Unboxing 301 Nintendo Famicom Cartridges!

[TPR]

For higher res versions of the photos: http://imgur.com/gallery/uld3G

Here sits four boxes of games, which actually contained a few more than 301 games, but I wasn't counting the duplicates.

Short version of the story - While I had a US Nintendo NES since the day it was released, I started working in the video games business for US offices of Japanese game publishers and we had a lot of Japanese Nintendo hardware in the office. I loved this stuff and always wanted to get back into it. So I did!

I love getting boxes from Japan. I don't know why, but getting Japanese stuff from the homeland just makes it all seem more "legit" for some reason. It also could be because it's my favorite place on earth so receiving something from there makes me miss it more.

I have to say all the games were packed VERY well! Huge thanks to several eBay stores I bought from including pal52, hit-japan, & terryyu27

Let's unpack, shall we?

This guy even threw in a couple of bonus carts! They'll most certainly get some positive feedback from me!

AND they included the alcohol wipes as well! Another awesome bonus!

Ahh, nothing makes my day more than boxes full of classic, awesome, retro, Japanese video games!!!

So a couple of things to note: Famicom carts come in all different colors and sizes. Most of them follow a uniform casing, but not all of them. Most them also DO NOT have end labels on the top spine, which is REALLY ANNOYING and I'll probably have to put some sort of labels on them because it makes them nearly impossible to organize. So for this exercise I'll sort the best I can.

First off, I will sort by "carts with end labels" and I'll also sort them again by publisher. So for example here we have Namcot, Konami, Bandai, etc...

Once I've exhausted carts with end labels then I'll sort by cart color. Sorting by color helped me find duplicates easier. There were a few exceptions that I made. For example, Taito carts did not have an end label, but they had a slightly different shell. So I included them with the black colored carts, but put them in their own category.

Here's the rest of the black carts.

Next we move on to more colorful carts! Because stuff in Japan is happy, fun, and full of color! (I'm not complaining! I love this!)

Here's a closer look at white and red carts. I tried as hard as I could to group colors and gradients of color together, but it wasn't always easy. But really this helped a *LOT* sorting out the duplicate carts I had (which was only about 20)

The blue carts seemed to have the most amount of gradients and were more difficult than any other color to separate. There were colors that were close to gray, green, purple, etc. I'll probably re-organize these again at some point anyway.

The rest of the carts with the weird "poop colored" ones at the end! lol

I also separated out any "Famiclone" carts as best I could. (If anyone notices clones in the rest of the lot, please let me know. I'm not up to expert level yet on identifying the harder to spot clones.) I also separated out the "oversized" carts. This just made it easier once again to spot duplicates and since all the other carts were *about* the same size, everything just looked more uniform by putting these on their own.

So there you have it! My tubs of carts! I love them! They really flash me back to my early days of when I was in the video games biz (you can look me up on Moby Games!)

Here's Tub #1

And Tub #2 - I'm pretty sure it won't be long now until I start Tub #3!

Now it's time to start playing! Might as well start, like any good story, at the beginning!

I'm curious to know how other people sort their Famicom carts? By company? By color? By alphabetical? Release date? Etc. Thanks for reading and please be sure to leave comments and feedback!

EDIT! Here is an update that adds another 75ish carts to the collection!

For higher res photos: http://imgur.com/gallery/3irE0

So I almost should have waited a day before posting the "Unboxing 301 Famicom carts" as I got another box in today! This one contained about 75 more carts.

Like with the previous lot, I started to go through them and check to see if there were any duplicates in the mix.

Thankfully only a handful of duplicates from the carts I already had and the ones that were dupes actually had better labels! So win-win there!

Once again I sort of organized them by color so it was easier for me to find those dupes.

Here's a closer look at the carts organized by color...

Gotta love that colorful Japanese goodness! These really are some of my favorite carts ever made!

In this lot I also picked up a few of the NAMCOT games in boxes. I love this packaging!

Here's a look at Metro-Cross which was never released for the NES in the US. (And it's such a fun game!!!)

And the backside of Metro-Cross...

And the inside! If you've never played this game with either an NES or MAME emulator, check it out. It's super fun!

