"And that about does it. What will the new year bring? We've already got a big release with Resident Evil VII: Biohazard in January! Will I crack 2,000 games in 2017? Will I get my ass in gear and finish more than 30 measly games in 365 days? Will I finally slay my white whale and get a copy of Snatcher for the Sega CD? Will I lose my job and have to sell my entire collection to make ends meet?"
Those were the questions I posed at the end of 2016, and with 2017 officially over, I can now definitively answer them:
No.
No.
Yes.
No.
All-in-all, I'd still call it a successful year. I'm on the cusp of 2,000 games, I more than doubled my collection of Big Box PC Games, which was another goal I'd set for myself this year, and I did finally add my most coveted game to my collection.
Truth be told, 2017 was filled with so many amazing games, I'll be glad for the typical winter lull. There are so many games I bought, but didn't even have a chance to experience, and this will be the perfect time to check some of them out.
For now, let's take a look at how the collection is shaping up.
Atari 2600 VCS
Total Games: 70
Not the best start, adding no games to my Atari lineup.
Colecovision
Total Games: 1
Things aren't looking so good out of the gate. No new Coleco games either, mostly on account of me still now owning a system to play them on.
Dreamcast
Total Games: 118 (+19 from 2016)
Now we're on the right track! Some heavy-hitters were added this year, including Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves, Fighting Vipers 2 (import), the original Marvel vs. Capcom (can't believe I didn't own that already), Resident Evil 2, The Typing of the Dead, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, and Cannon Spike.
Gameboy/Gameboy Color
Total Games: 45 (+10 from 2016)
I thought I'd added more Gameboy games, in all honesty, but apparently not. The additions were pretty minor, mostly more arcade ports like Bubble Bobble, Dig Dug, Space Invaders, and Q*Bert, and a few cheap titles like Balloon Kid and Bubble Ghost. The most notable games were Mega Man III, Ninja Gaiden Shadow, and Metal Gear Solid.
Gameboy Advance
Total Games: 32 (+10 from 2016)
Contrarily, I had no idea I added 10 more games to the GBA library this year, including the last minute addition of Bubble Bobble: Old & New for Christmas. Other entries included Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls and Final Fantasy IV-V Advance.
Game Gear
Total Games: 25 (+25 from 2016)
One of two new systems I picked up this year was a Game Gear. I had one of these beasts as a kid, and while the Master System offers many of the same games (via import), there are still a handful of GG exclusives that I missed playing. The unit I bought had all its capacitors replaced, and a new screen installed, though the d-pad is a tad bit mushy. Regardless, I'm really happy to own one again and my library is off to a roaring start with stuff like Ax Battler, Batman Returns, Chakan: The Forever Man, Donald Duck: The Lucky Dime Caper, Dragon Crystal, Land of Illusion, Legend of Illusion, Ninja Gaiden, Ristar, Shinobi, Sonic the Hedgehog 1 & 2, as well as Chaos and Triple Trouble, both Streets of Rage ports, Tempo Jr., Vampire: Master of Darkness, and all three X-Men games - plus a few more!
Gamecube
Total Games: 36 (+2 from 2016)
Very little added for the Cube this year, and to be frank, the only game I can remember getting was Luigi's Mansion for Christmas.
Genesis
Total Games: 189 (+20 from 2016)
Most of my Genesis additions were also pretty minor or obscure games. I picked up Batman: Revenge of the Joker and Battletoads, which to be honest aren't really much better than the NES versions. Devilish and Dinosaurs for Hire were weird additions. Alisia Dragoon, Dynamite Headdy, and Splatterhouse 2 were by far the most high profile (and expensive) games added to the library.
Nintendo Entertainment System
Total Games: 204 (+4 from 2016)
Truth be told, I'm largely done picking up NES games. Sure, there are a handful I'd like to get, but a lot of them are prohibitively expensive and I can't see myself dropping that kind of cash on them. Honestly, I don't even recall what they were, save the black label Donkey Kong, Jr. Arcade Classics Series cart.
