Nintendo Famicom

Overview

The Famicom initially went up against Sega's first video game console, the SG-1000, released in 1983 but the Famicom's superior hardware and wide range of games from many developers allowed it to beat the SG-1000, which was discontinued in 1984. Sega would later release the Mark III in 1985, the third version of the SG-1000, and would become the Master System outside Japan. While the Mark III did not fare well against the Famicom, again unable to compete with Nintendo's stronghold on the Japanese gaming market, the Master System did outperform the NES in sales in some areas, such as Europe.

As an 8-bit games console, the Famicom uses a 6502 based Ricoh 2A03 processor running at 1.79MHz, with integrated programmable sound generator (a.k.a. APU 'Audio Processing Unit'), DMA and controller support. The Famicom supports 5 sound channels; 2 pulse, 1 triangle, 1 noise and 1 for digital samples. The system has 2KB of main RAM and 2KB of video memory, with the graphics being handled by the Picture Processing Unit (PPU). The colour palette provided by the PPU consists of 48 colours and 6 greys, and up to 64 sprites are supported by the PPU.

Let's now have a look at what the Famicom looks like starting with an overhead view:

If you are familiar with how the NES looks then the Famicom's appearance is a big contrast as the NES is very blocky in looks. The Famicom's cartridge slot is covered by a simple flap that can be lifted and the 2 controllers, which are wired into the console, sit happily at either side of the Famicom. Because the controllers aren't detachable the Famicom has an expansion port (seen in the photo above at the front of the console with a red cover fitted) in which to connect additional controllers or other accessories, such as 3D glasses. On the top of the console we have the power switch on the left, eject button in the middle to make it easier to remove a game cartridge, and the reset button on the right. There are warnings in Japanese above the power and reset switches in relation to the 2 switches.

For a closer look at the front of the Famicom and better detail of the (covered) expansion port:

The expansion port cover can be removed to reveal the hidden connector but it's best to leave it in when not in use to keep the connector clean.

Next we can take a look at one side of the Famicom showing how the controller rests in the Famicom itself:

The bottom of the Famicom is not too interesting and unfortunately on my Famicom the serial number was coming away so I cut off that part:

The underside is marked with the model number 'HVC-001' and '(c) Nintendo Co., Ltd 1983'.

Games were first released on cartridge (and later on floppy disk using the disk system add-on) and certain Famicom and NES games took advantage of the games being on solid state format since extra hardware could be provided in the actual cartridge in order to provide a better gaming experience than would be possible with a stock Famicom/NES. For e.g., Super Mario Bros. 3 contains hardware in the cartridge in order to deliver more advance graphics and to make more versatile split screen possible.

At the rear of the Famicom we can see where the controllers are wired in either side:

At the left of the rear of the Famicom (as seen in the photo above) is where the power supply connects to the console and is marked as 'AC ADAPTER'. The 'AC' actually refers to the mains being AC not the input voltage which must be 9V DC; please do not use an NES adapter as that outputs AC and if used with a Famicom may harm it. Next to the power socket is a switch for selecting either 'TV' (so the Famicom acts as an antenna and outputs TV programs to a connected TV) or 'GAME' for the Famicom to output the inserted game's graphics and audio to a connected TV. Switching between TV and GAME does not affect a game being played; that is, doesn't restart the game.

Next along is a switch for selecting between 'CH1' and 'CH2' so you can select between 2 preset broadcast frequencies for the connected TV. Lastly is the RF socket for the Famicom to be connected to a TV, seemingly labelled as 'RF SWITCH' but that refers to the CH1/CH2 switch.

For a closer look at the Famicom controllers:

As can be seen, player 2 (bottom) does not have select and start buttons and instead has a microphone and microphone volume slider. This means that the second player can talk into the microphone and hear their voice on the TV's speaker and even some games could use microphone as a gameplay feature.

The Famicom game cartridges are a lot smaller than NES carts but the internal circuits were of a similar size as the NES cart cases were big only to facilitate putting into the NES console due to the recessed cartridge connector inside the console. An example of a Famicom game, Dragon Quest IV can be seen below:

The 'EFC-D4' at top right of the photo above is a code that identifies the cart as Dragon Quest IV (useful if the cart has no English name printed on it since the identifier can be Googled).

Toward the bottom left of the cartridge is the price label of the shop where the game was bought from showing how cheaply nowadays, at least in Japan, some Famicom games can be brought for (250 yen is about £1.70/USD $2.31).

Here is the back of the same cartridge:

Dragon Quest IV is the fourth instalment in the RPG series from Chunsoft and Enix (now Square Enix) and was released in 1990 in Japan and 1992 in North American as Dragon Warrior IV; there was no European release until the later DS, Android and iOS versions. Ranking as the 4th best selling game on the Famicom, it's not surprising considering its great graphics, lots of quests, good music and chapter based approach.

Other than different colours and artwork there were some very different looking Famicom cartridges with one instance being Family Circuit '91, released in 1991 by Namco. The front view of the cartridge follows:

Note that namcot was a division of Namco that dealt with console games.

For the back view of the cartridge please see the photo below:

As an example of a boxed Famicom game, take a look at Yoshi's egg, or Mario and Yoshi (or just Yoshi), as the game is known as outside Japan:

Yoshi's egg is a simple puzzle game that came out in 1991 in Japan on the Famicom and Game Boy, and 1992 in both North America and Europe on the NES and Game Boy. In this game, enemies fall from the top of the screen and the player (controlling Mario) must try and match them in order to keep the play area clear with bonus points awarded for trapping enemies between 2 egg pieces.

Another example of a boxed game, this time smaller in size, is Tetris, which was released for the Famicom in 1988 by Bullet Proof Software. Here is the front view:

And here is the back view:

You can check out a video I did on the Famicom:

For an unboxing of a Famicom please see:

As seen in the video above, the Famicom originally came with a manga (comic) which gives an overview of how the Famicom works and how you should care for it, as well as mentioning briefly what would become the Famicom Disk System. You can view the manga here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/hikikomori/albums/72157601333151521/

Here's an English translated version of the manga:

https://higsby.net/manga-famicom.html

Connecting to a TV/monitor

Since the original model of the Famicom featured only an RF output for connecting to a TV which, while quite acceptable at the time, can cause issues in modern times if one would want to connect to a TV especially outside of Japan since it outputs an NTSC-J signal which needs to be tuned in on a TV. This is in contrast to the NES which provides both composite and RF video outputs.

