42-in-1 Famicom Cart
By: Lanny Cox

Introduction

This cart came to me around 1989-1991, the NES' heyday. I got it at a large department store who was selling them for roughly 80-90 dollars a pop, with a converter included. I, being the NES fanatic I was at the time, bought one, having no idea what it was or where it came from..... All I knew was that it was 42 games in one... COOL!! Actually, the pirates are fairly common around here, with 3 variants. There were black generic 31 in 1 carts (of which i own one), gray 31 in 1 carts (my friend owns one), and the 42 in 1, which as far as i know, i own the only copy of, and which was probably just some sample to see how they would sell. But, enough background, onto the cart!!!

Physical Appearance

Oh boy, here we go. The cart is a lot like one's typical multicart. It has undoubtedly the worst pirate art i have ever seen in my life, which is a torpedo or a missile or something zooming in over a horizon of game boxes, titles of which include "parsec", "invaders", "asteroids", and "jumbo jet pilot". Obviously none of these titles carry the Nintendo Seal of Approval!! :-)

Moving on to the back of the cart and the game list, i thought it'd be a fair introduction to list the spelling errors here.

1. Zinja - Ninja
2. Donkey Kong - Donkky Kong
3. Ice Climber - Ice Cumb
4. Galaga - Galaza

This is only a little list, i'm not gonna touch on the alternate names and abbreviated names on the list. As for the actual list and design, it is very well constructed, the black on peach color scheme and the font used makes the list very easy to read.

Game Quality

OK, let's start with the multicart menus. Menus? Menus? Why yes. The cart itself is a really rare design in that it's 2 carts in 1. The cart is split into 2 menus, a 22 in 1 and a 20 in 1. Upon inserting the cart for the first time, the 22 in 1 menu is displayed. Turn off the system, turn it on again, a 20 in 1 menu. I know of no other multicarts that use this method, although there may be. Anyone out there with one of this type?

The 22 in 1 menu is the better of the 2 menus, a sweet looking 22-in-1 logo and some farmer (I have no idea if he's a farmer or what game he's from, but he's wearing overalls so I'll make an assumption) in various compromising positions as you move him down the list. Uhh... yeah. Despite this, it's a really nice design, with sweet little borders on the sides. There's also a demo/tour feature, the farmer automatically scrolls down the list if you do not press any buttons for a few seconds. Utterly useless, but a nice touch. I should also mention this game does display the left 8 and right 8 sprite columns, a technical detail ignored by many games due to TV issues. It's a plus, I guess.

The 2nd multicart menu is a bit of a duller deal, Mappy pointing out the games as you move down the list. Both menus use a fairly simple color set, white letters on a blue background. The games are as follows, i'll include a bit of info/opinion on each.

Featured Games

Othello - This one is Family Computer Othello, albeit without the copyright
notice, which is fairly obvious. If you've never played Othello, it's a bit
tedious, but i have to admit I love this game, and it's a blast to play with
friends. Of all the games on the cart, this is one of the best, "why" and
"how in the world" I have no idea.

Zinja - This is a really weird game, another Famicom-only effort I suppose.
The stupid music drives me insane. It's just yourself, playing the part of
some ninja running through a corn field, collecting little trinkets and
throwing stars at enemies that throw boomerangs back. A corny, corny game,
and not very good gameplay-wise either. Good for a few minutes of
bewilderment.

Arabian - ARABIAN, w00t! This is really a neglected game. I don't think this
was released on the NES either, but think Aladdin, with crappy graphics and
a really sweet gameplay hook. Definitely a nice pastime trying to get all
the letters in sequence to form words.

Road Fight - Ok, it's Road Fighter. Hehe, it's Road Fighter!! For anyone who
hasn't played the arcade game (and most of you haven't) this is a fairly
straightforward 2D racer. The object is to get through the level without
running out of gas and/or crashing your car. Along the way, other cars tend
to try and knock you off the road. It's a surprisingly nice diversion, after
10 years of off-and-on playing I can still only get to level 4, which I
believe is the last level before the whole shizam starts over again.

Dig Dug - It's Dig Dug. Have you been living under a rock? He has. End of
story. Nice game, if a little simple.

