• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

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

Uhhh I just double checked this and I might be wrong but it sounds like only the Super GameBoy, Satellaview, and the Extertainment Bike used those expansion pins so they might not be very useful. Still if I were buying one I would want to be sure that nothing is going to be incompatibly since all of the expansion chip games seem to have those extra pins.

Special chip games like SuperFX and SA-1 does use the extra pins. Not all of the pins though. SuperFX uses pin 1 and SA-1 uses both pin 1 and 33 for example.
 

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
Special chip games like SuperFX and SA-1 does use the extra pins. Not all of the pins though. SuperFX uses pin 1 and SA-1 uses both pin 1 and 33 for example.

Sooo... is there an easy way to tell, if I'm just looking at ebay options, what will just work with everything?
 

Teknoman

Member
Wf3AxQV.jpg


Finally. Time to put and end to this.
 

Teknoman

Member

Done. First time i've ever beaten DQI. I guess I should either keep going with DQII or pick something non-turnbased?

EDIT: Wandered around a little just in case I was underleveled.


On that note, how the hell do you use the laser lasso in Wild Guns?
 

Morfeo

The Chuck Norris of Peace
Congrats on beating DQ1! That SF-version just looks so beautiful compared to the ugly gbc-version i played back in the day.
 

alf717

Member
Playing the GBC version of DW I+II. I'm stuck in DW II right now but I actually prefer it over the SFC. Kind of unfair since I don't own the SFC version and am going off of videos from youtube. Might have to fix that some day. Congrats on beating the first game. I remember the first time I did that on the NES version. Man that brings back a lot of memories.
 
So my SNES is starting to get these yellow-ish horizontal scan lines output to the TV. Tried aa manufacture and an aftermarket A/V cord and still no luck. Anybody have any tips to fix this?

Anybody know of a trusted seller where I should get a replacement system? Thanks
 

Morfeo

The Chuck Norris of Peace
Wow, Rock & Roll Racing is surprisingly expensive, was thinking about picking it up since old racing games mostly stay cheap, but guess not at this time :(
 

Mr. Virus

Member
Finally got a game (Yoshi's Island) for my SFC so I could test it. Working well :D

Can't decide what to pick up next.

Nice get! Probably my favourite Mario game :D! (Even if it's a Yoshi one it's still SMW2 so it counts!)

In other news: Picked up a copy of FF Mystic Quest on the cheap. Been wanting a fairly light JRPG to jump into and haven't played this one in way over a decade ha ha.
 

SKINNER!

Banned
Interesting discussion I was having with my friends earlier, we all agreed that NTSC SNES games were superior to their PAL counterparts partly because of the 50/60hz thing but - interestingly - has there ever been a PAL SNES game that was better than it's NTSC (or even Japanese) version in terms of controls/graphics or even content censorship.?

From the top of my head, PAL got more censorship (Contra/Zombies Ate My Neighbors etc) than NTSC so my guess is that there wasn't any PAL games that were better than their NTSC versions but I dunno. What do you think GAF?
 

Morfeo

The Chuck Norris of Peace
Interesting discussion I was having with my friends earlier, we all agreed that NTSC SNES games were superior to their PAL counterparts partly because of the 50/60hz thing but - interestingly - has there ever been a PAL SNES game that was better than it's NTSC (or even Japanese) version in terms of controls/graphics or even content censorship.?

From the top of my head, PAL got more censorship (Contra/Zombies Ate My Neighbors etc) than NTSC so my guess is that there wasn't any PAL games that were better than their NTSC versions but I dunno. What do you think GAF?

I think games like gradius 3 has less slowdown, so there is that.
 

Teknoman

Member
Ok so how are we gonna get the ball rolling on SNES games of the month / ideas for a max price limit / doing super famicom exclusives (since some of those are still sorta cheap)?
 

TheMoon

Member
Interesting discussion I was having with my friends earlier, we all agreed that NTSC SNES games were superior to their PAL counterparts partly because of the 50/60hz thing but - interestingly - has there ever been a PAL SNES game that was better than it's NTSC (or even Japanese) version in terms of controls/graphics or even content censorship.?

From the top of my head, PAL got more censorship (Contra/Zombies Ate My Neighbors etc) than NTSC so my guess is that there wasn't any PAL games that were better than their NTSC versions but I dunno. What do you think GAF?

