DoctorEncore

On 10/29/2019 at 7:49 PM, DefaultGen said:

Those look nifty. I can't say enough good things about Really Useful Boxes, specifically the 64L and 17L sizes. They don't curve inwards at the bottom, they're sturdy, and they stack to the moon. AFIAK Office Depot is the only major place in the US that has them, and they're pricey as hell, but there's always a 20% off coupon and free shipping at least. Not sure if those modular ones are a newer line, but most plastic totes available at stores in the US are pretty much garbage in my experience.

Any insight into what size would be a nice fit for a  single layer of NES boxes? I've been looking for sturdy boxes that don't slope inwards forever. The standard totes are terrible for actually storing and moving valuables safely. I'll be moving about 700-800 NES games middle of next year so I'm definitely looking for something new.

Welcome!

Welcome!

Definitely Sega Saturn and N64. I never had either so I feel a certain allure to their unknowns.

FYI, your NA links don't work. You can find them on GoCollect by searching here: https://connect.gocollect.com/categories/archived-nintendoage-posts

Bump

3 hours ago, 0xDEAFC0DE said:

There are actually two variations of the oval seal. One has a TM in the lower right (see picture below), the other has a ®. Which one of these do you boxes have?

Also, Zelda 2 came with a star code. Picture from an ebay auction with Oval TM seal below (https://www.ebay.com/itm/264486988906).

The Dragon Warrior and MTPO that I have in my collection both have the oval SOQ TM.

1 hour ago, 0xDEAFC0DE said:

There are actually two variations of the oval seal. One has a TM in the lower right (see picture below), the other has a ®. Which one of these do you boxes have?

Also, Zelda 2 came with a star code. Picture from an ebay auction with Oval TM seal below (https://www.ebay.com/itm/264486988906).

Nice detective work. So there are at least two exceptions to my circle to oval seal theory.

6 minutes ago, 0xDEAFC0DE said:

I think you're pretty much right with the start code on boxes denoting the addition of the "For sale and use in ...". However, Zelda 1 provides a small exception. 

I answered you in the other thread, but just to get everything in the right place, here was my answer.

Awesome. Thanks for posting all this stuff. I'll eventually update it to include the manual info too. Then we can have all star info in it's own thread.

MTPO and DW are both oval SOQ. I'm quite sure it only applies to oval SOQ games. And besides DW, only oval SOQ games that started as circle SOQ

51 minutes ago, 0xDEAFC0DE said:

Oh, yeah I remember finding that thread last time I looked this up. Thanks for posting it. 

Awesome. Thanks for posting all this stuff. I made a topic about it in the collector's corner. I'll eventually update it to include the manual info too. Then we can have all star info in it's own thread.

MTPO and DW are both oval SOQ. I'm quite sure it only applies to oval SOQ games. And besides DW, only oval SOQ games that started as circle SOQ.

Star Code Boxes

The prevailing theory used to be that the star indicated the game was given away as a promotional item. However, as per previous discussions on NA and from my personal experience, the preponderance of evidence indicates the addition of a star probably represents an update to the sales and warranty info on side of the box to read "FOR SALE IN USA AND CANADA ONLY (+/- MEXICO)." As far as I can tell, the star code is  usually found on first-party Nintendo releases that had an initial circle SOQ release, then continued production as an oval SOQ release. There is one known exception to this rule (Dragon Warrior), which only has an oval SOQ version. It seems that around the time of the switch to the oval SOQ, Nintendo updated their warranty and sales statement on the side of the box. It is likely that many of the first-party games that had their SOQ switched were shipped without the updated statement, hence the requirement for an update and the star revision. This would generally be the last revision for most games that had the star, with the exception of major changes and re-releases (LoZ, LoZ II, and MTPO/Punch-out!!!).

I've  attached a picture of my MTPO with star code and two copies of Dragon Warrior (-1 without start and-1 with star) for reference. These are NOT the Nintendo Power promotional copies of DW because they are the -1 revision. I don't have a non-star MTPO but I'm pretty sure it does not have the statement. I will thumb through my collection and eventually update this post to be more definitive based on your feedback and my own anecdotal evidence.

Please let me know if you have any info to support or refute this theory. 

Star Code Box Games List (in progress)

Star Code Box Pictures

Circle-T Manuals

Late-gen releases and revisions have a Circle-T symbol on the front cover of the manual. This seems to indicate that the "Projection TV Warning" that was previously included as a separate pack-in sheet, has now been included within the manual. Evidence for this conclusion is two-fold:

1. All manuals with the Circle-T that I have examined have the projection warning
2. Several major re-releases/revisions that added a Circle-T to their manual have been examined and the only notable difference in the manuals is the projection warning. See pics below for examples.

Interestingly, very late gen releases (July 1993 and on) drop the Circle-T and the projection warning. Big thanks to @0xDEAFC0DE for reviewing dozens of manuals to contribute to the list below.

Circle-T Manuals List (in progress)

Circle-T Manuals Pictures

Star Code Manuals

The prevailing theory is that this star was added to manuals that were revised to include a rear projection TV warning (RPTV). This is usually a brief statement saying "Nintendo recommends against using a rear projection television with your NES as image retention may occur."