Yie Ar Kung Fu - YES!! This is without a doubt one of the funniest, and most
addicting games I've ever played for the system. It is the NES equivalent of
Drunken Master - corny as hell, really ugly looking, and frighteningly
addicting. It's a tough choice between this one and heroin. Definitely one
of the best fighters on the system.

Lode Runner - Ahh, Lode Runner. Nothing beats trapping a few enemies in the
floor. And when I say "nothing", I mean "90 percent of this multicart". This
one is a bit annoying, it's a fun game but a little too boring for my taste.

Milk & Nuts - What & Hell? A weird, semicircle shaped creature, trying to
save another weird semicircle shaped creature from an evil weird semicircle
shaped creature. Simple would describe this one. It's obviously geared
towards the younger audience, so I'll leave it alone.

Chack & Pop - Another kids game. This one is a little too simple, I found it
way too easy. I never played this much in my years of owning the cart, so
I'll give this one a pass too.

F1 Race - I ignored this one too for a while. I'm not a huge racing fan, but
this is a reasonably good game. It utilizes motion blur, which immediately
jumps up the graphics and gives the illusion of speed. I'm starting to like
this one more and more by the day.

Donkey Kong 3 - I'm not a huge fan of this one. I liked the original, but
this version is a bit strange. Throw arrows till stuff falls down. Don't get
hit. Simple enough, but not exactly the best game I've played.

Popeye - "Popeye the sailor man, lived in a--"..... i'll leave the crude sex
rhyme for later. Another nice game, catch hearts and musical symbols tossed
down by Olive without getting your ass kicked by that drunk Bluto. Utilize
spinach, and drop a bucket on Bluto's head! Big point! A winner is you!

Ice Climber - Ya, this one's ok I guess. It's an early attempt, so I'll
forgive it. A really simple game, notably with the seals of the Japanese
version. The most fun comes in the 2 player mode and resulting seal tennis.

Front Line - Haha, another weird ass game. It reeks of the Vietnam war. You
play a little soldier with a maximum 3 foot shooting distance. Lobbing
grenades and getting into a tank makes up for the really cartoony graphics.

Majjhong 4 - It's Majjhong. It's all in Japanese. I have no idea what's
going on. On to the next game....

Balloon Fight - Whoopee! Balloon Fight! This is a really fun game, a lot
like Joust, with much better physics and minigames. A highlight of the
multicart, it's not as repetitive as most of the games either.

Formation Z - This one is a side-scrolling shooter. A little dude that
shoots at stuff, and can fly. I'm not particularly interested in this one,
another fairly mediocre game.

Championship Lode Runner - Oh great! Lode Runner, only this time I have no
chance of passing the first level!! And no, I really haven't. Best left to
the smarter folks.

Millipede - Plays exactly like Centipede. This one really lacks in the
graphics department, it's fast paced, but a bit crappy overall.

Tennis - Whoopee! Tennis! I really like this one for some reason. The level
5 opponent is pretty damn strong. A word to the wise: DO NOT play the 2
player mode with an incompetent friend. The first mistake you or he makes
will turn into a full-blown fistfight. Believe me, I know.

Antarctic Adventure - Hehe, floppy penguin, flop flop flop! He likes fish!!
Another kiddie game, with pretty sweet graphics. I'm not gonna argue this
one, because I play it a lot. It holds an appeal, despite some incredibly
shallow gameplay.

Lunar Ball - This is a damn sweet game, best described as a form of
futuristic pool. 2 player is the stronger of the 2 gameplay modes. This is a
great game to play with a group of people.

Super Mario Brothers - Every multicart has it. It's SMB, with the title
screen logo and copyright notices removed. I'll leave this one be, everyone
who owns a NES has played it.

Twin Bee - A fairly good shooter. The music, graphics, and general feel of
the game have a nice brightness to them, something missing in a lot of NES
games.

B Wings - This is an ok game, the music, although no where near the best on
the cart, kind of grows of a person over time. I think it's a little too
easy, but it's still a decent game to look into on a rainy day.