Nintendo DS
Total Games: 15 (+2 from 2016)
Final Fantasy III and Hotel Dusk: Room 215. Moving on.
Nintendo 3DS
Total Games: 24 (+4 from 2016)
This one should be easier to tell what I bought, seeing as how they're all still sealed on my shelf, unplayed, as all 3DS games end up. Culdcept Revolt, two River City games (Rival Showdown and Tokyo Rumble), and of course, Metroid: Samus Returns, which I'd love to eventually get around to.
Nintendo 64
Total Games: 38 (+1 from 2016)
Another year, another single game added for my least favorite Nintendo console: Quake.
Nintendo Switch
Total Games: 10 (+10 from 2016)
The second new system of the year, the Nintendo Switch is quickly becoming one of my favorite Nintendo devices ever. It's ironic that I rarely play my handheld systems, but I play the Switch almost exclusively in portable mode. I absolutely love having the ability to get reasonably console-quality experiences when I'm laying on my couch. On top of that, the Switch has had one of the best first year line-ups of any console I can remember thanks to some incredible first party games and strong third party support. There are legit Game of the Year contenders like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey, bold and innovative new IPs like ARMS, great indie titles like The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+, the sprawling RPG Xenoblade Chronicles 2, puzzle games like Puyo Puyo Tetris and Super Bomberman R, a stunning port of Mario Kart 8, and technical marvels like DOOM and Skyrim - and there are still several games I didn't even pick up!
PC
Total Games: 152 (+89 from 2016)
One of the biggest increases overall, my Big Box PC Game collection is one of the pride and joys of my entire library. I added some incredible stuff this year, including most of the original release AD&D Goldbox games from SSI (not the cheaper WizardWorks repackages), Planescape: Torment, the original Alone in the Dark, Archon Ultra, Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, Beavis & Butt-Head in Virtual Stupidity, Blade Runner, Clive Barker's Undying, Crusader: No Remorse, Deus Ex, the original Diablo and its expansion Hellfire, as well as Diablo II, Dragon's Lair and the sequels Escape from Singe's Castle and III: The Curse of Mordread, Duke Nukem 3D, The Elder Scrolls Chapter II: Daggerfall, F.E.A.R. (admittedly, a smaller big box), HeroQuest, Hexen and its expansion Deathkings of the Dark Citadel, I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, King's Quest II: Romancing the Throne, Leisure Suit Larry in the LAnd of the Lounge Lizards (VGA), Lode Runner: The Legend Returns, Night Trap (Limited Run Games 25th Anniversary release), Realms of the Haunting, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Ripper, Sanitarium, Space Quest I: Roger Wilco in The Sarien Encounter (VGA), Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II and Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (in the collector's tin, complete with lightsaber keychain), X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter and X-Wing Alliance, Stonekeep (in the original tombstone box), Syndicate, System Shock 2, Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss, Unreal Tournament, Waxworks, X-COM: UFO Defense and Terror from the Deep, X-Men: Madness in Murderworld and X-Men II: Fall of the Mutants. Oh, I also replaced my missing ephemera (manuals, etc.) for my Fallout games, making them complete once more!
PlayStation
Total Games: 139 (+12 from 2016)
Nothing particularly noteworthy among the dozen games I added, save for maybe the original Twisted Metal in the longbox and the black label Crash Team Racing. Other than that, it was mostly cheap stuff like O.D.T. or Cardinal Syn.
PlayStation 2
Total Games: 116 (+10 from 2016)
Um... so yeah, I added 10 forgettable games. All I can recall are Escape from Monkey Island and Fire Pro Wrestling Returns which, in fairness, is one of the best wrestling games ever.
PlayStation 3
Total Games: 86
Wow. This one surprised even me. Not a single PS3 game added to the collection this year. I was sure I'd picked up something cheap at some point, but I guess not.