Fortunately, there are mods that can be done to give a Famicom composite (and audio) outputs, which is easier to get working on a TV or monitor and will give a somewhat better image than RF but may still look bad; in particular there may be very visible vertical lines known as 'jail bars'. There are more advanced mods that claim to remove the jail bars but should only be carried out at your own risk as there is the potential to permanently damage your Famicom and after the effort the results may not even remove the graphical artefacts. The reality is that in particular the early Famicom motherboard revisions have particular noisy video output which can be cleaned up only to a certain point so whether you want to try and rectify the poor video output is up to you and even by doing an A/V mod the video signal will still be NTSC-J so make sure your monitor/TV supports it.

Here is the link to a website detailing how to do the mod:

https://ctrl-alt-rees.com/2019-01-26-nintendo-famicom-composite-video-output-mod.html

Please bear in mind that as well as doing the electronic side of the mod it's important to consider how you will mod the Famicom case in order to integrate composite and audio connectors as originally there was only an RF connector for both audio and video.

Note that the Famicom A/V mods typically recreate the simple video amplifier circuit between the PPU video output and the RF circuit but avoids picking up noise by placing the circuit off the main board. You can, however, obtain composite video and audio without any major modifications if you don't mind the video quality not being great. Because the Famicom main board routes a number of signals to the smaller board including composite video and audio it's quite straightforward with the help of a schematic diagram, to tap into the A/V connections. Thus it's a matter of connecting a cable to GND and audio, and GND and video after the capacitor.

Take a look at the photo that follows:

I've soldered the ends of 2 separate RCA leads to the Famicom's smaller board; this was a quick mod so it doesn't look the best. The GND (bare) wires of the 2 leads are soldered to the same GND point as indicated above. The white lead is soldered to the audio connection straight from the main board and the yellow wire is soldered to the capacitor that's in series with the video connection from the main board, which is necessary for connecting to a TV/monitor. After soldering, the only thing left to do aside from testing is to route the 2 cables somewhere but that was not a concern for me since I only connected the cables to quickly test the Famicom.

After performing the above mod I still got quite poor video output so I tried the more advanced A/V mod linked to earlier on the page. Rather than build the circuit on to the main board I soldered it on to prototype board and although it did improve the picture somewhat I still got 'jail bars' - vertical lines. The jail bars were most apparent when playing Super Mario Bros. but I couldn't see them at all when I had Dragon Quest IV running. I tried placing a decoupling capacitor (both ceramic and then tantalum) across the CPU and PPU power connections as recommended online but even with trying different capacitor values I could not get rid of the jail bars. Supposedly you need to isolate pin 21 (video out) of the PPU from the main board to get rid of the jail bars but I didn't want to risk breaking the PPU pin, especially as there was no guarantee it would have a positive effect. For now I will have to live with the jail bars and accept that they are the result of an old system and a bad design.

To add an update, I bought a second Famicom and I tried many A/V mods (although not involving lifting the PPU video output pin from the PCB which may not eliminate the jail bars anyway) but settled on keeping the original video circuit on the main PCB. I then desoldered the RF shield, which is quite tricky to do as there are multiple connections to the PC including the RF connector (which is part of the shield) and the 7805 voltage regulator is also attached to the shield via its heatsink (which is screwed to the shield). I found I happened to have a TRS socket (as used with headphones, for example) which had pins that lined up with existing component holes in the PCB so once a few components were removed from the PCB that were in the way I was able to fit the TRS socket into the PCB holes although the socket was at a slight angle. I could have extended the socket's short pins with wire but I was concerned that I wouldn't get the same mechanical strength as with soldering the socket pins straight to the PCB.

So now I had audio and video routed though the 'headphone' socket which didn't look too out of place and at least there was no destruction to the Famicom case as would be required to fit other types of connectors. I had applied new thermal paste between the regulator and heat sink and used a nut with the original screw to hold the heat sink to the regulator but I was concerned that the 7805 voltage regulator may get too hot as it now only had the small heat sink which originally was screwed to the RF shield, which would have helped to dissipate the heat. I did some tests, first using the Mega Drive 1 power supply, which is supposedly a good alternative if you don't have the original Famicom power supply but although it's rated for 10VDC (the same as the Famicom power supply) it's actually around 12V even when the Famicom is on. Because the regulator has to convert 12V to 5V that's a lot of heat it will generate and from my measurements I found the regulator had reached about 68°C after a decent amount of play. This is why using a lower input voltage is better, such as 8V (which is probably as low as you should go) in which there is only a difference of 3V (8V - 5V) which keeps the regulator cooler (around 45°C from my tests).

In summary, removing the RF shield means the voltage regulator heat sink has to work harder but by lowering the input voltage to the regulator it will run cooler than if we used a higher voltage, closer to the original power supply or higher. You can install a bigger hear sink if you wish but you will need to remove components from the PCB which would otherwise get in the way of a larger heat sink.

Accessories

3D System

The 3D System uses active shutter glasses to view 3D stereoscopic images.

Family BASIC

In the 80's it was common for non-PC computers, such as the Commodore 64 and BBC Micro, to be sold with built-in BASIC, an easy to learn programming language which was the first step for many in learning to program. It is perhaps no surprise then that Nintendo decided that their Family Computer (Famicom) should also be programmable in BASIC but through an add-on package called Family BASIC, released 21st June 1984 in Japan. Family BASIC is based on Hudson BASIC for the Sharp MZ80 which is in turn similar to Microsoft BASIC, and was made possible by way of a partnership between Hudson Soft, Nintendo and Sharp Corporation. In the Family BASIC package is a computer-like keyboard (HVC-007), software cartridge (HVC-FB) and instruction manual.

Versions 1 to 2.1 were released on a black cartridge with V1 being the most rare as Nintendo at the time would swap V1 for V2 if requested but even V2 is quite rare to come across today as shortly after V2's release another update, V2.1, became available to address some bugs. The V2/V2.1 cartridges have a sticker on the cartridge stating (c) NINTENDO-SHARP-HuBASIC 1984.

V3, released on 21st February 21, 1985, is a more advanced version over the previous versions and was released in a standalone package as a red cartridge with 'V3' clearly written on it as well as a date of 1985. Although it lacks the music composer and calculator of V2/V2.1 it does have additional memory built-in to the cartridge (4KB RAM instead of 2KB provided in prior versions) and three BASIC mini games which can be loaded and then edited. Accessing one of the built-in games is a matter of typing 'GAME', space, and then a number from 0 to 3. The first game is a heart game that makes use of the microphone and keyboard, and features Mario and Pauline, the second game is a number game involving a penguin thus must avoid enemies, the third fame is a Mario game that makes use of user created levels, and the fourth game is a shooting game set in space for one or two players.

