GAME> Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001)
SYSTEM> GameCube
SOURCE> Super Smash Bros. Melee Official Nintendo Power Player’s Guide, 2001

This just reminds me of the guys from Melee that did not make the cut for Brawl. I WANT MEWTWO BACK FOR SMASH 4! More unlocks after the jump.

Although the main animal-crossing.com URL directs you to Wii’s City Folk (with a nearby link to the DS’s Wild World), all the old GameCube pages are still there for those of us with really old Favorites lists. And the site still stays current, no doubt automatically cycling through the original game’s calendar of holiday events. Set up to resemble a newspaper (definition: an old website, on paper), the “Crossing Guardian” claims it is on “Volume 450,” which must also be an automated number.

It’s so early GameCube, I can’t even stand it. Various pages still carry mentions of the eReader, the Nintendo Power-sponsored item giveaways… there’s even a small screenshot of Punch-Out!!, one of the three NES games proven to be hidden inside the original Animal Crossing but never officially released to the public. (The other two being Super Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda.)

GAME> Resident Evil Code: Veronica X (2003)
SYSTEM> GameCube
SOURCE> EGM #177, April 2004

Oh no, we’re not knocking GameCube, except when we’re knocking GameCube. Gaming journalism, don’t ever change.

I intensely like the idea that opening the Cube’s lid pauses the game’s timer. That’s crazy.

GAME> Sonic Adventure DX (2003)
SYSTEM> GameCube
SOURCE> EGM #169, August 2003

That’s kind of a lot of Sonic Game Gear games.

GAME> Pitfall: The Lost Expedition (2004)
SYSTEM> GameCube
SOURCE> Nintendo Power #180, June 2004

“Lost Expedition” was also released on Wii in 2008 under a slightly different Pitfall name and with hilarious Mii-theivery box art.

As a fan of the original F-Zero on SNES, I was at Target on day one for F-Zero GX, the Sega-developed Gamecube edition of the high-tech racing franchise. I plunked down my fifty dollars and took the game home and did my best to enjoy it. Honestly, I was terrible at the game, and I eventually sold it with my Gamecube. But what’s noteworthy is that some thirty days after the game launched, the price had dropped from $50 to $20, which is totally unheard of for a Nintendo game. They sell poorly all the time, but Nintendo never drops the price on first party games that quickly. The mind boggles. Just how badly was this game selling?

Perhaps badly enough that it appears Nintendo may have issued stickers to retailers featuring the ugly yellow “Player’s Choice” band, which would then be applied along the top of the game’s artwork, under the plastic. They should have sent them to FYE, because three years after the game came out, they were still trying to move copies at $50. Stupid FYE.

I was unaware of these stickers until today, when this used copy of F-Zero GX arrived in my mailbox via Goozex, and it had one of these stickers on it. It had been applied crooked, or I may not have ever noticed. A few seconds with a hair dryer later I had it neatly peeled off, then I reapplied it to the outside of the plastic for that helpful scan there. Uh, you’re welcome. The seller for this one was nice enough to include some F-Zero GX promo stickers that he says came from Gamestop. Those are below.

GAME> NBA Street Vol. 2 (2003)
SYSTEM> Xbox, PS2, GameCube
SOURCE> EGM #168, July 2003 (Target insert)

The NBA Street franchise is a miniaturized version of the entire 2000s generation of gaming. The first one came out for juggernaut PS2 first, then GameCube a year later. The second edition made it to Xbox since Halo came out and proved people actually wanted to buy one. The third release had exclusive Nintendo characters on the GameCube version to stunt sales. The fourth installment was a minigame-centric PSP game.

Then a fifth Street came out fox 360 and PS3 and nobody cared.

GAME> Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (2004)
SYSTEM> Nintendo GameCube
SOURCE> EGM #187 (January 2005)

This same EGM issue published the results of an online poll about how should play Samus “in the upcoming movie.” Kristanna Loken won, having played a steely-eyed killer robot in one of the Terminator films. Great imagination, readers!

When Metroid Prime 2 came around, First4Figures produced a limited edition light-up model gunship. I remember it, because it was such a heaping helping of awesome that it burned itself into my cerebral cortex permanently. In case that wasn’t enough awesome for you, F4F is back with a new Metroid Prime gunship at the intimidating price of $300. This 12″ model lights up like the previous model, and will be available in Q2 2011. It’s the design for the ship used in the original Metroid Prime and in Metroid Prime Hunters.

Source: First4Figures

A flea market near my house rematerialized this weekend, and let me say that, as often seems to happen, I did very well. I spent a bit more money than I usually do, but I just couldn’t help it with all these great deals.

The best deal here is most definitely the Atari VCS console, complete with an official Atari Game Center stand/base/storage thing. Game Centers aren’t that rare, but finding ones without any damage to the plastic dust cover is. This came with the Game Center base and dust cover, the VCS console itself, a “driving” paddle controller, a controller extension cable (something I’d never seen or even heard of before on this system), and the AC adapter.

I saw the set on the table at the flea market and tried to play it cool. “How much?” “Make me an offer.” I rolled it around in my head and decided the console could be broken, there could be parts missing, any one of a million things could be wrong with it. I was about to offer $10 and the guy asked for $5. “Sure.”

I took it home and checked everything over. Most of the screws had been pulled from the bottom of the console and were sitting in a corner of the case. Something was banging around loose inside the system. I spread everything out and removed the rest of the screws to check out the inside. It turns out there was half of a pen in there for some reason, but everything else looked good. I took out the pen, reassembled the console (properly this time) and then tried and failed to hook this 1982 wood-panel printed beast to my plasma television.

I tried to figure out exactly what the integrated AV cable wanted from me and decided on an RF switch. I remember playing this as a small child, and it used a metal RF switch with a slider on it. I don’t have any RF switches with an open port on the side, so I consulted with a friend who said he used a coaxial converter he got at Radio Shack. Fortunately, there’s one of those near my home, so I went and got the adapter, brought it home, hooked everything up, and turned it on. I still couldn’t get a picture out of the thing, but it was clear something was coming over the line, so I hunted around for the channel switch underneath, and realized I could only reach it with… the pen. Handy!

Turns out it works perfectly. I already had a few Atari items here from other lots I purchased, including some games and controllers, so I was able to test it out pretty thoroughly. I was originally excited about this because of potential resale, but now I’m not so sure. The thing is really cool, especially in the Game Center. On the other hand, what good games are there for the VCS? Exactly.

For two to five dollars each, I also managed to grab a sealed copy of Demon Stone, complete copies of Contra Shattered Soldier, Dog’s Life, Front Mission 4, and Final Fantasy X-2, and Devil Kings, all for PS2. I also grabbed yet another cheap copy of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures for Gamecube, because they’re always in demand on Goozex, and it’s already been claimed. I even snatched up a loose Iridion 3D cartridge for GBA for a buck. I’m excited about that one as a fan of Shin’en and their other work in the Nanostray series.

This was on top of a tall stack of great CDs and DVDs. All in all, it was a great time.