PlayNTrade lets you preorder old games… not just new ones

By Stephen Munn | October 3, 2008

A trip to my local PlayNTrade store this evening was pretty entertaining. After watching a woman and her daughter at odds over Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker vs Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and intervening in favor of Wind Waker, I asked a helpful staffer if they happened to have a copy of the PS1 classic Castlevania Chronicles. It turned out they didn’t, but he told me they could wish list the item, and give me a call when or if it ever materializes.

Wish list? I’m glad you asked. It seems you can go to PlayNTrade and ask for a game, and if they don’t have it, they’ll put you in the computer as a kind of preorder… for a game that’s only going to come in used. While it lacks the kind of punch that a preorder with a date attached to it boasts, it’s still something I’ve never seen before. Maybe this is how I should get that copy of Einhander I’ve been looking for.

Unfortunately, the price for Castlevania Chronicles in their computer right now stands at $42.99, which is just a little bit higher than I can find it online. That settled that deal for me, and I purchased a copy for $34.99 online. I promise a full review once I’ve tackled that disc.

By the way, if the Wind Waker girl is reading this, I need to clarify that Wind Waker isn’t exactly a sequel to Ocarina of Time, though it does make reference to the story of Ocarina in the beginning of the game. Majora’s Mask is the closest thing to a direct sequel there is to Ocarina, as it picks up right where that game leaves off. Phantom Hourglass, in turn, is a direct sequel to Wind Waker, so after you’re done with Wind Waker, and if you’ve got a DS, you’ll want to pick up Phantom Hourglass… assuming you’re a patient gamer.