Mega-NES Achieved

“Thou hast found the thousandth Dragon Warrior. Radiance streams forth as thy hands touch the object and hold it aloft. Across the land spreads the brilliance until all shadows are banished and peace is restored.”

While the website may be behind on updates, the collecting of Dragon Warriors has continued on. A little over a fortnight ago while attending the Midwest Gaming Classic in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the 1000th copy of Dragon Warrior was obtained. With that, the Unorthodox Dragon Warrior collection becomes the first mega collection for the NES, possibly across all video games systems.

Let it be known, the collecting will continue. To reach the next level, thy collection must increase to 2500. Remember, it took almost a decade to get the first 1000. A more thorough post will happen when the website catches up, but for now I’d like to give a big thank you to everyone who has contributed thus far and thanks to all who will be contributing to the collection in the near future!

- April 20, 2023

The Last Vestiges of NA

Did it take me so long to remember this transaction because of the amount of time that's passed? Did I forget because like trying to picture a lost, loved one's face, I can barely remember the layout for the transaction page anymore? It's weird going back, which I do from time to time, like in the instance of researching this post. Hope you didn't need to keep track of your trades, because that's gone. This was perhaps one of my last.

Andrew Morgan: #712-718

Also known on-the-line as AcidJaguar, Andrew and I have talked for many years via the Internet. When I helped revive the NA eZine for its final form, he contributed articles. We also collected some of the odder, rarer Nintendo related items and had talked amongst ourselves as our collections grew. It's always been a pleasant exchange between us and I'm happy I get to add him to this website.

Sometime last year Andrew made his collection of Warrior World available and I reached out. For those of you who are curious, these were an ENIX published newsletter in the early 90's that tended to focus on their RPG releases. According to him, there are about a dozen total and I was purchasing five from him.

For years he'd been asking me about doubles of some items I had, but to me they were part of a set and I was reluctant to split them up. But when I saw these newsletters, I knew his moment had come. So imagine my surprise when he passed on the trade! He was looking to finish off a project and wanted the money instead, which I promptly paid.

Maybe someday I will publish that last issue of the eZine...

- July 19th, 2021

National Videogame Museum

I'm lucky, you could say. Not everyone has the National Videogame Museum just a short drive from where they live. To be honest, I don't spend enough time up there (sorry, John). Not only do we have a cool place to visit right in our backyard, they are nice enough to open it up from time to time for a night at the museum.

Dallas Meet Up: #711

No clue who I got this one from. You have to understand, I was just in charge of LPGE a week before this gathering. I was in complete relaxation mode at the museum, meaning three sheets to wind. And despite wanting nothing more than to chillax, Courteney had been bothering me about Convention Quest variants and bringing him a grey shell copy to the meet up. Deliveries done, I walked around the tables and picked up this single thing.

Side note: I believe this is when John called me out for almost killing Rampage creator Brian Colin the week before. Lol, he's fine, but that's another story altogether.

- July 16th, 2021

Another Mega Update

Let's Play Gaming Expo 2019 feels like years ago. Now that it's 2021, I suppose it is. You'd think that because it's taken me this long to get around to this update that would be the reason I'm uncertain where ten of these carts came from. It's not.

Jeff Geske: #679-693

The weekend started with a stack of games courtesy of Geske via Brule. I can't remember why, but he couldn't make it down that year. I dropped the stack into this box that was kind of my go-to for important shit that weekend.

For those of you that haven't watched the special features on The Wizard's 30th anniversary release, LPGE hosted a Wizard Tournament along with a screening of the film at the Alamo Drafthouse with special guests writer/producer David Chisholm, producer Ken Topolsky, and actor Luke Edwards, the wizard himself! As part of the tournament, we had three stages of Nintendo games from several early systems culminating in a finale like that in the film, where the final three players compete on a game that was unannounced. It was this box that contained all those games, including the three secret ones, and now a bunch of Dragon Warriors.

Kirkland Sweeney: #694

Next was Kirkland. As I believe I pointed out in previous posts, my video game journey really took off when Kirk and I started talking after I made a craigslist post with my doubles a decade ago. He's been a consistent participant in LPGE, both as a vendor all five years and as a panelist. Being a vendor, he was able to give me this cart before the show started during setup. In to the box it went!

Fat Chris: #695-699

Fat Chris, who was previously featured chugging a plastic cup full of mustard, has flown in the last few expos to assist with load-in and load-out and also help out with the arcade crew during the show. Along with Kirk, Fat Chris was in a unique position to give me his carts before the show started after Evan picked him up at the airport and brought him straight to the convention center. These games were added to the box and then took me out for an expensive steak dinner that I don't think I ate because I was too stressed out before the show.

Scrobins09: #700

BOOM! 700 caaarts, baby!!!

Scrobins was a member of NintendoAge, a forum that no longer exists, or does, but as a shell of it's former self. I'll have to double check, but I think this picture of the finished Slime tattoo I have on my phone is him at the Expo. And this awesome tattoo of the North American box art cover is definitely on his arm. Sweet ink!

No matter what, he found me at the show and gave me this cart. It's always bittersweet to see my friends from the old days of NA. Happy to see them, but it seems now it will always delve into sadness at the loss of that community. Till we meet again, Scrobins!

More Mystery Carts: #701-710

In all the chaos of that week, I think on the last day I was given this last stack of games. Where they came from, I can no longer remember. I was only getting a couple hours sleep each night starting Wednesday and steaming through the days on coffee. It doesn't matter when they came in, everyday was a whirlwind due to something we were doing: Friday's arrival of guests for the movie screening of The Wizard with Q&A, Saturday's concert featuring acts from all over the country, or Sunday's finale of The Wizard tournament. There were no down moments for me.

I'm sure that in time, someone will come forward and say, "Dude, I gave you all those carts!" I think it may have been the other guys behind LPGE... I have vague memories of them randomly coming by and handing me carts 2-3 at a time, but were those previous years? Maybe the Mother to Earth crew that was there working our social media and live streams?

Thanks to all of you that keep reaching out and encouraging me to do updates. It helps. :)

- June 1st, 2021

Call to Order!

