Famiclones with Gamecube?

One of our readers writes,

"Hey man, I've been trying to figure this out for some time, and you seem very knowledgeable on the subject. Do any of the GBA Famiclones (such as the Time Machine SP, or the Handy Famieight) have the physical ability to plug into the Gameboy Player port on the Gamecube?"

I have no idea myself since I have neither a Gamecube or a Gameboy Player however, I suspect not. It looks like the GBA game cards plug directly into the Gameboy Player. The Handy Famieight does have RCA out as do other portable famiclones such as the FC Mobile and newer B/Retro-Bit Retromini-X so those might be options if your end desire is to play your NES games on your TV.

Anyone have any suggestions for 'networking' a famiclone with a Gamecube or which one would work best?

Super Mario 3 is Best when You Can Rewind.

This week sit back and enjoy a relaxing video blog, otherwise known as a "vlog". In it I ponder the age old question, "What portable platform is best for playing Super Mario 3?"

FC Mobile USA!

I went on at some length a couple weeks ago about portable Famiclones, comparing and contrasting the various units available. Famiclones are pretty cool but also are pretty useless to a US consumer because people in the US play NES games not Famicom games. Famicom is for the Japanese, not God-fearing Americans. Americans don’t play Famicom. Unless, of course, they are some sort of hentai-loving, Japan-obsessed, commie-freak-weirdo-fanboy! Real Americans are all like, “Go back to Tokyo before I bludgeon you to death with an Xbox controller!” I personally have a weakness for Asics and cartoons that feature anatomically correct raccoons, which makes me a borderline Japanophile. Additionally, my half-brother is half Japanese which I figure makes me at least ¼ Japanese.

I received my NES version of the FC Mobile in the mail this last week. The unit is effing awesome. Admittedly, the awesomeness is boosted by the fact that FC Mobile is the only easily available option for playing NES games off carts in mobile form. Thank you the Chinese for thinking of the West and fixing the FC Mobile to play NES games. One thing that a western consumer will want to make sure of before the purchase an FC Mobile is that they are in fact getting a NES unit. The Chinese originally thought that it would be enough to just release a Famicom version of the FC Mobile. That’s just crazy, the Chinese! Fortunately they realized the folly of not releasing an NES capable FC Mobile. Buyer Beware: there are FC Mobile on the market that play Famicom games. Fortunately it appears that units noted online as being NES capable are indeed the NES versions of the FC Mobile.

The US version has a couple small differences from the original FC Mobile that are mostly cosmetic. While the original FC Mobile came in black, the US version comes in either white and red or black and silver. I am a bit stumped about why they did not release it in gray and dark gray to match the original NES. Another small detail is the company name “Hyperkin” replacing the “FC Mobile” text which is printed under the screen on the original FC Mobile. I have been unable to determine if Hyperkin is a new company that has bought FC Mobile or if it is considered more western then the FC Mobile branding. Hyperkin sounds like the brand name of something from the 80s which might be intentional. If the unit changed color based upon the skin temperature of the user then the branding, design, and functionality of the unit would hang together perfectly.

The less superficial differences are few. The slot on top is wider and the 60-pin Famicom connector has been replaced by a bigger, better, more American 72-pin NES connector. The one unfortunate design flaw that the NES version has that the Famicom version does not is that the A and B buttons have been switched so that they are backwards. DAMN YOU HYPERKIN! Really though, this is by no means a crippling defect. Damning people for relatively small slights just seems like the right thing to do…you know, as an American. It is curious that the buttons were switched. Perhaps the buttons of the Famicom are in an opposite configuration of the NES and switching the buttons was needed to make the unit possible with as few hardware changes as possible? Unfortunately the reset button was not moved.

I was a bit concerned with how far the cartridges stick out of the unit and tried a shake test by inserting Super Mario Bros. 3 and shaking the unit rapidly. Surprisingly the cart did not unseat. There is something really cool about having the cartridge art right in front of you while playing the games. Even a crap fest like Renegade is somewhat palatable when you can view the rocking box art.

As with the Famicom version, the screen is not the best but is bright with no noticeable ghosting. The resolution of the screen is a bit poor but does not negatively affect gameplay. There is a headphone jack as well as an A/V out jack that allow you to play on your Tee-Vee or with headphones. The controls feel responsive and fairly true to the classic NES controller.

Now back to GTA IV Super Mario Bros. 3

Scores:

Screen: 7/10 Decent brightness and no ghosting however the resolution is low and screen quality is generally low.

