I’m still waiting on my complete in box one from ebay but last night someone had one listed for $40 on craigslist. I figured at that price it’d be worth it for the extra parts.
Anyway, I get over to his place and he has it all set up. I immediately notice it’s plugged in (score, my other auction didn’t have an ac adapter tap). Then he has some bad news though. Apparently the right eye has the dreaded glitch. I look in to see for myself and discover that the game that it includes isn’t Tennis but is actually Wario Land (second score!). Finally, the stand is in excellent shape with no cracks.
Anyway, I play it cool because I’m not sure if I want to spend $40 on a unit I’ll have to fix. Eventually he asks if I’m still interested in it at all given its condition. I tell him I am probably still interested so he comes back with of an offer of $20 for everything. At that point I figure I might as well pick it up even if I don’t plan on fixing it because it’s worth it for the stand, extra visor, AC adapter, and Wario Land alone. The story gets better though.
I bring it home and plug it in. Sure enough, still glitching on Wario. I then throw in Red Alarm and start playing. It briefly glitches but then starts displaying perfectly. Played it for about an hour with no further problems. I figure I’ll press my luck at this point so I throw Wario Land back in. Starts up fine, briefly glitches, and then I play it for about 30 minutes with little to no issues.
I’m not entirely versed on how the eye glitch works yet but it seems like my new $20 VB has a case of semi-glitching. Sure it might get worse later on but just one night of entertainment has gotten me my $20 worth.
I live in Argentina. Getting games and consoles has never been too easy here.
We’ve got our currency devaluated since around 12 years now (4.5 Pesos = 1 dollar).
The VB has always been an elusive creature, moreso here (short lifespan, etc.).
In the last years some of them popped up in our equivalent of eBay(used, nearly all in poor condition – missing the stand, having a “dead eye”) having prices ranging from 500 (111 U$S) to 2300 (511 U$S). Literally.
I found mine for 250 (56 dollars), with Galactic Pinball CIB and Mario’s Tennis G+M. Bought it in a heartbeat. Seller said it didn’t work.
The guy brought it to my home because I couldn’t go to his. That, and the fact that it was complete (minus the games’ dust covers), led me to give him another 50 (12 U$S).
Later that day I start tinkering with it.
I found odd that the cart hanged out of the console. A quick google revealed that I was right – it wasn’t supposed to be like that!
So I went for the pincers and gently pulled.
Imagine my face when I found out that a dust cover was stuck in the cart port!
So I tried putting the cart in again. Still nothing.
I shake the console and hear something loose on the inside.
I take the cart out and shake shake… the second dust cover came out!
Cart in again, still no reply…
Dissapointed I leave it on my bed…
And then I hear Galactic Pinball’s warning screen sound!
I jumped in joy all over the place. Because it happened last May 7th from now on I say that 7/5 is my second birthday 😛
In short, working, complete VB with two games for 67 dollars, and one of the most pleasant surprises I’ve ever had.
/wall of text
PS: Currency difference sure is annoying.
Haha, that’s pretty good. Not one but 2 dust covers jammed in the cartridge slot? That sure takes some skill to pull off I’d imagine.
Red Eyed Madness wrote:
Congratulations, welcome aboard!
Got any favorite games yet? Which ones are a must get for you?
If you haven’t seen them yet I’d really recommend getting Teleroboxer/Vertical Force/VB Wario Land (personal top 3)
Mind if I share my story on your thread as well?
Go for it!
I already have Red Alarm (found a steal of an Ebay deal a couple weeks ago, $14 shipped for a complete copy) and I’m thinking with only 14 games I might try and pick up all of the North American releases. From what I’ve read, I’m really excited to give Wario Land a try at some point.
I’m glad people were interested in reading my story. I’m excited to have one because like I previously mentioned it was a system that I vividly remember wanting even from my childhood.
