People of RF Generation: People of RF Generation: MetalFRO

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Name(First only):

Josh

Location:

Nebraska, USA

Where does your screen name come from?

“FRO” was a high school nickname, so when I first went online, I used that as my handle. As forums and online communities became more popular, I suddenly wasn’t able to keep using that, because others snapped it up, so I added “Metal” to the front, because of my love of heavy metal music, and it just kind of stuck. I’m still “FRO” on the Shmups.com forums, however.

How did you find RFG?

I was looking for gaming-related podcasts, specifically retro or collecting, and came upon the RFG Playcast. After listening to an episode or two, and enjoying the discussion, I checked out the site.

What made you stay and become part of RFG?

The community. Specifically, I participated in a play-through of Super Metroid, and the great encouragement and support I got, as a first time player of the game, was a big deal. Shortly thereafter, I began posting blogs, and after I got my first blog post promoted to the front page, I knew I had found a good online home.

Have you ever met or personally know anyone at RFG?

I haven’t met anyone yet, though I hope to remedy that this year. I’d like to attend Retro World Expo, and possibly one other con. I have developed a camaraderie with a couple RFGen members, however, and talk with some of them via chat or text on a regular basis.

Number of Games Owned(at time of printing):

A little over 2,000

Number of Games on Wishlist(at time of printing):

My “official” RFGen wishlist has 10 items in it, but in reality, I want all the games and all the systems!

Number of Systems:

I’m going to say 25, not including variants or iterative hardware revisions.

When did you start collecting?

Technically in Jr. High when I bought my Genesis, as I still have nearly all of the games I had back then, but I really started collecting as an adult when I got my Game Boy Color, PlayStation, and Sega Saturn. I ramped up my collection efforts the most in the last 4 or 5 years, however.

What was your first system you owned?

The Nintendo Game Boy.

What was your first game?

First game I played was either Pac-Man or Combat, on my uncle’s Atari 2600.

What was your first game you bought yourself?

That would probably be a PC version of Double Dragon II.

What made you decide to buy that particular game?

I was big into Double Dragon because of friends, and the cover art for the game was awesome - almost post-apocalyptic, and very “metal” in the general aesthetic.

First game you ever beat?

I don’t remember specifically, but that’s probably either Super Mario Bros. or King’s Quest on PC.

Have you ever broken anything due to frustration from a game? Be honest, we won't tell…

Sadly, yes. I’ve recounted the story a couple times elsewhere, but in early adulthood, when I first got my PlayStation, I had a lousy MadCatz PS1 pad, and decided to use it to play Core’s “Ninja: Shadow of Darkness”, a 3D action game with platforming elements. The game was super difficult for me, and the platforming was maddening. I got so mad one night I threw the controller on the ground. It landed face down on the carpet, and one of the analog stick nubs popped off. After that, I traded in the game.

Are you collecting now, if so what anything specific?

Yes, I’m collecting somewhat indiscriminately, in the sense that I’m just buying up everything decent that I find at Goodwill and the local pawn shops. More specifically, however, I’m working on a full, non-variant licensed US set of Game Boy games, and a full, CIB PSP set, including Greatest Hits and Favorites releases, as well as all limited/special/collectors editions, and all DualPack releases. That will take me a few years to assemble, I’m assuming. I’m also casually collecting CIB Genesis games, though far less fervently.

When did you feel a tipping point from gamer to both gamer and game collector?

Probably when I decided that I wanted to collect, play, and review every licensed US game boy game. I had begun to collect more in the months leading up to that, but once I decided to go that route, it became a pursuit, and I began looking much more closely for used games anywhere I could find them.

What are your goals as a game collector, how have you developed them, and how do you feel about your progress toward them?

As mentioned, I’m working toward a non-variant licensed US set of Game Boy games, and a full/complete PSP set. The Game Boy idea developed because I want to play and review all games. The PSP collection is just more of a thing I want to do for fun. I quite like the PSP, and because of its large library (with loads of variety!), I felt like that would be a good system to collect for. I had begun to buy PSP games to play a few years earlier, and as the system was being phased out, I thought maybe I could get in on some good deals for picking up games as they were being liquidated. As of this writing, I’m 5 games away from 300 US GB games, so nearly ⅗ of the US library. I’m also 1 game away from having 250 US PSP titles, which is astounding, considering that 3 years ago, I had maybe 20 or 25 games.

How many games, systems, etc. are "enough"?

It’s never enough! All joking aside, I would say it’s enough when you either don’t have enough storage space to keep it all, are spending more money than what you can actually allocate to your collecting habit (i.e. going into debt), or both. I have more games now than I could ever realistically play, but the hunt for games is part of the enjoyment of it, so for me, that fuels the fire.

What's your proudest moment as a game collector?

In 2001, at a pawn shop, I snagged a complete in box Atari Jaguar, as well as a deck-only JVC X’Eye. I paid a little more for the X’Eye than I wanted to, but I’ve never seen one in the wild since, and I still use that as my primary Genesis console today.

What's your least proud moment as a game collector?

Probably a handful of times over the last 2 years where I’ve thrown caution to the wind and used my credit card to buy games, instead of only spending cash I had on hand. I try to be frugal as much as possible, but occasionally I get carried away.

If you had to give part of your collection away for a worthy cause what part would it be, and why?

Probably either my Wii games or my Xbox 360 games. Partially because I could easily get them both back, but also because I have a LOT of great titles for both systems, and one assumes that the games would go to folks to be played, so a good library of accessible games would make sense.