PlayStation 4
Total Games: 129 (+60 from 2016)
The second largest leap in my collection - only behind PC games. I said this last year, but the PS4 is the most I've enjoyed collecting for a system during its lifespan since the original Xbox. There's something about this machine and the deluge of amazing games, ranging from AAA titles to indie darlings, that just blows me away. Just look at the variety of some of the games I added: Axiom Verge, Battle Chasers: Nightwar, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk, Broken Age, Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy, Dariusburst: Chronicle Saviors, Dead Rising 4: Frank's Big Package, DiRT 4, DOOM VFR, Dragon Quest Heroes II, Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen, The Evil Within 2, Farpoint, Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, Firewatch, Gravity Rush 2, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Injustice 2, Inside/Limbo Double Pack, Jotun, Little Nightmares, Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, Mass Effect: Andromeda (I know, it's trash), Mega Man Legacy Collection 2, Nex Machina, Nier: Automata, Night Trap, Nioh, Okami HD, Outlast Trilogy, Oxenfree, Pillars of Eternity: Complete Edition, Prey, Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin, Redout: Lightspeed Edition, Resident Evil VII: Biohazard, Shadow Warrior 2, Skullgirls: 2nd Encore, Skyrim VR, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, Torment: Tides of Numenera, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Victor Vran: Overkill Edition, Windjammers, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap, Yakuza Kiwami, Ys Origin and Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA, and both the Zero Escape physical releases.
PlayStation Portable
Total Games: 3 (+3 from 2016)
OK, OK, so I don't have a PSP as yet...but I couldn't pass up The 3rd Birthday, Loco Roco 2, and Lumines when they were so cheap. I'll replace the machine this year.
Saturn
Total Games: 109 (+8 from 2016)
Saturn collecting is mostly at a standstill thanks to the absurd prices of most games these days. All 8 additions were cheap games like Darklight Conflict, Impact Racing, Mass Destruction, and Star Fighter.
Sega 32X/32X CD
Total Games: 17 (+2 from 2016)
Last year I mentioned the need to add Kolibri if I could find it cheap, and that's exactly what I did this year, along with Toughman Contest.
Sega CD
Total Games: 52 (+7 from 2016)
In the middle of the year, one of the local haunts got a huge lot of Sega CD games in with some real gems in it. There were so many, I missed out on a handful because I simply couldn't afford everything in one shot, and by the time I returned, the other desirable games had been bought. I did add Shadow of the Beast II, Wolfchild, and a little game called Snatcher to the collection. Snatcher stands as the most I've ever paid for a single game, but it was totally worth it.
Sega Master System
Total Games: 33 (+1 from 2016)
Only one SMS game, but at least it's the excellent port of Bubble Bobble with 100 additional levels.
Super Nintendo
Total Games: 76 (+9 from 2016)
SNES games are also getting ridiculously expensive, but I still added some great stuff like The Death & Return of Superman, King of Dragons, Final Fantasy II, Magic Sword, and Ogre Battle! It's also worth noting that I did pick up a SNES Classic.
Wii
Total Games: 29 (+3 from 2016)
The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Returns, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, and Xenoblade Chronicles were the only new additions, but hey, those are all pretty cool games.
Wii U
Total Games: 16
Hahahahahahaha!
Xbox
Total Games: 154 (+17 from 2016)
Once again, mostly a lot of cheap and obscure stuff to flesh out the Xbox library. Honestly, I'd be hard-pressed to remember any of it.
Xbox 360
Total Games: 56 (+7 from 2016)
Like its predecessor, I honestly cannot remember what trifles I picked up for the 360 other than Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection.
Total Games in Collection as of 12/31/2017: 1,974
Games Added in 2017: 335
And there we are. I still have two more reviews to write for games I completed in 2017, but I'll save those for another day. It's time to start the 2018 gaming & collecting season! Play on!
Comments