31 May 2015

Pickups 34: Famicom Cartridges 34 (23.05.2015 - 31.05.2015)

Hi everyone!
It's time for another post of my new pickups.

But before that, I would like to say "Thank you so much for helping me reach 30000+ views on this blog overall. I hope you enjoy reading posts about my pickups, as well as some reviews that I don't post as much here, as I would like to. I will be doing my best to keep this blog up to date!"

And now, here there are the carts I got quite recently.

52-in-1 Supervision
 I decided to start off with this cart quickly. It's one of the multicarts I've been really looking forward to getting, and finally I got it.
It's 52-in-1 by Supervision - the cartridge that was mentioned in the blog of one of my idles, PirateGamingHeavy, aka. thecheetahmen92, as well as on Bootleg Games Wikia.
This cart uses the same menu system as Action 52 for NES, but has official Famicom games, rather than original ones by Active Enterprises.
It's kind of similar to 64-in-1 by Supervision, but a few games are different here, than on that cart. Other than that, it's just a different variation of multicarts by that company.
Now, I am also looking forward to getting Supervision 110-in-1 and Supervision 115-in-1. I hope I can get those two multicarts as well in the near future.
The most notable thing about those carts, is that they include about 95% real games, no repeats, and all of those are early Famicom games. I say "Famicom" games, because they include Japanese versions of the games on them, rather than US/European ones. For example, Ice Climber would have seals, instead of fuzzy snow monsters, and City Connection would have an anime woman we'd play as, rather than some blonde guy, etc.
The exact list of included games here:

  1. Takahashi Meijin no Bouken Jima
  2. Gradius
  3. Hokuto no Ken (title screen is removed)
  4. Star Soldier
  5. Goonies
  6. Kage no Densetsu
  7. Tetris [Tengen]
  8. Super Mario Bros. (SMB2J graphics, world select)
  9. Twin Bee (corrupted, gltichy graphics on level 4)
  10. Ninja Jajamaru Kun
  11. City Connection
  12. B-Wings
  13. 1942
  14. Gyrodine
  15. Flappy (level select)
  16. Spartan X
  17. Bomberman (level select)
  18. Front Line (title screen is removed)
  19. Choujikuu Yousai Macross
  20. Galaxian (faster shots hack)
  21. Star Force (5 lives)
  22. Yie Ar Kung Fu
  23. Ninja Kun - Majou no Bouken
  24. Mario Bros (says "Mr Mary" on the title screen)
  25. Mahjong
  26. 4 Nin uchi Mahjong
  27. Lode Runner
  28. Championship Lode Runner
  29. Donkey Kong
  30. Donkey Kong Jr.
  31. Donkey Kong 3 (says "Gorilla 3" on the title screen)
  32. Mappy
  33. Excite Bike (title screen is replaced with the plain text)
  34. F-1 Race
  35. Road Fighter
  36. Pinball
  37. Baseball
  38. Popeye
  39. Galaga
  40. Galaxian
  41. Pac-Man
  42. Ice Climber (title screen is removed)
  43. Exerion (infinite single shots)
  44. Kinnikuman Muscle Tag Match
  45. Battle City
  46. Sky Destroyer
  47. Gomoku Narabe
  48. Balloon Fight
  49. Formation Z
  50. Pooyan
  51. Circus Charlie (says "Circus Troupe" on the title screen)
  52. Super Mario Bros. (same as #8, but with glitchy scrolling)


Double Dragon II [LH112]
It's just the Japanese version of Double Dragon II.
The cartridge itself looks pretty interesting. The case was taken from some Namco carts that had the label rounded at the top.
I saw these types of pirate carts being quite wide-spread in Argentina. Almost everyone has at least one cartridge with such weird cartridge case.
So, I decided to pick this one up, from FamicomWorld.
Also, it's a Whirlwind Manu pirate cart, and apparently, the last one in the series, because there was no other carts going after that. At least, according to CaH4e3's cartridge database.

This version is also special, because it has a "Select Area" cheat on the title screen. Just press A B B A A to get to the next level. To get to level 3, you press A B B A A A B B A A, and so on.
Pretty neat. Thanks to fcgamer for sending me it, along with one other cartridge I will mention here.

Godzilla 2
Well, I got it by accident, along with 52-in-1 and a few other carts mentioned below.
Not really familiar with this game, so I can't really comment anything about it...

Jurassic Park
A game, based of the movie.
Pretty decent game, I played it a bit. Just go around, shoot dinosaurs, turn off/on computers, collect stuff.
And this cartridge you see if one of the variations of Jurassic Park. There were other cartridges, with other labels of this game. I showed you one other variation of this label last year.
Maybe, some time later, I will share photos of other labels on my blog, who knows. ;)
The "Ocean" logo was replaced with weird dinosaur's sprites, and copyrights were removed, like usual.