It's interesting to write these posts so far in the future. While I've never kept a journal, I do seem to take at least one picture at most major life events. A quick scroll through my phone now is like flipping through a scrapbook of one's life.

FX Game Exchange: #676-678

I didn't take the picture above at the time, but it's the pictures where it should be that tell the story of these three carts. Surrounding that period, I find the lead up to LGPE and The Wizard 30th Anniversary Tournament. The materials, the construction, one big build to the end of the summer of 2019.

We'd had plenty of meetings in my office, but as we got closer to the expo, my place was a wreck with half-completed projects and piles of paperwork. That meant we needed to hold the general board meeting we'd always done two weeks out somewhere else, and that was were the back room at FX came in to play. I would pick up these carts with store credit on my way to the meeting.

To be honest, I barely remembered these at first. It was the pictures, though. Seeing the build of the podiums for The Wizard tournament, a road trip to Bonham, Texas to buy a trailer full of truss, and the pieces of our NES homebrew Convention Quest coming together...

Those took me back to a time when we could still have fun like that, several thousand nerds playing games and sharing memories for a weekend. A simpler time, if one will. I doubt you will ever see me in public again without my face covered. Slipknot knew what's up.

Merry Christmas, you filthy animals.

- December 25th, 2020

Sign of the Beast!

As a few eagle eyed Warrior Watchers noticed, in the last post a cart was missing from the lineup. That's right, the infamous cart 999 - wait, hold on, let me flip this around - the infamous cart 666 was not there!

That's because someone, years ago now, asked if they could send in a cart and request a specific number. "Sure, why not?" I said. Several hundred carts later and here we are!

Sign Collector Guy: #666

Sign Collector Guy and I go back to the days of NintendoAge. I remember this time we were both watching a binder on ebay from NoA full of pictures of signs from the early days. Shoot, I think he wrote an article about that in the NA ezine when I was the editor.

He was also among the handful of NA members who cam down to Dallas for Let's Play Gaming Expo in 2019. We hosted a 30th Anniversary tournament for The Wizard that included Producer Ken Topolsky, Producer/Writer David Chisholm, and star of the movie, Mr. California himself, Luke Edwards. That's him and SCG up above at LPGE!

I texted him not too long ago, just checking in. So many people that I would've seen this year multiple times at conventions and expos by now. I went back through our conversations and forgot I had him for NA Secret Santa in 2017 and gave him a "We're out of stock!" M series Vidpro card. Things seemed so much easier only a few years ago.

Until we meet again.

- December 19th, 2020

Too Many Games

If you're in the Philly area, then you probably already know about Too Many Games. Back when I first started doing my video tour for NintendoAge, I asked around about what conventions I should go to. On the list of must sees was TMG. I've only been once, in the year 2013, but the ripples from that visit would continue through today.

At the top of the list, TMG is where I met Fat Chris, which I'll come back to later. I believe I also scooped the story that no one seemed to care about of the Retron5 dumping games in order to play them and sending those roms to HQ when you update. I would also meet Keith Apicary in a back hallway after his concert for a short one on one as he caught his breath. It was also the only time I have ever been outpartied. Philly does not mess around.

Collectors Cards and Games:
#654-665, #667-675

While I haven't been to TMG in seven years, and should've been there premiering the Mother to Earth documentary this past summer if the world hadn't gone to pot, Fat Chris has continued attending due to his living on the East coast. I'm sure we talked about the shit dollar when I first introduced him, but as a quick refresher, Fat Chris and I became friends that first Friday back in the '13. I think he may even be staff, now.

Wayne's World it to last summer where Fat Chris calls me during TMG 2019 to ask what me what my price for Dragon Warriors was currently. He had run into a vendor who said he had some there, but said he had a bunch back at his warehouse down in Florida. Fat Chris would pester me about reaching out to them, which I finally would a month or so later, and made a sweet deal for a whooping 21 carts.

Shout outs to Paul and Daillest. Good stuff.

- November 28nd, 2020

End of an Era

It seems like just yesterday, when really it was I think a little over a year ago, that the mods and admins let everyone know that Dain had sold the website NintendoAge to something called GoCollect. It was a very strained situation, since Dain didn't tell anyone the sale was taking place until after the fact. Along with the website, he also sold his game collection, which would seemingly be shipped directly to WATA for grading then off to Heritage Auctions to be sold to the highest bidder.

Dain's Copy: #653

I would bid on one game, obviously. At a little over $100, it was quite a bit more than I would normally pay considering it wasn't even sealed! But there was a connection with it and its former owner, so it ticked several boxes and seemed a fitting way to end that chapter of my life.

I wasn't an admin, or even a mod, but I did have some responsibilites while being a member at NintendoAge. At some point, I was given control over the frontpage blog. I believe I kept sharing stories with Dain and he didn't have the time, maybe the inclination, to keep it fresh. One day I would ask Qixmaster to give me some awards. He, too, had gotten busy with life and that power would then be bestowed upon me, as well.

I volunteered to edit the last two volumes of the NA eZine, with a final issue that never was finished and remains unreleased. Over the years, I made a dozen or so videos about conventions around the country under the NA umbrella and Dain's blessing. I started a new collection that would become the Aftermarket Archive after seeing my first homebrew release on a thread there. I helped preserve SimCity for the NES and now own the prototype after someone posted a video of it at a gamestore one afternoon.

I've partied with the owner of the Nintendo Playstation while people played Street Fighter on it in Milwaukee. On more than one occasion, I've chatted with Howard Phillips in Portland about the golden days of Nintendo. I have even flown halfway across the planet to talk to the brief Famicom composer and Japanese rockstar Keiichi Suzuki.

It's not to say that Dain made all this happen. My love and passion for Nintendo would have lead me somewhere and honestly, we only talked a handful of times over the years. But I'd be remisce if I acted as if NA didn't play an important role in where I am now. Which is maybe why it was a bummer to hear that Dain was out and not from him. To be fair, it's not like I've tried reaching out to him since. What would I even say?

