Famicom Collecting

[Hammerfestus | 3,852]

I’ve been thinking about collecting some more Famicom stuff.  Anyone have any tips, tricks, or thoughts?  It’s pretty a pretty daunting thing to start.  I’d be hunting CIB only so I’d probably keep it to a few games I know from NES where I’d consider the Japanese release to be a particularly “significant” element of the franchise/game.   Dragon Quests, SMBs, Zelda,  Rockman, etc. 

Any must have Japanese exclusives I should be aware of?  Or anything so damn cool I have to have it?

Any tips for mitigating the expense that shipping adds?

Disc System stuff is on rewritable discs right?  So other than packaging are the actual discs different from one another in some way?

[a3quit4s | 4,102]

@fcgamer can't remember the other dudes name that is big into FC but FC can ping him

Holy Diver is the only must have I can think of at the moment

Edited May 24, 2021 by a3quit4s

[Gloves | 11,790]

22 minutes ago, a3quit4s said:

@fcgamer can't remember the other dudes name that is big into FC but FC can ping him

Holy Diver is the only must have I can think of at the moment

I definitely wouldn't call Holy Diver a must-have lol.

Also @OptOut

[Tulpa | 3,510]

@scaryice is the other big Famicom head.

I have a handful or two.

Kid Dracula

Gradius II

Crisis Force

Wit's

Meikyu Shima (Kickle Cubicle with selectable levels)

Wai Wai World 1 and 2

Uchuu Keibitai SDF

Family Tennis

Arkanoid II

Exed Exes

B-Wings

Astrofang: Super machine

Splatterhouse Wanpaku Graffiti

Cosmic Epsilon

Super Xevious Gamp no Nazo

Millipede (without the vomit inducing background the NES version has)

Nekketsu Koko Dodgeball Bu (Super Dodgeball with a four player beanball mode, but it won't work on the FourScore; you need a Famicom or an FPGA console to use it.)

Among others...

 

Edited May 24, 2021 by Tulpa

[MegaMan52 | 2,450]

Adventure Island IV, King Kong 2, Mappy Kids, (Mc)Donaldland, Pac-Land, Rockboard, and Tetris are worth buying.

Edited May 25, 2021 by MegaMan52

[Tanooki | 4,934]

My suggestion to you beyond Holy Diver already, look at Konami games, even some we got because of the far more advanced chipset it uses (Castlevania 3, Akamajou Densetsu) as the increased audio and lack of censorship is great.

I'm thinking stuff like Yume Penguin Monogatari, Wai Wai World 2, Salamander, Gradius II, Parodius, Twinbee 3 (1 too), the already mentioned Castlevania3 but one in particular stands out Crisis Force which is this insane shooter that looks more like it belongs on PCE than NES.

Namco had some gems, especially Splatterhouse Wanpaku Graffiti but also a nice version of Final Lap too.

Some random gems pop to mind would be stuff like Armadillo(think sonic meets mario 3), Hello Kitty World(yes I know, but it's Balloon Kid for Famicom, lots of fun, sequel to Balloon Fight), various Technos titles (Kunio franchise), and I know this is a cop out, go but so many of the small stock standard more early release Famicom stuff we did NOT get you can get on the super common Supervision 115in1 cart and so much there is very easily recommended, see the game list here: https://bootleggames.fandom.com/wiki/Supervision_115-in-1 and I could note a few at least to start. Goonies, Twinbee, Ninja Jajamaru Kun, Macross, Exerion, Battle City, Karateka, Yie Ar Kung Fu, Sky Destroyer, Nuts and Milk, Pooyan, Devil World, Dig Dug, Chack'n Pop, Arabian, and Antarctic Adventure.  Nothing too rare(hah) or big, but they're a lot of really good mostly just arcade style point racking games we missed worth the trouble.  Sky Destroyer is a bit unique, third person flight combat game using a zero against US navy/army air force.

[Tulpa | 3,510]

Sunsoft also had a less sucky version of Fantasy Zone on Famicom.

[Brickman | 3,991]

The Famicom is a great system to collect for. Some great games already mentioned and I'll throw in a few more to add to the list:

Robocco Wars

Jajamaru no Daibouken

Tetra Star

Layla

Wagan Land 1- 3

Getsu Fuuma Den

Hi No Tori

Moon Crystal

Recca (Expensive and I haven't played it but it looks good)

Fantasy Zone 2

Cocoron

[Tulpa | 3,510]

Recca is awesome, but CIB is going to run an easy four figures.

