What have you been up to lately with your NES/Famicom?

[Tanooki]

@newtmonkey Did you know that game also was one of three 1993-94 era Konami FDS to Famicom cart conversions?  This of the three by far is the most utterly toxic priced, even a loose cart can run you like $400-500 easily.  The other two would be Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa, and Twinbee 2.

 

They're fully converted with their total content intact including the difficulty toggles, fuller content compared to the US, etc.

 

 

As for me if you saw the thrifts/finds thread I'm with an AV Famicom now, so I'll be perhaps posting a bit more in here if I start getting serious on it with my carts since it's far less testy to do so.  Happy to report my one off Sim City prototype conversion works great and looks amazing on the 9" monitor.

[newtmonkey]

@Tanooki

Congrats on the AV Famicom!  It's a great little system... much more reliable than the old NES and support for composite unlike the new NES.  Enjoy!

[Tanooki]

This feels like a long time coming and a subtle taunt as this shouldn't exist either.   That didn't fit in my NES with the honeybee.

[Trinity]

23 hours ago, Tanooki said:

This feels like a long time coming and a subtle taunt as this shouldn't exist either.   That didn't fit in my NES with the honeybee.

Very Nice! And that monitor! I'm in love!

[Tanooki]

2 hours ago, Trinity said:

Very Nice! And that monitor! I'm in love!

I've grown to really enjoy it.  I ended up having a local post one less than 10min away, he wanted $150 for it or best offer as it worked fine but needed internal tweaking due to age yet it never was overly used either thankfully.  I ended up not paying but giving him 5 video games for his collection he needed, nothing crazy either which was good so we both won.

 

And on that note, last night a modded Nomad of mine was on my last nerve due to a botched mounting of a composite screen inside, so I was at it an hour fixing, sanding, smooth, gluing, setting and a popped wire soldering.  With the iron hot, I cracked open the AV Famicom and applied the fix over on Famicom World and now controller port 2 is fully connected so I tested out some 2 DUCKS mode Duck Hunt last night for a bit and surprisingly got further than I figured I would as I never played it really at all.  That fix is quite meaningful for sure, if anything, because I wasn't going to eat $80 on a famicom light gun.

 

Oh and that Sim City game is amazing, even with the slight bugs.  If you're just casually into it, not into the heavy micromanagement side with playing with the budget persistently and the deep stuff only hard mode really applies to, it's amazing, just amazing how good it is and what they pulled off really tapping out the MMC5 chip for that beast.  I'd call it the equal if not larger shame than Earthbound NES not arriving, yet thankfully both have now.

 

If you're curious, that monitors service manual is linked here: https://ia902308.us.archive.org/16/items/manual_BTS901Y_SM_PANASONIC_EN/BTS901Y_SM_PANASONIC_EN.pdf

This thing is very well equipped, even s-video.

Edited September 22, 2023 by Tanooki

[Bloodreign]

While not exactly on the FC/NES, but it is still the Famicom version on a PS1 disc, Valkyrie no Bouken, and boy oh boy is this game utterly confusing and cryptic, while the PS1 remake is actually doable. I don't tend to last long in the game, I have absolutely no idea what I am doing, but it is a nice little game to own regardless, as I love the Valkyrie trilogy (OK there is a 4th game, but it is a visual novel on Windows, and hard to get).

[Tanooki]

13 hours ago, Bloodreign said:

While not exactly on the FC/NES, but it is still the Famicom version on a PS1 disc, Valkyrie no Bouken, and boy oh boy is this game utterly confusing and cryptic, while the PS1 remake is actually doable. I don't tend to last long in the game, I have absolutely no idea what I am doing, but it is a nice little game to own regardless, as I love the Valkyrie trilogy (OK there is a 4th game, but it is a visual novel on Windows, and hard to get).

I do enjoy that game, I own a copy of it too and yeah it's cryptic but I more just go in to pick at stuff until I get bored since it doesn't really have a nice save system to mention for it.  Cryptic it is, yet so is Zelda so I guess it's par for the course in those years.  I also had the PCE card, now it's on the stock install of the PCE Mini I have thankfully.   I'm guessing that third one you're talking about is the Whirlo title on SNES.

[Bloodreign]

9 hours ago, Tanooki said:

I do enjoy that game, I own a copy of it too and yeah it's cryptic but I more just go in to pick at stuff until I get bored since it doesn't really have a nice save system to mention for it.  Cryptic it is, yet so is Zelda so I guess it's par for the course in those years.  I also had the PCE card, now it's on the stock install of the PCE Mini I have thankfully.   I'm guessing that third one you're talking about is the Whirlo title on SNES.

