Well well, it has been too long since we have done one of these, and honestly, too long for me to be away. This summer was really busy working on our house & my job and family. With winter coming soon, and more time being laid off due to the freezing temps and piles of snow, I will have more time to be active on the site. So i figured we could pick up where we left off, with a new interview! Also look for new reviews, interviews and other content. As well as a ton of updates in the DB. This time I ask singlebanana a few questions. He joined in summer of last year and has been a great contributor of articles and is currently on staff as a blog writer. READ HIS BLOG!
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Rich aka singlebanana Preview
Location: Summerfield, North Carolina
Where does your screen name come from?The name actually comes from my frustration with the game MarioKart 64. My friend and I played the game when we would unwind during grad school. We noticed that every time you were in the lead and ran over a box, the majority of the time all you got was a dreaded single banana.
MarioKart has wasted many hours, How did you find RFG?A guy I went to high school with, DevIancE on RFG, knew I was a collector and directed me to the site.
What made you stay and become part of RFG?I enjoyed the articles, blog posts, and the ease and thorough nature of the database. Plus, I've met some great people to trade games with.
Have you ever met or personally know anyone at RFG?Just DevIance.
 [img width=246 height=184]https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=eb08b03467&view=att&th=1324c2cb81f66d37&attid=0.3&disp=thd&realattid=f_gsckyt5r2&zw[/img]
Basics
Number of Games Owned (at time of printing):1,605 (a mere infant compared to some on here)
Number of Games on Wishlist (at time of printing):140
Number of Systems:Around 25
When did you start collecting?I guess I've been "collecting" since I was five (1982 to be exact), but I just realized I was an addict this year when the volume of games I was buying really started to increase.
What was your first system you owned?Sadly, the notorious Atari 5200. Asked for an "Atari" for Christmas expecting to get a 2600, which all my friends/family had. Neither I, or my parents knew that a new system had just been released. It was an awkward Christmas morning. Ironically, I'm looking to purchase one now...go figure.
What was your first game?Got a few games all at once that fateful Xmas morning, so here goes: Congo Bongo, Galaxian, Pac-Man, and Popeye.
Man, Santa didn't like you much, What was your first game you bought yourself (if different from above)?T & C Surf Designs for the NES, had that sucker on layaway for 6 months...enter disappointment.
6 months of waiting for that? What made you decide to buy that particular game?I was into skateboarding at the time, guess I thought it would be "gnarly."
First game you ever beat?Contra for the NES. I actually beat it the first time I played it over at a soccer team sleepover at a local rec center. 30 men code of course.
I was gonna say, first time, holy crap. Have you ever broken anything due to frustration from a game?I kicked a folding chair once that just happened to fold up and topple directly toward my bedroom window in slow motion. Luckily, only one pane of the window broke. My parents still don't know about this, so I'd like to keep this information hush hush. I believe the game was Kid Icarus, which yes, I finally beat.
Kid Icarus was really fun, hard but fun, and I can see why you broke a chair with that haha! But we will keep that on the down low.
Interview
Are you collecting now, if so what anything specific?I'm a cartridge guy. I primarily collect for the Atari 2600 and NES that I grew up on, but I'll grab a few of the more popular/recommend games for SNES, Genesis, SMS, and N64 when I can. I also have a Vectrex fetish that stems from spending summers at my great grandparent's lake house and a convenience store within walking distance that had a Tempest cabinet.
When did you feel a tipping point from gamer to both gamer and game collector?Earlier this year when I found myself going to flea markets every weekend to "hunt."
More of this flea market hunting, we never have them around me, sucks  What are your goals as a game collector, how have you developed them, and how do you feel about your progress toward them?I'd like to put together a complete collection of loose NES games and grab as many 2600 titles as possible, though I know the impossibility of doing so. I feel like I have a pretty good start on the former.
Big goals are good to have, how many games, systems, etc. are "enough"? enough? - "does not compute"
What's your proudest moment as a game collector?Finding a prototype of Gremlins for the Atari 2600, which I bought at a local thrift shop in NC for $2.16.
What's your least proud moment as a game collector?Passing up on a complete boxed 5200 system and about 8 games for $40. In my defense, the controllers were beat up and missing grips. I felt that if someone had treated the controllers that bad, then the system was probably shot as well. The flea market where I saw it was a few hours out of town and when I returned a few weeks later, it was gone. It still haunts me.
I know we all have those stories, don't worry, they happen to us all! If you had to give part of your collection away for a worthy cause what part would it be, and why?Definitely the N64, I converted from Nintendo to Playstation in college and never had one until this year. Wow, giving up a fairly cheap system...upon reflection, this answer is pretty selfish.
Wow really the N64? Where/how do you store it all?I just moved into a new home in April of this year. Luckily, it has a third floor with a playroom for my kids and a small office for myself. My wife has been kind enough to let me turn it into my gameroom.
Nice, I need to add on to our house for that! What's your favorite part of your collection?Right now it's my Vectrex, but I suppose that's subject to change. I get pretty geeked over the vector graphics and the overlays.
What about a favorite series?Big fan of the Bust-A-Move puzzle games.
What is your guilty pleasure when it comes to gaming?The kids games on the 2600, especially Cookie Monster Munch and Big Bird's Egg Catch. Ironically, I don't have the latter yet, but I remember the bouncing hens on their nests well.
I am seeing a trend here in these interviews, always going back to the kids games. What is the most valuable part of your collection(Value or sentimental)?There is nothing too valuable in my collection, but I'll go with my Vectrex.
What game do you have the most nostalgia for?Probably Grand Prix on the 2600. My grandmother use to play it with my cousin and I when we were very young. I distinctly remember the electrocution sound of running into other cars in the game and my grandmother's high pitched scream when she would crash.
