The 3rd rarest licensed NES game?

[Bronty-2]

per wiki

Technical definitionIt is based on 'regular' NTSC, but is slightly different. The black level and blanking level of the NTSC-J signal are identical (at 0 IRE), as they are in PAL, another video standard, while in American NTSC, black level is slightly higher (7.5 IRE) than blanking level. Because of the way this appears in the waveform, the higher black level is also called pedestal. Since the difference is quite small, a slight change of the brightness setting is all that is required to enjoy the "other" variant of NTSC on any set as it is supposed to be.

The over-the-air RF frequencies in use in Japan do not match those of the US NTSC standard; there are also international differences in the frequency allocations for other services such as FM radio. The encoding of the stereo subcarrier also differs between NTSC-M/MTS and the Japanese broadcast standards.

[jonebone]

What I've learned in this thread:

Apparently I can't say I have the entire N64 NTSC set CIB, because I need all of the Japanese exclusives. I've been doing it wrong this whole time, must be a silent J in NTSC-J or something.

[Braveheart69]

Nice to see that two NA mods (Qix and Braveheart) to let us know their feelings on the matter. ;)

Back on topic, sort of...

What percentage of users here, or NA, can read Japanese? Probably very little. You mean there's not a huge demand for games where people can't even understand what hell is going on? Shocking, I tell you.

Not much of an argument as there are lots of games that can be played without much effort. RPGs aren't the only reason people like Famicom games; there are lots of other games that were changed, sometimes drastically, when they were released in North America, or not released here at all.

12. Famicom stuff is pretty obscure. I HIGHLY doubt popular Nintendo forums in Japan or other parts of the world give a shit about NTSC releases. People will start collecting it and it will get real expensive, real fast, because of our site, just you wait and see Dave. What people collect is pretty region specific, so yeah, we are *mostly* US released stuff. Big fucking deal. With that said - a good majority of collectors and my friends on the site buy famicom stuff, simply because there are rad games on the system.

Give me a break. As opposed to foreign NES games from Brazil, China, HK, Korea, Europe that people like to collect, but might not work right in a North America NES. The whole "NA effect" I think is people pulling numbers out at random without much thought to the consequences (ie: someone might take you seriously and start bidding up games just because you said they're rare and should be worth more). I mentioned it in my earlier post, but people are too fond of saying things like "I searched for x number of months/years and only found y number of copies".

Two points of clarification:
1) I count 5 NA mods, 1 NA admin, and the owner of NA who have all replied to this thread. ;)

2) I collect NES and GG for worldwide as these were the two systems I grew up with and love them enough to want everything that was available. My Japan GG set is now missing only 2 boxes to be complete. :)

[GrandAmChandler]

I just came here to say this is the best thread ever.

[BenG76]

This thread is awesome. I say Digger T Rock is the 3rd most rare. I cant find that damn game anywhere and when I do something happens to keep me from getting it.

NA and DP both rule BTW.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Nobody's answered my Wayne's World question.

Are you guys implying that I'M NOT WORTHY? :p

[Aussie2B]

Heh, I do gotta admit that I'm getting a laugh out of what a shitstorm this topic is turning into. How are all these people finding out about it? I wonder if there's a "OMG look at what DP is saying about us" topic on NA, haha. And is it really so important to respond to one person's complaints, even registering an account to do so? And it's not like it was completely random. He was asked why he doesn't like NA, so that's why Portnoyd wrote the long explanation.

In other word, "in before the lock". :P

[skaar]

portnoyd needs to tell us how he REALLY feels :D

[mrmark0673]

Nobody's answered my Wayne's World question.

Are you guys implying that I'M NOT WORTHY? :p

It's certainly up there for rarity and definitely worth picking up if you see it. I don't know if I'd go as high as top 5, but it's certainly up there.

What about Die Hard? It was the last licensed game I picked up, eluded me for years.

[TurboGenesis]

What I've learned in this thread:

Apparently I can't say I have the entire N64 NTSC set CIB, because I need all of the Japanese exclusives. I've been doing it wrong this whole time, must be a silent J in NTSC-J or something.

