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[Ryck]

Fair enough. I don't usually have much luck/time with auctions and results show that they averagely sell for around £25/£30 but we'll see how it goes. Thanks for the tip

The Super Famicom's (Japan) tend to be cheaper. I have found a few on ebay.com for $20-$25 shipped.

http://www.ebay.com/feed/11284111

 

[Cheerilee]

There's no proof or evidence at all of that. And most chemists agree it's the bromine used as a fire retardant oxidizing (hence different parts yellowing at different rates due to bromine ratios in plastic batches) not the plastic aging in any particular way (though very poorly treated plastic does become more brittle, it's not directly related to the yellowing)

Anecdotally I've been doing this in some capacity for 4 years, and the piece I did first (with the old method - expensive liquid peroxide), an NES dogbone controller, has been in constant use and is still as strong as it ever was, and hasn't re-yellowed either.

Happy to be proven wrong if you can prove it with backup from a plastics chemical expert commenting on the technique. But it's now an extremely widely used technique in retro computer circles.

EDIT: It's also not bleaching. It's mobilising the bromine, which has migrated to the surface and forms a stable complex with atmospheric oxygen.

Best write up I could find:
http://www.exisle.net/mb/index.php?...g-plastic-the-stain-isnt-permanent-after-all/

Happy to be wrong myself.

I just know that bleaching your clothes wrecks your clothes, bleaching your hair kills your hair and scalp, bleaching your teeth wrecks your teeth but the ADA says it's okay because people with white teeth tend to take better care of them... basically bleach wrecks things, but people like what it does, cosmetically.

I remembered reading before about how plastic naturally breaks down and turns yellow, and how manufacturers add a blue tint to the plastic to counter the effect for a while, but that the yellowing was inevitable.

Reading that link has me pretty excited.

 

[Coda]

I honestly recommend everyone to pick up this game at some point in your SNES collection. It's one of the best hidden gems out there in my opinion. The beat 'em up gameplay can be a little stiff at times, but honestly I just play it for the road rash like sequences where you're kicking off solid snake lookalikes on the highway. It's SNES gold and hilariously fun.

Shin Nekketsu Kōha: Kunio-tachi no Banka

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3cnbPPZX2c

Not my video. I should shoot some footage of my friend and I playing as we started mastering this massive shunts to the biker dudes ramming them into the wall and sent flying.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Kunio-tachi no Banka is excellent. I know I've recommended it in this thread before and would again.

 

[IrishNinja]

damn, that does look pretty cool - going on my import list next to Jaki Crush & a few others

 

[Peagles]

*looks at eBay prices*

Not as hidden as I would have wanted it to be, lol.

 

[D.Lo]

Happy to be wrong myself.

I just know that bleaching your clothes wrecks your clothes, bleaching your hair kills your hair and scalp, bleaching your teeth wrecks your teeth but the ADA says it's okay because people with white teeth tend to take better care of them... basically bleach wrecks things, but people like what it does, cosmetically.

I remembered reading before about how plastic naturally breaks down and turns yellow, and how manufacturers add a blue tint to the plastic to counter the effect for a while, but that the yellowing was inevitable.

Reading that link has me pretty excited.

No worries

It's a strange process, and definitely not bleaching, as it has no effect without UV light, and also has no effect on the paint on the plastics, or any other coloured plastic without yellowing. Hence the ability to just put it over the whole item, including paint logos etc.

Warning for everyone though, the chemical will likely blind you if you get it in your eyes, and it burns skin very quickly as well.

 

[Rydeen]

*looks at eBay prices*

Not as hidden as I would have wanted it to be, lol.

Japangamestock.com has a cart only copy for $37. That's where I bought my copy from. They're my go-to for imports at this point, eBay is a last resort.

http://www.japangamestock.com/buy_video_games.php?products_id=7285

 

[EatinOlives]

I bought a used SNES about 3 or so years ago and I was surprised it had no yellowing at all. It still doesn't.

Either someone removed the yellowing before me or it was one of those rare SNESs that never yellow. Either way I'm happy, but my point is the yellowing isn't by design. I know plenty don't.

