13 September 2014

Happy 29th anniversary, Super Mario Bros. (13.09.2014)

NOTE: When I published this post, it was 0:10, 13.09.2014 already, according to the timezone where I live! ;)

Happy 29th anniversary to the videogame that everybody has played who owned a NES, Famicom, or Famiclones, like me, which is... SUPER MARIO BROTHERS! :D

Japanese Famicom cartridge.
The boxart for North American NES cartridge.

Well, most of you have played it on NES, in a form of 2-in-1 multicart with Duck Hunt on it.
As for me, I didn't have a NES back then, I had a Famiclone, called GameStar, that looked like Sega Mega Drive 2, the Japanese version, but it played Famicom cartridges instead of Sega Genesis/Mega Drive ones!
You can check out the videos about it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70fvNixw2Yc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNVzhGyZ7MU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeI4ij5XaLU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yPkcBwbEZM&list=PLJHHe0dhFukrLgkOT76U7Em3MLlMhOPXa

Unfortunately, the console is in pretty bad condition now. The door hinges it used to have have been broken and lost a long time ago. The Sega CD protector is also lost (yes, this famiclone even had that thing, just like in official Mega Drive 2). But, I am glad that it's in working condition. It needs repairing... but still... no matter how bad this Famiclone is, compared to other Famiclones, I absolutely love it, and will never throw away to the garbage. :P
And, my first cartridge was 10-in-1 Blue Multicart. :D

My first Famiclone (and the first console ever in my life somewhere from 1990s). Nostalgia... ^_^
My first NES/Famicom cartridge ever!

It has Galaxian, Galaga, Battle City, Bomberman, Karateka, Yie Ar Kung Fu, F-1 Race, Duck Hunt, Wild Gunman, and of course Super Mario Bros.
Although, unlike on most pirate carts with this game, mine had the proper title screen. It wasn't hacked out, or hacked to the title screen to say "2". It said "Super Mario Bros", but had no "1985 Nintendo" copyright.

Aside from that, it played like a real Famicom/NES version.
It's my very first cartridge ever, and I really love it. :D
I even made a review about this multicart in 2012, but it was so terrible that I had to remove it from YouTube, and only the gameplay footage is left from that video.
You can check out that footage here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-twzc0jD1Nk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL6QrhRRil0

And, as you might have guessed, I didn't play this game at proper NTSC speed. I played it at PAL speed, and I still mostly play this game at PAL Famiclone speed. :)
I don't have any problems with that. It is a little bit slower, but who cares about the speed?! :P
Here it's how the main theme in this game sounds like, if the game is played at a bit slower speed:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/i6s8vrkf61zfp11/Super%20Mario%20Bros%20%5BNES%5D%20-%20Main%20OST%20%28PAL%20Famiclone%29.mp3?dl=0
Feel free to disagree with me, but I love the music in this game at PAL speed.

It used to be my real life friend's favourite game back in 1990s, when he played these NES games, and that cartridge with 10 games on it was the first one I've tried on that Mega Drive looking console. ;)
And from what I can recall, it's the first NES game I've ever beaten. And, for me, it remains one of most favourite classic games for NES. And if you can't beat the first level or die on the first goomba continuously, you must be a fucking retard or something!! It's not a difficult game! Practise, goddamnit!

Well, for me it was difficult when I played it the first time, but I remember that I didn't run to the first goomba when I played this game for the first time...
The best I could get in it without warps is something like World 4.
With warps, World 8 was pain in the ass. But after some patience and little practise and having fire flower and figuring out the correct ways in World 8-4, I managed to beat the game.
Those mazes were probably the most annoying things about the game itself, but other than that... Just collect fire flower, and don't get hit from enemies or fall down into the pit, and you will be good to go.
Very awesome classic game, that everyone must play! If you haven't played it or don't know what this game is, then why are you even following me on the internet??

Also... yes, I pointed out that this game was released on multicarts.
Well, this is probably the most common game to be found on pirated carts. Seriously, I have something like 10 or something pirate carts, including those "over-nine-thousand"-in-1 types of carts!

But, you know...
When I got gained an interest in collecting cartridges again in 2012 or something, I got this game on official Famicom cart :D
And, in fact, that was one of the first games I got on official Japanese Famicom carts. Also, besides the actual cart, I got the manual for it, the scans of which you can see on my blog. ;)
Later, I got this game on official NES multicart, which also had Duck Hunt. Even though I don't collect NES carts, and prefer official Japanese carts, or old bootleg Famicom carts from 80s-90s, I wanted to get that 2-in-1 cart just for collection. :D
Also, it's one of the most hacked games on NES. If you are bored of original game, and want something more out of it, you can check out some great hacks, like After World 8, Super Mario Bros. XXXXX, Extra Mario Bros., etc..
There exist some pirate hacks of it, like Pandamar, Mush Room, Pka Chu, but you'd better skip these ones. ;)