NTSC is a television standard… North America, Japan, as well as other countries use this standard. Another standard is PAL, used commonly in Europe… should one hook up a Japanese console with a Japanese game to a North American television, there will be no issue in its operation as they are both of the same standard. Hook up a European console to a North American television, and there will be an issue and it will not deliver desired operation…

saying one has a complete NTSC collection is a vague statement and could lead one to assume one has a collection consisting of every NTSC compatible game…

[Bronty-2]

I wouldn't agree with either of digger or WW.

digger is a fair nuisance

and wayne's world is fully a pain in the ass, and well up the list... but #3? nah

[burdger]

Are you guys being serious about Wayne's World?

I've seen that stupid game a few times and always left it behind because it was a THQ movie game - which in my experience meant that too many copies of the game were made, and that the game was absolute garbage.

Wayne's World is definitely up there, but I wouldn't consider it quite #3. I think #3 is probably either Power Blade 2 or Panic Restaurant.

[Kitsune Sniper]

NTSC is a television standard… North America, Japan, as well as other countries use this standard. Another standard is PAL, used commonly in Europe… should one hook up a Japanese console with a Japanese game to a North American television, there will be no issue in its operation as they are both of the same standard. Hook up a European console to a North American television, and there will be an issue and it will not deliver desired operation…

saying one has a complete NTSC collection is a vague statement and could lead one to assume one has a collection consisting of every NTSC compatible game…

I've played Japanese games on US televisions and the brightness issue mentioned earlier by Bronty is very noticeable. It became especially irritating when I was capturing footage for Youtube... but it was more noticeable on modern systems - like from the PS2 onward.

So to me, NTSC-J does not "deliver desired operation", in fact it's a pain in the ass. :)

[skaar]

I've never noticed an issue with NTSC-J titles for any system.

[TurboGenesis]

I've played Japanese games on US televisions and the brightness issue mentioned earlier by Bronty is very noticeable. It became especially irritating when I was capturing footage for Youtube... but it was more noticeable on modern systems - like from the PS2 onward.

So to me, NTSC-J does not "deliver desired operation", in fact it's a pain in the ass. :)

*shrug*

I haven't had issues with any of my import games from Famicom to Xbox 360… maybe my eyesight may not be at its optimum… The difference in color and shades is about as much as the difference seen in LCD to plasma televisions… I am not a video snob who is able to notice such subtle differences…

I guess I may say in general, hooking up a NTSC-J console and game to a NTSC-U/A television will yield more favorable results, though it may be subjective to those whom are a videophile…

I've hosted numerous gatherings where many import games are played and never had anyone question its view on my displays…

Hooking up PAL hardware to any NTSC display will yield unfavorable results and there is no way around it, unless one has a display which they are able to manually adjust the verticle hold, and most television sets in the last 20 some years do not feature a verticle hold adjustment…

[Kitsune Sniper]

I've never noticed an issue with NTSC-J titles for any system.Again, it was noticeable during my video captures. Just then. The different black levels mentioned made the captured videos look weird.


(...) I am not a video snob who is able to notice such subtle differences…

I guess I may say in general, hooking up a NTSC-J console and game to a NTSC-U/A television will yield more favorable results, though it may be subjective to those whom are a videophile…I'm not entirely sure, but to me it seems that the PS2's NTSC/NTSC-J level difference is set by the game, not by the console. I only own US systems, so I'm not sure about that.

I'm not a "video snob". I just found this out while I was figuring out how to use my capture card. I tested the US NeoGeo collections and they looked fine, but the Japanese ones (run via the memory card exploit) had that level difference, which made me look this up. I thought it was a problem with the video compression, or my capture card. But nope. :(

Most people won't really care (or notice) about this difference, but it was a pain for me, because I was (at the time) trying to record footage for a Youtube thing I was planning to do.

[Doonzmore]

It's certainly up there for rarity and definitely worth picking up if you see it. I don't know if I'd go as high as top 5, but it's certainly up there.

What about Die Hard? It was the last licensed game I picked up, eluded me for years.

I actually came across Die Hard twice in 1 year. The first one which I snatched up for 4.50 and another at a gamestore down the road for 40. Decent game but pretty challenging.

Jimmy Connor's Tennis and Cowboy Kid have been pretty elusive in my travels.