A grandma that plays is cool in my book. What would you like to improve in your collection?I'd like to beef up my 2600 collection, which is currently around 336 games.
What do you think was your best deal while game buying?Snagging Aero Fighters (SNES) from a flea market vendor for $5.
What item in your collection do you feel you overpaid for?Pole Position and Polar Rescue (CIB) for the Vectrex.
Good spending is crucial in collection. What do you feel is the strangest or weirdest item in your collection?Several months ago, I purchased a Panther light gun that looks like a semi-automatic handgun for .99. From the research I've done, I have only been able to find one online that is similar and plugs into a PS1. This one has an Atari/Genesis plug on the end. I'm sure it's for a bootleg system, but I think it's cool.
What item(s) do you not have in your collection that people are surprised to hear you don't have?Probably an XBox 360 or a PS3. I'm not adverse to having newer consoles and do own a Wii, but I honestly wouldn't even know what to buy if I ever considered purchasing one. I'm just the kind of person who is not in a hurry to get his hands on a new system or game. Even with Wii titles, I tend to wait to buy used copies or new ones that have dropped in price considerably.
Not to surprising, I don't have any of the new age systems at the moment! Is there any way you'd ever stop collecting? Maybe if my wife put her foot down. She's not a gamer (though she can be tempted by the occasional game of Warlords), but she's very cool and supportive of my collecting.
Nice, sounds very similar to mine. She did ask me to get rid of a few things that weren't my favorite and I was fine with that. Do you have a funny story about your collection?My friends and I will call in for a mental health day about once a year to game. We fittingly refer to as "Nintenday." There have been songs written about our exploits. Is that too weird?
That is awesome, I would do the same but I get the entire winter off to play!  Have you ever had to move your collection to another house? What was it like? Yeah, I recently moved my collection in April. At the time, I had just under 1000 games. Our old house was very small, so I had everything in our guest room and boxed up to keep it out of site. Since everything was already boxed, the move was quite easy....except for hauling everything up two full flights of stairs at the new place. We used movers for the larger stuff, but of course I did the games myself and wouldn't let anyone else touch them.
If your significant other told you no more games, what would you do? I'd probably have to concede. If she told me I'd have to sell the ones that I already have, then there would be an issue.
What percentage of your games are still sealed?less than 1%
What percentage of your game have you actually played? Completed?probably about 50% played; as far as completed, probably well under 5%. Can you ever really "complete" Atari games though? I could totally score some Activision patches if they would still let me send off for them.
Do you own any complete collections (every game for a certain system)? No, but I'm working toward a complete NES collection at the moment and am very close to completing an originally released Vectrex collection.
[img width=246 height=207]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/collections/necrom99/Vectrex.JPG&sizex=246[/img]
I am the evil interviewer with these questions....
What is your favorite game of all time?Missile Command is my favorite. I'm not sure why, but I've always loved this game and pick up copies for various systems whenever I can and Warlords would be my multiplayer selection
Least Favorite?Since E.T. is too generic, I'll go with the Swordquest series on the 2600. What a bunch of nonsense!
Others
Do you collect anything else besides games?Vinyl, a few G.I. Joe action figures (1982-1987 exclusively) when I find them, DVDs, and many books which I'll probably never read.
What do you outside of games? Work, spend time with my wife, wrestle with my 2 year-old daughter and newborn son, drink with friends, listen to indie music and attend shows.
What other features would you like to see more of at RFG (Example: Reviews, Articles, Interviews, Previews, etc)?I'd like to see more pre-NES game and console reviews.
Agree, if I played more Pre-Nes games I would love to review, I just don't get into to many. Do you have a question for the next interview?What is your favorite gaming cabinet of all time?
Sweet look for that question coming up in the new interview. Thanks for your time!
Click the banner below to check out more of singlebanana's, collection, RFG Profile and many more picture of his awesome collection.
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The time has come after the busy holidays to get you guys some new content. I have posted a review about a DS game that I have just played beaten and shelved, look for that right here. Now with that in the bag it is time for another Interview with the People of RFGeneration. This time an Editor from across the pond in the UK steps up and takes his turn, none other than Ga5ket.
 Anton aka Ga5ket
Location: Nottinghamshire, UK
Where does your screen name come from?Back in my motorcycle days at university I had a bike that I blew 5 head gaskets in 3 weeks, hence the name
How did you find RFG?I hung around racketboy's forums for a while, but they didn't really understand the collecting obsession, and someone there mentioned RFG
What made you stay and become part of RFG? It's the first (and only site) that I've ever come across that caters properly for Euro releases. Every other site seems to list US releases with a small note about the Euro version. The community was an added bonus. Plus now I'm an editor it'd just be rude to leave at this point
Have you ever met or personally know anyone at RFG?Data and I work for different branches of the same company, and we've got together a few times
Basics
Number of Games Owned (at time of printing): 1694
Number of Games on Wishlist (at time of printing): 0, on RFG, but about 4000 on paper
Number of Systems: Including variations, 51
When did you start collecting? Not really sure about games, but I've collected something of one form or another most of my life
What was your first system you owned? Dragon 32. Dad bought it for me way back when, been programming and gaming ever since.
What was your first game? Probably Quest or Madness and the Minotaur
What was your first game you bought yourself (if different from above)? No idea, but it'd be for the Dragon
First game you ever beat? Franklin's Tomb on the Dragon. It's a text based adventure, and I remember my friend and I spending hours playing it.