You can check out some features of V2 Family BASIC and the mini games of V3 in this video:

Regardless of the version of the Family BASIC software, the cartridges have FAMILY BASIC written on the front and at the top-left there is a back up switch with OFF and ON positions. On the back of the cartridge is a battery cover which can be slid off to reveal a compartment for x2 AA batteries.

The keyboard has the Famicom's red/white colour scheme and has a mixture of grey and red keys, with the red keys being the function (for shortcuts), shift, space bar, return and arrow keys. The grey keys consist of special keys (ESC, CTR, GRPH, etc.) and characters, with most of the character keys marked with both Western characters and Katakana symbols. At the back of the keyboard is a non-removable lead that connects to the Famicom's 15 pin expansion connector as well as two SAVE and LOAD TS sockets for saving and loading programs from a cassette. Aside from the quite unusual layout of the keys, the keyboard feels quite good to type on but the keyboard is surprisingly fairly heavy.

The instruction manual guides the user in setting up Family BASIC and there are example programs, across 113 pages and features a mixture of colour images as well as black and white images, and familiar sprites such as Mario (should that be Jump man?), Pauline/Lady and Koopa. Although the instructions are in Japanese, the BASIC keywords are in English so you can at least type in the various programs.

A summary of the available commands in V2 and V3 of Family BASIC can be found at:

http://www.atkinsoft.com/familybasic.html

Note that V2 added the SCR$ instruction that V1 did not have.

The instruction manual is in Japanese but fortunately an English translation can be viewed at:

https://famicomworld.com/Personal/uglyjoe/FamilyBasicManual.pdf

Note that the translation starts on page 16 of the Japanese instruction manual.

There is also a download of a number of scans of the instruction manual pages not included in the translated manual:

https://famicomworld.com/Personal/uglyjoe/fabaman_p.zip

These two links were taken from the following page:

https://www.famicomworld.com/forum/index.php?topic=8876.0

There are also scans of the V3 instruction manual in Japanese which you can download from:

http://famicomworld.com/Personal/uglyjoe/fambasv3.zip

The download link was taken from:

https://www.famicomworld.com/forum/index.php?topic=10276.0

The forum is worth reading for any further information regarding the V3 manual.

A useful FAQ about V3:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/nes/938747-family-basic-v3/faqs/59317

It should be noted that the user cannot create their own sprites or background tiles and must instead make do with those built into the cartridge although on the plus side it means you have at your disposal a large collection of graphical elements to use. Being BASIC, programs will run fairly slow, however, Family BASIC supports running machine code, allowing for faster program execution, by making use of BASIC commands PEEK, POKE and CALL.

As the Famicom is essentially a games console, Family BASIC is a rare example of having an official means to program a games system in BASIC, a shame then it never saw release outside of Japan. Although Family BASIC wasn't released outside of Japan it appears that Nintendo had plans for a worldwide release since the few games that support saving/loading user content using a cassette player connected to the Family BASIC keyboard still have the option for saving/loading to a cassette player; please see the Famicom Data Recorder section for further details. For a demonstration of a NES running Family BASIC check out this video which makes use of the ENIO expansion board:

A missed opportunity with Family BASIC is that is doesn't support the Famicom Disk System as that requires a special adapter cartridge to be plugged into the Famicom and thus the Family BASIC cartridge cannot also be inserted into the Famicom. Family BASIC can, however, load from and save to cassette using a standard cassette tape drive which plugs into the Family BASIC keyboard by connecting a TS (audio plug) lead between the keyboard's SAVE connector and the cassette player's MIC input connector, and another lead between the keyboard's LOAD connector and the cassette player's 'ear' output connector. Nintendo also released the Famicom Data Recorder, which is compatible with Family BASIC and a number of games; please see the Famicom Data Recorder section for more information. In modern times, instead of using a cassette player you can use the headphone socket of a mobile phone/tablet/computer to load/save programs using appropriate software.

Note that tapes designed for V2.x will not work with V3.

Family BASIC sold well and is significant because the creator of Pokémon, Satoshi Tajiri, used Family BASIC as a means to learn how the Famicom worked, helping him with the release of his first game, Quinty (a.k.a. Mendel Palace), the success of which paved the way for Pokémon.

Compared to other implementations of BASIC, Family BASIC was quite advanced, utilising a special GAME BASIC mode as to increase performance. You can check out some examples of what was possible using Family BASIC in the video that follows:

Nintaco is an emulator that has support for Family BASIC:

https://nintaco.com/

I came across this article which as well as going over details of what Family BASIC is it also talks about writing a game using Family BASIC:

http://metopal.com/2019/09/02/family-basic-in-2019/

As talked about on the page linked above, the MyCom BASIC magazine featured Family BASIC listings, and the publication has been archived, which I link to below.

https://archive.org/download/micomBASIC19841994

Famicom Data Recorder

The Data recorder (HVC-008) has the Famicom red/white colour scheme and was sold with an instruction booklet, cassette and red and black audio leads. The Data recorder has along the top toward the front a mic, and several buttons: record/play, review, cue, stop and eject/pause, and the can be used as a stand alone standard cassette recorder/player if desired. Along the left side is the power in (6V centre negative), LOAD and SAVE inputs, and volume dial, and on the bottom is the battery compartment which takes 4x AA batteries if not using the power adapter.

As we; as being compatible with Family BASIC (please see the Family BASIC section for more information), the Data recorder also can be used with three Famicom games, which allow saving and loading user generated content via the Data Recorder (or other compatible cassette player) connected to the Family BASIC keyboard. The compatible games and their use of a cassette player are as follows:

Excitebike (user generated tracks can be saved/loaded).

Mach Rider (custom tracks can be saved/loaded).

Wrecking Crew (player created levels can be saved/loaded).

It is possible to get the Famicom Data Recorder working on a NES using the ENIO expansion board, as can be seen in this video:

Famicom Disk System

Please see Nintendo Famicom Disk System.

Famicom Network System

Please see Famicom Network System.

Clones

Not surprising considering its popularity, there have been many clones of the Famicom over the years, even recently, with the FC Compact being an example. These clones typically emulate the Famicom hardware and may also support NES games and have varying success of reproducing the Famicom graphics and sound. Emulation of the Famicom is also possible on PC and other systems, and the Nintendo Classic Mini: Family Computer, released in 2016, is an official system from Nintendo which emulates the Famicom.

FC Compact

Please see FC Compact.

