Famicom/NES Hardware Review

[@LGR]

One of my friends got the Deluxe Set, I remember ROB just chilling there in his room as he never used the thing. He also had the Power Glove, man was that thing crazy. And crap, never worked but just barely with Super Glove Ball. I was given his NES years later, complete with the original gray Zapper and tons of games, including Super Glove Ball. Sadly, neither ROB nor glove was included! Very nice review, and totally awesome to see the boxes, especially of the Famicom!

[@chrisbuttface3937]

Hey I know I’m 9 years late but you’re one of my favorite youtube channels and your hardware reviews gave me something to watch for months.

[@matthagen67]

I believe Famicom (and by extension NES) and PS1 are two most important consoles in the history of video gaming. Nintendo and Sony are basically Marvel and DC of this whole medium.

[@humancigarette4307]

Agreed

[@TheFoodieCutie]

I did learn a lot from this video! NES was created to make it look more like a VCR in the 80s for North America, and they added exclusivity and better audio visual components. All this time I was jealous because I thought the Famicom was a better technical system since it had that mic for the legend of Zelda. Looks like all along we got the better one!

[@SNKNostalgia]

I'm surprised you didn't mention the Power Set. Someone else posted a comment about it here. Except, it did not come out in '89. I got mine Christmas of '86. It came with the 3 in 1 game cart, two controllers, gray Zapper and the Powerpad. I also ended up with Kung Fu and Dragon Power (Dragon Ball in Japan) that Christmas and my B-day a week later. Then my parents were cheap and only let me rent games on weekends. Finally, in July '89 they bought me Zelda 2 and many other games after. Thank God.

[@gwydionml6479]

A few years too late to comment on this, but when I got my deluxe set in 89, it had a grey zapper

[@ChicagoMel23]

Another difference between the famicom and nes was the very short cords on famicom controllers. Japanese homes are much smaller than American homes and players would sit on the floor by the console to play. The US console was modeled after a vcr and that’s why it front loads. The ten nes chip still got overridden. Unlicensed games would give the chip a jolt to stun it long enough to start the game. There was a test of the expansion port in Minnesota but it didn’t take off. People weren’t keen on playing lotto on a kids game console.

[@MN12BIRD]

I remember renting one of the Codemasters Dizzy games back in the day and the cart had a switch on the back saying something like if it doesn't work in mode A try B and I think that was to get past the lockout chip like you said.

[@HomeMadeVinyl]

its funny, it's not like I don't already know all this stuff, but I just love watching NES reviews. very informative, you didn't miss a thing :D

[@mikejsretroarcade4612]

I got an action set the Christmas of 1987 and Mine had the gray gun. Loved my NES best Christmas gift ever!

[@Russianbro777]

I have actually played a Famicon a long long time ago, My friend was in Japan for a year and brought one back and we played some space game which was unusual.

[@peterliljebladh]

Lots of information about the origin of the game system I never had. Very detailed and with interesting sidenotes. Thank you.

[@lebendigesgespenst7669]

Wasn’t the Nintendo Entertainment System aspect of it why it wasn’t a small top loader anymore so that it’s feel more like a VCR, an already staple household entertainment system?

[@MN12BIRD]

Yeah exactly they wanted it to look like a VCR not a kids toy I guess.

[@Lachlant1984]

Interesting history. The NES 2 was also available here in Australia as you might expect, here in Australia Mattel Toys were the distributors for Nintendo from around 1987 until around 1994 I believe, if you buy any early PAL NES or SNES games you will actually see the Mattel logo on the game pak display sticker and on the boses.

[@Lachlant1984]

This is a really comprehensive video of the NES history. I believe here in Australia the NES came out in 1987 and Mattel Toys were the Australian distributors, my best friend's family got a NES back then and I think they have the deluxe set because my friend told me that had ROB and Gyrpmite as well as Super Mario Bros. I never owned a NES or SNES when they were popular, but I think most people who I knew who had one had the Action Set you speak of.

[@skDanT]

Very interesting and informative video Jake. I always found it interesting that the 8-bit consoles sold between north America and Europe were virtually the same, yet the 16-bit generation consoles were usually completely different. For example, I much prefer the design of the European SNES over the North American version.

[@Atarix777]

Wow, that was a great view mate, all thumps up! I never got the action set back then, we just had a model with 2 pads and a 3 game cart to start with over here. However, always great to see the NES, i still play it nowdays and I just love it :-D

[@JohnnyCagePro]

shieeet this is some nostalgia straight to the vein, I feel like I want to die and reborn again in the 90' just to play NES and stuff

[@rachelmaurer888]

Our Nintendo action set had the gray light gun zapper in 1988.😀

[@jhoff1804]

Some of the old nes games had a 60 to 72 pin adaptor which I never knew about.

[@pungisotu]

Gyromite!