Have you ever broken anything due to frustration from a game? Not that I remember
 [img width=246 height=184]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/collections/ga5ket/figures20080912.JPG&sizex=246[/img]
Interview
Are you collecting now, if so what anything specific? Bundled games & peripherals, but just about anything I find really
That is always a good thing because you can usually find a deal somewhere on something you like. When did you feel a tipping point from gamer to both gamer and game collector?I've always collected, it just took a while to admit it
Yeah it is kind of like a habit, sometimes it takes time to realize what has happened What are your goals as a game collector, how have you developed them, and how do you feel about your progress toward them? I'm aiming for a full set of Dragon games, although I can't see it ever happening. I have a passion for bundled games, i.e. ones that come with a controller or similar, so I'm picking those up as and when I find them
That is a pretty impressive goal, how many games, systems, etc. are "enough"?
I didn't realize that I had to have a limit?
Well no there is no limit, hey sometimes people finally realize we collector types have way to many games!  What's your proudest moment as a game collector? My longest serving friend donating his Dragon 32 to me, along with a ton of games
That is a true friend right there, anyone who donates games to a collector's cause is a true friend. What's your least proud moment as a game collector? Selling my original Dragon, back in the 90s
Where/how do you store it all? The media boxes and billy bookcase system from Ikea. I'm rapidly running out of space though, so I need to have a bit of a rethink
[img width=246 height=184]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/collections/ga5ket/Nintendo.JPG&sizex=246[/img] 
Ikea is a great place to pick up storage things like that. I really like the way you have things set up. What's your favorite part of your collection? The Dragon stuff (see a pattern emerging here?)
Yes, the pattern is a good thing though, it shows you have a passion and really enjoy that system.What about a favorite series?
Difficult one that. Probably PS1 era Tomb Raider, Metal Gear Solid, Ratchet & Clank or Bioshock
Sorry that can be difficult. What is your guilty pleasure when it comes to gaming? Female characters in games. Nothing weird, or maybe it is! Given a choice between male and female I always pick female. No idea why.
No doubt, same here. And if there is a choice, I will always pick the dark sinister type that may not be on your side in the end. What would you like to improve in your collection? A proper stand up arcade cab, probably Escape from the Planet of the Robot Monsters. I loved that game back in the day
What game do you have the most nostalgia for?Sonic the Hedgehog 2
What is the most valuable part of your collection?I don't think there's anything especially valuable
What do you think was your best deal while game buying? ICO, original release with art cards. I found it in a charity shop for 3
Awesome, that is a great game BTW. What item in your collection do you feel you overpaid for? Bioshock 2 Collector's edition. Bought it once at full price to keep sealed, and then again when I found it in a sale so I could enjoy the contents. I don't regret buying it, but I could have just waited and bought 2 copies at sale time
I have done similar things so don't feel bad. What do you feel is the strangest or weirdest item in your collection? It's not a game, but it's related. It's a MGS4 Ga-Ko alarm clock. It quacks and shakes it's head.
That is sweet, although my wife would probably not like it What item(s) do you not have in your collection that people are surprised to hear you don't have? SNES games. I think I only own about 4, but it was just never part of my scene growing up, so it doesn't have the same draw for me as say the Mega Drive or Master System
Really? Quite different from the last interview with bickman who was crazy about his SNES. Diversity makes us who we are! Is there any way you'd ever stop collecting? Death or financial crisis maybe?
Do you have a funny story about your collection? Not that I can think of
Have you ever had to move your collection to another house? What was it like? Not really, been here 15 or so years now, I guess it's grown mostly during that time
That is probably a good thing, it is difficult to move and people really don't understand what it means to be gentle with totes full of games. If your significant other told you no more games, what would you do? Never happen. She buys them for me too. She bought me a 320Gb PS3 a couple of months ago because she knew that the limited space on the original 40Gb one (that she bought me) was winding me up. In fact thinking about it, she's bought all my PlayStation consoles.
Sounds like you have a keeper! What percentage of your games are still sealed? Less than 1%.
What percentage of your game have you actually played? Completed? Probably about 20% max, sadly
Do you own any complete collections (every game for a certain system)? No, and I don't think I ever will. I only (usually) buy games that I intend to play, so no Barney for me
Actually, that's not quite true, I'm attempting a sealed collection of Tiger Game.com just cuz
[img width=246 height=184]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/collections/ga5ket/Misc.JPG&sizex=246[/img]
Well, Barney can be fun according to bickman, he revealed later in undisclosed notes of the interview he plays it frequently.... Anyways, I am the evil interviewer with these questions....
What is your favorite game of all time (Top 5 if you need to)?Original Tomb Raider, Ratchet & Clank, Bioshock, Gran Turismo, MGS4 in no particular order
Least Favorite? Halo. Not generally a fan of FPS or online multiplayer. Can't see what all the fuss is about. Let the flaming commence.
The funny thing is, I have Halo, but I also don't like FPS as much. I have never played it online and barely made it past the first stages without regretting turning it on.
Others
Do you collect anything else besides games? SF Books, over 1200 and still counting. Records, mainly metal & 80s. Gaming memorabilia.
Sweet, metal rocks What do you outside of games? Time with the family, camping (UK style), hiking
Do I need to ask what UK style of camping is??? Finally, what other features would you like to see more of at RFG (Example: Reviews, Articles, Interviews, Previews, etc)? As we're a retro community I'd like to see more reviews. We've got some really good bloggers now, and the quality of stuff they're putting out is great. More I say! Oh, and image submissions.
Agree, Reviews and image submissions, non-stolen images ahem, would be great. Lastly, do you have a question for the next interview?If you had to give a part of your collection away for a worthy cause what part would it be, and why?
Sweet look for that question coming up in the new interview. Thanks for your time! Below you can find Antons RFG Collection.
Click the banner below to check out more of Antons, collection, RFG Profile and many more picture of his awesome collection.
