Holy Smokes! Look at the price of MUSHA go!

[MrOldSchoolCool]

I swear this game has skyrocketed in price recently. It was floating around 80-100 for cart only for a long time.

Now look what's happening recently:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sacat=0 ... ld=1&rt=nc

Looks like whoever picked it up for 119 got lucky.

[Kollision]

tks the shump gods I nabbed my cib copy fer 90 bucks years ago
and that was already a ripoff back then

has the jpn version also skyrocketed?
it used to be cheaper

[Xyga]

I've browsed the prices a bit and they haven't changed much.
It's been like this for about 2 years or so (when overall retro stuff prices started to go bonkers).
Nothing new really.

[mehguy]

I never knew musha is so expensive. Is it rare or just in high demand?

[Xyga]

I never knew musha is so expensive. Is it rare or just in high demand?

No, it's just that people are either stupid or greedy. Many popular and hyped games that aren't necessarily rare have seen their price skyrocket.
The trend started around 2010 iirc.
Look, they even do live video games auctions nowadays.

[louisg]

I got this one for $5 complete from a videostore that was selling off their inventory!

[EmperorIng]

The price gouging is funny considering how you can get a perfectly playable MUSHA for your Wii for $8.00.

Not to mention the obvious response of "it's free to emulate it, too."

[Pretas]

The price gouging is funny considering how you can get a perfectly playable MUSHA for your Wii for $8.00.

Not to mention the obvious response of "it's free to emulate it, too."

The collectors' market isn't really concerned about playing the games they buy, they just want to hoard them, often hoping that they will increase further in price in the future. I know that some serious Neo-Geo collectors only ever play on ports and emulators for fear of damaging their carts with insertion marks.

[ACSeraph]

I know that some serious Neo-Geo collectors only ever play on ports and emulators for fear of damaging their carts with insertion marks.

AES is the beautiful trophy wife while Neorage gets all the insertion action like the cheap whore it is

[Ed Oscuro]

lol, and the Japanese version with glorious superior nippon arts lingers at $150 (itself quite a o_O if you ask me)

games like ranger-x can't get no satisfaction. but that's a good thing

[BIL]

The price gouging is funny considering how you can get a perfectly playable MUSHA for your Wii for $8.00.

Not to mention the obvious response of "it's free to emulate it, too."

Gross, why would you emulate Musha Aleste? The only reason to play (let alone own ) it is THE REAL MD FEEL.

games like ranger-x can't get no satisfaction. but that's a good thing

Too right. Hey kids! Screw SMS Sonic! Be a cheap motherfucker AND get the best mecha action (like AS VALKEN on the SFC)

[Ed Oscuro]

You know, there's some of us for who farty yamaha emulation noises are the real nostalgic deal...have a heart!

[BIL]

Oh word - speaking of flatulently inaccurate emulated tones, I still remember the ol' *drip drip* GENECYST *drip drip drip* days when the falling pillars in Shinobi III's last stage sounded like a deep, bassy "long night of cheese and beer" trump into an especially plush barstool. Palpably satisfying.

[LordHypnos]

You don't know bad sound emulation 'till you've played Sega Smash Pack vol. 1 / Obsidian on Dreamcast. just sayin'
It's awful.

[theMot]

Is it that good? It's part of the same series as Super Aleste no? I got Aleste recently on SFC, not bad but not overly thrilled with it. A bit boring really.

[jasoncslaughter]

Hmm... looks like it's time to sell my copy (that I paid $20 for).

[Skykid]

Pure nonsense.

Why on earth anyone would pay $400 for a US copy with inferior packaging doesn't make sense anyway.

If the JP one is a third of the cost, just buy that one instead: it's win win.

[stryc9]

There's not many examples where the Genesis cover is superior to the Japanese.

In MUSHA's case the US version looks pretty good in my opinion, and is preferred by some. For me though it's the NTSCJ one that resides on my shelf. And that's the cheaper version, although I've seen a rise in the last couple of years since I bought it.

[Xyga]

Maybe some want the US version because of... the translated cutscenes ?

[Kollision]

If the JP one is a third of the cost, just buy that one instead: it's win win.

In all my collecting career I think I've done this only once because of price tags (buy the JP version instead of the the US one).
It was with Sonic Wings SNES.

I always go for a US version if I can, mostly for language purposes.

[Mero]

I bought a Japanese copy of this for £20 in 1992, and I've still got it.

I haven't had a Megadrive to play it on since about 2002 though, one day I'll grab another.

And yeah, the instruction book is really nice, I've got Japanese Zero Wing which is really nice as well.

[gray117]

Is it that good? It's part of the same series as Super Aleste no? I got Aleste recently on SFC, not bad but not overly thrilled with it. A bit boring really.

It's good, but not that super amazingly good. The US version used to be fairly rare to find hence the price - now I think think that price is bringing copies to the market... so at least it's easier to find?

