Nintendo Famicom Disk System - Buying Guide + Best Games!

Family Computer Disk System was released only in Japan in 1986 and uses floppy disks to store retail games and save games. John Riggs is a collector of the system and shares his knowledge of the system and what games you will want to pick up day 1.
GAMES SHOWN:
The Miracle of Almana
Meikyū Jiin Dababa
Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic
The Mysterious Murasame Castle
Falsion
Vs. Excitebike
Kick Challenger: Air Foot
Bio Miracle-I'm Upa
Otocky
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** MUSIC by MetalJesusRocks, Ethan Meixell & Vibe Tracks **

[@johnhancockretro]

I love collecting for this device. Harder to come by in the States, but there was a decent amount of these items at the Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo. I love using my AVS to play my FDS games.

[@EricAndre615]

Yeah, the AVS is a great option for playing disk system games. Straight to HD.

[@zdp-189]

RetroUSB AVS I think he means, looks like a solid FPGA system for all things NES/fami...though I have yet to try one, it looks awesome.

[@pidgeo5]

Ditto! I also like how a lot of the FDS games that were released as cartridges over here (Kid Icarus, Metroid, Zelda) have a little more 'omph' to the sound due to the sound hardware of the Famicom. :)

[@jak3w]

Help us out whats avs

[@pidgeo5]

Could it be the RetroUSB AVS? retrousb.com/product_info.php?cPath=36&products_id=78

[@drhoads08]

One of my Chinese friends had this when I was a kid and I remember being like "what is this sorcery". I used to eat seaweed chips and play on his famicom disk system. lol...

[@rairai5114]

Fun fact, back in 1988, I lived in South America with my parents. A young boy. I begged and begged for a Nintendo. The NES was pretty expensive, so they got me this..."Family Computer" system, which was 1/3 of the price of the NES. I felt dupped, I felt I got a knock off!! I felt my parents didn't love me enough to get me the REAL NINTENDO....oh how wrong I was, how wrong!!! Many years later I found out that I had the REAL DEAL and never appreciatted it, although I played the hell out of it until I had to replace the controller 3 times because the wiring would snap from the side, and it was notorious for having issues with its video out analog port, haha! Oh man I loved my little red and vanilla system

[@ProJatior]

Dude.

[@alexanderphillips3201]

Same happened to me in Costa Rica lol...... how wrong I was too xD.

[@IvoPoblete]

Where in South America??

[@bebopganymede]

@@ProJatior 😂

[@lucasgill7819]

Yeah, i´m from Argentina, and here the Famicom was much more common to find than the NES. In fact, i´ve never saw or knew about the NES until the internet arrived

[@The_RadicalOne]

Riggs!! Jason!! We love you dudes!

[@ryerye5004]

Hey Reggie have you ever farted in a jar and opened it years later ?

[@alzone9918]

We love you too reggie! 👊🏻

[@MetalJesusRocks]

REGGGGIE!!!!

[@JohnRiggs]

We love you back!

[@HolyGuacamole2173]

Cant wait to meet you guys in St. Louis!

[@MetalJesusRocks]

GAMES SHOWN: The Miracle of Almana Meikyū Jiin Dababa Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic The Mysterious Murasame Castle Falsion Vs. Excitebike Kick Challenger: Air Foot Bio Miracle-I’m Upa Otocky

[@pietramaladjaprie4097]

Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic was actually later reworked into Super Mario Bros 2 or Super Mario USA

[@JohnRiggs]

Always looking for more fun FDS games if anyone has any suggestions.

[@MetalJesusRocks]

Thanks so much for doing this video with me John!!!

[@pidgeo5]

Can't go wrong with Konami on the 8-bit systems man. Aside from what was released by Nintendo (Zelda 1 & 2, Kid Icarus, Metroid), keep an eye out for Ai Senshi Nicol, Esper Dream, Moero TwinBee, and my favorite Pro Wrestling!

