NES Games Never Released on Famicom

[fcgamer | 4,723]

I've been doing some research, and after taking stock of the NES games also released in Japan, as well as the NES games released in other Famicom regions unofficially, by bootleggers, these seem to be the only games that didn't find a release on 60 pins, back in the day (let's say 1998 and before).

There are a few games that I don't personally own, yet remember seeing, they are not included on this list. Although the following list is about 95% accurate, I'd say, please remember that new stuff is still being discovered every day, and I am sure that some of the below titles were indeed available as bootlegs at one point.

Enjoy

Action 52
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: DragonStrike
After Burner
Airwolf
Anticipation
Arch Rivals: A Basket Brawl!
Archon
Arkista’s Ring
Bandai Golf: Challenge Pebble Beach
Baseball Stars II
Bible Adventures
Bible Buffet
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Video Game Adventure
Bill Elliott’s NASCAR Challenge
Blackjack (AVE)
Bo Jackson Baseball
Break Time: The National Pool Tour
Captain Comic: The Adventure
Casino Kid II
Castle of Deceit
Chiller
Classic Concentration
Cobra Triangle
Color a Dinosaur
Cool World
Cyberball
Danny Sullivan’s Indy Heat
Day Dreamin’ Davey
Days of Thunder
Death Race
Deathbots
Defender of the Crown
Dirty Harry
Donkey Kong Classics
Double Dare
Dudes with Attitude
Exodus: Journey to the Promised Land
F-15 Strike Eagle
Family Feud
Fantasy Zone
Fisher-Price: Firehouse Rescue
Fisher-Price: I Can Remember
Fisher-Price: Perfect Fit
Freedom Force
Fun House
Gauntlet
Great Waldo Search
Greg Norman’s Golf Power
Gumshoe
Heavy Shreddin’
High Speed
Impossible Mission II
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1991)
Infiltrator
IronSword: Wizards & Warriors II
Jack Nicklaus’ Greatest 18 Holes of Major Championship Golf
Jeopardy!
Jeopardy! 25th Anniversary Edition
Jeopardy! Junior Edition
John Elway’s Quarterback
Jordan vs Bird: One on One
Joshua & the Battle of Jericho
King Neptune’s Adventure
King of Kings: The Early Years
King’s Quest V
Krazy Kreatures
Last Starfighter
Legends of the Diamond: The Baseball Championship Game
Loopz
M.U.L.E.
Maniac Mansion
Mario’s Time Machine
Maxi 15
Miracle Piano Teaching System
Monster Truck Rally
Moon Ranger
Mutant Virus: Crisis in a Computer World
NES Play Action Football
NFL Football
Nightshade
Nintendo World Championships 1990
Operation: Secret Storm
Orb 3-D
Overlord
P’radikus Conflict
Pesterminator: The Western Exterminator
Pictionary
Pinbot
Puss ‘N Boots: Pero’s Great Adventure 
Qix
R.B.I. Baseball 2
R.B.I. Baseball 3
Rad Racer II
Raid 2020
Rampage
Remote Control
Robodemons
Rocket Ranger
Rollerblade Racer
Roundball 2-on-2 Challenge
Secret Scout in the Temple of Demise
Sesame Street: 123
Sesame Street: ABC
Sesame Street: Big Bird’s Hide & Speak
Shinobi
Short Order / Eggsplode!
Silent Service
Skate or Die 2: The Search for Double Trouble
Solar Jetman: Hunt for the Golden Warpship
Solitaire (AVE)
Space Shuttle Project
Spiritual Warfare
StarTropics
Stealth ATF
Sunday Funday: The Ride
Super Glove Ball
Super Jeopardy!
Super Mario Bros / Duck Hunt
Super Mario Bros / Duck Hunt / World Class Track Meet
Super Spike V’Ball / Nintendo World Cup
Swamp Thing
Swords and Serpents
Taboo: The Sixth Sense
Target: Renegade
Tecmo Baseball
Three Stooges
Trolls on Treasure Island
Ultima: Warriors of Destiny
Ultimate League Soccer
Vindicators
Wally Bear and the NO! Gang
Wayne Gretzky Hockey
Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune: Family Edition
Wheel of Fortune: Featuring Vanna White
Wheel of Fortune: Junior Edition
Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?
Where’s Waldo?
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Win, Lose, or Draw
Wizards & Warriors III: Kuros: Visions of Power
World Games
Zoda’s Revenge: Star Tropics II

Edited January 10, 2021 by fcgamer

[Tulpa | 3,492]

I always found it weird that Monster Party never got its Japanese release, given all the Japanese cultural references in the game that went over the heads of western audiences.

Edited January 10, 2021 by Tulpa

[Hybrid | 424]

It was planned for release in Japan just never completed

[fcgamer | 4,723]

I actually should remove Monster Party from the list. Everyone's comments reminded me of something.