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

Dont

[phart010 | 1,707]

3 hours ago, Gloves said:

I definitely wouldn't call Holy Diver a must-have lol.

Also @OptOut

Yea Holy Diver has an official licensed North American release now

 

Personally I’d just download the English translated rom onto a flashcart for any game that has more than a little bit of Japanese text in game such as:

Adventure Island 4

Gettsu Fuumaden

Wagyan Land

Corcoran

You can still play these in Japanese if you already know what to expect, but personally for me, the language really takes away from the enjoyment 

Edited May 25, 2021 by phart010

[Sumez | 2,964]

6 hours ago, Hammerfestus said:

Any must have Japanese exclusives I should be aware of?  

I posted this list of great JP-exclusive in another thread recently.
I consider all of these must-haves in a genuine NES collection.

Super Mario Bros. 2
Akumajou Special
Mitsume Ga Tooru
Nazo no Murasamejou
Ai Senshi Nicol
Don Doko Don 2
Crisis Force
Holy Diver
Meikyuuu Jiin Dababa
Recca
Battle City
Moon Crystal
Robocco Wars
Adventure Island 4
Cocoron
Splatterhouse Wanpaku Grafiti
Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa
King Kong 2
Time Zone
Cross Fire
Mappy (port)
Mappy Land
Yume Penguin Monogatari
Kyattou Ninden Teyandee
Downtown Special: Kunio-kun no Jidaigeki da yo Zenin Shuugou!
Getsu Fuuma Den
Esper Dream 2
Spartan X 2
Armadillo
Moai Kun
Grand Master
Ninja Jajamaru: Ginga Daisakusen
Ninja Kid 2
Wai Wai World 1 + 2
Hi No Tori
Arumana no Kiseki
Nuts & Milk
Quarth

[Sumez | 2,964]

5 hours ago, Gloves said:

I definitely wouldn't call Holy Diver a must-have lol.

 

Holy Diver is most definitely a must-have!

[Hammerfestus | 3,852]

Any thoughts on any of the other practicalities of famicollecting?  I mean I appreciate the walls of Japanese text and I’ll probably scrounge through those lists for a couple games that can be had cheaply enough but I’m probably just going to pick up SMB 1-3 and like Yarrrr Kung fu.  

Edited May 25, 2021 by Hammerfestus

[Sumez | 2,964]

All of the games on my list are perfectly playable without understanding Japanese (to some extent, the worst offender is probably Dracula-Kun, which has a quiz stage where all the answers are always in the same order, so you can easily guide your way through it - the rest of the game is a pure action game with no relevant text), and from what I've skimmed from games listed by other people, the same seems to be the case.

I don't really see any reason to get any Famicom releases for games I'm guessing you already own in another region. I'd often favor the JP releases because they are much cheaper, and importing from Japan is generally easier than other countries, but in the cases where you already own the game, or can get the US version cheaper, the Famicom is kind of redundant, no?

That said, JP Super Mario Bros. 3 is interesting (and insanely cheap), due to the power-down mechanic being identical to the one in SMB1, so the game is slightly tougher.

Edited May 25, 2021 by Sumez

[Hammerfestus | 3,852]

22 minutes ago, Sumez said:

All of the games on my list are perfectly playable without understanding Japanese (to some extent, the worst offender is probably Dracula-Kun, which has a quiz stage where all the answers are always in the same order, so you can easily guide your way through it - the rest of the game is a pure action game with no relevant text), and from what I've skimmed from games listed by other people, the same seems to be the case.

I don't really see any reason to get any Famicom releases for games I'm guessing you already own in another region. I'd often favor the JP releases because they are much cheaper, and importing from Japan is generally easier than other countries, but in the cases where you already own the game, or can get the US version cheaper, the Famicom is kind of redundant, no?

That said, JP Super Mario Bros. 3 is interesting (and insanely cheap), due to the power-down mechanic being identical to the one in SMB1, so the game is slightly tougher.

Thanks.  It is redundant but if I’m honest they’re just gonna sit all pretty on a shelf anyways.  To me it’s basically the same thing as variant collecting.  It’s an extension of my NES collecting aka here’s my copy of SMB 3 and this awesome azz copy of the Japanese original.  Couple of Holy Divers (or not.  I’m not $400 interested) and Getsu Fuma Dens to round it out and we’re solid.