[Ze_ro]

12. Famicom stuff is pretty obscure.
Seems to me that NA folks show more interest in stuff like Gluk and Smart Boy...

Doesn't matter if you can't read Japanese (although there's even more waiting for you if you can!), or you didn't grow up with Japanese games... there's a huge wealth of interesting Famicom games out there that are perfectly accessible to North Americans: Arcade classics like Dig Dug, Mappy, Gradius II, Galaxian and Pooyan that somehow never made it to North America... Excellent original games like Holy Diver, Penguin Wars, Joy Mech Fight, Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa, Splatterhouse, and Dream Penguin Monogatari... Classic first-party games like Devil World and Nuts & Milk (both of which *should* have been black box releases in my opinion)... Interesting Japanese variations on games like Bionic Commando, Guerilla War, Salamander, and Castlevania III... and hell, there are plenty of bizarre, off-the-wall games that are just fun to laugh at with friends, like Bokosuka Wars, Atlantis no Nazo and Takeshi's Challenge.

Meanwhile, we're talking about games like Wayne's World and Wacky Races... If I had a ton of money, I'd far rather spend it on Recca than on Stadium Events.

--Zero

[Gameguy]

What I've learned in this thread:

Apparently I can't say I have the entire N64 NTSC set CIB, because I need all of the Japanese exclusives. I've been doing it wrong this whole time, must be a silent J in NTSC-J or something.
Must be just like that silent M that's in the North American version(and elsewhere). North America uses NTSC-M.

[8bitnesfan]

I would say # 3 is Panic Restaurant Power Blade Close behind

[GarrettCRW]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned that Prog's Bio Force Ape is essentially persona non grata at NA for the basic fact that NA didn't foster the creation of the game.

No matter what you may think of him, that's a shitty thing to do to Prog.

[Qixmaster]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned that Prog's Bio Force Ape is essentially persona non grata at NA for the basic fact that NA didn't foster the creation of the game.

No matter what you may think of him, that's a shitty thing to do to Prog.


yeah, pretty shitty of us...

http://www.nintendoage.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Element.View&egID=82740&lgID=82823&sID=82824

[Qixmaster]

I just came here to say this is the best thread ever.

See, I love this guy right here.

[VG_Maniac]

It's certainly up there for rarity and definitely worth picking up if you see it. I don't know if I'd go as high as top 5, but it's certainly up there.

I've come across Wayne's World in the wild twice, so I never thought of it being that rare until I read about it here. Like I already said, I passed up an opportunity to buy it for $3.99 at a local game store awhile back. I personally think the Ubi Soft version of "Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade" is a little rarer than Wayne's World...although they both could be pretty close , and they both came out around the same time.

[Braveheart69]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned that Prog's Bio Force Ape is essentially persona non grata at NA for the basic fact that NA didn't foster the creation of the game.

No matter what you may think of him, that's a shitty thing to do to Prog.

Totally confused... I bought my Bio Force Ape through a thread posted on NA by the maker, as many other NA'rs did!

[Bloodreign]

I actually came across Die Hard twice in 1 year. The first one which I snatched up for 4.50 and another at a gamestore down the road for 40. Decent game but pretty challenging.

Jimmy Connor's Tennis and Cowboy Kid have been pretty elusive in my travels.


Surprisingly I've only run into Cowboy Kid one time, and managed to snag it locally for $5. I knew it was pricey so I said nothing to the shop seller that sold it to me.

[jonebone]

Heh, I do gotta admit that I'm getting a laugh out of what a shitstorm this topic is turning into. How are all these people finding out about it? I wonder if there's a "OMG look at what DP is saying about us" topic on NA, haha. And is it really so important to respond to one person's complaints, even registering an account to do so? And it's not like it was completely random. He was asked why he doesn't like NA, so that's why Portnoyd wrote the long explanation.

In other word, "in before the lock". :P

Yeah I guess I took the bait? I answered the question at hand and Port immediately thinks that my opinion = being brainwashed by NA. I ignored it and responded once more, got another NA reference. After the second NA reference I asked "Why all the hate?" and yeah, look what happened.

And no, there's no thread on NA about this. If I had to guess, once the first mod saw it, the rest piled in.