Kyatto Ninden Teyandee
A game, based of the anime, that's also known as "Samurai Pizza Cats".
The label is taken from original cart for Famicom, but was edited, to remove all the copyrights stuff.
But you can see that they kinda failed there, because Yattaro (that white cat from the top left) is slightly cut down.
Tecmo logo is replaced with "Ninja Cat", as well as original ID with Chinese name, and copyright with "Ninja Cat" again.
"Family Computer" logo, as well as "Kyatto Ninden" were removed from the label.
Inside, there is a version with a changed color palette. God knows why they did it.
The logo was supposed to be in different color, like yellow and red, but here it's pink and white. I don't understand why it's that.
Other than that, it's identical to original game.

Rockman [LF57]
 Finally got this game!
It's Rockman, also known as Mega Man in USA and Europe. One of my favourite games for Famicom, and I finally have a pirate singlecart of it.
Got a really nice deal with fcgamer from FamicomWorld (thank you so much for this cart and Double Dragon II)

Side Pocket [LG06]
Just a regular North American version of Side Pocket. I wonder if the Japanese version ever existed on bootleg carts or not. The label is taken from Famicom cart, but "LG06" ID and "TV GAME CARTRIDGE" texts were added here.
And yeah, it has a Dendy sticker on the back, meaning that this is a Steepler cartridge that was sold in their shops back then.
If you are any hardcore Steepler Dendy cartridge collector, and want this cartridge from me, then sorry, I won't sell or trade it. :P
Even though I like "Cassette Remarks/Remarks" carts more, I kinda want to get a few Steepler cartridges in my collection. :P

And inside, there is exactly the same version I had as a kid. With "1990 New Pocket Game" string. I had a TV Game Cartridge shaped cart, but sold it some time ago to my friend.

Tom & Jerry: The Ultimate Game of Cat & Mouse
It's just Tom & Jerry from Hi-Tech Expressions for NES. Really great game, starring Jerry, where you have to rescue Tuffy from Tom.
The last stage before final boss is kinda awful, due to high difficulty, and many traps, but other than that, it's a really nice platformer that you definitely should play!

The cartridge was in shitty condition when I got it originally. The front label was all in weird stickers, which I successfully ripped out, and then cleaned it with some nooby tools. Looks better now.
It has a Dendy sticker on the back, but a bit different than the one we saw earlier.
And yeah, I am not selling or trading this cart to anyone. :P

Top Gun Dual Fighters
The Japanese version of Top Gun Second Mission. Nothing really much to say. :P
The label is taken from Famicom boxart.

Well, that's about it!
Thanks again for 30000+ views overall.
I am planning to review some Supervision carts in the future, as well as some interesting pirate cart series, so stay tuned for those in the future!

Tested and approved by professionals
(C) SomeRussianMarioDude Productions (2012-2015)

23 May 2015

Pickups 33: Famicom Cartridges 33 (26.04.2015 - 23.05.2015)

Hello everyone!
It's time for more pickups from me.

These are the cartridges that were sent to me by kevinhwsohn. Thanks to him a lot! :D
I got 7 cartridges from him: 5 singlecarts and 2 multicarts.

So, let's describe those briefly!
City Fighter IV
Basically, it's one of variations of Street Fighter II by Yoko Soft. This one has voice samples, which is kinda unique in my opinion.
I tested this cartridge on a few of my Famiclones, and my official Famicom consoles, and the results were quite different from each other.

 Here is that video. This was also the test of cam recording + Dazzle DVC100 test, not just the capture from Dazzle DVC100 itself. :P
Yes, I decided to do such kinda pointless, but pretty cool at the same time thing.


Moai Kun
This is just Moai Kun for Famicom, the pirate cart. The label was taken from original cart, but edited. You can see the part of "Family Computer" in Japanese on the label that pirates didn't fully removed.
On the back side, there is a sticker, that's written kinda in the same style as Atlantis no Nazo label.
The text is all in Japanese, which is kinda odd, since this is a pirate cart from China.
The copyrights are changed to "(C) 1990 CTC". Not really sure what it is all about, but other than that, the game itself is completely unchanged, besides the copyright string.

Street Fighter IV
A game, made by Hummer Team, and published by Gouder Co. in 1993.
Just a regular fighting game on Famicom, which is far better than Cony Soft fighting games imo.
From what I've played at least. I haven't played it much to tell you my honest opinion about this game by 100%.
More information about this game: http://bootleggames.wikia.com/wiki/Street_Fighter_IV

Super Mario Bros. 3 (S.M.B.3)
Finally got this pirate copy of Super Mario Bros. 3 for Famicom. :)
I've wanted to get this copy since a long time, and finally got it.