[@flywheels]

Big Challenge Dogfight, Dirty Pair, Gall Force, Transformers: Headmasters, Zanac are all pretty good games.

[@TheMurblanc]

John Riggs: RIGG'd Games I would totally add Zanac to any list about FDS !!

[@Krisipoke]

Esper Dream is really awesome. It helps if you know Japanese, but it's very fun even without it.

[@coynierobertloynes3947]

Aup lads . I am from sheffield england and im not a collector but i love your show im 41 and have been a gamer all my life . Keep up the good work metal jesus and co 👊🤘

[@The_RadicalOne]

When ever I see riggs on the show, I get a serge of energy!

[@nickdraco8435]

Kinky

[@PapaIrie]

🤨 Pause:

[@crimsontide1980]

Oh

[@1980sGamer1]

Great guide! Such an epic add-on, I love my Twin Famicom.

[@RichBergin]

Fantastic vid. I got a Sharp Twin Famicom a while back, but only got a couple of games at the time. Thank you so much for the new game hunt list. Also, looking forward to seeing you two and everyone at Mo Game Con on August 4!!!

[@billbailey1511]

I loveeeee metal jesus so much. I watch his videos when Im feeling low and it always helps to cheer me up.

[@shadowblade422]

Hello Metal Jesus, I just wanted to let you know I have been following your channel for a while now and this has inspired me to create a gaming channel of my own. Thank you for all the entertainment.

[@FaSMaN]

No one mentioned that it has the best version of legend of Zelda? The FM music makes it sound fantastic!

[@cnfuzz]

Not fm but wavetables , frequency modulation is not possible on wavetables only amplitude modulation

[@pidgeo5]

Wow, good episode! I've been watching your channel for a while and I never realized the Famicom Disk System was never covered! I lived in Japan from 2002-2006, so while I was there I grabbed some disk system games, the disk reader and keyboard, and the Twin Famicom. Like John said, the Twin is the best way to play. It's an awesome system and so far I've got 25 games for it; many in the hard plastic case, and a few with the instructions. A really good guidebook is the Hardcore Gaming 101 Presents: The Complete Guide to the Famicom Disk System. I think it covers all the games that were released for the system, with how rare they are, including games that could only be obtained from one of the disk writer kiosks (did you know Nintendo supported those until 2003?).

[@KazReviews]

Man, I learn something new everytime John Riggs stops by. Really neat stuff!

[@Jono1874]

I absolutely love the FDS. I love that you made this thank you so much.

[@LordxDanswich]

Love these buying guides. There isn't a huge retro scene where i am so these are a good substitute when i'm on a retro kick. Keep up the great vids guys! Love the metaljesus crew.

[@shaolingamer7316]

I love how intrigued Metal Jesus is when looking at the Sharp Famicom

[@OzzyMoto2K10]

Yeah - a whole lot of intense side eye going on in this video!

[@theroominbetween7309]

Great channel and love this Famicom Disk System feature! Collecting this system as well and be sure to be on the lookout for that RED Sharp Twin Famicom.

[@krillen64]

This was an awesome video. I remember John did a live stream and played some the Famicom Disk System games he showed off in the video. That was such a great stream and random (random as he usually to busy to plan them out so he just does one when ever) but so fun as all his streams are in my opinion.

[@deco983]

Great content! loved this guide! Congrats guys!

[@kat.]

This came at a perfect time! I've been wanting to get a Famicom to add to my small collection but had no idea where to start with the games ❤️

[@VideoGameVotary]

This was an excellent video @metaljesusrocks and @johnriggs I need to get my hands on one!

[@HolyGuacamole2173]

Mormon advertisement before Metal Jesus video lmao

[@keithbeesting]

John thanks for doing this video I remember watching a similar one on your own channel and it got me into collecting for the FDS. I visited Tokyo a few weeks ago picked up a FDS and games very cheap as they are plentiful over there. For anyone interested you can purchase the FDDSTICK it only costs about $16 and is the size of a USB stick it completely replaces the physical drive and can fit the whole FDS library in its memory and it works great.

