What was your toughest game to find?

[T.A.P.]

I've been in a Lynx mood for the past year or so and have been slowly filling out my collection.

 

I'm just a few games a way from having everything I want, and I have to say the one I've had the toughest time finding has to be Ninja Gaiden.

 

I've been trying to find a complete copy of that and it just has not been showing up at all. I even lost an auction for just the box for like $75(!).

 

Other ones I had trouble hunting down but eventually found were a boxed copy of California Games, and a copy of Gates of Zendocon on a curved lip cartridge.

 

What about you? What did you have trouble finding, or are still looking for?

 

Also, if anyone has a complete Ninja Gaiden they want to part with... :p

[PFG 9000]

Ninja Gaiden was a tough one for me too.  A friend eventually found it "in the wild."  That was probably 12-15 years ago though.

 

I struggled to find a small-box version of California Games, even on ebay.

 

Krazy Ace Mini Golf was stupidly hard to find for a long time.  But Telegames started reprinting them again a few years back.

[WesleyrpgAust]

Like you i struggled with finding Ninja Gaiden, and i eventually settled for a loose cart only for the time being.

 

Lemmings, Battlezone 2000 and Xenophobe were also difficult to find.

 

Oh and don't get me started on the price i paid for Super Asteroid & Missile Command.

 

All the Telegames Lynx games are still available as new. (Double Dragon, Super Off Road, Desert Strike, etc)

 

 

Edited April 9, 2022 by WesleyrpgAust

[+jeremiahjt]

Everybody talking about Ninja Gaiden made me go back and look at when and what I got my boxed Ninja Gaiden for.  I got my complete in box copy in January of 2020 on eBay.  The Buy It Now price was $49.95.  I put in a Best Offer for $44.75 and they accepted it.  It was one of those were I was wondering should I roll the dice with a Best Offer or just pay full price so nobody beats me to it.  I rolled the dice and saved a whopping $5.20.  The box was in very good condition too.  Luckily I already had a loose cartridge and loose manual so the boxed copy went into a box protector complete.

 

The same thing kind of happened November of last year for a complete Hard Drivin' on eBay.  This time I did not risk putting in a Best Offer since the Buy It Now price was only $35.  I still need a loose Hard Drivin' manual though, or I can take the one out of my boxed copy.  The box on that copy is also in very good condition.

[+jgkspsx]

On 4/7/2022 at 2:03 PM, T.A.P. said:

I even lost an auction for just the box for like $75(!).

[+jeremiahjt]

On 4/9/2022 at 12:57 PM, jeremiahjt said:

Everybody talking about Ninja Gaiden made me go back and look at when and what I got my boxed Ninja Gaiden for.  I got my complete in box copy in January of 2020 on eBay.  The Buy It Now price was $49.95.  I put in a Best Offer for $44.75 and they accepted it.  It was one of those were I was wondering should I roll the dice with a Best Offer or just pay full price so nobody beats me to it.  I rolled the dice and saved a whopping $5.20.  The box was in very good condition too.  Luckily I already had a loose cartridge and loose manual so the boxed copy went into a box protector complete.

 

The same thing kind of happened November of last year for a complete Hard Drivin' on eBay.  This time I did not risk putting in a Best Offer since the Buy It Now price was only $35.  I still need a loose Hard Drivin' manual though, or I can take the one out of my boxed copy.  The box on that copy is also in very good condition.

Well thanks to @T.A.P. clueing me into an eBay listing, I have a loose Hard Drivin' manual heading my way. So I can keep my boxed copy in all its completeness glory.

[Tempest]

I still don't have a box for California Games.  

[+GoldLeader]

Funny because back in the day my friend said I needed to check out his brand new Lynx.  He only had one game.  I played it once... It had a surfer and waves...Is that California Games?

 

If so, it's the only Lynx game I've ever played.  Who knew it would turn out to be a rare one?

[Tempest]

It's not, it's the box that's rare.  California Games was the pack in title but they sold it separately later on.  Sort of how DK on the CV is the most common game, but the box is crazy rare.

[+jeremiahjt]

The box for California Games does show up on eBay often enough, but it is usually overseas and the shipping is astronomical. There is one right now from the UK and there was another from Australia just a few days ago.

