The topic of “Holy Grails” is popular over at Digitpress, and having only started collecting recently, I’d never given much thought as to what my personal Grails of the video game world would be. With this in mind, I set out to find the cool, obscure, and downright nostalgic items in each of the libraries I’m collecting for. What I ended up with was a good mix of impossible to find items (things that’ll take a lifetime worth of searching), along with more common items I’ll probably be able to find in the wild. This list eventually snowballed out of control, and turned out to be so prolific it couldn’t be held to a measly top 10 list, it had to be stretched to a top 18. Why such a weird number? Well recently I was assembling the “What I Want to Accomplish in my Lifetime” list and came to the realization that you shouldn’t limit yourself. If there is something you want, you should pursue it (or in this case, include it), and at the same time, you shouldn’t pad your lists just to make it into a pretty multiple of ten.
Considering the epic nature of this list, I’ve split it into two parts. Let it also be known that these are in no specific order. So without further to do, here is my 18 Holy Grails of Video Gamedom:
1. Earthbound (SNES)
-I didn’t know that this game even existed until trying to find out where Ness was from when playing Smash Brothers for the first time. I’ve never played it, and I’m a big fan of quirky RPGs. It isn’t the rarest game on the SNES, but it’s certainly one of the most sought after.
Price: $90
2. Red Cover Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (Ps2)
-I remember contemplating this preorder years ago but couldn’t rationalize it at the time (no steady income and I already owned a copy of MGS 3). What a fool I was. Considered one of, if not THE rarest Ps2 game, this collector’s edition came with the bonus disc packaged with the original Subsistence (a great deal by itself), and even more bonus goodies including all of the movies in MGS 3 cut into a film by the man-god himself, Hideo Kojima.
Price: $150
3. Bioshock Big Daddy Statue
-Bioshock is one of my favorite games of all time thanks mostly to its style and atmosphere. And who wouldn’t want to bring some of that hulking metal ambience into their house? They were made as promotional items for Gamestop, but I have no clue how many are in existence.
Price: $1700
4. Fire Emblem Thracia 776 Box Set (SNES)
-If a game comes packaged with cool swag you can count me in—and it doesn’t get much cooler than this box set. Coming in a wooden box with plushies, maps, and other greatness, is there any question why I’d want one of these?
Price: $200
5. Steel Battalion (Xbox)
-Games to me are about experiences. If there is something incredibly unique about a game, I can look past some of its faults if it brings something new or unique to the table. What’s special about Steel Battalion? Not a lot except for it comes packed with a 40 button controller and pedals for you to operate your own virtual mech. I wish more games did things like that.
Price: $300
6. Snatcher (Sega CD)
-If I had to narrow down my long list of heroes/people who have influenced me, Hideo Kojima is most likely number one. Snatcher was one of the projects he did before making the original Metal Gear Solid—and I haven’t played it. Enough said.
Price: $100
7. Donkey Kong Country Competition (SNES)
-What actually “counts” as my introduction to gaming is up for debate, but the first game I remember that made me want to be a gamer is Donkey Kong Country. The competition cart only had 2,500 copies released making it the rarest SNES game in the library (that I know of). While I could just as easily throw the Nintendo World Championship Gold Cart on here, Donkey Kong Country holds a much heavier nostalgic factor.
Price: $250-$700
8. Game and Watch Octopus
-Again, not the rarest of the series, but one of the defining titles of the Game and Watch era. Its copper and red finish screams retro (so much so the limited edition Game Boy Micro had the same coloring) and who doesn’t love games starring octopi?
Price: $200
9. Burgertime Arcade Cabinet/Cocktail Table
- The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters made me think, if I were to go for the world record in an old arcade game, what would it be? After some deliberating, Burgertime was inevitably my choice. It has just as much character as other better known classics (Donkey Kong, Pac Man, etc.)while having its own interesting identity. In addition to this, the world’s high score is 11,512,500, so I need to own the cabinet if I hope to even get close.
Price: ?
9 down…9 to go…
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