In collecting tip #8, I discussed the importance of developing mini goals for yourself as a collector. So with this NES Quest post, I wanted to talk about my NES collecting goals. As I mentioned in the post, it’s important to set smaller, more manageable goals to help you fulfill a larger vision for your library of games– in my case, the entire NES catalog.
In addition to making collecting more approachable, it also helps to narrow your search so that it’s significantly easier to recall which games you’re looking for. For the NES Quest, collecting every title in an otherwise forgettable series (such as the four Wheel of Fortune games or the four Bases Loaded games) will allow you to get those out of the way, put that series in the back of your mind and focus on other games.
Developing mini goals also simply makes collecting more fun. As with any other long-term goal, you’re more likely to feel overwhelmed and give up if you’re not rewarded with a sense of accomplishment along the way. So being able to celebrate the little milestones will make the process much more satisfying.
Like with my collecting tip #8 post, I felt it would be best to simply list all of my NES collecting mini goals. So here they are:
- Finish my Mega Man collection. Currently, I have all six except the first and fifth titles, which are the hardest to find. So finding those two for a decent price is a mini goal that’s high on my list.
- Finish my black box set. I only have about half of the black box games right night, but it was originally something that I wanted to focus on early on. There are about 30 black box games, and they’re generally regarded as some of the higher quality games released for the console during its launch period. Some of the black box games that I need include: Popeye, Urban Champion, Wrecking Crew and Clu Clu Land.
- Finish my Simpsons collection. Currently, I have all of the Simpson games that center around Bart, which include: Simpsons Bart Meets Radioactive Man, Simpsons Bart vs the Space Mutants and Simpsons Bart vs the World. But there is one more Simpsons game for the NES that I need to complete this mini goal– Krusty’s Fun House.
- Finish my Ultima collection. Ultima is an RPG trilogy for the NES that consist of Ultima Exodus and Ultima Quest of the Avatar, both of which I have. But I still need the third game– Ultima Warriors of Destiny, which is by far the hardest to find.
- Finish my Ninja Gaiden trilogy. I have Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden II The Dark Sword of Chaos. But I still need the third in the series– Ninja Gaiden III Ancient Ship of Doom, which is by far the hardest to find. I have run into this game a few times before, but it was always a little bit out of my budget. But if I notice that the price keeps climbing, I may just splurge and buy it.
- Finish my Castlevania trilogy. Currently, I have Castlevania II Simon’s Quest and Castlevania III Dracula’s Curse, so now I just need the original. I’m pretty sure that I lent the original to a friend a while back but never got it back. So I’m definitely on the look out for a replacement.
- Finish my Wisdom Tree collection. This goal is a bit odd, but I’ve always been fascinated by games based on the Bible. I also generally don’t prioritize unlicensed games other than these. I currently have Bible Adventures, Exodus and King of Kings. But now I’m still looking for Bible Buffet, Spiritual Warfare, Joshua: The Battle of Jericho and Sunday Funday. Bible Buffet and Sunday Funday are generally difficult to find.
Of course, these are not all of my mini-goals, but they are the ones that I intend to focus on the most over the upcoming months. And instead of constantly posting stories about my NES pick-ups, I intend to write more pieces about reaching my NES mini-goals. So stay tuned for more of those.
Featured photo by Lachlan Cosgrove.