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SNES Game Collecting (Tips, discussion, and info for like minded collectors)

P

psylah

Member
Spent like an hour trying to figure out why the super famicom version of Human Grand Prix II wouldn't work. I was starting up the SNES and it was just showing a black screen.

Turns out it was working fine, and the game starts with nearly 10 seconds of black. Confusing as fuck, most games give some sign of life when you turn the console on.

Here's footage of an example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XGbg65mmEQ
 
L

Leonsito

Member
catpurrcat said:
I *think* ff3 and smrpg for $59 is pretty good. Then again I'm in a big city with a ton of retro demand (Toronto).

I saw CT with a slightly ripped label recently for $80.
Click to expand...

RalliArtEvo said:
Those are all about the average price they tend to sell on ebay/retail currently. If the carts are clean with nice labels, i'd say go for it!
Click to expand...

Came back from Los Angeles, I was only able to buy FF3. Earthbound was $189 only cart and didn't find Mario RPG and Chrono Trigger :_(
 
E

EatinOlives

Member
EatinOlives said:
Anyone else with Photoshop skills want to make a couple of retail-style SNES covers for a Universal Game Case for me? I asked already in the coverproject request forum but I got ignored :(

Looking for Super Buster Bros and the Addam's Family, NTSC versions.
Click to expand...

So a continuation of the above^

I got pissed that I couldn't find anything and I have just recently started subscribing to Adobe Creative Cloud with the intent to finally learn Photoshop (and Illustrator and InDesign, but that's beside the point). I know nothing of the software other than "it's magic if you put in the work", so I took it upon myself to make my own damn covers.

I picked the template for the SNES NTSC horizontal covers from here:
http://www.thecoverproject.net/forums/index.php?topic=1610.0

The template is nothing short of amazing. If you guys don't already know, these are high-res "blank" templates for a horizontal SNES cover. In addition to having everything neat and ready to drop your game's assets in, there's also tons of options within the PSD files that let you choose what "extras" your game cover has via enabling and disabling the layers containing said extras. You can include all the funky labels like the SNES Mouse logo, the "Only For" logo, ESRB ratings, the FX Chip logo, even really small details like the Capcom logo, the vertical dots on the right of the cover, etc., etc. Really thorough and made my little adventure all the easier.

I started off with Super Buster Bros. Without any hi-res scans of the boxes I had to go to eBay and look up any CIB listings of the game, then downloaded the shots of whoever had the best (e.g., the clearest, "flattest") picture of the front and back of the box. Then I put them into Photoshop and used this as an excuse to learn how to use the software. I skewed the cover art into a rectangular shape, performed as much color correction/restoration, wrinkle removal, and sharpening as I could (without it looking like butt), and did the same for the back. By far the most time consuming part was cropping the game's logo to put it on the spine by itself. The colors were really hard (in my incredibly novice opinion :p) to separate and crop to make them look nice. My result is pretty amateur, low-res, and would absolutely NOT get accepted into the formal Cover Project archives, but here it is, just in case there's some other poor soul who can't find this cover and wants it. I know it's a pretty crappy result all things considered but I'm still damn proud of it dammit!

iVbFh27u8Q8E2.jpg
Click to expand...

Anyway, just wanted to share. Photoshop truly IS amazing. I'm gonna do the Addams Family cover now.
 
L

Lettuce

Member
Whats the general consensus with Mario All-Stars?, is it regarded inferior compared to the NES originals much like Ninja Gaiden games??
 
TheMoon

TheMoon

Member
Lettuce said:
Whats the general consensus with Mario All-Stars?, is it regarded inferior compared to the NES originals much like Ninja Gaiden games??
Click to expand...

The only problem is that SMB1+2 have Mario jump "through" blocks when crushing them, instead of bouncing straight back down. Otherwise same game with new graphics & SNES soundchip goodness. Worth owning.
 
R

RexRogers

Neo Member
I always viewed Super Mario All-Stars as being the exact same game, but with prettier graphics. I didn't even realize there were any differences in SMB1 and (I assume) the Lost Levels.

If you get the version with Super Mario World there is a different sprite for Luigi from the original stand alone cart.
 
K

-KRS-

Member
Some of the backgrounds in the ports look a little out of place to me. Especially in SMB3, and especially in the final world where in the original they were pretty much all black with muted colors. This gave the world a very mysterious and unsettling feeling. In All-Stars the backgrounds are way more colorful. But maybe it's just because I'm more used to the NES originals.

Other than that, and the aforementioned difference in SMB1, it's definitely a great package worth owning.
 