Some games started with a star on the manual then lost it on a revision (NES Play Action Football), started with and maintained it (Little Nemo), and others added it as a revision (LoZ). There are also many games with both the Circle-T and star (Play Action Football), which further muddies the water. Big thanks to @0xDEAFC0DE for reviewing dozens of manuals to contribute to the list below. Any help here is much appreciated.

Star Code Manuals List (in progress)

Reference Threads

Extra Space

20 hours ago, cj_robot said:

trying to get through Wind Waker for then first time (not loving it like I thought I would, tbh)

That game was just kind of meh for me. Not bad in any way, but unfulfilling. I heard the Wii U version is at least a bit more tolerable thanks to fast travel.

20 hours ago, guillavoie said:

After sailing my ass around the globe for a couple of months at Uncharted Waters (NES), I felt recently that I had enough of loading and unloading cargo for money, fame and women (those waitresses at the inn love famous sailors' company). Yesterday I decided that Genghis Khan II: Clan of the Grey Wolf is going to be my principal late evening time wasting device. Started the 'Conquest of the Mongols' scenario playing the Mongols, and got my sorry self whooped after about 5-6 turns by the first war campaign launch against my homeland...

But I'm determined to restart a quest tonight, and my thirst for conquering the world is stronger than ever.

Man, those NES strategy/sim games are rough... Good luck.

2 hours ago, Gloves said:

Yeah I'm really sorry guys, it honestly was starting to impact me emotionally, all the problems. 

I'm going to take a serious break from work to avoid burnout so I can bounce back better than before. 

I'll be there for round two. Great work so far!

How about another Earthbound? That 64 version seemed like such a cool idea.

Pretty much everything is on GoCollect. The site might suck, but most of the content is there.

https://connect.gocollect.com/categories/archived-nintendoage-posts

1 minute ago, Code Monkey said:

The star on the manual is completely different, lots of games have that. The star on the box is a Nintendo Power giveaway or online order or something like that. At least that's what my research shows.

I wonder if all third party, Nintendo published games came with these.

Actually, if you look 3 posts up in this thread, you'll see my explanation for the stars on the box. It seems to have to do with a revision of the warranty statement on the side of the box.

 Welcome!

This is one of the facets of the NES library that doesn't get enough attention. Just perusing this thread gives like a dozen examples of the variety on the console. Probably my favorite aspect of collecting for NES.

Congrats! Awesome setup! I hope to be there within a year for NES.

My biggest recent achievements: Finally reaching Champ in Rocket League and getting all strawberries in Celeste (except golden ones, I'm not insane). Nothing world-shattering.

8 hours ago, austin532 said:

Off the top of my head, NES Play Action Football only came with a * manual as far as I can tell. Pretty sure they messed up on that though as the 2nd print with the red 4 Player Game doesn't have the *.

I always thought the T in a circle meant it had the warning inside the manual?

Manual asterisks seem to be an entirely different beast. But I second your statement on Play Action Football. 2 of 2 manuals in my house have asterisks; both of these are the original print with the white 4-player symbol. I've never quite known what the circle T implies. The answer may be buried in the NA archives somewhere though.

Welcome!

On 10/29/2019 at 9:13 PM, rdrunner said:

Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds impressed me more than I thought it would. It starts out a lot like A Link to the Past, but then suddenly everything changes when you get a certain item.  Great stuff!

Can't go wrong with the Mario games either (though skip Mario Maker if you have it on other systems).

Link Between Worlds is simply amazing.

8 hours ago, Code Monkey said:

I have never run into anyone so greedy. This morning I had the winning bid at $262.07 for a star code Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! which indicates it is a promotional copy. .

5 hours ago, austin532 said:

Wait...since when does a star code mean it's the promo release? I'm pretty sure the star means it's the final revision. Given the fact that this is the oval seal version it probably came out in 89/90 right before Mr. Dream's Punch-Out!!

3 hours ago, Lincoln said:

This is the first time I've ever seen it suggested star means final revision. I don't see how that makes any sense- if something continues to sell and you need to print new copies theres always the possibility something has to change.

Actually, the star seems to indicate an update to the side of the box to read "FOR SALE IN USA AND CANADA ONLY (+/- MEXICO)." This is only found on first-party Nintendo releases that had an oval SOQ release prior to this statement becoming standard on all boxes. This would generally be the last revision for any game that had the star.

The list includes SMB, SMB2, Golf, Rad Racer, MTPO, Metroid, and LoZ. There are probably more, but that's the running list. See the following thread: https://connect.gocollect.com/discussion/11056/dragon-warrior-mail-away-letters

I've also attached a picture of my MTPO with star code and two copies of Dragon Warrior for reference. These are NOT the NP promotional copies because they are the -1 revision. I don't have a non-star MTPO but I'm pretty sure it does not have the statement.

Interestingly, the seller didn't show that one side of the box for some reason...

15 minutes ago, Jicsan said:

They're pretty good about it.  I'm looking forward to playing with them too, maybe we can put Mario Party on the shelf for a long while.

My 3 year old is also surprisingly good at sharing. So either our kids are especially good or kids have just been getting a bad rap for all these years.