Farmer's Market Finds!

So with the extended weekend, I decided to drag myself and a friend to the Berlin Farmer's Market, which contrary to the title is more of a flea market with stands selling all kinds of old things that only weirdos and whackjobs would want. Being at least one of those two things, I love going here to see all the vintage gaming goodness to be had. I was hoping at least two stands would have something good, and was quite surprised at the sheer volume of games I was able to come across.

Yo Joe!

I noticed a big trade-off in the stands I encountered; you would either find a stand with a small amount of games for very reasonable prices, or stands with an outstanding number of games in which I'd want to snatch up sooo many titles but with prices that would make me go broke pretty darn fast. This first snapshot is of the former; all the available NES games he had are pictured here. The good news? They were all $3. Now that's a good price for vintage fun. I didn't notice at the time, but if you look at the NES on the bottom of the hot NES-on-NES action, it's only $5, as opposed to the dominant's $20. I wish I'd seen that at the time and asked why the lower price for the bottom one, because if it was only missing the power cord or something stupid I would have snatched that up too. Anyway, while GI Joe was really calling to me, I instead opted for Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Archon. Not many people may know this, but Roger Rabbit was actually made by the folks at Rare, as in the Rare that made Donkey Kong Country, Blast Corps, Banjo-Kazooie, etc. I haven't played it since I rented it in '88, but I'm hoping it will be an enjoyable find. Archon is a crazy chess-like game, but you have to actually battle the other pieces to overtake the spot. Each piece has pros and cons and makes for a strategic yet frantic battle. Maybe if you're here next time, Joe!

Like a kid in a candy...cartridge...store stand. Yeah.

Ohhhh, yes, as you can see, this is the other kind of booth I was mentioning, in which boxes and boxes of titles spilled forth gaming goodness;at a price, anyway. These pictures, by the way, do more than make for good eye-candy while blogging, they help me to notice games I may have missed while actually being there. I find when faced with so many choices that it's hard to keep focused and some slip through the cracks. TMNT II! Jurassic Park (the NES version always looked cool, though I've never played it)! Obviously the boxed titles caught my eye as well, but they fetched an even higher price, and I'd feel really stupid blowing all my small amount of cash on Hogan's Alley and Yoshi. Maybe next time.

More gray plastic goodness!

This same vendor had many boxes of SNES titles too, but I don't have a picture for them. After showing interest in the SNES titles, he showed me to an even bigger box he kept in his van. A box with more sought after, and higher priced, titles. Super Mario RPG! Final Fantasy III! Wow, I never thought I'd see you guys again after I'd sold you in the late 90s (an act which I can never forgive myself for). Unfortunately, like I'd said, this guy didn't come cheap, and neither did those titles. Alas, if one day I return and they are still waiting for me, then perhaps it was meant to be. But not today, my little gray beauties.

I didn't leave his table empty-handed though; I got Punch-Out, the non-Mike Tyson kind, for $6. He had Mike Tyson's Punch-Out at a higher price which I found odd because according to the online rarity guide I frequent, that one's actually more common. Oh well, now I have both! Shall I battle Tyson, or Mr. Dream? That's a trick question, as I suck too much to get to either! Next up is Flashback: The Quest for Identity for SNES. Made from the same team that did Out of this World (or Another World, for non-US readers), this title is a true gem with an engaging story and slick rotoscoped visuals. A bit pricey at $10, but I haven't seen this one available anywhere else. Last but certainly...well maybe certainly...last is the infamous Final Fantasy Mystic Quest for SNES. My friend had this when I was younger but I don't remember much from it. It's one of the many Square RPGs that had the name Final Fantasy tacked on when brought to the US so people would buy it, but a masterpiece of storytelling this is not. Seriously, I'm probably going to devote a separate blog for this title. At $5, how could I pass it up?

We thought this Japanese Pokemon label looked bit suspect. A pirated game, perhaps? Or just shoddy labelling?

There were a few other notable stands selling games, one of which was selling titles with prices so low it seemed too good to be true, and indeed, they were selling demo discs. Grrr. The actual games they were selling had prices much too high. 1994's Game Boy Donkey Kong was great, but $20?! Waaaay too much! One final purchase was made for Capcom's Little Nemo: The Dream Master for $5. Capcom truly made innovative and fun NES titles back in the day, as any player of Ducktales or Rescue Rangers can tell you, and this one is no exception. All in all I'd consider it a pretty successful weekend. I'll definitely be returning to snag some of those other NES games I saw there, and maybe hopefully talk that guy down on the Mario RPG and FFIII (seriously, I'd like to own them again and all, but I've already beaten both titles!)

Welcome to your new home! You play nice, now!

A big thank you to Ghibli_Geek for accompanying me and bringing her camera! Thanks!