Film
Nintendo Quest
Two collectors attempt an absurd quest: find all 678 official NES cartridges in 30 days using only brick-and-mortar shops and personal connections. It's a road movie filtered through obsession, funny and oddly moving about what we collect and why. For anyone who's felt the pull of completion, or loved a thing enough to chase it across a continent.
If you liked this
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters2007
The spiritual godfather of Nintendo Quest. Documents the bitter rivalry between two Donkey Kong champions with the same mix of arcade nostalgia, personal stakes, and gentle comedy. Absolutely gripping.
But It's obsessive in a way that can feel claustrophobic. If you find competitive gaming tedious rather than compelling, this won't change your mind.
The Toys That Made Us2017
Slick, authoritative history of how Nintendo conquered the world, with industry figures and designers explaining the company's genius. Perfect if you want context and don't want to hear about one guy's collection.
But Reverential and safe. Treats Nintendo like a museum piece rather than something people actually love and fight over in real time.
Indie Game: The Movie2012
Follows three indie developers chasing their dreams with the same devotional intensity. Captures why people pour themselves into projects that most will never see or care about.
But Very earnest and occasionally self-important about what are, ultimately, video games. Can feel precious if you're not already invested in the people.
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The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Overnight2003
Both are real-time quests filmed as they happen. But where Nintendo Quest celebrates the joy of chasing something impossible, Overnight watches the same impulse become self-destructive. Together they ask: when does passion become pathology?
A filmmaker documents his friend's attempt to make an indie film, capturing the exact moment obsession tips into delusion. Same structure as Nintendo Quest—a quest filmed in real time—but this time it ends badly, and stays with you.
But Deeply uncomfortable. You watch someone sabotage himself repeatedly. There's no redemptive arc, just escalating cringe and tragedy.
More like this (6)
Wrinkles the Clown2019
Documents how an internet hoax became a real phenomenon. Same obsessive fandom energy, showing how people rally around something weird and unexpected.
But Darker in tone and less fun than Nintendo Quest. If you came for nostalgia and collecting, this sharp pivot to internet horror culture might feel jarring.
The Last Blockbuster2020
Celebrities and fans celebrate Blockbuster Video as a cultural institution. Taps into the same nostalgia and collecting impulse, with a genuinely moving elegiac quality.
But Increasingly feels like corporate nostalgia porn designed to sell you services. Lacks the scrappy, personal energy of Nintendo Quest.
Fyre2019
Another obsessive quest, but inverted—following the implosion of a doomed festival. Captures the same drive to achieve the impossible, minus the wholesome collecting spirit.
But Cynical and sometimes mean. If you loved Nintendo Quest's warmth, this will feel like watching people hurt themselves for the camera.
Atari: Game Over2014
Investigates the legend of buried E.T. cartridges and excavates them. Playful archaeology of gaming history with genuine historical weight.
But More focused on solving a mystery than celebrating collecting culture. The tone is investigative rather than celebratory.
Benda Bilili!2010
Both celebrate people doing something difficult and specific out of pure love for the thing itself. But this one has no safety, no budget, no cultural infrastructure. It asks the same question Nintendo Quest does—why do we do this?—from a completely different world.
Congolese street musicians living with physical disabilities form a band and record an album. Joyful, chaotic, improvisational. Same spirit as Nintendo Quest—people achieving something real against the odds—but shot on the streets of Kinshasa with no safety net.
But Subtitled, and the music won't be familiar. The documentary style is less polished. If you want a tidy narrative, this is messily human instead.
Marwencol2010
Nintendo Quest is about collecting something external and complete. Marwencol is about creating something obsessively from nothing, to process trauma and reclaim agency. Both are driven by the same compulsive need to build a world—one found, one imagined—and both treat that impulse with absolute seriousness.
A man constructs an elaborate fantasy village in his yard, complete with miniatures and photographs. It's obsession as art therapy, as survival, as defiance. Beautiful, strange, and moving without a shred of sentimentality.
But Deliberately oblique. The documentary doesn't explain itself. You have to sit with strangeness and come to understanding on your own.
People
Cast
Jay BartlettSelf
Robert McCallumSelf
Billy MitchellSelf
Walter DaySelf- Rachel laraSelf
- Warren DavisSelf
Tommy TallaricoSelf
Directing
- Robert McCallumDirector
Writing
- Robert McCallumWriter