 

[IrishNinja]

ehh i think there's a model (the one that has a sticker on it, mine's like that) that has some different variant where it doesn't yellow out, i forget the details

 

[-KRS-]

I've almost never seen a yellowed PAL SNES. Actually, I'm not sure I've ever seen one. Seems much more uncommon for them to yellow than US and JP units for some reason.

edit: btw, does anyone know where to buy those SuperCIC chips in bulk?

 

[Timu]

ehh i think there's a model (the one that has a sticker on it, mine's like that) that has some different variant where it doesn't yellow out, i forget the details

Yeah mine doesn't yellow out at all, I got one of those late rare models.

 

[D.Lo]

PAL units do seem to be less likely to yellow. But they do yellow for sure, especially in Australia (the vast majority I've seen in real life have some yellowing). Maybe environmental heat is a bigger factor than light. That makes sense of the consoles that have yellowing despite coming out of sealed boxes.

The USA console is a slightly different shade of grey, and shows the yellowing most it seems.

It also launched in PAL territories last, so the consoles are on average newer.

Consoles that don't yellow would simply be a combo of plastic batch and/or environment.

 

[TheMoon]

PAL units do seem to be less likely to yellow. But they do yellow for sure, especially in Australia (the vast majority I've seen in real life have some yellowing). Maybe environmental heat is a bigger factor than light. That makes sense of the consoles that have yellowing despite coming out of sealed boxes.

The USA console is a slightly different shade of grey, and shows the yellowing most it seems.

It also launched in PAL territories last, so the consoles are on average newer.

Consoles that don't yellow would simply be a combo of plastic batch and/or environment.

My friend's childhood PAL SNES is a yellow block of ugliness though it also sits openly in his room but facing away from the afternoon sun. He's also a smoker so, I guess, karma's a bitch?

 

[-KRS-]

My friend's childhood PAL SNES is a yellow block of ugliness though it also sits openly in his room but facing away from the afternoon sun. He's also a smoker so, I guess, karma's a bitch?

Are you insinuating that your friend is evil because he smokes? He probably doesn't want to. Nicotine addiction is a bitch.

Also, the yellowing from tobacco smoke looks different than the yellowing that happens naturally to the plastics in the SNES. Either way, he should stop smoking indoors, or better yet get a good e-cigarette if he can't quit.

 

[Sword Familiar]

Kunio-tachi no Banka is excellent. I know I've recommended it in this thread before and would again.

I've tried it, but I haven't gotten very far in it. Can you sum up why you think it's good and what differs it from other nekketsu brawlers?

 

[aku:jiki]

Oh, this might be a good place to ask. I used to be a collector myself and I've got a problem now that I'm trying to slim down and only own titles I actually like... I cannot get rid of some of this shovelware junk I needed when I was going for a complete collection. Can anyone point me in a direction of a SNES collector crazy enough to buy the junk too? Not trying to use this a sneaky BST post, so I'm not going to list what I have, but it's true junk. The thing is that it's mint condition junk that pretty much belongs in a museum, so I can't just throw this stuff out.

Stuff like mint condition Ys V or Zelda no Densetsu was easy as hell to sell and at a high price too, F1 Hero '94 not so much...

 

[nrvalleytime]

Oh, this might be a good place to ask. I used to be a collector myself and I've got a problem now that I'm trying to slim down and only own titles I actually like... I cannot get rid of some of this shovelware junk I needed when I was going for a complete collection. Can anyone point me in a direction of a SNES collector crazy enough to buy the junk too? Not trying to use this a sneaky BST post, so I'm not going to list what I have, but it's true junk. The thing is that it's mint condition junk that pretty much belongs in a museum, so I can't just throw this stuff out.

Stuff like mint condition Ys V or Zelda no Densetsu was easy as hell to sell and at a high price too, F1 Hero '94 not so much...

Try the BST thread, and then try reddit's retrogameswap or gameswap threads as well.

Might be a good place to begin.

 

[Sword Familiar]

Oh, this might be a good place to ask. I used to be a collector myself and I've got a problem now that I'm trying to slim down and only own titles I actually like... I cannot get rid of some of this shovelware junk I needed when I was going for a complete collection. Can anyone point me in a direction of a SNES collector crazy enough to buy the junk too? Not trying to use this a sneaky BST post, so I'm not going to list what I have, but it's true junk. The thing is that it's mint condition junk that pretty much belongs in a museum, so I can't just throw this stuff out.