Sound: 8/10 Has two speakers that sounds decent except at high volume, has a headphone jack. Classic 8 bit sound.

Controls: 8/10 Controls feel right. Would get 10/10 if the A and B buttons were in the correct configuration.

Availability: 9 Still available new online.

Price: 9/10 Still can be found online for under $40.

Library: 10/10 Plays NES games. Probably has some incompatibility issues but have yet to encounter any.

Overall: 9/10 About as small as a handheld that plays NES carts could be. Games tested run at full speed with no problems. Takes three AA batteries and even though the instructions say not to use rechargeable batteries they seem to work fine. Score would be lower except that the unit is the best commercial way to portably play NES games off carts.

Mid-Week Links (Cause videos are for the weak):

Chris sent this link celebrating the release of GTA…
http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php

Funny story, I sent a totally knee jerk e-mail to a site that published a bit about a US version of the FC Mobile saying that there is no such thing and why are you spreading these lies! The reality is that there may in fact be a NES version of the FC Mobile. Instead of ignoring me (hello Pocket Gamer) and dismissing my possible jackassery he warned his readers that the system could be Famicom only. His site is general nerdery rather than specific to gaming but quite interesting.
http://technabob.com/

I just purchased the alleged US NES FC Mobile off Ebay and will report on it once it arrives. If this is for reals [sic] this could be, by far, the greatest handheld for playing NES games off carts ever in the history of games ever.
http://www.handhelditems.com/mobile-console-games-black-silver-p-12841.html

Attack of the Famiclones

Famiclones, game consoles that play 8 bit Famicom (Japanese Nintendo) games, are so freaking sweet. There are many Famiclones on the market though the selection of portable Famiclones is a rather smaller selection. When comparing portable Famiclones several different considerations must be made. These include availability, quality, genuineness of experience, and possibly the ability to play NES games.

First of all it bears mention that it is quite possible to emulate a Famicom with several different non Famiclone handheld options. These are not true Famiclones since even though they can run Famicom and NES ROMs they do not use the original cartridges. All the options that can run Famicom ROMS can also run NES ROMs, as the only differences between Famicom and NES games are the size of the carts and the pin layouts. They include PDAs such as the gaming optimized Tapwave Zodiac, I Phone, some cell phones, GP32, hacked PSP, or my personal favorite, the open source GP2X. All the listed options should, in general, be capable of emulating the NES/Famicom without too much trouble and software is available for all the above options. A key disadvantage (or advantage if cartridges are not your thing) of these options is that the games are not played off of original cartridges. Quality will vary by available emulators, screen quality, and control schemes. The issue of control schemes is perhaps the biggest consideration when looking at these options for use as Famicom/NES emulators. Since a consumer is not likely to purchase any of the above options primarily as a Famicom/NES emulator the primary use will likely dictate which product is obtained. Few of the multi use options are going to have great control schemes. If you want to use your cell phone you’ll need one with at least 246k RAM, a decent processor, and probably some way to attach it to your computer. The high profile cell phone that is getting a lot of independent developer support and development right now is the I-Phone. If you are a gadget nerd this is the obvious choice since it has the functionality of a PDA, internet browser, and MP3/video player. If you are looking for a dedicated classic gaming platform you can largely avoid the poor control scheme issue by purchasing a more dedicated device. Again I am going to recommend the GP2X. Though GP2X has not been featured here there is plenty of information available online.

The only recommendable “emulation free” option that does not require original Famicom carts is the Onestation. The Onestation is a Chinese cartridge based system that runs real Famicom/NES games on their own proprietary cartridge based system. It has great controls and a truly fantastic screen. The only disadvantage of the Onestation is a smaller available library of games though the available library includes both Japanese and US releases.

As far as availability goes the rarest Famiclone portables are in the category of NES Mods. An NES Mod of the portable variety is a hand made portable NES that is generally made with a NOAC (NES on a chip) and some sort of portable LCD packed into some form of custom case. These are some of the best and worst Famiclones since, depending on components used and craftsmanship, they can be far better and far worse than any commercially available Famiclone. The king of hardware mods is Benjamin J. Heckendorn who has made many different portable game systems from scratch. NES Mods are generally one of a kind creations and are therefore very rare. The advantage of the systems is that there are many options to obtain the needed NOAC, screen, controls and cases to make your own. Another positive is that it can be built to accept NES games without an adapter. The negative is of course that you have to actually build said machine. Unless you have time, patience, and skill you should probably simply buy a portable Famiclone.