And, yes, I should also mention that not only this game was released on famicom multicarts, but also on single carts.
In Russia, this game was released on singlecarts from Steepler (the company who distributed Famiclones, Sega MD clones, real SNES, real GB, and other gaming stuff back in 1992-1996) as TV GAME CARTRIDGE CASSETTE LB35.
The Front Side.
The Back Side. Love that "Cassette Remarks" label :D
It had a label taken from Famicom cartridge, but it was edited: all the copyrights are taken out, as well as Mario on the cover.
Inside, there would be a hacked version, that calls the game "2".
What are the changes between this hacked version and original:
1) Different title screen
2) It says SCORE instead of MARIO (although they didn't do that for LUIGI, so when you play as LUIGI, it will still say LUIGI)
3) You can start on any world or level you want. From 1-1 to 8-4
4) Some of the music was messed up. Listen to Underwater theme and Rescuing Toad/Princess theme in this video:


On other pirate carts, other than LB35 version I have just written about, there exist versions, where the title screen is just taken out, but it says MARIO on the title screen, the music is fine and you can't select any world.

I should also point out, that this game inspired the anime in Japan about Mario and Luigi rescuing Princess Toadstool, which you can watch here (english subtitles version):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjHyJ6mGfh4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwPAf3w9yTg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-js5_fwAA-0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtLm9YDGxM0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCmEp9U7jlI
I'd say that, this anime is worth watching for all Super Mario Bros. fans, even if you are not a fan of Japanese animes. ;)

Also, there were different sequels to this game, as well as spin-offs. I don't think that, if we are talking about Famicom Piracy, it's worth mentioning that pirates decided to hack other NES/Famicom games to Mario. You should watch Dendy Chronicles #1-#3
So, you can learn more about Mario games in my country. :D

That's it pretty much... I don't know what else I can say, other than...
Happy 29th anniversary, Super Mario Bros! Thank you, Nintendo! Thank you, Shigeri Myamoto for such an awesome classic game!!
Have a nice day everyone!!!

11 September 2014

Pickups 12: Famicom Cartridges 12 (11.09.2014)

Here it is another post of the gaming stuff I got recently.
I got a few Famicom cartridges from trading.
The guy, who sent me these carts is Prokman, aka. Дмитрий Прокин, one of the friends of mine on the net. Thanks to him.



So, here there are these cartridges I got:
*YH-3115 3-in-1

  1. Adventure Island 2 (US)
  2. Adventure Island 3 (JP, hacked version to have 2 of each object at the beginning of the game)
  3. Adventure Island 4


*YH-4248 4-in-1

  1. Street Fighter 12P (the worst port of Street Fighter you'll ever find for Famicom)
  2. Monster in my Pocket
  3. Bubble Bobble 2 (JP, the intro sequence is skipped, goes straight to the title screen)
  4. Kick Master


*YH-475 4-in-1

  1. Street Figher 56P (Street Fighter 12P again)
  2. Super Contra (24-in-1 menu)
  3. Double Dragon 2 (JP)
  4. Ninja Ryukenden 2 (Ninja Gaiden 2 JP)


*KY9001 9-in-1

  1. Mortal Combat 4(5)
  2. Mortal Combat 5 (with music on the title screen)
  3. Spiderman (cutted down version, which removes some of the graphics)
  4. Dr Mario
  5. Pac-Man (glitchy scrolling)
  6. Tennis
  7. Donkey Kong 3 (says Gorilla 3 on the title screen)
  8. Tank A 1990 (sadly with no modes from A to N, like on my 35-in-1)
  9. Road Fighter


*KY9006 9-in-1

  1. Mortal Combat 18P (Turbo Mortal Kombat III, aka. Mortal Kombat II)
  2. Mighty Final Fight (JPN version)
  3. Digi Monster II (Urusei Yatsura hack)
  4. Mickey Mouse (JPN version)
  5. Adventure Island (JPN version)
  6. Zippy Race
  7. 1942
  8. Twin Bee (not sure if it has the glitchy background from level 4, maybe it does have)
  9. Field Combat


*KT91504 15-in-1

  1. King of Fighters 97
  2. Snow Bros. (JPN version)
  3. Karnov
  4. Wild Gunman
  5. Super Mario (EUR version)
  6. Dig Dug (I love how they used Doraemon for the cover for no apparent reason, plus he has ears here, but usually you see him w/out them)
  7. Mappy
  8. Track & Field


I am getting a few more Famicom carts soon, so look forward to the next post of my new pickups.
As for these cartridges, I will make videos about some of them on my YouTube channel when I can. ;)

2 September 2014

Videogame Collection 8: GB/GBC Cartridges (31.08.2014)

Here it is my last post for a while about my retro videogame's collection.

I have Gameboy carts of different regions, but to my knowledge, all Gameboy consoles, including Super Gameboy for SNES or Gameboy Player for GC, are region-free, so there is absolutely no problem, if I play the game of one region, and the console is of other region.

