MAILBAG V.7

In a change to a bit more "controlled" and informative mail bag (let's face it; the stupid/spam mail lost its lure a long, long, long time ago) marks the seventh edition of mail bag.

Mr. Postman, have you got a letter for me?

From: "Doc"
Subject: Re: Super Joystick Help!!
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2004 01:41:36 -0500
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Simple headers

Hello Mike, I recently bought one of those Super Joystick Tv Games for
my son in Orlando, and of course we do not live in orlando we were there
on vacation and when we got the game home it had a problem. The 9v
powersupply that came with it puts out 15 v and it fried the q1
transistor. In your picture of the game we can almost see the letters
and numbers of the transistor, and me being and electronics engineer
that I am could replace the fried components if I just had the numbers
off of the transistor labeled q1. If you still have one of those games
and If you have time or if you have some contact info of the people that
make it I would greatly appricate it. Thanks Chris....

ps we are talking about you pictures at
http://www.nesplayer.com/pirates/superjoyiii.htm

Hi Chris,

Ouch! If I had a dime for every email I received from somebody telling
me they used the wrong voltage to power their pirate system... well, I'd
have enough to afford a replacement system for you. It's great to hear
you have the know-how to be able to fix it!

The Super Joy III article was submitted to me by a site visitor, of whom
I did not save his contact info, and unfortunately I do not own one of
these myself to help you.

However, I have tracked down a distributor of the things in a
oddly-named site called http://www.superjoy3.com (go figure!). You are
quite lucky I was able to find down this site on account of them linking
to Nintendo Player on the front page so that my site stats were able to
pick them up! I suggest you contact them
(mailto:webmaster@superjoy3.com) about this problem and let your son get
back to his playing!

Mike

From: Jeremy Arnold
Subject: Re: Site music
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2004 01:32:33 -0500
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Simple headers

Mike,

Could you please tell me what song is played on the start page of
nesplayer.com? I know it's from some classic game, but I can't remember
for the life of me. It rocks! The Flash work is great, by the way.

Thanks,

Jeremy

Hi Jeremy,

I think what you meant to ask was what song is playing on the Flash
Movies section... or else I think I might becoming deaf. I actually get
this question pretty regularly and seem to disappoint when I give an
answer: it's not from any NES game. The tune is from a bad-ass Nintendo
soundtrack based on the 16-bit Super Mario World track entitled "Mario!
Stay alert!". Why did I pick a SNES music track for NES movies? I'm not
really sure. All I know is it works and in my opinion fits great!

Mike

From: Fredrik Åberg
Subject: Re: Bio Hazard (resident evil) for nes?
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2004 01:20:25 -0500
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Simple headers

I read the feature called "Did you know...Top 25 things you may not
have known about the NES", and there was talk about a NES Resident Evil
game. Is there some screenshots or, even better, a rom available for
this game? Would be very interesting to see.

Fredde

Hi Fredde,

I get this question quite often. Yes technically there has been a
Resident Evil release for the NES, the thing is it is not an officially
licensed Capcom game nor is it endorsed by Nintendo. It is actually a
Chinese original pirate, which means it was developed and distributed
illegally and also quite recently.

The screen shot found on that feature
(http://www.nesplayer.com/features/didyouknow/Frame%2013%2014.gif) is
taken from the title screen.

There is a ROM of the game being circulated on at least one of the
NES/Famicom ROM dump sites--unfortunately I do not remember which one it
is. I can't seem to find my copy of it, either.

I can say that I have "played" it in the past, and so am able to point
out that the ROM is extremely buggy and was hardly playable. I also
believe it wasn't translated, so it's filled with Chinese text. I really
don't think you're missing out on anything.

Instead if you haven't already, check out a translated ROM
(http://donut.parodius.com) of Capcom's great Famicom survival horror
title Sweet Home. It's considered the best 8-bit horror game ever made
and the precursor to the later RE series.

Mike

From: Tonysonic3
Subject: Re: I like to collect mario stuff
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2004 01:07:12 -0500
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Simple headers

can you tell me where this mario bros stuff.