This one cost me a bit more money but it was worth it.

Since I worked on the US version of Gun-Nac and I have had it in my collection since I was handed a copy right out of the cartons we had at ASCII, I figured having it's Japanese counter part would be nice to have in my collection as well! Thanks for reading!

[Silverfleet]

I don't have many, but the Famicom carts I do have are in an old cassette case, just like my loose Genesis and SMS games.

[DesertJets]

I have no useful advice to add.... BUT I love those Famicom carts. The colors, the artwork... so awesome.

[cybercylon]

whoops.... double post. Not sure what hit for that.

 

Anyway, I only have a few famicom carts, but I do like the artwork. That is an amazing collection you got there. I won't ask how much it was. Just enjoy it.

[Tanooki]

Damn dude, I mean if this is like your one system to enjoy good job on being that focused to get a lot of variety to enjoy over time.

 

I've got like 15 or so games, they're just in A-Z order and most of them do have top labels so they're sitting with that facing out on my rack. Just Splatterhouse is taller so it is at the end of the small stack to not hide the regular ones behind it in shadow.

 

If I had that kind of dedication to just enjoy one system I think perhaps I could be more happier with my games too because I'd be forced to ignore other systems, ignore the new (or limit it to like one) so I could get the time to really kick things around a bit and discover.

[AtariLeaf]

I only have a few and concentrate mostly on arcade ports that weren't released on the NES like Dig Dug, Mappy, Galaxian, and Pooyan but wow, that is an impressive sight, all those carts lined up like that. Beautiful looking carts.

[TPR]

Damn dude, I mean if this is like your one system to enjoy good job on being that focused to get a lot of variety to enjoy over time.

 

My main systems are ColecoVision, Nintendo NES (really Famicom) and Atari 2600. I don't really stray from those too much.

[+nanochess]

Nice collection! The good thing of Famicom carts is that are coloured and smaller than the bulky NES ones.

[Skippy B. Coyote]

 

I'm afraid I don't have any advice to offer on sorting Famicom cartridges since it isn't a system I collect for, but after looking though all the carts you unboxed I did feel the strong need to chime in just to say "F*** yeah! Bird Week!"

[TPR]

The good thing of Famicom carts is that are coloured and smaller than the bulky NES ones.

 

Agreed. I actually like them more than the US NES carts (sorry, I just do!)

[0078265317]

WOW, that's quite the collection dude.

[StopDrop&Retro]

NICE HAUL!!! I've been on a Famicom buying binge lately but just buying what I want one at a time.

 

I'm no expert, but I didn't catch anything too valuable in there. I guess the Takeshi's challenge is getting more valuable as people become more aware of it and you seem to have a couple copies of that.

 

Also, your copy of Nuts & Milk is a bootleg, the real cart is blue.

 

 

 

Some of my recommendations among what you have here:

 

Star Luster - this is kinda like a really simplified version of Elite. It's pretty fun and impressive to see on a Famicom. Also, it's 100% in English.

 

Ninja Kun original (red cart with red ninja) and sequel (purple cart with red ninja riding a frog) - I've become a big fan of the Ninja Kun games and these are among the best. That white oversized cart with the blue ninja on it is a spinoff in the same series, but that's when they took an RPG turn and it didn't work out well.

 

Field Combat - a pretty well made port of an arcade game, it's fun to learn the mechanics of it.

 

Banana - I haven't played a lot of this game but it's just one of the crazier oddities in the Famicom library, I think you'll like it.

 

Legend of Valkarie (or something... second group photo, bottom row, second to the left, green sticker) - this is one of the most interesting Famicom games because it's designed to be played with almost no language prompts, which is great for non-Japanese fluent players like myself. I hear you can even complete the whole game without visiting shops if you explore and figure out where everything is hidden. The combat is pretty terrible but the premise of the game is unique and worth a trip.

[TPR]

Also, your copy of Nuts & Milk is a bootleg, the real cart is blue.

 

I suspected as much. Thanks for confirming.

 

 

 

Star Luster - this is kinda like a really simplified version of Elite. It's pretty fun and impressive to see on a Famicom. Also, it's 100% in English.