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And on a last note, the end of the year is approaching quickly, make sure you add a few more submissions to get your yearly total just that tad bit higher! And always I am open to suggestions/comments and everything else. Please let me know via PM or email if you are interested in being interviewed. Thanks again!
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Fossil Fighters
Platforms:Nintendo DS, DSi
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Red Entertainment
Release Date: August 10th 2009
Genre: RPG
Number of Players: 1-2
ERSB Rating: E for Mild Fantasy Violence, Crude Humor
Overview
On the outside, Fossil Fighters sounds surprisingly similar to a Pokemon copycat, but after "digging" a little deeper I found it more enjoyable than Nintendo's other monster battler. I found hectic and addicting as you find new fossils and begin cleaning them with a drill and hammer. If you do it satisfactory then you are rewarded with a new fossil or parts to an existing making them stronger. Sounds like it would kind of on the childish side? True, but the elements of side quests and a love interest or two in the game is exactly what it needs to appeal to the older generation as well.
Story
The game starts by you going to an island, Vivosaur Island to be exact, to do some digging, cleaning and fighting! Kind of a weak story as you meet characters along the way in the likes of Dr. Diggins, BB Bandits, a crazy guy that shakes his hips as well as a few ladies, even some strange human-like race. The story was good, not great but really wasn't a huge deal to me as I was more inclined to go after new fossils and have some more battles than really progress through the story. I actually put more hours into the game after I beat the story and decided to work on my side quests and Fossil collection.
Game Play
Game play can be split up into two different areas. The first is collecting fossils. You use a sonar which beeps when you are near fossils on the top screen of the DS to give you a general location for the buried treasure. Then it is simply wonder over and throw your pick-axe into the ground and bingo. Sometimes you may have to battle a person to get your treasure. But we can touch on that later. You can also find jewels or other rare fossils which can be sold once cleaned.
After digging a few fossils up, take em back and clean them using the stylus as a pointer. Hammer at first then the drill to clean up gently. I almost feel like a dentist after completing this part of the game
[img width=480 height=358]http://dsmedia.ign.com/ds/image/article/101/1015045/fossil-fighters-20090818005538702.jpg[/img] This was probably the most entertaining part of the game for me as you could always increase the strength of your "Vivosaur" by cleaning the fossil better.
The second part of the game play was the battles you take on. Some mandatory, others were not. Each player is sized up with the three vivosaurs you take into battle, and the weaker of the two players gets first turn. Status effects can come into play during battle and also attack/defense effects that each vivosaur has. Each team has different combos and can make for a pretty good time experimenting.
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Sound and Graphics
Overall the sound wasn't terrible. But I am used to playing more RPG's and getting good composing etc so I think that is why it didn't really stand out to me as much. Most of the time I had it turned off and had other music on. The graphics are not good. I wasn't impressed with them at all and if you do compare it to Pokemon, you will be saddened to find out Pokemon had a large advantage. I read a review about it before and it said, "The art on the box is way, way more impressive than what you're going to get in-game. " and I would have to agree.
Trivia
Released in April of 2008 in Japan under the name Bokura wa Kasekihorida which means "We are Fossil Diggers"
Sequel also released in Japan in 2010 under the name Super Kasekihorida
Idea was thought of in 2004, and started being developed in 2005.
IGN didn't like the game much and gave it 5.3 while Gamespot gave it 7.5.
Closing
Overall I really enjoyed this game a ton. Sure it may be a little like Pokemon and the graphics may struggle slightly but it still was a blast. I spent over 57 hours playing through and still didn't get everything accomplished that I wanted to. I may or may not pick it up again later but I am hoping the sequel heads on over seas for us to enjoy. Adults and kids alike can pick this up and really enjoy it.
(Trivia courtesy of Wikipedia, Screenshots from IGN, Gamespot, RFGeneration.)
Welcome to a new edition of People of RFGeneration, formally written up by Izret, I would like to thank him for the chance to revive an old tradition into something more regular. You will notice these are longer and take a fair amount of time to get put together. I hope you take a chance to read them over when they are put up so you can learn more about some of the people of RFG!
First up on my list was a recommendation as well as an obvious choice, bickman2k, a director here at RFG. Read up and see what we can learn about him!
[img width=251 height=188]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/collections/bickman2k/2010-12-09%2006.51.54.jpg&sizex=251[/img]
Adam aka bickman2k
Preview
Location: Olathe, KS (near Kansas City)
Where does your screen name come from? For that story, we have to look to the future. All the way, to the year 2000...
How did you find RFG? I was using IGN to track my collection. At the time, that was mostly GameCube titles, but was quickly growing to include the NES, Genesis, among others. I was running in to more and more titles that just weren't on the IGN list. I began my search for something new and RF Generation was on the list of things to try.
What made you stay and become part of RFG? At first, I was using RF Generation as a test for tracking my collection along with an Excel sheet, Access database, Collectorz.com, and Cart Commander. I could never get the software stuff to look just the way I wanted it to. With the additions and submission system to the database, I know that my collection will always have every game in. I've never really been in to posting on forums because I felt like I was late to the party and could never get involved. At first, I sort of felt the same way (on my end, of course), but once I started posting more consistently, I realized that this is a community I really wanted to be a part of. It's really the only forum I'm constantly active on.
Have you ever met or personally know anyone at RFG? I have not, but I'm sure if Funk_Buddy ever wanted to meet, we could make it happen! I periodically check the member map, but for some reason, things didn't click until we got connected on Facebook.
Basics
Number of Games Owned (at time of printing): Including variations (hi Tynstar!): over 2200
LoL @ Tynstar comment. Number of Games on Wishlist (at time of printing): 0. The reason for this is that I rarely do much game buying/trading/selling over the Internet. Or I could cop out and say that anything that's not on my owned list is on my wish list.
