Dr. Morbis

Yes, I will do that. I haven't been including oval seal tags on most of the submissions as this was the only seal type in use at the time of the large, large majority of NES releases. It's sort of akin to noting a box is Rev-A, which we've never done and seems unnecessary to me. However, documenting seals (especially round seals) is definitely important for the earliest titles that were released in both formats. ***So moving forward, anyone submitting a game first published before February 1989, please note the seal type and I'll include it in the list.*** That being said, I'm sure most of you have noticed that almost all of the titles listed to date have been in the meaty middle part of the NES library, chronologically speaking (89-91). The problem being, of course, that a lot of the really early games are worth a fortune sealed, and a lot of the very late releases are worth a fortune sealed or not. I remember videotaping Mike openning a sealed Stinger like 12 or so years ago, and we didn't think much of it, but nowadays, the thought of finding someone willing to open a title like that seems just about impossible. Ah well, we're just a hair away from having half the titles in the library documented, which is WAAAAAY further than I ever thought this project would get, so who knows what'll be coming down the pipe in the future...

What's strange to me is the cross-publisher advertising of the 4 Player poster. Normally a publisher would obviously want to only advertise for their own past/present/future games and not point out the existence of any of the games made by the competition, but it looks like the mighty Nintendo had different views, not unlike their insistence on including an NP insert in every licensed game from 1988 onward. Anyway, the list had been updated with seven new entries, and can be found here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/nes/916386-nes/faqs/49943 Of the two youtube videos, I wasn't able to get a response from the Simon's Quest guy, but since he put every item close to the camera, I was able to download a 1080 version of the video and see every code clearly; so here are the contents for the two titles not listed in this thread: Air Fortress - Cartridge (NES-AI-USA) - Box (NES-AI-USA) - Manual (NES-AI-USA) - Hal Advert/Poster (HAL-NES-US-1) - Nintendo Power Subscription Card (PMG-VR-USA) - Flat Black Dust Sleeve Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (Round Seal Variant) - Cartridge (NES-QU-USA) - Box (NES-QU-USA) - Manual (NES-QU-USA) - Konami Advert/Poster (KON-NES-US) - Registration Card (KON-NES-US) - Nintendo Power Subscription Card (PMG-US) - Flat Black Dust Sleeve

I'm working on an update. Two issues: DoctorEncore: your Gauntlet II entry says the NP insert is OMG-USA. Of course that's supposed to be PMG-USA, I assume? Trifecta: Regarding Top Players' Tennis, can you confirm that the 4 Player sticker is on the plastic wrap and not slapped onto the box itself? Based on your photos I'm noting that it's on the plastic wrap, but let me know if that's wrong...

Only the NEC consoles really need it done right away (PCE, DUO). My PC Engine was making really scratchy audio noises, but replacing all the caps fixed it right up...

Just do month and year for licensed NES releases. That much is known. I contributed my file to the NA magazine many years ago, and I could send it to someone or post it here if necessary...

This new database should not be fundamentally based on cartridges. I'm not the one making it, so it's not up to me, but IMHO the best way to do it is to make all primary listings based on game TITLE at the root level, and then within each title entry (ie: Zombie Nation) list all known cartridges, all known boxes, all known manuals, all known inserts, etc, and give it an overall designation such as "Regular release" or "Homebrew" or "Test Cartridge" etc...

Well that's quite the rabbit hole you're diving down. This sort of thing is easy for a game like DK Jr. Math that most likely only had a single print run so all cartridges will look the same, and all copies will have come with the same contents (notwithstanding the fact that a "sealed" DK Jr. Math probably can't exist as it was probably only sticker sealed, not wrapped). But for a game like Super Mario Bros. that was probably in print from the NES debut in 1985 until very near the end of the NES's run in the mid 90's, attaching particular cart styles to particular contents becomes overwhelming. Then there is the issue of code revisions. So take Castlevania, for example. The game was originally released in 5-screw format with a fatal flaw that frequently froze up the game at the Grim Reaper. Konami was quick to fix this little glitch with a revised ROM: Revision A. You can tell if you have a NES cart with a revised ROM because it will have an embossed A on the back warning label (or very rarely other games can have a B; but I've never seen a C). So the question becomes, when did the revision happen? If all 5-screw carts are original code with round Seals of Quality, and all 3-screw carts are Revision A code with the letter on the back and an oval Seal, that makes it somewhat easier, but something tells me it won't be that easy. And to make matters worse, back-swapping is really easy to do, so you can't always trust the cart you're looking at when determining if you've got a code revision without further confirming with Bootgod's site that a particular game actually does have a code revision to begin with. And for those who might not know, a LOT of NES games have code revisions. So, like I said, HUGE rabbit hole, but who doesn't like a good challenge! I think cartridges should be noted with following columns and then have particular contents tagged to them, when known: -Artwork Style - Descriptive (so, for example, Roger Clemens' Baseball might say 'Black End Label' or 'White End Label') -Screws - 5 or 3 -Seal of Quality - Round or Oval -Code Revision - 'No' or 'A' or 'B' Since this whole thing is such a Clusterfuck, what Mike and I have done with the Sealed Contents List from the start is record 'instances' of a particular game coming with particular contents. No one on earth is ever going to have every copy of every game ever released with every content that came with every print run, but having one full CIB from one print run of each title is what I'm personally shooting for, and that's where the Sealed Contents List comes in. But whatever you guys decide to do, best of luck with this endeavor!

