I've never considered myself a game collector, per se. The only titles I'm real interested in keeping around or acquiring are JRPGs, and a lot of that has to do with the rare nature of many of the niche titles. There's one game in particular I've been looking for for years, ever since I borrowed it from my sister and played it all those years ago - Tales of Symphonia. Yep, the GameCube title, which is considered one of the best of the Tales franchise, has been eluding me for years.

Today, thanks to GameStop's "Buy 2, Get 1 Free" promotion going on this week, I finally found it.

Typically I browse through GameStop's used games every time I go in there. You never know when there might be that one gem, which typically ends up being a PS2 title. I've found them in the past, those JRPGs that I never got the chance to play when they were new that I'm interested in owning now, or ones I've owned in the past and foolishly traded them in at some point or lost them over time. Today was the jackpot, though.

Not only did I find Tales of Symphonia, but I also found Shadow Hearts: Covenant, another hard-to-come-by title that I've been trying to pick up for a while. I once saw it at a local mom-and-pop game store (the only one in the area that isn't a GameStop), for $49.99. I had to pass, unfortunately. As much as I wanted it, I couldn't justify paying new game price for a six year old PS2 RPG. Today I found it much cheaper. And the GameStop promotion made it all that much sweeter.

After those two, I needed a "free" game. I went over to the Wii section and found the sequel to the game I had searched for for years, Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. So, with some credit I had left over, my Edge card discount and the current "Buy 2, Get 1 Free" promotion, I left the store, those three great titles in hand and only $30 lighter in the wallet. I made out like a bandit today. Now the trick is to find the time to play them.