If I’ve worn my love for PlayNTrade on my sleeve and tired you folks of it, it still hasn’t been enough.

A friend of mine named Jonathan is a regular at the store now, and every time he’s there, he dutifully checks the place for things I might like. Yesterday he texted me, asking if I wanted a cartridge-only copy of Legacy of Darkness, and I declined. I’m still looking for a boxed copy of that game, as the cartridge is not too hard to come by.

Today he texted me telling me there was a boxed copy of Castlevania Adventure and I called him immediately. It turns out he wasn’t kidding. Someone had just traded in a complete copy of Konami’s first and most horribly unplayable Gameboy game. Better still, it apparently is in near mint condition, opened but still in the plastic and has all the original inserts. It gets even better, as all they wanted for it was $8.

Naturally, I asked him to pounce on it for me, and he did so. I’ve been heaping thanks and praise on him for this, and here’s one more. Rock on, Jonathan.

This makes the first of the three Castlevania Gameboy games I’ve obtained complete, and I hope it won’t be the last. I have a badly worn cart of Legends and a cart and manual for Belmont’s Revenge. Speaking of which, just last week I watched in horror as just the box for Belmont’s Revenge sold for over $60 on eBay. Just the box.