Yeah, Whirlo in PAL territories, Sandra no Daibouken in Japan.

[Trinity]

Who has a toaster running today?

 

 Mine is on with the crt keeping the room warm.

Edited October 12, 2023 by Trinity

[Tanooki]

I was until a couple weeks or so ago when the AV Famicom arrived, it's back in its box resting.  Right now I'm a little upset I guess, the speaker has mostly decided to stop working on my 9" PVM and I need to find someone local to fix it.  There is a repair shop but they want 100 for labor/diag, then parts which gets into where it's more than the stupid thing is worth to replace. :\  I have a friend locally but he's backlogged could be 1-2mo before it could be dealt with.  I've poked around a bit, even gone as far as reseating the speaker wire to the plug, and reflowing the solder on the audio components (but not every individual cap) on the board.  Didn't seem to make a diff.  It either has audio when I turn it on, or it doesn't, and 90% of the time+ it doesn't so it's slim odds since this weekend.  When it is on it's loud, clear, no pops and crackles, weakness, distortion etc, just normal.

 

Despite that I've dabbled a bit with Parodius, Star Luster, Ninja Jaja Maru-kun, Urusei Yatsura, and Hello Kitty World (Balloon Kid.)  It's just a fun experience with new things to play with, and now on appropriate hardware too.  Not sure what to do with the TV situation because my new normal TV has no RCA jacks, HDMI only so I can't carry it over, but I have my hi-def kitted top loader, but that while fine can't do light gun games which sucks.

[Dire 51]

Not much. I've been collecting for the FC for nearly thirty years, but my AV Fami has an issue with the controller ports (I've been discussing this with Tanooki), so I've been using the AVS whenever I feel the need to play a game.

[Tanooki]

In a twist of fate, it was the AV Famicom with a singular pin on the cartridge slot itself causing all the sound issues going on and I addressed it.

 

Which is good, because both Karateka and Keiketsu Yancha Maru(kid niki) have shown up, and once I'm off double shifts I'm going to break them in.

[CommodoreDecker]

Installation of Blinking Light Win replacement card-edge component, and then doing a marathon of Tengen games. Few third parties did the NES better than Tengen. and, of course, there's always SMB, Zelda, and Duck Hunt. Wish there was a proper hardware adapter for the light gun to work on a LCD TV with... Those $20 blue gun things don't really work in the original model...

Edited November 14, 2023 by CommodoreDecker

[Tanooki]

It has been an odd time when my free moments open up and as such I forgot to even post something in here for a month.   That TV issue was sorted, but I left the speaker there as it's just nice.

Games though, been on a tear lately, a little bit in from online for FC stuff, but I've had a number of hits (10~) in town too on the NES side by the week.  It doesn't sadly allow for a lot of time to dig into the stuff, but on the other end, it gives a lot of fresh takes to work into as it rapidly cools off and those local deals will be put on ice as well because of it.

 

I've had a rare-ish Kaiser 20in1 FC cart with a golden honeybee adapter in the other day, the cart is just ballsy, front and back acts like it's Nintendo made with all their info molded into the plastic.   I had another gaming alexandria purchase of Fantasy Zone, Super Dodgeball,  Yie Ar Kung Fu, and the badass as it meant to be Mad City(Bayou Billy) come in and they're quite fun.  I also came across the unique/superior copy of Rainbow Islands for FC as well which is well done, quite fun for a quick burst of arcade fun too.

 

Locally it has been a solid bit of a good drip feed of goodies.  The last weekend netted Godzilla, Pacmen(tengen-licensed), tetris, bump n jump and excitebike and Godzilla is new for me and it's got some pretty high presentation value to it.  THe week before at the same space got GI Joe Altantis Factor, Maniac Mansion, and Rally Bike for a total steal ($15.)  They're damned hard, varied which is great, lots to do and it won't be a fast play to finish which I can appreciate.  GIJoe maybe too hard reading online, may have to find a weird way to start that out which works.  Before that was one I hadn't seen on a shelf in probably 15 years or owned for even longer, Battle of Olympus and snaked a copy of Hogan's Alley with the FC convertor inside for a couple bucks which was dumb luck so I've had gun games to play with too.  The other is a bit confusing, a guide likely would help but the mechanics are nice.