[@EdgyThunder]

Another great video you never disappoint with your videos keep up the great work

[@100kungfoo]

finally a buying guide for this system!!! thanks you guys are awesome!!!

[@CollectingRetro]

I'm a massive Famicom collector! Great video! The Twin Famicom is one of my favorite systems. The red one looks amazing!

[@MurrayNJ08]

Love collecting for this bad boy. Have a ton of games for it and recently went to a garage sale and bought another 12 games, near mint. Good stuff.

[@JapanRetroGames]

I currently have 161 of the officially licensed FDS games in my collection, and a few of those non-PG games as well... I also sell some on ebay too. Fun fact: the "Minus World" on the FDS version of Super Mario Bros. is different than in the other versions.

[@rackssimons6728]

Do you still sell on eBay?

[@hitechabi77it72]

Totally Love Metal Jesus. And the fact that he's a huge Alice in Chains Fan and also collects rare vinyl is such an added plus his videos just lighten my day up. Him and John Hancock together just make my day. I love watching these videos not only cause of the nostalgia that I have for these games, the consoles, and even the boxes!!!( aren't physical video game stuff cool!)but also because they put their content together with stuff I'm crazy about and love and they always mention the greatest games I'm always thinking about. Thanks John and Metal for doing this for all the fans, your work is not being overlooked! Keep up the great videos.

[@jaysvlog9803]

Buying guides? Nice bro got a whole new thing to watch now so happy your bringing my childhood back! Only thing like it, you should mix it up and see if you could throw a old commercial or something for memories😁

[@chrisstubbs2930]

Great video guys I wish I had some tips for starting my own channel hmu Metal Jesus you Rock and John Riggs is my favorite!!!!!

[@timwasylyszyn9838]

Loved this video! Learned about something new!

[@GenerationGapGaming]

OMG!!! My favorite video of yours to date. I absolutely love the FDS and I feel it doesnt get enough love and historical appreciation. Lots of info on here that I didnt know. I actually found and ordered a sharp twin famicom during the video lol!!!! I love my FDS and the mini famicom classic edition that I have. VS excitebike looks amazing!

[@Siempre281983]

Awesome guide, again! Thanks guys!!

[@vivisect53]

Thanks for this video and the info about the twin. I always wanted a Disk sysyem and after seeing this I picked up a mint Famicom twin fairly cheap while in Japan. When the security guy at Narita airport came over to check my carry on and saw bag full of Famicom cart and disk games he got a big smile on his face and patted me on the back and sent me through...it was pretty funny after being held up leaving Chicago week earlier where the ass hats apparently couldnt figure out what the Switch dock was.

[@oakenshield3116]

Nice video, guys!!! Two of my favorite KZbinrs!!

[@carrieslantern9224]

That seems cool for a classic, Thanks for posting and all the info.

[@seanward4602]

These videos are fascinating! Half of the systems you guys review/feature I didn't even know existed!! I'm a 80's NES kid, used to have a lot of the "rare" games and accessories, super bummed I didn't keep any of it, anyway, love learning about the history and randomness of the gaming world. Super interesting shit.

[@requiem165]

13:52 MY FAVOURITE DISK SYSTEM GAME AHHHHH

[@drumtum]

Great video. A video like this one on the PC Engine duo would be cool.

[@jackyhorror2417]

i really enjoy these videos, thank you

[@cheshiredon]

Lol, That was once my copy of Super Lode Runner, I remember putting that green sticker on there. I traded it to John at PRGE 2017 for among other things in our trade A copy of The Uninvited for the NES I needed for my collection.

[@gamersinacontainer]

Thanks for the guide! This helps a lot!

[@TelesplashGaming]

Really cool video. Love these somewhat rare and unique systems.

