Creator Spotlight | Cooper Collects Interview – @cooper_collects

We caught up with the Hylian legend, big outdoors explorer and video game collector Cooper on a big love for Nintendo and his adventures so far! Thanks for popping by, Cooper!

1. Hey Cooper, tell us a bit about yourself and your gaming journey so far!

Hello! I’ve been playing video games for a long time that I feel kind of retro myself!

The SNES was my first console and then I stuck with Nintendo all of my life. Through my passion for video games, I started working in the industry and being able to play, talk, and work, with video games is a dream come true.

 

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2. What’s your earliest memory of playing video games for the first time?

I was 3 years old. My mum had a Super Nintendo and we played Super Mario World on it all of the time! We then moved on to fighting games like Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat, but I would never be able to beat her 🙁

3. Love following your gaming journey as @cooper_collects over on IG! What made you start collecting and taking photos of your Nintendo and PlayStation games and consoles?

I have a regular Instagram account for my family, but I always saw random posts about people and their games. “I can do that too”, I thought to myself so one day I made a new “gaming” account – @cooper_collects.

I made so many friends through doing so that I continued to use the platform to engage and connect with other gamers.

 

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3. As a fan of Zelda and Pokémon, what would you say is so appealing about Nintendo games in particular?

Nintendo make games aimed towards children but are highly loved by adults, and I think with Nintendo they seem to always bring people together through their games.

You can complete Pokémon alone, but the moment you start talking with others about which new Pokémon you discovered it becomes a whole new experience.

4. What would you say is your most special/memorable gaming item that you couldn’t ever part with on the gaming shelf?

I have two… Both are near mint condition, boxed, and complete with manuals.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the N64 and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess on the GameCube. I always hear the “Da da da daaaaaaaaa” sound whenever I open the boxes!

5. Love seeing your retro boxed games! Are there any rare/retro games you’d love to get your hands on for the Cooper collection and any tips for anyone looking to collect?

I think you’ll agree that the number one prize for any Nintendo fan… Boxed Pokémon games. How foolish we were to throw away the useless pieces of cardboard that came with our games back in the 90’s.

 

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For a tip I would say Ebay. Yes, the prices are ridiculous most of the time, but you’ll often scope out a listing that nobody see/notices and that’s when you strike! I managed to find some boxed Mario GBA games cheap this way.

Also… typos! People will list their games with a small typo, and you will not find it when searching for the actual name.

6. As a big explorer of nature, is there any video game world you’d love to visit if you could?

The kingdom of Hyrule in the Legend of Zelda. To explore this universe would be such a dream!

 

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