Kangaroo For The Nintendo Famicom By Hal Laboratory.

[Atariboy2600]

I knew about the three NES games release by Hal was

 

• Joust
• Defender II
• Millipede

But what I did not knew that it was going to be used to help in a deal with Nintendo and Atari and also there was going to be a fourth game in the Atari line up by Hal was KANGAROO.

 

Question is there a good chance there maybe a prototype room for this game is maybe they never gone a far as the proto stage. But I alway wonder how Kanagaroo may look like on a NES/Famicom screen

 

 

[+FujiSkunk]

I'm curious. Where did you read that they were planning Kangaroo for the NES?

[Atariboy2600]

I'm curious. Where did you read that they were planning Kangaroo for the NES?

 

I hear it after seeing a youtube video go start at time 2:55

 

Edited March 16, 2017 by Atariboy2600

[MrMaddog]

At 3:30, the video states the source being from YouTube/Ian Chipman. I couldn't find anything on a Famicom version of Kangaroo from Sunsoft so I guess it hadn't been made as far as we know.

 

Looks like I got a new video series to watch now, the first episode mentioned the AVS of all things.

[Gazimaluke]

I heard that Richard Frick who was Director of Software development at Atari at the time was the source of the information that Kangaroo had been ported to the NES. Since I am researching the history of Sunsoft I am interested in finding out if this is true.

I contacted Richard and asked him about it. What he told me was that when Jack Trimel took over Atari in 84 they cleared out some warehouses. And during that process Richard saw a cart marked Kangaroo. And I guess since he was Director of Software development he could see the difference between a Atari 2600 cart and a NES cart. But this was basically all he knew about it.

[TheRedEye]

He told me this as well in 2013, but I believe that his memory is the ONLY source so we shouldn't take it as fact necessarily, he could be misremembering. 

[Gazimaluke]

12 hours ago, TheRedEye said:

He told me this as well in 2013, but I believe that his memory is the ONLY source so we shouldn't take it as fact necessarily, he could be misremembering. 

I agree. A second source is needed when there are no other evidence.

[Atariboy2600]

Forgot to post this my old mockup from 2017 on what if Hal made the Kangaroo port for the NES box and cart label. I used some of my clipart of the Kangaroo, Joey and the monkeys as well as making the background from Photoshop

[0078265317]

 

[+FujiSkunk]

On 6/12/2020 at 1:51 PM, Atariboy2600 said:

Forgot to post this my old mockup from 2017 on what if Hal made the Kangaroo port for the NES box and cart label. I used some of my clipart of the Kangaroo, Joey and the monkeys as well as making the background from Photoshop

 

This looks absolutely nothing like any other Kangaroo artwork.

 

In other words, it looks exactly like what HAI might have done for their Nintendo port.  Well done!

[Atariboy2600]

4 hours ago, FujiSkunk said:

 

This looks absolutely nothing like any other Kangaroo artwork.

 

In other words, it looks exactly like what HAI might have done for their Nintendo port.  Well done!

Yeah I try to see how they WOULD had done it back then when the classic artwork was from the past on Atari 2600 and 5200 and seeing they wanted to stay away from anything ATARI yes they would had done more Saturday Morning cartoon style.

[+x=usr(1536)]

On 4/23/2020 at 4:38 AM, Gazimaluke said:

I heard that Richard Frick who was Director of Software development at Atari at the time was the source of the information that Kangaroo had been ported to the NES. Since I am researching the history of Sunsoft I am interested in finding out if this is true.

I contacted Richard and asked him about it. What he told me was that when Jack Trimel took over Atari in 84 they cleared out some warehouses. And during that process Richard saw a cart marked Kangaroo. And I guess since he was Director of Software development he could see the difference between a Atari 2600 cart and a NES cart. But this was basically all he knew about it.

 

Reading through this, something stands out to me: a 1984 warehouse clearout would've happened in advance of the NES' 1985 launch.  While it is possible that cartridges had been manufactured in anticipation of that launch, junking them before the system they were created for had even hit the market would be a particularly boneheaded move, even for Atari of the time.

 

Not doubting his recollection, but I'm wondering if maybe he saw 5200 Kangaroo cartridges.  Given their size and the passing of time doing what it does to memories, I can see how they might be mistaken for NES cartridges.

[Asaki]

1 hour ago, x=usr(1536) said:

 

Reading through this, something stands out to me: a 1984 warehouse clearout would've happened in advance of the NES' 1985 launch.  While it is possible that cartridges had been manufactured in anticipation of that launch, junking them before the system they were created for had even hit the market would be a particularly boneheaded move, even for Atari of the time.

 

Not doubting his recollection, but I'm wondering if maybe he saw 5200 Kangaroo cartridges.  Given their size and the passing of time doing what it does to memories, I can see how they might be mistaken for NES cartridges.

I think he's saying that he saw it in the warehouse while they were junking other stuff. And he says it was "marked", which sounds like a prototype to me, not something "manufactured".

