Farmer's Market Finds II: Electric Boogaloo

Ah, the weekend was fast approaching, and with a small amount of spendable money in my pocket, I figured it was about time I took a trip back to my local farmer's market to see what worthwhile video games I could come upon. I may not have walked away with as many titles, but I'd say at least two of them are noteworthy, and the other one...well, I just love anything Ghostbusters.

A little more spacious than usual...

Ghibli_Geek and I had been planning on returning to the farmer's market for about a week now, but with off and on downpours of rain on Saturday, it was looking pretty bleak as to whether Sunday would be any better. Luckily, the rain had let up to a slight drizzle by Sunday morning and we were on our way. Unfortunately, the chance of rain seemed to have scared off most of the usual vendors. Guess they didn't want to risk paying for a table then not using it. Lucky for us, a lot of the video game vendors were still pushing their wares.

Is this a sequel, or just a port of a really frustrating title? For $10, I'll never know.

Our first stop was at the vendor that had the hundreds up on hundreds of NES and SNES titles from our last trip. After a little bit of talking, he once again offered to show us the "good stuff" that he kept in his van, his more sought-after SNES games. And there they were again, Super Mario RPG and Final Fantasy III, two of many titles I'd regret selling off for the rest of my lift, staring right at me. Last time I turned the cart over to peer at the label, I couldn't work up the nerve to say anything to him. When coming out this time, I'd kinda worked a scenario up in my head where I'd offer him something like $45 for the pair, and he'd happily agree. That scenario was shaken up a bit when I enquired if the price of $45 for Super Mario RPG was indeed correct. He assured me it was. Then I turned over Final Fantasy III...$166. Folks, let me tell you, a great game this may be, but that is more than twice what it should be worth to ANYBODY. And let me reiterate that this is cartridge only. He may have a great selection, but you know what? The prices on all of his games are a bit higher than I'd care to pay. I think last time when I came here I was a bit more enthralled with how many titles I was seeing, but this time I was scrutinizing price a bit more, and his stand just isn't as good a find as I'd like. A small aside, while I was browsing, a little boy inquired as to how much the used Nintendo DS was. His answer? $129.99. For the old model DS, not the Lite, and not in a box! Sorry sir, I'm afraid I'll have to look elsewhere.

Who ya gonna...well, you know.

The next stand was where I purchased Little Nemo for NES last time. Their selection's pretty nice, and their prices are certainly reasonable. Unfortunately this time there seemed to be pretty unremarkable NES titles. I did, however, find a copy of Ghostbusters for the Genesis for $3, which I, being a lover of anything with the little no-ghost logo, quickly snatched up. That makes two Genesis titles now in my possession, and me still without a Genesis. Something I plan on rectifying as soon as I can, believe me. The other title I own for the Sega 16-bit system is Jurassic Park, which made another find at this stand a curiosity for me: Jurassic Park Rampage Edition. Now, I love me some Jurassic Park, and I happen to know for a fact that rampaging dinosaurs are a fun factor multiplier of like, 107%. It's a scientific fact, look it up. So what does the Rampage Edition entail? Is it a new game, or a revision? Is it worth a purchase if I have the normal, non-Rampage, Tame-Dinos-Only Edition? I must know!

This week, on a very special Jurassic Park, the dinosaurs decide to go on a rampage.

I also picked up Rayman2 for my N64 while I was at this stand for $7. I'm a big fan of Rayman, but I've never played his sequel. I was holding out for the Dreamcast version of part 2, just because it would have better visuals, I'd imagine. But for $7, and with it standing right in front of me with its inexplicable green cartridge, I couldn't say no. Sold, good sir!

Earthworm Jim! He's such a groovy guy!

Speaking of sequels to great games I've never played (never played the sequels, mind, not the great original game), I found a shiny yellow N64 cartridge of Earthworm Jim 3D. I had a vague recollection of Jim going into the third dimension, but I've long since forgotten it, and I'm assuming most others have as well, since all I ever hear talk of is the first two. So I've gotten a green N64 cartridge and a yellow. Nintendo seems to have gone a little bit color crazy. I only remember there being a few colored games; Zelda in gold, Perfect Dark in black, and Donkey Kong 64 in banana yellow (the same color as Earthworm Jim's game here). Looks like they started distributing the color cartridges a bit looser than I thought.

What is it what is it???

Mario Pinball!

Now normally I avoid going to the indoor part of the farmer's market for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that it smells a tad like urine. But on the way back to the car I noticed there was an arcade sign. Hoping there was another used game place inside, we decided to investigate. What we found instead was indeed an actual Arcade, with some classic titles mixed in with a few not-too-old titles. In the very back was a line of pinball machines, including Super Mario World! Sweet!

As we headed towards the exit to escape the musky odors that waft through the halls, Mario once again reared his head in the least likely of places. Ladies and gentlemen, I present for your viewing pleasure...the "Super Hustla" T-shirt.

If a picture's worth a thousand words...

Thank you and goodnight!