DK | 259 Posted November 11, 2021 Share Posted November 11, 2021 OK Samurai sleuths, what do we make of this cart that was just listed? Asian front with Samurai back? https://www.ebay.com/itm/124998048305 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowser | 598 Posted November 12, 2021 Author Share Posted November 12, 2021 This is my best guess: We know that initial units of Samurai were Asian Version imported directly into the country. The Samurai labels were then applied onto the consoles. I would say the same thing was done for game cartridges too for a short while. That cartridge looks to be 100% an Asian cartridge. Light grey shell, 5-screw, security bit screws. Probably the Samurai label on the back was applied onto it after being imported. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyansas | 131 Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 I'm the buyer of the Asian + Samurai cart. As far as I can tell, @bowser is right, it's a first edition Asian cartridge with the Samurai sticker on the back on top of the original one, as you can see in the picture. The fact that it has two back stickers also proves that it's not an Asian front and a Samurai back that someone slapped together. It has flathead screws, which is consistent with other first edition Asians. A nice surprise addition to my SMB variant collection, as I didn't even know this one existed. Thanks for the history lesson, @bowser. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pika_pikachu | 3 Posted November 18, 2021 Share Posted November 18, 2021 (edited) I can confirm the existence of black super mario bros Samurai Version @wyansas @bowser I'll upload pictures soon. Mine is without box or manuals. Edited November 19, 2021 by pika_pikachu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bantu220 | 0 Posted November 24, 2021 Share Posted November 24, 2021 Can I purchase this any where in india pls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pika_pikachu | 3 Posted December 1, 2021 Share Posted December 1, 2021 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua Rogers | 77 Posted April 18, 2022 Share Posted April 18, 2022 New video about the Samurai: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mruP0Psa2SY Doesn't look like it contains new information, but certainly interesting to watch again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyansas | 131 Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 (edited) Got another one for the Samurai Sleuths. It's not a Samurai technically, but I bought it from an ebayer in India. It's an Asian version with a Spanish version code, NES-SM-ESP. Weird. Any thoughts? Edited May 13, 2022 by wyansas 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowser | 598 Posted May 13, 2022 Author Share Posted May 13, 2022 2 hours ago, wyansas said: Got another one for the Samurai Sleuths. It's not a Samurai technically, but I bought it from an ebayer in India. It's an Asian version with a Spanish version code, NES-SM-ESP. Weird. Any thoughts? Wow that's a really weird hybrid. It has the same QC sticker and Phillips screws typically used on Samurai carts. The front label appears to be of good quality making me think it's legit but the code throws me off. Are the pins gold when holding them up to the light? Does it look like a legit board? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DK | 259 Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 What does the board look like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyansas | 131 Posted May 24, 2022 Share Posted May 24, 2022 (edited) Got the weird Asian-Spanish cart in the mail today, but one quick note on a wrench thrown into the mystery of the Asian/Samurai from a few posts up that I discovered when I opened it up to compare date codes today: it's NTSC with date codes from 86. So it's not quite simply a first edition Asian with a Samurai back label on top of the Nintendo one. The Samurai was PAL, and the Asians I have are PAL from 90 or 91. While I was at it, I opened up my standard looking Super Mario Samurai and it had a non-Nintendo PCB that I hadn't seen before. No idea what that all implies. Now on to the Asian-Spanish cart. Like @bowser mentioned, it has Philips head screws like a Samurai, and I managed to get the PCB out without having to remove the QC sticker on the back in order to get to the center screw. The label has a few things weird about it aside from the Asian text and Spanish code mismatch: There are a couple spots where there's clearly something under the label, probably pieces of a failed or removed previous label. The gold paint of the seal of quality isn't shiny like it usually is, but the quality of the paper and the rest of the print is of the standard, high quality of a normal label. The Asian Version text slants noticeably down to the right, is placed lower than it is in the regular Asian version, and is in a