Home Game Computer

The Home Game Computer is a Famicom clone that I bought from eBay for £25 and has quite a fitting name that's not too far off from Family Computer but of course nowhere near as good. Unlike other Famicom clones, the Home Game Computer does not feature built-in games and instead plays original Famicom cartridge games. The console sort of resembles a Sega Mega Drive 2/Genesis 2 but is grey with a red cartridge cover flap and dark blue power and reset buttons (which are quite loud when pressed). On the console it says ‘Homegame computer’, and ‘HIGH GRADE MULTIPURPOSE USE’ (which is what it says on a Sega Genesis 1, take note). Not a shock for a clone console it is very light and the case very cheaply made and although cartridges sit such that they can easily be knocked while socketed, it's actually very difficult to remove a cartridge from the console.

At the front of the console are 2 ‘Atari’ DE9 male joypad connectors which don’t even look aligned correctly but controllers can be plugged in without any trouble. At the back of the console is a DC barrel jack power connector, white RCA audio, yellow RCA composite video, and red RCA RF. The RCA sockets on the console seem to be poorly made as it requires a lot of force to insert the RCA plugs (I’ve checked it’s the same with other leads too). On the underside is a sticker which states that the power consumption is approx. 4W and that the console outputs NTSC.

The controllers look like original PS1 controllers but have ‘Homegame computer’ written on them and use the DE9 female connector. The D-pad is purple, the select and start buttons are dark grey and the four trigger buttons are coloured green, yellow, red and blue. The colour scheme of the buttons reminds me of the Jap/EU SNES controller which have the same coloured trigger buttons (but in a different order), and the D-pad colour is similar to the USA SNES controller A and B buttons. The controller feels very light and cheap and the D-pad doesn’t feel great to press although the other buttons respond to the touch ok when pressed. The arrangement of the buttons are:

Blue: A non-turbo.

Yellow: B non-turbo.

Red: A turbo.

Green: B turbo.

On front of the box says it’s ‘Homegame computer’ and it shows controllers with a yellow D-pad and trigger buttons that are purple, red and green, so there may have been variations of the controllers. On the back of the box it highlights the A, B and turbo buttons of the controller, and oddly seems to indicate not to use the RF output of the console. There is also a barcode, 4580161987687, which you can Google and get a few Japanese pages with listings for the console but very little information; one site says the manufacturer is Raison and another says Y.S.N.

I used Google translate for the Japanese text on the box of which I've included some of the translations as follows:

Front

Red banner: FC game compatible machine set.

Under Homegame computer: Game compatible machine (player) for NES cassette.

Three lines to left of front of box in rounded rectangles:

Uses FC game cartridge.

2 controllers included.

With audio/video (analog) terminal.

Along bottom of front of box: Family computer (FC) is a registered trademark of Nintendo. This product is not a Nintendo licensed product. Also, some FC software may not be supported.

On both flaps: For NES cassette gaming.

Back of box warnings.

This product is not a Nintendo licensed product.

Some FC software may not be supported.

Not compatible with FC disk system.

Cannot be used on TVs that do not have a video input terminal.

Set content

Body x 1

Detachable controller x 2

Adapter x 1

AV cable x 1

Please purchase the game cassette separately. Controllers other than the attached controller and peripherals can not be used.

Connection diagram on back:

Do not use (RF)

When inserting the game cassette, insert it straight into the slot, slowly and securely.

When removing the game cassette, fix the main unit firmly and pull out the cassette straight.

Please turn off power before inserting or removing the game cassette.

Near barcode: Publisher Y. S. N.

So, from the translation it warns not to use the RF output even though they went to the trouble to add it and they acknowledge that it's difficult to remove the game cartridge (which they refer to as a 'cassette').

In the box you get the console, two controllers, A/V lead (yellow and white plugs), and the power supply, a fairly heavy wall plug rated at AC100V 50/60Hz, DC6V 240mA, centre negative. A step-down converter is needed if your mains is above 100V as it is a power supply intended for use in Japan.

I powered the console off my bench power supply and depending on the game it drew between 80mA and 130mA at 6V depending on the game so the claim of 4W seems unrealistic. The volume output is very quiet and when using the composite output, while some games, such as Super Mario Bros. 3 look good, other games - with the original Super Mario Bros. being an example - there is very evident jail bars (banding) as on an original Famicom. The games are very playable with smooth update and my Elgato capture card reports that the console outputs the video signal at 480i60.

Now to look at some screen captures I took using my Elgato capture card and the composite video output from the Home Game Computer. First, looking at Super Mario Bros., below, the jail bars are very obvious but the colours are quite accurate.

Looking at Super Mario Bros. 3 (below) the jail bars are much less visible but the colours seem a bit off. Note that the column of sky the the left and the graphical artefacts at the right of the image are normal for SMB3.

And lastly, a look at Famista '90 which doesn't look too bad and seems to have no jail bars:

Next we will look at what makes up the console and the controllers, with the console teardown first.

Four Phillips screws from the console underside need removing which reveal the three main PCBs once the console case pieces are separated. In mine, two of the large posts (top-left and bottom left) are cracked.

The PCBs:

1. Held in with 1 screw. The PCB has the two controller ports, power and reset buttons, and connects to the main board via a ribbon cable. The PCB has ‘Fb94-1’ and ‘T2508’ written on it.

2. Held in with 2 screws. The main PCB which has the cartridge socket, various passive components and crystal C21.4778. The PCB has ‘ZB239.PCB 2006.01.20’, ‘T2366’, and ‘Desing for lei’ written on it. So we have date of 2006.01.20. ‘Desing’ may be misspelling of design. There is a large chip on board (COB) on the underside of the board which no doubt handles the Famicom emulation.

3. Held in with 2 screws. The A/V board has lots of passive and active components as well as the A/V and power connectors. There is label on the PCB near the power connector for an 7805 (as used in a Famicom) but actually has a S8050 fitted, an NPN transistor, and as there is a Zener diode nearby they may form a voltage regulator. There does actually appear to be RF circuitry present and while I haven't tested the RF output as I would need a TV with RF in that supports NTSC my oscilloscope shows that the RF socket only outputs a triangle wave.

To take apart the controllers you need to remove the five Philips screws and then the controller pieces can be pulled apart. There is a very minimal PCB which has the switch contacts, a COB and has ‘SB79-1’ written on the PCB. There are 5 wires with pin numbering for the controller DE9 female socket and the function of each pin as follows:

Blue (2): data (out)

Dark grey (4): CLK (in)

Yellow(3): latch (in)

White(8): GND

Red(6): +V (measured around +4.5V)

For reference, here is the female socket pin number looking straight at the connector:

5 4 3 2 1

9 8 7 6

The controllers use the same protocol as the original Famicom/NES controllers as confirmed by looking at the signals with my oscilloscope.

