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[georgetheplushie]

What is the story behind the T in NAMCOT anyway?

Apparently no one knows the significance of the T--well, that's a lie. Namco stands for Nakamura Manufacturing Company (you'll also hear Nakamura Amusement Machine Manufacturing Company). When Namco went into console game publishing, they created a new branch called Namco Home Entertainment, or Namcot for short, with the T coming from Entertainment. That's what 10 minutes of internet research tells me, anyway.

 

[-KRS-]

So I played Shanghai for a bit, and yes it definitely has much more awesome music than such a game has any right to lol. As I mentioned, in the credits the music is credited to Naoki Kodaka who later made the Batman, Ufouria, Journey to Silius, Gremlings 2 etc soundtracks for Sunsoft. And Naohisa Morota is also credited under music. He was later the sound programmer for Mr. Gimmick/Gimmick!

Listening to the soundtrack you can definitely hear the beginnings of those typical Sunsoft effects and sampled drums.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8C4SBJqNbg

The game itself is just solitaire mahjong though, so nothing to get too excited about. But it's well made and there are several layouts for the tiles. Still, it's not the best version of this game. Shanghai is one of those rare games that was released on both the Famicom, Master System and PC Engine. I think the PC Engine version is probably the one to get if you want the better looking one, although you'd miss out on the cool Famicom soundtrack of course.

 

[IrishNinja]

BALLIN' OUTTA CONTROL

 

[Teknoman]

Man...

 

[baphomet]

Looks like someone else's 2 year old daughter is bidding again...

 

[ZealousD]

Are eBay listings for these things just advertisements for backroom deals at this point?

 

[Olly88]

Is Nazo no Murasame Jō playable if I can't read a word of Japanese?

 

[sixteen-bit]

BALLIN' OUTTA CONTROL

is that like $10K+ in ebay seller's fees?

 

[Like the hat?]

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/vgm/4315893044.html

Flintstones surprise at dinosaur peak, if you're in Chicago and are rich.

 

[RoryDropkick]

Is Nazo no Murasame Jō playable if I can't read a word of Japanese?

Yes, its a very straightforward action game.

 

[Olly88]

Yes, its a very straightforward action game.

Cool! Thanks

 

[Chitown B]

whoa Little Nemo! I loved that game.

Also, there was a Ducktales 2?

 

[baphomet]

Just in case anyone needs someone to update their nes rgb board, I received the USB flasher today. Im located in Colorado, so if you're near by and needed a hand just pm on here and I'll get you fixed up.

 

[Teknoman]

whoa Little Nemo! I loved that game.

Also, there was a Ducktales 2?

Yup, thats why it costs so much

 

[-KRS-]

Duck Tales 2 is a bit weird. It is uncommon, but not so uncommon as to warrant the prices it usually fetches. It sold pretty well for an NES game coming out in 1993 IIRC. It's probably simply the popularity of the NES Ducktales games that drive the price up. Same with Chip 'n Dale 2.

Apparently no one knows the significance of the T--well, that's a lie. Namco stands for Nakamura Manufacturing Company (you'll also hear Nakamura Amusement Machine Manufacturing Company). When Namco went into console game publishing, they created a new branch called Namco Home Entertainment, or Namcot for short, with the T coming from Entertainment. That's what 10 minutes of internet research tells me, anyway.

Interestingly there are Famicom games that only say Namco. I can't remember which ones now but I know I've seen a couple on Chrontendo.

 

[Lombaszko]

Got a cheap copy of Low G Man off Amazon. It's the cleanest NES cart I've ever seen. I have no idea what the game is like, can't wait to try it!

 

[Teknoman]

Got a cheap copy of Low G Man off Amazon. It's the cleanest NES cart I've ever seen. I have no idea what the game is like, can't wait to try it!

I vaguely remember this from a random funcoland purchase...totally forgot what the game was actually about.

 

[Irate Drake]

What happened to all the traders out there?

I have some extra nes games id like to trade for some other common titles I dont have, yet everytime I talk to someone, they just say well this one is worth $2 more and yada yada.

And low and behold all they end up wanting to do is buy the ones I have so they can resell them.

pisses me off.

 

[NinjaMouse]

whoa Little Nemo! I loved that game.

Also, there was a Ducktales 2?

yeah, maybe it came out late enough in the NES lifecycle that I missed it or something, but when I was in college and ran across the ROM, I thought it was just some sort of hack. I never knew it was a legit release until much later.

I don't remember the little bit I played being great, but I didn't get very far in it, either.

 

[Teknoman]

What happened to all the traders out there?

I have some extra nes games id like to trade for some other common titles I dont have, yet everytime I talk to someone, they just say well this one is worth $2 more and yada yada.

And low and behold all they end up wanting to do is buy the ones I have so they can resell them.

pisses me off.

NeoGAF B/S/T thread, this thread, or NintendoAge are your best bets for non-local action.

 

[Irate Drake]

Ill post my list of what I have here tonight.

Just looking for straight up trades for other commons.

 

[IrishNinja]

Looks like someone else's 2 year old daughter is bidding again...