 

I had this one on my Famicom in the 80s. Really liked it a lot. I describe it to people as sort of a 3D Bosconian.

 

 

 

Ninja Kun original (red cart with red ninja) and sequel (purple cart with red ninja riding a frog)

 

Agreed! Love the Ninja Kun series!

[Tanooki]

You know in a way I have the wrong way about it, but do have quite a few Famicom games too. I've got a NES shelled Supervision 115in1 cart, the mosty meaty of the Supervision packs in that it has the fewest repeats (97 or 98 unique titles) and it's a great selection as a space saver. Also late last year I got a FC Mobile 88 locally, dude had a modern Super Games 500in1 with it which has more Famicom on it, a couple hundred no name homebrew turds, but it also has many of the expensive NES titles people groan about as well. Between the two I've probably got 200 or so Famicom games on top of the real carts.

 

That valkyrie game looks fascinating I really should look into that. I do love Famicom games, but it's hard to research so many of the things. A bulk pick up would be a neat thing to do, but then finding out how much is unplayable or just bad would be a shame in the time involved in sifting through all of it.

 

Supervision has this: http://bootleggames.wikia.com/wiki/Supervision_115-in-1

 

This is what I have and I overguessed it (12 games, 13 with the boot)

- Super Games 500 in 1 (Multicart)
- Akumajyou Densetsu
- Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa ("Baby Mario" - Famiclone)
- Crisis Force (CI)
- FC Genjin: Freakthropus Computerurus
- Hello Kitty World
- Gradius II
- Mitsume ga Tooru
- Parodius Da!
- Splatterhouse Wanpaku Graffiti
- Twinbee 3: Poko Poko Dai Maou
- Wai Wai World 2: SOS!! Paseri Jou
- Yume Penguin Monogatari

[Bratwurst]

How much did you pay for all of this?

[TPR]

How much did you pay for all of this?

 

By the time is was all said and done (keeping in mind it was 3 different lots) I think I paid less than $2 per cart!

[jhd]

I love the range of colours; that alone is almost enough reason to collect these cartridges.

 

I have only one Famicom cart -- it is bright-yellow and a bootleg (I think) of SMB 3.

[mykgerard]

Okay, so.. I've bought a few lots of Japanese famicom and Super Famicom games from Ebay myself (of course nothing near this in size) and I'm curious what people do to find out the names (or English equivalents) of the games that have only Japanese writing. I haven't a clue!

Edited February 9, 2017 by mykgerard

[TPR]

Okay, so.. I've bought a few lots of Japanese famicom and Super Famicom games from Ebay myself (of course nothing near this in size) and I'm curious what people do to find out the names (or English equivalents) of the games that have only Japanese writing. I haven't a clue!

 

That is a very VERY good question in which I have an answer for you! Thankfully, with the Japanese being as smart as they are, Nintendo gives each game a specific product code, and usually that code relates to the publisher and game title in some way (but not always.) This code is printed on probably about 80% of the carts:

 

 

Now head over to the Famicom game list over at Famicom World: http://famicomworld.com/game-list/?order=id

 

And you can see this particular game with code TDF-KJ is from Toei Animation (the company used to be called Toei Doga so I assume TDF stands for Toei Doga Famicom) and is called Sukeban Deka III. Clicking on the title will also tell you if it was ever released in North America and what it's English name is. I'm not sure what "KJ" refers to in the code.

 

For games that don't have a code on them, usually at least the publisher will be somewhere on the cart. So I will google "Toei Animation Famicom Carts" and search through images until I find a match. At that point, usually the match will be on a page where it has the title of the game. I will cross reference that title with the titles on Famicom World to see if it comes up, or sometimes just check eBay to see if someone else is selling a cart under that name to see if it again matches.

 

Since Famicom games seem VERY readily available in Japan, there is loads of information out there on them. I so far have not come across a cart I couldn't identify, unless it was a bootleg "Famiclone" cart, and at that point you just ask either in these forums, on Famicom World, or Reddit. Someone will be able to tell you, I'm sure!

[mykgerard]

And that was a GREAT ANSWER! Thank you! Thank You! Thank you! I was hoping that there was some method of doing this. You've saved me a lot of frustration!

