2019 was an interesting year for collecting. I've reached the point in my collection where the bulk of things I want are expensive, so there were significantly less additions to it overall. Not that another 270+ games is anything to scoff at, but compared to just shy of 400 in 2018, it's obvious my habits were dictated partly by the expense.
It's not that I can't afford more expensive games, but I certainly can't buy them in bulk like I do with cheap titles to flesh out my libraries. Nevertheless, I picked up some significant titles, and I'm inching ever-closer to 3,000. How close? Read on and find out!
ATARI 2600 VCS
Total Games: 75 (No change from 2018)
ColecoVision
Total Games: 13 (+4 from 2018)
Mouse Trap, Mr. Do!, Time Pilot, and River Raid were the only additions this year.
Dreamcast
Total Games: 154 (+19 from 2018)
A couple of cool additions to the ol' DC library: Last Blade 2: Final Edition, Bangai-O, Shenmue II (European release), Mr. Driller, Ikaruga (Japanese release), Skies of Arcadia, Gunbird 2, Zero Gunner 2 (Japanese release), and Mars Matrix were all pretty heavy hitters. I also snagged both US King of Fighters releases, the surprisingly expensive Sega Bass Fishing 2 (as well as a fishing controller), and the awesome oddity bleemcast! for Metal Gear Solid.
As a quick aside, special shoutout to Level 7 Games in Colorado. I purchased Shenmue II at one of their three locations, but the clerk only gave me the first two discs. When I went to another location, I saw a more complete copy with the slipcover and inquired about it. He asked me to bring in what I had purchased, so I did, and the employee gave me their complete copy in exchange for the incomplete copy I was given! On top of that, he gave me 10% off the rest of my games AND let me take a free t-shirt for my trouble. Talk about going above and beyond!
Famicom
Total Games: 8 (+7 from 2018)
I don't have a Famicom console, but I did buy a new adapted that is much easier to use for people with toaster-style NES consoles than the one I had, which was constantly getting stuck in the damn cartridge slot. Most of the games I picked up were small-timers - arcade ports of Dig Dug, Yie Ar Kung-Fu, Chack'n Pop, Parodius, and Mappy - but I did snag Mighty Final Fight and Akumajo Special: Boku Dracula-Kun, also known as Kid Dracula! Both games are very English-friendly, and the Famicom cart of Mighty Final Fight is only a fraction of the US version.
Game Boy/Game Boy Color
Total Games: 62 (+5 from 2018)
Not many additions, but some cool ones. I grabbed Deja Vu I & II during a trip to Nashville, Mega Man II, Ninja Boy and its sequel, and Boomer's Adventure in Asmik World elsewhere.
Game Boy Advance
Total: 38 (+4 from 2018)
Nothing particularly exciting. Lunar Legend is a fine game, but it's not as good as the CD versions. Mario Tennis Power Tour is the best game I added, while Guilty Gear X is a surprisingly capable portable version of one of my favorite fighters. Gauntlet: Dark Legacy, however, is an abomination to both its console brethren and the GBA itself.
Game Gear
Total: 37 (+6 from 2018)
While I'm still waiting for Analogue to release the goddamn adapter for the Mega SG, I grabbed Ecco the Dolphin, Bust-a-Move, Spider-Man, Super Smash TV, Deep Duck Trouble starring Donald Duck, and most importantly, Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya. Your move, Analogue.
GameCube
Total: 39 (+1 from 2018)
Only Super Mario Sunshine was added. But hey, Mario!
Genesis
Total Games: 270 (+20 from 2018)
I'd swear I actually bought more than this for my beloved Genesis, but in any case, it is now the largest library I have for any single console. Additions this year were mostly of the hidden gem variety (fun fact: if you said "hidden gems" three times in the mirror, Metal Jesus will appear). Red Zone, with it's super cool tech, the excellent Batman, Toki: Going Ape Spit, Dick Tracy, Socket, Ranger X, Demolition Man (which is way better than it has any right to be as a movie licensed game), Final Zone, Dynamite Duke, and Paperboy 2 are a couple of the titles. The biggest addition was Soleil, the European release of what is known as Crusader of Centy in the US. The US version is one of the most expensive games on the console, but the PAL version is about a third of the price complete and with my Mega SG, playing imports has never been easier. To that end, I also picked up the superb Psycho Pinball, which was sadly never released in the US.
Nintendo Entertainment System
Total Games: 223 (+6 from 2018)
Half of the newbies were fairly unremarkable - Duck Hunt (black label, solo cart), Thundercade, and Stinger - but the other three are definitely excellent games - Adventure Island III, Kick Master, and Vice: Project Doom, which I snuck it right before the year ended.
Nintendo DS
Total Games: 16 (No change from 2018)
Nintendo 3DS
Total Games: 24 (No change from 2018)
Nintendo 64
Total Games: 43 (+4 from 2018)
Turok 3, Mario Tennis, Jet Force Gemini, and Rush 2: Extreme Racing USA. Moving on.