Are eBay listings for these things just advertisements for backroom deals at this point?

yeah, it does feel sketchy when you look at the bidding history: one dude doubled the price or so in like 4 minutes there.

is that like $10K+ in ebay seller's fees?

you know, it prolly is, yeah...damn. my buddy moved a PS4 few months back for like $550 or so, i recall him saying it was $60+ in fees before paypal, too...on the upside, next time a local vendor reminds me im saving on shipping, i love reminding them of those fees.

 

[Teknoman]

Ended up getting Strider since it really seems like a cool idea for a Strider series game. I'll snag the Genesis and PS1 games sooner or later, but i've always liked Metroidy exploration games.

I see what you meant about the triangle jump being strange though. Maybe it can only be used in certain areas...or I havent messed with the controls enough. At any rate, it came in EXTREMELY fresh condition.

Crappy picture but still.

 

[JinjoUnchained]

Anyone know if Dr. S still does Chrontendo? I watched the first 40 episodes or so on his blogspot but he hasn't updated an episode there for awhile. Did it move to another site or has it been discontinued?

 

[-KRS-]

Anyone know if Dr. S still does Chrontendo? I watched the first 40 episodes or so on his blogspot but he hasn't updated an episode there for awhile. Did it move to another site or has it been discontinued?

Yeah I don't know. I'm also patiently waiting for the next episode. He hasn't said anything about quitting, and the last episode featured some updates to the design and such, so I don't think it's ending. He probably just haven't had the time lately for it. It sucks though because I really like watching this series. It's been more than a year since the last one. He has written some updates on the blog but none of them has mentioned anything about a new episode unfortunately. He's apparently been playing the FEAR games according to his last posts, although that was almost a month ago now.

I hope he posts something about it soon. And there are 46 episodes released btw.

Edit: In the comments on his last post he wrote this in response to people asking:

On hiatus? Not officially.
Dead? No.
The next episode is partially edited. Some Chrontendo news will be up before too long.

 

[smbu2000]

The other week i bid on a cib Gimmick! in nice shape on ebay. It went for $387. That's the cheapest i've seen it go for the last couple of years, at least on ebay.



Welcome to the club! I'm thinking of replacing the PPU with the NESRGB mod, tho. Most games look fine, but some just don't work that well with the different color palette. As you mentioned, skin color tend to be a bit too yellow. But i'd take the RGB PPU over composite anyday.

That's not bad compared to the prices I've seen here. I'd prefer a cib myself, but would pick up a cart only if I found one at a nice price.
I had previously wanted to pick up a cib copy of Hebereke (ufouria) which goes for 6000-7500 yen depending on condition, but when I found a cart only version for just over 2000 yen I had to pick it up.

I've only tried a few of my games with it, but overall I'm very happy with it. I paid just over 30,000 yen for the ppu rgb modded av famicom (included both controllers, AC adapter and a sfc rgb cable with the replaced condensers) which I thought was a good deal. It's so sharp compared to composite. I switched between the av famicom and the rgb modded one and everything was just so blurry. It was really tough to switch between the two.

 

[smbu2000]

Duck Tales 2 is a bit weird. It is uncommon, but not so uncommon as to warrant the prices it usually fetches. It sold pretty well for an NES game coming out in 1993 IIRC. It's probably simply the popularity of the NES Ducktales games that drive the price up. Same with Chip 'n Dale .

Wow, I'm glad I picked up the Famicom version...I paid just over 4000 yen for a brand new copy of the game not too long ago. Used copies usually go in the 2000-3000 yen range. I've only played a bit of it, but I still prefer Ducktales 1.

 

[Seven Force]

Ended up getting Strider since it really seems like a cool idea for a Strider series game. I'll snag the Genesis and PS1 games sooner or later, but i've always liked Metroidy exploration games.

I see what you meant about the triangle jump being strange though. Maybe it can only be used in certain areas...or I havent messed with the controls enough. At any rate, it came in EXTREMELY fresh condition.

Crappy picture but still.

Nice. Strider NES is a little janky, and the jumping physics kind of crappy 75% of the time, but a pretty fun game shines through, nonetheless.

I liked that receiving/inputting passwords in the game framed it like a TV series, giving you a little "Previously/Next Time on Strider" synopsis that changed depending on how far in the game you were.

 

[Lombaszko]

Got a cheap copy of Low G Man off Amazon. It's the cleanest NES cart I've ever seen. I have no idea what the game is like, can't wait to try it!

UPDATE: Got to play Low G Man with a bunch if people at work and we all enjoyed it. It's janky but the mechanics are interesting. Besides jumping and floating all over the place, you have a stun gun that freezes enemies. Then you have a spear thing that stabs up or down, so you often freeze the enemy then jump on them and stab, stab, stab.

The game kept reminding me of another game and I couldn't put my finger on it. Finally I looked up what other games were developed by KID and found they made GI Joe for NES, which was also published by Taxan. Low G Man feels and kind of looks very similar, which now makes sense to me!

