NES/SNES beta ROMs

[marktuson]

Are there any available of such games as Final Fantasy, Super Mario Bros. (1) and the like? I have the English prototype of Final Fantasy II, but since seeing that thread a while ago about a prototype Final Fantasy I, I'd love to have a copy of the ROM that I can play with.

I also think it would be immensely cool to see protoytpes of SMB1 (NES) and Super Mario World (SNES).

Can anyone help? Thanks.

[skaar]

We don't do roms on this site - it's in the rules.

Google is your friend.

[DreamTR]

I actually have a proto Super Mario I cart believe it or not...

[TRM]

I actually have a proto Super Mario I cart believe it or not...

I believe very much...anything noteable about it dreamtr?

[DreamTR]

I believe very much...anything noteable about it dreamtr?

Probably not since the Japanese version came out first and there's nothing eally different from cart to cart on the things...

[ProgrammingAce]

I have the English prototype of Final Fantasy II

Is that a fan translation, or am i completely braindead and don't remember an "official" english rom?

[SparTonberry]

Years ago, Lost Levels released a ROM from a prototype official translation.
Supposedly it was completely in English, but lacked proofreading, which it probably would've gotten if it was released.

[marktuson]

scaar: I looked; I can't find anything useful.

DreamTR: Now you've wound me up - since I probably shouldn't ask you if you made a dump of it, and if you had I probably couldn't ask for it...


The FFIIe rom is real to the best of my knowledge, and the translation does seem to be ever-so-slightly broken - even the names don't make sense, actually (MingWu, anyone?).

Note: The forums I come from freely distribute old software, so forgive me if I've broken a rule in asking. I'm a BETAArchiver, specifically - if anyone cares :).

[Sniderman]

Note: The forums I come from freely distribute old software, so forgive me if I've broken a rule in asking.

No harm, no foul. But it happens to be Rule Number One in the FAQ (see link at top of page:

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/faq.php?faq=basics#faq_roms


Don't ask for ROMs, ISOs or pirated games in general
Out of respect to retrogaming stores, game developers, and growing legal concerns, discussion about the obtaining of illegal ROMs is prohibited. Illegal ROMs are defined as any ROM, regardless of age, that has been copyrighted in the past 100 years. Threads discussing the location or acquiring of ROMs and/or illegal (pirated) software will be locked per the discretion of a forum moderator or administrator. To avoid legal issues, "gray area" threads dealing with emulation may also be locked. As companies continue to release retro games through virtual releases or retro gaming packs for modern gaming systems, the threat of getting a cease-and-desist order grows. In order to preserve the gaming community we've all worked so hard to build, we ask that you respect Digital Press and refrain from the discussion of illegal ROMs.

[DreamTR]

mark: you can have the game for thousands of dollars if you want. I can't give away my games for free if I paid lots of money for them.

[OmochaoAbuser]

mark: you can have the game for thousands of dollars if you want. I can't give away my games for free if I paid lots of money for them.
Don't be stupid. You CAN give away games you paid lots of money for, and should.

People will LOVE you for it!

[slapdash]

Well of course he COULD. But then again, you could buy them from him at twice what he paid, release them for free, and people will love YOU, possibly twice as much!

[OmochaoAbuser]

Well of course he COULD. But then again, you could buy them from him at twice what he paid, release them for free, and people will love YOU, possibly twice as much!

Well, how about YOU pay him twice as much as he originally did.

[van_halen]

Don't be stupid. You CAN give away games you paid lots of money for, and should.

I’m seriously sick of your commie talk.

[WindowsKiller]

Don't be stupid. You CAN give away games you paid lots of money for, and should.

You can also open the window and throw out all your money. Would you? Probably not.

[Vectorman0]

Well, how about YOU pay him twice as much as he originally did.

10 day temporary ban for repeatedly trolling and requesting content not legal to distribute.

Every single post of yours was directly begging for copyrighted materials, or in relation to a previous post of yours begging for them.

If you come back and act the same, you won't last nearly as long or be back so quickly.

[Sniderman]

What's the verdict on unreleased games or homebrew titles? Are they also off-limits?

My opinion:

Unreleased games - Still dicey, especially if the game features a licenced character or brand name (Garfield, Rocky/Bullwinkle, Dungeons & Dragons). Besides, as the FAQ says, retro-comp collections, Xbox Live, and other services are digging deep into the vaults to release stuff like this. So better to err on the side of caution since these games COULD become released games from the original creator or a company that purchased the rights lawfully.


Out of respect to retrogaming stores, game developers, and growing legal concerns, discussion about the obtaining of illegal ROMs is prohibited. Illegal ROMs are defined as any ROM, regardless of age, that has been copyrighted in the past 100 years. Threads discussing the location or acquiring of ROMs and/or illegal (pirated) software will be locked per the discretion of a forum moderator or administrator. To avoid legal issues, "gray area" threads dealing with emulation may also be locked. As companies continue to release retro games through virtual releases or retro gaming packs for modern gaming systems, the threat of getting a cease-and-desist order grows. In order to preserve the gaming community we've all worked so hard to build, we ask that you respect Digital Press and refrain from the discussion of illegal ROMs.

Homebrew games - I assume that a homebrew author is still alive and kicking and holds any and all rights to the game he/she created. So the point is moot. If I wrote a self-published book, then found someone was making copies and distributing it, I'd be fairly pissed off.

[DreamTR]

Eat Communism 2K monies?

[marktuson]

Wow, I'm not asking for anything here again.

Thanks very much everybody.

[DreamTR]

Wow, I'm not asking for anything here again.

Thanks very much everybody.

Asking for something for nothing and only being here two months = what are you expecting?