Stuff like mint condition Ys V or Zelda no Densetsu was easy as hell to sell and at a high price too, F1 Hero '94 not so much...

Annual sports games, casino games, game show games and the like will always be hard to sell. No one wants them, and for good reason. I think the only way you're going to get rid of them is to do what others do: mix them in with other, more desirable games in a lot and sell them in bulk. I don't recommend it though. Everyone hates those guys.

Good luck!

 

[Mzo]

Nintendo Age is full of collectors looking to plug some holes in their collection.

Ugh, I need to go shower now.

 

[Living Proof]

So using this hair-salon-product "bleaching" technique seems to work pretty well. How about on cartridges? I recently picked up a cib FF3, but the seller didn't take a picture of the back of the cart which is a completely different shade of color, almost unreal.

Would it be fine to just lather it on the back of the cartridge and stuff the slot area with tissues for protection or something? I don't have the special screwdriver that'll fit to take it apart, but I can order another if that's the wise thing to do.

 

[JMDSO]

So using this hair-salon-product "bleaching" technique seems to work pretty well. How about on cartridges? I recently picked up a cib FF3, but the seller didn't take a picture of the back of the cart which is a completely different shade of color, almost unreal.

Would it be fine to just lather it on the back of the cartridge and stuff the slot area with tissues for protection or something? I don't have the special screwdriver that'll fit to take it apart, but I can order another if that's the wise thing to do.

I bought a Star Fox game where the back half of the shell was yellow. The cheapest option for me (since I had the screwdriver bit) was to just buy a cheap sports game and take the back from that.

 

[Sword Familiar]

I bought a Star Fox game where the back half of the shell was yellow. The cheapest option for me (since I had the screwdriver bit) was to just buy a cheap sports game and take the back from that.

While we're on the topic of junk games, I can see why someone would want to buy them cheap if they're making repros, fixing other games and such. Good indirect point.

 

[-KRS-]

Were these carts with the different shades Japanese copies btw? So far I've only seen that on those.

 

[JMDSO]

While we're on the topic of junk games, I can see why someone would want to buy them cheap if they're making repros, fixing other games and such. Good indirect point.

Also, by buying those games you're not taking something out of circulation that someone actually wants.

I can get SNES sports games for under $2 each, sometimes as low as $0.99

 

[D.Lo]

So using this hair-salon-product "bleaching" technique seems to work pretty well. How about on cartridges? I recently picked up a cib FF3, but the seller didn't take a picture of the back of the cart which is a completely different shade of color, almost unreal.

Would it be fine to just lather it on the back of the cartridge and stuff the slot area with tissues for protection or something? I don't have the special screwdriver that'll fit to take it apart, but I can order another if that's the wise thing to do.

Get the screwdriver, you might get fluid inside and wreck it, more likely through the side seams.

But yes it will work fine.

 

[sixteen-bit]

I've tried it, but I haven't gotten very far in it. Can you sum up why you think it's good and what differs it from other nekketsu brawlers?

A friend of mine introduced me to the game one day and I just became enamored with it. I haven't played any other nekketsu games, so I don't really have a frame of reference to compare it to. From what I do know though, this one doesn't have the RPG baggage of the other games. While it's difficult to quantify, I love the combat. It's so satisfying, especially the down attacks on floored enemies. It's kinda long for a beat 'em up but broken up by light platforming-based combat and Road Rash style sequences and employs a password continue system.

 

[Sword Familiar]

A friend of mine introduced me to the game one day and I just became enamored with it. I haven't played any other nekketsu games, so I don't really have a frame of reference to compare it to. From what I do know though, this one doesn't have the RPG baggage of the other games. While it's difficult to quantify, I love the combat. It's so satisfying, especially the down attacks on floored enemies. It's kinda long for a beat 'em up but broken up by light platforming-based combat and Road Rash style sequences and employs a password continue system.

Oh, ok. Sounds more like Super Double Dragon (technical, yet satisfying) than River City Ransom (abundance of moves that you can buy, but simple in nature).

