NES multicarts worth getting?

[Atarileaf]

I see people talk about these, I assume, pirate carts with hundreds of games (I know its misleading, there aren't really that many) on them. I remember my brother in law back in the early 90's had one and it had a lot of great classic games that seem to be "unofficial" like Mappy, Galaxian, Pooyan, etc, that I'd love to play, as well as others I've never heard of. Not sure where he got it, never asked him.

Are these worth tracking down and can anyone recommend one over the other? How much do these usually sell for?

[Steve W]

You can usually get a lot of these games on Famiclone plug-and-play units rather than cartridges. But my advice to finding them is to hit up your local flea market. I see countless Famiclones out at my local one (granted, the place is absolutely massive compared to all other flea markets I've been to) and sometimes they have carts available for them too. I occasionally find them at thrift stores.

I love these types of carts and game units, since there's all sorts of wacky hacks of games to avoid copyright infringement. For example, finding a badly drawn Sonic instead of Mario in Super Mario Bros. or on the Famiclone I bought recently, graphically hacked versions of Pole Position (to look like flying saucers in a space race) or Wrecking Crew. I've found pirated and graphically modified versions of Atari Flashback games and the Intellivision 25-in-1 games. It's amazing the effort Chinese pirates go through to fill up those things with games.

[Tupin]

You can usually get a lot of these games on Famiclone plug-and-play units rather than cartridges. But my advice to finding them is to hit up your local flea market. I see countless Famiclones out at my local one (granted, the place is absolutely massive compared to all other flea markets I've been to) and sometimes they have carts available for them too. I occasionally find them at thrift stores.

I love these types of carts and game units, since there's all sorts of wacky hacks of games to avoid copyright infringement. For example, finding a badly drawn Sonic instead of Mario in Super Mario Bros. or on the Famiclone I bought recently, graphically hacked versions of Pole Position (to look like flying saucers in a space race) or Wrecking Crew. I've found pirated and graphically modified versions of Atari Flashback games and the Intellivision 25-in-1 games. It's amazing the effort Chinese pirates go through to fill up those things with games.
You're lucky, the only Famiclone I've seen around here was at Goodwill with no AC adapter, no controller, no instructions, AV cables that look like they weren't originally in the box, and most importantly, no multicart. :shameful:

Shame, because the box was Engrish-tastic and the system seemed to be well-built.

[Blitzwing256]

You're lucky, the only Famiclone I've seen around here was at Goodwill with no AC adapter, no controller, no instructions, AV cables that look like they weren't originally in the box, and most importantly, no multicart. :shameful:

Shame, because the box was Engrish-tastic and the system seemed to be well-built.

a great deal of them have games built in with the option to use cartridges (most of the n64 controller shaped ones have differnt games built in em)

[Xander]

I have a 700-in-1 in NTSC format. It's not bad, I would say there is close to 100 differents game on it, the rest are mostly clone of circus and another game I don't remember the name.

I paid like 25$ for it back then. Was worth it, the cart is fun to play. I say go for it, if you find one for an abordable price in a good condition, you should buy.

[PutUrQuarterUp]

I remember my brother in law back in the early 90's had one and it had a lot of great classic games that seem to be "unofficial" like Mappy, Galaxian, Pooyan, etc, that I'd love to play, as well as others I've never heard of.

Well, all the games that you have mentioned are on the Power Joy PJ-008 cartridge.. this cartridge actually has 84 different games on it as well as the Pandamar hack (Panda Mario)..

Mine was basically tossed in for free with a group of stuff I bought from this really strange pawn/thrift shop, so Im not really sure how much you should expect to pay for this particular cart.. but (insert number here)-in-1s generally dont sell for all that much and usually they are quite affordable..

for a complete listing of the games on this cart as well as a photo go here..
http://www.famicomworld.com/Pirated/Power_Joy_008_PIR.htm

this site also provides a price estimate, but again, I personally am not positive about a dollar amount..

[mobiusclimber]

It all depends on the cart, really. Some are pretty good in that they either feature a whole bunch of games (and not just SMB over and over that start on different levels), or they even have games not normally found on NES, like Sonic or Street Fighter II, or Famicom-exclusive games. It's usually best to know what you're getting before you buy (by reading a game list), but if you can snag some for cheap it really doesn't matter too much what you get. They're nice collector's items regardless, imo.

[Cauterize]

Hmmmmm, is it me or have these carts really shot up in value in the last few months?
These used to have no demand whatsoever yet now they seem to be wanted by all the collectors.

[Atarileaf]

Well, all the games that you have mentioned are on the Power Joy PJ-008 cartridge.. this cartridge actually has 84 different games on it as well as the Pandamar hack (Panda Mario)..