Mostly, I learned a lot about Nintendo and made friends all over the world. RIP, NA.

- November 22nd, 2020

Twitter Delivers

It would seem that shortly after my hiatus, the site was picking up steam in the Dragon Warrior/Quest community. With a solid contribution from an outstanding fan of the series (sackchief), word of my deeds travelled via the digital heralds to our next supporter.

DrippySlimeStar: #652

Including a nice letter with a drawing attached, DrippySlimeStar, aka Mike Sweet, sent in this cart. Very active in the DW fan scene, is long overdue this recognition. I like recieving communication from all the fans via our contact page, but someone inquiring where they can send a cart is even better!

I find myself missing the days of long ago when one could go out and do group activities. Whether it was local gaming group meetups or out of state conventions, it's weird not getting to see anyone and converse about our love for this RPG. Getting handed a Dragon Warrior while I walked around with my camera is right now just a happy memory.

To when those times hast returned.

- November 16th, 2020

Ft. Worth Trading Post

Going to be a lot of time travelling as we go back and recount stories from the past. Yes, your glorious, yet humble heir to Erdrick has returned after quite the hiatus. While updates may have been paused, the collecting was not!

When we last left off, I had just travelled to the South of Ft. Worth for the opening of a new game store. The proprietors of this new shoppe have been in the DFW gaming community for quite some time, so a celebration was in order. While there, I would behold a sight to see: a slime appeared!

Tristan Ibarra/

Pop Culture Exchange: #643-648

Shortly after arriving, I'd run into another local collector who was up in my birthplace (Omaha) when he bought a gang of Dragon Warriors from a store up there. This second stack of games makes him a repeat offender.

Tristan recently left the DFW area for greener pastures. While I can appreciate that most of that green will either be corn or soybean, he's will be missed. It would've been nice send him off in style, but his departure happened during the Pandemic. Here's looking to his third donation to The Collection!

Retro Bution Games: #649-651

Oh, the days of large gatherings! It was a grand grand opening with a ton of people making the trip over to Ft. Worth. Collectors were allowed to set up tables for an in-store swap meet, can't remember now if that was the monthly meetup for Dallas Retro Gamers...

Whilst there, I would grab a stack of Dragon Warriors and once home would come upon the cart that would cause me great pause and essentially bring this site to a grinding halt. Cart #651 would have two save files that I wasn't sure what to do with in the Hall of Saves. The previous owner had entered names that the color of my skin prohibit me from ever saying.

But, does that mean I should censor them?

There in layed the dilema. My knee jerk reaction was to simply leave them blank here on the website, never letting anyone know. That would have been the easiest solution, by far. However, I consider this site's save data to be weird and fun part of video game history and preservation, which made me think that as an academic, I should post them as-is. But why was my immediate reaction, other than being morally correct, to hide them? I gave it a lot of thought, and eventually, landed upon the answer.

When I played the scenario out in my head, I pictured a little, white kid, like myself. In that context, I would have never let those words see the light of day. What if, though, it was a little black kid who entered those names? I reached out to a multitude of friends from varying backgrounds and diversities to see what they thought I should do.

Ultimately, I would choose to censor the names and that in itself may not really matter since I've brought the topic up here. Kind of like bleeping out a cuss word on cable, we all know what they said. I did think I should mention it, though, as a lesson in personal bias. It took me quite some time to see that there were other possibilites, which is something I'll have to keep in mind for the future as a writer.

Ask me about one of my screenplays.

- November 13th, 2020

Group Support

As the site continues to pick up steam, I'm realizing that the Dragon Quest community is starting to take notice of my endeavor. I appreciate both the correspondence and encouragement! Allow me to introduce a DQ superfan...

sackchief: #642

Being that they asked me to refer to them by their name in the community, I was curious who exactly just donated to the cause. BAM! This guy loves Dragon Quest: YouTube videos, podcast interviews, original illustrations. If you want to keep up on the latest DQ rumor mill, just follow this guy's Tweeter.

Let's recognize that this is the second cart to arrive ornated with art. While sackchief asked me to excuse the condition, I think it's beautiful and I really enjoy it. I'm curious if they did this piece or if they purchased it as such? Maybe he'll twit an answer!

- July 25th, 2019

MEGA UPDATE

Midwest Gaming Classic was very nice to me this year. Unfortunately, no video. While I was busy helping VI Grey finish making Bolivian Quest carts and preparing for my Aftermarket Games panel, the vendor floor got picked clean by a certain group of friends.

xtremegamer: #619

Sam: #620

Before the show even started, I stopped by the NintendoAge guys on the vendor floor and was promptly handed two carts. xtremegamer was setting up and had picked up Sam's copy prior to the show when they heard I was coming back. I appreciate the love and personal carts. Thanks, guys.

Jeff Bartoletta &

Kirkland Sweeney: #621-623

Shortly after the vendor floor opened, I ran into some friends from North Texas. Jeff and Kirk had done me a solid while they were at the Retropalooza Swap Meet a few weeks prior, but had yet to give me the goods. Luckily, we all flew up to Milwaukee for a hand off!

Jeff Geske: #624-632

And right after Kirk and Jeff told me to be ready, none other than Dr. Geske appeared! He opened up his backpack and a flood of carts came pouring out. It was a combination of carts he brought with him to the show and ones he'd picked up from vendors earlier.

Of course, they all thouroughly enjoyed watching me struggle to contain my new stack of Dragon Warriors with no bag. This would lead to the picture above being taken by one of the editors of Kotaku. Let us praise Chris Kohler, as the unorthodox Twitter doubled in followers after their post.

Adam Sheehan: #633

I'm not 100% sure about who is Adam. A friend of a friend of Geske, he apperently cut a large deal that helped several members of a certain Facebook group out. Items like a CIB Punisher for Genesis with Tattoo or a loose Dragon Warrior that went to me. Credit where credit is due; thanks for the deal, Adam!

Courtney: #634-640

Another North Texas denizen, Courtney also made the trip up and spent the morning wandering the vendor floor and buying up all the DWs. For those of you looking forward to another video, you can blame Geske and Courtney for clearing out the vendors before I even had a chance to walk around.

