I want the NES powerpak cart.

[Mxyzptlk]

I am looking for a FULLY loaded NES powerpak cart. I want it to be loaded with every single NES game that's possible. I am no expert on this at all, and am relying on the crap I have read. So if you have one for sale expect a bunch of questions from me.

 

Thanks,

 

Chuck Z.

[Deemar]

This has every game on it? Interesting.

[Austin]

This has every game on it? Interesting.

 

No, it's a basic flash cart, and the user has to load their own ROMs to it.

[icemanxp300]

Here is where it is originally sold. They get them in and out based on availability. Keep checking the site. This is where any question you have could be answered.

 

http://www.retrousb.com/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=34

[+Yurkie]

The Powerpak is an awesome product. Download the mappers from retrousb.com, get a rom pack from a torrent site and then google save stae mappers and download those. Drag the save state mappers into the folder with the mappers from retrousb and your all set.

[Mxyzptlk]

BUMP!!!! Or as Wood JL has suggested the Everdrive.

[icemanxp300]

BUMP!!!! Or as Wood JL has suggested the Everdrive.

 

I was just talking to a guy yesterday who says everdrive is WAY better than the powerpak.

[Mxyzptlk]

I was just talking to a guy yesterday who says everdrive is WAY better than the powerpak.

Can you please hook me up? I am going into withdrawals here.........

[icemanxp300]

http://shop.retrogate.com/EverDrive-N8-NES-ver-EDN8-NES.htm

[+Gemintronic]

Yeah. I lost a weekends worth of Dragon Warrior RPG'ing due to the PowerPaks weird manual labor with save files. Also, although I've gotten my PowerPak to work with my triple system it's very sketchy.

[+wood_jl]

Can we expand this discussion into a debate about the Powepak vs. the Everdrive-NES?

 

I have the Powerpak, and it's pretty great. That's not to say that the Everdrive-NES isn't great too, or perhaps even better. I wouldn't mind hearing that it's better. It's still kind of difficult to get one, and Stoneagegamer (the place you *really* want to get one from) isn't offering a "Deluxe" (what you *really want*) set, yet. Patience is always a virtue.

 

But for those who are familiar with both, please make we want an Everdrive-NES, since someone has already claimed its superiority, but has not specified the reasons for such. I am all ears, as is the orginal poster of this topic, and probably a gaggle of spectators, as well.

[Mxyzptlk]

Can we expand this discussion into a debate about the Powepak vs. the Everdrive-NES?

 

I have the Powerpak, and it's pretty great. That's not to say that the Everdrive-NES isn't great too, or perhaps even better. I wouldn't mind hearing that it's better. It's still kind of difficult to get one, and Stoneagegamer (the place you *really* want to get one from) isn't offering a "Deluxe" (what you *really want*) set, yet. Patience is always a virtue.

 

But for those who are familiar with both, please make we want an Everdrive-NES, since someone has already claimed its superiority, but has not specified the reasons for such. I am all ears, as is the orginal poster of this topic, and probably a gaggle of spectators, as well.

Yes, I would like to find out which one is better before I buy also.

[+Gemintronic]

I'd like to hear from an EverDrive-NES owner too. The perceived benefits seem to be:

 

* Better save game support

* Better compatibility with clone systems

* Enhanced support for FDS games

 

What makes me interested is the famicom cart version. I've got a ton of portable famicom clones including the Game Axe and Game Theory Admiral. It's just stupid trying to play a portable with a wall of cart upside my head.

[icemanxp300]

Ok I'll copy and paste what a NA member told me through facebook about the two.

 

****************************************************************************************

 

one thing that i HATED about the powerpak is if you were playing games that need to save

on your pc, you would have to download the .SAV file from retrozone

then rename it to roms name soo if you had a EARTHBOUND.ROM the save would have to be named EARTHBOUND.SAV

and you have to do that manualy for each game that saves, and if you power the system down wrong, it dosent even save

but everdrive dose it all automagicly for ya, no manual steps.

 

one thing to look at is the roms that dont work

the everdrive has a small list that dont work

and so dose the powerpak

but there are a few that work on one, but not the other

Edited July 13, 2013 by icemanxp300

[Mxyzptlk]

Bump

[psquare75]

I figured out the PP saving thing. It's not that bad and just takes a little forethought. Shutting down is like we were always supposed to do it. reset for a few seconds, then power off.

[Andromeda Stardust]

I have an NES PowerPak and an FC Everdrive, in addition to SNES Everdrive and Atari Harmony. All excellent products. Both PowerPaks have clunky unreliable saving systems, which is why I chose Everdrive over PowerPak for SNES.

 

Whether you're using PowerPak or Everdrive, you'll need to sort the files into folders. DO NOT ATTEMPT to stuff 1000s of files in a single directory! The PowerPak does not alphabetize the ROMs, and Everdrive is limited to 252 files per directory. I don't know what the file limit is on PowerPak. Maybe StoneAgeGamer can pipe in.

 

As for the ROMs, Google is your friend.

Edited August 2, 2013 by stardust4ever

[Deemar]

Ok I'll copy and paste what a NA member told me through facebook about the two.

 

****************************************************************************************

 

one thing that i HATED about the powerpak is if you were playing games that need to save

on your pc, you would have to download the .SAV file from retrozone

then rename it to roms name soo if you had a EARTHBOUND.ROM the save would have to be named EARTHBOUND.SAV

and you have to do that manualy for each game that saves, and if you power the system down wrong, it dosent even save

but everdrive dose it all automagicly for ya, no manual steps.

 

one thing to look at is the roms that dont work

the everdrive has a small list that dont work

and so dose the powerpak

but there are a few that work on one, but not the other

I know this topic's a little old but I don't want new searchers to get the wrong information.