The first portable Famiclone was the Top Guy. It allegedly ran off of six D batteries and lasted about an hour. Top Guys are apparently about as rare as the yeti. I don’t really need to write much about this unit because neither you nor I will likely ever see one and most information is from blurry pictures and hearsay.

Slightly less rare is the Game Axe. This unit takes 6 AA batteries and was considered the best portable Famicom available for quite a while. The likelihood of you seeing one of these is about as likely as seeing a Zetland (half Zebra half Shetland Pony) in the wild. I am seeking both a Top Guy and Game Axe for my collection however they do not seem to become available very often. If by some chance you have one of either unit you are willing to part with or know how to get one please contact me.

This narrows the field to systems that are actually somewhat more likely for you or me to actually see.

There are a couple true Famiclone options that are add-ons for other established Nintendo systems. These include the Cyber Famulator which is an add on for the Nintendo DS as well as the Handy Famieight which attaches to the GBA or may be used with external controllers and attached to a television. Neither of these options is ideal as they add considerable bulk to already full sized handheld systems and, at least in the case of the Handy Famieight, have cheap enough feeling construction to hamper the experience. An advantage of the Handy Famieight is that, with some care, it is possible to use a NES to Famicom adapter with included external controllers and play NES games on your Tee Vee.

This leaves a few viable options which include the FC Mobile, Pocketfami, and Game Theory Admiral. The negative of all these systems is that none of them a quality screen. They do otherwise rate fairly well in availability, quality, and genuineness of experience. The lesser of the 3 options is the Game Theory Admiral. The GTA has a lower quality screen and stiffer, less responsive feeling controls than the other two options but the biggest negative is the way that the cartridge attaches to the unit. The slot on the top of the GTA fits no known game cartridges but instead fits a type of “game spatula” that attaches to the core unit and has the standard Famicom attachment on the end of it. This means that unless the Famicom cart fits very firmly it is pretty easy to unseat the carts during play. The unit is very funny, quirky, and last I checked, still available new from a seller on Amazon. Though the GTA does not appear to be being manufactured anymore it is quite inexpensive new, though as it becomes harder to find it will likely increase in price. The FC Mobile and Pocketfami are very comparable with a few differences that will make them more or less desirable depending on what an end user desires from the system.

The FC Mobile is a slightly better choice as a handheld. The screen quality is just a tad better and the controls, particularly the + pad feel much better. The design of the unit is understated with all black except for a couple of chrome accents around the speakers. The button layout is top notch except for the fact that the reset button sits just bellow and to the left of the A and B buttons. I did not find the reset button’s location problematic but there is a higher chance of an accidental press than with the Pocketfami. There is both a headphone jack as well as an A/V out jack that allows you to play on your Tee-Vee or with headphones. I have not found any incompatibility issues with any carts though I am sure some must exist.

The Pocketfami has a slightly lower quality screen and a + pad that does not feel quite as good but has some other features that make it otherwise desirable. Firstly the reset button is up above the + pad where it will not be accidentally pressed and in addition to the A and B buttons Pocketfami has AA and BB buttons that act as turbo buttons. The color scheme of the Pocketfami stays true to the original Famicom with a crème and deep red casing which in the unlikely event that you grew up with a Famicom will undoubtedly increase the nostalgia value. The worthwhile additions to the Pocketfami are the inclusion of TV out, AC/DC in, and 2 controller ports. This makes playing NES games on a Tee-Vee with controllers and the use of a Famicom to NES adaptor possible. I got my copy of Super Mario Bros. 3 to run pretty well with a minimum of graphical strangeness. I am not sure about the availability of controllers for the system as they do not have same pin lay out as any Nintendo controllers. I happened to have a couple compatible controllers that are used with the Handy Famieight.

In the final analysis the top three recommended options are:

1. FC Mobile, with fewer options than some other Famiclones, it offers a pure experience and has controls and a design that just feels nice. The screen is not of the best quality but is the best of the units that play Famicom games. It is only really practical for use with Famicom carts as a NES cart with an adaptor will stick very far out of the game slot.

2. Onestation, very small, quite inexpensive, with great controls and an excellent screen. System lacks access to the full library of games which is the biggest negative.

3. GP2X, can be a bit expensive, has excellent controls, a quality screen, and can run SNES, Scumm, MAME, Genesis, and other types of games in addition to NES and Famicom games thru emulation. It is not the best system to just pick up and play as it takes around 20 seconds just to boot up.

More System Photos.

New additions Include VG Pocket, FC Mobile, Coleco 20 Sega Games, Pocketfami, Nickelodeon Back to the Barnyard and Nintendo Virtual boy.