[@MrKenichi22]

Awesome video there. I liked the music in this video, especially the music when mentioning the famiclones. Very good, keep up the good work^^.

[@dogbunns]

If anyone is wondering. NES cartridges may be larger but this was to fit in the front-loader. The board inside the cartridge is actually the same size as a Famicom board. This was different for prototypes however because prototype famicom games were created on larger boards like the NES prototypes. Look up the Earthbound prototype.

[@KnoxRobert16]

very nice review. one of the best i have seen in awhile

[@Sinn0100]

The pin connector on the front of the Famicon is very different than pur Nes. It actually kind of looks like the same as the Master System and Sega Genesis. At any rate, I was a very lucky kid as my mother was in New York when the Nes hit and she brought a launch Nes home for me. I got it on Christmas morning and boy I was happy. My father not to be outdone by my mother bought me a Sega Master System in 1986. I finally became a true gamer like my father and step father when I got the Sega Genesis in 1989...Christmas from my father beating my mother to the punch. You may have guessed that she bought me the Snes in '91 and you would be right. I could never get them to buy me a Neo Geo AES however...boo. ;) Excellent video! I had the gray Nes light gun.

[@garagegamer6484]

The expansion port on the bottom of the NES was planned to be used with the family basic program that was out on the Famicom. It had a way to save games using an audio cassette tape. I also read that it could have also been used for the Disk System But never released it or Family Basic in America.

[@MrNintendofanatico]

Great review, the music was nice too. video are always better with background music.

[@Yoshter97]

Yay Mario bros 3 level theme

[@SazLowify]

I grew up in Georgia, back when it was still a part of the Soviet Union, with a fake PS1. The one that had 9,999,999 games in one (actually had only 9, the others just got glitchier the further you went through) but that's how I played Mario, Contra and Gun.Smoke. Good times!

[@brucebanner2467]

"I grew up In Georgia when it was still part of the Soviet Union"

[@SazLowify]

Yeah, what's wrong with that? www.google.com/search?q=Georgia+country&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

[@classykingman]

Bruce Banner He is talking about the country Georgia not the state...

[@budmeister]

Bruce Banner Idiot, Georgia is a country.

[@Russianbro777]

@@brucebanner2467 Груза

[@airfats1]

Yeah, love the shadow gate music towards the end. Awesome!

[@markvergeer]

Very nice video! The Toploader model 2 does exist with a regular AV-OUT in the PAL variety in the New Zealand and Australia areas this was NOT available in Europe despite it being a PAL region model. The Japanese equivalent of the Toploader did have AV-OUT as well.

[@atarinerd93]

I didn't even know the NES had a expansion port on the bottom...that's so cool!!!!!

[@ToothSIayer]

The frontloader on the American NES is consistent with that of a VCR from the mid 80s. It was probably intended to be that way to make it look less like a toy like you mentioned in the video.

[@blanchardsw]

The Shadowgate and Megaman music really brought me back.

[@Swi2ler]

would it be possible to splice a couple of wires onto the board at the point before the video signal gets modulated? that would be pretty cool

[@zeldajunkielol2]

Nolan Bushnell was working on the teleplay modem for the nes, but it never got released.

[@apfanco]

BUT! The Game and Watch game Donkey Kong had a D-Pad.

[@barrelroll_poopoopeepee]

Allan pavon So did greenhouse and oil panic

[@ProJatior]

Didn’t the Master System have a D Pad?

[@sethhorst6158]

The game and watch is a handheld, not a system that you hook up to a TV. Also the Master System launched 1 years after the NES did.

[@Mr.Carrot]

Exactly!

[@vampire_king34]

@@ProJatior nah the game and watch donkey kong came before it and it came after the nes.

[@zillzultraboy]

Great vid! What song is that at the 12 min. mark? It sounds familiar, but I can't remember where it's from.....

[@appleguyforeternity]

There's so many theories about how Nintendo marketed the NES. Some say the out it with ROB to make it look like a toy. Others say that it was called an entertainment system, rather then a video game system. Most obscure is that it was made to look like a VCR and not a top loading console. That was there horrible design flaw. Normally, it could work like that, but the pins are a certain way rather then the top loading direction.

[@DaiAtlus79]

@BranTroid94 5200 had an analog stick... in Europe, the 7800 sold with an NES/SMS style controller (D-Pad & action buttons) which works on the North American 7800s (and i think was available via mail order in North America)

[@tsskiller08]

@MN12Bird Which Famicom revision do you have? I ask because in the last few months, I've purchased both revisions (yes, including the one that's said to catch on fire). I will probably demonstrate those on my other account soon enough.

[@gooberturdwater9800]

I got the action set for christmas in 1988-89, and mine came with a grey zapper. My cousins a year later got the action set, but had an orange zapper.