R

RadarScope1

Member
Every SNES owner should have a copy of SMBAS. Considering the unarguable influence and quality of the games found within (four/five of the best 2D games ever), it is arguably the greatest single cartridge ever released. Also, it's not very expensive.
 
T

theSlacker

Member
synt4x said:
Some of the backgrounds in the ports look a little out of place to me. Especially in SMB3, and especially in the final world where in the original they were pretty much all black with muted colors. This gave the world a very mysterious and unsettling feeling. In All-Stars the backgrounds are way more colorful. But maybe it's just because I'm more used to the NES originals.

Other than that, and the aforementioned difference in SMB1, it's definitely a great package worth owning.
Click to expand...

In the NES version I always thought the Dark Land was something beyond the darkness at the end of the normal levels as a kid, since the entire background was black. That was changed with the all stars version. Some of the levels even looked light out iirc.
 
L

Lettuce

Member
RexRogers said:
I always viewed Super Mario All-Stars as being the exact same game, but with prettier graphics. I didn't even realize there were any differences in SMB1 and (I assume) the Lost Levels.

If you get the version with Super Mario World there is a different sprite for Luigi from the original stand alone cart.
Click to expand...

Well im more concerned about the music, and if snes'in it up altered it too much!?
 
L

Lettuce

Member
sixteen-bit said:
MLIG with the SNES video quality primer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k2HVB9S8CA
Click to expand...

Hugs my 2 SNES RGB modded mini's.

Their videos are always great and very informative!!. But do they really game on LCD with a xrgb mini??...thought they would be CRT boyz!!?

To me in that Mario All Stars screen grab the CHIP1-02 looked to be the sharpest!. So is the RetroRGB THS7314 kit supposed to give an ever better picture/connection that just use the THS7314 chip and pcb mounting combo, like mine.....

Y3njbCs.jpg
Click to expand...

I guess the reduced amount of wires 'could' help?? And what resistors does their kit use?...no doubt its a much cleaner method what ever the outcome
 
S

sixteen-bit

Member
IIRC Try4ce has both a component Trinitron CRT and a flat panel display with XRGB FM. Coury has just a flat panel + XRGB FM but I could be wrong.
 
T

TeaJay

Member
I've been contemplating getting a Framemeister, but the biggest issue is that I don't feel right playing retro on my 42' Samsung HD TV. It's much more enjoyable on my 20' nice CRT.
 
B

blast processed

Member
Zello said:
I've been contemplating getting a Framemeister, but the biggest issue is that I don't feel right playing retro on my 42' Samsung HD TV. It's much more enjoyable on my 20' nice CRT.
Click to expand...

Every so often I go back and forth. I have come close to pulling the trigger but I have a nice setup with my CRT downstairs. Plus I like my Saturn light gun games.
 
L

Lettuce

Member
Zello said:
I've been contemplating getting a Framemeister, but the biggest issue is that I don't feel right playing retro on my 42' Samsung HD TV. It's much more enjoyable on my 20' nice CRT.
Click to expand...

Guess LCD + XRGB combo is more convenient, no geometry issues for example, i have about 6 consoles hooked up to my Hantarex monitor and for each system i have to alter the display ever so slightly to compensate for overscan, least this isnt an issue where LCD is concerned and it looks super sharp and colourful as well......but the only, ONLY reason we stick with CRT is just the authentic looks everything else and LCD + Upscaler is the sensible option.

On a side note, how good is RetroArch for the Wii??....im giving thought to getting a Wii and soft modding it and using it in 240p mode via RGB scart lead on my Hantarex, just to have an all in 1 solution without a billion consoles and cables all over the place
 
T

TeaJay

Member
Lettuce said:
but the only, ONLY reason we stick with CRT is just the authentic looks everything else and LCD + Upscaler is the sensible option.
Click to expand...

Well, that and the lack of input lag. Although I'm told that on the Framemeister it's a non-issue. But I still know a lot of gamers (especially who have started in the last few years) who retro game on modern TV's and have to deal with the lag. They are puzzled why games don't feel as good on LCD's as on their old TV's in their childhood.

The overscan thing is a bit annoying, but for me I calibrate my CRT for RGB.. all the consoles except for my NES / AV Famicom use it and those two have some extra space on the left side of screen, but for everything else it's perfect. So I just live with it since I don't want to be adjusting the picture every time I switch consoles.
 
L

Lettuce

Member
Zello said:
Well, that and the lack of input lag. Although I'm told that on the Framemeister it's a non-issue. But I still know a lot of gamers (especially who have started in the last few years) who retro game on modern TV's and have to deal with the lag. They are puzzled why games don't feel as good on LCD's as on their old TV's in their childhood.