Don’t look at me like that.  I’m no gamer.  I play a bunch of games in my free time but the gamer thing makes me throw up in my mouth a little  

[Sumez | 2,964]

....unlike the variant collector thing  

[scaryice | 587]

5 hours ago, Hammerfestus said:

Thanks.  It is redundant but if I’m honest they’re just gonna sit all pretty on a shelf anyways.  To me it’s basically the same thing as variant collecting.  It’s an extension of my NES collecting aka here’s my copy of SMB 3 and this awesome azz copy of the Japanese original.  Couple of Holy Divers (or not.  I’m not $400 interested) and Getsu Fuma Dens to round it out and we’re solid.

If you interested in both CIBs & variants, you could collect the Konami character cards. In 1987-88, Konami's releases came with a card that showed characters/scenes from that game. Each game came with one card, but almost every game has six different cards in total. The list includes notable games like Getsu Fuuma Den, Contra, Metal Gear, etc:

http://collectersroom.web.fc2.com/konamicard.htm

[DefaultGen | 5,410]

Is Armadillo not garbage? I played it after I played the similar homebrew Rollie and it's just the choppiest, most intermittently sluggish, most motion-sickness inducing NES game I've ever played. It beats Bugs Bunny's Birthday Blowout.

[DefaultGen | 5,410]

Also good luck @Hammerfestus on your quest to steal Japanese heritage and export it onto American shelves. It is currently my favorite part of collecting video games.

[Hammerfestus | 3,852]

1 minute ago, DefaultGen said:

Also good luck @Hammerfestus on your quest to steal Japanese heritage and export it onto American shelves. It is currently my favorite part of collecting video games.

I’m gonna culturally appropriate the crap out of them.  I had sushi just the other day.  
Did you know they have some sort of teleportation technology?  I ordered some DQ games and they showed up 2 days later dropped off at my door by some random looking Japanese guy in a nondescript sedan.  Crazy.

[Sumez | 2,964]

5 hours ago, DefaultGen said:

Is Armadillo not garbage? I played it after I played the similar homebrew Rollie and it's just the choppiest, most intermittently sluggish, most motion-sickness inducing NES game I've ever played. It beats Bugs Bunny's Birthday Blowout.

It's not great, it's definitely kind of kusoge. But I find it enjoyable.

[DefaultGen | 5,410]

Also to answer your unanswered questions: Boat shipping (surface) is cheap. If you combine a few games and are willing to forget about them until Christmas, you can do that instead of EMS or Fedex. EMS is just starting up again after COVID shutdowns in a couple weeks, so shipping has been more expensive than normal the past year.

FDS games are rewritable, so the only thing that's unique is the stickers (and there are fake stickers, woo!). If you're buying FDS don't forget to check the code on the back of the out box, it's unique to the game and often incorrectly paired.

There's nicer bootleg stuff generally than what I've seen in America, made to fool collectors not just for Timmy who wants to play Mario Kart 64. I want games like Recca and Gimmick, but I'm not confident enough to buy them off YAJ. I might need to enlist local help one day from the smart people here.

I used to use Dejapan, the bargain basement proxy whose prices are so low it has to be some kind of drug front, but their sniper failed on 2 big lots for me. Some weeks later 2 more snipes appeared to fail but were manually corrected to show I won days later. I don't trust them anymore. They also used to double-box my packages and stopped doing so in the past few months.

[Tanooki | 4,934]

I've seen mixed stories about dejapan too so I guess I"m not surprised.

Seriously look into zenmarket.  They charge a 300yen fee as a broker, that's it, and first one no fee.  Is EMS coming back finally?  I stopped buying after that last lot early this year because it was $30 to ship 25 GB games in a small box.  Even a single game would be close to that using a courier so I stopped.  Zenmarket doesn't just do yahoo japan auctions but also a few other services including rakuten so it's handy.

If EMS is back I'll have to start watching zenmarket/YAJ listings again for individual titles I'd like to dig into on a few systems I have.  Maybe even try getting a few famicom games again as ebay has become a bit ratty with imports too either from over there or the domestic pushers too so I've avoided it other than a glance for a couple years.

[DefaultGen | 5,410]

I have like 50 cultural artifacts ready to be deported at Zenmarket now. Hope it goes well  Their website is SO much better too.