I prefer calling it "S.M.B.3", because it says that right on the front label.
The label is basically the same as was on Steepler copies, but this is not a Steepler cart. It's just an old pirate cart back from 80s-90s.
On the label, Mario and Luigi were removed, apparently to avoid copyright infringements from Nintendo.
Basically, it's the same exact copy as "LH75 TV GAME CARTRIDGE" copy I showed before in this blog. It has "3" on the title screen, as well as the copyright string being changed to "(C) 1988 NCN-21"
It has an item select as well, like my other pirate carts of this game.

Other than that, it's just a Japanese version of Super Mario Bros. 3, like usual, the game that everybody knows and everybody loves. :P

Takahashi Meijin no Bouken Jima [LD12]
This is just a pirate cart of Adventure Island for Famicom, Japanese version. :)
Sadly, the cartridge case is a bit damaged. As you can see from the very bottom, there are glue tapes. Other than that, the game works fine.
Just like on Solomon's Key pirate cart, there is also a "Japanese Remarks" label on the back on the cart. The text is exactly the same as on official Famicom carts, except for the font, being different.
Really difficult game. I've only been able to get to world 7-4, as I said a lot of times before, and was never able to get further. :(

Super 3-in-1 Gold Cassette Series
This is a 3-in-1 cartridge that includes three games: Isolated Warrior, Hudson's Adventure Island II, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Arcade Game.
You change games by pressing Reset button on the console. All games have copyrights completely unchanged. 
The cartridge is from Supervision, the same company who made multicarts, like 52-in-1, 64-in-1, 110-in-1, 115-in-1, that have regular first gen games on multicarts (the games that were released in the first years of Famicom lifespan).
On the back, it has caution stuff, written in Chinese, and English.
Funnily enough, the text, written in English, is the same as was written on the back of NES cartridges.

Bugtris 72-in-1
 This is a pretty interesting and kind of unusual.
First of all, it has the label, taken from Takahashi Meijin no Bouken Jima III, but it was slightly edited. The Hudson Soft logo on the cap of Takahashi Meijin is replaced with some logo.
Secondly, it has the following text, written on the back (thanks to kevinhwsohn for translation):
-Before you pull out the cartridge you must turn off the console
-Do not open the cartridge.
-Do not touch the pin part.
-Do not use the cleaning materials for the pin
-After 1 or 2 hours of gameplay you must take a rest for 10~20 minutes
-Due to the copy rights, copying the game is illegal

At the bottom it says about the location and company phone number where it was made (Techline).

This cartridge basically has a few first gen games on it, but also one rare version of Tetris, that I've never seen before on any cartridge.
It's called "Bugtris", and it's kinda like Tetris, but also you have to kill bugs, that look similar to the ones from Galaga. Once you get some Tetris lines and kill bugs, you move on to the next level.
Pretty interesting game. I guess I will make a video about it on my main channel, even though I reviewed this cart in Russian with one of my comrades.

Video (Warning: It's in Russian!):

Here there are the screenshots of the menu and that Tetris game:
Here's the game's list for you:
1. Spartan X
2. Bugtris (Techline)
3. Super Mario Bros. (graphics&level select hack, graphics from SMB2j, title screen is removed)
4. B-Wings
5. Antarctic Adventure
6. Mario Bros. (title hack, says "Pipeline")
7. TwinBee (glitchy graphics in level 4) (?)
8. Balloon Fight
9. Battle City
10. Pac-Man
11. Binary Land (5 lives)
12. Bomberman (glitchy version, the exploding range doesn't increase, when collecting power-up)
13. Circus Charlie (title hack, says "Circus Troupe")
14. Field Combat
15. Exerion (infinite single shots hack)
16. Front Line (title screen is removed)
17. Donkey Kong
18. Donkey Kong Jr.
19. Donkey Kong 3 (title hack, says "Gorilla 3")
20. Excite Bike (title screen is replaced with the plain text)
21. Lode Runner (JPN version)
22. Formation Z
23. Galaga
24. Ice Climber (JPN version, title screen is removed)
25. Yie Ar Kung Fu (copyright information is partly removed in-game)
26. Choujikuu Yousai: Macross (glitchy title screen, and boss area)
27. Kinnikuman Muscle Tag Match (glitchy title screen)
28. Pinball
29. Pooyan
30. Popeye
31. Ninja Kun: Majou no Bouken
32. Mappy
33. Star Force
34. Nuts & Milk (title screen is removed)
35. Road Fighter
36. Gomoku Narabe
37. Warpman
38. Sky Destroyer
39. 10-Yard Fight
40. Arkanoid (title screen is replaced with "OOOO")

Those are all the pickups from kevinhwsohn! Thanks again to him for sending me these carts. :D

Now, it's time for some other carts that I got since my last time of posting anything to my blog.
I got 9 more cartridges in my collection. :)
So, let's go over these cartridges really quickly. ;)

6-in-1 NS14
This one is pretty interesting.
This cartridge got 6 games on it, a few of which are really rare to come by on pirate carts.
You can see in the screenshots down below, what games are actually included here.