Hi there,

You mean where can you find the old Mario Brothers merchandise? Mostly
eBay.com, flea markets, and some antique stores even carry the various
80's to 90's Mario items. Check out your yellow pages for those kinds of
stores or save yourself the hassle and stick to online auction sites.
Most of the products featured in the Merchandise section have all been
up on eBay one time or another.

Mike

From: "[removed]"
Subject: KAGE - NES cart (???)
Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2004 17:20:20 +0900

Hello,

I have attached two pictures (front and back) of a cart I recently bought off Ebay. I can also get circuit board pics if needed. I was curious if maybe you recognized it this game's label just simply says "KAGE". Obviously it's not a typical cart since the label is horizontal and centered on the front. The "normal" label indent area is missing, and the area where this label actually is positioned is indented (like is was manufactured for the label to be there). This leads me to believe it isn't just a simple label swap, and that maybe it was factory (?) produced this way... Any info you could get me, if possible, is appreciated...

thank you

--ENIX

Hi Enix,

It looks like what you have there is a pirate cartridge, an illegal and unauthorized duplication of 'The Legend of Kage' video game that could have been exported from China, Hong Kong, Taiwain, Russia, or maybe even Brazil--the usual hot markets where these things originate.

The cartridge was in fact manufactered that way, not simply a label swapping, and if you pry open the casing, you will find a different (usually cheaply made) circuit board without Nintendo's name on it. Each pirate company has its own way of dressing up software. However, the game itself is probably the same as the official Nintendo version.

Piracy is very common in the countries mentioned above and is always a much cheaper alternative to go with as these things are produced by the thousands. Its worth in the US (or elsewhere) relies solely on the novelty of the item. In essence, most duplicated pirated carts are worth very little. It is original game production pirate carts (such as "Kart Fighter"-a Street Fighter-type fighting game starring Nintendo characters) where you begin to see the worth go higher.

To learn more information about pirates and to see examples of them, check out the Pirated NES/FC section:
http://www.nesplayer.com/pirates/index.htm

Mike

Subject: can you please answer a quick NES question......
From: Skadrew84
Date: Wed, July 14, 2004 3:10 pm
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version

can you please give me a list of all known Hockey NES games please.

thank you,

~drew

Drew,

Off the top of my head, here's what I can come up with:
-Ice Hockey
-Blades of Steel
-Pro Sport Hockey
-Wayne Gretzky Hockey
-Flintstones 2: Surprise at Dino Peak (Contains a fun hockey mini-game)
-Hit the Ice (Unreleased: http://www.lostlevels.org/200405/200405-hti.shtml)
-Technos Ice Challenge (Japanese Famicom title)

You might find this feature interesting, as well:
http://www.nesplayer.com/features/winter/games.htm

Hope this helps.

Keep playing,
Mike

Subject: rare gold nes system
From: SnchzM276
Date: 8/11/2004 00:44:53 EDT
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version

hey mike i was wandering if u would like to buy a rare gold nes system with
legend of zelda 1 and zelda 2 -100$$$$ been tested and workes
great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i won it at a game contest in california.
RARE GOLD NES NINTENDO 8-BIT SYSTEM
>>COMPLETE SYSTEM<<
>>RARE ONE OF A KIND<<
WITH 2 GAMES
photo:
2 ORIGINAL gold NES CONTROLLERS
RF SWITCH
A/V CABLES
AC ADAPTORS

here is a photo of gold nes system:if the photo was not send,email me.

Hey that's pretty cool. The thing is it just looks it's like one of those painted systems that eBay carries every now and then for around $30 or $40 dollars.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4315&item=8124000971&rd=1
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4315&item=8122753668&rd=1
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4315&item=8121225468&rd=1

I admit, though, that would be a pretty cool modding project. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!

Mike

From: "Jamie Alston"
Subject: Re: Import NES games
Date: Sat, 4 Sep 2004 01:43:41 -0500
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

Hey Mike. I have a top loading NES and I was wondering if I could play Japnese NES games on it since there is no lock out chip. Thanks for the help dude.