Thanks for the new entry Jonebone Could you edit your post to include the code for the NP insert? Or just confirm that it says PMG-USA-1. I think that's the code but the picture is a little fuzzy when trying to read such small print. Thanks in advance.

To me, it depends on whether you're primarily a collector or a gamer. If you just want to have the games to own them (like slabbed or sealed games), that's one thing. But for me, it's always been about having a giant library of games to play. I can't play every game every day (or even every year), but I love gaming on the NES and it's awesome to read some thread about a hidden gem or game of the week or whatever and be able to go grab it off the shelf and pop it in your system, no matter what game it is on the system. I honestly can't tell you how many hundreds of games in the NES library have pleasantly surprised me play-wise, that I would have never given the time of day had I not been gunning for the full set...

Yeah, man! It always botherd me that NA's database listed Miracle Piano as not having a box, with a little red "No Box" symbol. Was it sold as a loose cart? Of course not; it came in a box. As a CIB collector I only count SMB/DH complete if you've got the Action Set, SSVB/NWC if you've got the Sports Set, etc. In fact, a stand-alone WCTM cart is only complete if you have the one box it came in: the Stand-alone retail release of the Power Pad. And on it goes...

Man, those names bring back some memories. I don't collect for PS1 so I don't know anything about it, nor do I collect for N64, but it's my understanding that it's still pretty easy to complete aside from Scuptor's Cut and maybe one or two others? The thing is, back then I collected for pretty much every cartridge-based system in existence, but I went through a huge purge a long time ago and I'm almost entirely a NES/Famicom and Turbo/PC Engine collector now, so I'm not too familiar with current prices for anything outside of that. I will say this, though: I've learned that you can never discount the "Nintendo" factor. If something has the word Nintendo anywhere on it's packaging, it seems to be more collectable by default. And cartridges trump discs all day long for collectability too. Just look at what's happening with the Switch...

Okay, I'll give it a week or so to see if anyone else chimes in about Air Fortress and/or Simon's Quest before I bother those guys myself. Thanks for the Barker Bill update; there are bound to be a few titles that have fallen through the cracks as we shifted from NA to here and from Mike (and whatever was on his old dead hard drive) to my updating of the list. If you find any others, do let me know. I've also updated the opening post of this thread to better reflect the mission and status of this project. Thanks, all.

Alright, the Sealed Game Contents FAQ on Gamefaqs has been updated with 53 new entries. It can be found here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/nes/916386-nes/faqs/49943 I want to send out a HUGE thank you to all of those who have continued to make such awesome contributions to this project. DoctorEncore, austin532, Trifecta and the rest of you really are helping to push this project forward to the point where we are actually nearing the halfway point of the library. From here on out I'll be doing updates after about every five entries or so, so keep those submissions coming. One question: has anyone gotten the codes off of the two people who's videos were posted for opening Air Fortress and Simon's Quest? I'll contact those guys myself if I have to, but I'm hoping someone else has already got them recorded...

Just a quick update: Mike has (finally) agreed to make me a co-author on the file on gamefaqs, so I'm working on a big update up to the date of this post. I'll let y'all know when it's up...

Here's my list. Feel free anyone to chime in if I'm missing anything. (And I'm not counting Konami/Ultra and other one-offs, but I do pick them up if I see them - I only have Silent Service so far right now). Ignore the lines with empty spaces; I don't know how that happened or how to get rid of them. My list total is 86: 10 Yard Fight 1942 3-D World Runner Alpha Mission Arkanoid Athena Athletic World Balloon Fight Baseball Breakthru Burgertime Castlevania Chubby Cherub Clu Clu Land Commando Deadly Towers Donkey Kong Donkey Kong 3 Donkey Kong Jr. Donkey Kong Jr. Math Double Dribble Duck Hunt Elevator Action Excitebike Ghosts 'n' Goblins Golf Goonies 2 Gotcha! Gradius Gumshoe Gyromite Hogan's Alley Ice Climber Ikari Warriors Jaws Karate Champ Kid Icarus Kid Niki Kung Fu Legend of Kage Legend of Zelda Lode Runner Lunar Pool M.U.S.C.L.E. Mach Rider Mario Bros Mega Man Metroid Mighty Bomb Jack Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! Ninja Kid Pinball Popeye Pro Wrestling Rad Racer Raid on Bungling Bay Ring King Rush 'n' Attack Rygar Section Z Sky Kid Slalom Soccer Solomon's Key Spelunker Spy Hunter Sqoon Stack Up Star Force Star Voyager Stinger Super Mario Bros. Super Pitfall Tag Team Wrestling Tennis Tiger-Heli Top Gun Track and Field Trojan Urban Champion Volleyball Wild Gunman Winter Games Wizards & Warriors Wrecking Crew Zanac

I've got about 11 to go, myself, and it's all the toughies too. I guess I should have got them out of the way years ago. Ah well...

