its jewel case for less than $1. Lucky for you I still own my original copy and am thus letting you know...

bargain.bin: Trashman (ZX Spectrum)

Developed by Malcom Evans and published by New Generation Software in 1984, Trashman is one of those great games that helped define the ZX Spectrum. And yes, I'm pretty aware of the fact that it got pretty good Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64 conversions too; it's still a quintessentially Speccy game. One of those games that emphasized the working class character of the machine to be precise.

In Trashman, you see, you get to actually play as a trashman. You know, as one of those vastly under-appreciated and underpaid workers that make sure (on a daily basis) we don't die from the plague.  As a normal, everyday, working person, which is more than refreshing in our age of brown space marine types and scantily clad violent ladies. And you even get to ironically play as a garbage collector servicing certain pretty posh suburbs. Talk about class consciousness...

The game has you collecting and emptying garbage bins over seven multi-screen levels; each themed after a street and each progressively more difficult to beat than the previous one. All you have to do is grab the bin or beans from every house and empty it. Sounds easy, eh? Well, it isn't, as you'll have to avoid everything from speeding cars to deadly dogs and operate under a strict time limit. It's brilliant, taxing fun, that has impressively aged to perfection and is really cheap to physically own.

As for Trashman's graphics, well, they are definitely above the Spectrum average, especially when considering how early in the computer's life the game appeared. They are isometric, colourful, sharp and pretty evocative of that suburban feel. The sound, uhm, well, it's definitely audible, it is.

Where to get it:
Trashman (ZXS): eBay.co.uk, eBay.com, Preservation Team Shop
Download: World of Spectrum
Remakes: Trashman Anniversary
Play online: right here

More info on Trashman:

• Wikipedia
• World of Spectrum
• Eurogamer
• MobyGames
• World of Stuart
• Your Sinclair

More bargain.bin retro reviews:
Sensible Soccer
TI Invaders
Target; Renegade
King's Quest I

Something simple: a Commodore 64

You don't have to spend a fortune to enjoy those classic games you know and this handy Commodore 64 auction should make a fine example of this happy reality. The brilliant Commodore micro that is on offer is fully working, comes with two cartridge games, a manual and everything you need to get playing. It is also bound to sell for a very modest price indeed. Seller ships only within the US.

Final Fantasy Tactics (PlayStation)

Final Fantasy Tactics is one of the few truly great strategic offerings that didn't originate on computers, and for this reason alone it will always have my respect. Besides, it's a beautiful, deep, addictive and excellently balanced game that has aged gracefully, and one of the most important PlayStation releases I can think of. Then again, why should care about such thoughts? You most probably already know whether you care about it and should be happy to find out that Play Asia is offering an impressive discount to anyone looking for a copy of Final Fantasy Tactics for the Japanese PSOne.

Robotron for the Atari 8-bit

There is one version of Robotron: 2084 for the Atari 8-bit micros that impressively comes with a dual joystick holder and apparently eBay seller myatari has three of them waiting to be purchased at what can only be described as a decent price. You can grab them right here and play this historic arena shooter the way it was meant to. Seller ships worldwide and you'll be getting a complete, unopened box of the game.

Hagane (Super Famicom)

Boxed copies of the SNES version of Hagane can easily sell for more than $2000, but -as reader Gary recently discovered- there are cheaper ways to enjoy this rather obscure game on your 16-bit Nintendo console. You could for example grab this unboxed Hagane cartridge for the Super Famicom for a much more reasonable $35. Seller ships only within the US.