It's shorter than super aleste I think, so I might suggest that what with it's other differences it feels more punchy. But really it bears very little resemblance to super aleste... I'm sure there's some lore or something to tie these together, but pretty different games imho.

[MrOldSchoolCool]

Is it that good? It's part of the same series as Super Aleste no? I got Aleste recently on SFC, not bad but not overly thrilled with it. A bit boring really.

It's good, but not that super amazingly good. The US version used to be fairly rare to find hence the price - now I think think that price is bringing copies to the market... so at least it's easier to find?

It's shorter than super aleste I think, so I might suggest that what with it's other differences it feels more punchy. But really it bears very little resemblance to super aleste... I'm sure there's some lore or something to tie these together, but pretty different games imho.

Honestly, excluding Thunder Force IV at the very top, it's probably as good as any other 16-bit shmup there is. 16-bit shooters just aren't as good as games that came after. Sure, they have a unique feel that draws me to them (love the crunchy explosion noises, Genesis sound chip). However, I can't help but think of how much better later shmups are while playing them.

[Sugar Rush Games]

Is it that good? It's part of the same series as Super Aleste no? I got Aleste recently on SFC, not bad but not overly thrilled with it. A bit boring really.

It's good, but not that super amazingly good. The US version used to be fairly rare to find hence the price - now I think think that price is bringing copies to the market... so at least it's easier to find?

It's shorter than super aleste I think, so I might suggest that what with it's other differences it feels more punchy. But really it bears very little resemblance to super aleste... I'm sure there's some lore or something to tie these together, but pretty different games imho.

Honestly, excluding Thunder Force IV at the very top, it's probably as good as any other 16-bit shmup there is. 16-bit shooters just aren't as good as games that came after. Sure, they have a unique feel that draws me to them (love the crunchy explosion noises, Genesis sound chip). However, I can't help but think of how much better later shmups are while playing them.

I don't think you're giving MUSHA enough credit; it's definitely better than most 16-bit shmups. It's much, much better than games like Raiden Trad.

I agree that the shmup genre improved after the 16-bit era, though the 16-bit games still have their charms.

[Squire Grooktook]

Is it that good? It's part of the same series as Super Aleste no? I got Aleste recently on SFC, not bad but not overly thrilled with it. A bit boring really.

Try it on the hardest difficulty (the one where you press left twice on the difficulty select.

On normal, it's boring and overly long like a lot of Compile games. On hardest though, the game is an under-rated and excellent.

[Kollision]

what's really disappointing about MUSHA is that the scoring system is broken
other than that, it's got excellent design and pace
soundtrack is decent, and often overrated

[MrOldSchoolCool]

"I don't think you're giving MUSHA enough credit; it's definitely better than most 16-bit shmups. It's much, much better than games like Raiden Trad.

I agree that the shmup genre improved after the 16-bit era, though the 16-bit games still have their charms."

I was trying to say I think MUSHA is the second best 16-bit shmup and perhaps tied with one or two other games (like Lords of Thunder or something) for that second place. It's definitely leagues ahead of garbage like phelios and whatever else.

Also, I can't stand when people say that a game or something well-known in it is overrated. A lot of people really like it. It's not overrated, you just have the uncommon opinion. Example = M.U.S.H.A.'s soundtrack.

[Bonus!]

The collectors' market isn't really concerned about playing the games they buy, they just want to hoard them, often hoping that they will increase further in price in the future.

This is sometimes referred to as the "bigger fool theory of investing".

[BIL]

On normal, it's boring and overly long like a lot of Compile games. On hardest though, the game is an under-rated and excellent.

Truth. Lunatic difficulty's suicide bullets improve SA immensely. Succulla demonstrates. The second-highest difficulty is good too. It has slow rather than fast suicide bullets, which can lead to some interesting situations. I've a soft spot for both these Alestes and Compile in general, but it's only SA I'd recommend in pure shooter terms, and only then because of its suicide bullet modes.

I find Musha absurdly slow-paced until stage 3 or so, and only really engaging by 5, but the entire production from the title screen onward is blazing hot nerd porn for my eternally rigid MD boner so I'd never be without my copy. Just seeing Toaplan's logo and the parallax canyon landscape brightens my day. If you've blown all your cash on hookers and charlie, stick to fappin 2 teh ROMZ! Fire Shark/SameSameSame and Elemental Master are much better and cheaper MD verts. Phelios MD is trash indeed, solid engine but direly slow, easy and repetitive.

SUPER INTERESTING FACT: The term "Metallic Uniframe Super Hybrid Armor" is actually in the JP manual! It's not some dumbass localisation thing, wow!

[stryc9]

Phelios isn't very good, no. I wouldn't call it trash, but it is on the extreme side of mediocre. Darwin 4081 is a fair bit better in my mind, bullet visibility issues and huge hitbox included.