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Welcome to the forums! We look forward to talking retro consoles and games with you.

Is it an American thing to love the NES/SNES so much?

Not necessarily in the case of the SNES, due to the Genesis/Mega Drive capturing such a large share of the market. The NES was virtually unopposed, though. The Master System didn't perform very well in our region, so the NES reigned for the remainder of the decade. North America really has Nintendo to thank for pulling us out of the 1983 crash.

Pokemon Go for Android and iPhone has reminded me of another classic in the Game Boy library: Pokemon Red and Blue. The game was truly a milestone in handheld RPGs. I still have my Game Boy Color, but the screen has faded over time and it's not quite as enjoyable to play. Luckily, I own a Super Game Boy and can play all my cartridges through my Super Nintendo to experience it on the big screen. The Super Game Boy really does open up the entire Game Boy library. Some of those indie games look pretty good, Trek. I wonder if they'd be compatible.

Ah, shucks. Sorry I wasn't able to attend. I'm in the middle of a six-day work week and haven't had a lot of free time on hand. Hopefully I can make the next one!

It'd be hard for me to pick a system impartially, given that I've made so many great memories with the NES and SNES--as a child, initially, and then revisiting them later when I became a collector. Not one console is perfect in every way; that is why it is such a joy to collect for multiple platforms. I will say that the SNES has more of the games that I like to play and is versatile enough to cover a wide range of my gaming interests. The hardware was excellent for its time: the games looked and sounded great, and Nintendo knew how to push its strengths with big, colorful games. When I was younger, the SNES took up uncounted hours of my and my brother's free time, and it was the first console I returned to when I started to collect classic games. Sadly, it has become one of the more expensive consoles to collect for, so I haven't made any significant additions to the collection in some time.

My only complaint with a forum that has a lot of categories (as helpful as they may be) is that, when there's a lack of interest in a particular system or topic, that category may not see much traffic and members may start to feel discouraged from making new posts if they think no one will ever read them. Right now, though, I think the categories are drawing enough attention to merit staying as-is. I've been to other forums where there were too many sub-boards that looked like graveyards; it's something that always bothers me a little when I see it.

Welcome, John! Could I hazard a guess and say that you're a They Might Be Giants fan?

Bear in mind that I haven't scouted U.K. prices and don't know how they differ from U.S. averages. A game that sells for pennies here might command a high price in PAL territories. Also, my apologies in advance if any of these titles weren't localized in your region.

To start with, Star Wars wouldn't be my first recommendation. Aside of the high learning curve, the mechanics aren't very well developed in either of the JVC games. The Japanese Famicom version doesn't fare any better. If you're a die-hard Star Wars fan, you could do worse, but I wouldn't start my collection with it. Dragon's Lair is clunky and extremely frustrating to play. I don't like that one at all.

What you should start with what, in my opinion, are the games we all know and love from the NES library and then branch out from there. My personal top ten consists of Super Mario Bros. 3, Mega Man 2, The Legend of Zelda, Castlevania III, Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, Contra, Kirby's Adventure, Super Mario Bros., Metroid, and Final Fantasy. You'll also want to pick up Zelda II: Adventure of Link and Super Mario Bros. 2, as I think both games are great. If you lean toward one genre in particular, then here are some of my personal favorites across a few different genres:

Action-platforming:
The Mega Man series
Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden II
Bionic Commando
Castlevania
Contra (Probotector/Gryzor)

RPG:
Crystalis
The Dragon Quest series

Beat 'em up:
Double Dragon II
Battletoads
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game
TMNT III: Manhattan Project
River City Ransom

Shooter:
Gradius
Life Force/Salamander
1942/1943
Legendary Wings

Sports:
Tecmo World Wrestling
Super Dodge Ball
Blades of Steel
Nintendo World Cup

Puzzle:
Yoshi's Cookie
Tetris
Dr. Mario

Have fun!

Welcome! Always nice to have a developer on board.

Wonderful job on putting this all together! John Romero always has a lot of interesting things to say and is something of a PC gaming historian in addition to being one of the world's most influential game developers.

I'm glad you guys like it! I encourage you all to check out more videos on their channel for more cover tunes, and Like their page on Facebook: https://facebook.com/SuperSoulBros/

Why Sega felt the need to do this, probably the lawyers rather than anyone with half a brain.

Probably the same lawyers who felt it was a good idea to go after videos of Shining Force playthroughs on YouTube. Posting videos and publishing books about Sega products only generates interest in the brand.

I'd like to take an opportunity to plug my friend Brian's band, Super Soul Bros. They play fusion/jazz renditions of video game classics. Here is the theme to Chemical Plant Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5JxwilmnXo

I'll be sure to check them out. 1983 was at once one of the darkest years for gaming (beginning of the crash) and one of the brightest (birth of the Famicom).

Trek, I'm not sure if that was the case. Gun Nac probably didn't sell particularly well in its time, so even though it had a full retail release, it's somewhat rare to find today. There are others factors that can drive up the value, too. The trend shows that Gun Nac seems to be steadily climbing in price today.