[Tempest]

Just now, jeremiahjt said:

The box for California Games does show up on eBay often enough, but it is usually overseas and the shipping is astronomical. There is one right now from the UK and there was another from Australia just a few days ago.

That's true, it's just way too pricey.  I think CG and Fidelity chess are the only two boxes I'm missing.  Although my Rygar box is missing the top flap for some reason.

[Ninjabba]

Was trying to get a boxed version of Desert Strike for years.. traded a working copy of EotB for Desert Strike + a Lynx at a retro event

[ColecoGamer]

On 4/9/2022 at 1:57 PM, jeremiahjt said:

Everybody talking about Ninja Gaiden made me go back and look at when and what I got my boxed Ninja Gaiden for.  I got my complete in box copy in January of 2020 on eBay.  The Buy It Now price was $49.95.  I put in a Best Offer for $44.75 and they accepted it.  It was one of those were I was wondering should I roll the dice with a Best Offer or just pay full price so nobody beats me to it.  I rolled the dice and saved a whopping $5.20.  The box was in very good condition too.  Luckily I already had a loose cartridge and loose manual so the boxed copy went into a box protector complete.

 

The same thing kind of happened November of last year for a complete Hard Drivin' on eBay.  This time I did not risk putting in a Best Offer since the Buy It Now price was only $35.  I still need a loose Hard Drivin' manual though, or I can take the one out of my boxed copy.  The box on that copy is also in very good condition.

Congrats!

 

Yeah, I hesitate like that, too, when contemplating using the ‘Best Offer’ feature on eBay. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve lost out on a product, because the seller wouldn’t accept or decline my offer.

 

Based on what I know about eBay, including the ‘Buy It Now’ function helps to increase your sale’s visibility on their website. There are some sellers who include this feature to reap the benefits it provides, without ANY intention of accepting offers.

 

I recently encountered this while trying to purchase a CIB copy of Mines of Titan for Apple II. The seller argued that his price was already discounted, which in turn, I politely told him that wasn’t how the Best Offer system works on eBay. ? 

 

He eventually accepted my Best Offer, knowing quite well that I was on to him. Lol

 

Some sellers can be quite awful, where they never ‘decline’ the offer at all (as I mentioned above). 

Edited April 11, 2022 by ColecoGamer
Typeoreos

[+jgkspsx]

The California Games box is common in Oz, where it was not packed in. I got it for $50 US with the help of @Igor’s proxy service.

[T.A.P.]

12 hours ago, ColecoGamer said:

Congrats!

 

Yeah, I hesitate like that, too, when contemplating using the ‘Best Offer’ feature on eBay. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve lost out on a product, because the seller wouldn’t accept or decline my offer.

 

Based on what I know about eBay, including the ‘Buy It Now’ function helps to increase your sale’s visibility on their website. There are some sellers who include this feature to reap the benefits it provides, without ANY intention of accepting offers.

 

I recently encountered this while trying to purchase a CIB copy of Mines of Titan for Apple II. The seller argued that his price was already discounted, which in turn, I politely told him that wasn’t how the Best Offer system works on eBay. ? 

 

He eventually accepted my Best Offer, knowing quite well that I was on to him. Lol

 

Some sellers can be quite awful, where they never ‘decline’ the offer at all (as I mentioned above). 

I've run into that too, where a seller wouldn't even accept 50 cents off the price of a $50 game.

 

At that point I even sent him a message asking why bother to include the option. He never responded.

[T.A.P.]

Got outbid on another Ninja Gaiden. 

[+slx]

I think the most expensive cart I bought was Lemmings, but that's more of a feeling as I got most Lynx stuff before I started to note prices paid. I never tried to get Lynx games boxed/complete or actually to "collect" in the sense of trying to get everything, though. 

[Tempest]

Yeah Lemmings was always kind of expensive because it was a late release but not one that made its way to bargain bins or liquidators.  I think I got mine from Best decades ago.

[Axe]

Thanks to posts on here I searched a couple of shops in the Netherlands and managed to bag an unboxed Lemmings and Turbo Sub for £60.20. Not bad going since the only UK based unboxed copy of Lems I can find is on ebay for £125 right now.