To test controllers I usually use Super Mario Bros. 3 as the map select screen is useful for checking the D-pad directions and I found that one of the controllers has a fault in which I couldn't move Mario left or up. With a bit of investigating it became clear that D-pad up and left were connected together such that when D-pad up is pressed the controller behaves as if D-pad left was also pressed and vice-versa. I checked inside the controller and there appeared to be nothing shorting the D-pad up and left inputs even though there was a direct connection, as if the short was inside the controller chip. It's a very odd fault and I mention it in case anyone else has the same issue but it's only really a problem when a game ignore diagonals on the d-pad. So, playing a platform game, for e.g., will likely not be a problem but as mentioned the map select screen of SMB3 cannot be navigated. Yet, I found that you can trick the game by pressing D-pad button combinations, such as holding D-pad up and then pressing right acts as if D-pad up was pressed, although the trick doesn't always work.

In closing it's worth mentioning there are other versions of the console using the Home Game Computer name such as the one seen in this video:

Power Player

The Power Player is a Famicom/NES clone housed in what resembles a dark red N64 controller (see photo below) supposedly with 76,000 built-in games but in reality there are only 140 games repeated almost 543 times in the game list. The controller/console has a grey D-pad, yellow reset, select and start buttons, along with two sets of green B and A buttons (the top B and A buttons are turbo versions of the lower, normal, B and A buttons), and what appears to be an analog stick but functions the same as the d-pad. Below the 'Power Player' writing is a bi-colour LED which quite annoyingly flashes red/green if no button is pressed for about 7 seconds. The LED also lights up a colour when a button is pressed, as follows:

Green: d-pad or stick down/right/B/select.

Red: d-pad or stick left/up/A/start.

At the rear of the console (see following image) is a yellow sliding power switch, barrel jack DC in, DE9 ‘Atari’ connector for gun/second joystick, and mono audio and composite video connectors. The Power Player was typically packaged with a second controller and light gun but I only have the main unit.

On the bottom (see below), which on a real N64 controller is where the expansion connector would be located, the Power Player can take a battery pack, and near where the 'Z' button would be on a real N64 controller there is instead a connector to take a Famicom cartridge (with a suitable.adapter it should be possible to play NES games). Standard Famicom cartridges will not fit, however, unless the plastic near the cartridge connector is trimmed, which seems an odd design choice but certainly slimmer cartridges, such as the multi game cartridges often sold with clone consoles likely will fit. I tried the 132 in 1 cartridge I got with my FC Compact (see the FC Compact section on this page) fits in the Power Player cartridge slot as it has thinner plastic, however the cartridge doesn’t work (I couldn’t get it working the FC Compact either). Note that clone cartridges will fit either way so to insert the correct way round the shape of the cartridge must match the outline of the plastic around the cartridge port on the Power Player.

I wanted to test with a real Famicom cartridge but not wanting to modify the Power Player’s shell I opened it up and unscrewed the cartridge board so I could put the cartridge in. I tested with Super Mario Bros. and it played fine, rendering the same as the built-in version of SMB. It’s handy that the Power Player supports Japanese cartridges although it still outputs at 50Hz so games will still seem slow.

This site has some useful information about a very similar games system also called Power Player:

https://plugplaytvgames.fandom.com/wiki/Power_Player_Super_Joy_III

That version doesn't have a functioning 'analog' stick.

I don't have the power pack to use batteries but the site linked above says you can use 9VDC centre negative and as I had a Mega Drive power supply at hand, which is DC10V I used that (likely the Power Player has a built-in voltage regulator so it will be able to handle >9V).

When the system is powered on, you are greeted with the game selection screen, titled as POWER 76000B IN 1, which you can see in the next image:

Twenty games are listed at once and the player is instructed to press the select or start button, that is, select to move forward 20 games and start to begin the selected game. D-pad right also moves forward 20 games and d-pad left shows the previous 20 games. If you scroll down/up the list using d-pad down/up and get to the bottom/top of the screen then the next/previous 20 games are listed. Note that there is no music at the game select screen but instead a quite irritating sound effect when you move through the game selection. To return to the game select screen hold down the reset button for a few seconds, so at least if you knock the reset button you won't send yourself back to the game list screen easily.

Here is a screenshot from Super Mario Bros.:

Unfortunately some games run slow, such as Super Mario Bros, making gameplay seem laggy and the sounds 'melt' into each other, but other games run well. It's likely that because my Power Player is being run at PAL speed the games run slower that when the console is running in NTSC mode (see the teardown section for more information).

The original Famicom/NES had poor video and audio quality and that is often apparent with the clones yet the Power Player produces better video in some respects, as I could not notice vertical banding (a.k.a. jail bars) in most of the games I played which is seen on an original Famicom and many of the clones, although there are some graphical issues on the left and right side of some games as well as around sprites, such as when playing Super Mario Bros. While on the subject on video, according to my Elgato capture card the Power Player outputs at 576i50.

There are various entries for Super Mario Bros which start you on a certain world/level and have a different title screen, such as FANCY MARIO, which starts you on world 5-1 (see image below), and MARIO WORLD ERZ, which starts you on world 1-1 even though the 'SUPER MARIO BROS' game selection is essentially the same.

As for the other games many of them have odd names in the game selection screen, e.g. MARIO PIPE for Mario Bros.

Here is a look at Road Fighter, a fun and addictive game that plays well:

Star Gate is also an enjoyable game although appears quite dark in the screenshot that follows (I had adjusted my Elgato capture card settings so that the games didn't appear so saturated):

To take apart the Power Player remove the 7 screws from the underside and then the two main pieces can be pulled apart but be careful as there is a PCB attached to the bottom half (which has the cart connector) which is attached to a PCB screwed to the top piece with a ribbon cable.

The cartridge PCB board (below) is held to the plastic shell (which is actually black, take note) with 2 screws and has a couple of capacitors and a smaller board with a COB on it, which is possibly the flash memory that stores the games. On the other side of the PCB is another COB and a quartz crystal, possibly handling the Famicom emulation. The DE-9 connector for the 2nd player controller/light gun is held to the plastic with 2 screws and has 8 wires going off it which connects to the cartridge board.

The other PCB (see below) is attached to the top piece of plastic with 3 screws, and the board was marked as BJ-011S2 AND 04 8 17, suggesting the board was made in 2017. On the PCB there is the power switch, DC in socket, audio and video connectors and some miscellaneous components. It looks like a simple voltage regulator has been constructed using a transistor, Q1, D667 (marked as 8050L on the PCB) along with a diode D9, possibly a Zener diode. Two diodes in series, D11 and D12, further drop the voltage, to make VCC and VDD; measuring VDD marked on the board I get 4.8V and VCC 3.2V. VDD is supplied to the cart port as the nominal 5V supply.