It had been rumoured to exist for years, but one of my friends just last year was able to obtain and hence confirm that the NES version of the game had been bootlegged and distributed on Famicom in some parts of the world, though it's a rare release.

[fcgamer | 4,723]

2 hours ago, fcgamer said:

 

Somehow posted this but didn't mean to

Edited January 10, 2021 by fcgamer

[Famicuber | 54]

I'm one of those type of people that wouldn't count bootlegs when it comes with released 60-pin Famicom cartridges, but I thought I'd contribute to the list regardless, who knows, maybe It'll be helpful to you.

Anyway, IIRC, any NES game developed by Beam Software were never officially released on Famicom.

Including games that may have unofficial bootleg releases (feel free to not add if so), the following games missing from the list are:

• 720°
• Aussie Rules Footy
• Back to the Future
• Back to the Future II & III
• Bad Street Brawler
• Battle Chess
• Bigfoot
• Dash Galaxy in the Alien Asylum
• George Foreman's KO Boxing
• International Cricket
• Last Action Hero
• Mickey's Safari in Letterland
• Mickey's Adventure in Numberland
• Power Punch II
• Road Runner
• Smash T.V.
• Star Wars (JVC)
• The Hunt for Red October
• The Last Ninja
• The Punisher

With that being said, If there are any bootleg releases of these games listed, I certainly like to see images of it, just to see what wacky art on the cartridges look like. 

Edited January 11, 2021 by Famicuber
Missed a Beam game from the list, wouldn't really matter though.

[Sumez | 2,949]

Quickly going through my own carts, I'm missing The New Zealand Story, Kick Master, The Rocketeer, Monster In My Pocket, Ultimate Stuntman, both Tengen Tetris and Nintendo Tetris, MC Kids, The G.I. Joes, Zen Intergalactic Ninja, Startropics 2, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, Low G Man, and probably a bunch of others from that list.

Are those all omitted because you've found bootleg/dendy versions of them etc.?

Edited January 10, 2021 by Sumez

[fcgamer | 4,723]

13 minutes ago, Sumez said:

Quickly going through my own carts, I'm missing The New Zealand Story, Kick Master, The Rocketeer, Monster In My Pocket, Ultimate Stuntman, both Tengen Tetris and Nintendo Tetris, MC Kids, The G.I. Joes, Zen Intergalactic Ninja, Startropics 2, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, Low G Man, and probably a bunch of others from that list.

Are those all omitted because you've found bootleg/dendy versions of them etc.?

Yeah if there's a (contemporary)  bootleg version known, then Ive skipped it.

Actually somehow I missed Nintendo's version of Tetris, for some reason no one has ever found this as a bootleg.

[fcgamer | 4,723]

1 hour ago, Famicuber said:

I'm one of those type of people that wouldn't count bootlegs when it comes with released 60-pin Famicom cartridges, but I thought I'd contribute to the list regardless, who knows, maybe It'll be helpful to you.

Anyway, IIRC, any NES game developed by Beam Software were never officially released on Famicom.

Including games that may have unofficial bootleg releases (feel free to not add if so), the following games missing from the list are:

• 720°
• Aussie Rules Footy
• Back to the Future
• Back to the Future II & III
• Bad Street Brawler
• Battle Chess
• Bigfoot
• Dash Galaxy in the Alien Asylum
• George Foreman's KO Boxing
• International Cricket
• Mickey's Safari in Letterland
• Mickey's Adventure in Numberland
• Power Punch II
• Road Runner
• Smash T.V.
• Star Wars (JVC)
• The Hunt for Red October
• The Last Ninja
• The Punisher

With that being said, If there are any bootleg releases of these games listed, I certainly like to see images of it, just to see what wacky art on the cartridges look like. 

I'll post pictures later, yes I excluded many of those because they had releases, albeit bootleg ones.

Thing is, with the Famicom itself, one could argue that as a whole regarding territory in the world, famiclone versions were more present, hence why I feel it extremely interesting and essential to include such bootlegs in this listing. It's interesting for me to see which games never made it to release in 60 pin Format as a whole, then we can discuss why.

 

[Tulpa | 3,492]

6 hours ago, Hybrid said:

It was planned for release in Japan just never completed

I know. I just find it weird that one of the most Japanese games ever made was never officially released in Japan.

[T-Pac | 7,539]

Wow - I'm surprised by a lot of these. Especially Puss 'N Boots - you'd think a game starring the mascot of Toei Animation would see a Japanese release.

What a neat list, @fcgamer!

-CasualCart

[Tanooki | 4,933]

I was fairly certain that Star Trek 25th Anniversary never hit the famicom or did it?