Nintendo Switch
Total Games: 31 (+16 from 2018)
I don't give enough love to my Switch as I should. It's such a great machine, and with support from Limited Run Games, there are even more games for physical collectors. Having said that, the only two LRG releases I grabbed were Turok 1 & 2 Remastered, and the rest were all retail releases. Nintendo continued its streak of awesome first party games like Yoshi's Crafted World, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. Among the third party titles were several big exclusives like Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 and Astral Chain. To round things out, I grabbed some terrific smaller games like Azure Striker Gunvolt: Striker Pack, Slay The Spire, The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors, the overlooked update to one of my favorite classics BurgerTime Party, and Collection of Mana. Last, but certainly not least, the classic D&D RPGs from BioWare (remember when they were good?): Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition Pack, Planescape: Torment/Icewind Dale Enhanced Editions, and Neverwinter Nights Enhanced Edition. If you're a fan of those games in their original PC iterations, I found the Switch ports to be extremely intuitive and perfect for quick bites or long sessions of gameplay.
PC
Total Games: 223 (+30 from 2018)
My love of BBPC knows no end. What? Why are you looking at me like that? I said BBPC. Without question, the biggest get of the year was the original mail order DOOM. It cost a pretty penny, but it was worth it to have one of the most iconic games of all-time on my shelf. Prince of Persia in the hourglass box, in very good condition, was also a huge deal for me, but there were so many more big names. I added several LucasArts classics like The Dig, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantic, and Grim Fandango, as well as some lesser cult classic adventures like Simon the Sorcerer, Cruise for a Corpse, The Last Express, and Beneath a Steel Sky. On the RPG front, Ultima VII: The Black Gate and Part II: Serpent Isle joined the collection, along with Dungeon Master II: Skullkeep, Eye of the Beholder III, and Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, which bridges the gap between adventure and RPG. I got an original American McGee's Alice box where she's holding the bloody vorpal blade, and a pristine copy of Blake Stone: Planet Strike, a classic Wolfenstein engine FPS from Apogee. Thexder and Privateer 2: The Darkening, starring a young Clive Owen, have the sci-fi space shooter genre covered on multiple planes, while Aces of the Deep adds a heavy dose of simulation and strategy. I found a treasure trove of $5 games at McKay's in Nashville, including the Quake mission pack Scourge of Armagon (still sealed), Cyberia and its sequel, subtitled Resurrection, Tomb Raider: Gold and The Last Revelation in the famous trapezoid boxes, and Syndicate Plus (CD-ROM Classics Edition - also sealed). They also had a complete copy of Unreal, though it was not $5. I finally replaced my Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp diskette version box, got a mint FX Fighter (such a cool reflective box), and I even added a brand new game to the collection with the release of Ion Fury.
PlayStation
Total Games: 191 (+19 from 2018)
Some truly great pickups for the truly great OG PlayStation. As much as I love my Sega Saturn, I can't deny the PlayStation is just one of the best damn consoles ever thanks to its stellar library of games for every type of gamer. This year's additions included the original Medal of Honor, the terrific puzzler Intelligent Qube, Kileak: The DNA Imperative (longbox), Bushido Blade, Syphon Filter, Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha, Ridge Racer (longbox - Riiiiiiiiiidge Racer!), NHL: Rock the Rink, Battle Arena Toshinden (longbox), Street Fighter EX 2 Plus, the Judge Dredd lightgun game, Cleopatra Fortune, San Francisco Rush, Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere, Twisted Metal 2, Bloody Roar and Bloody Roar 2, Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage, which completes that trilogy, and Rival Schools.
PlayStation 2
Total Games: 155 (+18 from 2018)
Like its older brother, the PS2 also has a pretty incredible library, filled with bona fide classics and undiscovered gems. Among the games I picked up were Onimusha 3, Shinobi, Nightshade, Gungriffon Blaze, Grandia III, Culdcept, Suikoden III, Ridge Racer V, Bloody Roar 3, Xenosaga Episode I, and the first Yakuza.
PlayStation 3
Total Games: 97 (+4 from 2018)
The red-headed stepchild of the PlayStation family, the PS3 just could never escape the shadow of its poor launch and the Xbox 360 for me. That said, it's the only console with Yakuza 4 (at least until the physical remasters come out in February for PS4), so I couldn't pass that up. I also grabbed the Limited Run Collector's Edition of Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HD, and two aggressively mediocre games - Dante's Inferno and Monster Madness: Grave Danger, which is like if you took all the fun out of Zombies Ate My Neighbors.
PlayStation 4
Total Games: 214 (+43 from 2018)
The largest increase over 2018, the PS4 continues to be a powerhouse. True, the number would be even higher if I hadn't gotten the Xbox One X in 2018, but it's still a testament to how great the PS4 is that I still bought that many games, despite buying most multiplatform titles on the competing machine. Limited Run Games was a huge contributing factor to that, as Microsoft will not grant them license to release games on their platform. As a result, the PS4 got physical versions of games like Another World: 20th Anniversary Edition (I got the Collector's Edition, which is housed in a beautiful PC-style big box), Dragon's Lair Trilogy, all three Jak & Daxter remasters (I skipped the racing game though), The King of Fighters 97: Global Match, The First Tree, Lumines Remastered (again, the beautiful collector's edition, though the experience was... less than satisfactory), Battle Garegga Rev. 2016, The Messenger (technically a Special Reserve Games release), Psychonauts, Pix the Cat, the 8-bit throwback Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (again, the Collector's Edition in that beautiful NES-style box), Freedom Planet, Rogue Legacy, Transistor, Celeste, Timespinner, Metal Slug 3, and The Bard's Tale: Remastered. Yet another company published a physical copy of Wonder Boy Returns, and several long-awaited KickStarter/LRG games finally came out including Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, which was everything I hoped it would be, the Ghouls n' Ghosts-inspired Battle Princess Madelyn, the most excellent ToeJam & Earl III, and Shenmue III. I can't believe I even typed that.
