The Coming of the NES Clones

[Great Hierophant]

Before I discuss the new NESclones, I would like to distinguish them from Famiclones with a bit of history. Famiclones were pirate knockoffs of the Nintendo Family Computer (Famicom), released in June of 1983 in Japan to spectacular success. The first Famiclones probably came out only a year or two after the Famicom's release and looked very much like it. Generally, Famiclones quickly dispensed with the internal connections of the gamepads but kept the Famicom Expansion Port for other peripherals. (I doubt that many kept the integrated microphone in controller #2.) Most also soon added RCA composite video and audio jacks. The 7-pin NES ports were unknown to Asia but the 9-pin Atari ports were relatively common, so the pirates used that to connect their gamepads. As other systems came onto the market like the Super Famicom and the Sega Mega Drive, pirates began to make their Famiclones look like those systems. Around the time of the Playstation, NES-on-a-Chip Famiclones began replacing earlier, cloned chip designs. Also, the later Famiclones lost the Expansion Port and the ability to mix cartridge based sound with internal sound. Accuracy and replacement value suffered as a result.

 

These days, the guts of a Famiclone are incredibly cheap to manufacture and completely legal to do so now that Nintendo's patents on the internal hardware have expired. Interestingly, at long last Famiclones have been introduced into North America in quantity. In the past couple of years, mall kiosks have popped up around the country selling Nintendo 64 controller-shaped controllers with Famicom games inside them (with a few notable exceptions like Contra.) Sometimes they sold Famiclones with games on a separate and small Famicom cartridge. Of course, these people never told their customers that with just a piece of hardware they could use with just a bit of extra hardware. Notably, these pirate kiosks have faced pressure from Nintendo, declining sales and poor customer satisfaction.

 

Recently, I have heard rumors that NES clones would be forthcoming. These devices are really just Famiclones with 72-pin converters instead of 60-pin converters and 7-pin NES controller ports instead of 9-pin Atari controller ports. Now, there have been NES clones before, during the heydays of the NES, but they were usually for the European PAL countries who had less strict intellectual property protection. Brazil also had something similar going on (they use PAL color encoding and NTSC resolutions and refresh rates.) But finding these clones today is difficult at best. Also, they often used 9-pin Atari controller ports like Famiclones.

 

Today, those rumors are fact. NES Clones are available at last. The important thing about them is that they are extremely convenient yet work. No more converters, unlike the Neo Famicoms that have been available for the past year. You can use you games simply and your own controllers natively. (This is including the Light Gun so I'm told, so you can use anything. You will need two extension cables to use a NES Four Score or a Satellite and they are hard to find again.) Nintendo made controllers are by far superior to any pirate junk. Composite audio and video outputs mean an end to RF hell. The systems from Yabo are sleek, clean and come in a variety of colors compared to the standard two-tone gray of the NES-001 Front Loader. The systems are also much smaller. (I won't go into the ugly asymmetry of the NES-101 Top Loader, as that reflects my personal preferences.) Finally, at roughly $45 they are much cheaper than NES Top Loaders which run for $80 without games and brand new besides.

 

The only questions remaining are reliability, compatibility and quality. Pirate systems aren't known for their longevity or durability. I would guess these systems may break or fail to work in a shorter time than Nintendo's hardware (notwithstanding the Front Loader's cartridge connector.) Compatibility may be a real problem as NES-on-a-Chip's recreation of the original hardware is not known for its stringent accuracy, especially with sound. Quality asks whether the Video and Audio output are up to par with the Front Loading NES's composite video and audio output. I intend to to determine this, using my knolwedge of the NES, its hardware and software as soon as possible. I hope to present comparison audio samples digitally recorded from Nintendo and pirate hardware. As I don't have a video capture card, I cannot post video comparisons, but I can describe any derivation from the real hardware adequately.

[+FujiSkunk]

Where can we find these new sets?

[Cobra Commander]

Sounds cool, I got a Yobo and have noticed some minor irregularities. However I dont have a video capture card either so no help there. All in all I like the yobo way beter than the toaster as far as loading games. I moding a few toaster for better connections, but dont have a solid Nes for comparisons.

 

I found my yobo famiclone at a localy owned new/used game shop, I've heard of people seeing them at flea markets also.

[chrisbid]

of course, a simple 72 pin connector replacement on a standard NES does wonders for that model's quality.

[NE146]

The first Famiclones probably came out only a year or two after the Famicom's release and looked very much like it.  Generally, Famiclones quickly dispensed with the internal connections of the gamepads but kept the Famicom Expansion Port for other peripherals.  (I doubt that many kept the integrated microphone in controller #2.)

 

My pirate Famicom (which I bought before the NES came out) actually does have the microphone in the 2nd hardwired controller. I guess it was meant to be an indistinguishable to the avg. buyer at the time, and indeed when I bought it, I thought I had bought an actual Family Computer which I had seen in Japan the previous year. I didn't figure it out until years later

 

I've never used the microphone for anything though... or maybe I just wasn't aware if any of the games I had used it

[Great Hierophant]

My pirate Famicom (which I bought before the NES came out) actually does have the microphone in the 2nd hardwired controller. I guess it was meant to be an indistinguishable to the avg. buyer at the time, and indeed when I bought it, I thought I had bought an actual Family Computer which I had seen in Japan the previous year. I didn't figure it out until years later  

 

I've never used the microphone for anything though... or maybe I just wasn't aware if any of the games I had used it

 

I didn't know that some had microphones, just goes to show you that the earliest Famiclones tend to be the best.

 

If you want to try out the microphone, just speak into it and your voice should come out through the TV's speakers. Also, if you have the NES game Raid on Bungeling Bay, try using it in a two player game and you may see a microphone icon come on the screen.