Number of Systems: Including variations: over 50
[img width=251 height=188]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/collections/bickman2k/2010-12-08%2022.13.20.jpg&sizex=251[/img][img width=251 height=188]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/collections/bickman2k/2010-12-08%2022.13.00.jpg&sizex=251[/img]
When did you start collecting? Growing up, we had the NES and SNES, but when we moved on to the next system, my parents sold the older ones or we traded them in to get games for the new console. Once we hit the N64, we kept it. I was given a GameCube for high school graduation by my then-girlfriend, but didn't dump the N64 (maybe a game or two). I went off to college and loved playing GameCube games, but I had always played games on emulators (NES and SNES mostly). I was getting the itch to start getting the old games again. So, I started calling old friends and neighbors to see if they had their stuff sitting in a closet. Eventually, I got to the point of being on the hunt. I'd say the hook was successfully planted in the summer of 2003.
What was your first system you owned? The first system I personally purchased was a PlayStation from my best friend (who is now my brother-in-law).
What was your first game? I have vague memories of Major League Baseball on Intellivision, but I really remember Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt.
What was your first game you bought yourself (if different from above)? Taking out birthday presents where I could go choose a game, I'd probably have to say Super Punch-Out!!
What made you decide to buy that particular game? I enjoyed playing Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! on the NES at my neighbors' house when I was younger.
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! is a classic. First game you ever beat? First one I can remember is finishing all levels on both games on Donkey Kong Classics for the NES.
Have you ever broken anything due to frustration from a game? Nope.
Interview
Are you collecting now, if so what anything specific? My collecting has slowed, but I still enjoy the hunt. I just can't hunt as much as I used to. Hopefully things will change that will allow me to get back in to the swing of things.
When did you feel a tipping point from gamer to both gamer and game collector? I think that goes back to the summer of 2003 again. I've always enjoyed playing games, but it was that summer when things really took off.
What are your goals as a game collector, how have you developed them, and how do you feel about your progress toward them? I don't really have set goals for my collecting purposes aside from "get them all". I really find all games to be interesting. There are plenty of people out there that like to focus on one thing or another. I don't think I could restrain myself like that.
How many games, systems, etc. are "enough"? Again, all of them... The greatest thing about collecting is that no one can define when you're done.
What's your proudest moment as a game collector? Probably the day I realized that I had over 2000 games. There are a lot of milestones that a collector will hit. I think it starts with 10, then 25, 50, 100, 250, 500, 1000, 2000, and so on by thousands on up. It seems to get easier to hit milestones once you're already getting that high. It is harder to store it all though...
2000 is a lot of games, I doubt I will ever reach that! What's your least proud moment as a game collector? After entering my collection, realizing that I have 2 boxed (maybe CIB) copies of Barney for the Genesis. Why? WHY?!?
I am at a loss for words, Barney? Honestly Barney?Remember, he loves you! Anways, where/how do you store it all? We have a small house right now, so there's obviously no room to store it all at home. I have my PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, and GameCube games that I'll play on a shelf. I also have the PS2 SingStar games at home since you can play them through the PS3 SingStar version. There is a small collection of NES, SNES, and Genesis games as well. Everything else is in a storage unit.
[img width=251 height=188]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/collections/bickman2k/2010-12-08%2022.13.47.jpg&sizex=251[/img] What's your favorite part of your collection? Probably my SNES collection. I remember some gaming on the NES, but my favorite memories are on SNES games. Although I really do love my collection of non-game gaming collectibles.
SNES did bring some good quality collection stuff, I agree with you there. What about a favorite series? Overall, it has to be the Mario series. There are a lot of series where there is a game or two that I really enjoy, but the body of work across the entire Mario series is hard to beat.
Again, I am going to agree with you. The Brothers have brought many a good time. What is the most valuable part of your collection? I'd say my SNES collection, specifically my SNES RPGs. Lots of CIB goodness.
What would you like to improve in your collection? Probably my SNES collection. I have a lot of games for it, but there are just so many more that I either used to have and want to get again or never got to play and would like to try.
I am seeing a trend, you like your SNES! What do you think was your best deal while game buying? Tengen Tetris for $5 or my free model 2 NES.
Wowzer, that is dandy of a deal. What item in your collection do you feel you overpaid for? Please make me feel better about these: CIB Jaguar with all original packing material, bags, cords, and Cybermorph for $100 and Virtual Boy with 10 or 11 games, books for games and system, and hard plastic Blockbuster rental case for $100. I still think I may have paid too much for them, but I had never seen them around here before. As I mentioned, I don't purchase much from the Internet. I had also just been paid for doing some computer work, so it was extra money, which makes overpaying a little bit easier.
What do you feel is the strangest or weirdest item in your collection? Batter-Up for Genesis. For those who don't know, it's a motion-sensing baseball bat that you played baseball games with.
That was ahead of its' time by a few years huh?! What item(s) do you not have in your collection that people are surprised to hear you don't have? Well, I'm seeing that I have a manual, but no copy of Tetris for Game Boy. Yes, it's true.
That is strange, even I have that Is there any way you'd ever stop collecting? The only way I'd stop collecting would be if we had a severe financial crisis and I had to have a massive sell-off. I just don't think I could go through it all again if that happened.
Do you have a funny story about your collection? It's funny now because I could have saved myself $50. Summer of 2003, I'm working at a golf course and my best friend calls me. They are having a garage sale and they have a Genesis, Sega CD, 32X, and a bunch of games for sale. As you can imagine, $50 for it all. I get up there and purchase the whole bundle from his sister who was there. As I mentioned above, my best friend is now my brother-in-law as well. Yes, I bought my first Genesis, Sega CD, and 32X from my future wife.