For reference, River City Ransom is a nekketsu game, Nintendo World Cup is a one and Super Dodge Ball as well. You've at least played those right? AFAIK, Technos made at least two nekketsu brawlers for the NES/Famicom, RCR being one of them.

 

[Peltz]

Kunio-tachi no Banka is excellent. I know I've recommended it in this thread before and would again.

Any language barriers?

 

[digita1alchemy]

Oh, this might be a good place to ask. I used to be a collector myself and I've got a problem now that I'm trying to slim down and only own titles I actually like... I cannot get rid of some of this shovelware junk I needed when I was going for a complete collection. Can anyone point me in a direction of a SNES collector crazy enough to buy the junk too? Not trying to use this a sneaky BST post, so I'm not going to list what I have, but it's true junk. The thing is that it's mint condition junk that pretty much belongs in a museum, so I can't just throw this stuff out.

Stuff like mint condition Ys V or Zelda no Densetsu was easy as hell to sell and at a high price too, F1 Hero '94 not so much...

Post your stuff in the BST thread, I'm starting my SNES collection from almost nil and I want to see what you have, haha. Plus you never know what people might be willing to buy.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Any language barriers?

Only if you care about the plot. There is a fan translation by Aeon Genesis though.

Oh, ok. Sounds more like Super Double Dragon (technical, yet satisfying) than River City Ransom (abundance of moves that you can buy, but simple in nature).

For reference, River City Ransom is a nekketsu game, Nintendo World Cup is a one and Super Dodge Ball as well. You've at least played those right? AFAIK, Technos made at least two nekketsu brawlers for the NES/Famicom, RCR being one of them.

I have not. Yeah, my Technos experience is very limited, lol.

 

[Peltz]

Only if you care about the plot. There is a fan translation by Aeon Genesis though.



I have not. Yeah, my Technos experience is very limited, lol.

Get on River City Ransom. From what I've seen from your posts, you'd love that shit.

 

[JMDSO]

Get on River City Ransom. From what I've seen from your posts, you'd love that shit.

I'll second that. Great game.

 

[Coda]

Oh, ok. Sounds more like Super Double Dragon (technical, yet satisfying) than River City Ransom (abundance of moves that you can buy, but simple in nature).

For reference, River City Ransom is a nekketsu game, Nintendo World Cup is a one and Super Dodge Ball as well. You've at least played those right? AFAIK, Technos made at least two nekketsu brawlers for the NES/Famicom, RCR being one of them.

Yeah, my issue with the game was they mapped a block button to both the L and R shoulder buttons. You can also hold either button and hit an attack button to unleash special moves like the hurricane kick but it always is just a bit sluggish to perform. I wish they went with a more Double Dragon II control scheme where you just had to mash two buttons at the right time to do it. Either way, I still stand by the game, it's great.

 

[Het_Nkik]

Snagged this because of the recent translation patch. Can't wait to play it.

 

[Living Proof]

I bought a Star Fox game where the back half of the shell was yellow. The cheapest option for me (since I had the screwdriver bit) was to just buy a cheap sports game and take the back from that.

Hey, not a bad idea. My local retro games store has tons of mint condition Maddens, golfing, and Basketball games. I don't know why they buy them when there are literally dozens of duplicate copies filling their shelves, but for a few bucks I'll take your advice.

 

[Cheerilee]

So using this hair-salon-product "bleaching" technique seems to work pretty well. How about on cartridges? I recently picked up a cib FF3, but the seller didn't take a picture of the back of the cart which is a completely different shade of color, almost unreal.

Would it be fine to just lather it on the back of the cartridge and stuff the slot area with tissues for protection or something? I don't have the special screwdriver that'll fit to take it apart, but I can order another if that's the wise thing to do.

Anything you do to clean the cart will risk damaging the sticker on the back of the cart. Final Fantasy 3 is pretty valuable, and a perfect sticker is worth more than a lack of yellow in the plastic.

If you get the screwdriver, maybe you can swap the back with a perfect condition donor cart, but there are small differences in the back stickers, and even if you get that right, there's a small number stamped into the sticker, which makes perfection even harder to find. And even if you get the numbers to match, part of you will always know that the replacement isn't original.

Were these carts with the different shades Japanese copies btw? So far I've only seen that on those.

The Japanese and PAL carts seem more obviously yellow, because they're a lighter grey while the American SNES carts are a darker grey.

