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If you keep up with our blog then you will notice that Alana has been featured recently, starring in our first Retro Gaming Tattoos article. HERE (Follow her on twiitter - @retrogamergirls and check out http://www.retrogamergirl.com/)
If you keep up with our blog then you will notice that Alana has been featured recently, starring in our first Retro Gaming Tattoos article. HERE (Follow her on twiitter - @retrogamergirls and check out http://www.retrogamergirl.com/)
The thing about Alana is, she doesnt just have gaming tattoos , she is also a talented artist and has a rather massive retro gaming collection that she was itching to talk about.
We were more than happy to give her The Games Shed interview treatment and it turned out like this:
Hi Alana, Thanks for agreeing to do a second interview for us. The last one was great and seemed to get loads of attention on twitter and on the blog.
Now that weve got the tattoos on record we thought it would be nice to look at your games collection.
TGS: How many systems do you own, console & handheld?
Alana: Lol a lot! Lets see, NES, Famicom, SNES, Super Famicom, N64, Game Cube, Wii, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance SP, DS, DS Lite, 3DS, PS1, Xbox, Xbox 360, PS3 so 17 total, but my hubby plays all the non Nintendo Consoles a lot more than I do. If I do it’s to play pixel type games like Super Meat Boy.
TGS: How many games do you own (at a guess)?
Alana: Well I have 260 NES Games alone, about 75 Famicom, 50 or so SNES, 10 Super Famicom, like 80 DS, 60ish Game Boy plus N64 etc. So around 600 probably and I won’t have add all the newer stuff like Xbox or PS3 since I don’t really play them that much.
TGS: How many years have you been collecting?
Alana: The NES games about 5 yrs since I started re-buying all the ones I had as a kid. The SNES, N64 etc I’ve been collecting since I was a kid. I just recently started collecting my Famicom games late last year.
TGS: What's your Geographical location?
Alana: Saskatchewan, Canada
TGS: Interesting fact about you / your collection?
Alana: The only Nintendo system I’m missing is the Virtual Boy, I never played it as a kid so I haven’t felt too much of a desire to get one.
TGS: What is your earliest gaming memory?
Alana: I remember seeing the NES for the first time at our friends house. We played RC Pro AM, Mario and Pac Man that first night. I would have been around 4 at the time.
TGS: How have you built this collection and do you have any tips to would-be collectors on how to pursue this as a hobby themselves?
Alana: Most of it was from online stores like ebay, jjgames, and lukie games. A few came from local stores but the majority was ebay.
I have lots of tips I can give :)
- Buying game lots on ebay can be a lot cheaper than buying them individually if you just want a lot of games
- permanent marker can come off of the plastic game cartridge so if you are willing to clean it you can sometimes get the games cheaper
- do research before you buy games, especially “rare” ones a lot of times they are way overpriced and if you are patient you can find it for a better deal
- then probably the most important is buy games that you find fun and like. If you aren’t a sports fan buying sports games just for the sake of having them doesn’t help you at all. Concentrate on getting the games you like and you will save a lot of money.
TGS: What is your most treasured retro gaming item and why?
Alana: It’s hard to pick just one, but I’ll go with the NES Console that I painted blue with a Mega Man sprite on the top, and changed the power light from red to blue.
TGS: Is there anything you wish you had in your extensive collection which you do not have?
Alana: A top loader first party NES System would be nice. I have a 3rd party rip off one but it’s not nearly as good.
TGS: What would you say was the best bargain you have ever picked up?
Alana: I got my Famicom Disk system with a new belt and working for $30
TGS: It’s time for the TGS burning building question:
Your house is on fire, you have time to run in and grab as much as you can physically carry in both arms (No bags allowed!); what do you grab?
Alana: Since all my photos are digital format and online I don’t need to worry about that, I would grab my 2 cats and my Famicom, I’m assuming my husband has grabbed my son lol.
10 quick fire questions:
1) Favourite System: The Famicom, has every NES game on it and tons more, around 400 or so I think
2) Favourite Sports Game: I have to say Super Dodgeball on the NES it’s so fun!
3) Favourite Multi-Player Game: I have to kind of cheat and pick 2, Bomberman and Mario Kart
4) Favourite Beat ‘em up: Mighty Final Fight on the Famicom is awesome
5) Mario or Sonic: Mario for me, I’ve never owned a Sega System
6) Favourite HandHeld: My Classic Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP
7) The worst game in your collection: Total Recall for the NES, it’s soooo bad!
8) Favourite arcade game: Pac Man!
9) Game spent most time on: Probably Final Fantasy 3 (well 6) for the SNES. I spent like 100 hrs on every playthrough leveling up and getting everything. I’ve beaten it multiple times so it’s been hundreds of hours.
10) Final question – and probably the hardest – Favourite EVER game: I would have to say Super Mario Brothers 3 though Mega Man 2 is a super close 2nd. The fact that you can play SMB 3 with 2 people and warp if you want to get through the game faster. Plus you have to love the Frog Suit, seriously it’s so awesome :p
TGS: Last thing, do you have anything else you would like to talk about?
