My Collection: N64 and GameCube

Here’s the next round of the My Collection posts (previously: NES and SNES) for all you retro nerds out there. Full disclosure: the N64 is mine, but the GameCube is my husband’s. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever played a GameCube game.

I blame bad timing. See, the Sixth Generation coincided with me going to college which meant funds were tight. I was on an academic scholarship, and I worked as a resident advisor to cover room and board and while those paid for school, they didn’t provide spending money. I babysat too but at the end of the day, there just weren’t funds for video games.

Don’t feel too bad for me. I wasn’t without games entirely. I took my SNES and PS1 to college. There were many fun nights staying up playing Mario Kart and Point Blank with friends and Link to the Past and Final Fantasy 8 when I was alone. My roommate won an Xbox during a casino night raffle, and there were tons of Halo LAN parties to be had after that.

Then, like a dummy, I went to grad school. Great for my professional and educational development but terrible for gaming! I missed out on the sixth generation consoles entirely because of that gap between being a kid and being an adult who can afford expensive things like video games consoles.

By the time, I entered the workforce and started earning a little cash, we’d moved on a whole generation. I picked up a Wii, Xbox360, and PS3. Well, I picked up a guy who had those (hi, honey!).

Actually, writing this has made me realize that I have never purchased a video game console. Never in my entire life, I don’t think. My parents got me the early gen ones (NES through PS1).

Then my boyfriend (now husband) purchased all of the ones since, sometimes as a gift for me but mostly for himself.

I think I’m going to do it this time. I’m going to be the one to buy the PS5. Maybe I can time my PlayStation game collection blog post to coincide with its release.

But we’re not here to talk about Sony. Today is a Nintendo day. And here is my (our) collection.

Like a lot of collectors, I fantasize about completing a set. I’d love to own every game for a system, and N64 frequently pops in my head as the one to do that with.

There were only 296 NA games made and even the rarest still only run a few hundred bucks. But then I do the math of buying 282 games at an average cost of $50 and I cry (~14K). Looks like there’s a complete set for 10K on eBay right now, but with two kids it’s still too rich for my blood. Maybe someday.

 As usual, my next post will be me trying out a new game or beating one I never finished. I’m thinking Ogre Battle 64 or Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. Drop a comment if you have a recommendation!