Jeff Bartoletta &

Courtney: #641

Right after I finished my panel on Aftermarket Games, these two bum rushed the stage. They had found another copy and were itching to take another picture with me. Why they had to split the cost of a $5 game, I'm not sure, but here we are.

jobber Dropped This (Bonus Item)

A very active member of the gaming community passed away a couple years ago. jobber, as he was known on NintendoAge, was a fixture at MGC. After he passed, the guys have been helping his family sell his collection. However, a few pieces were given to friends and I was the lucky recipient of his unfolded Dragon Warrior boxes. He is missed.

Thanks to everyone who donated. It was another great year full of memories at MGC. A special thank you to Dan and Gary for letting me give my new Aftermarket panel for the first time. And Q, he's the man.

- June 24th, 2019

Quick Save

Thank you for all the emails I've been getting during my brief absence. I've got a big update coming from this year's MGC, but first I have these two little guys to get out of the way. Another repeat offender and a new local collector to add to the list.

Bruleski: #617

A true Dragon Follower, I frequently go over to his place to work on the Let's Play Gaming Expo and from time to time he'll just give me a random cart he found. Like this one!

Tristan Ibarra: #618

The other Ibarra, Tristan is one of the regulars of the North Texas gaming community. He's highly active in the online collector groups, which is where I mainly seem him these days. Glad to add another local to the list. Next up, John Houston!

EDIT: I see that this little update disappeared when I was working on adding the counter. Oops!

- May 31st, 2019

Home of Dragon Quest

Welcome to all new followers and thank you for the patience to all my returning fans. Things have been hectic as I continue to edit the Earthbound documentary, as well as travel and promote the Let's Play Gaming Expo. And yes, as many have communicated via email and PM, there was a cart missing in the last update.

JAPAN: #600

As many of you know, thanks to Mother to Earth I was lucky enough to have a chance to speak with Keiichi Suzuki. While on location in Tokyo, we also had the chance to hang out with Koala, the premier Mother collector and YouTub personality.

Somehow, in the course of all the Earthbound talk, The Collection came up. Low and behold, the premier Mother collector had a brother... who happened to be the premier collector of Dragon Quest!

Through our translator, we swapped stories. His expression at the amount of copies at the time was priceless. He asked what my favorite character was and out came his doubles. After being loaded up with copies of Dragon Quest 1-4 and a bunch of figurines, his mom gave us all gift bags. I don't know if I'll ever see that kind of generousity again.

Just as my collection was missing the Famicom versions of Dragon Quest according to him, I felt he was absent in not having a copy of Dragon Warrior in his. So to commerate the milestone of six hundred carts, I sent Koala's brother a complete Dragon Warrior. While it will be the only cart not actually in The Collection, the fact I know it's in Japan amongst the Dragon Quest collection seems alright.

- April 1st, 2019

Merry Xmas!

This is it, the big one! December was a big month for the Collection. Seven people gave me the gift of Dragon Warrior. In those ranks, two Dragon Followers, five new contributors, and one family member.

Jeff Geske: #585-592

It's the doc that just keeps giving! I was surprised mid-December with a hearty packet of RPGs. In a future post, I'll have to do a rundown of just how many he's given me. I think he's starting to rival my own numbers at this point...

John Miller: #593-598

The man behind This Room is an Illusion, John and I met through my interest in Aftermarket Nintendo games. You probably know him best from the Megaman 10 Press Kit, or possibly his work with Nhan Phan. If you want to produce a quality CIB, this is one of the guys to whom you'll talk.

Which is exactly what I did when I was working on one of my projects. Imagine my surprise when along with my boxes, manuals, and labels came a gang of DW carts to add to the pile. Send me a message if you'd like to get in on my idea, sight unseen.

Bruleski: #599, 601-602

My dear friend and Expo partner gave the carts that pushed me over 600. As a loyal Dragon Follower, his name has graced these annuals many times over. He's currently working on the rebranding for this year's Expo, as am I, so we'll come back to cart #600.

Darrin Peloquin: #603-604

As many of you know, I met Darrin after I gave him a bunch of money via Kickstarter, thus ensuring I'd be interviewed for his videogame documentary The Bits of Yesterday. Later, I'd help him with his edit of the film. Now it seems I'll be seeking his advice, as I complete my documentary, Mother to Earth. It was awful nice of him to remember me and mine on baby Jesus' birthday.

Jeff Deitering: #605

My brother.

Kirkland Sweeney: #606-615

For those of you that don't know Kirk, if I like variants, this dude's obsessed. While my hunt is limited to 3 and 5 screw anomalies, his delves in to the tiniest of details. That insanity means he can have as many as twelve copies of the same game, with differences as small as a change from TM to R on the seal of quality.

Christmas day I opened his gift. I expected the Dragon Warriors. For months he'd been calling me, double checking how much I pay per cart, trying to stay within my limits I assumed so he could be reimbursed. There, along with all those carts, was a game he knew I'd been looking for for a long time: 5 Screw Contra.

Contra is my jam. I love that game. I'd been looking for a 5 screw copy ever since Raybot announced he had one. I recently streamed a run at the world's Contra low-score. This was a big gift from a great friend, Dragon Warriors included.

We've had a talk since then and he will no longer be making way for his name in the save states.

ScaryD: #616

Last, but not least, ScaryD's present came via the NintendoAge Secret Santa gift exchange. Along with all the other goodies in the picture was his contribution to the Collection. If I understood correctly, he's currently deployed overseas and his special lady friend helped package this up and get it to me. God speed, gaming friend.

- February 28th, 2019

What's up, Doc?

First, I'd like to thank everyone who sent me fan mail for all the updates over the holidays. As the internet grew up, I looked forward to finding an update on Maddox's site or knowing that a Monday meant the email for Strong Bad. It's nice to know this website provides that same value to some of my fellow Interneters. Now, on to the show!