I just don't understand all the hatred either way. Many of us collect for several platforms and are members on multiple sites, so why isolate yourself from a large pool of collectors?

And one last thing, if anyone believes one of these $20 games is truly the 3rd rarest, then we should see it's price move significantly over the next few years. Simple supply and demand, even if someone thinks there is a collusion of collectors trying to keep the price down.

[PSerge]

Honestly, I don't think there is a definitive 3rd rarest NES game.

For me personally, I've found and acquired many games other consider rare easily.

But then again, some of the harder to find but not rare games have aluded me.

Little Samson is probably 3rd rarest in my opinion, but we can debate this forever and never come to a consensus.

Panic Restaurant, Power Blade 2, Wayne's World and Bonk's Adventure both come to mind as possible 3rd rarest games but heh it's just my opinion.

To all the DP staff, sorry for all the NA drama in this thread.

[GrandAmChandler]

I love the Power Glove, it's so bad...

[skaar]

I love the Power Glove, it's so bad...

Speaking of bad:


Cinematic Bazaar went to work on hacking the code for the Bio Force Ape game. Although some of their information on their website isn't accurate to the actual unreleased Bio Force Ape, they did amazing work in developing an entire competition within this cart.

Who wrote that?

Because... that's not at all what happened.

[Cornelius]

I love the Power Glove, it's so bad...

Little early to be hitting the sauce, isn't it? :ass:

I'm surprised to hear Wayne's World mentioned, but I've mostly looked at the DP guide, and it is apparently in need of revision based on the (relevant :puppydogeyes:) discussion in this thread. Anyway, happy to have picked up Wayne's World in a lot recently, and with a nearly perfect label, to boot! Too bad I don't think I have any of the others being mentioned :(

did I use enough smiley thingies to cheer up this thread?

[ugly_monster]

Actual rarity depends on copies released correct? Surely someone can dig up that info.


And it's never too early to hit the sauce, just depends on when you go to bed!

The Power Glove is awesome. When I use it I crouch down like it's my shield and I jump back and forth and reall get into things.

No I don't, but if I had a glove that's how I imagine using it.

[pseudonym]

Yeah, but what's the 10th rarest licensed NES game?

[Tempest]

Actual rarity depends on copies released correct? Surely someone can dig up that info.

Not always. Sometimes games have small print runs but for whatever reason they mostly end up in a warehouse somewhere only to be released years later. Then even though there's a tiny print run, everyone who wants one can get one because none were lost to the 'ravages of time' like they normally would have been.

Tempest

[Qixmaster]

Speaking of bad:



Who wrote that?

Because... that's not at all what happened.

You know, I noticed that I too knew it was wrong - misinformation that needs to be edited. Not all databases are perfect and stuff like that needs to be fixed. We gather information from online and sometimes the info doesn't translate over correctly.

I will get in contact with the dude in charge of the homebrew stuff and let him know how it went down with dur butter over the years.

[Qixmaster]

Yeah, but what's the 10th rarest licensed NES game?

Tie between Mario's Time Machine and Nigel Mansell. I'd also say that Ultimate Air Combat would be up there near the #10

[skaar]

You know, I noticed that I too knew it was wrong - misinformation that needs to be edited. Not all databases are perfect and stuff like that needs to be fixed. We gather information from online and sometimes the info doesn't translate over correctly.

I will get in contact with the dude in charge of the homebrew stuff and let him know how it went down with dur butter over the years.

I remember being kinda sad when the ACTUAL proto was found - ProgAce was just getting ready to release the one he'd made up (as far as I know, from scratch) and it overshadowed his release. The curse of 2k monies.

I've got my black BFA cart and I keep it wrapped in a pair of clean boxer shorts like it should be kept. <3

[Rob2600]

I remember being kinda sad when the ACTUAL proto was found - ProgAce was just getting ready to release the one he'd made up (as far as I know, from scratch) and it overshadowed his release.

No offense, but the homebrew version wasn't all that good.

[skaar]

No offense, but the homebrew version wasn't all that good.

Why would that offend?

[Bratwurst]

Why would that offend?

I'm not offended, and I did the graphics. In light of Prog having never written an NES game before and restricting it to a simple UNROM board it's a pretty solid effort though.

