Complete game sets - why?

[80sarcadeboy]

So when I look at videos of other people builds there are a lot of completists out there. Every game on every system. 

I'm not sure I have the time or energy to do that. I only really want to emulate games I used to play or still own (my spectrum collection amounts to 2 huge boxes worth of tapes). 

My question is whether I should go the whole hog or limit a collection on each system to say the top 20 games. What do you reckon?

[VACRMH]

Personally I like to get the No-Intro sets (Which are usually just one rom per game, save some revisions), delete anything I know I don't want, and then play the ones I'm not sure about for a few minutes and delete what I don't like.

I've gotten a few systems down to 15-20 games that way (Game Gear for example)

[DOS76]

That's entirely up to you I'm a got buy'em chinpokomon player myself (very Immense) so I'm down for having everything I proudly display my Barbie games everyday in LB plus I think music files take up more file size then the entire NES collection.

[Lordmonkus]

Yeah for older console stuff getting an entire set is easier than hand picking but once you get into the larger CD based libraries it can get out of hand in a real hurry.

[ALIE]

I don't know but I need to have everything ? plus with most systems this approach has led me to find new games also for systems I had as a kid like the Snes.   Speaking of full set's out linking to piracy of course does anyone have a led on one for Dreamcaat or maybe a text listed off all the games. 

[airbikecop]

I used to be like this way but forget it! I will never play all of the variations or regions. I go after games I want to play someday, like or are considered the best games for the system even if I don't like them.

I normally go for the latest revision unless the earlier one is better. I seldom play PAL games (sorry) so I have mostly US and Japanese region games. I have a lot more HDD space nowadays too. Still for some systems I have complete sets but that is only because size wise they aren't big or whatever. Either way I've calmed down and am much happier.

EDIT: I do full sets with MAME just because it is easier to update and maintain.

Edited August 27, 2016 by airbikecop

[Lordmonkus]

Like I said, getting full sets for pre 32-bit consoles is just easier than trying to think of the good games and get them. They don't take up much space at all and you never know when someone will say "hey check this game out" and you just fire it up and play it.

It's when you get into the 32-bit and beyond like the Playstation and Playstation 2, Saturn and Dreamcast when the collections become massive in drive space requirements.

[gam3rz3r0]

I usually get a full set for 4th gen and back and just weed out the games I know I wont play. I've been working on and off of it for a while now and the disc based games are taking forever.

[Retro956]

For me, there are a lot of games that I have played as a kid and want.  I don't have to have all of the games but, there are a lot of games I can remember playing, growing up, and I don't know the name of the game.

So I mostly get all of the games for the days I want to just scroll through the games and go on a Journey through time on gaming. I also have a curiosity of systems i've never played before like the Vectrex and Turbografix-16. 

 

It is quite taxing on space though and time consuming.  I have about 4.5TB on my 5TB HDD. 

But, I do have the privilege of just being able to play anything i've heard about. 

 

I just love gaming and want everything.

[80sarcadeboy]

I suppose it's the same for me in terms of nostalgia. Aside from a gameboy with Tetris, Tennis and golf and then a game gear I never had any consoles growing up (I've never played a Zelda game). So for me collecting Spectrum and Atari ST games is where it's at. 

I used to spend every summer in the arcades in the mid 80s so Mame obviously holds a lot of good memories too. 

Started playing bomb jack for the first time in about 25 years and still remember the routes I used to take.

[VACRMH]

I did forget to mention in my post, that I agree with others that older generation rom sets are very small.

So I do keep a full set of many systems as a backup on another drive. This way I can always grab a game someone suggested, or in the case of a new fan translation, have that readily available.

[madpossum]

The only system I got a complete set for was the NeoGeo, since I like almost evey game on the system and the total is only about 137 games.

 

As for the rest of the systems I have set up (about 1500 games in total) I don't use complete sets for two reasons, #1 - I don't have time to play even 1/4 of the good games on a system, much less all the mediocre and/or bad ones.  #2 - For me, part of the fun is setting everyhting up and deciding what games make the cut, researching quality games to add, etc.  I owned almost every home system (besides the NeoGeo and Jaguar) at one time or another and played enough crappy SNES, 32X, 3DO, NES, etc games back in the day I don't need them all now, LOL.

Edited August 30, 2016 by madpossum

[Lordmonkus]

I just import all the games in a set and then mark the good ones as a favourite so they are at the top of the list and then when I find out about game I have but haven't played then I can just go and load it up instead of going and getting it.

[Mute64]

Here is a tip, i watch people like Metal Jesus Rocks and other retro YT channels that list top tens and Hidden Gems for each system...they usally explain to you what the game is and how it plays and from there i choose if i should get that game for my collection.... but dont het me wrong i have full sets of those smaller in data size systems but when it come to larger data size system these youtubers come in handy when trying to find out what games to get.... specially when its a system i have not played b4.. like currently the dreamcast i am working on.

[Lordmonkus]

Indeed, I have done this for PS, PS2, Gamecube and Wii games.

[kyoken]

http://www.racketboy.com/ its great to find Hidden gems, japan too

Enviado desde mTalk

[CliveBarker]

I also recommend http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/

These guys are extremely dedicated and their magazines are top notch.

Whitelist them in your ad blocker if you want and you like their content

[Styphelus]

On 8/25/2016 at 3:39 PM, 80sarcadeboy said:

So when I look at videos of other people builds there are a lot of completists out there. Every game on every system. 

I'm not sure I have the time or energy to do that. I only really want to emulate games I used to play or still own (my spectrum collection amounts to 2 huge boxes worth of tapes). 

My question is whether I should go the whole hog or limit a collection on each system to say the top 20 games. What do you reckon?

A lot of people who have been around for a while will download complete rom sets because it's easier that way, especially people from the HS community. You just download a complete set that has been tested and named properly and all the videos at emumovies, artwork and clear logos will match exactly because they were all created specifically for those sets. It's a lot easier than just downloading random games or no-intro sets. It's all done for you. Much much easier.

[Zombeaver]

I'm an avid collector of physical retro games but every system I collect for is curated - quality over quantity. I take the exact same approach to roms. I have zero desire to sift through Mary Kate and Ashley games to get to the stuff that's actually worth playing; and I have no more desire to do it in digital form than I do physical. If I go to my wall-o-games and pick something out at random, it's going to be worth playing. I want the same thing to hold true for my rom collection. For me it's fun to research and find hidden gems and lesser known titles that are surprisingly good. There are more than enough great titles out there to occupy people's time indefinitely - there's no need for all the filler. Is curating your collection more time-consuming than just dumping a huge every-game-ever-turbo-mega-pack? Yeah, absolutely. It's totally worth it though, in my opinion. I've got 29 platforms in my library and about 2500 games total.

[Lordmonkus]

I came across a site tonight and thought it fit in well with this threads discussion. For people looking to get into a collection for systems they simply don't know much about or where to begin. You could always grab an entire library and try out every game but for some systems that really kind of on the crazy side. So here is a good site with recommended games on a system by system base. Some systems aren't very well represented at all but most are so have a look at systems you aren't sure where to start. http://vsrecommendedgames.wikia.com/wiki//v/'s_Recommended_Games_Wiki