72.

When the DS was first released, if you told me I would eventually own 72 games for the system, I would punch you in the mouth for lying to me and maybe again for being a witch and seeing the future.

When my age tally increased by one this past Sunday, I was the recipient of four more games. Gleefully, I went to add them to the collection. As is my neurotic habit, I shuffled around the current library to make room for the new acquisitions (in alphabetical nature, of course). It wasn't until I was marveling at my handiwork that I realized that I had completely filled my shelves.

At first I was mildly pleased with myself. It was full. For once in my miserable existence, I had completed something! Hooray for me! And then I remembered that the Final Fantasy IV remake is due out in about two weeks...

The panic set in. Where would I put the box? Could I...discard...the box and keep the card in a separate travel case? No, no, that's madness. The DS case is a pinnacle of game distributing evolution. I couldn't just throw one out! Should I get another shelf? That would give me room for another whole 72 boxes! But will the system have that kind of longevity that I would come close to filling that as well or would it remain wasted space? Dare I actually sell or trade one in?

Eventually, I came the hard decision that I would just have to start tucking the "lesser" games behind the shelf in the nook between the wood and the wall. Close enough to the collection proper, but still technically out of the way. It's a bandaid to the issue, I know, but at the moment that will do. My inner pack rat can continue his mission to burn money on games that I won't get around to playing through for months, if not years... I'm about two grand in the hole already. Why stop now?

For the curious, the games in order are: Wizardry Asterisk, Ys Strategy, Advance Wars: Dual Strike, Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, Animal Crossing Wild World, Arkanoid DS, Bomberman Land, Brain Age, Bust-a-Move DS, Card Fighters DS, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, Chibi Robo Park Patrol, Children of Mana, Chocobo Tales, Clubhouse Games, Contact, Cooking Mama, Cooking Mama 2: Dinner with Friends, Custom Robo Arena, Deep Labyrinth, Dementium: The Ward, Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker, Drawn to Life, Dungeon Explorer: Warriors of Ancient Arts, Elite Beat Agents, Etrian Odyssey, Etrian Odyssey 2: Heroes of Lagaard, Feel the Magic, Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, Front Mission, Gunpey, Hamsterz, Hoshigami, Hotel Dusk, Izuna, Kuropoto, Luminous Arc, Lunar: Dragon Song, Magical Starsign, Meteos, Metroid Prime: Hunters, Orcs & Elves, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Ace Attorney: Justice for All, Ace Attorney: Trial and Tribulations, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, Picross DS, Planet Puzzle League, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time, Pokemon Pearl, Pokemon Ranger, Polarium, Professor Layton and the Curious Village, Puyo Pop Fever, Puzzle Quest, Rune Factory, Shiren the Wanderer, Starfox Armada, Summon Night Twin Age, Teenage Zombies, Trace Memory, Trauma Center: Under the Knife, Touch Detective, Touch Detective 2 1/2, Touch the Dead, and The World Ends With You.

Not pictured: Megaman Starforce: Pegasus. Seriously, fuck that shit.