Plastic manufacturers started out making white plastic, but then they realized that it turned yellow after a few years, so they put blue dye into the plastic. Yellow and blue are opposite colors, so the yellow has to overpower the blue before you can see it. The dark grey of the American NES and SNES carts has so much blue in it, you need to put "extreme yellowing" next to "extreme not yellowing" before you can tell the difference.

 

[AnotherCastle]

If you're gonna buy and play a lot of retro games, I'd recommend picking up a FrameMeister so you don't have to hound Craigslist, garage sales, thrift shops et al. for a CRT.

Don't get me wrong, these are awesome, but-- wouldn't a CRT be cheaper? FrameMeisters are like $350.

 

[blast processed]

Don't get me wrong, these are awesome, but-- wouldn't a CRT be cheaper? FrameMeisters are like $350.

It was easier getting a $10 CRT from Goodwill than trying to convince my wife, or explain what a Framemeister is. I would prefer to spend that $350 on retro games anyway.

 

[Coda]

Don't get me wrong, these are awesome, but-- wouldn't a CRT be cheaper? FrameMeisters are like $350.

High quality CRTs with RGB will always be the best for retro games. It's all about the CRTs brightness and luminance is what makes pixelated games look so beautiful IMO.

 

[IrishNinja]

Snagged this because of the recent translation patch. Can't wait to play it.

which one's this?

High quality CRTs with RGB will always be the best for retro games. It's all about the CRTs brightness and luminance is what makes pixelated games look so beautiful IMO.

*YMMV

 

[D.Lo]

High quality CRTs with RGB will always be the best for retro games. It's all about the CRTs brightness and luminance is what makes pixelated games look so beautiful IMO.

If you have a PVM where you can adjust the geometry. But then you're stuck with a relatively small screen and a round faced tube.

You can get a larger flat CRT that supports RGB (in Europe) or component (and use an RGB to YUV transcoder), this was my main monitor for years, 27" Panasonic. But it's almost certainly going to have geometry problems. They're unavoidable, the earth's geomagnetism affects screens that big. Street Fighter super bars on the bottom of the screen were always warped for me unless I physically moved the TV to a place that didn't work in my apartment, no matter what service settings I adjusted.

Framemeister gives you perfect geometry on an effectively limitless screen size. You can even use scanlines, oversaturate or overbright the image and pull back the gain to simulate the bloom of a CRT if you wish. The only real argument against it is input lag, but that even varies in CRTs, tests have shown many old TVs had comparable input lag, particularly larger screen later models.

It's a less authentic experience, but a better one overall, at least for me. Just like my RGB modded NES and PC Engine are.

 

[Mzo]

It's really the input lag that kills me. I use one of the older Asus monitors for modern consoles (VH236H), and the 10 ms lag is low enough to be imperceptible to me. Some modern monitors are better, but not by much at all. A Framemeister would add around 20 ms, bringing the total up to 30 ms.

My old HDTV had ~42 ms according to Rock Band 2 and I found games to be unplayable on it.

 

[Het_Nkik]

which one's this?

Kyūyaku Megami Tensei: Megami Tensei I - II

Remake of the first two Famicom games.

Translation info itt: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=883979

 

[BTails]

I can vouch for how amazing a Framemeister is: I just recently bought one, and paired with some RGB cables, I can't get enough retro gaming goodness.

The problem is, I can't stop playing Sega Genesis. I have 5 systems hooked up via RGB, but Sega just looks too phenomenal.

 

[IrishNinja]

Kyūyaku Megami Tensei: Megami Tensei I - II

Remake of the first two Famicom games.

Translation info itt: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=883979

damn, i'd missed this entirely - thanks for this!

 

[sixteen-bit]

cool concept but they also look kinda spermy

 

[Het_Nkik]

cool concept but they also look kinda spermy

Ironic the GCN controller has one of the longer cords here considering it has the shortest cord irl.

 

[Cheerilee]

Ironic the GCN controller has one of the longer cords here considering it has the shortest cord irl.

Virtual Boy wins that prize.

 

[Het_Nkik]

Virtual Boy wins that prize.

My brain didn't even register a VB controller as being there. And I own a VB. lol