Mine was basically tossed in for free with a group of stuff I bought from this really strange pawn/thrift shop, so Im not really sure how much you should expect to pay for this particular cart.. but (insert number here)-in-1s generally dont sell for all that much and usually they are quite affordable..

for a complete listing of the games on this cart as well as a photo go here..
http://www.famicomworld.com/Pirated/Power_Joy_008_PIR.htm

this site also provides a price estimate, but again, I personally am not positive about a dollar amount..

Thanks. Thats exactly the kind of cart I'm looking for. Couldn't find that exact one on ebay though. I searched "multicart" and "multi-cart" but nothing came up. Is it safe to assume that ebay won't allow these since they're pirated carts?

I'll try some local places but I haven't seen one so far aside from those "Quattro" carts.

[Atarileaf]

Hmmmmm, is it me or have these carts really shot up in value in the last few months?
These used to have no demand whatsoever yet now they seem to be wanted by all the collectors.

Well, for me, I'm primarily a collector and player of the early arcade ports which didn't make it onto any NES carts here, thats why I mentioned Galaxian, Mappy, etc. Its these games I'd like to play on my NES and it seems the multicart is the best way to go to do that.

[MachineGex]

These carts pop up on Chase the Cuhckwagon & Game Gavel all the time. I just bought a NTSC version(something like 52in1) for $20 shipped. Give those sites a search and you will find one. I have over a dozen of these multicarts, but for some strange reason I always buy them when I can. Getting Devilworld is worth the price alone.

[Xander]

IIRC they are illegal on ebay, that's why they are hard to find there.

[Draven]

Thanks. Thats exactly the kind of cart I'm looking for. Couldn't find that exact one on ebay though. I searched "multicart" and "multi-cart" but nothing came up. Is it safe to assume that ebay won't allow these since they're pirated carts?

I'll try some local places but I haven't seen one so far aside from those "Quattro" carts.


Try searching for "in 1", or "in1". Then narrow your search down to games, instead of systems to filter out all the famiclone systems. You'll still have to scroll through a few Donkey Kong Classics and Quattro games, but its the best way I've found to get them on ebay. That's what I try and usually I find one or 2 on there. They usually go for $20, shipping included.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Mulitcarts can be pretty hit or miss.

There are literally thousands of variants with no really accounting for quality, that is it's tough if not impossible to reference a specific one as good or bad ... I've seen the same ones a few times, but it's not like you can tell somebody to go find a "Super Power Master III 10,000,000 in 1" multicart and expect them to track one down easily. You're gonna find what you're gonna find and you're gonna get what you get if you go out looking for one of these ...

... some will have really great selections of stuff upwards of 100 titles, and others will only have a few memorable titles on them. You're also rarely going to see anything beyond the selection of titles that were available in the first 2-3 years of Famicom games on those carts.

Some carts contain game hacks with sprite re-maps like Pikachu in Super Mario Bros ... and others contain complete original games like Street Fighter 9 or Sonic The Hedgehog ... but those are a bit rare-er relatively speaking.

I've also noticed that some multicarts have grounding issues and don't play very well on "clone" NES/Famicom systems. So if you're not using an official NES keep in mind that you may not be able to use one on a FC Twin or a Retro Duo.

At this point in game collecting history I wouldn't pay more than $40 for a good NES or Famicom shaped multicart.

The same exact sentiment goes for the Plug-and-play Famiclones that have NES titles built in. They can be fantastic, but some are better than others, and I agree that you should shoot for the units that have a cartridge port built in.

The absolute BEST multicarts I have are the ones that were made for the "OneStation" portable NES clone. They have great selections of games (some of which I have NEVER seen on ANY multicart prior to these things ... games like TMNT Arcade, River City Ransom, Batman and others these guys were obviously compiling these things in a modern setting). Unfortunately they only work with the Pocketstation which suffers from "backwards button syndrome" which makes playing Super Mario Bros tough ... but the units can be plugged into a TV for play which almost makes up for it.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1048

If you're interested in one - Deal Extreme is almost completely sold out of those units forever and that one comes with the best 100 in 1 multicart that they offer.

[CastlevaniaDude]

Well, all the games that you have mentioned are on the Power Joy PJ-008 cartridge.. this cartridge actually has 84 different games on it as well as the Pandamar hack (Panda Mario)..

Mine was basically tossed in for free with a group of stuff I bought from this really strange pawn/thrift shop, so Im not really sure how much you should expect to pay for this particular cart.. but (insert number here)-in-1s generally dont sell for all that much and usually they are quite affordable..

for a complete listing of the games on this cart as well as a photo go here..
http://www.famicomworld.com/Pirated/Power_Joy_008_PIR.htm

this site also provides a price estimate, but again, I personally am not positive about a dollar amount..

My friend used to have this... It was pretty good.