[MegaManFan]

And the icon means... what? "Hey shut your piehole maggot, I'm trying to blow stuff up here and you won't shut your yap, it's making me miss!" It's amazing they'd bother to leave the code in while porting it - I'd guess laziness because they never though anybody here would have a controller with a mic so they were safe.

[Great Hierophant]

I believe it was used so the second player could direct the enemy planes to attack the first player, but I didn't get it to work very well in VirtuaNES. I hear that if you speak into it while playing Kid Icarus (FDS version) while at the shopkeepers they will give you better prices. I couldn't get that to work.

 

Anyways, my Yabo NES FC Game System (the name of this NES Clone) is on its way. Only cost me $45.00 on ebay.

[figgler]

I hear that if you speak into it while playing Kid Icarus (FDS version) while at the shopkeepers they will give you better prices.  I couldn't get that to work.  

 

Not to deviate from the main topic too much, but in our version there is a way to do this - pressing select on Contoller 2 maybe?

 

I think $45 is a bit much for a clone, I mean it's a nice oddity, but a real NES is much cheaper...

[JB]

I hear that if you speak into it while playing Kid Icarus (FDS version) while at the shopkeepers they will give you better prices.  I couldn't get that to work.  

 

Not to deviate from the main topic too much, but in our version there is a way to do this - pressing select on Contoller 2 maybe?

No surprise. If I recall, P2 start and select replaced the mic.

[compacho]

I believe it was used so the second player could direct the enemy planes to attack the first player, but I didn't get it to work very well in VirtuaNES.  I hear that if you speak into it while playing Kid Icarus (FDS version) while at the shopkeepers they will give you better prices.  I couldn't get that to work.  

 

Anyways, my Yabo NES FC Game System (the name of this NES Clone) is on its way.  Only cost me $45.00 on ebay.

 

Are those the ones that have the US nes ports on them? If they are, then I too have been wanting one for a while. Now that they are available, I've been waiting for good reviews to show up.

 

Do u think u can give a nice lil review about its quality and post pics? You would be doing a great service for many players here.

 

$45 is not bad but i seen it for $35 too I believe.

[Great Hierophant]

I will post a review and more, I hope, once mine arrives. My machine cost about $33, with $12 in shipping, a good price. I had to be absolutely sure I was getting a the USA version of the FC Game Console, as Yabo calls it. (One hint, look at the cartridge slot. If the slot "points" towards the rear, its a USA version. If it "points" towards the front, its the Japanese version.) One unfortunate design flaw is while the device does have NES-style controller ports, they are positioned differently than on real Nintendo hardware. This makes the use of a NES Satellite, Four Score, Advantage or any other controller that uses two ports difficult. The only way to do so is to obtain two NES Controller Extension Cables, and they aren't easy to come by these days.

[JB]

I will post a review and more, I hope, once mine arrives.  My machine cost about $33, with $12 in shipping, a good price.  I had to be absolutely sure I was getting a the USA version of the FC Game Console, as Yabo calls it.  (One hint, look at the cartridge slot.  If the slot "points" towards the rear, its a USA version.  If it "points" towards the front, its the Japanese version.)  One unfortunate design flaw is while the device does have NES-style controller ports, they are positioned differently than on real Nintendo hardware.  This makes the use of a NES Satellite, Four Score, Advantage or any other controller that uses two ports difficult.  The only way to do so is to obtain two NES Controller Extension Cables, and they aren't easy to come by these days.

The plugs are far apart? Because the Advantage has a 2-tail cord, not a molded 1-plug one.

[mechanized]

My only problem with the NES Top-Loader is the crevice between the incline with the buttons and the raised area with the controller ports. It's a bit of a pain to clean well... can't just wipe it down, have to whip out the brush and everything. Blargh.

 

 

That aside, I look forward to your review and further information on the NES Clone.

[Great Hierophant]

The plugs are far apart? Because the Advantage has a 2-tail cord, not a molded 1-plug one.

 

Its been too long since I last used one. But if it has some space between the plugs, then it should be OK to use in the NES Clone. The spacing between the two ports isn't far apart. Onle less strike against it then.

[Bruce Tomlin]

The plugs are far apart? Because the Advantage has a 2-tail cord, not a molded 1-plug one.

That's right... and there's no requirement to use the second plug at all. That's just for when you don't want to pay $50 more (or whatever these cost new) and would rather share one controller between two players.

[JB]

The plugs are far apart? Because the Advantage has a 2-tail cord, not a molded 1-plug one.

That's right... and there's no requirement to use the second plug at all. That's just for when you don't want to pay $50 more (or whatever these cost new) and would rather share one controller between two players.

Indeed. I leave a tail dangling because I'm too lasy to hook 'em both in.

[Clint Thompson]

During my search of Dreamcast games this weekend I spotted one of these systems at a video game x change. I was like... wow... so they made some 3rd Party NES clones.... he was like yea, they just released them a few weeks ago.

 

Pretty wild.... I'm not sure about them being cheaper then a mint condition NES but hopefully they don't have the blink issue

[keilbaca]

of course, a simple 72 pin connector replacement on a standard NES does wonders for that model's quality.

830924[/snapback]

 

Not only that but you can overclock an original NES, these things probably wouldn't take a faster clock for the life of them.

 

Doesn't mean that I'm not going to try though

 

Where can I get one of these?

[yuppicide]

You can get those top loading NES clones for under $25 on eBay with shipping around $12-$15. They come in 3 colors.

[dojosky]

the microphones that are built in famicom 1 control pads are used for some bonus points in some games such as super mario bros. from what i was told and heard that if u say something in the microphone you will get bonus points or some kind of bonuses such as 1-ups but I haven't tried that yet myself ...LOL