The Game Genie Experiment

As a child I was a huge fan of the Game Genie peripheral, so much so that I now own almost all of the variants that were officially produced, almost. After doing a bit of research I've found there was also one released for the Famicom, or perhaps more accurately Famiclones but it works on Famicom as well. Sadly these seem to be exceedingly hard to get a hold of.

After seeing the Famicom Game Genie my mind was racing, so I decided to try an experiment. At the center of the madness is a normal NES Game Genie which I plugged that into my NES to Famicom adapter. Now many people may or may not know that the thickness of the Game Genie board is quite a bit bigger than any official NES, Famicom or Famiclone cartridge, so it took a bit of shoving to get the Game Genie into the adapter.

Once it was shoved in good and tight I took one of my homemade Famicom to NES adapters and plugged that into the cartridge end of the Game Genie. Then I plugged the newly formed Megazord of sorts it into my Dream Station, because it has the clearest video output, and popped a Famicom game into the other end. At first things were garbled up, but after taking it all apart and giving it a cleaning it fired right up with the code input screen.

What a beautiful mess!

Not all the codes worked, but I'm used to that being the case on the NES as well, but I did manage to get some codes to work! It's tall, ugly and a long way around to get a Game Genie for the Famicom, but it does work. The overall joy of the experiment being a success was only multiplied by playing some games with codes and having some silly fun.

I know the adapters aren't available everywhere, but they should all be fairly easy to find online, as should be an NES Game Genie, if you don't have one already. Maybe someday I'll get a Famicom Game Genie, but if not I've tested a theory and proven that an NES version, with the right adapters, works perfectly fine.

The Super Joy IV

Many Famiclone enthusiasts will certainly be familiar with the famous, perhaps infamous, Power Player Super Joy III. Personally I always wondered where the first and second had gone, but there's no time for that now as the Power Player Super Joy IV has arrived! Yes, the Super Joy family has grown a bit bigger with this new addition. Let's find out whether it's worth picking up or not.

As is standard with Power Player Super Joys you'll find everything needed to start enjoying your Super Joy IV right away inside the box; instruction manual, power adapter, AV cables, zapper gun and second player controller as well as the main console. In short, the AV cables are cheap, the power adapter is cheap and the zapper and second player controller are very small. The zapper and second player controller work perfectly well, but I find the second player controller to be a bit uncomfortable to hold for extended periods of time.

The first thing anyone will notice about the Super Joy IV is the new design. Instead of the Nintendo 64 controller, this time the more ergonomic Nintendo Wavebird has been chosen to house the console. When compared to the genuine article, the Super Joy IV is just a bit bigger than the Wavebird. I'm sure dimensions had to be modified a little to get everything inside of it, but overall the shape is fairly true to the Wavebird. Personally I find the slightly bigger dimensions to be more comfortable than the real Wavebird.

The button placement is the one true fail of the Super Joy IV. In my experience the Wavebird (more accurately all Nintendo Gamecube controllers) action buttons took a little getting use to, but after playing with it for a while I became familiar with them. With the Super Joy IV the action buttons aren't very well thought out at all. The only buttons you'll really need to use, B and A, are along the far right side and kind of easily used by resting your thumb straight up and down on them, but still a bit uncomfortable. And don't get me started on the turbo buttons or the silly B and A combo button in the center, they're just too cumbersome for my liking.

As with every Super Joy Famiclone there are built in games. On the surface the Super Joy IV offers 60 games, but once broken down you'll get more like 50, which all things considered is pretty good for the way built in games are usually broken up. Titles such as Islander (Adventure Island), Grading (Gradius), King Kong 1, 2 and 3 (Donkey Kong) and many of the black box era games are included. In my opinion they're all solid titles; even if you never used the cartridge slot the included games are worth the price for the whole thing.

Super Joy III compared to its younger brother the Super Joy IV

One of the main draws to these types of Famiclones, I think, is that they're portable Famicom/NES style systems that will allow you to play Famicom style cartridges. My particular Super Joy IV has a very tight cartridge port that makes me uncomfortable using any of my Famicom cartridges. I managed to wiggle some in, but the stabilizing ribs are just too snug for me to feel comfortable pushing and pulling 20+ year old plastic in and out of there too many times. I'm sure the ribs can be shaved down, and I may do so, but I'm just more familiar with the massive area the Super Joy III offered when it actually had an open cartridge slot.