Jeff Geske: #581, 583-584

The loyalist of the Dragon Followers, Geske's ability to obquire bulk amounts of this first RPG is nothing short of astounding. At a future date, we'll run numbers to see just how close the count is when comparing to the number of copies I've personally picked up to his donations.

I am coming back to the Midwest Gaming Classic this year and look forward to seeing this man in person again. Dan Loosen approved my new talk, part two in my World of Nintendo Aftermarket Games series. Looking forward to hanging out with my homebrew friends in the NA room, seeing Geske again, and who knows, maybe the Unorthodox Dragon Warrior will make another video appearance!

- January 22th, 2019

Classic Tetris World Champsionship

It seems like ages ago that I first saw the Tetris documentary Ecstasy of Order. A film about finding the world's best Tetris player, it inevitably ends in a tournament of champions crowning Jonas winner for the next five out of seven years. It was inspiring to this young filmmaker.

That lead to my first convention, as I travelled across country to the Portland Retro Gaming Expo where I met Robin Mihara, Uncle Tusk, and the rest of the Tetris Masters. So many great firsts that year, like breaking the Megaman 2 cover art story when I interviewed Marc Ericksen or asking Howard Phillips if he really wore a bow tie.

Joey Parker: #580

I'm sure we hung out that weekend at Robin's poker night or BBQ. Back then, things were lowkey and everyone could spend a night or two together and catch up. Since that eye opening weekend, Joey's been attending my convention the Let's Play Gaming Expo. See, I approached Vince with an idea our first year: let's have a southern qualifier!

So we did! LPGE became the first ever Southern Qualifier for the CTWC. Our winner would be flown to Portland, put up in a hotel, and guarenteed the 32nd seed in Sunday's bracket. Joey's been coming out and participating every year, and this last Expo he even helped host the tournament and stream our finals on Sunday!

Joey recently moved to deep Texas and before he left he had two things to do. First, buy my Smart Boy Tetris double. He'd been watching The Bits of Yesterday Extras and heard me mention I had two. I kept the plastic rental case his came in and I'll be damned if the label on isn't the same as on the game!

The other thing? On his way out he gave me his copy of Dragon Warrior. Looking forward to this year's qualifier, bigger and better! And if you're one of the Tetris players, I'm looking for player's copies of CTWC from 2014 and 2018. :)

- January 10th, 2019

Transcendence

As one astute follower of this site noted, most of my purchases for The Collection are done in person. This is true, as I enjoy talking with the sellers and haggling the price down to a reasonable level. But every once in a while, you'll find a pearl in the sea of the internet.

Behold.

gameswift: #579

At what point does a video game become art? What would it take to make it art? A mastering of pixels to create lasting images? Beautiful compositions for a timeless soundtrack? Creation of a completely new gaming genre? Or how about a handmade replacement label for someone's beloved cart?

I'm still trying to decipher from where the art came. It's extremely familiar, so I know it will be obvious once I realize what it is. Manual, strategy guide, Nintendo Power? Glorious regardless.

- December 26, 2018

Retropalooza

I feel bad that I've missed the last few Dallas 'Paloozas. I go way back with Jay having been in an early episode of The Game Chasers and even worked the first couple 'Paloozas running tournaments. I even won their Contra high score tournament once upon a time.

But a string of life obligations has kept me from the event, so its been a while since I had the chance to cruise the vendor floor for Dragon Warriors. Luckily, this year one man's need to be featured on the site outweighed the five dollars in cost. His name...

Jeff Bartoletta: #582

Like with many in the DFW gaming community, I'm not sure when I first met Jeff. Most likely at one of the local meetups, maybe at an event here in town? Hard to say. A lot of interaction on The Facebook, for sure, which the metroplex has a very healthy community on spread amongst several collecting groups.

Featured here is the only DW from the show that I have, compliments of Jeff. I appreciate his donation to The Collection and think that more donators should show the kind of reverance Jeff does in this photo. He even took the knee before the game.

Stand, Sir Jeff. I dub thee a member of the Follower of the Dragon.

- December 18, 2018

Game On Expo

I had the pleasure of trekking west to Phoenix shortly after LPGE to help out Hal Hawkins with his Retro World Series. They'd been tapped by John Lester to run tournaments out there for him again at his convention. Gamester81 started Game On right around the time we started Let's Play and I had heard good things. So a chance to visit my old hometown and see his show on Hal's dime sounded fine to me.

Vendors: #575, 578

Unfortunately for these unnamed heroes, I was actually enjoying myself too much to catch their names. RWS was next to the concert stage, so I spent a good amount of time enjoying new acts like Mecurious FM and Sergio and the Holograms. I also had a chance to see The Minibosses, a band I consider the grandfathers of the videogame music scene, or at least the first band I ever heard doing covers way back during Y2K.

I also spent some quality time in the arcade. I beat Mega Man 2 on a custom built cab Sam at Rewind by Design. The workmanship was top notch and his projects like Oregon Trail are in my wagon wheelhouse, if you will. There was also Snap Jack, a one-of-a-kind barn find that was on display and up for play. Point is, while gameing on I failed to catch from whom these two copies came.

Married Guy Gamer: #576-577

One of the three sellers got behind the idea of The Collection, and for that I thank ye. TJ Birmingham the first time around cut me a deal on a DW cart after I told him what I normally pay and that it was obviously for a great cause. Later on in the show, he ran me down because he'd found a second copy for me! Appreciate the help.

One more copy closer to the dream!

- December 14, 2018

Let's Play Gaming Expo

As we wade in the midst of the holiday season, let's see if I can get a few posts in before the new year. Join me as we go back in time to the last weekend of July, as LPGE happened here in Dallas. Hope you were there and not a pixel!

The Board: #557-561

The Expo is a blur for me. When you're one of the guys in charge, you find yourself running around, constantly checking in and making sure the event is running smoothly. Before you know it, it's over and you're packing up until next year.

Sometime during all that running around, a stack of DWs appeared. I think the first handoff was from Bruleski in the Free Play Area. Later, a donation from Darren in the arcade. Last, a gift from the Other Christian working the vendor hall. Thank you to my team members for the donations!

