Famicom Book?

[Famicom Book?]

Anyone know of a good book with info / descriptions of Famicom games (in English)? There's a few excellent NES ones like that, but nothing I've seen really goes into variations between Japanese and N.American / European releases, or Famicom exclusives, etc. Even a website would be great. I've been playing / reading about this system for decades and there's still so much left to explore and learn.

[BYO Atari 7800 Controller - Schematic for dummys]

 

That is a great question! I wonder if it has to do with pins 5 and 9 being the paddle controller pins from the atari 2600. They go through a resistor to ground or, when the button is pressed, they connect to pin 6.

That's the same ballpark I found myself in when spending a little more time on the issue. Since I've decided to forgo 7800 compatibility, though as I don't have one.

[7800 controller resistors?]

Hello there! Working on a home arcade controller that will have compatibility for 2600, 7800 and Colecovision. I've tried looking around but can't find a definitive answer -- how essential are those 620ohm resistors? I'm mostly wondering if they're likely to cause any interruption in function (or other problems) if they are left in the circuit for 2600 and Colecovision operation, or left out?

 

Just want to simplify the number of switches I'm using... the fewer the better.

 

Thanks.

[10 Most fun 2600 games?]

 

First 10 that popped in my head as 'go to' fun games:

H.E.R.O.

Seaquest

Megamania

Masters of the Universe - The Power of He-man

Adventures of Tron

Pitfall!

Pitfall II - Lost Caverns

Dark Cavern

Haunted House

Cosmic Ark

 

Dark Cavern! Always forget about that game, but always enjoy it.

[10 Most fun 2600 games?]

Not counting newer homebrews...

 

Beamrider

Fantastic Voyage

Cosmic Ark

Berzerk

Frostbite

Defender II

H.E.R.O.

Wizard of Wor (of course...)

Combat

Towering Inferno

[Convincing Atari games]

Interesting topic. I think I've thought about this on a number of occasions but never really put it into words. Towering Inferno, Cosmic Ark, Berzerk, Fantastic Voyage, Pitfall I and II... those always made me forget I was looking at a bunch of blocky crap.

[How Many Copies Of The Same Game Do You Own?]

I think the most duplicates I have are four or so Pitfalls, for some reason. Lots of doubles for 2600. There are a handful of games I'd like to just buy up whenever I found them, because they're so damn good... but, you know, groceries and whatnot.

[db-9 with all 9 wires?]

Ah, that would come in handy as I'm about to do a complete cap replacement on my Vectrex and planned on buying their kits.

[db-9 with all 9 wires?]

Awesome, thanks a lot! Will give that a try.

[db-9 with all 9 wires?]

I'm looking to buy a few db-9 extension cables, but I need a source that sells them with all nine wires included. I've found a few that are labeled for 2600 and they've only got 6 wires inside. Will be using these for a homebrew stick that can function for 2600, 7800 and colecovision -- so having all those pinouts connected is important.

 

Thanks!

[BYO Atari 7800 Controller - Schematic for dummys]

Just now getting into this sort of thing and am wondering if anyone could explain to me what the function of those resistors are? I know what the component is, I just mean what their effect is with the controller. I'm trying to cobble together a design that will let me install a switch or two for Colecovision compatibility and want to make sure I understand everything I'm seeing before I get too far.

[Last 3 games you played?]

Qix (Game Boy)

Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)

Miner 2049er (Colecovision)

[What's your favorite "kind" of game?]

Actually I should add that I have a special affinity for multi-directional shooters.

[What's your favorite "kind" of game?]

Read wall of text and thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

For me I tend to enjoy niche games, or games that do something "unique". Towering Inferno, Frogs, even Hide n' Seek. Though I'm not sure if this is more of an appreciation, as opposed to a "I want to play these constantly." Hard to tell. I get glued to just about any decent game.

[Did you get any video games for Christmas?]

Everything after the "Then picked myself up" part, shamefully, yes.