[@boblowes]

Bear in mind though, that when the Famicom Disk System came out, PCs were still using 5.25" floppy disks; and those didn't have a shutter to protect the magnetic disc inside either. So, it's by no means essential to have one on your Famicom Disks. Even a PC 3.5" disk will work fin if the shutter gets ripped off. So long as the data is intact, the drive won't care. I suppose the reason Nintendo never bothered to release the FDS anywhere else in the world is that with the success of the Famicom, they were able to negotiate cheaper prices for RAM chips; and someone came up with a means of saving data long term on a cartridge via battery backup. And of course, if disk piracy was a problem in Japan, it would be massive in the US. So, better to ditch the floppy drive and go with an all cartridge system.

[@pidgeo5]

I think you're right. The FDS was initially supposed to be a cost-effective way to make more space available for game developers, and provide gamers with a cheaper alternative to more expensive cartridge games. Since the disks were rewritable, you could go to your local convenience store and get a new game for 500 - 2000 yen. That explains why John had some disks with different labels and games on the disks. By the time the FDS would have been ready for North America, I think the cost of ram in carts came down enough that it was no longer a viable option. I think the FDS had a pretty short run of 2-3 years (although it was supported by Nintendo until 2003).

[@thebravegallade731]

@@pidgeo5 Also, remember that video game rentals are ILLEGAL in Japan.

[@kranibal]

Great video as usual!

[@sierra.taekwondo.8559]

Found that system at Goodwill last month with along all those games and 20 more, it's amazing what you find when you take a peek at your local stores.

[@retropatronum]

The Sharp Twin system is one of my holy grails, that thing is so cool!

[@esprithk]

Hi, MetalJesusRocks and John Riggs, that slide dust cover is called "shuttle". ( I used to be a manufacturer of 3.5" floppy disks in 1993-1995)

[@spanellaful]

I love this guy, he’s so positive and he’s laugh is addictive

[@EricAndre615]

Love the disk system. Sharp Twin Famicom is the absolutely the way to go. The biggest thing to consider is all the moving parts of the disk hardware. It's not just the belt. You will have to adjust springs and realign the heads. It's fragile and tedious. And it's sad when it stops working. The error codes are super vague. There is a lot of good info on the internet for troubleshooting, but.. no sugar coating, this is a system that's more difficult to maintain than any others that I've had. (maybe excluding older computers). But if you're into that, it's great. The only other thing is that most the good games you want having gotten pretty pricey (especially for such fragile medium). Hit Japan, RyoplanShop, and Japan4U on ebay all do a pretty good job of selling these games with descriptions about what they are. Every game I've had so far is the right game, works, and is in good condition. Only one time I got a non-working bootleg cart for Bio Miracle. But that's it.

[@darthbukowski6894]

Loved this video! When I get a Famicom I hope I can find the disk unit for it.

[@jamjedi1972]

I’m 46 years old and never knew these existed. That’s one reason I love this channel, always learning about new goodies.

[@TastyAbbyJamz]

Awesome video! I actually just got a Twin Famicom last week! John promted this video in my Reddit post about it, so I've been looking forward to this.! Awesome system. It might be a good idea to note that the controller cords are quite short, but there's an extra port to plug in additional Famicom controllers. Keep up the good work, you guys!

[@pidgeo5]

I think Husdon created a special Famicom controller with a longer cable that can plug into the extra port on the side of the Twin Famicom.

[@TastyAbbyJamz]

pidgeo5 You are correct! I have one on order that's probably somewhere in the sky right now along with a Retro Freak NES adapter!

[@pidgeo5]

Awesome! Well, enjoy! I couldn't remember if that's what it was, but I'm pretty sure I have one stashed away. Defintly safe to have some slack when you're playing a white-knuckle shooter and like to yank the controller to 'move faster' like me!

[@TastyAbbyJamz]

pidgeo5 I'm just gonna be glad to not have to sit on the floor to get my Doki Doki Panic fix!