Fat Chris: #562-574

Also volunteering at LPGE was one of the Dragon Followers. Fat Chris flew all the way out from Baltimore with his kid Joey to work the event. For those who don't know Fat Chris, when working/attending a con he likes to bring his mascot if possible: a twelve foot tall inflatible Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

Of couse, it's too big for a suitcase which meant it would have to be shipped. I provided a shipper based on his measurements, then get a call from the store about the package. It's bigger, it's heavier, and it's going to cost double. "That's fine, ship it."

Unfortunately, it never arrived during the Expo. And while I knew Fat Chris loved his inflatable ghost, he sounded crushed everytime I told him it wasn't here yet. And man, he just kept asking.

Finally, late in the week after Let's Play, it arrives. He wants to be on the phone with me as I open it; I think he's crazy for caring that much about an inlfatable. I had assumed he wanted me to be careful opening it because I might damage his Puft.

Wrong.

I meticulous opened it only to have fourteen copies of Dragon Warrior pour out. He was cracking up on the phone and I realized he wasn't crazy for the Puft, he was worried about those carts. They arrived safely and the gift was a pleasant surprise. Thanks, Fat Chris!

- November 31, 2018

5 Screw Variants

Only a week later and another update! I'm excited to share this cart with you, because it happens to touch on two things I enjoy, The Collection and Nintendo NES screw variants. Oh, you don't know about Nintendo screw variants... Get ready, today's post needs a too long, didn't read!

Blast from the Past Videogames: #556

In the case of cart #556, it was simply a bonus included in a lot that contained another cart I was after. What I really wanted was an Ultra "error" cart I found, a 5 screw copy of Ski or Die. Oh, and it was also a double label.

For the layman out there, in 1988 Nintendo of America realized that if they changed the mold for their game paks, they could elimante two screws by having plastic clips at the top. Multiply the cost of those two screws times the number of game paks they were producing and you got some sweet Q4 earnings coming your way.

And that's where the error carts come in. Limited to two manufacturers, Ultra and Konami, there are a handful of variants out there that in all reality shouldn't exist... but they do! And there are half a dozen nerds like me that spend their time looking for these guys. In this case, Ski or Die.

The cost of these carts have gone up since a certain speed collector showed up on the scene, but I'm old school and try to stick to what they used to go for when they were virtually unknown. Of course, the article I wrote for the NA eZine when I completed my main 5/3 screw set I'm sure didn't help!

Now I'm down to the nitty gritty of variants. If you happen to have the following, I'm your guy:

• Adventures of Bayou Billy (5 Screw)

• Base Wars (5 Screw)

• Castlevania II (5 Screw)

• Castlevania III (5 Screw)

• Contra (5 Screw)

• Defender of the Crown (5 Screw)

• Jackal (5 Screw)

• Mission Impossible (5 Screw)

• Q*Bert (5 Screw)

• R.C. Pro Am (5 Screw)

• Rollergames (5 Screw)

• Skate or Die (5 Screw)

• Snake's Revenge (5 Screw)

• Stadium Events (5 Screw)

• Tiny Toon Adventures (5 Screw)

• Top Gun 2: The Second Mission (5 Screw)

- October 30, 2018

Freaks and Geeks

Thank you to those that contacted me about making a new post, haha! Glad so many people are enjoying the website. I've got a slew of updates, let's hope that I can find the time to get them all added. On to the carts from Denton!

Alec Featherstone: #553-555

I'm not really sure how or when we met, but it was only a matter of time with Alec being owner of Freaks and Geeks up in Denton, Texas. Over the years we've worked cons together, he's been a vendor at Let's Play Gaming Expo, and there's that one time we brought gaming to a music festival. That was fun.

Recently they moved locations from a quaint two-story house to a cool retail spot just across the street, I believe. Unfortunately I don't get up that way enough despite knowing that they always have some unique items. Right now, they have a set of The Tick toys I wouldn't mind picking up...

Alec is one of the true Dragon Followers, setting aside most copies of DW coming through his place. Just before the Expo, they sent these carts down to me via Bruleski. You rock, Alec.

- October 24, 2018

Bits of Yesterday

I’ve had several people claim to be the party responsible for the mystery cart recently. While I try and sort that out on this end, enjoy another update, this one featuring a videogame documentary I was in!

Darrin Peloquin: #552

Director of the The Bits of Yesterday, I first met Darrin when he came to my place as part of my backer reward for kickstarting the project, being interviewed for the film. I gave him a brief tour of my gameroom, and then we got down to the nitty gritty, hard-hitting questions like, “Do you remember your game rental store from growing up?”

I had such a great time that Darrin and I stayed in touch throughout his filmmaking process and as it neared completion, part of the Mother to Earth crew helped him out with a touch of editing. This past summer Darrin even had a screening at the Alamo Drafthouse in Irving, Texas as part of the Let’s Play Gaming Expo. Since then, I’ve enjoyed watching all the extra bits he’s made to help promote the film.

When all the rewards we’re delivered in the spring, my big box of goodies came with an extra reward, Dragon Warrior cart #552.

- September 17, 2018

Midwest Gaming Classic

2018 was big for MGC as they moved to the convention center in downtown Mill-e-wah-que. For years, they’d held their show at a hotel outside of town. Having just moved venues myself with the Let’s Play Gaming Expo, I told Dan who runs the show I’d come help with setup knowing a little of the chaos he was about to go through.

Jeff Geske: #534-535

Just before the Midwest Gaming Classic started, and before I began filming for the video blog post prior to this update, I ran into the Dragon follower Geske. We snapped this pic and sent it to our pal Brule to rub in how much fun we were having up North. Who would’ve guessed that I would see Geske not once, but twice within a year?!

I was able to get Jeff and his buddies in to the show a little early, as they helped carry my film equipment technically making them crew. They perused the vendor floor for deals before the show opened to the public while I got setup to film. That’s when he gave me two new copies for the collection he brought from home.

Geske, you are indeed the man.

- September 8, 2018

Great White North

The Dragon Warrior lives! Yes, I am fine and thank you to those that inquired after my prolonged absence. But I have returned, fresh from the Let's Play Gaming Expo, and with a special update for the collection: a video blog!

