Odd Cosmo Gang SFC cart

[fcgamer | 5,138]

I've finally had the time and tools to start opening up my SFC games, and then track my collection.

Today I stumbled upon an oddity, which shows why I'm personally not one to rule out the idea that "anything is possible".

The box and manual are official Japanese versions, you can see an import sticker into Taiwan on the box.

Open up the cart, it's a mess. EPROM, wires, on an official Nintendo board (shvc-1aon-02) . From the database on SNES central, it appears Cosmo Gang was not one of the games to use this PCB, likely explains the mess of wires, though I'm not a techie.

Thoughts on this? I know for a fact it wasn't done as a modern day scam, etc.

Possible ideas:

1. Someone started making fake import stickers to put on counterfeit Nintendo games.

2. A repair job of sorts (doesn't make sense, I think this was unsold stock, but who knows)

3. Early repro before repros were a thing?

4. Box and paperwork are real, cart is a fake and was mismatched (still doesn't explain the real PCB)

5. Endorsed counterfeit / counterfeit made on the 4th shift from a plant that also manufactured official Nintendo games.

6. ???

Let's discuss!

[SNESNESCUBE64 | 637]

Looks like your run-of-the-mill repro. I doubt this was a factory job, it is way too messy for that. On top of that, even if it was a repair/4th shift, they would have had access to the official boards that the game used. 

Edited February 26, 2020 by SNESNESCUBE64

[fcgamer | 5,138]

2 hours ago, SNESNESCUBE64 said:

Looks like your run-of-the-mill repro. I doubt this was a factory job, it is way too messy for that. On top of that, even if it was a repair/4th shift, they would have had access to the official boards that the game used. 

I'm at work right now, I'll try to type up a detailed response later. I know this isn't just a run of the mill repro though, how would you explain the box?

[fcgamer | 5,138]

I actually need to hook my SFC up and check that the game on the cart is indeed Cosmo Gang - I guess that would help. Maybe it's actually Hong Kong 97 or something

Thing is though, was literally gotten from a guy that operated a toy store / distributed games back in the day. The cart was found in a box in storage, that hasn't been touched in likely 20 years at least!

There's no way this is a run of the mill repro, no chance at all unless my contact turns out to be Hwang Shinwei's brother or something.

Non gamers don't make repros to sell to foreign game collectors for pennies on the dollar, and then fake a box down to the import sticker.

[the tall guy | 63]

That's wild, though I have no ideas how it could have came to be.

[SNESNESCUBE64 | 637]

12 hours ago, fcgamer said:

I'm at work right now, I'll try to type up a detailed response later. I know this isn't just a run of the mill repro though, how would you explain the box?

Perhaps the box was added with the cartridge later on in its life by some store or something. Does the cart label look fine?