[@pidgeo5]

Struth! Although, I wouldn't mind if I could afford a tatami room.

[@leadplayer0505]

Yea great video, also there are great videos out there about the struggle with US using cartridge vs japan using disc for space and saving games. Some of the short cuts they had to do to make games work on cartridge back in the day ended up being some of the greatest things we remember about these games.

[@busterstation]

Technically, the disks aren't proprietary. It's a slightly modified version of the Mitsumi Quick Disk format, which is part of the reason that piracy on the system was so easy. The format was also used in Smith Corona word processors, a number of MIDI keyboards and samplers, as well as several 8-bit computers.

[@inphanta]

I’ve always been curious about this machine so this was great to watch. The drive belt issue does put me off a bit though, but the Sharp system sounds like an adequate compromise. I do love the Famicom carts and disks, they look cute and the artwork is fantastic. 😊

[@claytonmoorawa9512]

Awesome as always.

[@thememorycard5802]

I've got an AV modded Famicom and a Disk System and I love it. It's cool playing games on an add on that we never got and I didn't know about for most of my life.

[@poopboy2x7channel81]

Nice new intro . And keep up with the awesome content 👍

[@44PanDora44]

Great video! Thanks

[@SylvainJoly82]

The Famicom/NES is probably my favorite system. Thanks for the video! I wanted to mention that the Famicom had a re-release which, unlike the US version, supports composite video (and NES controllers).

[@joeldipops]

The AV Famicom is fantastic little system. Combines the best features of all its predecessors. Downside is it doesn't have the microphone of the original, but that doesn't affect many games.

[@TheQuietWelshman]

I didn't even know this existed. Thank you for this

[@davidnoyes8770]

Absolutely awesome

[@treedeblue]

Gosh that John Riggs giggle completely splits me in half!

[@frankbizzoco1954]

I love my FDS system, and it is a lot of fun to collect for. Have the Sharp Twin also. Collecting for it is so addicting once you start. But I dread the day when the belts break lol. Its very easy to emulate, but there is something about putting the disk in and hearing all the clicks and clanks of the disks. Its like the difference between listening to Dark Side of the Moon on mp3, or vinyl record.

[@whitejapan372]

Love the Disk System, I bought one earlier in the year in Japan with some games. I'd highly recommend The Mysterious Murasame Castle which was featured here but i'll provide some additional info, it runs on a modified Zelda 1 engine and is like playing Zelda 1 if it were a more linear action game, great fun and quite a challenge.

[@kenzo_ferrari]

Great video. I would also like to recommend Dirty Pair and Kaettekita Mario Bros to any new collector to the FDS

[@KelseyLewin]

Great game choices!

[@MetalJesusRocks]

KELSEY!!!! :)

[@jesseviv]

Kelsey Lewin you should open up a game store in southern california!

[@TwoTwoFreeze]

Any you would add?

[@markushaas33]

Kelseyyyyyyyyy😍😍😍😍😍big Kisses from Germany 💋💋💋💋 you are sooooooo cute 😍😍

[@Akshayus67]

Japanese games are always cool

[@RetroGamingOnline]

great video! I have been considering buying a famicom and a famicom disk system.

[@dashalpha]

oh man, listened to some Miracle of Almana gameplay on another vid, yeah some of those sound effects are identical to those in Goonies!!! Loved the Goonies game in the arcades, remember playing it in our local bowling alley growing up. Wished that had come to the NES.

[@TK199999]

I also loved the look of the disk system.

[@adrianw8967]

I love your videos man

[@travistaylor3186]

Love my Famicom Disk System. To get it to work with an actual Famicom I use a US NES rf switch to a vcr. The vcr then sends composite to the TV. The vcr you change to channel 95 or 96 and it works like a dream

[@jikifreak]

I remember getting disk system for Christmas when I grew up in Japan. When my family move to the US, I brought it with me but lost a couple games. It was very difficult to get a few that worked, but there are some people who are trustworthy and test the games before you buy. It's a worthy purchase, and if you don't speak Japanese, you can patch the games and copy them back to the disk. Tanoshi!