All PAL Contra games => Probotector versions >>>>> their Contra versions :)
 

D.Lo

Member
Interesting discussion I was having with my friends earlier, we all agreed that NTSC SNES games were superior to their PAL counterparts partly because of the 50/60hz thing but - interestingly - has there ever been a PAL SNES game that was better than it's NTSC (or even Japanese) version in terms of controls/graphics or even content censorship.?

From the top of my head, PAL got more censorship (Contra/Zombies Ate My Neighbors etc) than NTSC so my guess is that there wasn't any PAL games that were better than their NTSC versions but I dunno. What do you think GAF?
It depends. On SNES, most PAL games are not inferior at all, they're just running on a differently configured console. Some are basically the exact same ROM, and run identically if run on an NTSC machine.

Ironically, games that had good efforts put into the PAL version to run the same speed and use more screen real estate (eg most first party games), which were actually serving customers well back in the day, are now seen as inferior, as they can only run correctly on PAL settings, which is not the main standard.

Also on a related point that Morfeo was getting at, the PAL console is the exact same computer, just configured to run 17% slower, so the chips are not pushed as hard and some slowdown-heavy games have less (or no) slowdown in PAL. Shooters in general play more smoothly in PAL. This goes for Mega Drive and Master System as well, as they too use the same hardware underclocked for their PAL versions. Doesn't apply for NES or earlier (which had different chips for PAL), or most 3D consoles, which typically use software to designate the video modes.

PAL versions generally had better box art and presentation too, especially in Australia where we got the English-only versions of most games (ie no massive black and white multi-ligual manual and box with with tiny text in six languages on the back).

I think games like gradius 3 has less slowdown, so there is that.
Gradius III wasn't actually released in PAL, but yes it runs better on a PAL machine via a converter.

All PAL Contra games => Probotector versions >>>>> their Contra versions :)
I love Probo too, but no. The Probo II and the SNES one were very well done, and Contra GB was decent as Probo, but Contra 1 is missing all the extra animation and stuff of the Japanese release, and the Mega Drive game is a mess as Probo.
 

SKINNER!

Banned
lmao, you can pick up a second hand Super Famicom and Super Mario Kart for probably like under $40 in a Book Off in Tokyo somewhere.
 

Saoshyant

Member
Wonder if someone can give me a tip on what to do here. Bought a loose copy of Sim City, the back was yellowed as hell, but I've seen that sort of thing before so I didn't mind. I cleaned the contacts as I usually do with cart games that are looking ugly and this one had a ton of dirt in there. Problem, though: game doesn't load even after the clean up.

I've since tried to do the eraser "trick", but it doesn't seem to have helped. I don't have the screwdriver needed to open this sort of carts to check if anything is busted inside, but would that be worth buying one for? What else can I do other than, well, throw it out?
 

Cheerilee

Member
Wonder if someone can give me a tip on what to do here. Bought a loose copy of Sim City, the back was yellowed as hell, but I've seen that sort of thing before so I didn't mind. I cleaned the contacts as I usually do with cart games that are looking ugly and this one had a ton of dirt in there. Problem, though: game doesn't load even after the clean up.

I've since tried to do the eraser "trick", but it doesn't seem to have helped. I don't have the screwdriver needed to open this sort of carts to check if anything is busted inside, but would that be worth buying one for? What else can I do other than, well, throw it out?

Never throw out an SNES cart. If I were you, I would get one of those gamebit screwdrivers and make an attempt at opening it up to try and clean it better, but even if you don't or maybe the game is broken, it still has value as parts. It might be usable for making a reproduction cart (basically you can take a ROM from the internet and burn it to a new ROM chip, and swap the new ROM into an old cart). If there are any retro used game shops in your area, they might be able to fix it, or you can donate the cart to them and maybe they'll be able to use it's parts to fix the next person's broken game.

You said the back is yellowed, but does that mean the face looks nice? Because there's probably someone out there who has Sim City and they wish their label was in better condition.
 

NDPsycho

Member
Wonder if someone can give me a tip on what to do here. Bought a loose copy of Sim City, the back was yellowed as hell, but I've seen that sort of thing before so I didn't mind. I cleaned the contacts as I usually do with cart games that are looking ugly and this one had a ton of dirt in there. Problem, though: game doesn't load even after the clean up.

I've since tried to do the eraser "trick", but it doesn't seem to have helped. I don't have the screwdriver needed to open this sort of carts to check if anything is busted inside, but would that be worth buying one for? What else can I do other than, well, throw it out?

