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Top Loader or regular NES?

J

Jack_AG

Banned
Well, my original NES i've had since I was a kid has finally bit the dust :'(

Unsure what is wrong with it but I went to go hit up a fresh game of Dragon Warrior and that was it - tried multiple games and I get a whacked looking screen on boot. I will try having it repaired but I might just have to eBay a working unit.

The case is in amazing condition, discoloring aside. Should I get a top loader? I would almost prefer this since it's less moving parts... or should I get a standard and if it's not as clean as mine gut mine and swap cases (if possible, never done it)?

Hmmm... anyone have both and tell me what they prefer?

While on eBay I might as well pick up a few new games, too..

I was going to pick up Rygar and Dragon Warrior II - thoughts?
 
Doesn't the top-loader only have RF video out, no composite? That's definitely something to take into account.
 
Top loader will prob be better. I personally bought a NEX a few years back so I could play NES games due to never having much success getting a working original NES.
 
It's a proven fact that Gen Y forward doesn't have the touch to make a regular NES work if it decides to get testy.

You've proven yourself worthy of one get the original.
 
Orayn said:
Doesn't the top-loader only have RF video out, no composite? That's definitely something to take into account.
Click to expand...

A huge deal breaker right there.

I prefer the original. They are fine as long as you take care of them and learn how to open and clean them (Plenty of tutorials on Youtube. It's easy to fix them)
 
You'll get a better picture out of the front loader. Top loader only supports RF and has some other picture imperfections.

Dragon Warrior II is good. Each game gets progressively better up through V. I think IV on NES is a damn near masterpiece.
 
I'm going to try repairing it first - finding out what's wrong with it. If it's toast then I'll make sure to get another comp out.

Gonna need to dig around a bit - thanks guys!

Het_Nkik said:
Dragon Warrior II is good. Each game gets progressively better up through V. I think IV on NES is a damn near masterpiece.
Click to expand...

I will have to look for the collection then. I love the first and do a full run about once per year - dunno why I haven't picked up the rest after all these years but now I get to experience the gaming goodness as an adult instead of an impatient kid haha!
 
Box nes with new 72pin connector. You get the benefit the top loader brought (better pin connector for the games) along with the better video output of the box nes. The top loader had some video issues, and unless you want to open it up and do some modding its going to give you worse video output.
 
Orayn said:
Doesn't the top-loader only have RF video out, no composite? That's definitely something to take into account.
Click to expand...
This is true, but it is considerably more reliable than the toaster.

Edit: Apparently, you can take the AV thingy out of the toaster and mod the top loader to have composite too.
 
I think there's a top-loader model that fixes most of the RF video issues, but I wouldn't even know where to look for one.
 
Get a top loader and have it AV modded. Best of both worlds.

Becomes expensive though, if you're not willing to do the mod yourself, though.
 
Orayn said:
Doesn't the top-loader only have RF video out, no composite? That's definitely something to take into account.
Click to expand...

Yep, original is better. Same with the SNES, the redesign doesn't have S-Video.

Just get a janky original NES and replace the connector.
 
I have the original NES model and quite frankly , it's not that hard to get working right.

But if you want to avoid tinkering with it then there's nothing wrong with the top loading model.

GloveSlap said:
Yep, original is better. Same with the SNES, the redesign doesn't have S-Video.

Just get a janky original NES and replace the connector.
Click to expand...

Didn't know about the lack of the video out. Maybe take that into account.
 
I grew up with the front loader and was kind of stunned when I got my AV-modded Famicom. It's never a struggle, NES adapter and all.

Probably not what the OP is looking for, though. I had to make myself an NES controller adapter. :/
 
Only the top loader can play both PAL and NTSC carts, I believe. So there's that advantage.

However the Game Genie doesn't fit into the top loader without an adaptor.
 
Top loader looks really cool, but yeah it only supports RF which is really lousy. I'd stick with the toaster or emulation.
 
