Getting an NES.

[LightL]

Well, I'm getting an NES, as I'm really in a retro mood. And I want to get a couple of games. I already have:

Metal Gear
Metroid.

But that's it. Got those games a while back, never got the NES.

[Trevelyan]

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4524 Official NES Thread
http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1098 Top 50
http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5838 Top 20 Two player

I'm pretty sure that you will find a good recommendation or two in these threads. (My personal favorite is SMB 3)

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

River City Ransom

[c0ldb33r]

What type of NES are you planning to get?

I picked up a toploader awhile ago and haven't looked back.

[rkotm]

if youve never played NES games before, get the SMB games, a Mega Man game or two, Startropics series, Tetris(i prefer Tengens though),those should suit you for hours.

[Cloud121]

Vice: Project Doom is the best NES game I've played. Gotta get that.

[DigitalSpace]

Welcome (well, more like welcome back) to the NES world!

Make sure you don't pay over a dollar for SMB/Duck Hunt (I paid 25 cents for my first copy and got my other two for free, try to get it in a lot if you can), Top Gun (which imo is the most common non-sports game you'll see in the wild that wasn't a pack-in), and most sports titles. Most of my 200+ NES carts were acquired for $3 or less, and there's a lot of stuff I paid a buck or less for!

If you're getting an original model (aka, the "toaster"), it'll be helpful to read up on how to replace or refurbish 72-pin connectors, it'll come in handy.

As for game recommendations, check out the links Trevelyan posted.

[Steven]

www.nesplayer.com

really sweet site. Maybe the best NES site out there?

[MeTmKnice]

What kind of games do you like, or anything really?

[Cornelius]

If you're getting an original model (aka, the "toaster"), it'll be helpful to read up on how to replace or refurbish 72-pin connectors, it'll come in handy.

Just wanted to add that in my experience replacing the 72 pin is way overrated. What you really need to do is clean the games really well, which can only really be done by opening them. some fine sandpaper and a credit card, followed by an alcohol rinse is all the refurbing you'll need on the actual 72 pin (in almost all cases).

[LightL]

Hmm, well, which should I get? A toaster or a top loader? To be honest, I don't really care, but the NES has nostalgic value to it, but the 72 Pin connector would be annoying to me, to be honest. Should i just go with the purple (or other top loader color) which also carries nogalstic value for me, or just stick with toaster? Any problems with top loaders?

Also, I really wouldn't mind any game. I want to try everything.

[MacNes]

All you have to do is bend then pins of the 72 connector and you will be golden. If you get heavy use out of your NES, it should last for a few months before you should get in their and fix them again.

Blaster Master
Journey to Silius
Ninja Gaiden
Double Dragon

There are four you should have if you enjoy 8-bit glory.

[c0ldb33r]

Any problems with top loaders?
The search function will yield many many many threads already about this, but in short the toploaders are quite expensive compared to a toaster. They also only support RF output without a modification and even then the RF output is rather shitty (bands running across the screen). However, they work. No fiddling or fucking with them, they just work. And the dogbone controllers are just beautiful to use.

I actually gave up on NES for awhile before getting my toploader. I had sold everything NES related just because I got sick of trying to coax that little bastard to play a game, and I hate the idea of constant maintenance just to keep it working.

Forget that, drop the money on either a toploader or a recent famiclone (what's that one that someone posted a review of here? It played castlevania III properly? It looked pretty good).

[LightL]

Well, I do like the Toaster controllers, so I may indeed just grab one of those anyways. I think I'm going to go with the toploader, honestly. The bands might annoy me for a lil bit, but I'll probably get over them. Also, thanks for the links, i'll be picking most of those up.

Thanks again. Any other personal opinions are greatly appreciated.

Edit: I've tried search for different things, but I can't seem to find anywhere that specifies what prices you should be getting systems for, overall. That would be very helpful, if something of the sort exists.