[7800 vs. Colecovision pinouts]

I'm in the process of building a two button arcade stick that I'd like to use with my 2600 / 7800, as well as a Colecovision. As far as I can tell the main conflict would be a differences in fire button pinouts between the 7800 and Colecovision. If someone would be able to refer me to a clear diagram I can trust, that'd be great. I've found a few already, but they're poorly labeled and from sources I can't have a conversation with. I prefer to be as sure as possible about the parameters of a project before diving in.

 

Thanks!

[Did you get any video games for Christmas?]

Rounded up some missing Activision titles, including Pressure Cooker, Frostbite, Pitfall II, Plaque Attack. Snagged one of the few remaining Vectrex titles I never bought, Armor Attack (of all things). DiRT Rally for Xbox one. Shovel Knight and Star Fox Zero for the Wii U. Then picked myself up Mace: The Dark Age for N64, Vortex for SNES, Forgotten Worlds for the Genesis, Tropical Freeze for the Wii U, and a Vectrex Multi-Cart. Also about to rebuild a few DMG's with custom cases, buttons and lighting, as well as building a nice two button arcade stick for 2600/7800 with pinout switching so two button support will work with the Colecovision.

 

Basically I'm going to starve to death because I just blew a year's worth of game budget in two weeks.

[Vectrex misalignment -- normal?]

There's a set of voltage offset pots that affect the alignment, but common sense seems to dictate that you'll eventually run out of rope and should instead adjust the magnet rings. I just don't even want to put my hands on it without talking to someone who has done this a fair number of times. Hearing that this is fairly common, considering their age, is good news to me -- an abnormality would be more suggestive of a need to correct the issue.

 

Hopefully I'll grow old and die before it degenerates too far. I'm no stranger to emulation, but for my eyes and hands nothing beats the real thing when it comes to this machine in particular.

 

Thanks a lot for the responses!

[Vectrex misalignment -- normal?]

The title sort of spells it out. I've had my Vectrex for a few years now and love it. I've started to get a bit more "collecty" about the whole thing and began looking into maintenance, etc. The fact is, if I somehow lost it, it exploded, etc... it may take years to get a new one.

 

My alignment is off, but not too bad. A bit off center, even less of a horizonal issue. With some overlays you don't notice, but with stuff like Solar Quest, the dot in the center is definitely off. My question is -- is this pretty normal? Are a lot of Vectrex systems like this?

 

I'm not tech-ignorant and understand the procedure for altering the alignment, but frankly I'm scared of doing so because I've not got a lot of room for trial and error. I guess I'm just wondering whether or not a Vectrex that goes out of alignment like this *needs* to be repair, perhaps to avoid future loss of alignment.

 

I don't know what I'd do without this thing, haha.

 

Thanks a lot.

[Do you spend more money on vintage or modern games?]

I prefer vintage games hands down, but a contributing factor is all of this endless needling for DLC, etc. I'm tired of spending a ton of cash for incomplete games.

[Some 8 Bit Love.]

Haha I'll close my eyes.

[Atario 2600 Composite Mod Advice]

I'm looking to modify one of my VCS - CX2600A's for composite video. There seem to be a dozen kits out there, but I was hoping to get some first hand suggestions as to which one to go with.

 

Thanks!

[Some 8 Bit Love.]

That's some awesome hardware, thanks for sharing! Or maybe I shouldn't thank you, as I've been trying to avoid getting into the 8bit Atari computers, lol.

[My NES Shelf]

New around here and thought I'd share the NES collection first. Just started my Famicom obsession and thus far have picked up (not all pictured) Thexder, Galaga, Exerion, Cocoron, Kid Dracula and Rockman 4 & 5. The stuff that's covered up is Faxanadu, Batman Return of the Joker, The Battle of Olympus, Legacy of the Wizard, King's Knight and Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse.

I don't really buy (or keep) games I don't like. The Tengen stuff is kind of an exception though, as I love the history behind it and want to get a full-ish set eventually.

Anyway, thanks!

[Snowed in, bored with what I had so I did this]

Very cool, and thanks for posting your source material. I've been really intrigued by Arduino as a platform for electronic games for a while now. Actually doing something with that intrigue requires this super rare substance though, time.