Which original NES is Best?

[Wyluli Wolf]

I have the original toaster NES.  I'm thinking about getting a second NES so I don't have to fight with the cartridges to get the games to work.  Some games work right off the bat, while others I have to fiddle with over and over to get them to fire up.  I've cleaned all the games with ISO alcohol and the 72 pin has been refurbished.  The pins are so tight it's a bit hard to pull the carts out.  Since some games work on the first try, while others have to be fought with, I'm not sure if it's just the games, or the fickle NES design.  So tell me...is it worth it to get a different model NES to alleviate this issue?

If so, which NES is the best to get?  I've read articles that indicate the Famicom AV is recommended as it has composite out, unlike the US top loader, so the video quality is better without modification needed.  Apparently you can use an adapter to play NTSC games on this model.

So hit me with your best thoughts!  

[youxia]

I have the AV and some carts still don't work. But if I blow on them, they do. Go figure...

[Razzie.P]

I've not noticed 1 model being any better than the other in those regards, but I've personally "fixed" about a dozen toaster NES consoles with Blinking Light Win.   Not sure if it's still readily available, but that thing has really lived up to the hype for me.

 

If there's another model or fix out there that compares, I've not found it.

 

 

[Wyluli Wolf]

24 minutes ago, Razzie.P said:

I've not noticed 1 model being any better than the other in those regards, but I've personally "fixed" about a dozen toaster NES consoles with Blinking Light Win.   Not sure if it's still readily available, but that thing has really lived up to the hype for me.

 

If there's another model or fix out there that compares, I've not found it.

 

 

Thank you for this.  I've never heard of it.  After doing some digging it looks like it is currently out of stock and they are having some supply issues.  ?‍♂️  Hopefully they will become available again in the not to distant future, but I'm not holding my breath.  I'd really like to give this a try though, as it sounds like a good "fix". 

[Tanooki]

There is no really best 'stock' design if you're picky about the blinking light issue etc.

 

The original unit has that, but you can boil the pins that helps for years, and while in there you can snip the one leg on a chip the 10NES to disable the reset issue plus it also killst he PAL lockout, so it puts it on par with the top loader able to run whatever.

 

The top loader is robust with no pin connector issue but only has shitty RF output which also has a subpar shield on there so it gets jailbars on the video which sucks.  Ideally it's expensive but adding a HiDefNES kit to that is the only way to make it the best overall solution because then it's on the level of the analogue nt noirs FPGA core.

[0078265317]

I have a top loader ns 101 also.  For the original version a game genie really helps.  The pub is thicker so it makes contact and games load everytime.  Just press enter and no codes entered and its iff you never used one.

[Punisher5.0]

Once you go top loader its hard to go back to the toaster. Games work everytime the first time with mine. Its cheap and easy to composite mod them too.

[CapitanClassic]

I have found that the bending pin method fixed the blinking light/contact issues I have had with NES toasters

http://www.retrofixes.com/2013/07/nintendo-72-pin-connector.html?m=1

[Tanooki]

Composite at a minimum, I had one with that along with a special sound splitter wheel that kind of faked stereo.  But I went all in and did the hi def NES kit upgrade to mine, it's basically like(core made also by kevtris) an analogue nt noir without the $500 price tag.

[CommodoreDecker]

The front-loader has the better appearance, and another mechanism to deal with the card-edge securing than just cheap pins would have saved a lot of problems... true, it would have cost a lot more and introducing the thing to America was risky venture...

 

My NES has Blinking Light Win - it's a bit tight so game removal is a bit rough at times, especially for Tengen or other 3rd party cartridges that don't have the indent for easier grabbing, but the toaster makes for a more compact unit when placed in a shelf, unlike the top loader that requires tons of wasted vertical space. Wish the 5200, 7800, and others had a 90 degree adapter too...

[Koopa64]

The only real difference between a USA NES and a Famicom is the cartridge slot, they run the exact same software otherwise. An AV Famicom + pin adapter is overall the easiest option that involves no modding. It's not perfect (expansion audio is imbalanced) but still, it doesn't need modding to get composite or controller ports or disabling of the lockout chip.

 

Honestly, aside from nostalgia, there isn't a particularly good case to stick with an NES. The Famicom platform overall is far superior. It has access to generally less expensive games, tons of exclusives, it's readily compatible with the exotic Famicom Disk System, supports expansion audio without any mods, has access to 15-pin controllers and accessories, the AV Famicom in particular can use NES-style controllers, all the Famicoms lack the stupid lockout chip and you even get official licensed choices like the Twin Famicom which is a great Famicom and FDS combo system with composite and it's still only as big as a front loader NES.

 

And if you're overly concerned about too much moon language in your games, keep in mind that many NES and Famicom games simply didn't have a lot of ROM space for tons of text. Most action-y and arcade-y games don't really have that much text in them, heck some of them have English even in their Japanese versions because it was cheaper and exotic-sounding. Super Mario Bros 1- 3, Kirby's Adventure, Wario's Woods, Yoshi no Tamago (aka Yoshi), Yoshi's Cookie, Dr. Mario and Mike Tyson's Punch-Out are some examples of Nintendo-made Famicom games that barely have any moon language in them.

 

If you want to cut down on the chance of having to look at moon language, get an Everdrive N8 for Famicom and dive deep into the English fan translations, it's a life changing experience man.

Edited April 11, 2022 by Koopa64