The list of the games is written in Chinese on the actual label, but there are 5 game labels that kinda help you to find out what games are included on here.

2000 22-in-1 Ball Series
 This seems to be another multicart in "Ball Games" series.
However, this multicart is much more different than 11-in-1 Ball Series that I covered earlier.
It includes the following games on it:

  1. Track & Field (separated into own levels)
  2. Dynamite Bowl
  3. Soccer
  4. Ice Hockey (judging by the sound pitch, it seems to be a European version)
  5. Volley Ball (it's supposed to be a game by Nintendo, but it doesn't seem to work here)
  6. Wild Gunman
  7. Duck Hunt
  8. Hogan's Alley
  9. Pinball
  10. Golf
  11. Tennis
  12. Baseball
  13. Excite Bike
  14. 10 Yard Fight
  15. Lunar Ball
So, it actually has 15 games. There is a Bubble Bobble guy going across the screen popping bubbles. Strangely enough, when I try to reset this multicart, the game either crashes, or the game itself only resets. So, to get back to the menu, I have to turn off and on the console. Odd.
Not sure what Kunio Kun is also doing on the cover. Because on 11-in-1 Ball Series, there was a guy from "Soccer" game cover on the label, which kinda was fitting, but here...
I guess that it's taken from "Kunio Kun no Nekketsu Soccer League", aka. Goal 3 in Famicom piracy territories. Not 100% sure about that though.


 Bananan Ouji no Daibouken [S-P6]
It's just a regular Japanese version of Banana Prince.
Also was released in Europe, but didn't get any release in North America.

Felix the Cat
A standard Felix the Cat game for NES.
Unlike the last time, here I got the full cartridge, with PCB, and cartridge case and everything.
It seems to be in almost perfect condition as well. No stretches, cracks or other things.
It's kinda like "new". :D
But the pirate cart is from 1990s, obviously.

Really awesome game, made by Shimada Kikaku, who also made Kero Kero Keroppi no Daibouken 2, that plays similar to Felix the Cat, but that other game was released in Japan only, and this one only in North America and Europe officially.

Kart Fighter [K-F1]
This is a pirate original, fighting game from Hummer Team, with Mario characters in it.
At first glance, looking at the name of the game, you wouldn't guess it immediately that this is a fighting game. The music from title screen, as well as the title screen itself are copied from Super Mario Kart for Super Nintendo.
To be honest, it's not a bad fighting game. It's the best you could have before Super Smash Bros came out. :P
The label on my cartridge is certainly not original label, but still kinda interesting.
It's partly taken from "Bare Knuckles" for Sega Mega Drive, aka "Streets of Rage" for Sega Genesis.

Lifeforce [LF53]
I have kinda a mixed-bag feeling about this cartridge.
At first, on one website, where it was for sale, it persumably was including "Salamander" for Famicom, a pirate version by Kaiser, which was kinda exciting.
But, unfortunately, it wasn't.
It's just a regular Lifeforce.

Oh well... at least, it's not a completely different game, that has nothing to do with the label of the cartridge at all. :P
And, yet another Whirlwind Manu pirate cart in the collection.

 Ninja Ryukenden III
This is basically Ninja Gaiden 3, the Japanese version, which is far easier than North American counterpart.
It has password system to continue on later stages, and to my knowledge, the continues are endless, so it shouldn't be nearly impossible to beat this game.

Also, this version has all the copyright information needed.
My other copy that I have, with the same label as here, has the copyrights removed, has UP+Start cheat, and the password system is disfunctional.
Thankfully, this version on this cart works perfectly fine. No such problems. :)

 Sheng Hen Pao (Bit Corp)
It's actually one of the first unlicensed games ever released for Famicom. It's Sheng Hen Pao, also known as Poker. Made and published by Bit Corp in 1988.
To be honest, I don't know how best to comment about the gameplay of this game. It's just Poker, so moving on.

Supervision 64-in-1
 I actually had this cartridge before, but my other cartridge was in not so good condition. The label was kinda torn out from the corners.
This one however is in really good condition. I only need to glue that bottom right part on the back sticker to the cartridge case.
Other than that, it's just exactly the same Supervision 64-in-1 cart as many of you know.

I wanted to make a review on my blog of this cart someday.
Not sure if I will be able to do so in the future for sure, but look forward to updates here! :)

Tested and approved by professionals! (C)
 (C) SomeRussianMarioDude Productions (2012-2015)