So what are my thoughts on the Super Joy IV? It's comfortable to hold, the only buttons you need to use aren't as easy to use as other Famiclones, but they're still functional. The included games are standard Famiclone titles, but they're all pretty good and the joystick actually works this time. Wait, what? Yes, the Super Joy III had a hard plastic joystick that was always useless, but on the Super Joy IV the joystick is very much useful. A bit stiff, but useful. All things considered I'm glad I own it because it's unique, but I feel the Super Joy III is a more user friendly Famiclone.

The Nameless NES to Famicom Cartridge Adapter

For NES owners who want to play Famicom games on their console the internet has documented numerous amounts of adapters that will allow you to do just that. But what about the Famicom, or as we prefer Famiclone, owner who wants to play an NES game on their Famicom/clone? Don't fret, there is an adapter that allows you to play the bountiful array of NES games on your 60 pin console!

The Nameless 72 to 60 pin adapter, front (top) and back (bottom).

In most parts of the world NES games are fairly easy to come by, and in some parts of the world Famiclones are just as prevalent, if not more so. It's in the parts of the world where these two situations meet that Famiclone owners needed a way to play the 72 pin cartridges on their Famiclones. That was when Nameless Company stepped in and created this fine adapter.

Since the adapter is essentially the same dimensions as a Famicom cartridge, except it has a 72 pin connector at the top, it works in much the same way. You simply plug the adapter into your Famicom or Famiclone, line up your NES cartridge's angled edges (NES label facing the back of the console), and plug that into the adapter. Voila! You're ready to play NES games on your Famicom or clone console.

The quality of the adapter seems very sturdy overall. With a cheap, nameless adapter one could assume you may run into situations of accidentally bumping the console and getting a vomit of pixels and colors upon the screen. I can't say with complete confidence as I've never given it a thorough testing but I have used this in a handheld Famiclone, which included a lot of movement, and never experienced any adverse effects, glitches or disturbances to gameplay.

Since I don't want to break the adapter open and see the inner workings I've never seen what's inside. Considering this is a bit of a Schrodinger's cat situation, I'm just going to assume this is a straight pass-through device that connects all the necessary pins down from the 72 to 60 and onto the system. As such I've never had any incompatibility issues.

Using the Nameless adapter to check the
functionality of a Super Joy 3 that doesn't have a housing.

Sadly there isn't much information I can offer in the way of how to find one of these. At the time I bought mine, about 4 years ago, they were readily available on foreign ebay sites such as MercadoLibre. Currently I can not find any, but that's not to say they won't make a comeback in the future at some point.

I find this little adapter to be very useful for my needs. If I want to play a Famiclone and later on I want to play an NES game, it's far easier for me to just pop this adapter in and put the NES game on top of it and play. No need to fidget with my NES for a few minutes before it decides to work. I'm quite happy with this little adapter, even though the company who made it clearly wasn't, because they didn't even bother to name the poor thing.

Famicom Adapter for Power Joy Voyager

Within the past year I've come to find that many different companies have their own Famiclone shaped similar to the Power Joy Voyager. While I'm very glad that mine came with the cartridge, allowing it to work as a Famiclone and not just a portable LCD game, it did not come with an adapter to allow it to play actual Famicom style cartridges. Units under names such as Dr. Boy and a handful of others actually came with a really neat 60 to proprietary (whatever these style of clones use) adapter.

Not the same color, but it works!

After some internal debating I decided to acquire one, just to have one. I figured it would open up the chance to use this oddball Famiclone as a full fledged Famiclone, instead of just the cartridge it comes with. Not to say that the cartridge it comes with is bad, but again it's proprietary, restricting the usage to whatever is on the cartridge it comes with.

Now it may not seem like a lot to most people, but I find this adapter to be quite a useful little tool. The Power Joy Voyager is no longer restricted to just the cartridge it comes with. Now I can use any of my Famicom cartridges, multi-carts or maybe even a Famicom Everdrive, if I decided to buy one in the future.

