NES: Bignose and the Witchdoctor

[Dr. Morbis]

I found a demo today of a Camerica game called Bignose and the Witchdoctor. It has an EPROM inside and on the (gold) case it says: "Bignose Jan 92 II: Demo version and attract". I played it for a bit and it has a cool title screen (the only place that it says Bignose and the Witchdoctor) and plays very similar to Bignose Freaks Out. But I don't think it is a work in progress of Freaks Out because the level design is completely different. Oh, and it has no sound whatsoever. I've been an everpresent lurker on this board for a couple of years and have never heard any mention of this title. If I have the only copy, then I'll dump it on the net so anyone can play it. I just need someone to put me in contact with a dumper in the Southern Alberta (Canada) area. I also found two demo/proto versions of the Fantastic Adventure of Dizzy. Both have an EPROM, but from what little time I've played them, they seem identical to the released version. Any info on Bignose and the Witchdoctor would be appreciated.
Thanks,

B

[ArnoldRimmer83]

Cool find. I don't know much about Bignose Witchdoctor, except I do remember years ago seeing it listed in Funco's price guides.

[sniperCCJVQ]

Pics please !

[Dr. Morbis]

I spent some more time with the demo and I've found the following: A) I can't seem to get out of the first (only??) level. B) There is a bone counter to collect bones and you get 9 lives. C) Most features are disabled ie: swinging club, tree doors, bouncy mushroom things. D) After playing through Freaks Out, I noticed that level 4 is very similar to the playable level on this demo. So my tentative conclusion is that this is an early demo of what would eventually be Bignose Freaks Out, only with its working title/original title. I guess the only interesting thing about it is the title screen which is quite unique. I would post a pic if I could but I have no digital camera or scanner.

B

[TheRedEye]

I don't know of any dumpers in Canada, but I'm in Vegas. I'm quite reputable, ask the very owner if this site if you need references.

[Dr. Morbis]

@theredeye: If I go to the expo (still undecided) I'll bring it along if you think you can dump it sometime over that weekend.

[liquidmetal]

nice find never heard of it weird

[TheRedEye]

I'll have my equipment with me, but I can't guarantee I have a Codemasters plugin. The EPROMs may need to be dumped directly.

[adaml]

I've beaten both NES Bignose games and this is what I have for their endings:

BIGNOSE FREAKS OUT (Codemasters)
-There are 5 areas, each with 4 sections, for a grand total of 20 Stages. When you finish Stage 20 you fight a Hot Air Balloon. Beat the stage and you get a quick screen showing Bignose bringing his bones home, then it resets to Level 1.


BIGNOSE THE CAVEMAN (Codemasters)
-There are 4 different islands in this game, each one with 7 levels. When you reach the 7th level of the 4th island, you fight the Pterodactyl. Beat him and watch the humorous ending.


Since bones are mentioned in your proto, I'm guessing it could be an early version of Bignose Freaks Out.

[Dr. Morbis]

Ya, I'm pretty sure it's an early version of Freaks Out. My only question is how much stuff is programmed into the demo but inaccessable to the player. Hopefully there is more in there than just one level to be found when it's dumped.

@theredeye: I'll find you at the CGE, so you can see if there is anything you can do (if you have time).

[adaml]

Yeah, if the game gets dumped you'll be able to find out pretty much anything about the game.

When I played through Action 52 I was able to skip past the "impossible to finish" levels that you face in about 50% of the games on that cart just by using the same level address for every game on the cart.

[TRM]

Pictures of Bignose & the Witchdoctor have been added to my site:

http://www.planetnintendo.com/thewarpzone/unreleased/bn1.jpg

http://www.planetnintendo.com/thewarpzone/unreleased/bn2.jpg

http://www.planetnintendo.com/thewarpzone/unreleased/bn3.jpg

http://www.planetnintendo.com/thewarpzone/unreleased/bn4.jpg

Thanks Basil T. for sending me those photographs!

[TheRedEye]

Oh yeah, I forgot about this. Where the heck were you at CGE? I had everything set up!

[Dr. Morbis]

@theredeye: Sorry didn't make it to CGE. I had to cancel at last minute. Was really looking forward to it. Hopefully next year (with more than one Camerica proto).

[Jackalneo]

Hey, If you are willing to ship it to BC, I'll be able to get Buddha to dump it for you. He lives across the border, but is always around my place. I've personally met him when he dumped a couple of my games, and he's really nice. Shoot me an email at...

jackalneo (*at*) telus (*dot*) net

What other Camerica stuff do you have?

-Tom

[Dr. Morbis]

@jackalneo: email sent