Searching the net for something rare: How long did it take you and what did you find?

Have you ever went to google search or some other search in attempts at finding a piece of information, a file, a rom, a video, a song and you knew going into it that it would be very, very hard to find and you thought there was almost no chance that you'd find it but you succeeded anyway?

Many years ago I wanted to find action replay codes for Shining Force 3 for the video game scenarios that never came out in America and were fully japanese games.
I started my searching on Google and only had 50 matches for my search criteria. I tried a whole bunch of different things for hours and would have to dig very deep.
In 3 hours of digging I actually came up with a load of codes for it!
So that is my story on the most rare thing I had to find and my success at digging far enough that I'd find it.

What about you?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

There is a version of the csardas by Monti out there played by a violin in a particular fashion I can only describe as slinky. At the time, the only thing I could remember about it was that it was gypsy, and by some guy starting with m. I eventually did find it, somewhere. The performer's name was Kristofer Vio. I don't think I'll ever forget it now.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I found Game Genie codes for Shining Force 2. I win infinite gold stars :3

Well, I've had shitloads of things I have looked for in the past. I'm quite a seasoned veteran at internet-scrounging. Enough that I have a few sites with some real rare birds. Very few things have escaped me forever, to be honest~ It's typically an MP3 or Soundtrack that I'm sniffing out, though.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

On Saturday I spent about two hours scouring the net for Pain's "Nothing Remains The Same" album and eventually found it in some guy's directories. Was happy.

Longest time I've spent searching for stuff on the internet is probably the song "Stroll Around The World" by Star Casino - Which I STILL haven't found. ;_; I hate that Mondo Grosso has to be so obscure.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I try the usual places, Google, Isohunt, Oink (for music) , various DC hubs until I find what I'm looking for.

There's still a few things that I can't for the life of me get a hold of though.

A high quality version of the cartoon video for "My Girlfriend's Dead" by the Vandals springs to mind

How ya doing, buddy?

I will do this almost every fuckin' day. I will do it for music, information, movies, and even people.

Last night, for example, I spent about a collective 5 hours looking up and reading about some old lost friends who I couldn't find on MySpace or Facebook. I wanted to get in touch with them, and I didn't have an easy system to do it. So I looked for them. For hours.

I love doing this, though. The reward of finally finding what you've been looking for is so great.

Most amazing jew boots

It usually takes me hours to find something 'rare' on the net, specially if you start from google.

Most of the time I end up in porn sites.

FELIPE NO

I usually find whatever I want. Like some of these particular Anakin sig images I've been searching for are a pain in the ass.

There's a rap song I've liked for about 12 or 13 years I can never fucking pin down. I don't know the name or artist, and even though I remember the song it goes so fast and I can't remember good key phrases to search it for. My last attempt to find the song was when I heard it in prison, called Lenore with a rush, and told her to tune into the radio station and tell me if she knew the song or at least remember some words and google it. FAILURE. I bet if I had just stayed by the radio the DJ would've eventually said the name.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I just yesterday found a copy of the ridiculously rare album "The Afflicted Man's Musical Bag" by the Afflicted Man on a music blog. It was released on Bonk Records in 1980 in a paper bag and has never been rereleased, so as you can imagine decent copies are but impossible to come across, but this guy had the vinyl and ripped it for me.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I typically go through all the normal channels: google, yahoo, isohunt and other torrent-searching sites, and Gamingforce if that fails. There are occasions when I don't end up winning the battle, but I generally get over it fairly quickly.

If it's music and I'm obsessed, though, I've been known to shell out big bucks to get it imported or something. :P

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Outside of media, which I don't spend too much time trying to search for anyway (if I find it within a few minutes, cool; if not, oh well), there was a search I was doing a few nights ago when GFF was down. I was trying to recall Tritoch's name change in the upcoming Final Fantasy VI Advance. I knew it was posted here, but the forums were down, and Googling for it failed for the next half hour. ;_; Like Vemp, I ended up in porn sites.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Before I joined GFF I used to google for individual songs until I could find a direct download link. I didn't really have the patience for anything else on dial-up, but it took 1-2 hours to find certain songs if they were available at all. The ending theme to the Record of Lodoss War OVA took an especially long time to track down through that method.

Originally Posted by nazpyro

Outside of media, which I don't spend too much time trying to search for anyway (if I find it within a few minutes, cool; if not, oh well), there was a search I was doing a few nights ago when GFF was down. I was trying to recall Tritoch's name change in the upcoming Final Fantasy VI Advance. I knew it was posted here, but the forums were down, and Googling for it failed for the next half hour. ;_; Like Vemp, I ended up in porn sites.

Any time you have an RPG related question check RPGamer first. The quote in the FF VI Advance thread happened to be from an article there too, so it would have saved you a lot of time. Valigarmanda really isn't a name worth remembering anyway. ;_;

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Tritoch

Valigarmanda really isn't a name worth remembering anyway. ;_;

It will be if we ever have to communicate with the younger gaming population about a game that they'll only ever have played on the GBA. ;_;

I was speaking idiomatically.

Technically, I found GFF originally by searching for VGM. Lots and lots of sites with dead links until I found this place. Otherwise, I usually have good luck with internet searches, although I don't look for really obscure things.

Valigarmanda reminds me of the old GFF member NoPantsAmanda or whatever his name was.

Most amazing jew boots

Originally Posted by Drex

It will be if we ever have to communicate with the younger gaming population about a game that they'll only ever have played on the GBA. ;_;

True, but in that case it's much simpler just to refer to him as "that frozen Esper from the beginning of the game." So few people who played it on the SNES/PSX remember Tritoch's name anyway. ;_;

Originally Posted by nuttyturnip

Valigarmanda reminds me of the old GFF member NoPantsAmanda or whatever his name was.

I think his name was NoPantsMasanda, though NoPantsAmanda is far more amusing.

FELIPE NO

Really? I guess I was so obsessed with FFVI that it's weird to me that anyone who played it wouldn't know the name of every esper, character, and npc in the game. =x

Old game-related searches usually are quite fruitful. Except for Paladin's Quest, because even though I loved it, apparently most people are trying to forget it ever existed.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?