Use it with Famicom games...

or just be completely silly!

Innovation Super 8 Compatibility Fix Mod

After owning the Innovation Super 8 for over a year, I have to say that I haven't used it very much. The truth is that it's a bit of a problem child, and getting this thing to work properly at a moment's notice is next to impossible. The connecting board is noticeably thinner than any actual SNES or Super Famicom game, making it hard for the console to actually make proper contact with the already imbalanced add-on.

The second issue is that the AV contacts aren't too tight either. Often times I'll be fiddling with the console to get it to work, only to have it work with poor video or no audio. This is quickly remedied by pushing the AV connector back into the Super 8, but sometimes even that slight movement can throw the system off balance and cause it to glitch out, causing me to restart the whole Super 8 balancing dance again.

There is another issue that was a blatant flaw left within the Super 8, perhaps by Innovation or the company that manufactured the units for them. At first I didn't really see this as an issue, as it didn't directly affect me. I simply liked having an add-on Famiclone for my SNES that allowed me to play Famicom, NES and play my SNES region free without having to cut out the little tabs in the cartridge slot.

Shortly after I got my Super 8 I did some research as to how compatible it was, since it is a NOAC. One of the main issues that popped up wasn't caused by the NOAC, but rather that it wasn't compatible with the Super Gameboy or SNES games that utilized the Super FX chip. I'm not sure who or why they made this decision, but there was an intentional gap in one of the traces leading to the connecting contacts.

The trace on the far right shows an unmistakable gap.

For the longest time I just let this flaw go, as I don't currently own any games that would be affected. I did, however, check my Super Gameboy, which yielded less than savory results. The Super Gameboy loaded and worked, except it was too slow to be of any real use. This didn't really bother me, as I just preferred to pop the Super Gameboy directly into my SNES and play it that way.

As time went on I felt that it would be a simple and easy mod, so why not just give it a try? I don't really use the Super 8, but it would still be useful to make sure it was compatible with Super FX chip games and the Super Gameboy, even if I don't currently need it to be.

The intentional gap with clean areas to be soldered.

I started by taking the unit apart, to reveal the area I needed to work. Then I carefully scraped away a small portion on both sides of the gap, to allow me to bridge the gap with solder. My original idea was to solder a small bit of wire, but since the gap wasn't very big I figured I could just bridge the gap with solder.

Not the prettiest, but it does the job!

I am by no means a world class soldering master, but I managed to bridge the gap. Sure it doesn't look very good, and it took longer than I expected to get the two sides to actually join up, but the connection is solid and works perfectly. After fiddling with the system for a while I managed to get it to balance with my Super Gameboy in it and it ran correctly. I still can't be 100% sure that it works with Super FX chip games, but I'm going to boldly assume that since it's just a pass through for SNES games it should work just fine.

If you own or are thinking about purchasing a Super 8, this is an extremely easy and worthwhile mod. As the picture shows, I won't be winning any rewards for my soldering skills, but it got the job done, besides this is hidden within the unit and can't be seen unless the unit it taken apart. But sadly, this mod really doesn't benefit me, because I'll just be sick of trying to get the Super 8 to work and pack it away again.

The vsMaxx MaxxPlay

When I first started to collect Famiclones, the only ones I could find were the handheld, N64 controller inspired ones. My very first being a Power Joy that I picked up, on a whim, after seeing a handful of them scattered around different thrift stores, but never having picked one up. Shortly after that I found a Super Joy 3, and after that was the vsMaxx MaxxPlay.

The console (left) and 2nd player controller look virtually identical

The MaxxPlay just isn't the same breed of Famiclone as the other handheld Famiclones, it stands out in quite a few ways. Most notably is the fact that the MaxxPlay has the best build quality out of any of my other handheld Famiclones. Although it does look like the typical Famiclone in an N64 style controller, this one feels far superior and a lot more solid when you hold it in your hands.