[@RavenLotz]

Great video!

[@shanafan]

A 24 minute video by MJR about the Famicom? YES.

[@n8ivegogo1]

Love these 2 dudes!!

[@bowdenprod1055]

This is only the second video I’ve ever seen on the Famicom Disk system! This thing is totally a mystery to me. Of course John would be nuts about it lol!

[@MetalJesusRocks]

Thanks so much for watching!

[@1Thunderfire]

Gaming Historian has a good video on it. I'd very much recommend it.

[@bowdenprod1055]

That's the other video I've seen on it! lol

[@rodrigomolinsky]

They had a bunch of controllers for the system, like a number pad, to help to connect to a bank via internet. Family Computer alright!

[@ingridayarza]

Rodrigo Molinsky 😲 wow!

[@D2MMA]

I had no idea this thing existed... such a cool item to add to a collection.

[@qqq1701]

Nice! I've never seen anything about this thing other than it exists.

[@AzraelDarkness64Gaming]

Awesome video there

[@Grindhead_Jim]

This video inspired a small collecting series on my channel almost four years ago. Little did I know that I would be GIFTED an FDS by Jimmy Chan X, and that I would be sitting next to John Blue Riggs at conventions a few years later. So, Jason, I owe you a debt, which will be paid in beer at the earliest opportunity.

[@Dorelaxen]

I use a top loader Famicom with mine. No adapter needed. Works great and I can get composite video out.

[@KyudoKun]

Dude, why are your number of views plummeting this past months? It's strange, your channel is one of the best on YT, and you deserve more subscribers and views.

[@IoftheBeeholder]

Cool! Only thing I was missing was the games' music/sound :-)

[@mattbeaudoin1]

just picked one up, knew exactly which channel to go to

[@MotherKojiro]

I've run into a few other interesting Famicom Disk System games that you might enjoy: Electrician - Hard to describe other than Arcade Action, but you fix the wiring in an old building to light up little rooms. Esper Dream - An overhead Action-Adventure with quite a few interesting worlds that are interconnected. The sequel on Famicom is one my favorite NES/Famicom game of all time Famicom Grand Prix 2: 3D Hot Rally - Think OutRun/Rad Racer with the 3D capabilities, and a splash of LSD. Knight Lore: Majou no Ookami Otoko - It's a bit like Solstice, but a bit more focused and stage-based. Lutter - An oldschool RPG that's a bit like Castle of the Winds on its side; not unlike CastleQuest/Castle Excellent with RPG elements. Topple Zip - A Vertically-Scrolling Shooter that you complete not by flying through the stages (they loop), but travelling between the worlds and completing objectives.

[@alphared4655]

This is new to me. Just when I thought you've showed us everything! Good stuff

[@JC-qu5lv]

I'm a huge fan of it and pick up what I can, when I can. Love that it works with my AVS too.

[@ebenezerspludge8369]

Wow, I never knew this existed. Thanks for enlightening me. I collect a lot of games but Not NES or older. I still have my Nintendo and Atari with all the games but a lot of times the games are tough to get started or will freeze. I find it better to just use emulators for stuff this old. I still collect for anything SNES or Genesis on up.

[@skins4thewin]

I'd say the main benefit is the extra sound channel it has built in allowing for better music in the Famicom Disk System games. I sure hope they mention that in this review....

[@jamiefawcett1089]

Great video plus I love the opeth poster in the back one of my favourite bands ever!

[@AsteriskSS]

This vid is great. Really interesting.

[@ozzyg82]

Great video, thanks guys! (From England). ☺️

[@TheRetroWorld]

Now I gotta start collecting for that!

[@BeatemupJoes]

Disk system is cool. Man that Sharp Fami Twin has been on my list since I discovered it existed. Seems GREAT!