The battery contacts are connected to the board with two wires as well as the analog stick, which is on its own PCB, and is just 4 buttons. There looks to be provision for a region 'switch', S2, with markings for PAL and NTSC; looking on the other side it appears to be soldered for PAL, which makes sense. On the other side is another COB, which possibly handles the A/V from the main chip, as well as the contacts for the various buttons. The LED is also connected to the PCB, which looks to be tri-colour as it has three pins (it's easier to switch between the 2 colours using a tri-colour LED rather than a bi-colour LED) . The ribbon connecting the two main boards has its pinout labelled on the larger board. There is a diode, D10, for reverse polarity protection, but only seems to be for the battery pack.

If you do take apart the Power Player when putting it back together make sure the analog stick PCB sits correctly (that is, it's flush) otherwise the two plastic pieces won't easily go back as one.

As I didn’t get a 2P controller with the Power Player I wondered about wiring up an NES controller as I assumed that it would support such a controller. I worked out the pinout of the DE-9 connector which is as follows, looking at the rear of the Power Player the numbering is:

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9

And the pinout:

2 Data

3 Latch

4 CLK

6 VCC (3.2V)

8 GND

9 N/C

It is unknown what pins 1,5, and 7 are for.

I was able to find the controller signals with my oscilloscope and I found that latch goes high for 3.4uS and the CLK pulses go low for 560ns and high for 22.6us, which are much shorter durations than on a real Famicom. It turns out that I could use controllers from other Famicom clones that I own, the Home Game Computer and the FC compact (see the sections on this page for more information about those clones), as they use controllers with DE-9 connectors and have the same pinout. It makes me wonder if these clones were made by the same manufacturer considering the compatibility between controllers.

For a video I did on the Power Player please see the following:

RETRO FC/Playing Vision Portable

I bought a couple of these 'RETRO FC' (a.k.a. FC Retro) Famicom/NES clone portable gaming systems but there are many variations that can be bought online that have different names, design and accessories. The first one I purchased resembles a Game Boy, is red and styled like a Famicom (the second player controller in particular), although there are versions with different colours, which look less like a Famicom.

This is the front of the box giving us a first glimpse of the console and controller:

There are several screenshots of games on one side of the box but oddly one of them shows Super Mario Bros. but with a '25' on the '?' blocks which have only featured in the Japan only Super Mario Brothers 25th Anniversary Edition that was installed on the 25th anniversary limited edition red Wii consoles and not available on this console.

The top-left of the box states that the console has '3 " LED large screen SUP mini handheld'; 'SUP' is perhaps a brand name and the console does indeed feature a 3" LED backlit LCD. As for the Chinese text bottom-right of the box that says 'upgrade double' at least going by Google Translate.

The console, as you can see below, very much resembles a Game Boy in its shape and layout of buttons:

In addition to the d-pad, select, start, B and A buttons as to be found on a Game Boy or Famicom controller, there is additionally an R button that resets the console and returns you to the language select screen, and Y and X buttons. The button mapping is unusual (its matches the arrangement of buttons on the 2P controller) and is as listed below:

B = non-turbo version of Famicom A button.
A = turbo version of Famicom A button.
Y = non-turbo version of Famicom B button.
X = turbo version of Famicom B button.

So, if you're playing Super Mario Bros., for example, you need to press B to jump and Y to run although if you have flower power X is helpful as it will throw multiple fireballs quickly.

The buttons don't have a great feel to them and not only does the d-pad right button not work sometimes (I think it's very sensitive to how you press it), pressing the d-pad directions or other buttons will cause a defect to appear on the LCD as if it was being pressed on (which doesn't appear to be the case when a TV/monitor is connected).

To the left on the LCD is a light (actually, two LEDs), one which is blue when the console is on and the other red when charging but the lights don't show well through the case.

The single speaker is visible bottom right of the console, which is also very reminiscent of the Game Boy, and gives decent volume. On the left side of the console is the volume control (affects the internal speaker volume as well as a connected TV's volume), and at the top you will find the TV connector, micro USB socket, and sliding power switch which, again, is like that of the Game Boy. At the back of the console is a battery compartment (the 'door' doesn't stay in very well) which takes a Nokia BL-5C battery (as found in certain Nokia 'feature' mobile phones) but note that not all versions of the console include the battery, which mine didn't.

Also in the box (see below) you get a very short and cheap looking micro USB cable, 2.5mm TRS to phono TV A/V cable, instruction leaflet, and second player controller,

For powering the console you can either use a micro USB power supply (such as for a mobile phone) or A micro USB power supply plugged into the console can then be used to charge the battery but since the second player controller also plugs into the console's micro USB port you can only have 2 players when running off the battery. The console can be connected to a TV/monitor with the included cable, providing mono audio and composite video but the video output is poor (it has 'jail bars', which you'll be able to see when we get to the screen captures), however, that is very similar 'quality' to an original Famicom even though the hardware is very different.

As mentioned a second player controller is included, which looks like a Famicom controller but unlike a real 2P Famicom controller the clone controller does not have a microphone and volume control. It has 'Sup' written on the controller (as does the packaging and as do some versions of the console) but as it has four buttons (two turbo buttons in addition to the normal B and A buttons) it looks even less like an original Famicom controller. Of the buttons arranged in a diamond, the bottom one is the non-turbo A, the right is turbo A, the left non-turbo B and the top is turbo B. See further along for more information about the controller and how it works.

The user's manual leaflet is the only occurrence I can actually find of the console being called 'RETRO FC' and only on the front page as elsewhere in the leaflet the console is referred to as 'playing vision portable', which is the name also used for other, similar products. As to be expected of a Chinese produced manual in English there are a number of errors or just odd ways of phrasing things, with my favourites listed as follows:

Thanks for purchasing playing vision portable, playing vision portable product
designed for many hours of game-playinging fun.

(They spell 'playing' wrong a second time.)

Keeps the kids away from cable or connecting wire ,or it may circle around their neck and cause the acciderit once the kids overexert the wires and make the unit drop to floor.

There are 400 Famicom/NES games built in (although actually less as the games are repeated in the list) which include original games (Super Mario Bros, Tetris, etc.) as well as mod/hacks, such as Mortal Kombat 4 which is a Famicom game hack based on Mortal Kombat 3. Some games do run faster than they did on the Famicom, for example, Super Mario Bros, but not to the point they are unplayable. As there is no Zelda 1 or Zelda 2, for example - which were both originally on the Famicom Disk System - that suggests that no FDS games are supported.

