RF Generation Secret Santa 2013!!!!!

[singlebanana]

Well, I don't really know what to say about my Secret Santa this year. I was fortunate enough to be drawn by the oh so generous Crabmaster this year and the guy didn't disappoint. Over the years, I have met many great people through this site; sure, the overwhelmingly majority of us have never met in person, but I think several of us have become great friends and gaming colleagues nonetheless. Since I joined RFGen, I've been overwhelmed by the trust, generosity, and overall kindness of this community. Rarely do you find a place on the internet where people don't compete for collections and scores, but have a genuine desire to see the joy in others when they fulfill a dream(s) in finding a certain title/system or complete a specific collection that they are going for. Sure, there are disagreements from time-to-time about some members' preferences, but I've yet to see any disagreement get out-of-hand or become nasty; everyone seems to have a certain respect not only for each other, but the site as a whole. That IS RFGeneration and that's exactly how I describe it when talking to others. Sorry for the gooey introduction, but during the holiday season, I often like to reflect on the things that I am thankful for in life and a big part of that includes this site and the wonderful people I have met here. Someday I hope to meet some of you in person and thank you face-to-face for your kindness and generosity.
As I mentioned before, Crabby's gift to me this Christmas, was extremely generous and I am overwhelmed by the kindness. In slimming down my collection earlier this year, I had sent him two huge boxes of games and systems to help in the opening of his store and over the years, he's been the recipient of a good number of NES titles for his collection from me. Crabby always looks out for titles I need and has really helped me whittle down my remaining licensed NES set. He has always been fair to me and I can say that I have always done my best to return the favor. All I can say is, "Thanks buddy!," not only for the games, but also for the friendship over the years. Hope that you and your family had a Merry Christmas!
In the famous words of Buzz from "Home Alone 2," "Alright, enough with this mushy s@#t," let's see the scores:

A nice CIB lot of INT games. Now I need a little over 50 titles for a complete set. Hell, might as well go for it now.
[img width=700 height=522]http://i1029.photobucket.com/albums/y359/necrom99/2CBDECFE-2D09-4E27-8AF4-CC4A9901A909_zpsi0bru02f.jpg[/img]

Some sweet titles in here including Cyborg Hunters (SMS) and Soldiers of Fortune (SNES), which Crabby was already holding for me. Also, Aero Busters and Ninja Spirit for the TG16, Dukes of Hazard (Coleco), Sin & Punishment (Wii), and the belle of the ball, a boxed copy of Romance of the 3 Kingdoms 2 (NES). Down to 11 licensed titles for a complete set. WOOO-HOOOO!!!
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Not only did I get some really great games, but I can't fail to mention that I also got to participate in a "treasure hunt" while opening my gift. Crabby left several clues directing me toward my end goal, which was this. What I didn't know, and would have, if I had followed the instructions and played Rot3K2 first, is that the sneaky bastard had swapped out the board in Rot3K2 with the one in Silent Service. Had I not already had a security bit, I would probably wanted to strangle him . This gift was a lot of fun and gave me quite a good chuckle while I quickly sorted through it in my room with a household of non-gaming and intoxicated family members downstairs:

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[den68]

aha! methinks a hint. THANKS!!

[singlebanana]

aha! methinks a hint. THANKS!!

You're welcome! I had a tough time with it, since I don't own any of the more modern systems. However, some of the guys on the site and some of my friends at my local game store helped me by coming up with some good suggestions. Hope you enjoy them.

[Deadman]

As hinted to earlier, posting up our packages now...


I mentioned whomever got Deadman would have a packed box. He did not disappoint:


Contents of the box:




Taz in Escape from Mars [Mega Hits Series] is something I own, but somehow you managed to send me a variant of it that I didn't own (love Majesco variants). Space Battle, SOMEHOW, I don't own for INTV. I started wearing the Beast Mode shirt you sent me a couple years ago - it's extremely comfortable, but I was having concerns that if I wore it too much that it would fall apart. Now I can wear it all I want without worrying about it! You seriously picked systems I have decent collections for and somehow filled in holes that I didn't have documented. Always love the extras you toss in too - the A-Z book looked like a great read. Fantastic job as always, Deadman.

You are Welcome Shadow!   I remember having you as a SS before, but couldn't remember if I had put a shirt in that one or not, so I hope you don't mind the double.    I did have a tough time this year because it's been SOOOOOO slow in finding items locally so I didn't have a huge stash of items to choose from.     I tried to adhere to your collection mantra, only sending complete in box items which also cuts it down a little more.     I hoped you didn't have the cardboard box versions of those Genesis games and glad it worked out.    

Hope everyone had a Merry Xmas - the packages look fantastic!    

[Crabmaster2000]

Merry Christmas Rich
I was really psyched to get your name as it was a perfect opportunity to payback a small portion of the years of generousity you've sent my way. You've been one of the biggest helps (and most trusting people) by picking up games for my NES collection and holding them occasionally for months until you got payment. Hooking me up with that fantastic lot when I opened my store was just amazing too.