1942 - Ahh, yet another arcade port!! This one's another stereotypical plane
shooter, not as fun as it's sequel, 1943, but still worth playing.

Bomber Man - Heyhey, it's Bomberman, again with removal of all copyright
notices. This game's spawned a mess of sequels, but I have no idea why. For
some reason I just can't get into the game as well as I should. The graphics
are pretty nice for the time period though.

Star Force - Why is it that a simple shooter like this holds so much appeal?
I am absolutely in love with this game. It still holds a lot of challenge
after years of play. The music is also really well done, I sometimes finding
myself humming the power up song.

Mappy - Another pretty cool arcade port. I was pretty impressed with how
cheap the enemy AI is, they tend to gang up on you pretty fast in your quest
to steal TVs, stereos, and assorted other items.

Baseball - This one's another cool early Nintendo game. The control is a
little stiff, it's not exactly Baseball Stars, but it was light years ahead
of it's time, as far as I'm concerned. The cartoony graphics are pretty
cool, as is the nice view on home runs.

Pinball - Pinball is just one of those games that anyone from 8 to 80 could
play. It's without a doubt one of the simplest games anyone can play, only 2
buttons required for hours and hours of fun. The graphics are also OK,
really good for their time. An interesting twist is that during the bonus
stage Mario is trying to free Olive Oil. What the heck?? All craziness
aside, this is a very addicting game and a fine addition to the cart.

Galaga - Hey, woodnjaknowit, it's Galaga! A fairly clean port of the arcade
game, sweet arcade shooter. Getting the double ship totally rules, losing it
makes you want to throw the cart off a really tall cliff.

Urban Champion - Another kiddie-geared game. Incredibly simple, this is a 5
minute diversion at best. I'd ignore this one if I ever found it on a single
cart.

Battle City - Is this game on every multicart ever made? Is there some kinda
rule in Hong Kong that forces this to be included? I don't think I've played
a cart that didn't include this. It's, well, Battle City. Don't get shot,
defend the base. Simplicity at it's best.

Macross - OK, this, at first glance, is Macross. On second look, it's
awesome!! One of the strongest games on the cart, the graphics are pretty
damn good, with nice sound and sweet music. The gameplay is great too, with
3 forms to your character. I have a special place in my heart for robots
turning into spaceships.....

Circus Charlie - Another pretty cool game. It's pretty simple, like almost
all the games on this cart, but still holds a lot of fun. There's a great
variety in levels and gameplay mechanics, with bright, colorful graphics. A
pretty nice treat for the eyes and the ears.

ExciteBike - Yet another sweet early NES effort. Without a doubt, the best
NES motocross game ever released. This game stands as having lots of replay
value, and is one of the pioneers of the create-a-track feature. It also has
a really cool theme song. Doo doo deedeedoo, doodoodeedeedoo!

Combat - Hey, cool, it's combat! The Atari 2600 classic gets ported to the
NES, with awesome results. I haven't seen this on any other cart, but it's
worth a look, if only to see the REALLY strange resemblance to 10 Yard
Fight.

Exerion - In an ironic case, I actually ignored this for quite a while, and
played it in the arcades before I got a chance to check out the NES version.
It's a stereotypical shooter with a nice rolling horizon, and the graphics
are on par with the arcade version.

Pac Man - Do I really need to describe this one? It's just as well known as
SMB, so I'll say it's 99% arcade perfect and let you draw your own
conclusions from there.

Joust - ANOTHER arcade port, as is about 38 or 40 of the 42 games on this
cart. This is another faithful port, with nice graphics. I'm not a huge fan
of the game, but a lot of people like this so I'll keep my mouth shut.

Mario Brothers - What a way to finish up the cart! The original arcade port
(what a surprise) of Mario Brothers. This is another really well done game,
with nice graphics and a spirit that only a Mario Game can hold.

Final Thoughts

Well, that's about it! A sick amount of arcade ports, mixed in with a few classics here and there. I really can't argue against this cart, as it's the most played NES game I have. A strong recommendation, 4 out of 5 stars, plus it's a damn rare game, so definitely pick this one up if you happen to stumble across it somewhere.

-info, all scanned, and camera pictures for use on NES Player only