To take the console apart you need to remove six screws from the back and once you have the two plastic pieces separated there is a single screw holding the PCB down; remove that screw and then you can take the PCB out (as shown below) but be careful of the loose LCD.

There is no model number of company identifier on the PCB and the LCD is marked on the flat cable as FD-280CG011-A1, which I couldn't find any information about. There is an adapter board soldered to the main PCB near the top and on the board is a chip marked as V00570002CDGB (which is still readable even though an attempt was made to hide the part number), which may be a TV00570002CDGB, a chip which contains 33Mb pseudo SRAM and 134Mb NOR flash memory, so likely contains the firmware and games, as well as main RAM. There is also a chip on board or COB (the black blob), which is a cheap way of producing an IC but also hides its part number, however, we can guess it to me some kind of microcontroller. There are some test/program pads near the COB. The small chip near the bottom of the PCB is an LM4890, which is a 1W audio power amplifier, no doubt driving the speaker.

Other things to note: the reset switch is a tactile switch whereas the other buttons use contacts on the PCB itself. There are 2 LEDs (at the left of the PCB), one to show the console is on and the other to show that the battery is being charged. There seems to be quite a bit of flux residue (as a result of the soldering process) which hasn't been cleaned off.

We will now look at some screen captures which were taken using the composite video output and the first one is the language select screen you are greeted by when you first turn the console on:

It should be evident event on the fairly dark boot screen that there is banding or 'jail bars' as it's also known as, but this was also a problem with original Famicom consoles.

At the language select screen choose Chinese or English with d-pad up/down and press the start button to move on to the game select screen:

Ten games are listed at once and you can use d-pad up/down to select different games, d-pad right/left to go to next/previous 10 games, A/B to advance by 50 games, X/Y to go to move back 50 games (for some reason X is less responsive), and start to play the game.

As for game images we will start with a classic, Super Mario Bros., and in the following image you can see the aspect ratio is off as well as the banding is very clear but the colours look off too although the colours seem more correct when using a TV/monitor compared to the built-in LCD.

Next up we have Bubble Bobble Part 2 which also features colours that aren't quite right but the game is good fun and very playable.

Time for Mortal Kombat 4 which has a lot less characters than the player select screen would have you believe as the following image shows that NIghtwolf looks like Shao Kahn:

Returning to the 2P controller, I did some investigating to see how it works and whether I could use it with anything else. Firstly, it's very difficult to open even though there are no screws and instead the two pieces are held together by friction and four posts on each piece (one for each corner) that slide in to each other; the plastic warps very easily though. On both long sides on one piece there is a small rectangle cut out (actually looks like it was cut out by hand) and that can be used with a spudger to get the controller apart.

The PCB can be seen as follows:

The board is marked as 'SY XY-001' and as to be expected, the only chip on it is the chip on board type, so that doesn't give any clues, but opening up the controller did at least confirm all five wires of the USB micro cable are used. However, as I would soon find out, the USB protocol wasn't used, possibly because that would have been more difficult/costly to implement and would complicate matters.

To work out what protocol was being used I wired up a USB micro socket breakout board for the controller to connect to, so I could connect it to breadboard, and in turn I wired a micro USB lead (plugged into the Retro FC) into the breadboard so I could easily monitor the signals with my oscilloscope. I quickly confirmed that the clone controller was using the same protocol as used by the original Famicom/NES controller but sending the signals over the micro USB cable. If you are unfamiliar with how a Famicom/NES controller works then please see:

https://www.retrorgb.com/how-a-nes-controller-works.html

Going back to the clone controller, the wiring is as follows with respect to the controller's micro USB connector (note that wire colours may vary so double check to make sure if you use this information):

Controller colour USB Famicom/NES
Black D- Data out (from controller)
White ID Clock (to controller)
Green D+ Latch (to controller)
Red GND GND
Blue VBUS V+

Note: Retro FC provides up to +3.3V to VBUS depending on battery charge.

As mentioned, the clone controller doesn't use the USB protocol but the signal names have been listed for reference to the USB micro connector.

In addition to the Retro FC controller using the same Famicom/NES protocol, the button states are returned in the same order as with an original controller but the turbo versions of A and B are handled by frequently toggling the button state (every 8 clock pulses), which is standard for (third party) Famicom/NES controllers that have turbo buttons.

It is possible to use a standard NES controller on the Retro FC by wiring up a micro USB connector using the details above and I have tested that a PAL NES controller works. PAL NES controllers have 2 pull-up resistors whereas other regions do not but I tested also with the resistors removed and the controller worked so there shouldn't be a compatibility issue with other region controllers. It is fortunate that a NES controller uses a 4021 IC, which can run on the lower supply voltage provided by the Retro FC, as opposed to the 5V that would be provided by a NES.

The opposite also works; you can use the Retro FC controller on a NES but as the controller is normally powered by less than 5V (when plugged into the Retro FC), when I tested I was cautious and converted the approximately 5V power supply from the NES controller port down to 3.3V using 4 diodes in series, as seen in the circuit diagram that follows:

There are other methods you can use to drop the voltage, such as a voltage regulator, I just happened to have a number of diodes that dropped the voltage appropriately.

I also used a simple voltage level converter circuit (you can buy them cheaply online) to convert the approximately 5V clock and latch signals from the NES to around 3V for the Retro FC controller. There is no need to convert the data output from the controller since that is already at an appropriate voltage for the NES but if using a PAL NES you will need to use pull-up resistors (I used 10K) on the latch and clock signals to +5V.

For a video version explaining how to use the 2P controller on the GC26 (see section below), and on a NES, and how to use a NES controller on a Retro FC please see my video:

GC26

My second 'RETRO FC' is the yellow variant which looks a lot less like a Famicom but it came with a BL-5C battery (not original Nokia, however) but unfortunately it did not have the second player controller even though it was advertised as being included which is annoying as this version of the console uses mini USB so I can't just use the controller from the other RETRO FC. Although the controller can be bought separately it's cheaper just to buy another console with the controller so I didn't bother but if you are buying one of these clone consoles try to make sure it does indeed include the controller if that's what you're interested in.

This is the box that the console came in, which looks familiar to the red version but has English text and PlayStation-like symbols:

The packaging calls the console a 'POCKET GAME PLAYER' and advertises the 400 built-in 8-bit classic games and the 3" TFT LCD. There is also a sticker on a different side of the box stating 'TAPDRA Made In China' with Tapdra being the brand/manufacturer as evidenced by a Google search.