Where is your database? For me, there are three imporatant aspects to this project, and number one is accesability to all. That's why I've been trying to get Mike to update his gamefaqs list - because that site is essentially a universal source for videogame information. Number two is keeping it up to date on a monthly basis (more or less, as warranted) and then making sure it falls into the right hands should the person updating the list ever have/want/need to bow out. And the third really important aspect to me is that it remain a *factual* repository of information only containing entries from opening sealed games. I really do think it's great that people out there are committed to making lists of "assumed" or "probable" contents, but for me personally, I don't want a list of people's best guesses; I want a list that only contains items factually known to come with particular games. Anyway, that's how I feel about this project, and that's why I started this thread: so we could keep entries coming in even after the death of NA. I've emailed Mike about it and I'm going to give him a week, but after that, it'll be time to move on...

That's awesome, Austin! It's also awesome that new entries are still rolling out. It's been like six months now, so if I can't get Mike to update his list on gamefaqs, I think I'll make a master list and post it somewhere myself (gamefaqs, neoseeker, somewhere else?). Mike's pretty much out of the scene so someone who actually cares needs to grab the torch. I would be / will be updating frequently, as NES is just about the only system I have any interest in. Stay tuned...

Couldn't agree more, Speedy, on all three points

Well, considering the fact that the Jordan-less NBA was issued an entirely new code instead of just a '-1' (presumably by Nintendo, since they manufactured both versions of the game), I'd say it's technically a different game, at least for ocd collectors like me who dig that sort of thing...

Yes, the licensed vs unlicensed Tengens have the added/missing Licensed by Nintendo scrawl, so the code is technically different. This ADE issue is really fuzzy though. They're not their own hybrid add-on for the reasons stated by Tulpa, but they are also not plug and play with an NES without the "Enhancer." The question you posed never comes up though, for a very good reason: if you collect licensed only, you generally don't want them, and if you collect unlicensed, you generally do. My question to you, ThePhleo, is this: if you're already determined to collect hundreds and hundreds of cartridges for a console you really like, what's one more? (or even seven more?). I mean, the Aladdin games are all dirt cheap (except maybe Micro Machines?) and if you love the NES, why not get a quirky add-on like this that plays even more games? Either way, if I were in your shoes, I would at the very least get Dizzy the Adventurer along with Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy, since you have to collect 250 Stars instead of 100, so that makes it a different gaming experience altogether. And back to the "is the title screen different?" issue, how would you feel about a game like The Untouchables, where both version have identical gameplay, but the re-release has an entirely new title screen designed to match the new artwork on the redesigned box? I guess, at the end of the day, if you're pretty much a full set collector for the NES anyway, why stop one game short of the goal???

Here's my list. I check every battery for applicable games before I play them, and keep a log of the date of replacement, when necessary. Excuse formatting as the copy/paste from my document to this forum seems wonky. 54 NES Games with Batteries: Al Unser Jr Turbo Racing Bandit Kings of Ancient China Bard's Tale Base Wars Baseball Simulator 1.000 Baseball Stars Baseball Stars 2 Crystalis Deja Vu Destiny of an Emperor Dragon Warrior Dragon Warrior II Dragon Warrior III Dragon Warrior IV Dungeon Magic Faria Final Fantasy Formula One Built to Win Gemfire Genghis Khan Ghost Lion Gold Medal Challenge '92 Golf Power Heroes of the Lance Hillsfar Kirby's Adventure L'Empereur Magician Maniac Mansion Might & Magic NES Open Golf Nobunaga's Ambition Nobunaga's Ambition 2 Overlord Pirates! Pool of Radiance Romance of the 3 Kingdoms Romance of the 3 Kingdoms 2 Shadowgate Shingen the Ruler Star Tropics Star Tropics II: Zoda's Revenge Tecmo NBA Basketball Tecmo Super Bowl Ultima: Exodus Ultima: Quest of the Avatar Ultima: Warriors of Destiny Uncharted Waters Uninvited Wario's Woods Wizardry: Proving Grounds Wizardry 2: Knight of Diamonds Zelda, The Legend of Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link

I'm one game away from a CIC set for US TurboGrafx, so if I ever complete that one it'll be from plopping down an ungodly sum on good ol' Magical Chase...

Big fan of DragonQuest V and VI and the later Bombermans (3,4,5). I actually really like the DQ remakes of 1 to 3 as well...

You can add me to the list for -3 Gretzky cart and Silent Service 5 screw cart.