Midwest Gaming Classic: #534-551

Join me as I travelled North to Mill-e-wah-que in search of more copies to add to The Collection. Compliments to the minstrels that provided the music for this post, The Descendants or Erdrick. Enjoy the adventure!

- August 15, 2018

The Mystery Cart!

Life has been hectic this past year, with all the work being put into making this website. Amidst the chaos, a cart appeared! Alas, I forgot to write down from whence it came. Hours of research have been poured into deducing the origin of this game pak, to no avail.

Most likely, it was from one of the Dragon Followers. With the regularity of some of my contributors, sometimes a donation can get misplaced with other awesomeness that may have arrived by courier. Such was the case with this cart.

I'm certain someone will eventually see that their name is not amongst the Hall of Heroes that have donated to the cause and a stink will be raised, bringing an end to this quest. Until such time, the search will continue for the rightful owner.

- June 20, 2018

As Seen On The Internet

It’s all new posts from here on. Hooray! Which should make it easier for me to respond to all of these publications that keep pestering me about The Collection. I promise, I respond to everyone, just so many questions that it’s getting hard to keep up! Maybe someday I’ll make a GameFAQ…

NintendoTwizer: Cart #532

It’s always fun when a close friend or family member sends you something game related from on the line and you can say, “Yeah, I know that guy.” Which I did a lot with NintendoTwizer, because we’ve all seen his collection. As a matter of fact, I just Googled “Nintendo Collection” to confirm that his pictures would come up first. They did.

I first met Twizer through NintendoAge, but would again cross paths years later as we both frequented reddit, which I refuse to capitalize. He was actually one of the first people I traded with on NA, he didn’t try to take advantage of me, and he was okay with doing a six-way-trade so that everyone got something from my stack of doubles. At the time, he was fourteen carts away from his complete NES set to give you an idea of how long ago that was.

Well, this site was launched and Twizer contacted me saying he’d had a copy of Dragon Warrior sitting in his glove box for months that he just kept forgetting to send me. This was a donation to the cause, which is mighty generous and always appreciated. Always a good day when you hear from this guy. Thanks, Twiz!

reddit is a lot quieter since you toned down your collection. And don’t worry, that one project is still being worked on. Looking at a completion date of later this summer. ;)

- June 1, 2018

Deeds Recorded

"Get on to the real updates!" I know, I know. I am recieving all inquiries and replying as fast as I can. Hard to believe I started planning this site over a year ago. Just this one last batch of carts and we're all caught up.

Handsome Joe: #525-529

I met Handsome Joe a few years back when I was still buying/selling. He was touted by several friends as legit, along with his pal "I always sell my collection" Dunfee, which encouraged Bro Prices on my end. Our final deal went sour, however, as he low-balled my already low prices, and then went lower. The last straw was when he brought out a hacked up copy of Noah's Ark 3D for trade. Literally hacked, as in someone sawed off the tabs, presumably because they didn't like the added comfort with wings? I passed politely.

But Ol' Joe wouldn't let it go. He had games piled up and proceeded to guilt me over the time it took to get to my place, over not taking that shitty piece of game, on and on. I finally caved because I'm a nice guy. I included a caveat, though. He could never, ever talk about that shit ever again. I never wanted to hear about it, not from him, anyone in the DFW gaming scene, or anywhere online. He took the deal and I quit talking to him altogether after that transaction.

This was years ago. People grow, and one day not so recently Handsome Joe apologized out of the blue. He admitted he pushed too hard for so little; he should've realized the value in the friendship, not the money. Along with his sorry came four copies of Dragon Warrior. The picture below he sent on The Facebook after he found these copies at a garage sale.

It's hard not to forgive someone who can admit they were wrong. And he never mentioned that trade over all those years, I asked around from time to time. Thus, he's no longer on my doneso list.

- May 11, 2018

Earthbound Evan: #506

The year was 2015, the event: MAGFest. During MAG, the Gaylord is like a dorm and Fat Chris is the guy with music blaring and door perpetually open. One night, in wandered Evan with Quincy Pringle in tow, who was handing out business cards like it was the 80’s and he was the CIA with coke.

Later that year, Evan called with a film idea, being I’m a filmmaker by day, working on basically anything that pays. Evan is a diehard Earthbound fan and wanted to make a documentary about the unreleased version for the NES.

He and Josh Bone-Christian (cart #438) had already conducted a short interview with a key player from Nintendo of America. I watched this forty minute video, done in a Starbucks, shot with an iPhone, and no audio equipment. Sure, the quality wasn’t great, but the content, the knowledge, the history… What they had captured was enough for me to know that they had something. I was in.

Fast forward to present day. The documentary, titled Mother to Earth, was successfully kickstarted. I went to an Earthbound convention, zigzagged the US conducting interviews, and even got to go to Japan and talk to the composer, Keiichi Suzuki.

I’ve been all over the world with those goofs and know way too much about this game considering I’m the guy who once pondered destroying a SNES Earthbound prototype. The crew flies in to Dallas this weekend for our final round of interviews and then it’s on to post!

Evan was in Dallas last year, working as the Social Media Coordinator for the Let’s Play Gaming Expo. If you interacted with us over the internet, this is the guy you were talking to. That’s also when he gave me copy #506 to add to The Collection. It’s been a wild ride with this guy, follow him on Twitter.

- April 1, 2018

The Dragon Followers

I continue to be blown away by the attention the site has recieved! Bear with me as I try to respond to everyone that has contacted me thus far. And thanks for all the new copies of Dragon Warriors that have started to trickle in! For now, let us get caught up on The Collection's journey.

Jeff Geske: #498-500, 514-518

My first memories of this man were visiting a local game store in Dallas and seeing a stack of his consoles waiting to be modded by the Other Christian. That in itself wasn't odd, but the fact that they were for a collector in Minnesota struck me as queer. To be fair, Other Christian did superior work.