The overscan thing is a bit annoying, but for me I calibrate my CRT for RGB.. all the consoles except for my NES / AV Famicom use it and those two have some extra space on the left side of screen, but for everything else it's perfect. So I just live with it since I don't want to be adjusting the picture every time I switch consoles.
Click to expand...

I guess the lag issue can be resolved by just doing your research before buying a TV, my 42" Sony 42W653 for instance has an input lag of 6ms.....which is going to be unnoticeable!
 
entremet

entremet

Member
sixteen-bit said:
IIRC Try4ce has both a component Trinitron CRT and a flat panel display with XRGB FM. Coury has just a flat panel + XRGB FM but I could be wrong.
Click to expand...

They both use LCDs.

Here's their personal setup video, which is good for developing a workflow for connecting multiple systems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVW-ljlXHqI

Coury does have some PVMs and CRTs in his home based on the backgrounds of his videos, though. But they don't seem to be primary.
 
R

RexRogers

Neo Member
Lettuce said:
To me in that Mario All Stars screen grab the CHIP1-02 looked to be the sharpest!. So is the RetroRGB THS7314 kit supposed to give an ever better picture/connection that just use the THS7314 chip and pcb mounting combo, like mine.....
Click to expand...
I scoured ebay to find a 1CHIP-02 by looking at the serial numbers on the backs. I eventually found one for, I think, $60 for a complete unit. Not too bad, really. I keep that one and an original SHVC model, since that's what Nintendo originally released. I think of it like a baseline unit.
 
L

Lettuce

Member
NormalFish said:
Fair lol. You won't get any better than the 1 to 2 frames, though, which is already substantially more than a crt.
Click to expand...

Yeah i guess that true. But the way i look at it if the screen is refreshing 60 times a second and theres only going to be a 1 or 2 frame delay then thats going to be super hard to notice
 
C

catpurrcat

Member
Lettuce said:
Whats the general consensus with Mario All-Stars?, is it regarded inferior compared to the NES originals much like Ninja Gaiden games??
Click to expand...

It's he definitive version of all the Mario games IMO. Love the save points, music, graphics and most importantly, using "Y" button for run.
 
M

Mark5130

Member
Kind of an oddball question, but how hard is it to track down SNES warranty cards? I'm looking for a few, most notably Dracula X, Super Castle IV and and Mega Man X.
 
D.Lo

D.Lo

Member
TheWraith said:
Was great, but I'm looking into getting a Super Famicom which they didn't mention model numbers.

As I understand it SFC's have RGB out of the box, and I just have to get the seperate RGB cable? Anything else I need to know or be aware of?
Click to expand...
Super Famicom is internally identical to the NA SNES. It's easily the best choice because it uses a normal Sega style power plug, and obviously is a much much much better looking console.
 
T

TheWraith

Member
D.Lo said:
Super Famicom is internally identical to the NA SNES. It's easily the best choice because it uses a normal Sega style power plug, and obviously is a much much much better looking console.
Click to expand...

So would a non-modded console still look fine? I wonder as judging from Japanese yahoo auctions, modded SFC's seem to be non-existant, as opposed to Famicoms.
 
entremet

entremet

Member
TheWraith said:
So would a non-modded console still look fine? I wonder as judging from Japanese yahoo auctions, modded SFC's seem to be non-existant, as opposed to Famicoms.
Click to expand...

For RGB?

Yes.

The additional mods are for a sharper image. The SNES/SFC RGB output has always been softer than most.
 
E

EatinOlives

Member
Does anyone else get a weird "discolored" narrow vertical column on their screen? I have one right in the middle of my screen and it's there regardless of what cable or display I'm using (appears on both Composite and S-video, on totally different cables, on a CRT and an HDTV). I take it it's an internal fault of my SNES hardware and I can't do anything about it? :(
 
R

Rydeen

Member
EatinOlives said:
Does anyone else get a weird "discolored" narrow vertical column on their screen? I have one right in the middle of my screen and it's there regardless of what cable or display I'm using (appears on both Composite and S-video, on totally different cables, on a CRT and an HDTV). I take it it's an internal fault of my SNES hardware and I can't do anything about it? :(
Click to expand...