[@bobskie321]

I have a Japanese Famicom. The RF out can be received by American TV on cable mode Channel 95 (CH1) or Channel 96 (CH2) (2:51).

[@MrGencyExit64]

The funny thing about that though is that CATV channel 95-97 actually overlap the same frequency range as FM radio. A lot of TVs from the late 80s and early 90s that had CATV tuners built-in won't let you tune to channels 95-97.

[@phouleng]

Mod AV out easy way...

[@Trevpwnsnoobs]

you might be abit wrong about the pin change, i believe there was 4 pins dedicated to the 10 nes chip and 10 pins for the expansion port,but 2 pins were taken out from the nes because of the lack of fm synthesis sound.

[@Cade_Squirrel]

they do have famicom converters in gyromite nes games but only a few of them have the converters inside

[@MN12BIRD]

You can get adapters to go either way to play NES games on a Famicom or ones to play Famicom games on an NES if that's what you mean.

[@MarcS4R]

i could watch this all day...

[@megamanfan3]

I know the NES my cousin has was from the NES Action Set. I know that because she has the two controllers, the NES Zapper, and the SMB/DH combo cartridge. She also has quite a collection of NES games as well.

[@futureshock7425]

I liked your ending remarks!

[@Swi2ler]

@MN12BIRD yes i suppose it is a little more complicated than i thought, but the convenience of the cartridge slot combined with composite video quality would definitely make it worth it.

[@thehumansilversurfer]

I had that exact grey famicom (12:40 ) in Zimbabwe, they were loads of famiclones in shops when i was younger, its pity it broke when i got a Sega genesis for christmas.

[@ErnestJay88]

Well this bring back many memories of my childhood, NES really amaze me at that time (as 6 years old boy who never play any video games except Atari 2600) i just want to say "WOW.... pretty good graphic and sound" when first time i play NES.

[@JokerXDHaHaHa]

There was an incident in Brazil where a guy held hostages with a Sega Master system zapper and that's why Nintendo painted the zapper orange.

[@andrijaerceg4466]

I find it fascinating how Nintendo released the cost-reduces version for people to buy more of the consoles. Yet nowadays they are hard to find... Great video! :)

[@MN12BIRD]

If the NES2 would have came out in 1991 along side the SNES it would have sold way more but to come out in Oct of 1993 I mean the SNES was out for a few years and the NES was basically dead by then.

[@nathanhynes]

Nes aren't hard to find.i'm from Ireland Which would have less of than other countries and there are tons of them

[@RWL2012]

​@@nathanhynesthey were talking about the toploader NES2, not the frontloader.

[@ken0176]

the expansion port on the bottom was supposed to be a multiplayer link expansion

[@DarkAvatar1313]

Some of the later NES2's had A/V only and no RF, those are hard to find

[@redglass77]

Got my 1st NES in the "Action Set" back in December 88' it came with the gray gun.

[@MN12BIRD]

Yeah I noticed that one some of them I've seen online and wondered if they were earlier models. Thanks.

[@james42519]

the expansion port wasn't used but there was a prototype The Minnesota State Lottery modem

[@NYKgjl10]

After 27 years, my original NES still works.... Old school Nintendo for life =)

[@phouleng]

Now ! 30 years it still works?

[@BenJabituya]

I recently bought a Japanese Famicom for $40. It works on my TV. Tune your TV to Channel 95 and use the US NES RF Switch and a Sega AC Adapter.

[@hdofu]

You didn't cover the VS. System, the M82 units, the play 10 choice, the famicombox, sharp nes television, Oldsmobile expression, or the 2 Euroversions (There was a Nintendo entertainment system released by Mattel with a different lockout chip)

[@DeanoTheLegend87]

Camera Quality is looking Fantastic. Any thought's on doing an AV mod to the Toploader, seem's rather simple thing to do as well.

[@filiplaskovski9993]

Very very informative man !!!

[@mrharibro]

I have the NES-101 top loader console. Would you say I should keep that or get the original NES like the one you have?

[@MrMovieNight]

Fantastic video man!

[@xsamitt]

yes you can look up famicom to nes on amazon

[@rpmmelby]

hey mn12bird the bottom of the nes were the expanstion port was would that be used for the famicon disk drive plz let me know ok

[@MN12BIRD]

I got the boxed Famicom on EBay from the USA and the price was fair. This was 3 years ago though and the Super Famicom I actually found at a local game shop also like 3 years ago.

[@xxcrysad3000xx]

Anybody know the song that kicks in around the 12 minute mark? I really like it and don't seem to recognize it.

[@graffmixer]

They also have the box Nintendo Set with the Power Pad, The Zapper, and three games....

[@thenodfather]

Great video. Very good work and very interesting. Thank you

[@MrDebauch]

great video man, hopefully a lot of people learn some history.