Go for the gamebit and open it up. It's really hard to clean the pins well without taking it apart. I've only ever had 1 cart that I couldn't get to run after a good cleaning with some alcohol and a pink eraser. Can't count how many didn't work until they were taken apart and cleaned well.
 

Saoshyant

Member
All right, guess I'll finally get a gamebit kit. Does anyone know where's the best place to get a reliable one in Europe? I've heard there's tons of flimsy Chinese ones on Ebay.
 

NDPsycho

Member
All right, guess I'll finally get a gamebit kit. Does anyone know where's the best place to get a reliable one in Europe? I've heard there's tons of flimsy Chinese ones on Ebay.

I'm not in Europe, but I got mine off ebay. Shouldn't matter where it comes from, it's not a high stress tool. Pick whatever style/price appeals. I went for a kit that came with a bit for SNES and one for Genesis. Also came with the tri wing driver for gameboy. Saves you a future purchase if you ever need them. Had them for years.
 

Peagles

Member
All right, guess I'll finally get a gamebit kit. Does anyone know where's the best place to get a reliable one in Europe? I've heard there's tons of flimsy Chinese ones on Ebay.

You can get decent sets on eBay, just make sure you get steel. The black looking carbony ones are trash and strip easily.
 
I just got some off Amazon and use them with an IKEA screwdriver that already used screw bits for tips. Works well enough.

Though I opened up the two games I own that wouldn't work after alcohol, and I still couldn't revive either of them. In the case of Tonic Trouble, I think the PCB itself might be cracked slightly.
 
I would love to ramp back up my SNES collection and at the very least just re-buy all the games I owned as a child. Problem is, at least with the games I owned previously I want them to all be CIB. For the most part, the prices of the games I had growing up CIB aren't THAT crazy, but the price for CIB Sunset Riders is getting to be insane. I've actually thought about getting the Sunset Riders arcade board instead as it's often much cheaper.

Anyways, here's the games I owned previously that I still need:
- Super Mario All-Stars
- Legend of Zelda: A Link to The Past
- Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball
- Yoshi's Island
- Donkey Kong Country 1&2
- Super Wrestlemania
- Sunset Riders
- TMNT: Turtles in Time
- Uniracers
- Mario Paint
- TMNT: Tournament Fighters
- Super Mario Kart
- Spider-Man & Venom: Separation Anxiety(?)
- Bubsy (I may just leave this in the past)
- Home Alone (same with this game)
- Super Bases Loaded
- Aladdin
- The Lion King
- Earthworm Jim 2
- Stunt Race FX

I think that's it... the games I'd like to get at some point CIB or otherwise:
- Captain America and the Avengers
- Sparkster
- Kirby Superstar (My cousin and I played the shit out of this game back in the day)
- Legend of the Mystical Ninja (same with this game)
- Saturday Night Slam Masters (I own the Genesis version)
- Castlevania: Dracula X (ugh)
- Final Fight 2 & 3
- Captain Commando
- Super Ghouls N Ghosts
- A Mickey game whose name is slipping my mind.
- MegaMan X
- MegaMan 7
- Battletoads in BattleManiacs
- Star Fox
- Star Fox 2 bootleg cart
- True Lies (rented the shit out this game and it's kind of a crazy game for the time it was released)

That's all I can think of now. Just re-buying CIB versions of all the games I used to own is going to set me back a pretty penny, so I don't see myself buying too many SNES games that I did not own previously right now.

Curious question: what kind of stuff should I keep in mind when it comes to SNES maintenance? Is there a lot of "you should replace this thing or it will corrode your SNES's board" or what?
 

NDPsycho

Member
I would love to ramp back up my SNES collection and at the very least just re-buy all the games I owned as a child. Problem is, at least with the games I owned previously I want them to all be CIB. For the most part, the prices of the games I had growing up CIB aren't THAT crazy, but the price for CIB Sunset Riders is getting to be insane. I've actually thought about getting the Sunset Riders arcade board instead as it's often much cheaper.

Anyways, here's the games I owned previously that I still need:

I think that's it... the games I'd like to get at some point CIB or otherwise:
- Captain America and the Avengers


First off, good luck. It's a hell of an undertaking even cart only. Some of those will set you back a bit, but it feels awesome to relive you childhood (personally speaking).

Just had to recommend getting this one on Genesis though. Plays so much better....
 
Top Bottom