 

So all that kind of rolled in, I wish I could be more in depth but it's picking away at things.

 

THere is one last gem in the mail I should see maybe today but it's Moero Twinbee FC cart version, love to give that a spin since I own Stinger for the improvements/differences in the two.  It's quirky but I really do like that game and I get why it gets dumped on with the odd side scrolling stages but it has personality.

[Dire 51]

I played a little Makaimura and 1942 earlier today.

[Tanooki]

Not bad, people are a bit too harsh on those and they're fun.

 

Moero Twinbee oddly showed up when I posted a bit after but had to work.  It's solid, quite good, tried to play it on normal and I'm wondering if easy was the US mode as I think the game is a bit harder or I'm really out of practice...both?  I like the thing not being chopped up, and it feels a little trickier to power up the ship and the enemies feel a bit more aggressive at least on the vertical stages.  Maybe I should try another time on easy to see if Stinger was whipped a bit.

 

One thing that did catch me by surprise, Nekkettsu Dodgeball Bu (Super Dodgeball) as I got this one recently in that bundle, but like hadn't really applied myself to it other than a few rounds until earlier ago.  I almost got my ass handed to me, and on normal, not hard...which I can destroy.  They clearly softened the game up for the US market as it's just a bit more aggressive in tossing and catching, and I think they made the window of catch as well as window of throwing power shots a lot more finicky (nastier) to hit.  I have to admit, it's more rewarding being more bitchy as it's refreshing.  I did manage to squeak out a win in a couple close ones, and in the end I did get to see the well out of order country list too.  It was a nice touch just getting barely into the clone battle losing no one in the final round against the US.  It was cool seeing the color shifted negative zone style US roof top with statue of liberty and all.

[The Mr. Video]

Continuing the yearly tradition of playing Nintendo Ice Hockey every December. The game often gets overshadowed by Blades of Steel, but I think it holds up pretty well as a simpler, more arcade-like take on the sport.

[Wayler]

On 12/10/2023 at 10:41 PM, The Mr. Video said:

Continuing the yearly tradition of playing Nintendo Ice Hockey every December. The game often gets overshadowed by Blades of Steel, but I think it holds up pretty well as a simpler, more arcade-like take on the sport.

That's a great tradition. Even though a good game in my childhood and lot of hours and close duals experienced, I only later understood that Blades of Steel was the lesser of two other great hockey games for the NES. 

 

Blades of Steel has many flaws.

-The games take too long

-The hockey players are copies of one another, no difference in skills or even appearance

-The moving shot pointer at the goal line is such an unfun design choice in the long run. 

-The best part of the game, the shootout, can be only unlocked with a tie game. 

 

Nintendo's Ice Hockey is much more fun. The ability to steer your shots is how it should be. And there's more tactics to be had with the different player sizes and skills. 

 

But the crown of NES hockey goes to Ike Ike! Nekketsu Hockey Bu: Subette Koronde Dairantō. It's a part of the Kunio-Kun high school series and there were some titles that we got modified versions in the West (like Nintendo World Cup). And this is basically the same, beat people up with reckless abandon while scoring a few goals from time to time, now with skates and sticks. And it's just so damn fun. 

 

Why they didn't release this in the West is just so baffling. Luckily it's been long since fan-translated though. It's just such a shame I did not get to experience this as a kid. 

[Tanooki]

I've got an original Famicom cart of that one, started out with a bootleg for a time though, same with Kunio's FC version of Super Dodgeball which also is a legit FC cart now.  I can also confirm either it's bugs or tweaking, but the FC version is a lot harder with pretty finicky control when it comes to throwing and catching power shots.  If it's not finicky, then the window of time where it is just an error and you get a normal toss is a very tight margin.

[Trinity]

On 11/14/2023 at 1:20 PM, CommodoreDecker said:

Installation of Blinking Light Win replacement card-edge component, and then doing a marathon of Tengen games. Few third parties did the NES better than Tengen. and, of course, there's always SMB, Zelda, and Duck Hunt. Wish there was a proper hardware adapter for the light gun to work on a LCD TV with... Those $20 blue gun things don't really work in the original model...

Where did you get a Blinking Light Win from? 

 

 I don't think they are ever coming back.

[Bloodreign]

Couple more Famicom games on the way off Ebay for that part of the collection, Parodius Da! and Gradius II (aka the final versions of both series for consoles that I own, and wanted).