Where/how do you store it all?

Most of it I now have on shelving in my game room, though my PSP and PS1 collections are still boxed, because my shelving isn’t sufficient enough to house everything.

What's your favorite part of your collection?

Hard to say, though besides my GB and PSP stuff, that might be my small Saturn collection. I have a handful of great titles, and while I don’t have very many, I have a lot of nostalgia for the Saturn, since I got into it right at the time of its demise, when I was rekindling my love for the hobby.

What about a favorite series?

Depends on the genre. I’m a sucker for the Super Mario Bros. series, both from nostalgia and good game design, but I’m also really into shmups, so I quite like the R-Type series, the Gradius series, the Thunder Force games, etc. I got REALLY into the God of War games a few years back, and played through all of them in rapid succession.

What is your guilty pleasure when it comes to gaming?

I don’t really have any. The obvious answer would be “filthy casual” games on mobile, but mostly I enjoy quick match-3 puzzle games and stuff like that on my phone. Otherwise, if it’s a game I enjoy, I shouldn’t feel ashamed for enjoying it. Unless that game is something like a hentai game - then I’d probably have some shame in playing or enjoying it.

What is the most valuable part of your collection(Value or sentimental)?

In terms of sheer value, I don’t have anything that’s crazy expensive or rare, so probably a handful of games I own would be worth more than original retail, but not by a large margin. In terms of nostalgia, I’d say my copy of Lightening Force for the Sega Genesis. I still have my original copy from Jr. High, and have probably a dozen or so high scores written in the back of the manual from those days. I absolutely poured over that game as a teen, and it’s still a favorite.

What game do you have the most nostalgia for?

Probably King’s Quest, specifically the IBM PCjr version. That game opened my eyes to what was beyond the Atari 2600, and because we could hook the PCjr up to the TV for 16-color graphics and 3-channel sound, I was just awestruck by how amazing the game looked and sounded for its time. I spent countless hours playing that game, and ever after I had completed it, I played through it multiple times.

What would you like to improve in your collection?

For sure my storage and game room setup. I want to get better shelving that’s more space-saving and helps me display stuff better, but also helps me organize better so I don’t have stacks of games on top of one another, and can instead have single-layer shelves where I can pull a game off the shelf without having to lift up 10 or 15 carts or cases on top.

What do you think was your best deal while game buying?

Probably my copy of the original Lunar for Sega CD. I picked it up, sans map, a few years back for $20 in very minty condition.

What item in your collection do you feel you overpaid for?

The JVC X’Eye I mentioned before. It was console only, it was in rough shape, and sold “as is”, so I had no idea if it even worked, because the pawn shop owner had no way to test it. I spent $100 on it with no idea if I would be throwing my money away. Thankfully, it worked out, but at the time, that was way more money than I had to spend on something like that.

Good spending is crucial in collecting. What do you feel is the strangest or weirdest item in your collection?

I don’t have much that would be considered strange, though I do have a handful of random foreign releases that I’ve picked up in the wild at various game stores. Outside of that, maybe my custom RF Generation wrestling belt I won for the December 2014 shmups competition? Wink

Is there any way you'd ever stop collecting?

If things ever changed to where, financially speaking, I couldn’t keep going, or would have to sell games off because of financial hardship, then possibly. Or if I ever ran out of space for it all

Do you have a funny story about your collection?

Not really, other than the usual horror stories of moving games, hoping cases don’t crack (I’m looking at you, Sega Saturn), and tales of having passed up games when they were cheap, like a $20 Saturn Bomberman or $30 Saturn version Mega Man 8, back when they were closeouts. So funny, but also kinda sad Sad

Have you ever had to move your collection to another house? What was it like?

Not at the size it is now. The biggest move I had to make was when I moved from Nebraska to North Carolina, and then back again a few months later. Packing up all my consoles and games (maybe 250-300) at that time was a pain. I can’t imagine what it would be like to move all my stuff now that I’ve amassed 8-10 times that!

If your significant other told you no more games, what would you do?

Try and negotiate for a slower pace of acquisition or something. Ultimately, if it was a hard “no”, I have enough to keep me playing for years to come, so I’d be okay, but the collector in me would still hunger for more chances to find stuff in the wild.

What percentage of your games are still sealed?

I’m not a sealed collector, so the only games I have sealed are either ones I picked up that way and just haven’t opened to play yet, so probably only 4-5 games at this point.

What percentage of your games have you actually played?

20% - 25% maybe?

Completed?

Probably closer to 5% or 10%

Do you own any complete collections?

Sadly, no, not yet.

Time to bring out the fanboys! What is your favorite game of all time?

Probably a tie between King’s Quest and Lightening Force. The original PC version of Starflight is a close second.

Least Favorite?

Glover for the PlayStation comes to mind. That game frustrated me to no end when I played it years ago.

Do you collect anything else besides games?

Music CDs (somewhere in the 3,500 to 4,000 range) and vinyl albums (probably somewhere between 250-350 records)

What do you outside of games?

I’m an IT Systems Administrator by day, and as mentioned, I collect music, so I’m a major music lover. I also play drums, and occasionally sing, though just in church. I used to sing in a metal band, many years ago.

crabmaster2000, the previous interviewee, asked, “What's your favorite gaming controller of all time?”

Good question! It’s a toss up between the Saturn 3D control pad (so comfortable!), the original PlayStation DualShock pad, and the Xbox 360 pads (again, comfy!).

Thanks for your time!