[c0ldb33r]

I love how every time this type of conversation comes up people invariably bitch and moan about someone not dumping their proto rom. It's not rocket science people, if someone pays money for an unreleased rom and then releases it, the value of their asset decreases greatly. It makes no sense to buy an unreleased proto and then dump it.

The only possible scenario would be for a large group of people to pool their money so that everyone paid only about a buck and then dump it, but otherwise forget it.

[marktuson]

I'm not bitching about people not dumping their cartridges; I'm bitching about the way people are bitching at each other, and at me. Where I came from, we just had a four-year-long war, so I'm very used to people telling me it isn't going to happen - actually to the point where I've all but lost interest in collecting beta software. So I came here because I was interested in seeing beta/prototype versions of some of the games I like to play. Seems like that was a mistake too, eh?

Yes: at BETAArchive we have people who paid for stuff, but they generally leak it to the other members after a period (about 2 months or so) of time. The software doesn't get to be worth significantly less, because the number of original copies hasn't increased. And unless I'm very much mistaken, it's much more difficult to make up a NES cartridge than it is to bang off a CD and print "Microsoft Windows 'Chicago' version 4.00.56" onto it, so there wouldn't be any great risk of people faking copies of the games.

So, I'm sorry for asking about a couple of things and for being a bit sensitive to Internet bitching. Nobody's been any help with anything I've asked about, anyway. I only wanted to ask; if someone had just said "if you look hard enough, you'll find it" to me then I would have gone off and looked for it, and probably found it. But as it is, I'll just have to resume my searches on the Internet until I find something.

Wow.

[mrmark0673]

The software doesn't get to be worth significantly less, because the number of original copies hasn't increased. And unless I'm very much mistaken, it's much more difficult to make up a NES cartridge than it is to bang off a CD and print "Microsoft Windows 'Chicago' version 4.00.56" onto it, so there wouldn't be any great risk of people faking copies of the games.

If you looked at Castlevania4ever's recent proto sales, you would see evidence of protos being extremely devalued as result of a game being dumped. I would have paid $1,500+ easily for Sunman, Hit the Ice, or Cross Fire. Each one of those titles topped out at roughly $300-$350 as a result of being dumped.

The one record instance of a proto selling for more AFTER it was dumped that I am aware of was when Earth Bound sold, and that was purchased my a non-collector as a gift for her husband.

I'm a big fan of proto owners dumping their protos, but I'm also a much bigger fan of the owners doing whatever they please with what they spent their hard earned money on.

[van_halen]

I never get upset when people ask for ROMs, as long as they ask in a good manner. I just use to explain that I, even if it’s legal to begin with, can’t afford releasing them in the long run in case I would need money for something else in the near or far future. And I hope people respect that. I mean, just because I’m a loser who spends most of my hard-earned cash on protos, doesn’t mean I’m never ever going to sell them. And just because I prefer the real things over ROMs, doesn’t mean that everyone else does. I respect that.

I do get upset, however, when ‘some’ people frivolously start talking about how someone CAN and SHOULD release their stuff for free, because they claim that everything belongs to everyone and that prototype collectors are the richest bitches on the planet. Something that Mark didn't do at all.

[PACHUKA]

I'm not bitching about people not dumping their cartridges; I'm bitching about the way people are bitching at each other, and at me. Where I came from, we just had a four-year-long war, so I'm very used to people telling me it isn't going to happen - actually to the point where I've all but lost interest in collecting beta software. So I came here because I was interested in seeing beta/prototype versions of some of the games I like to play. Seems like that was a mistake too, eh?

Yes: at BETAArchive we have people who paid for stuff, but they generally leak it to the other members after a period (about 2 months or so) of time. The software doesn't get to be worth significantly less, because the number of original copies hasn't increased. And unless I'm very much mistaken, it's much more difficult to make up a NES cartridge than it is to bang off a CD and print "Microsoft Windows 'Chicago' version 4.00.56" onto it, so there wouldn't be any great risk of people faking copies of the games.

So, I'm sorry for asking about a couple of things and for being a bit sensitive to Internet bitching. Nobody's been any help with anything I've asked about, anyway. I only wanted to ask; if someone had just said "if you look hard enough, you'll find it" to me then I would have gone off and looked for it, and probably found it. But as it is, I'll just have to resume my searches on the Internet until I find something.

Wow.

It simply comes down to a matter of opinion. I'm in the bracket of "DUMP IT YOU HORDING FUCKERS" but most people round these parts aren't. I've learned to respect it with time, even if I strongly disagree with it. And that's what it comes down to is respect. In the long run, the people who own these things have no obligation to give up, because it IS their property. It's like if someone had a rare, last of it's kind car, and refused to let anyone take pictures of it. It seems lame and selfish, but that's their right.

It's like politics. There's always two very strong, very different opinions. Niether is more right then the other, just different. And if you start pushing your opinion by telling the other person they are wrong, most times they'll get irritated and fight back. Shit happens, but Life goes on. If you're interested in playing some prototypes, I have a bit of a hidden mass archive online. Hit me up via pm.

[TheRedEye]

If you looked at Castlevania4ever's recent proto sales, you would see evidence of protos being extremely devalued as result of a game being dumped. I would have paid $1,500+ easily for Sunman, Hit the Ice, or Cross Fire. Each one of those titles topped out at roughly $300-$350 as a result of being dumped.

Sorry for the necromancy, but to be fair, $300-350 is around the same price I originally paid for those games before I dumped them and devalued their magical invisible worth, and is also around the same price I sold them for after the fact. It's kind of neat to see that they've basically remained the exact same price, assuming Castlevania4ever didn't pay something stupid (he's not the one I sold them to).

Totally anecdotal and a bit off topic, but I thought someone might be interested. Also, in case this hasn't been publicly said before, Cross Fire is byte for byte identical to the Famicom game.