[img width=251 height=188]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/collections/bickman2k/2010-10-16%2017.08.45.jpg&sizex=251[/img] Ha! That is funny, although I think I would have asked to take her out to dinner and call it even Have you ever had to move your collection to another house? What was it like? Yes. It's... not done yet. We were living with my wife's mom and stepdad for about a year before we bought our house. It was nice because we had a storage room there that we could use. Since we weren't forced out, we moved gradually, but my games stayed there because we simply didn't have the room to keep them at home. A few months ago, we got a storage unit that's closer to the house. So, I cleared out my collection entirely and as we moved things from the old location to the new, they had a stop at our house to be entered online. I'm almost done!
Sounds like a good way to go, I would be so scared to put stuff in a storage unit though. I guess I need my stuff where I can go see it and go through it! If your significant other told you no more games, what would you do? I'd laugh nervously, then wait for her to say "April Fools!" She's somewhat a gamer, too. Loves SingStar, Rock Band, and Sonic the Hedgehog (the good 2-D one).
That is good, "Couples who play together, Stay together"! What percentage of your games are still sealed? Less than 5%.
What percentage of your game have you actually played? Completed? I have no idea. It gets hard to play through an entire game (especially newer titles) when you have a kid and responsibilities and all that adult-type stuff.
Do you own any complete collections (every game for a certain system)? No, but I'm only one game away from Virtual Boy (Jack Bros.).
I am the evil interviewer with these questions....
What is your favorite game of all time (Top 5 if you need to)? I'd have to say Earthbound. If I ever fire up an emulator on a PSP or my phone, Earthbound is usually the first to get a playthrough. Really, there are so many games that I consider favorites, that the top is sort of an amorphous blob with Earthbound on top.
I would say I like your choice, although I don't own it, I remember playing it through at a friends house and totally loving it. Least Favorite? I've never played them, but, Ubisoft, please, PLEASE stop making the "Somethingz" series. Seriously? "Babyz"? "Horsez"? Let's stop this.
I agree, all those Ubisoft releases are really annoying when it comes to adding to the Database especially.
Others
Do you collect anything else besides games? I am growing into a LaserDisc collector. They are an interesting beast. We first started getting them because the art was very cool. Way better than a narrow VHS cover art and it's GIGANTIC! Mostly started with Disney titles with the intent of using them as decoration, but then I came home with a haul of 60-70 that I picked up for $10 and this past summer I got a working player!
That is interesting thing to share, I am sure most people here didn't know that you collected them. What do you outside of games? Mostly spend time with my family. I also enjoy golfing.
Golf? You need to think of a hobby, golf isn't even a sport?! Just messing! Well, I'm also trying to teach myself some more advanced web programming languages and programming for Android.
Finally, what other features would you like to see more of at RFG (Example: Reviews, Articles, Interviews, Previews, etc)? I really enjoy all of the articles that are written by everyone on the site. I really hope that the interviews take off because I really enjoy being able to learn about everyone on the site. You can pick up things in the forums, but a user-focused article lets everyone get a really good grasp on where they are coming from. The review articles are great, again, because each one is different. The topics may include similar items, but the viewpoint and experience is what sets each one apart. I also enjoy reading the finds blog entries because it's quite interesting to see just what kind of things are being found elsewhere in the country. I do get somewhat jealous because nothing cool tends to make it here...
Thanks for your time! Below you can find Adam's Gamercard and RFG Collection.
[img width=470 height=155]http://gamercards.exophase.com/36335.png[/img]
[img width=468 height=60]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/banners/generated/collection/bickman2k.png[/img]
I am open to suggestions/comments and everything else. Please let me know via PM or email if you are interested in being interviewed. Thanks again!
[img width=320 height=224]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-040/ss/ts/U-040-S-00220-A.jpg[/img]
Altered Beast
Platforms: Sega Genesis, Various Other Platforms
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega
Release Date: August 1989
Genre: Beat 'em Up
Number of Players: Up to 2 Players at same time
ERSB Rating: N/A
Review
"Rise from your Grave" The first words of the game Altered Beast for the Sega Mega Drive & Genesis, still rings into my head whenever I plug my Genesis in and hit the button. I was first exposed to this classic side scrolling beat 'em Up gem by my uncle who had the first generation Genesis. If you had one of them, you usually had this game that was one of the first releases for the Genesis. When I was young, I never could get passed the 4th or 5th stage even though I had watched my uncle beat it through many times. Leave me alone I was only six!!
Story
The story starts off kind of strange. Basically you're a dead Roman soldier that gets resurrected by the man, the myth, the legend, one and only, Zeus himself. Before you can even smell that fresh air, you are told to go rescue his daughter. He is Zeus and he can't even rescue his own daughter? You must seek out Neff, Lord of the Underworld, to claim your prize.
[img width=550 height=385]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-040/ss/ex/U-040-S-00220-A_01.jpg[/img] Game Play
As you start the game you look like any other normal old-school Roman stud. You can use two options to bust your way through the levels, kick and punch. You can also jump which can be useless. There is also a button combo, down and punch, which lets your lay on your can and punch up to get the flying creatures. As you stroll through the levels you will run into brown and blue two headed lions or wolves or something. When you kill the blue ones, a "Power-Up", yes it even says it, will come out and if you get it, you will change in appearance slightly. Your muscles will get pimped out and you continue on. When you get three of these blue Power-Ups, you will turn into an "Altered Beast" I guess you could say. The first stage is a wolverine type thing, second a green dragon and so on. Each can shoot or do something unique to that creature. Once you are in your beast character and you encounter Neff in the level, you will engage in a boss battle to win that level. Most are easy enough and are pretty sweet and fun to take on, specially the second level with the freaky eye thing that sends eyes out all over the screen. But overall the game lacked any depth and was very quite linear, gain three Power-Ups and go kill the boss. Very few other things to do and the lack luster on the side fighting really didn't jump out and make you want to play it all day. Another flaw was that it was fairly short in length. With a good sit down you could finish it with out much trouble in a hour or less.