-Jamie

Hi Jamie,

Unfortunately you cannot play Japanese NES games (Famicom) on a North
American Top Loader. Well, to be exact, the Top Loader-style NES was
also released in Japan, so with that you could; but NTSC Top Loaders it
is not possible because of the differences in cartridges. In order to
play Japanese games on an American system, you will need to purchase a
game converter or find one inside of older NES cartridges (see:
http://www.neszone.net/articles/famiguide.shtml).

What you can do with North American Top Loaders that you cannot do with
the regular style systems, however, is play PAL (European) titles. For
more information on PAL-exclusive games, check out this page:
http://www.nesplayer.com/features/PAL/games.htm.

Keep gaming,
Mike

From: pete
Subject: Polystation III question
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Hi

Can you tell me if the Polystation III console outputs an NTSC signal? I was
reading your review and it sounds like a great famicom clone.

Thanks
Pete

Hi Pete,

Yes, the Polystation III is compatible with NTSC television sets. I am
unable to tell if it will work on PAL or other signals.

It really is a neat little item!

Keep gaming,
Mike

From: "Vital Remains"
Subject: hi, i need help with a NES question!
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 16:34:25 -0500
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;

I need some info or help on tryin to get my grubby mitts on a copy of Tecmo Bowl's 1990 Japan version. The reason being is that it has different rosters and a few other things. do you know of anywhere i could locate a pirated nes cartridge that would play on on NES, or would i have to geta pirated NES console, and then get the game?

we are desperately trying to track this game down, and we can play the rom of it online, but thats not good enuf. i repeat, not good enuf for me!

any help would be mega appreciated, as it would rock if we could use a different version of tecmo bowl every other season in our local league.

thanks
Brad Bell, Fort Dodge IA
Top Rated U.S.A. "Original" Tecmo Bowl player

Hi Brad,

Ebay! Ebay! Ebay! Although prices can be steep, it's still the best
place to go to for elusive games. I did a quick search just now and
found a buy-it-now of $7 from a seller in Japan:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=62053&item=8125055384

You have a few options on how to go about playing this Japanese Famicom
title, none of which include pirate systems. I'll list the most obvious
of ways in decreasing price range: (A) You could purchase a Famicom
system off of eBay (pricey). (B) You could purchase a game converter off
of eBay in order to plug and play the Japanese Tecmo Bowl game into your
American NES (will cost you roughly $15-25). Or (C) you could try
hunting down some older NES cartridges from game stores/collections
where you can find FREE converters inside the plastic case that will
allow you to do the same thing as (B). For more information about doing
it by plan (C), see the following two pages:
http://www.atarihq.com/tsr/odd/scans/adapter.html
http://www.neszone.net/articles/famiguide.shtml

For more info about game converters in general, see:
http://www.gamersgraveyard.com/repository/nes/peripherals/universaladaptors.html

Quick recap: Buy the official Japanese Famicom release off of eBay. Find
a converter either on eBay or inside of older NES carts in order to play
the Japanese cart in your NES.

Keep gaming,
Mike

Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2004 19:09:02 +0800
From: goroshi
Subject: About Choujin Sentai Jetman...
MIME-Version: 1.0

Hi there!

I've read "9 Quirky Famicom games that you should or should NOT play
After covering" and I saw Choujin Sentai Jetman. Actually, These five-people
teams originated from Japan. The first "Sentai" or Task Force show was Himitsu
Sentai Go Ranger, and that was in 1975. If you're interested, you could see a
list of all the Sentais here:
"http://powerrangers.100megsfree.com/sentaiepisodes.html";
Jetman is a Sentai showed in 1991. The real story is Saban failed to
Americanize Jetman. Instead, he was able to Americanize Kyoryuu Sentai
Zyuranger, which is what's known to many as the Power Rangers. Here's the story:
"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101063/trivia";
Sorry for bothering you. It's just my favorite sentai show and I'd like
everyone to know that Sentais came from Japan, from Toei corporation.

Thanks,
Aileen ^_^

PS: I love your site. I'm a NES freak too. I actually prefer it sometimes than
playstation and other new game consoles. :)

You learn something everyday! Go, go power rangers... or go, go jetmen... or... damn!

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