This is incorrect, I have since purchased a PowerPak and use it every day. I'll attempt to explain how the saving works.

 

You do need to download a save file from retrousb.com because it's formatted properly for save data (I'm guessing). Either way, the PowerPak can't create a save file itself (I'm guessing because of permissions issues), it just needs a save file on there before you start. So when you go to save a game, you choose which file you want to save to. I hope this makes sense.

 

To put it in a real world scenario, I played Dragon Warrior III over Christmas (a lot). I would play the game like normal and visit the king in order to save the progress like normal. The whole time you're playing the game, even though you're saving it along the way, nothing is actually saved to the memory on the cartridge. When turning off the game you hold the reset button for 4 seconds, then let go. The game asks if you want to save and to which file. I saved it to the only save file I had on there (8kbsave.sav) and then turned off the Nintendo. It's that simple. Some things to note:

- It doesn't matter what your save file is named since you get to choose where you save your game.

- As long as you have a save file on there, you can keep duplicating that same file as many times as you like whenever you need a new one for a new game. Just keep making copies, you don't need to download new ones from online, you only do that once.

 

The thing that really pissed me off was that I assumed the Compact Flash cartridge which goes in the PowerPak is the same price as an SD card so when I saw that you could get one included with the PowerPak for $17 I declined. I knew that a 4 gibibyte SD card is only $5 so I felt like I would be getting ripped off. When I went to the store to buy a Compact Flash card for my new PowerPak I discovered they are $40 in store so I really got ripped off. However for some reason the SNES PowerPaks come with a free Compact Flash card included in the price. I thought that was weird.

[+Gemintronic]

Yeah. The whole save file business with the PowerPak SUCKS. I've lost days of progress forgetting the ritual. If there's another option then I'd take it.

[Deemar]

Yeah. The whole save file business with the PowerPak SUCKS. I've lost days of progress forgetting the ritual. If there's another option then I'd take it.

It's not hard.

 

a) hold reset button

b) release

c) tap A

d) power off

[+Gemintronic]

It's not hard.

 

a) hold reset button

b) release

c) tap A

d) power off

 

I agree. It is an extra step though. Sometimes it gets forgotten. Just sayin' Buyer beware: Murphy does happen.

[bomberpunk]

i wish this discussion was about the three SNES versions that are out there. (Super Everdrive VS SD2SNES VS SNES Powerpack)

[+Gemintronic]

i wish this discussion was about the three SNES versions that are out there. (Super Everdrive VS SD2SNES VS SNES Powerpack)

 

The only complaint I have with the SNES PowerPak is inserting the CF card can be tricky. Otherwise operates as intended.

[icemanxp300]

So Deemar let me get this straight. This is what I had posted and your replies.

 

1. you need to download a save file from retrozone.

 

you agreed but you said retro usb. anyhow.

 

2. power system down wrong it doesn't save.

 

you agreed there is a specific way you have to power down the system to get the save to work.

 

3. rename the save file to specific game.

- It doesn't matter what your save file is named since you get to choose where you save your game.

- As long as you have a save file on there, you can keep duplicating that same file as many times as you like whenever you need a new one for a new game. Just keep making copies, you don't need to download new ones from online, you only do that once.

 

It seems the save is all you disagree on. Since I have no knowledge of these paks personally please explain further what you mean. From what I gather. You are trying to tell me you can duplicate the same file multiple times if needed? Now being very proficient at computers this is what I would like clarification on. You can only have 1 file with the same name per folder. So do you copy numerous saves to the same save file w/out them overiding the other saves? Do you have a different folder for each game w/that same save file in it? How do you do what you do?

 

This sound pretty confusing to me. This being even if you can save multiple games to each save file, it obviously must get full since you mention duplicating it. If you have a 100 duplicated files with the same name how do you know what saved game is on what save file?

Edited February 12, 2014 by icemanxp300

[Deemar]

So Deemar let me get this straight. This is what I had posted and your replies.

 

1. you need to download a save file from retrozone.

 

you agreed but you said retro usb. anyhow.

 

2. power system down wrong it doesn't save.

 

you agreed there is a specific way you have to power down the system to get the save to work.

 

3. rename the save file to specific game.

 

It seems the save is all you disagree on. Since I have no knowledge of these paks personally please explain further what you mean. From what I gather. You are trying to tell me you can duplicate the same file multiple times if needed? Now being very proficient at computers this is what I would like clarification on. You can only have 1 file with the same name per folder. So do you copy numerous saves to the same save file w/out them overiding the other saves? Do you have a different folder for each game w/that same save file in it? How do you do what you do?

 

This sound pretty confusing to me. This being even if you can save multiple games to each save file, it obviously must get full since you mention duplicating it. If you have a 100 duplicated files with the same name how do you know what saved game is on what save file?

You stated that the user had to download a save file from Retrozone and then rename it in a certain format, and this is for every game they wanted to save. As I stated, this isn't true. You download a file once and don't have to rename it at all. Obviously if you want more than one save file you'll have to rename it to something but it doesn't have to be a new download from retrousb.com and it doesn't have to be a specific format.

 

When I mentioned you can copy the same file, I mean copy it and rename it to whatever you want. I downloaded the 8kbsave.sav file from retrousb.com and then just made 10 copies of it, one for each of:

- Zelda

- Dragon Warrior III

- Dragon Warrior IV

- some others I don't remember

 

I did name them with the same name as the games so I'd be able to tell them apart but I didn't have to do that. I could have just named them 1.sav, 2.sav, 3.sav.....

 

Further to this, I'm pretty sure you don't even need to download the file from retrousb.com at all though I'm not sure of this. My assumption is that the system doesn't have permissions to create a new file on the file system, it only has permissions to write to an already created file, therefore you need to put the file there yourself. I haven't tried this yet.