[GarrettCRW]

Port's Top 20 Reasons Why NA Sucks

Oh, there's been an addition to the list:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvWMmd0iiaI

[sfchakan]

I am completely done with that site. I don't think many of the members possess an average intelligence.

Here's a discussion from the site's forums that sprouted up today, in response to a female member being harassed because somehow naked pictures of her were passed around and she received constant harassment about them. The admin did the right thing, calling people out (but not naming them) and letting people know it's not ok. Some of the members, though, still don't get the message that it's supposedly not welcome there.

http://i.imgur.com/POgW6s.jpg (http://imgur.com/POgW6) http://i.imgur.com/Au6gms.jpg (http://imgur.com/Au6gm)

That's me ragequitting it and it's sister site. I don't want to deal with these people on a daily basis anymore. I don't want to have any business with those people from now on, which works great, because the last transaction I had on NA had me holding a box of broken hardware and out a chunk of money, with no help from the mods when I asked for it.

Also, LOL @ the response to port's video. Either people understood what it meant and became hostile, or they posted comments like "Posting a video which states females are not welcome, although intended as a joke, is offensive, and I'm sure I can speak for most, if not all, of the women here."

Thank god there are alternative classic gaming communities out there.

[skaar]

Well...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z4m4lnjxkY

[calthaer]

This thread hasn't been locked yet? It's killing my buzz here; I was hoping for a lock. If it's not butthurted ragewhining and insulting DP, it's schadenfreude.

[Aussie2B]

I honestly don't know much about Nintendo Age, but I wonder if it has ties to the NES forums I lurked around 99/00. I was reading the tsr's NES Archive forum and some others I can't remember by name, and I remember reading some pretty messed up stuff. I don't know if there were much of any women in the scene back then, at least not ones that let people know their gender. I remember one guy said something like "All female gamers are fat, lesbians, and/or freaks" and not only was there not a single person that gave him any grief over that comment but I'm pretty sure there were guys agreeing with him. Classic gaming forums have sure come a long way.

[GarrettCRW]

Wasn't |tsr constantly having issues with his message board, anyways? It was dead well before he abandoned the NES Archive, IIRC.

[Kitsune Sniper]

I am completely done with that site. I don't think many of the members possess an average intelligence.

Here's a discussion from the site's forums that sprouted up today, in response to a female member being harassed because somehow naked pictures of her were passed around and she received constant harassment about them. The admin did the right thing, calling people out (but not naming them) and letting people know it's not ok. Some of the members, though, still don't get the message that it's supposedly not welcome there.

http://i.imgur.com/POgW6s.jpg (http://imgur.com/POgW6) http://i.imgur.com/Au6gms.jpg (http://imgur.com/Au6gm)

That's me ragequitting it and it's sister site. I don't want to deal with these people on a daily basis anymore. I don't want to have any business with those people from now on, which works great, because the last transaction I had on NA had me holding a box of broken hardware and out a chunk of money, with no help from the mods when I asked for it.

Also, LOL @ the response to port's video. Either people understood what it meant and became hostile, or they posted comments like "Posting a video which states females are not welcome, although intended as a joke, is offensive, and I'm sure I can speak for most, if not all, of the women here."

Thank god there are alternative classic gaming communities out there.

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j238/foxhack/how_bad_this_comic_is.jpg

(Edit: This is in response to the people not getting it, not you leaving.)

[Ryaan1234]

I wonder how long it'll be before a "Top 20 Reasons Why Digital Press Sucks" thread shows up on Nintendo Age.

And to keep on topic maybe Panic Restaraunt? It's hard to tell rarity based on eBay supply and price, although I've never seen a copy in the wild.

[Aussie2B]

Wasn't |tsr constantly having issues with his message board, anyways? It was dead well before he abandoned the NES Archive, IIRC.

Yeah, that sounds familiar. I can't recall the reason as to why, though. Was it because of problems with the regulars or some kind of technical difficulties or something?

[PapaStu]

Whatever is going on over w/ NA regarding that harassment has NO PLACE either in this thread, or on our forums.


This thread lost it long ago, I gave people the chance to keep it clean, which kind of happened, only to have this brought back into play.

**lockerooni**