[fcgamer | 4,723]

3 hours ago, Tanooki said:

I was fairly certain that Star Trek 25th Anniversary never hit the famicom or did it?

Star Trek 25th.

Seems to be uncommon in South America, though it's extremely hard to find in Taiwan.

There's definitely geographical rarities for some of these things too, which can be quite fascinating to look at.

[fcgamer | 4,723]

5 hours ago, CasualCart said:

Wow - I'm surprised by a lot of these. Especially Puss 'N Boots - you'd think a game starring the mascot of Toei Animation would see a Japanese release.

What a neat list, @fcgamer!

-CasualCart

I find it extremely odd as well, especially since it's prequel was released over there, yet not in the west.

[mideast | 144]

I thought Pro Yakyuu Family Stadium '87 by Namcot is R.B.I. Baseball 2?

[Dr. Morbis | 2,088]

56 minutes ago, mideast said:

I thought Pro Yakyuu Family Stadium '87 by Namcot is R.B.I. Baseball 2?

Yeah, and RBI 3 is one of them too, but they are modified because the original Famicom versions kept the players fat and cartoony throughout the whole long-running series (they went from '86 to '94, so there were a lot of games for Tengen to choose from), so I don't know if that officially 'counts' or not.  For example, he doesn't have Power Blade listed in the original post even though it is extremely different from the Famicom's Power Blazer...

Edited January 11, 2021 by Dr. Morbis

[mideast | 144]

16 minutes ago, Dr. Morbis said:

Yeah, and RBI 3 is one of them too, but they are modified because the original Famicom versions kept the players fat and cartoony throughout the whole long-running series (they went from '86 to '94, so there were a lot of games for Tengen to choose from), so I don't know if that officially 'counts' or not.  For example, he doesn't have Power Blade listed in the original post even though it is extremely different from the Famicom's Power Blazer...

Gotcha, I never personally played the other R.B.I. Baseballs as a kid. The first one I totally wore out. The Tengen sequels seem pretty similar to the first game so I haven’t played them much. I know Famicom World does list it as R.B.I. Baseball 2 in their games list

[mideast | 144]

I guess it’s also somewhat subjective what is considered not released for famicom. Almost all localizations at the very least translated Japanese text except for the very early black box games that had the same ROMs here and Japan. A game like Snoopy’s Silly Sports Spectacular @fcgamerconsiders as released for famicom as Donald Duck, which makes sense. And Kid Klown as Mickey Mouse III. I’d say the R.B.I Baseballs should be considered released there too then

[fcgamer | 4,723]

Yeah it's definitely subjective, I found a base list online and then started modifying it to get this one.

I think the RBI games could be removed, if the only difference is the graphics.

But what do we do about Mermaids of Atlantis then? The nudie version was more or less released on 60 pins, but not the clean version. Thoughts?

[fcgamer | 4,723]

Oh and these

[phart010 | 1,707]

I wonder, do Japanese collectors care to obtain legit US versions of games that never released in Japan? Personally I avoid Japanese games because of the language barrier, but I do collect Japanese games that were JP exclusive and do not have too much required reading 

[fcgamer | 4,723]

3 hours ago, phart010 said:

I wonder, do Japanese collectors care to obtain legit US versions of games that never released in Japan? Personally I avoid Japanese games because of the language barrier, but I do collect Japanese games that were JP exclusive and do not have too much required reading 

I have no idea about Japanese collectors. For what it's worth though, these kinds of western exclusives (even the ones that were bootlegged) don't generally seem to be very popular amongst Taiwanese collectors, aside from perhaps some of the more fun titles like Kickmaster, TaleSpin, and Darkwing Duck.

As a whole, I think a lot of the exclusives we received were best at average. Then there are some such as Wheel of Fortune, which would obviously have about as much of an appeal to a non-English speaker similar to how we feel about mahjong games. It's actually because of games like Wheel of Fortune that I "count" bootleg releases, as I think it's a lot more fun to analyze the data, looking at the titles that were basically not marketable at all outside of their original customer base.

Somewhere in one of the Chinese magazines I have from back in the early 90s, there is an article showcasing and talking about some of the western exclusive titles. IIRC, I think Back to the Future was one of the games they were discussing  

 

[scaryice | 585]

On 1/10/2021 at 9:06 PM, Dr. Morbis said:

Yeah, and RBI 3 is one of them too, but they are modified because the original Famicom versions kept the players fat and cartoony throughout the whole long-running series (they went from '86 to '94, so there were a lot of games for Tengen to choose from), so I don't know if that officially 'counts' or not.  For example, he doesn't have Power Blade listed in the original post even though it is extremely different from the Famicom's Power Blazer...

I guess it just comes down to what you consider a port to be vs a different version. If he's counting games like Maniac Mansion and Fantasy Zone, as different, then it makes sense to count RBI games as different too.