[img width=550 height=385]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-040/ss/ex/U-040-S-00220-A_04.jpg[/img]
Sound and Graphics
The sound for Altered Beast was for the most part outstanding for its' time. It had voices which few games did at that time. In fact this was one reason why it was such a hit at Arcades. Talking on games back in the day was really a stand out feature to sell the game. The graphics were on the fair side with most 16-bit games looking similar.
Unknown Facts
Altered Beast: Guardian of the Realms was released on the GBA in Nov. of 2002
Project Altered Beast for the PS2 was canceled in the US even though it was released in Europe and Japan. What a shame!
Altered Beast can be found on the Virtual Console for the Wii and XBLA for XBOX 360.
Tiger Electronics released a hand held version in 1988.
[img width=550 height=385]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-040/ss/ex/U-040-S-00220-A_07.jpg [/img]
Overall
Overall I would in fact recommend the game Altered Beast to anyone who likes a good Beat-em up game or is a fan of classic Sega games. It can be found at good prices, usually $5-6 dollars and is worth the hour or so you will stick into it. I personally believe you will enjoy this game and love taking a chance to replay one of the older great games out there.
[img width=200 height=179]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-087/bf/U-087-S-05960-A.jpg&sizex=200[/img]
Lock's Quest
Platforms:Nintendo DS & DSi
Publisher: 5th-Cell
Developer: THQ
North American Release Date: Sept. 8th 2008
Genre: Strategy
Number of Players: 1, 2 Online
ERSB Rating: Everyone for Fantasy Violence
Review
I am sure all of you have played a game where you build a fort and then try to defend it from massing armies, whether it is bugs or aliens or in the case of this game, Clockworks. Now this isn't your standard tower defense game by any means. From the creators of Drawn to Life bring you a wonderful adventure into the world of Clockworks and Archineers. Think of it as a combination of Architects and Engineers, that you use to create forts and then of course defend them. However there is more to this game than the standard build and defend mentality. Lock's Quest throws at us a great little adventure. Now lets take a look at some specific areas.
[img width=264 height=396]http://dsmedia.ign.com/ds/image/article/863/863772/lock-nation-20080401070352727_640w.jpg[/img]
Story
The story of Lock's Quest at first may seem kind of cliche in that a girl gets taken from you and you must rescue her. Except this time it isn't your love interest, it's your little sister. After some slow starts to the story, you find yourself wanting to play more and more just to see what happens. The story plays fairly straight through but does throw some curve balls in mix as well as some things you might expect as you travel through the kingdom of Antonia looking for your sister and trying to defeat the evil Lord Agony - Chief of the Clockworks.
Game Play
There is a ton of game play in this 100 day mission that brings to life a journey to rescue Lock's sister. The game can be broken up into two main stages of playing, although there are several other parts to the actual game. For the most part throughout the game you will take on the role of building towers and walls, placing traps and mines, and battling Clockworks. The first stage in this is to construct your towers and fort. This is fairly easy, using the stylus you simply click the tower you want, then click again to place it and rotate it if you need to. That is about it. You have a time limit to build and it is usually 2 minutes and sometimes 3. This goes fast and can be rather hard to set up your base in the first stages when you have a clean slate. After your time is up, a 2-3 minute stage of clockworks coming at you usually from one or more locations to attack your base. This is the cool part of the game as in this stage of things you can now defend your base by attacking the clockworks yourself, which leads to special attacks, or you can repair your towers to defend yourself. You heal automatically which is kind of nice I suppose, simply by running away from battle you will gain life back in a few seconds. Your special attacks are pretty handy and speed things up nicely. You will run around the entire time, it is crazy how much action is involved in this game.
After you kill a clockwork, a thing called Source is dropped and it shows up in a blue flame. This source is the main reason why you are fighting as the clockworks want your Source wells. Also randomly during your fighting the clockworks, a new scrap might be picked up and after the battle has ended you can navigate your way through a few screens to build more towers, traps, and helper towers from that scrap. It is a handy little thing, specially the freeze traps as I pretty much spammed them right in front of my towers and put some poison traps near the spawning points and breezed through most stages fairly easily.
[img width=264 height=396]http://dsmedia.ign.com/ds/image/article/888/888769/locks-quest-20080713091605155_640w.jpg[/img]
Other stages to play in Lock's story is a series of days where you man the turret to defend town. This is very much like the tower defense games all over the place that you might have seen. But they are a fun change of pace and add to the game instead of just building forts and defending those all day. Another stage I really enjoyed was one where you have control of Lock but there is not town to defend. You must go through the map and take down enemies in hand to hand fighting. This was a blast and I wish there were more of these stages, sadly if I remember right, there was only one or two.
The only few gripes I had with Lock's Quest is that sometimes during the building stage where you set your towers can make it difficult to see where your others are. For example, your building a |_| shaped town, sometimes they can be hard to see the sides if you have your front built already. It is a very stylus heavy game which for me is hard to play through and I am not a big fan of the stylus. But this makes good use of and gives you a heck of a hand cramp if you play it for to long. The game runs around 20 hours but it never really feels like it as you are always wanting to get to the next stage to see what happens in the story. I ran my battery down several times and I remember thinking that I just charged it, even though it was 5-6 hours ago.