shorter and less boldface font. The N at the end is about a millimeter closer to the edge than the A at the front. The PCB looks good and official. I compared the date codes to a Spanish version and Asian version with similar labels, and found those to both have 9129 on the PRG. A picture of that comparison is below. Anything else you all want to know? What do you think??? Edited May 24, 2022 by wyansas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowser | 598 Posted May 24, 2022 Author Share Posted May 24, 2022 (edited) @wyansas 1) The 1st edition Asian Samurai SMB: I'm quite sure the seller* swapped out the original PCB, most probably because it got damaged or wouldn't boot. These days there's awareness that Samurai carts are valuable to collectors and unscrupulous sellers will do anything to make a quick buck. SMB carts from all regions are easily available in India and it's not hard to get an NTSC PCB. Would you mind posting a clear picture of the board? Is the lockout chip also for NTSC consoles? 2) The SMB Samurai cart: I would say only 30% of carts with pure Samurai labels have legit Nintendo boards. Most of them have bootlegged boards with windowed ROM chips. Samurai officials claim these are the work of a pirate outfit but I HIGHLY doubt that. I'm pretty sure Samurai themselves bootlegged the boards, with or without Nintendo's knowledge. And I have pretty damning proof: I found a few games with original Nintendo boards fitted with windowed ROM chips! Now where would a pirate outfit get official Nintendo boards from? Pretty sure it was Samurai themselves transitioning from 100% official boards to 100% bootlegs. 3) The Asian-Spanish cart: I have no damn clue . The board has a lockout chip with the code 3196A and that was meant for Asian and Hong Kong versions. Maybe the label was just a weird misprint * Maybe not your seller but a previous one, basically from the original overseas seller. Edited May 24, 2022 by bowser 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcgamer | 4,723 Posted May 24, 2022 Share Posted May 24, 2022 @bowserivr got similar type situations with pirate famicom carts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyansas | 131 Posted May 24, 2022 Share Posted May 24, 2022 Great info, thanks for the schooling, @bowser. I'll take all your theories as gospel, all sounds good to me. Here's the Asian-Samurai pcb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowser | 598 Posted May 24, 2022 Author Share Posted May 24, 2022 3 hours ago, wyansas said: Great info, thanks for the schooling, @bowser. I'll take all your theories as gospel, all sounds good to me. Here's the Asian-Samurai pcb Uh oh, I might have to take back my comments about the board swap because of that 3196 lockout chip. Never seen that before. Does this work in an Asian Version NES? The usual lockout chip for this region is 3196A. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyansas | 131 Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 I don't have access to an Asian version NES. Plays like a normal NTSC Mario though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua Rogers | 77 Posted May 30, 2022 Share Posted May 30, 2022 On 5/24/2022 at 2:08 PM, bowser said: Uh oh, I might have to take back my comments about the board swap because of that 3196 lockout chip. Never seen that before. Does this work in an Asian Version NES? The usual lockout chip for this region is 3196A. 3196 was the lockout chip used before the middle of 1987 (or something like this, I don't have my notes right now). They made a small revision, and thus 3196A was born. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyansas | 131 Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 https://www.ebay.com/itm/265736315611 Here's another Spanish/Asian just like mine, even down to the QC sticker and the slightly slanted Asian Version text. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
360collector | 289 Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 34 minutes ago, wyansas said: https://www.ebay.com/itm/265736315611 Here's another Spanish/Asian just like mine, even down to the QC sticker and the slightly slanted Asian Version text. That guy got a lot of that cool weird stuff but it all looks like its been dragged through mud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DK | 259 Posted June 21, 2022 Share Posted June 21, 2022 This seller on Ebay just listed several Asian front/Samurai back carts from Australia: https://www.ebay.com/itm/284865148772 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowser | 598 Posted June 21, 2022 Author Share Posted June 21, 2022 (edited) EDIT: Double post Edited June 21, 2022 by bowser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowser | 598 Posted June 21, 2022 Author Share Posted June 21, 2022 (edited) Edit: NVM Edited June 21, 2022 by bowser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now