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2003
Pirate Carts
By: The
Collector
Proof that
the Famicom piracy industry is still alive and kicking can be
witnessed readily on the pages of NES Player, since coverage
of pirate games with modern concepts and Famiclones that resemble
modern gaming machines are on display. More evidence can be
found in the following multi-carts.
These
multi-carts were included with the Polystation that was reviewed
earlier on. All of them had the usual pirate cart criteria:
misaligned labels, pointless cover art, and false promises
of dozens of games. These carts not only follow these criteria
to perfection, but they also have other qualities that make
them even more substandard.
First
off is the common pirate cart features. The labels on all
three carts are woefully misaligned and feature pointless
artwork that, in some cases, doesn't even match the type of
game it's displaying (though they all have a nifty holographic
shine to them). The worst pirate tradition of all, the lack
of promised games, is in full swing here: each cartridge features
less than ten unique games a piece, with repeats filling the
rest of the slots.
This set
of pirate carts set a new example for low quality. Simply
by picking one up, it's easy to tell that the march of technology
has allowed for smaller parts, since each cartridge weighs
about as much as a standard compact disc or two. A quick look
in the cartridge shows that the cart board is less than half
the size of a normal cart board. Basically, these boards likely
cost much less to produce than the old-fashioned kind.
Another
difference is the plastic casing, which unlike most cartridges,
is extremely light, soft, and cheap. The case is very flexible
and breaks very easily. The case on the 132 in 1 broke during
the writing of this article.
It's also
worth noting that there is a sticker on all three cartridges
that proclaims "NEW SPECIAL 2002". The back label,
however, proclaims "NEW 2003". They weren't trying
to win customers with proclamation of the latest products.
The following
is a detailed look into each cart:
View Back of Cart
73
in 1: this cart comes with a pink casing, which has a
unique design from the other two, and the only one that bares
a brand name of some sort ("BS"; make your jokes
later). The label features some generic, yet appropriate ripped-off
graphics, except for the Dr. Mario one, which is disturbing.
The menu system has a plain pastel look to it, with near illness-inducing
music. The selection of games include Tank 1990 (Battle City),
Galaxian, F1 Race, Dr. Mario (which has a hacked title screen
that reads "Space Hospital" and bares a copyright
date of 1993), Davis Tennis (Tennis), and Road Fighter.
View Back of Cart
132
in 1: this one has a green case than has already failed
the quality assurance test. This cart label also features
generic artwork, but includes a computer generated Mario picture
(from Mario Kart 64?) and a Bruce Lee picture. The menu system
features the same sickening music from the 73 in 1, and has
a crimson look to it, though it's the same design. The game
featured are Tank 1990 (Battle City), Galaxian, Kung Fu (Yei
Ar Kung Fu), Circus Charlie, Mario Brother (Mario Brothers),
and Kage Legendary (Legend of Kage).
Mario
Brothers has a few interesting discrepancies. First is the
label art, which reads, simply, "Mario Brothe".
The second is in the game, which has a title hack of that
reads, in small text, "Mr Mary". Right.
View Back of Cart
156
in 1: this yellow cart has the most out of the ordinary
label artwork. It features Lara Croft, a rip-off from Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighter, another Dr. Mario
picture, and a strange anime' pictures for Ice Climber. The
drooling creature at the top of the screen, however, saves
this futile debacle. It's also the only label to not feature
English titles.
The title
screen also shows a little creativity, even though it is copied
from Duck Hunt. The background music that streams on is, oddly
enough, Twinkle Little Star, which isn't nearly as annoying
as the alternative. The game selection includes Chess Five
(actually, this is the Japanese board game, Go, not chess),
Tank 90 (Battle City; enough already!), Antarctic Adventure
(a great Colecovision throw-back), Ice Climber, Dr. Mario
(with the hacked title screen, sans an actual title), Tetris
2 (the infamous Famicom hack of Columns), and Sky Destroy
(Sky Destroyer). Of course, there isn't an 8-bit version of
Tomb Raider or one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle games
in the lot.
Overall,
these cartridges represent a good example of new-age Famicom
oddities, but little more. They're inferior to pirated multi-carts
of yesteryear, with low-quality construction and a mediocre
selection of games. These carts are good for novelty purposes,
but not much more. Seek out the far-superior 76 in 1 for true
pirated Famicom bliss.
-info, all scanned, and camera
pictures for use on NES Player only
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