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Anyone know where to find a good, decently priced replacement AC Adapter? I can't seem to find the one for my top-loader NES. There are a few on Amazon but the reviews are questionable.

 

[Mzo]

If possible, I'd recommend flea markets. There are dudes that have dozens of old system plugs hanging from the walls around here.

 

[Teknoman]

Aw yeah, time to see what Bayou Billy and Project Doom are all about.

 

[ZealousD]

Aw yeah, time to see what Bayou Billy and Project Doom are all about.

Vice Project Doom is so awesome. Such an underrated gem. I have no idea why more people don't talk about that game.

 

[Teknoman]

Yeah lucked up and found it during flea market trip today. The label is kinda coming up on the very top, but its clean otherwise.

Man this game is...well it feels like something you see in a high action game today. Start off in a spy hunter style chase, then i'm running across a city nightscape (reflections in the water!) fighting against demons or mutants and jiangshi. End up fighting against an armored werewolf throwing steel girders at me...and you actually end up running across them while they are being thrown (if at character level).

That was just stage 1. Platinum could do wonders with this IP.


Double Dragon 2 is as great as I remember it, i'm not sure what Bayou Billy's problem is lol. I feel like im missing how to block or dodge.

 

[Mzo]

They made enemies take way too many hits for the US release. It sucks.

You basically have to move up or down and stick out a kick so enemies walk into it as they try to line up with you, then move a bit more up or down, stick out a kick, etc.

 

[Rygar 8 Bit]

already had festers quest but for 8 bucks why not get it complete

 

[Irate Drake]

wheres the best/cheaper places to get a famicom guys?

Im wanting to play those DBZ games I use to play through emulators a long time ago lol.

 

[djtiesto]

Vice Project Doom is so awesome. Such an underrated gem. I have no idea why more people don't talk about that game.

Came out towards the end of the console's lifespan, IIRC... but yeah, this is a cool game with great graphics.

 

[IrishNinja]

Vice Project Doom is so awesome. Such an underrated gem. I have no idea why more people don't talk about that game.

since a fellow gaffer offered Little Nemo on the cheap, this one's now at the top of my list, followed by a $5 repro of Zombie Nation which is ideally not filled with dead baby roaches.

 

[smbu2000]

Aw yeah, time to see what Bayou Billy and Project Doom are all about.

I remember being really excited to try out Bayou Billy when I was a kid. Seeing ads for it in game magazines (probably NP) and then I rented it and didn't like it at all. I never played it again after the rental was over. Hehe.

 

[Teknoman]

I remember being really excited to try out Bayou Billy when I was a kid. Seeing ads for it in game magazines (probably NP) and then I rented it and didn't like it at all. I never played it again after the rental was over. Hehe.

Im going to revisit it after finishing a few other games with the tips from this thread...but I can see how people could be quickly turned off.

 

[Irate Drake]

I started shatterhand last night. Thanks to wikipedias backstory, I now have an understanding of what the heck is going on.

not having instructioon manuals kind of sucks, becvause I had no idea what the point of the game was, other than hitting things lol.

 

[Beckx]

ideally not filled with dead baby roaches.

LOL Irish, what's the story here?

------------------------------------

Meanwhile, cross-posting this from the Upscalers thread: I got my NES modded with viletim's NESRGB board and I love it. Finally seeing these games output from my NES with perfect clarity instead of the blurry composite signal is a revelation. I haven't played around too much with the palette switch yet, but my early impressions are that the impact is largely driven by the palette of the particular game. Each setting makes massive changes to Zelda, for example, but far less dramatic changes to Simon's Quest. I like the vibrant colors of the "improved" setting so far but we'll see. The "playchoice 10" setting looks strange as hell on some games. All the pics below are on the "improved" setting.

Some pics:

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

^

What is that last screenshot of?

 

[Pop-O-Matic]

^

What is that last screenshot of?

I'm pretty sure it's Holy Diver.

 

[kick51]

it sure is. glorious game.

since a fellow gaffer offered Little Nemo on the cheap, this one's now at the top of my list, followed by a $5 repro of Zombie Nation which is ideally not filled with dead baby roaches.

ugh man, i had the same damn thing happen with a used PS2 I bought on ebay. FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF------ WOULD NOT BUY FROM AGAIN

 

[mikespit1200]

I'm pretty sure it's Holy Diver.

Is Holy Diver one of the games that acts wonky in emulators? Every time I play it in nestopia it seems like I'm walking through the floor and I can't really hit the enemies.

 

[Beckx]

Yeah, Holy Diver, a.k.a. "Oh, you thought Medusa heads in the later parts of Castlevania were hard, LOL"

5 mins in and this game teaches what hard really is. (Also I love the trademark symbol. Irem says screw you, Dio!)

 

[kick51]

Is Holy Diver one of the games that acts wonky in emulators? Every time I play it in nestopia it seems like I'm walking through the floor and I can't really hit the enemies.

lol that might just be the game. it's quite laggy!

 

[Beckx]

What is the going rate for Famicom version of Castlevania III? I see most auctions at $50, which seems pricey. But now that I have expansion audio capability I wanna hear it.