Frank Cifaldi says that the Atari/Famicom games were programmed in 1983, and intended to be released either that year or '84 (he may have meant "in Japan", what I'm reading says the Nintendo AVS was slated for 1985), so it's feasible...though the cart wouldn't have been in the warehouse for very long.

 

You know what, though? It's probably pretty likely that it wasn't even an "NES" cartridge, it was probably in a Famicom cart shell. It looks like that's what Atari was planning with the AVS proto:

 

[+x=usr(1536)]

11 hours ago, Asaki said:

I think he's saying that he saw it in the warehouse while they were junking other stuff. And he says it was "marked", which sounds like a prototype to me, not something "manufactured".

 

Which is certainly possible.  It's definitely a case where we don't know exactly what he saw, but that is a reasonable supposition.

 

11 hours ago, Asaki said:

Frank Cifaldi says that the Atari/Famicom games were programmed in 1983, and intended to be released either that year or '84 (he may have meant "in Japan", what I'm reading says the Nintendo AVS was slated for 1985), so it's feasible...though the cart wouldn't have been in the warehouse for very long.

 

Which are good points.  It does put a pretty narrow timeframe on when the cartridge could potentially have been found, though, particularly given the Tramiels' initial housecleaning frenzy.

 

11 hours ago, Asaki said:

You know what, though? It's probably pretty likely that it wasn't even an "NES" cartridge, it was probably in a Famicom cart shell. It looks like that's what Atari was planning with the AVS proto:

 

Also entirely possible, and the photo of the mockup certainly seems to suggest that.

 

I really wish that someone who had been there for the Atari / Nintendo discussions (and any subsequent development work that may have occurred) would come forward and shed some light on what was happening at that time.  AFAIK, it's a part of Atari history that has never been documented in depth, and it's one I'd like to know more about.

[Atariboy2600]

On 10/10/2020 at 11:30 PM, Asaki said:

I think he's saying that he saw it in the warehouse while they were junking other stuff. And he says it was "marked", which sounds like a prototype to me, not something "manufactured".

Frank Cifaldi says that the Atari/Famicom games were programmed in 1983, and intended to be released either that year or '84 (he may have meant "in Japan", what I'm reading says the Nintendo AVS was slated for 1985), so it's feasible...though the cart wouldn't have been in the warehouse for very long.

 

You know what, though? It's probably pretty likely that it wasn't even an "NES" cartridge, it was probably in a Famicom cart shell. It looks like that's what Atari was planning with the AVS proto:

 

 

I been collecting many Japanese Famicom game carts and my one wish they should had kept the cartridge size here then them lone grey BRICK like cartridges - 

[Asaki]

12 hours ago, Atariboy2600 said:

... my one wish they should had kept the cartridge size here then them lone grey BRICK like cartridges -

Same.

I appreciate that the NES has removable controllers and built-in composite video, but that ZIF connector was just the worst idea.

Love my model 2, but even there, the cartridges stick up so far, I've accidentally kicked them a few times walking past >_<

Having expansion audio without modding the hardware would've been nice, too.

Edited April 14, 2021 by Asaki

[DragonGrafx-16]

On 4/14/2021 at 12:54 AM, Asaki said:

Same.

I appreciate that the NES has removable controllers and built-in composite video, but that ZIF connector was just the worst idea.

Love my model 2, but even there, the cartridges stick up so far, I've accidentally kicked them a few times walking past >_<

Having expansion audio without modding the hardware would've been nice, too.

If they would have had AV on the NES-101 it would have been the best NES but the RF only and the jailbars ruin it. 

[Asaki]

7 hours ago, DragonGrafx-16 said:

If they would have had AV on the NES-101 it would have been the best NES but the RF only and the jailbars ruin it. 

Composite video mod is pretty easy, just make sure you do the newer one, and not the older one. Newer one involves cutting one of the original video traces and lifting the video pin straight off the chip, otherwise you're still picking up interference from the power line.

Also, the expansion audio mod for Model 2 is a little harder to find, and requires bridging two of the pins on the cartridge or cart adapter itself.

[DragonGrafx-16]

50 minutes ago, Asaki said:

Composite video mod is pretty easy, just make sure you do the newer one, and not the older one. Newer one involves cutting one of the original video traces and lifting the video pin straight off the chip, otherwise you're still picking up interference from the power line.

Also, the expansion audio mod for Model 2 is a little harder to find, and requires bridging two of the pins on the cartridge or cart adapter itself.

I sold my NES-101 a few years ago. My only NES now is a toaster NES with a BLW installed. 

[BrianC]

The odd thing is that Kangaroo is a Sunsoft game, who ported some of their other AC games like Arabian, Ikki, and Route-16 to the Famicom. Not sure why they would license it out. 

[Atariboy2600]

An other NES Works on youtube and it did talked about that Kangaroo game from Hal -