[Tanooki]

Gradius II be prepared it's nasty, very hard right from the get go.  That first stage I think is nastier than the couple after it even.  Parodius is more chill, but even if it weren't, the goofy designs and nice stage layouts make it such an excellent game to have.  Konami really went largely all out on that system, especially on the hack n slash stuff of turtles to Goemon, and then those shooters.  You should look into Mad City, the non-broken bayou billy as it's a lot of fun when they didn't break the damage you dish or beating you take magnified as they did to punish the US market for rentals existing.

 

During the week I had an older smaller multicart pop up in the mail, the 24in1, and it's a lot of fun.  https://bootleggames.fandom.com/wiki/Super_24-in-1

I grabbed it specifically due to the roster of self made ports of popular fighting games from the 90s on there as they're largely well done.  FF Special is the best done of the lot, though the half roster of Samurai Spirits is a real treat too.

 

I've got a long delayed package of FC games I'm hoping shows up during the week here, got it for a steal given one of the games in the lot.

[Bloodreign]

4 hours ago, Tanooki said:

Gradius II be prepared it's nasty, very hard right from the get go.  That first stage I think is nastier than the couple after it even.  Parodius is more chill, but even if it weren't, the goofy designs and nice stage layouts make it such an excellent game to have.  Konami really went largely all out on that system, especially on the hack n slash stuff of turtles to Goemon, and then those shooters.  You should look into Mad City, the non-broken bayou billy as it's a lot of fun when they didn't break the damage you dish or beating you take magnified as they did to punish the US market for rentals existing.

 

During the week I had an older smaller multicart pop up in the mail, the 24in1, and it's a lot of fun.  https://bootleggames.fandom.com/wiki/Super_24-in-1

I grabbed it specifically due to the roster of self made ports of popular fighting games from the 90s on there as they're largely well done.  FF Special is the best done of the lot, though the half roster of Samurai Spirits is a real treat too.

 

I've got a long delayed package of FC games I'm hoping shows up during the week here, got it for a steal given one of the games in the lot.

I used to beat Bayou Billy like a drum, it was the only game I had at the beginning of my NES owning days back in 1988 (my first actual game was John Elway's QB, but I returned that sucker 3 days later due to how awful it was, and got Bayou Billy as a replacement), so I got a ton of practice on it. I then gave it to a friend for Mario 2, and when I started collecting, I picked it up again (John Elway also found it's way back, a friend gave it to me). I tried Mad City a few years back in emulation, and wouldn't you know it, I beat it on my first try. As for Gradius II, while it is tough enough, it actually is considered the easiest version of the game, I have it on Saturn, PS1, PSP, and PC Engine CD, and those are all ball bustingly tough as nails.

[Tanooki]

6 hours ago, Bloodreign said:

I used to beat Bayou Billy like a drum, it was the only game I had at the beginning of my NES owning days back in 1988 (my first actual game was John Elway's QB, but I returned that sucker 3 days later due to how awful it was, and got Bayou Billy as a replacement), so I got a ton of practice on it. I then gave it to a friend for Mario 2, and when I started collecting, I picked it up again (John Elway also found it's way back, a friend gave it to me). I tried Mad City a few years back in emulation, and wouldn't you know it, I beat it on my first try. As for Gradius II, while it is tough enough, it actually is considered the easiest version of the game, I have it on Saturn, PS1, PSP, and PC Engine CD, and those are all ball bustingly tough as nails.

Well I never liked Bayou Billy much, knew it was like a bad game in the day because most would just complain about beatings, only to find in recent years I learned that to punish the rental market you take 4x the damage and give 2x LESS per hit (or was it reverse?) either way it was hardcore both nerfed and diluted into some form of awfulness so when I had the chance I got Mad City, it's still a bit of a challenge but it's at least a fun one now.

 

Gradius II have I had a long time (over a decade, played earlier emulated in the later 90s) and personally I find it nastier than the PCE CD one, not sure why, but I do.

 

 

 

 

 

That said and not the double post I had a little luck yesterday, flea finds, at the one that's in bad shape the last few years.  It's rare I see such things, but got some game gear goodies.  I know the image isn't the best, but don't want to bother.  The three GG games were $38, all that paper was $7.  I was pretty pleased all things considered as I just don't come across GG stuff locally like ever, outside of the usual sports and $5 fluff that seems to rot anywhere no one will pay for and I like to only buy stuff in the area and largely keep off ebay for domestic games.  Man Shinobi is a pain in the ass difficulty wise.

 

Edited December 17, 2023 by Tanooki

[Trinity]

What almost was.