As soon as I first played the MaxxPlay I could immediately feel how different it was from the Super Joy and Power Joy systems I own. The plastic is substantially more rigid, the d-pad (and working joystick, might I add) is more accurate, and the buttons have a really nice springy response. Another step above is that the intro screen is a very well illustrated set of instructions on how to use the system, in case for some reason you couldn't figure it out otherwise.

 The basic design is much the same as many plug n play Famiclones: N64 controller styling, adjusted to suit the needs of the system dwelling within, with a Famicom 60 pin connector attached to the bottom and using the memory card slot as the battery pack receptacle. While also integrating a light gun, the MaxxPlay has added LEDs on either side of the barrel. And, just like the Power Joy, the plug for player 2, as well as the system's hardwired AV cables, are located on the bottom of the light gun handle.

Bottom of player 2 controller

The main system functions well with 95 built-in games, but the 60 pin connector on the bottom is plagued by the same tight, uncomfortable placement as all other plug n play Famiclones. Although this time there isn’t enough space to make a good enough connection for most of my Famicom cartridges to even work. I have found out that, by their poorly made nature, pirate carts work slightly better. Even so, if you accidentally bump the cartridge you’re going to need to reset the system and try again.

The second player controller is a feature that intrigues me as well as confuses me, all at the same time. The second player controller is completely identical to the main system, without the integrated battery pack holder, but they did leave a bit of it to become a stand for the controller. The second player controller works just as well as the main system controller, but it too has a built-in light gun, which I found a bit excessive, but whatever.

I like the second player controller so much, I actually own four of them.

Even though it's plagued with tight space issues and a 60 pin connector that only works sometimes, the vsMaxx MaxxPlay is still a system worth owning, simply for the build quality and games built-in. The 95 built-in games are hacks of their original counterparts, but you'll probably find them all fairly familiar. The solid plastic and very good controls push this, easily, above all other handheld Famiclones I own.

...and I like the console so much, I actually own three of them!

Famiclone Light Guns

If there is one genre of games that Famiclones and pirated multi-carts love to adorn themselves with, it has to be light gun games. Such classics as Duck Hunt, and all its hacked variations, Gotcha!, Hogans Alley and many more are some of the most common games I find on multi-carts. That means there is one accessory almost every Famiclone has to include in some shape or form, the light gun.

Through testing nearly every light gun I own I can safely say they all work pretty much the same, so I'm not going to bother doing a proper review. But I am going to go over the different kinds I own and give a bit of an explanation about them. Many different Famiclones come with many different shaped, colored and sized light guns, so here is my collection.

First up are what I like to call the System Light Guns. These are the handheld consoles, such as the Power Joy and MaxxPlay, that are a console and light gun in one unit. Even though the MaxxPlay already has a light gun in the console unit, the controller for player 2 is the exact same shape and has a light gun built in as well. A bit excessive if you ask me, but all of the System Light Guns I've used are accurate and comfortable.

Next are the daisy chained controllers for the Power Joy Voyager. For some reason mine have stopped working, which upset me greatly. These are unique little controllers. One controller is perfectly normal, but the other one is a bit elongated and has a trigger and barrel integrated for the light gun feature. Being as small as it is, this is a bit uncomfortable in my hands, personally, but isn't completely useless.

One of the most popular light guns included with Famiclones has to be what I call the Panther, because it's written across almost all of them. Molded after a real handgun (I have no clue which), this one is probably the most comfortable light gun design I've used. The only problem I have is that the orange one doesn't work properly with any of my Famiclones, all it does it reset the console. I suppose if I needed a remote reset button that would be perfect, but I would prefer a bright orange light gun. 

Next is a knew one for me, this one is molded off the Lethal Enforcers arcade gun, I believe. It's very comfortable, but I haven't fully tested this one for accuracy or even if it works! Yeah, I'm a bit lazy, but it looks cool.

Lastly we come to my personal favorite, at least in terms of looks. Up to this point all of the light guns have used the standard DB-9 style connector. This one, however, uses the Famicom style connector. Sadly this one is broken; the internal switching mechanism is poorly thought out, even for Chinese Famiclone standards. I've seen a few of these online that actually have a small, red, flip up sight in the back, which this one has the holes for. Even though this doesn't work, it's still a very cool Famiclone light gun.

