A Short History Behind Nintendo's Disk System

The Family Computer Disk System is an add-on accessory to the Family Computer system (the name for Japan's NES). The FDS is conveniently shaped so that it can be easily stored under the console. It has an external 60-pin adapter that gets connected to the top loading Famicom cartridge slot as communicator to the television set. Instead of playing regular Famicom cartridges, it uses small re-writable disks that are inserted and read in the disk drive.

The FDS was Nintendo's solution to offering consumers more bang for their buck in Japan. At about 1/10th the price of a new Famicom cartridge, Japanese gamers could head to their local toy store and instantly download new games to the plastic disks via a Disk Writer, a Nintendo-operated vending machine that offered a variety of FDS titles and extra blank disks (for a bit more money). These disks were re-writable so kids could by right play through all of the 100+ games Nintendo put out on one disk by making frequent visits back to Disk Writers.

The supporting FDS game library was excellent at the time. The Legend of Zelda's first home was on the FDS (only later were the FC/NES carts made). Its sequel, Zelda II, also joined the original on the disk format. Other games including Kid Icarus, Castlevania, Metroid, Japan's Super Mario Bros. 2, and Doki Doki Panic (the U.S. SMB 2) made the FDS a hit with gamers despite the expensive accessory's short lifespan.

 

FDS Hardware: Getting It To Play Nice-Nice With the NES

Since the Disk Drive was made with a Famicom top loading design in mind, it demands a Top Loader NES for the RAM adapter to be fitted into the cartridge slot properly (though one is not required - see below). One will also need a Famicom-to-NES game convertor to work with a non-AV Famicom Top Loader.

Don't worry if you only have the regular front loading NES, though. Follow the instructions closely in the "FDS in a Toaster NES" technical project to learn how to modify the FDS to work with your set up. Sure it is a messy operation, but it works.

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SEE PIC OF RAM ADAPTER INSIDE OF CONVERTER IN TOP LOADER

"FDS IN A TOASTER NES" - WHAT YOU'LL NEED: (1) 60-70 PIN CONVERTOR, (1) GAME GENIE

Next to finalize the setup, one needs to give the FDS some juice to power up. Odds are your FDS did not have an AC adapter. This can be explained because Nintendo never bundled the AC accessory with the unit in the first place. It has become quite rare and expensive to purchase separately. Most FDS owners will have to use 6 "C" batteries. These batteries can be inserted by taking off the plastic cover located at the top of the drive.

Note: According to a report by Sheik from This Old NES, the AC power that the drive uses is 100 volts with a 9VA and a DC of 9V and 400ma, and the polarity as + ----@---- -. I have not tried this out for myself and therefore advise you to be careful when testing any non-Nintendo AC plug, in case of frying the drive.

 

FDS Software: Technical Matters, Precautions, and Pirate Disks

[ Size Doesn't Matter, How You Use It Is What Counts ]

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FDS disks measure 2.8" instead of the computer standard of 3.5". This was done by Nintendo probably because of two reasons.

Piracy is the first. Although pirate games still became incresingly common in the later stages of the FDS's life (more on that later), it was a smart business move to decrease the format's size.

The second - and most evident - case in this logical decision again deals with Nintendo's business, specifically the licensing money it gets from software developers to put out a title on the FDS. Because the 2.8" was not the norm format, developers had to shell out to get on Nintendo-owned Disk Writer machines. It is the old case of "If you build it (a new patented format), they (the publishers) will come."

[ WARNING: Do Not Eat Game Disks ]

When you were a kid did you used to joke about the safety precautions on the back of NES carts like this one with your friends? Boy, then wait until you get a look at the ones on a typical FDS game disk!

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The warnings seem to vary from shielding away excessive sunlight to the avoidance of unnecessary use in blenders. WHAT.

In all seriousness, disks are more at risk of being damaged than regular carts. Temperature, interferring electronic/magnetic equipment, and mishandling are the three big offenders here. Damage to a disk can result in the data erasing and thereby creating a string of Disk Drive errors to be displayed at the loading screen.

[ Never Judge A Game By Its Cover Art ]

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FDS disks are contained in a clear plastic case. Besides the excessive warnings sheet that doubles as a tiny game cover, a paper thin sleeve keeps the disk dust-free. The disks themselves vary in color but the licensed disk all have the word "NINTENDO" on the bottom of them. Two more warning are imprinted on the disk ("avoid touching the floppy part" and "keep away from magnetic interferences").

Disks had a side A and B with stored game data on both sides. Some games required the use of more than one disk because the game was too large to be stored on only one. Another important aspect to mention is because these were essentially floppy disks, the media shared the same ability to keep saved progress of the player without the use of a battery.

Image Gallery:

Other Player Resources--

*Read the spotlight on "Doki Doki Panic"

[ 8-bit Tits ]

Remember I promised you more on the piracy issue of the FDS? Well, unfortunately for Nintendo, pirate disks ran rampant throughout the drive's life and even long after that. Although you would not be able to find any unlicensed-made disk downloads inside of Nintendo's Disk Writers, pirates were about as easy to spot as licensed games in Japan. It is because of the incredibly large number of pirate disks that the total number of games in the FDS library exceeds 200, according to some. The most popular form of pirate: the adult game.

Forget about Panesian titles being raunchy. These FDS adult games were just plain wrong. The big names in big boobs were Hacker International, Super Pig, Wild, Phoenix, and a company that called itself Mimi which released six (count 'em six) separate volumes of 8-bit pornography. Now that's dedication to the game!

The most disturbing by far is Bishojou SF Alien Battle from Hacker Int'l. In a mocking game of poker, when the player wins a match he/she is rewarded with an animated sequence of an alien receiving oral sex or inserting its tentacles inside of a human girl's unmentionables. Yeah, it's really as bad as it sounds.

Other Player Resources--

*Read the special feature "8-bit Love Machine " for pics of the FDS porn games previously mentioned (warning: extremely explicit material)

 

Closing Suggestion: ERROR....I AM NOT....

So you're reading this and thinking, "Hey this Disk Drive sounds major rad, Chad. I'm gonna have to score me one right after I hit the mall for those MC Hammer pants I had my eyes on!"

Hold on there! Before you go out scouring the 'net for yours, I have one more thing to say. There's no denying that the FDS is, without a doubt, the faultest piece of hardware Nintendo has ever put out in the company's long history. I'm not a betting man, but if I was, I'd wager that a third or better of the remaining Family Computer Disk Drives do not work.

The most common (and incredibly frustrating) problem has to do with the internal FDS belt being broken. Nintendo decided to use a very thin, almost like a rubber band part to work the drive. Over time and use, all belts do break. In fact, even if a Japanese owner who has had one stored away for years since purchasing it probably suffers from the same problem. What can I say? They're built like junk. Nice, red, attractive junk - sure - but still they're junk.

The next major fault is with the software disks. Although original game disks could still have survived for all this time, chances are some have had their data erased or are damaged in some way or another and are unable to preform.

Both of these things happened to me, and trust me, it's a huge pain in the butt to hunt down the belt and find a Nintendo repair center that can fix it if you aren't handy yourself. Heed this warning and make sure you ask the seller from the start if everything works. It's not enough that the "Now Loading..." screen with Mario and Luigi running around starts up. You need to press upon the seller that you will not buy unless an actual FDS disk is loaded and successfully plays. The same goes for buying the disks.

-Image gallery contributed by Giovani "Cospefogo" Faganello
-All pictures and scans copyright NESplayer.com