Friday, October 17, 2014

Sega Genesis 16 bit game "CLUE"

The board game.
 Clue is a murder mystery game for three to six players, devised by Anthony E. Pratt from Birmingham, England and currently published by the United States game and toy company Hasbro. The object of the game is to determine who murdered the game's victim ("Dr. Black" in the UK version and "Mr. Boddy" in North American versions), where the crime took place, and which weapon was used. Each player assumes the role of one of the six suspects, and attempts to deduce the correct answer by strategically moving around a game board representing the rooms of a mansion and collecting clues about the circumstances of the murder from the other players.

Numerous games, books, and a film have been released as part of the Cluedo franchise. Several spinoffs have been released featuring various extra characters, weapons and rooms, or different game play. The original game is marketed as the "Classic Detective Game", while the various spinoffs are all distinguished by different slogans. - Wikipedia

I'll be honest. This is one game that I own two versions of, the board game variant, and the Sega Genesis version... and I've never played either. Now, that may sound so bizarre, but in the case of the board game, it had been one of those things where I every intention of playing the game, but just never got around to it. But I collected board games so it seemed like one of the games that I should probably own (I'll review that version later...)

But this version I'm covering today is the one for the Sega Genesis game system. It was released in 1992 in a standard plastic case version with a pack in poster, and was re-released later in a card-stock variant (towards the end of the Genesis' life cycle).

The card stock packaged version. It also did not come with the fold out poster/advert of Monopoly/Clue.
One of the things to remember about the Genesis, is that the hardware and so many of its games are over thirty years old now. With each decade, with each passing year, like anything now out of production, items become more and more rare. Even games or peripherals that might have been manufactured in mass amounts at one point start to become more uncommon because of factors like:

  1. Time
  2. Wear and tear
  3. Disposal
  4. Stored and forgotten
  5. Recall because of low sales or manufacturing issues
All of those make finding complete games a huge part of the fun and challenge for someone like me, but also allow for there to be levels of re-completing games or systems in a piece meal collecting style (So you got the game cartridge, and maybe the game manual, but not the case, for instance). It creates an incredible secondary market that manifests both online on marketplaces like ebay or on fan forums that often have trading/selling areas, and in a fair amount of brick and mortar stores that deal in retro collectables.

I really lucked out on this gem, as the outer label and case were in immaculate condition and color, and the plastic case had the coveted tab (which was used in store peg hanging) still intact.

Pardon the glare on this, I have a much nicer camera area set up that I will be using to replace these photos and use for all future posts.
Internally the cartridge had no scuffs and had it's graphics in stellar condition as well.

Not even a slight scuff on this cartridge or its label.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the manual was there, which had a bit of damage in the form of some corner folds on the lower corner, but had no writing, marks or tears anywhere on it. An added bonus was the presence of the pack in poster which featured advert posters for Clue on one side, and Monopoly on the other. That as well showed a little worn sort of "shelf storage".

The interior elements were all in place.

It really seemed like this might have been a game that was purchased and maybe played once or twice, put away, and then later sold. I tell you, these are the kinds of finds that I enjoy because the worth and quality is rarer than the actual game is.

The two sided poster featuring artwork from the physical board game versions used to promote the video game versions. The game manual had no signs or markings of ever being used.

I plan on later making a comparison between the play in this version and the actual board game at a later date (and I'll have some screenshots of the game of course to see and compare with).

Thanks for reading! Take care of the things in your life, promote the well being of history, never forget the Library of Alexandria, and I'll see you next time!


-Mario, the Rogue Hobbyist  
 



Stats Rating/Information
Item Sega Genesis 16 bit game "CLUE"
Made by Parker Bros./Waddingtons Games Ltd.
Rarity Common - Cartridge only.
Uncommon - Package complete or in "Card Stock" variation.
Classification Retro - Released in 1992
Condition Excellent - Colors are bright, slight corner bends on manual pages.
Procured Warrensburg, Missouri
Worth $15
Investment $3
Further Research -n/a-
Trivia & Fun Facts In keeping with the nature of the board game, in theatrical release the movie was shown with one of three possible endings, with different theaters receiving each ending. In the film's home video release, all three endings were included.




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