Addendum:

After posting this article I sat down and played around with some of the guns I had not tested, mainly the Lethal Enforcers gun. Out of all the guns I own, the Lethal Enforcers, orange Panther style, as well as the Panther with the brown grips would not work properly. I believe the NES zapper style will work, it just needs a switch installed, which is easier said than done.

The Lethal Enforcers and brown grips version of the Panther may have a component malfunction or are wired weird, so I decided to just let them stay that way until I can investigate further. The orange Panther, however, functioned, yet it would actually glitch out the game once the trigger was pulled. After pulling it apart I immediately found the culprit, but I had to do some testing before I officially decided to do the surgery.

As you can see above, the Famiclone light gun is a very simple system. Just a small board holding the receptor LED with a few other components, wired down to the switch and into the controller cable. What happened with the orange Panther was a case of the switch having an additional wire, for what I do not know.

Normally, when the switch is wired up, only A and B are used. Pressing the switch connects B and C, disconnecting the current from A and B, which sends the signal that the trigger has been pulled and the light gun acts accordingly. But since there was an additional wire connected to C, the light gun sent the signal and created an error, causing the game and console to glitch out.

Once I disconnected the strange wire from terminal C, the proper connection was made and the orange Panther works perfectly fine! I believe it was packaged with the Dreamgear Game Station, but I have some controllers from that system, and they work perfectly fine with my Famiclones, I don't see why the light gun would need to be wired differently, but it was. Perhaps just a fluke, or perhaps this was suppose to only work with that console, either way it was an easy "mod", and it now works perfectly fine with my DB-9 input Famiclones. I just hope I can fix the other three soon. 

NES Sized Pirated Multicart

A long while back I received a Home Computer System Famiclone. What I didn't realize was that the chip that controls the controller input was dead, but the rest of the console worked perfectly fine. When I flipped the console on I was met with a multicart list of games, among which were Mortal Kombat and Street Fight 8-bit pirates. Knowing the console may take a while to fix, I painstakingly removed both ribbon cables holding the multicart board into the system and carefully, since I didn't have any desolder wick, smoothed out the solder as much as I could on all 60 contacts.

Originally I wanted to immediately jam the board into one of my home made Famicom to NES converters and test it out, but as I didn't do too well smoothing out all the solder on the contacts I decided I would go ahead and use one that I hadn't officially turned into a converter yet. After opening the cartridge I removed the Gyromite board and pushed in the pirated multicart board. Everything was going well until I heard a cringe worthy crunch, upon inspection I had gnarled up the inside of the converter.

With some slight adjustments I managed to get everything aligned enough so that it fit and worked perfectly. Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter are what you would expect in 8-bit, slow and kind of boring. The cartridge has many other games built in, but the most name worthy of all had to be the two demakes of well known 16-bit games.

After I pulled the cartridge from my NES I decided it would be best to just remove the Gyromite label and leave the whole thing together, there was no sense in making a converter with a board hanging out of it. Sadly since I was in a bit of a hurry to test out the cartridge, and slightly messed the converter up, I don't think I'll be able to pull them apart, even if I did it really wouldn't be worth it. Even though the cartridge was a 5 screw configuration I could only use 4, as the board covers up the one in the center, but with the 4 corners being screwed down I haven't had any issues.

It was a simple and small project, but well worth what little time it took. I'm thinking of making a label for the cartridge as well, just so it looks better than all grey. Strange to think now if I wanted to play this on a Famiclone I would need an NES to Famicom converter.

Famiclone Controllers

Over the last few years I have collected a plethora of Famiclone controllers, out of habit and for variety. Some of these controllers didn't come with their respective consoles, but I knew they were Famiclone controllers and picked them up anyway. I won't be giving any extremely in-depth information about the controllers in this article, but I figured this article may help out someone who is faced with a wild Famiclone controller on whether they should take it home or not.

I don't know what to call these (I found 2) controllers other than "the silvers". Blatantly modeled after a Playstation controller, with a few liberties in design thrown in, these controllers are fairly comfortable. The A and B buttons are set to X and O, respectively, meaning that like the other 80% (or more) of Famiclone controllers these too have a backwards A and B scheme, often throwing off the ability to play simple games. I'm not sure which Famiclone these came from, but they seem compatible with all Famiclones, at least the ones I've tested them on.

