What Did Pete Get? #2

Retro World Games in Indian Orchard, MA keeps coming up big for me!

It's been a bit since I shared some recent additions, so it's time to catch up.

The first set of goodies, as seen above, is from Retro World Games once again. My visit resulted in a Gen5 haul of original PlayStation and Nintendo 64 games, along with a trio of Pocket Power guides from Prima. Notable in the photo is a still-sealed copy of The Dukes of Hazzard: Racing For Home, which I picked up for a bit below market value. Admittedly, my collection of factory-sealed games is getting up there. Meanwhile, my library of Nintendo 64 games is closing in on 200 titles-- which was one of my collecting goals this year.

Many of these games are new to me. The only ones I've played are the aforementioned Dukes of Hazzard game, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (which I've played on the original PlayStation, Dreamcast, and the 2x version on the orignal Xbox). While I often tend to upgrade versions of games I have, like from disc-only to complete in box, hauls like this one with mostly new games to me, are less common-- but a bit more interesting.

Let's move on to another set of games that came in recently from eStarland:

Thank you to eStarland, who continues to impress with its service.

There's not a lot to write about here. Monsters, Inc. for the PlayStation 2 was a buy based on a Caddicarus video I watched recently. Arctic Thunder for the original Xbox has that Midway logo on it-- and, if you know me, you know I'm a sucker for Midway games. Obviously, it's not as great as Hydro Thunder (which still rules!), but it's perfect for what's been kind of a tough winter here in Southern New England with its icy themes. Finally, there's Bomberman: Party Edition for the original PlayStation... which I've never played, but seemed like a good pickup. Admittedly, I'm pretty awful at Bomberman games in general, but why not try it? All of the games arrived in great shape, too. I don't buy as often from eStarland as I do locally, but they've been a pleasure to work with.

From eBay, there's this:

Riiiiiiidge Racer!

This is a factory-sealed copy of Ridge Racer DS, released here in the US in December 2004. It's basically Ridge Racer 64, ported to the Nintendo DS... and, along with Super Mario 64 DS, helped to position Nintendo's dual-screen platform as a portable Nintendo 64. I'm a big Ridge Racer fan, so finding a sealed copy of this was pretty cool. It's far from my favorite game in the series, but opening up a game like this that's been sealed for more than 20 years is always a thrill. (I just haven't done it yet.) I do have Ridge Racer 64 complete in box, along with the first five mainline Ridge Racer games, so buying this just made sense.

Finally, there's this recent release that isn't exactly modern:

Bimmy and Jimmy in their own collection!

I don't remember when I preordered the Double Dragon Collection for the Switch, but I'm glad I did. It's not a complete collection, as Double Dragon Neon and Rise of the Dragons are omitted... but it focuses more on the older releases which have been available separately. As a superfan of 1989's The Wizard, Double Dragon NES will always have a special... NEStalgic place in my heart, even if I've never scored 50,000 points myself. Double Dragon II NES is really good. I'm one of 5 people who actually likes Double Dragon IV. It's nice to have all of these games in one compilation, and there are games here that I haven't really spent of a lot of time with before.

Here's a look at the six consoles I own the most games for.

With these recent additions, my overall game collection is up to 3,069 games-- not including my Switch library or my modern games. Nintendo 64 is so close to 200 games, and I think I can hit that number this year. Nintendo DS is also close to a milestone of 100 games. How many more will I add in 2025? I can't predict it, but it'll be fun continuing my collecting journey.