Those are all the Gameboy games I have now, that are loose, and came without the box or anything like that when I bought them.
Starting from the very top:
-Dracula Densetsu (aka. Castlevania Adventure) [JPN]
-Hoshi no Kirby 2 (aka. Kirby's Dream Land 2) [JPN]
-Lion King [EUR]
-Bomberman GB 2 (aka. Bomberman GB) [JPN]
-Donkey Kong [JPN]
-Dr.Mario [JPN]
-Game Boy Gallery 5 games in 1 [?]
-Rockman World (aka. Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge) [JPN]
-Super Mario Land [JPN]
-Tennis [EUR]
-Tetris [EUR]
-Wario Land 3 [JPN]
-Wave Race [EUR]
-Yoshi no Cookie (aka. Yoshi's Cookie) [JPN]
-Yoshi no Tamago (aka. Yoshi / Mario and Yoshi) [JPN]

And, here there are games I have CIB.
-Kirby's Dream Land [EUR]
-Pocket Bomberman [EUR]
-Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins [JPN]
-Wario Land 2 [JPN]

I also have GB SmardCard 64M flashcard, but I didn't take a photo of it here btw.
So, here you go. That's my collection of retro games for a while. There will be more pickups posts coming soon, once I get more games or consoles.
Thanks for reading!
(C) SomeRussianMarioDude Productions (2014)

Videogame Collection 7: NES Cartridges (31.08.2014)

So, here it is the post about my collection of NES cartridges...
And before you ask: "Why do I have very few NES carts?", I am more a fan of Japanese Famicom carts (or old pirated carts from 1980s-1990s for that matter), as because I said it million times before:
1) They are more compact and don't take too much space.
2) They were released in different colors, rather than just dull grey, like NES carts.
3) It's more practical to me to buy official Famicom carts, rather than NES carts, because of the fact, that many Eastern Europe countries, and a few Asian countries, except for Japan (maybe?), got cheap Famicom clones, which were really wide-spread back in 1980s-1990s, that you can even find some of these in thrift store easily.
4) Usually Japanese releases of games tend to be better, than North American NES releases. It's not like an often case, but most of the games indeed are better on Famicom, like Akumajou Densetsu, rather than Castlevania III - Dracula's Curse, for example... There are many other examples to this statement, but this is the game that immediately came to my mind. ;)

So, here there are all the NES carts I own now.
Yes, I don't own that many, but I got most of these as a trade, from good YouTube friend, KishiroKazecuh.
So, I don't own just NTSC NES carts, two of them are actually PAL copies, but I will list them down below, so you can get a general idea about these carts ;)

-Dr.Mario [NTSC]
-Jackal [NTSC]
-Kickle Cubicle [NTSC]
-Rad Racer [PAL]
-Road Blasters [NTSC]
-Super Mario Bros + Duck Hunt [NTSC]
-Super Mario Bros. 2 [NTSC]
-Super Mario Bros. 3 [PAL]
-Tetris [NTSC]

I don't own that many carts, but, at least, for now, I have the 72-to-60 pin adapter to be able to play those carts on my Famicom and Famiclones just fine. Although I was thinking of getting PAL NES, or NES clone, like Entertainment Computer System or Computer Video Game to play these without any need for using the adapter, and mine doesn't work well sometimes, and I have to take out and insert the cartridge all over again to be able to play these carts without any graphical glitches all over the screen.
Gameboy cartridges collection post will be my next one. ;)

Videogame Collection 6: SNES/SFC Cartridges (31.08.2014)

So, I have decided to finally post more photos of my retrogaming collection on this blog.
This time, it's the photos of SNES and SFC cartridges I own.
Well, I don't have that many cartridges now, only 21 cartridges, including Super Gameboy adapter to be able to play GB games on SNES. ;)
7 of those carts are North American SNES carts, 13 carts are Japanese Super Famicom carts, 1 is that SGB.
Here there are more photos of these cartridges, so you can see them more clearly.

And now I am going to list all the games I have.
North American SNES:
-Aladdin
-Daffy Duck: The Marvin Missions
-Lion King
-Mighty Murphin' Power Rangers
-Speedy Gonzales: Los Gatos Bandidos
-Tazmania
-Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Busts Loose

Japanese Super Famicom:
-Akumajou Dracula (aka. Super Castlevania IV)
-Contra Spirits (aka. Contra III - The Alien Wars / Super Probotector - The Alien Rebels)
-Hoshi no Kirby Super Deluxe (aka. Kirby Super Star)
-Rockman 7: Shukumei no Taiketsu! (aka. Mega Man 7)
-Super Genjin 2
-Super Donkey Kong (aka. Donkey Kong Country)
-Super Donkey Kong 2 (aka. Donkey Kong Country 2)
-Super Mario Collection (aka. Super Mario All Stars)
-Super Mario Kart
-Super Mario World
-Super Mario: Yoshi no Island (aka. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island)
-Super Tetris 2 + Bombliss
-Takahashi Meijin no Daibouken Jima (aka. Super Adventure Island)

-Super Gameboy (JPN)

There are obviously more games I want to get on this console, but that's another story. ;)