Regular NES, replace the connector or just learn to give blowjobs. 15 minutes of maintenance every twenty years is a little annoying, but RF is just kind of assy every time you boot the thing up.
 
the top loader is so much easier to use if you don't mind the lack of AV or price.

Het_Nkik said:
Dragon Warrior II is good. Each game gets progressively better up through V. I think IV on NES is a damn near masterpiece.
Click to expand...

agree, but sadly the print runs got smaller and smaller also
 
If you get a new standard NES make sure you cut the 4th pin on the 10NES chip. That'll stop the flickering.

You can also fix the 72 pin connector without having to replace it if it's worn out.
 
Speaking of Dragon Warrior II, isnt the GBC version supposed to be better? I ran into the NES version of 1 the other day, so i'm not sure if I should just hold onto that and look for II, or just grab the GBC game.

And yeah, the original NES isnt hard to maintain at all. Treat it like you normally would, might have to change the 72 pin connector after awhile (they are cheap and easy to install). Not sure why my original NES only reads carts if they aren't pushed down after installing a new one, but it works perfectly. Same NES I got for my 5th birthday.
 
Top loader is garbage. The video quality is only RF, and a worse quality than the original's RF for that matter.

Get the original with a new pin connector online. It's incredibly easy to install and should last you forever.
 
Top loader also has weird shades running up the screen. I like mine for convenience of not finagling to get it to work but the video output is definitely below the OG NES
 
GloveSlap said:
Yep, original is better. Same with the SNES, the redesign doesn't have S-Video.

Just get a janky original NES and replace the connector.
Click to expand...

The SNES mini can also be modded to restore svideo and rgb scart. After modding, it'll have the best looking video out of all the snes models (unless you have a 1chip snes... which it'll be on par with that).
 
The toploaders have bad quality video output, but actually work. In comparison, those oriignal NESes are such a pain... like, I have one of each, and have been trying to get the original one to work correctly for several years now, with only limited success. I disabled the 10NES chip and replaced the pin connector, but it's still EXTREMELY touchy; if the screws aren't in just right on the pin connector, it doesn't work at all. And even when they are, some games randomly crash if you leave the system on for a while, and a few games just won't start up at all even though they work fine on the toploader. I keep trying to get the original one to work because its video output looks so much nicer, but... no luck. It's semi-usable now, but not entirely... so yeah, I end up using the toploader a lot, despite the awful quality of the video output.
 
I've never owned a top loading NES but the way the original NES cartriges loaded was the main culprit to the games not working properly (no other system had this problem on such a large scale and most of them happen to be top loading), so I would take a chance on the top loader as the superior option.
 
Guys, guys - FAMICOM TITLER: Internally generates RGB; S-Video output.

19890221_famicom_titler.jpg
 
The only good thing about the top loader is the dogbone controllers.

My original family front loader still works fine, but i just usually play on a retron 3 to save space from hooking up all the consoles.
 
Jack_AG said:
I'm going to try repairing it first - finding out what's wrong with it. If it's toast then I'll make sure to get another comp out.

Gonna need to dig around a bit - thanks guys!



I will have to look for the collection then. I love the first and do a full run about once per year - dunno why I haven't picked up the rest after all these years but now I get to experience the gaming goodness as an adult instead of an impatient kid haha!
Click to expand...

Okay good. I've never heard of an NES dying. I have worked on a lot of NESes. A couple of time's I've given up on the 72 pin and bought another and a few times I needed to resolder the wire.

There really isn't much that can go wrong, assuming you don't open it in a rainstorm or bash it with a hammer.
 
hutna said:
AV Famicom with a cart adapter for NA games is my set-up. I have no complaints.
Click to expand...

I have this same setup but it bothers me that the (American) carts face away when using them in the AV famicom with the converter. Ridiculous, I know.
 
If you really want to go all out, try to find one of those Sharp TV's with the NES built in. They have some pretty cool controllers and it'd be nice as a collector's item too...just prepare to be bent over because it's not cheap at all.
 
just blow in the cassette, blow in the console, put the cassette in the console shake it side to side, then up and down, smack the top of it, then BOOM. Game on!
 
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