Looking at the console it also resembles a Game Boy and is very similar to the red version of the clone console:

The console has the same features and layout of buttons, controls and sockets as the red one with the difference of having a mini USB socket instead of micro USB and the volume control doesn't affect the TV volume. The change to mini USB may have been because it's stronger than mini USB or perhaps just to force people to buy a different controller for the GC26.

There is a light to the left of the LCD which illuminates green when the console is on or is charging. The button mapping is as you would expect:

B = non-turbo version of Famicom B button.
A = non-turbo version of Famicom A button.
Y = turbo version of Famicom B button.
X = turbo version of Famicom A button.

Aside from the console, in the box you also get a 2.5mm TRS to phono TV A/V cable with mono audio and composite video connections, product manual, cheaply made mini USB cable and a BL-5C battery.

The manual has English text on one side and Chinese on the other and refers to the console as model 'GC26', with the English side at least having a few mistakes or odd choice of words, such as:

Note: the manufacturer does not bear any responsibility for the leakage or corrosion of batteries caused by human beings

What if the leakage was caused by your pet?

Another:

4. ensure that all game cards and lines connected to the game console are carefully inserted into the correct location

They seem to think it's an actual Game Boy! The author did at least make a somewhat better attempt at explaining the danger of wires around children:

7. keep the distance between the child and the wires or wires, or /t may be where they can touch to prevent the child from pulling wires and wires down to the floor, causing accidents.

Another good one:

4. the machine adopts the general mold, the appearance retains some buttons and output, in fact. there is no such function, please know. you can also understand our other goods to the dealer.

At the end of the manual is a product warranty card where you can fill in your details and a description of a fault.

The video output of the console is better than the red one as it doesn't have the 'jail bars' but some colours look off, such as Mario's overalls in Super Mario Bros.

The mini USB port is used to power the console as well as for charging and for the second player controller so, as with the red version, you need to run the console off a battery to be able to do 2 player.

There are six screws holding the console together, one of which is behind a 'pass 2020 sticker' (so we know the console is from 2020), and once the two plastic pieces are split apart it can be found there is no additional screw holding the PCB in.

The PCB, as seen below, is quite similar to the red version of the console:

The PCB is marked as 'GC26C-V1.8-JTF-1114' so we have confirmation of the model number, GC26, and the version, V1.8. On the LCD flat cable is RX-28P7069-A1 but a Google search didn't reveal anything. As with the red console, there is a COB and some test/program pads to the right of the chip, and an adapter board soldered to the main PCB, but this one has 'SUM_K5L_V2.' written on it and uses a Samsung K5L2731CAA-D770 chip which contains 128Mb NOR flash and 32Mb UtRAM.

There are actually two LEDs, one to indicate the console is on and the other to show it's charging but only the green 'console on' LED shows through while the case is screwed together.

We will now look at some screen captures taken using the composite video output, starting with the language select which shows when you first turn the console on and when you press the reset button:

Clearly we have a Super Mario Bros background and the aspect ratio looks good and there is no banding but some colours appear off which is the case both for viewing on the built-in LCD and when connected to a TV/monitor. Pressing start or A chooses the selected language.

The game select screen background appears to be part of the title screen from Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers 2 but with some incorrect colours:

Only eight games are listed at once and you use d-pad up/down to select the next/previous game, d-pad right/left for the next/previous eight games, A/X to start the selected game (B and Y have no use),

The games are similar to the other clone console previously mentioned so I will feature some games that I haven't already shown but first it's worth mentioning that some games, such as Galaga (for some reason listed as Galaga 3) have the copyright replaced with www.touchgameplayer.com, the URL of a company supposedly connected with Famicom clone consoles (the website though had hardly anything on it when I had a look).

Let's first look at Donkey Kong:

Apart from the off colours the game plays just as you would expect even with the far from great buttons of the console which sometimes don't want to respond (the d-pad usually).

Next is Super Mario Bros. 3 which doesn't look too bad (note that it's normal to have the vertical border at the left where the screen seems cut off):

Now we have a strange one, a game called 'Pika chu' (or Pikachu), also known as Poke Tetris and is an unofficial Tetris game that uses Pikachu graphics and Pokemon music:

The game does also feature in the red variant of the console but amusingly has Pikachu in a hat (a cross between Pikachu and Ash?), and both versions of the game Pikachu feature Jigglypuff as the second player.

You may want to have a look at a video I did on the two clones:

I worked out the pinout of the mini USB and found it to be the same as on the Retro FC although the GC26 outputs as high as 3.6V between VBUS and GND depending on battery charge, slightly higher than what the Retro FC provides. As with the Retro FC it is possible to connect a NES controller to the GC26 using the mini USB connection and wiring up an adapter cable. It is also possible to use the 2P controller from the Retro FC on the GC26 by building a cable to convert the micro USB that the controller uses to the mini USB that the GC26 uses, however, keep in mind that the A/B button mapping is different on the Retro FC.

Official Variations

There are a number of variations of the Famicom, one of which is the Sharp Nintendo Television, available 1983 in Japan and 1989 in North America, and featured a built-in Famicom/NES inside a Sharp TV. There was also the AV Famicom (a.k.a. New Famicom), released in Japan in 1993, which used the Super Famicom/SNES A/V output instead of RF output and detachable controllers. Another version of the Famicom is the Twin Famicom, produced by Sharp and available from 1986, combining a Famicom and disk system in one unit. For more information about the Twin Famicom please check out the Twin Famicom page.

A quite odd version of the Famicom is the Famicom Titler (a.k.a. Famicom Editor), produced by Sharp and available in Japan in 1989, which could generate subtitles and mix camera footage with gameplay.

A much more recent reimagining of the Famicom is the Nintendo Classic Mini: Family Computer, released in November 2016 in Japan, a device that emulates the Famicom and has 30 built-in games. Although other countries received the Nintendo Classic Mini as their equivalent to the Famicom mini, Japan also got in July 2018 a Shōnen Jump Edition version, which is gold and has 20 built-in games based around Shōnen Jump mangas.

Successor

The Famicom was superseded by the Super Famicom (SNES outside Japan) in 1990 and would end up selling the best of all the available 16-bit consoles on sale at the time. Famous for its mode 7, which produced 3D-like graphics, the Super Famicom made possible such beloved classics as Super Mario World, F-Zero, Super Mario Kart and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. As with the Famicom, the Super Famicom featured games in cartridge format, some of which contained specialised chips to enhance the game's graphics beyond what a normal Super Famicom would be capable of.

Troubleshooting

If you power on a Famicom and are met with a grey screen then possibly the cartridge is at fault since you will also get a grey screen if no cartridge has been inserted. Try powering off, cleaning the cart, reinserting and powering back on.

All content of this and related pages is copyright (c) James S. 2020-2021