Shortly thereafter I would run across his name in the facebook groups and about a year ago he sent me his first batch of Warriors which took to The Collection to the magical number of 500. That was soon followed by another batch, for none of which he asked payment.

Jeff was a dozen or so carts away from completing his NES collection at the time, easy stuff to acquire as we all know happens at the end. Luckily for him a friend was downsizing at the time, allowing me to send hima copy of Pro Sports Hockey for being such a good sport. We had the good fortune of meeting at PRGE this past year.

Fat Chris: #501-502,

507-508, 521-524

I met this character at Too Many Games way back in the year two thousand of oh-thirteen. Fat Chris and friends were standing outside the venue and laughing on the sidewalk as I was lugging my gear to the the parking lot. They asked if I knew of Liquid Ass, which in fact I did know, as the morning Radio show I interned on in college was sent a box prelaunch about ten years prior.

They were "Shit Dollaring", hitting a buck with that foul smelling spray then dropping it outside the Con. We watched as people celebrated their good fortune upon finding free money, followed immediately by regret and dropping the bill back on the ground, only to be repeated by the next poor, unsuspecting soul. There was an immediate repoir.

The first two carts he gave to me personally at MAGFest, an event he introduced me to; I highly recommend it. The next two D-dubs were sent with packages that included a lot of randomness for use at the Let's Play Gaming Expo, a project I'm involved with here in Dallas.

The third batch he brought with him when he flew out to help work the Expo last year. He's also the one that sold me that Pro Sports Hockey I sent Jeff. Below is a video of him chugging mustard. Thin is in, but fat is where it's at - Stay Puft!

Bruleski: #505, 519-520

I've known Eric Brule for a number of years. He's the man behind the graphic design of the Let's Play Gaming Expo and works for a local advertising agency here in DFW. Very talented individual and part of the team who helped me build this tribute site.

As an avid collector who still finds time to go out and hunt, Brule will randomly have little goodies for me. If I'm really lucky, as I was three times in this instance, he'll find some cheap Dragon Warriors. He has also worked as courier for both Jeff Geske and Alec Featherstone. I have a feeling we'll be seeing his name again in the near future!

Freaks and Geeks: #503-504, 509-512

Appearing a second time on the new tribute site, Alec, owner and propritor of Freaks and Geeks in Denton, Tejas, is well aware of The Collection. He continually sets aside what he gets and either brings them to events he knows he might see me at, or sends them on their way with Brule when he stops by the store.

The picture below is of carts #509-512, which Alec took up to Super! BitCon last year, despite the weather. He's a stand up guy and a well liked pillar of the North Texas gaming community. If you're at UNT and want some retro goodness, make sure to stop by!

- March 7, 2018

Quest for Missing Carts

Wow, I can’t believe it! The response to the website has been overwhelming the past few weeks. I have many of your questions to answer, but the one thing that keeps being brought up is “The Gap”. Honestly, I was surprised so many found the website’s hidden links, let alone follow them all.

The last update before this website was created was for Cart #480, however the list of Items here reflects additions as high as #529, creating “The Gap” of updates for Carts #481-529. The why is it took a long time to make this website and even longer to make that Dragon Throne. I’ll spend the next few posts catching everyone up.

Retrofest 4: #481-493

Every year, Magdiel Venture holds Retrofest in Ft. Worth, Texas with proceeds going to charity. It’s a great event for the gaming community, giving collectors and sellers a chance to get together in an fun atmosphere that isn’t overwhelming. It was there I finally had an oppurtunity to get together with Jacob Mendoza, a collector who at the time lived in West Texas (not to be confused with West, Texas).

He knew about my cache of NES doubles, but he also knew that I was a hermit who strictly bartered for copies of D-dub. He needed some SMB/DHs, I needed all his copies of Dragon Warrior, and a deal was born. I think he sat on the stack pictured above for six months, but Retrofest brought us together on that fateful Saturday, March 25th in 2017. Me and the copies of Dragon Warrior, not Jacob.

Freaks and Geeks: #494-495

Also at Retrofest was my good buddy Alec Featherstone, owner and operator of Freaks and Geeks in Denton. Alec is well aware of The Collection, which is how I will be referring to it from here on out, and has become one of its regular contributors. I appreciate his help, his camaraderie, and his commitment to the beard despite the Texas heat. He specifically brought a few copies along because he thought he might run into me at Retrofest. And he did! Score.

The Nostalgic Nerd: #496-498

Another regular in the gaming scene here in North Texas, The Nostalgic Nerd hooked me up with some DW copies at Retrofest, as well. I can see it now, fans of the site saying that on the site I will only pay $3, but the stickers on these say $7. People, if you’re paying full price for anything, then it’s not a deal.

Jacob Dropped This (Bonus Item)

I picked up two Chuck Norris action figures after my D-dub deal was completed with Jacob. Still in the original packaging, hangtabs unpunched. Their heads are hollow and made of a soft plastic, causing many to be punctured or torn whilst deep in heavy, imaginary battle. Kid Me used the serpent helmet from Snakebite of the Supernaturals line by Tonka to hide his hideous deformity, but there was a queerness to making ol’ Charles a bad guy, which he clearly was after that mask went on. It would be years before I would understand it was Chuck’s inherit awesomeness that was clashing with that evil-looking headdress.

I heard Chuck Norris is so famous, he once had the most popular website on the Internet. Surprisingly enough, I couldn’t find it. I’m talking about the one that was just random facts you could vote on and never see again with the top ten list, not the commercialized version I see linked on the Internet Archive by Know Your Meme. Before that.

- February 5, 2018

A Website Appears!

Welcome to the unorthodox Dragon Warrior collection. Once a forum thread, now it's own website, follow me on a quest to collect 1000 copies of a single game: Dragon Warrior for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).

I wanted to do something monumental to signify the reaching of 500 copies, and thought a tribute site would be appropriate. Accompanying the launch of this site, there was also a press release sent out to all the major publications.

My goal is lofty, but it is my fate. Keep up with the collection's progress as the years go by and the copies pile up, because only a true Dragonlord would have a 1000 copies!

- October 12, 2017

Future Post!

The adventure continues...