Alana: I do actually, I would like to plug an online art exhibit a colleague and I have started. It’s basically a rip off of the Famicase Exhibition which focuses on creating fake labels for video game carts. Our version called Famicart will give people a chance to create their own custom NES and Famicom label art and have it displayed online and hopefully at an art show. Thing is we need submissions from other artists! If you are interested in something like this check out our page at www.famicart.com or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/FamicartExhibit please help spread the word! Plus check out my site at retrogamergirl.com!
Thank you very much to Alana. Make sure you go and follow her on Twitter @retrogamergirls
Thank you for reading, we hope this has given you an insight into another quality retro gamers collection...
Check out our YouTube Channel - SUBSCRIBE!!! YouTube.com/TheGamesShed
Go and like our page on Facebook.com/TheGamesShed
Follow us on Twitter @GamesShed
TGS: Interesting fact about you / your collection?
Alana: The only Nintendo system I’m missing is the Virtual Boy, I never played it as a kid so I haven’t felt too much of a desire to get one.
TGS: What is your earliest gaming memory?
Alana: I remember seeing the NES for the first time at our friends house. We played RC Pro AM, Mario and Pac Man that first night. I would have been around 4 at the time.
TGS: How have you built this collection and do you have any tips to would-be collectors on how to pursue this as a hobby themselves?
Alana: Most of it was from online stores like ebay, jjgames, and lukie games. A few came from local stores but the majority was ebay.
I have lots of tips I can give :)
- Buying game lots on ebay can be a lot cheaper than buying them individually if you just want a lot of games
- permanent marker can come off of the plastic game cartridge so if you are willing to clean it you can sometimes get the games cheaper
- do research before you buy games, especially “rare” ones a lot of times they are way overpriced and if you are patient you can find it for a better deal
- then probably the most important is buy games that you find fun and like. If you aren’t a sports fan buying sports games just for the sake of having them doesn’t help you at all. Concentrate on getting the games you like and you will save a lot of money.
TGS: What is your most treasured retro gaming item and why?
Alana: It’s hard to pick just one, but I’ll go with the NES Console that I painted blue with a Mega Man sprite on the top, and changed the power light from red to blue.
TGS: Is there anything you wish you had in your extensive collection which you do not have?
Alana: A top loader first party NES System would be nice. I have a 3rd party rip off one but it’s not nearly as good.
TGS: What would you say was the best bargain you have ever picked up?
Alana: I got my Famicom Disk system with a new belt and working for $30
TGS: It’s time for the TGS burning building question:
Your house is on fire, you have time to run in and grab as much as you can physically carry in both arms (No bags allowed!); what do you grab?
Alana: Since all my photos are digital format and online I don’t need to worry about that, I would grab my 2 cats and my Famicom, I’m assuming my husband has grabbed my son lol.
10 quick fire questions:
1) Favourite System: The Famicom, has every NES game on it and tons more, around 400 or so I think
2) Favourite Sports Game: I have to say Super Dodgeball on the NES it’s so fun!
3) Favourite Multi-Player Game: I have to kind of cheat and pick 2, Bomberman and Mario Kart
4) Favourite Beat ‘em up: Mighty Final Fight on the Famicom is awesome
5) Mario or Sonic: Mario for me, I’ve never owned a Sega System
6) Favourite HandHeld: My Classic Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP
7) The worst game in your collection: Total Recall for the NES, it’s soooo bad!
8) Favourite arcade game: Pac Man!
9) Game spent most time on: Probably Final Fantasy 3 (well 6) for the SNES. I spent like 100 hrs on every playthrough leveling up and getting everything. I’ve beaten it multiple times so it’s been hundreds of hours.
10) Final question – and probably the hardest – Favourite EVER game: I would have to say Super Mario Brothers 3 though Mega Man 2 is a super close 2nd. The fact that you can play SMB 3 with 2 people and warp if you want to get through the game faster. Plus you have to love the Frog Suit, seriously it’s so awesome :p
TGS: Last thing, do you have anything else you would like to talk about?
Alana: I do actually, I would like to plug an online art exhibit a colleague and I have started. It’s basically a rip off of the Famicase Exhibition which focuses on creating fake labels for video game carts. Our version called Famicart will give people a chance to create their own custom NES and Famicom label art and have it displayed online and hopefully at an art show. Thing is we need submissions from other artists! If you are interested in something like this check out our page at www.famicart.com or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/FamicartExhibit please help spread the word! Plus check out my site at retrogamergirl.com!
Thank you very much to Alana. Make sure you go and follow her on Twitter @retrogamergirls
Thank you for reading, we hope this has given you an insight into another quality retro gamers collection...
Check out our YouTube Channel - SUBSCRIBE!!! YouTube.com/TheGamesShed
Go and like our page on Facebook.com/TheGamesShed
Follow us on Twitter @GamesShed
That collection is so awesome!
ReplyDeleteGo Alana! :D
ReplyDelete