My Life in Gaming cover this in their most recent video, watch from the time-stamp the link is at that explains it:

https://youtu.be/1k2HVB9S8CA?t=8m55s
 
P

Peagles

Member
EatinOlives said:
Does anyone else get a weird "discolored" narrow vertical column on their screen? I have one right in the middle of my screen and it's there regardless of what cable or display I'm using (appears on both Composite and S-video, on totally different cables, on a CRT and an HDTV). I take it it's an internal fault of my SNES hardware and I can't do anything about it? :(
Click to expand...

None of my systems have it, but it's apparently very common. RetroRGB has some good information and links about it.
 
Z

Zing

Banned
EatinOlives said:
Does anyone else get a weird "discolored" narrow vertical column on their screen? I have one right in the middle of my screen and it's there regardless of what cable or display I'm using (appears on both Composite and S-video, on totally different cables, on a CRT and an HDTV). I take it it's an internal fault of my SNES hardware and I can't do anything about it? :(
Click to expand...
Virtually every SNES has this. Even if you don't see it, it is likely due to your particular TV's settings. It also tends to be masked on digital panels. I have had it on a wide variety of chipsets from the original board with sound module to the SNES Jr. I tried my best to find a system that doesn't have it with no success.

The SNES Jr was the worst for it, likely due to that model's encoder having blown out contrast. That RetroRGB article claims these models are "mostly invisible", which was definitely not true for me. I spent a lot of time researching this and it is almost impossible to get objective information. Everything from your TV, to its user settings, to your SNES itself, to your mood affects how badly it occurs. I am also sure that many people don't know what to look for or just plain do not want to see it.

There are certain games which make it very obvious (Castlevania IV, Earthbound, Final Fantasy III). I also find it more obvious with S-Video compared to composite. I actually thought my SNES Jr was vertical-line-free until playing Earthbound on it. Then it was clear as day. Once I saw it, I couldn't unsee it from that and any other game. I'm used to it now.
 
P

Peagles

Member
Zing said:
Virtually every SNES has this. Even if you don't see it, it is likely due to your particular TV's settings. It also tends to be masked on digital panels. I have had it on a wide variety of chipsets from the original board with sound module to the SNES Jr. I tried my best to find a system that doesn't have it with no success.

The SNES Jr was the worst for it, likely due to that model's encoder having blown out contrast. That RetroRGB article claims these models are "mostly invisible", which was definitely not true for me. I spent a lot of time researching this and it is almost impossible to get objective information. Everything from your TV, to its user settings, to your SNES itself, to your mood affects how badly it occurs. I am also sure that many people don't know what to look for or just plain do not want to see it.

There are certain games which make it very obvious (Castlevania IV, Earthbound, Final Fantasy III). I also find it more obvious with S-Video compared to composite. I actually thought my SNES Jr was vertical-line-free until playing Earthbound on it. Then it was clear as day. Once I saw it, I couldn't unsee it from that and any other game. I'm used to it now.
Click to expand...

I gotta disagree. I've got a few different mobo revisions, and I've tested with several different displays, and even used games and manipulated settings that apparently make it more obvious and still nothing. Maybe I'm just lucky but it's not just something I'm willfully blind to or anything. I've purposefully looked for it because I wanted a perfect picture.
 
D.Lo

D.Lo

Member
I've seen the vertical bar everywhere too. It's easiest to see on the Framemesiter rather than CRTs, I have the contrast and brightness pretty high on mine. Akumajou Dracula XX Stage map screen is the best place to see it for me.

My RGB Super Fami Jr has the worst vertical bar. I really don't care because the better picture is worth it.

It's there in all SNES consoles I've had to varying degrees, but can be very faint on some. All models of Super Famicom (separate sound module, integrated sound module non 1-chip, 1-chip, Jr), and several PAL Super Nintendos.
 
K

-KRS-

Member
The bar is extremely faint on my SFC. Most of the time I can't see it at all, even on black backgrounds. Only very rarely do I see a tiny glimpse of it. I consider myself very lucky.
 
Z

Zing

Banned
In earthbound, it shows as a dark stripe down the middle, usually viewable in grassy areas.

I suspect the processing chain from xrgb to digital panel will either make it more visible, or more hidden.
 
P

Peagles

Member
Zing said:
In earthbound, it shows as a dark stripe down the middle, usually viewable in grassy areas.

I suspect the processing chain from xrgb to digital panel will either make it more visible, or more hidden.
Click to expand...

D.Lo said above it's more visible, however I still can't get it to show up. I'll keep trying though if people can provide suggestions.
 
S

Seven Force

Banned
Man, either I'm rustier than I thought or Turtles in Time SNES is harder than I remember because Slash completely bodied me

I vaguely recall him being the hardest boss in the game though.
 
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