What makes a game stand out as either good or bad

[kingjohn3]

Which is more accurate Nintendo Age or Rarity Guide? Or is there another that could help me figure out which games are the most rare. I get that its largely subjective and basically ebay driven but any help would, well, help. Thanks

[Ozzy_98]

rarity guides only go so far, so look at 2+, and if they disagree, average them out of assume the one that says yours is easier to find is the correct one.   If it's just nes games, really I don't even bother with rarity lists, if it's not something like dinosaur peek it's not rare.  But not being rare isn't the same as not being with something; SMB3 is very common, but work some.  Zelda is also very common, and in very high demand.

[kingjohn3]

I think I have a better grip on NES than on SNES. Im trying to figure out which games would have better long term collectability not just value. For example, would a CIB Ardy Lightfoot be more sought after than a rare CIB fighting game, shooter or strategy game. See what I mean?

[Kriegspire]

A rare game doesn't mean it's valueable, and a valuable game doesn't make it rare.

[Thom Grayson]

Demand seems to equal collectible more often than rarity does on its own. Super Smash Bros. for instance? Almost always expensive, and yet was one of the better selling games on the N64.

I'm not sure that answers your question in any way, but that's often how collecting works - a quality collection is often different from a 'rare' collection.

[RealPlumpBox]

an object is only worth what someone will pay for it.  Yeah in a guide it may say "game x is valued at $350.00"  But that price means absolutely nothing if people are not willing to pay that.
This goes for pretty much everything from games to baseball cards to cars.

[kingjohn3]

I think what I'm trying to figure out is which games are most in demand besides the obvious? What are the hidden gems? I've see racketboy's hidden gem list but surely there are more than that. What do you guys think qualifies a game as being one of "the best"? I think publisher (some are simply better then others), graphics (do they pop), music (does it add to the atmosphere), fun factor. Is there anything I'm missing? I think I'll re-title the post if I can

[Linksgard2]

First of all, video games are a horrible long-term investment. So if that's your intent I would look for something else.
But to answer your question, big name titles (mario, zelda, sonic, etc...) will always sell slightly higher than the average simply because of name recognition.
Otherwise there's not any way to really tell when a game will be worth more or not. Limited releases and/or collectors editions will usually be worth a little more, but not always (halo 2 collectors edition for example, only sells for a few dollars more).
One of the biggest factors towards value will be pop culture, earthbound is a perfect example of this. It's not rare, it wasn't a smash hit when released, and for a long time was pretty much worthless, until a few years ago when its name suddenly started circulating around the internet.
Firepower 2000 is another great example, it rose over $20 in value when the AVGN did a video about it, and still hasn't quite stabilized. But thats just about the only thing that could ever make it worth more than a few bucks. Once again, its not rare, wasn't super popular, and didn't cost too much.
Also, hidden gems are usually not worth a lot.
Just go on ebay and look at "completed listings" to see what a game usually goes for right now, thats really the best judgement of something's [online] value.

[kingjohn3]

I'm not looking to get rich at all off of my collection just to get the best of whats out there for both systems, in other words trim the fat from what I have and finish it off. I'm looking at SNES games like Mr Nutz, Oscar, Zero, Boogerman, Twisted Tales of Spike McFang, etc. Mostly platformers. Anyone have any thoughts on these?

[Ozzy_98]

They're all the same.  Any difference between is too small to measure.  Price charting can give you a rough idea of what's been on ebay and game gavel, but I'm not sure that's what you want.  All rarity guides are guesses and can be way off, or things change.  Like look at Wisdom Tree games on nes, used to be different cart colors meant something, then they find a box of OEM labels, they get ebayed. and now people have both blue and black carts out the wazoo.

[FritzWhite]

I was checking out this list and found a few cool games I didn't know about. There are gameplay vids for pretty much every game out there on youtube (or emulator, of course).

http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=36194

For me, it's just a lot of fun to collect and have all your favorite games together. I always like to find a good deal too

Edit: typo

[kingjohn3]

I agree. I dont want all the games just the best and im beginning to figure out what might be the way to go. Just something about cutesy, colorful platformers that makes a game a classic.

[FritzWhite]

Yep, I want to focus more on quality over quantity as well, but at the same time I don't want to ignore a game just because it's not popular. There are some great games out there that don't cost a lot of money!

Comparing the old games is fun too. Of course every platformer is very similar in a basic gameplay sense, but just about all platformer games still have slight nuances and variations in gameplay or graphics that make them unique from one another. Similar to other game genres I suppose.

Why have 60 different first person shooters when they're all essentially the same thing with a different skin? It doesn't make sense if you aren't a fan of that type of gameplay. Personally, I love platformers and fps so I have tons of games that are very similar to one another in my collection. I like rpgs on the snes, but not really on any other platform or console (except for FFX on PS2, I played the heck out of that years ago during PS2s heyday). End ramble.

[wiggy]

A rare game doesn't mean it's valueable, and a valuable game doesn't make it rare.

The nail; you hit it on the head.