[@icpizzaboy]

I have 1 toaster NES 1 Toploader and 1AV Famicom my favorite of the 3 is the AV famicom great video signal and reliable top loading slot. My favorite game is castlevania 3 (i also own Akumajō Densetsu cart with the vrc6 chip,music is sooooo good)

[@wulfman15]

@MikeyS9607 Find a "5-screw" copy of Gyromite. They usually go for like $10-$12 and when you open it up, it contains a Famicom adapter allowing you to play Famicom games on the NES. That's what I use, lots of fun!

[@loretano]

I bought an action set in 1988 for 100 dollars at Kiddie City in Henrietta NY and it came with a gray zapper

[@brtshstel]

strangely enough, while the NES2 was RF only, the equivalent Famicom revision supported composite AV.

[@NexusArtRealm]

I was lucky enough to have owned a Famicom when I was a kid with Super Mario Bros.

[@nensondubois]

With a resistor modification you can add Famicom Disk System/Namocot106, Sunsoft5b(FME-7), MMC5, VRC6 and VRC7 sound expansion to the NES by multiplexing the audio signal with the 2A03 chip. Search FamicomWorld for the modification since I can't post links in KZbin comments, sorry. It was dumb for Nintendo to can such a what could have been. I own all Famicom games that use sound chips complete except for Metal Slader Glory.

[@nrz666]

NES and its accessories (even carts) seem to be made of wood. Such big and rectangular. :D

[@akaJughead]

Nintendo also released a variant of the Control Deck set that did not include Super Mario Bros. That's the version my parents bought me back in 1987. They got me Top Gun with the system. Still haven't beaten that game to this day, lol.

[@Flodder450]

Informative video,some stuff i didnt knew o.O also MN12,my megadrive started working again,and i think ill just replace the power supply and get an RGB cable for it :P

[@rsvp9146]

What kind of Marantz is that in the background?

[@randomguytechfansgameandmo6738]

In japan nes 2 was called Famicom AV

[@tass.1127]

u could get the zapper as a stand alone. I looked everywhere for a gray zapper once k saw they were going orange before finding an old one to go with my control deck

[@byDanish]

Where did you get the consoles? I really want to know where I can get them. Did you get them online? Thanks! ~ Stephen

[@TheOneHamster]

Good review, very informative! Thumbs up for you :)

[@NathanielChristopher]

When I got an Action set in 1989 (in Canada) it came with a grey zapper.

[@MN12BIRD]

@inoyu49 Usually you do unless someone replaced the 72-pin connector. I have an NES with a replaced 72-pin connector and I don't have to push the game down on it but my other NES I do.

[@therealhardrock]

Why does your NES box have the Mattel logo on it? I thought that was just for Europe.

[@Nerdboi117]

great video!!! Very informative

[@TechnoBoy301]

The Famicom A and B buttons were originally squares but they were recalled for heavy use (I guess.) I dont whats the real reason they recalled the square famicom a and b buttons.

[@ismaelrosales78]

Does anybody know why some nintendos had an R at the end of the logo and some didn't

[@seanryanmetalhead]

It's actually not a spring loaded design on the original NES. It's the tension on the pins that act as a spring. That's why the deign isn't reliable over time. The pins eventually break.

[@knuxy1361]

This video made me want to buy a famicon

[@phouleng]

Yeah ! and then fix AV out :)

[@phouleng]

I mean Mod Video out put for Famicom .

[@rafaelasuncionXD2000216]

Same

[@HBKnowItAll]

AlijahGamer's Channel me too!

[@a-cxnt]

Where's the best place to buy an NES? Ive been looking on amazon and they are all very expensive.

[@TrainmasterCurt]

The Retro Duo 3.1 is the best clone system, and plays practically all NES and Super NES and also plays Super Famicom games too

[@armankordi]

I've got a Power Set with a NES, 2 controllers, Super Mario Bros, Duck hunt, World class track meet. All in one cartridge. Also I got a Zapper and a Power pad. World Class Track Meet does not start the first level, uness I connect the Zapper. It was all $85.

[@Snotnarok]

@MN12BIRD I did, that's the problem, I got a brand new one off estarland, I put it in, cleaned everything. I made sure I was static free when doing it, now I can't get a damn game to boot. I think out of like 75 tries I got it to load once. Games are clean, the pins are clean, I just don't know what's wrong with this thing.

[@RC-eo8yt]

In Argentina we only got Famicon and was called "Family Game"

[@SlasherMiniFilms]

Great Video, Jake!

[@sirpiuli4636]

the toploader only costs 49.99 (in 1993-199?)

[@acidpurewarrior]

my nes works without pushing it down? Maybe it's a replaced pin connector because it came from a store that fixes old consoles.

[@Ltresso12]

Mine does too

[@acidpurewarrior]

+Ltresso12 infact it actually barely works with it pushed down maybe its backwords?

[@JVernos]

great vid. im concidering getting a famicom for my collection.