The Power Player controllers come packed in with the Super Joy Famiclone systems. Over the years I have found plenty of these laying around thrift stores and I would dare say they are the most common Famiclone controllers out there. With a pseudo Genesis shape they are as comfortable as any Genesis controller, although significantly lighter and more bulky. Again the A and B are backwards, as the C button functions as Select, since there is only a stand alone start button. Again these seem universally compatible, so if you need Famiclone controllers in a pinch, these are most likely to be easier to find and ready to go.

The Powerstation controllers are, again, based on the Playstation, even Powerstation is kind of a play on the former's console name. If you're familiar with the Playstation controller, you're pretty much familiar with this one too! Comfortable, A and B are in correct alignment with turbo buttons just above them, diagonally left. This controller even features shoulder buttons being: L1 is B, R1 is A and pressing both L2 and R2 is the equivalent of start. The plastic, although still the cheap melty kind, feels good and solid in your hands, topped of with a good cable length. Seemingly universal as well.

I picked up the Super Video Game controllers with my 57000 Super Video Game, which displays a Playstation feel throughout. Sadly I had to add the D-pad myself, but even so these are very comfortable, albeit maybe a tiny bit smaller than a normal PS controller. The A and B backwards, unsurprisingly, but Z functions as an additional turbo B and C an additional turbo A. Seemingly universal!

Obviously if you're going to try and pass off a discreet Famiclone console as the genuine you'll need to clone the controllers as well! Very familiar Famicom style and comfort with buttons in the correct places and familiar turbo buttons within easy reach. There isn't really much else to say about this controller, other than I do have some third party NES controllers in this design and they are among my favorite NES controllers. Assumed universal.

Some Famiclones tried to mimic the Super Famicom, while having either a 60 (Famicom) or 72 (NES) pin connector built in. I've seen these controllers in both a DB-9 (Atari, Sega, Famiclone) end and even an NES controller end. The SNES style is very comfortable and familiar, A and B are where they should be, with turbo buttons clearly marked. The plastic is a bit chip, as per usual, but the cable seems like a quality thick cable. Again, assumed universal.

The Power Joy!

Ahhh, the Power Joy! The very first Famiclone I ever owned, as well as the one that kicked off my whole adoration for the Famiclone species in general. I had seen them before, strewn about the shelves of various thrift stores, but it wasn't until someone went a bit cheap with the pricing gun that I dared to take a chance and pick up one of these fabled "console in a controller".

The very first one I picked up was just the controller; no cartridge, no second player controller and no battery door. Ignorantly I used an NES power adapter to try and boot the thing and within seconds the pungent aroma of heavily leaded solder filled the air around the system, with no signs of life I quickly unplugged it and packed it away. I had seen a lot of people online showing off that the system would play Famicom games, a console I had yet to tap into, but with no way of powering mine up properly, or even know if it would ever work again at this point, I had to keep on searching for another.

It took a while but finally I had found myself another Power Joy that came complete, with the battery door and the PJ-008 cartridge, so I pulled my original one from its thrift store bag casket in my closet and give it a good play through. Without a cartridge plugged into the system there are 10 built in games, most of them taking advantage of the built-in light gun, which is quite accurate! Almost all of these games are based on different hacked versions of Duck Hunt, replacing the ducks with helicopters, alien ships, etc.

The PJ-00X cartridges are probably one of the best features of the Power Joy line, as they offered the choice of many great Famicom/NES titles. Mine came with the PJ-008 and I've seen different lists of games given to the same # cartridge, Chinese quality control there, huh? But the great thing about the cartridges is the simple fact that they work in an NES (w/ converter) or a Famicom, obviously as the Power Joy is a NOAC.

One of the main reasons I enjoy the Power Joy is due to its all-in-one design, so I don't need to hunt down accessories and parts if I want to play the thing. The Power Joy is strictly utilitarian but quite comfortable, as well as painfully obvious that this was spawned from the breeding of a Nintendo 64 controller with a fighter jet model kit. One of the major features, at least to me, is that unlike the Super Joy units the joystick on the Power Joy is fully functional, yet only a digital pad and not analog.

