The Holy Grail arrived in my letterbox this morning

[TidalTempest]

Today, my gaming holy grail arrived in the mail. I am, of course, talking about Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles for Sega's 16-bit Mega Drive.

After scowering eBay for ages, any time I found a copy of either game, they usually went for much more than I was willing to pay. Either that or I would forget about the auction before bidding, and only remember about it after the auction had ended.

About two weeks ago I saw an auction for a Mega Drive with Sonic 1 and Sonic & Knuckles. I already had a Mega Drive (not a MKII like the one in the auction though) and a copy of Sonic 1. This bugged me, as I don't really like doubling up on anything I own, unless I can gain from it (eg selling it on eBay, replacing my original item with one that's in better shape, etc). Since I was happy with the condition of my current Sonic 1 and happier with my MKI Mega Drive, I didn't feel like bidding on an auction that would include these two items that I didn't need. So, I thought about offering the seller some cash just for Sonic & Knuckles, but I haven't had much luck in the past doing something like this. After a few days of watching the item, and not seeing any bids on it, I decided to give the deal a shot. I offered the guy $25 for S&K. He seemed pretty eager to do it, until he found out I couldn't pay through PayPal.

Luckily for me, this is where it got even better. He had just put a copy of Sonic 3 up for auction. I offered him $50 for both games, plus postage. He said he would rather wait for the Sonic 3 auction to go through to the end. I was cursing, because as I explained earlier in this post, I had had very little luck winning Sonic 3 in auction. I bid my maximum for Sonic 3, and waited in nail-bitting anticipation as the days went by until the auction ended. By some stroke of luck I ended up winning the auction, and combined with Sonic & Knuckles I paid no more than the $50 I originally offered for both games combined. Add to that, getting combined postage for the items, and I am very happy. Sure I had to wait a little longer to recieve the games (I had to send the seller a cheque, which takes more time to get to the seller than a digital transaction) but the wait was worth it.

I love waking up and finding a parcel in my letterbox, waiting for me to unwrap it and give the game/s a good play. I spent and hour and a half play Sonic 3 & Knuckles this morning. The only reason I stopped was because in my excitement I had forgotten to eat breakfast and by this time my stomach was groaning "feed me".

It's great to finally own both of these games again after all these years. Both are in awesome condition. S&K's case doesn't hold the cart in place anymore, which is the only thing that stops it from being in mint condition, but this is because of the shite choice on Sega's part to use cardboard cases from 1994 onwards. Since the exterior of the case is in mint condition I am more than happy with the overall condition of the game. Strangely enough this copy has S&K logo's all over the internal carboard cartridge holder, which I don't remember being on the copy I bought back when the game was released. My original copy was just coloured the same blue that was used for the spines of Mega Drive games and the Mega Drive logo from 1993 onwards. I like this version better - it adds style to the design of the case.

Sonic 3 and Knuckles is by far the best Sonic game ever made. The huge variety of gameplay styles, the super-Sonic speeds, the massive levels with multiple paths, the interesting storyline, the bosses who are now in every level, the soundtrack, the much more realistic graphics (over Sonic 1 and 2 that is).... I could go on and aon about how much I love this game, but I won't bore you to death. Even all these years later I still pick it up and give it a play every now and then, and rarely become bored with it (and if I do, I simply stop playing the game for a few months, before coming back and enjoying it all over again). That truely the hallmark of a great game. This is definitely my favourite game of all time, and my gaming holy grail.

The only thing I don't like about the games is that I'm still running in 50Hz PAL, which means they are slower than I am used to after playing the NTSC ROMs on my PC for the last several years. I really need to mod my Mega Drive to accomodate a 60Hz function. Can anyone offer me any advice or info on how to do this?

[KillerBean2]

http://www.mmmonkey.co.uk/console/index.htm

[highlandcattle]

50 USD for sonic and knuckles and sonic 3
Just two years ago I refused a whole bunch of sonic and knuckles for two euros a pop

[Mr Smith]

I don't understand American money too much, but isn't $50 a lot for those two games.

[Vyse of Arcadia]

Well, it depends on how much you value the game. Most people would probably rather poke an eye out than spend $50 on a couple old Genesis carts. Collectors, though...$50 isn't bad for the both of them.

[Genesis Knight]

Hold on... I can get fifty bucks for a US Genesis S3&K if they're complete?

[David J.]

I think $50 is Austrila is less than $50 in the states.... I think so don't hold that to me.

[Zebbe]

Just wait 'til the day your Sonic 3 battery throws in its towel and you have to buy a new cart.

[TidalTempest]

Not $50 US, $50 Australian. That's about $38 US. Also, these two games are pretty hard to come by here in Australia. Sonic 3 usually goes for $20 AU minimum, and sometimes that's just the cart alone. S&K usually goes for $40 AU to $50 AU on it's own. So I think I did pretty good in terms of the average prices of these games over here. Finding complete versions is hard enough.

Thanks muchly for the link KillerBean2 - that mod looks relevtively simple. I will have to brush up on my soldering skills beforehand so I don't ruin my MegaDrive. I might even mod my Saturn as well since the info is on that page as well. Thanks again.

Zebbe - if memory serves me correctly, Sonic 3 doesn't use battery memory. There's some info about it on the forums here I believe, but I can't find the right page to link to. Maybe someone else can help us out here?

[Zebbe]

It has some other sort of memory, which you can't replace like with the superior CR2032 batts. Look here: http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1667

[Genesisdoes]

Sonic games aren't worth that much because they're so common, so don't believe those ebay sellers that put "rare" in the title hoping to get more money. But, if you love the game I guess it's worth it. At CGE 2004 I bought Lunar 2 for SegaCD for $45. Not a steal, but it was worth it to me because it was in good condition.

[Mr Smith]

Ah, Australian dollars. In that case it's not too bad for mint condition S3&K.

[Henry Spencer]

Streets Of Rage 3 is the most expensive singular Genesis/Mega Drive game I have found, it ain't rare and they prices are rediculous!

[Nazza]

Not $50 US, $50 Australian. That's about $38 US. Also, these two games are pretty hard to come by here in Australia.

I didn't know Sonic 3 was that rare, although that's because I got it off eBay packaged with the console.

As for most expensive game I've ever come across, that would be the Japanese Alien Soldier, which goes for something like $200.

[David J.]

Streets Of Rage 3 is the most expensive singular Genesis/Mega Drive game I have found, it ain't rare and they prices are rediculous!

And it's not that good. Just spend the $$$ on SOR 1 and 2 instead. SOR 2 is getting pricey. I have the pack in version that came with the Genesis in the USA, and I almost bought a regular release for a few bucks at the store, but I turned it down because the cart label was really bad.