[Eltigro]

Heh... I looked at the code to tell that you had two baseball games that are just label variants.

[TPR]

Here is an update! For higher res photos: http://imgur.com/gallery/3irE0

So I almost should have waited a day before posting the "Unboxing 301 Famicom carts" as I got another box in today! This one contained about 75 more carts.

Like with the previous lot, I started to go through them and check to see if there were any duplicates in the mix.

Thankfully only a handful of duplicates from the carts I already had and the ones that were dupes actually had better labels! So win-win there!

Once again I sort of organized them by color so it was easier for me to find those dupes.

Here's a closer look at the carts organized by color...

Gotta love that colorful Japanese goodness! These really are some of my favorite carts ever made!

In this lot I also picked up a few of the NAMCOT games in boxes. I love this packaging!

Here's a look at Metro-Cross which was never released for the NES in the US. (And it's such a fun game!!!)

And the backside of Metro-Cross...

And the inside! If you've never played this game with either an NES or MAME emulator, check it out. It's super fun!

This one cost me a bit more money but it was worth it.

Since I worked on the US version of Gun-Nac and I have had it in my collection since I was handed a copy right out of the cartons we had at ASCII, I figured having it's Japanese counter part would be nice to have in my collection as well! Thanks for reading!

[+GoldLeader]

 

That is a very VERY good question in which I have an answer for you! Thankfully, with the Japanese being as smart as they are, Nintendo gives each game a specific product code, and usually that code relates to the publisher and game title in some way (but not always.) This code is printed on probably about 80% of the carts:

 

IMG_5038.JPG

 

Now head over to the Famicom game list over at Famicom World: http://famicomworld.com/game-list/?order=id

 

And you can see this particular game with code TDF-KJ is from Toei Animation (the company used to be called Toei Doga so I assume TDF stands for Toei Doga Famicom) and is called Sukeban Deka III. Clicking on the title will also tell you if it was ever released in North America and what it's English name is. I'm not sure what "KJ" refers to in the code.

 

For games that don't have a code on them, usually at least the publisher will be somewhere on the cart. So I will google "Toei Animation Famicom Carts" and search through images until I find a match. At that point, usually the match will be on a page where it has the title of the game. I will cross reference that title with the titles on Famicom World to see if it comes up, or sometimes just check eBay to see if someone else is selling a cart under that name to see if it again matches.

 

Since Famicom games seem VERY readily available in Japan, there is loads of information out there on them. I so far have not come across a cart I couldn't identify, unless it was a bootleg "Famiclone" cart, and at that point you just ask either in these forums, on Famicom World, or Reddit. Someone will be able to tell you, I'm sure!

 

This may be one of the most useful posts EVER!

 

Thank you so much for this! I've identified many a game, but usually took the long way home...

 

This list may have simplified my life.

 

Now, maybe I'm kind of a hypocrite as I tend to keep one of everything (even if it's just as a novelty), but I would tell people: The trick to Famicom, or Super Famicom collecting, in my humble opinion, is to keep everything with Lasers, robots, monsters, alien planets, mechs, pinball, arcade games, and dragons...But get rid of everything soccer, baseball, tile games, pachinko, horse racing and anything that's too Japanese to figure out.*

 

 

 

 

 

* Obviously your list will probably be different than mine.

[TPR]

Now, maybe I'm kind of a hypocrite as I tend to keep one of everything (even if it's just as a novelty), but I would tell people: The trick to Famicom, or Super Famicom collecting, in my humble opinion, is to keep everything with Lasers, robots, monsters, alien planets, mechs, pinball, arcade games, and dragons...But get rid of everything soccer, baseball, tile games, pachinko, horse racing and anything that's too Japanese to figure out.*

 

 

 

 

 

* Obviously your list will probably be different than mine.

 

No, I freaking *LOVE* this!!! lol

 

I'll keep all of those games, but they most certainly go into a "special" pile. (read: games that will exist in my collection but never ever will be played!)

[Andromeda Stardust]

neato! Its funny, by the thead title, i thought you unboxed 300 sealed games! i need to get gun-nac since the us version spiked through the roof...