To echo the banana I really do consider many of you guys friends and I hope you all had a great Christmas

[slackur]

So cool to see so many happy Secret Santa gifts this year.  Mine was great as well, but I'm hoping to make a video and post it here.  If that doesn't work out, I'll just put together some pics.

[den68]

aha! methinks a hint. THANKS!!

You're welcome! I had a tough time with it, since I don't own any of the more modern systems. However, some of the guys on the site and some of my friends at my local game store helped me by coming up with some good suggestions. Hope you enjoy them.

I do indeed. Thanks again!

[RetroRage]

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My RFGSS was very generous and gave me a nice piece of art work to add to my nerd room.   I'm pretty sure it's the same  person as last year....

[Fleach]

Forgot to mention that my parcel from Bil included a much needed Genesis AV cable. Thanks Bil! Now I can finally use my Sega!

[Deadman]

Well I got my package today and am very happy, almost overwhelmed with my SS's generosity!    A fantastic variety of fun, innovative games and other items all packed into one box - as I opened it they just kept on coming and coming and coming... 

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Let's start out with the NES group.    All of these games are loose, but Silent Service comes with the manual and sleeve.    My boys are infatuated with Pokemon, so it's going to be tough for me to hold onto the GBC Pikachu case, but I will do my best!

[img width=150 height=99]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/150x100q90/c/89/t15d.jpg[/img]

Mortal Kombat box and manual complete that game for me, Kenseiden is complete, and Zero Tolerance adds another box to my Genesis boxed collection!    Mega Man Powered UP for the PSP - I didn't even know about this title?!  Awesome!  The GC and PS2 games are appreciated, as my collections are very sparse on those systems so that gives me another reason to fire up the consoles.    I never see Wonderswan or Game Gear stuff here, so to get a game for EACH system in this box is fantastic!!    "Another Heaven" is complete and "Shinobi" is something I've been looking for a long time.

[img width=121 height=100]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/150x100q90/c/855/25qb.jpg[/img]

Some VERY cool items, including a Kiss Love Gun metal lunchbox, sticker, and a Kustom KISS Khristmas card!   Nice!   Also included are the Mario treats, 3DS screen protectors (need them), the Xbox auto RF switch, and "Halo: Fall of Reach" novel (one of the few that I didn't have).    The F-355 DC game is case and manual only, which is PERFECT because I have the game loose!   The sealed DC VMU will look great in my DC collection next to my boxed consoles and sealed DC controllers (Dreamcast is one of my all-time favorite systems so this sweet!)  Turning Point for the PS3 is one I've always wanted to check out, and the sealed Operation Shadow for N-Gage is awesome - I NEVER see NG stuff around here!   

All in all a FANTASTIC job by my Secret Santa!  I could tell he checked my RFG collection and provided many games to fill holes in my collection as well as some other fun things to make it feel even more like Xmas.    I could not be happier - Thanks RFGSS! 

[techwizard]

thanks santa!

[img width=700 height=221]http://i.imgur.com/3FxUxLZ.jpg[/img]

[img width=700 height=777]http://i.imgur.com/jqMTI0n.jpg[/img]

[Shadow Kisuragi]

We had a backlog of books for you. The 32X game was sent due to the recent redefinition of the "cool" RFGentlemen requiring both Silent Service and a 32X title. The others are just fun games.

Those are from my wife Gerri. We also have a special gift for you pending a commission from our very own russlyman as well - a custom GameCube controller. I just need to send him the donor controller and art. We can discuss over PMs.

[techwizard]

We had a backlog of books for you. The 32X game was sent due to the recent redefinition of the "cool" RFGentlemen requiring both Silent Service and a 32X title. The others are just fun games.

Those are from my wife Gerri. We also have a special gift for you pending a commission from our very own russlyman as well - a custom GameCube controller. I just need to send him the donor controller and art. We can discuss over PMs.

i figured it was you because florida and who else would have had so many books to send me?

@the gamecube controller idea that's so awesome! you guys went over the top with what was already sent

[Techie413]

I'm glad to hear that my fellow Kiss fan received his package, and looks like some of our members received some loaded lots.

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Nintendo e-Reader cards, a couple of Hockey titles (I already had NHL 96), and GBAs: Spider-Man, TMNT 2, and Operation Armored Liberty.

[Crabmaster2000]

I'm speechless..........................

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I can't thank you enough Ray. I was pretty confident that whoever got my name was going to find me a pain to get a gift for. Not only did you get me exactly what I wanted, you got me 6 exactly what I wanteds. This is one of the most generous gifts I've ever received. I recently had a deal fall through for a James Bond Jr. as well so it was pretty awesome to get another one so soon. All 6 of these are also games I'm pretty psyched to actually play too.