Sound and Graphics
The graphics in this game are fantastic to put a good word on it. The game has a ton of stuff going on and it always ran smoothly. Think of this, you have at any given time, Lock running around, towers going off, 15-30 enemies on the map all attacking or walking, traps going off and it runs smoothly. I saw one review saying they had a map of over 300 things and it never hiccuped at all which is pretty amazing. The sound is simply awesome. From the battle music that really gets you in the mood to bash some clockworks to the menu music that doesn't get annoying at all which is a trend I am afraid, happening entirely to much. I thoroughly enjoyed the music and animations of Lock's Quest. The characters look good and animations work and run smoothly. Lock's hair even flows smoothly when he is running around. The clockworks also look good with a nice variety of types to have to overcome. The ones I hated most were the ones that charged your walls with explosives on their back. Not cool! Oh and also the ones that were ghosts I didn't care for much at all either.
Facts/Trivia
In July, at the San Diego Comic Convention, THQ debuted a promotional mini-comic based on the universe of the game entitled Lock's Quest: A Source of Hope - Volume 1 drawn by Edison Yan. IGN awarded Lock's Quest its "Best Strategy Game" award for the Nintendo DS at E3 2008. Source: Wikipedia
LocksQuest.Com has a playable Flash demo of the game.
Overall
Overall Lock's Quest is a great adventure to take on the go or sit in bed and play until you want to sleep. Be prepared that you will not be able to sleep after playing as it is very intense action. The music and animations are great and sound awesome coming from the heavy emphasis on battle. The graphics are also nice and look good on the DS. The heart of the fun is truly at the game play and it runs for 100 days in the mission and 20 hours in your life. A great value at $20 now and even cheaper on the internet, you would be silly not to want to pick this up and play it if you are a fan at all of Tower Defense games or just a great intense action title. Overall I give Lock's Quest a sore wrist and a score of 8.5
Screenshots from IGN.com.
The Guardian Legend
Platform: NES & Famicom
Publisher: Broderbund
Developer: Compile
Release Date: April 1989
Genre: Multi-Genre, Action-Adventure & Scrolling Shooter
Number of Players: Single Player
ERSB Rating: N/A
[img width=256 height=224]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-027/ss/ts/U-027-S-02740-A.jpg[/img]
Review
I remember when I was younger my friend and I always sat in his basement and wasted the afternoons away playing our NES games. Between us we had nearly 100 or so, entirely to many for two kids to play all day. We had our favorites of course and several we couldn't ever get passed the first few stages. One of those games was The Guardian Legend. This was the first multi-genre game that I had played and wow was it an adventure. From the action-adventure dungeon crawling to the top down shooter that sports some great weapon choices. One of the more interesting facts about the Guardian that I will talk about more later, is that the Guardian is actually a girl humanoid. A girl robot has to attract you to this game from the snap of the cartridge into the system. It is a blast to play and even in this Next-Gen world, we can fall back in time to of one of the best multi-genre games ever made.
Story
The story of Guardian Legend is pretty simple. You take control of a female humanoid who is the guardian of Earth. You, as the guardian of Earth, must take control of a spaceship planet type thing that is coming towards the earth. Your mission is to destroy this thing, called Naju, before it gets to Earth. Sounds exciting easy enough right? Think again. You get messages throughout the game giving some hints on what to do next but it is pretty self explanatory for the most part.
[img width=256 height=224]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-027/ss/U-027-S-02740-A.jpg[/img]
Game Play
As the guardian of earth you can be in one of two different forms, depending on what part of the game you are in. Either part, you have a life bar that decreases as you get hit by your enemy. Little blue balls pop-up in the map called Power-Chips that allow you to replenish your health, give you a different type of gun and also giving you tips of what to do. Speaking of guns you have a primary weapon that has unlimited ammo. You also have a secondary weapon that use the Power-Chips you can collect, which are also used to upgraded yourself at a few shops. They also can provide check points and give passwords to resume your game later.
Splitting the game up into its two genres can be a fun way to take a look at the game and what makes it a fun and interesting game. The first part of the game to talk about is the maze or labyrinth as it is sometimes called. This is the action-adventure part of your journey through Guardian Legend. The object of the maze is to find the power ups so you can in turn destroy Naju. This consists of small rooms that you can enter through doors or portals.
The second part of the game is the Scrolling shooter part of the dungeon. Getting through the stage simply means to survive by shooting the various enemies that fly at you, since you are now in spaceship form, unlike the maze part where you are in your robot form. Once you get to the end of the dungeon you will fight a boss that for the most part is a lot stronger than the enemies in the stage.
Sound
The music in Guardian Legend is for the most part fairly similar to most NES games. The beginning screen kind of gives you the space, sci-fi feel and that sticks with you through the first stage of shooting. The guns remind me of every other NES or Arcade game out during the late 80s early 90s. For the most part, it doesn't strike me as a game you will remember for the sound and music. According to several websites, the sound track has been covered by one video game music cover band, The Advantage.
Unknown Facts
Guardian Legend was actually a sequel to a MSX game called Guardic only released in Japan in 1986
Guardian Legend uses the Longest Password key of possible for a NES game, 32 characters.
Guardian Legends' graphics were so powerful a computer in 1992 would not run it without a expensive graphics card.
Guardian Legend hit Nintendo Powers charts at #9
Guardian Legend has a bug that lets you recharge your health to full nearly instantly.
Overall
In today's "Next-Gen" standards, the Guardian Legend would probably fail on an epic level. However, throwing two different genres into one game is rarely done with as much success as was done here. The game throws you for a loop if your not expecting it. The first time I played it was in my best friends basement and I really had a hard time figuring out what to do. Shoot Shoot Shoot, then walk around ? I was confused, until I was older and found that it was truly a fun game to play. I have it in my collection proudly, complete with box in mint shape. I highly encourage you all to give it a try. Thanks for your time in reading and hope you don't see this screen....
[img width=256 height=224]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-027/ss/ex/U-027-S-02740-A_05.jpg[/img]
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