[FrakAttack]

Paid $12 for my first top-loader (non-working, piece of plastic wedged between the pins, duh) w/one dogbone controller and $20 for the second w/2 dogbones, 2 originals, orange zapper and a few crappy games, neither one boxed. Non-working front-loaders people often give away for free. :D

Of course, both kinds usually (read always) need cleaning, even if they still work.

[Cinder6]

Going off what I knew of eBay a year or two back, expect to pay around $35 for an NES there. If you have a local swap meet/flea market you can go to, check there first. If you buy on eBay, might as well get one that says they replaced the 72-pin connector (in my experience, it makes all the difference, along with cleaning every game you get).

If you want a toploader, expect to pay at least $50. Then you'll probably want to mod it...

Anyways, have fun. Get Castlevania. The NES is one of the most fun systems to collect for; the games are mostly common and dirt cheap (just like the Genesis, really)>

[c0ldb33r]

If you want a toploader, expect to pay at least $50. Then you'll probably want to mod it...
That's about what I paid for mine. When I got mine there were a few auctions ending at about the same time and they were all ~$45.

Another option I should offer is to get an AV famicom. It's really the best option as it combines the beauty of the NES toploader with AV output. If you can find one, be prepared to pay quite a bit.

[MeTmKnice]

That's about what I paid for mine. When I got mine there were a few auctions ending at about the same time and they were all ~$45.

Another option I should offer is to get an AV famicom. It's really the best option as it combines the beauty of the NES toploader with AV output. If you can find one, be prepared to pay quite a bit.

Yes, unless you really "have to have" an official NES unit. I suggest getting a RetroDuo, becuase then you can also play SNES games as well. They can be had for about 40$

[LightL]

Thing with the retro is that everytime I hear about them, it's always about how they die out so fast. *shrugs*

Also, on ebay there are many boxed toploaders that are going for 30, which includes shipping.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170216394082&ssPageName=MERCOSI_VI_ROSI_PR4_PCN_BIX_Stores&refitem=180238988542&itemcount=4&refwidgetloc=closed_view_item&refwidgettype=osi_widget&_trksid=p284.m185&_trkparms=algo%3DSI%26its%3DI%252BP%252BIA%26itu%3 DIA%252BUCI%252BUCP%26otn%3D4%26ps%3D42

[c0ldb33r]

Also, on ebay there are many boxed toploaders that are going for 30, which includes shipping.
Just for clarity's sake, you mean boxed famiclones that happen to load on top right? The eBay auction you posted isn't an actual toploader, just a clone.

Here is an authentic toploader:

Buy-it-now for $40.00 including SMB 3. Problem is that it doesn't come with a dogbone controller but instead with two toaster controllers - [link (http://cgi.ebay.ca/NINTENDO-NES-NES-101-TOPLOADER-RARE-TESTED-HTF_W0QQitemZ170215742676QQihZ007QQcategoryZ139971 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)] - edit: oops, sorry, it's buy-it-now for $70, $40 is the current price.

And here's one that's only 10 bucks boxed with Dr. Mario, but there's almost a week left in the auction - [link (http://cgi.ebay.com/NES-NINTENDO-SYSTEM-DOG-BONE-TOPLOADER-DR-MARIO-W-BOX_W0QQitemZ110250556804QQihZ001QQcategoryZ139971 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)]

[LightL]

Ah, I had no idea that it was a famiclone, thanks for the heads up.

[c0ldb33r]

you can tell its a proper toploader if the model number is nes-101, although of course not all auctions make this clear. One thing I don't understand actually is in this auction (http://cgi.ebay.ca/NINTENDO-NES-NES-101-TOPLOADER-RARE-TESTED-HTF_W0QQitemZ170215742676QQihZ007QQcategoryZ139971 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem), why does it say:


DIRCT CONNECT ADAPTER(NO MORE FUZZY SCREEN, SEE ACTUAL SCREENSHOT)

What is this and how does it remove "fuzzy screen"? If it's referring to the toploader crappy RF output, then I want to know what it does and how it works.

[diskoboy]

Two words: Bionic. Commando.