On the regular retail side, the PS4 saw a number of other great releases. Ace Combat 7, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (also on Xbox), Samurai Shodown (again, also on Xbox), a physical release of indie darling Hollow Knight, the criminally overlooked Judgment, from the creators of the Yakuza series, a full remake of the classic Medievil that I enjoyed the hell out of in spite of reviews, and spooky visual novel Spirit Hunter NG. I even picked up two VR-exclusive games - The Persistence and an import of SuperHot VR.
PlayStation Portable
Total Games: 5 (+1 from 2018)
Lumines II, now with Missy Elliott and Gwen Stefani... And still no actual console to play it on, three years running.
Saturn
Total Games: 148 (+17 from 2018)
I admit, I bought a lot of Saturn games I had never even heard of this year simply because they were available and cheap. I also got a Pseudo Saturn Kai cart that acts as a method to boot imports and backups (useful for English translations of Japanese games), a 1 or 4 MB expanded RAM cartridge, and a standard Saturn SRAM cart. That thing has been an absolute godsend, and it makes playing imports a breeze. To that end, I picked up Vampire Savior, the third and arguably best game in the DarkStalkers franchise (as it's known in the west) and Zero Divide: The Final Conflict. On the US side, I added Earthworm Jim 2, the pitiful port of DOOM, Defcon 5, Thunderstrike 2, Tetris Plus, Sega Touring Car Championship, a super overlooked game called MachineHead, the equally underrated Blast Chamber, Worms, Tunnel B1, True Pinball, Manx TT Super Bike, Hang-On GP, Gungriffon, and Crime Wave.
Sega 32X/32X CD
Total Games: 20 (+1 from 2018)
Tempo was the only game I added, but the biggest question is when the hell did I buy the other 19 games?! Like, seriously, I almost forgot the 32X had 20 games released for it, let alone realized I owned that many. I owned 3 in the entire lifespan of the thing in the 90s.
Sega CD
Total Games: 60 (+3 from 2018)
I really want to focus on the Sega CD this year. It's such a good little add-on, even with its technical limitations. Most of the games I need are expensive, but if I pick them up one-by-one, I can have my wishlist mostly completed by the end of the year. The CD version of FIFA International Soccer isn't a big deal, but Robo Aleste, and Popful Mail certainly are huge additions.
Sega Master System
Total Games: 40 (+3 from 2018)
Another console I'd like to focus on in 2020. The only newcomers were Penguin Land, Operation Wolf, and The Lucky Dime Caper starring Donald Duck.
Super Nintendo
Total Games: 102 (+10 from 2018)
I finally cracked 100 SNES games! The year started off in a big way with the acquisition of Metal Warriors, and the rest of the year was filled with some big names too. Breath of Fire II, Lufia and Lufia II, Skyblazer are all semi-high ticket games, while solid titles like Super Chase HQ, World Heroes and WH2, Battletoads in Battlemaniacs, Addams Family Values, and Fatal Fury Special, which is a great game hampered by some of the worst music I've ever heard on any console, rounded out the lineup.
Wii
Total Games: 37 (+2 from 2018)
Kirby's Return to Dreamland is a pretty cool addition, and so help me, I love Rampage: Total Destruction so I couldn't pass up the Wii edition with additional monsters!
Wii U
Total Games: 16 (Always 16)
If you've read these posts for the past few years, are you really surprised? It will remain 16 until the end of time.
Xbox
Total Games: 171 (+4 from 2018)
Not much to report, though Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a really good game, as is Sid Meier's Pirates! Area 51 is a serviceable shooter, while Soldier of Fortune II is inferior to its PC counterpart.
Xbox 360
Total Games: 77 (+3 from 2018)
Slim pickings here too. Fight Night Champion and Resonance of Fate are both great, but Legendary is a horrible pile of dogshit and I'm embarrassed to have finished it.
Xbox One
Total Games: 55 (+23 from 2018)
As stated earlier, I began buying most multiplatform titles on Xbox One thanks to its true 4K HDR support and generally better performance. That means games like Devil May Cry 5, A Plague Tale: Innocence, Spyro: Reignited Trilogy, the absolutely fucking fantastic Resident Evil 2 remake (GOD I love that game so much!), Mortal Kombat 11, Dead or Alive 6, the mind-bending action of Remedy's Control, Borderlands 3, and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order all found their home on Microsoft's big black box, among others.
Total Games in Collection as of 12/31/2019: 2,643
Games Added in 2019: 273
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