Another utilitarian feature that I quite like is the hardwired AV and power cables, although I think the power input could have easily been put about the same spot as it was in the Super Joy systems, but thats just splitting hairs. This means I don't need to hunt down a set of AV cables when I want to play the system, making the Power Joy completely portable. Powered by 4 AAA batteries, you're good to take this thing almost anywhere you need to go, as long as there is power for a television.

And finally we reach something that Super Mario Bros. taught us all those years ago, other people want to play too, and they have as much right as we do, us controller hogs! It took me a while to actually track down a Power Joy second player controller, but I did and its fairly standard, yet pretty good. My only complaint would be that the spacing on the grips is a bit strange, which I personally can't use it for too long, but then again that could be a ploy to keep people from wanting to become player 2.

I currently own the Power Joy and Power Joy Voyager, but I hope in the future I will find more Power Joy systems and even more of the cartridges. I'll never forget the first time I passed up an absolutely complete Power Joy for $10 at a thrift store, but through time and patience I've pieced one together, with a spare one for parts if needed. The Power Joy is nothing more than pure Chinese piracy and I don't really favor it over any of my other consoles, or even Famiclones, but it was my first and thus I will forever remember the joy and excitement of exploring a world that was completely new to me.

The Dreamstation Famiclone

The Dreamstation was a console I stumbled upon at a local flea market, after I spotted a yellow pirate multicart on top of its box. It was also my first proper Famiclone console. I had just bought the 57000 Video Games less than a month prior, but the Dreamstation was my first complete in box, with everything needed to get started right away Famiclone console.

Up to this point I was only familiar with the numerous handheld clones and the clunky 57000 Video Games, so when the Dreamstation actually worked as well as any of the officially branded systems I own, I was kind of shocked! The Dreamstation isn't flashy or splashy but it did exactly what I wanted it to do, it worked. The video quality was good, the sound quality was what you would expect from an NOAC, yet a year later I found out that the Dreamstation had a trick up its sleeve.

One night I was playing my (official) Famicom copy of Bases Loaded when I noticed the volume was much lower than any of the other games I had been playing, so I simply turned the volume up. Shortly after the game started I heard voice clips and additional sound effects I had never heard from the game before. The  Dreamstation was somehow emulating the FM synthesis chip from the Famicom.

None of my other Famiclones will play these voice or audio clips hidden deep within the game's coding. And the NES was never given the FM chip, so when I play that cartridge in my NES all volume levels are normal, but the game play is devoid of any real noise, I can tell there are missing sound effects. I'm not exactly sure how the Dreamstation is able to emulate or replicate the FM chip, but I know for a fact it does.

Besides being able to emulate FM sounds and overall functioning better than any of my other Famiclones, the Dreamstation isn't without it's faults, simply the short controller lengths. I covered this in my controller extension cable article. But to their credit the A and B buttons are laid out like an actual NES, with A and B shoulder buttons as a cool bonus, meaning I can use these controllers without getting confused by backwards controls.

In addition to the controllers the Dreamstation also included a gun, which looks insanely too real to be used outside of the home. The trigger on mine was snapped off by the previous owner, but even so the light gun is quite accurate and comfortable to hold. Not surprisingly the included pirate multicart has quite a few variants of games to test the gun out, which is handy.

Not only did the seller toss in the above mentioned cartridge, which looks a lot like a Nintendo 64 cartridge, they also included the yellow cartridge, as I stated at the beginning of the article. Both cartridges are filled with the standard pirated games as well as some random hacks tossed in. Finally I have a pirate cart with Dream Mary built in! (Super Mario Bros. with the wrong scrolling)

I've seen many other Famiclones in this shell with various other names, but I'm not sure if they are the exact same board inside or not. Which makes me wonder if they would all be able to emulate the FM chip. So far the Dreamstation is my favorite Famiclone console that I own, but if there is a better Famiclone on the market I'm sure I'll track it down!