[Steve W]

Well, all the games that you have mentioned are on the Power Joy PJ-008 cartridge.. this cartridge actually has 84 different games on it as well as the Pandamar hack (Panda Mario)..

for a complete listing of the games on this cart as well as a photo go here..
http://www.famicomworld.com/Pirated/Power_Joy_008_PIR.htm

I think I might have have one of those in storage. If not, I'm pretty sure I know of a thrift store that has one. It's been back behind their counter for some time with no takers. I'll have to grab it next time I go in.

[Macbee]

The "Zillion games in 1" carts are usually terrible.
But there are some good multicarts out there.

I own, for example, a "8-in1" with Contra, Rockman 1, Jackal, Life Force, Rygar, Rush N' Attack, Ghosts N' Gobblins and Hi No Tori (Fire Bird).

I already saw other multicarts with really good games inside.

[Chainclaw]

There are a ton of crazy NES games that show up on these pirate carts. A couple quick youtube searches reveal these:

There is the infamous "Somari" :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwBKW0kDHIQ

Mortal Kombat for NES:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHC3DFGwG7U

Street Fighter for NES:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5GGdKCeX1o

Final Fantasy 7 for NES:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USBo4vswqO0

Sonic the Hedgehog for NES:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na_74MqwaRo

Boogerman for NES:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9jOqpJMYHM

Donkey Kong Country for NES:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0IkNugZ3jI

Pokemon for NES:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5ebv_tdCRE

I think I'll stop there, it gives you an idea of the crazy stuff you can find for NES / Famicom.

[mobiusclimber]

There are a ton of crazy NES games that show up on these pirate carts. A couple quick youtube searches reveal these:

There is the infamous "Somari" :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwBKW0kDHIQ

Mortal Kombat for NES:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHC3DFGwG7U

Street Fighter for NES:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5GGdKCeX1o

Final Fantasy 7 for NES:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USBo4vswqO0

Sonic the Hedgehog for NES:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na_74MqwaRo

Boogerman for NES:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9jOqpJMYHM

Donkey Kong Country for NES:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0IkNugZ3jI

Pokemon for NES:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5ebv_tdCRE

I think I'll stop there, it gives you an idea of the crazy stuff you can find for NES / Famicom.

That's great, but where can I BUY Somari or FF7!!!! Dang I want those games.

[Ruudos]

http://nesfountain.silius.net/nesmulti.shtml

The 13-in-1 cart is one of the better ones out there.

Golden Cart Series 260-in-1 (not on that site) is also one to have. 106 unique games on that one.

[swlovinist]

nes multicarts are really fun to collect, just even on their bizarre cosmetic shapes alone. I have about a dozen, and just look for them when I am thrifting and going to flea markets. The ones with 50+ different games that dont suck are in the 20 dollar range I suppose(I have sold a couple for that). The ones with more than 100 different games(not hacks) would be worth double that, but are harder to find. I just picked up a 400 in 1 light blue famiclone cart. Looking at the screens, it probably has about 50 unique titles, but some good ones like Contra.

[darkslime]

I've never seen a NES multicart in the wild before, but my swap meet constantly has those 76,000 in one things that come with a N64 controller, NES controller, and light gun with games built into all of them. Anyone know if those are worth getting?

[Atarileaf]

I downloaded a rom to try of one called 110 in 1 (can I say I did that here?) because I'm hoping to get one of these. The weird thing is the emulator I use, FCE Ultra, doesn't play all the games in the menu. Just get a blank screen on some games like "magmax" and some don't work at all . Weird. Think its the emulator, bad rom, or will these type of carts not work on a US NES? I have a top loader so if its a lockout chip thing I'll use the toploader.

But it does have all the games I'm looking for so I hope to track this one down.

[Nerd42]

I would really appreciate it if anybody who has a Power Joy / PJ-008 could assist in getting a ROM made out of it. I'd really like to see this delightful bit of really obscure and trivial video game history preserved. http://editthis.info/wiki42/Save_the_PJ-008

[Atarileaf]

I bought this one from a fellow on another gaming forum for $20:

http://www.nintendoage.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=NES.View&pId=1&egID=9005&lgID=9005

[k8track]

Short answer: Yeah.
Long answer: Yeah, sure.

[aaron7]

I have a ton of NES multicarts and bootlegs. Most collectors put a low value on them, most flea market and ebay people think they are gold. I just love collecting them! So many are terrible rip offs... many just have sprite changes.

I even have two that are double ended... one end is Famicom, the other is NES.

If I remember right I have a few Sega ports on NES carts... really random and pretty bad lol

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/aaron7/DSC02498.jpg

[roushimsx]

Whenever I travel to SE Asia, I always make it a point to sift through the pirate stuff looking for scattered bits of gold. My two favorite multicarts that I've picked up so far are a 4in1 and 8in1 of nothing but Technos games.

http://images.roushimsx.com/100_2622.jpg
(bonus points for the stores, which sell no legitimate games btw, putting the little pirate ship stickers on the bootleg fami carts)