Greetings friends and fellow enthusiasts!
This is Mikhailov from Team Retrogue, where we like retro games and the devices that bring them to us.
This past weekend, my friend Nefarious Ways and I put down our emulation devices and went for the real deal. We embraced the other side of retro gaming, retro game collecting, by attending the Retro World Expo in Hartford, Connecticut.
The Show Floor
There was no shortage of things to do at the Retro World Expo. There were several games for demonstration as well as for sale. We played some pinball, as well as some arcade games. There was a Smash Bros. tournament, and an entire free play section lined with consoles and games.
The vendor floor hosted several vendors from Connecticut and the surrounding area, all peddling their retro wares from NES games and beyond. Most of the games were common, but there were some hidden gems to be found at the Expo.
You could also catch a wrestling match or two.
The Hunt for Crystalis
Since Nefarious and I played Crystalis for our podcast, We Played a Game, it was only natural that we set out on a journey to obtain a physical copy of the original NES cart. Things seemed hopeless for a while after about an hour of searching, but we finally tracked down a copy. Price Charting lists Crystalis for NES at $20 loose, which is what I paid. Nefarious utilized his 20 charisma stat and got a much better-looking copy for $15.
My search didn’t end there. Out of an entire show floor, I found exactly one vendor that had a copy of the Game Boy Color version of Crystalis. For some reason, this is a much more rare copy of the game, albeit a worse version. Either way, it is now part of the collection.
Other Goodies
Right after my article and video dropped on emulating the N64 Transfer Pak, I found an original, in-box copy of Pokémon Stadium. The reason I chose to shell out $150 is because it is complete-in-box with the manual and cardboard. It brought back memories of my childhood and is now prominently displayed on my IKEA Skadis pegboard.
I also picked up a copy of Nintendo Power issue 50 featuring one of my all-time favorite Game Boy games: The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. This came in at $40, but has the poster, trading cards, and tattoos intact.
The Panel
Nefarious and I ended the day by hosting a panel on Retro Handhelds in 2024. Some of the devices we featured were the PowKiddy RGB10 Max 3, Ayn Odin 2, and Retroid Pocket 4 Pro. Nefarious also continued to make enemies by bashing Half-Life again like he did on the We Played a Game Podcast.
Nefarious and I at the panel. The presentation is on the screen, but apparently, my camera didn’t focus.
The Purpose
In the Retro Handheld space, it is always important to remember the origins of the systems we emulate. While the retro game market gets more expensive every year, the Retro World Expo is still a fun trip down memory lane.
Now it’s your turn. What part of the retro game world hits you with the nostalgic feels, and what does your retro game collection look like? Let us know in the comments below, and chat with us in our Discord!
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