View Full Version : SNES Bootlegs...or legit?
Zthun
05-06-2013, 12:27 AM
So I sold the vast majority of my SNES library with the exception of a few titles that I'm going to sell soon. However, when I was selling my carts, I found out that some of the games in my library were bootlegs that I bought at flea markets. Sure enough, I opened up the carts, took one look at the boards and could tell instantly that they were not legit. My copies of Secret of Mana, Lufia, and Marvel Super Heroes - War of the Gems were fakes :( .
I checked the remaining games and separated out any obvious fakes from real ones, but there's 3 games I'm not sure of. Can anyone help me?
SUPER MARIO RPG
I'm pretty sure this one is legit. The only thing I find suspicious is that the front of the cart says 'Made in Mexico' instead of 'Assembled in Mexico.'
Front
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p182/rockmanhero2003/Sale/smrpg_front.jpg
Back
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p182/rockmanhero2003/Sale/smrpg_back.jpg
Board
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p182/rockmanhero2003/Sale/smrpg_board.jpg
Jurassic Park
Another Mexico reprint. I think it's legit cause the Nintendo logo is on the board, but I'm not sure.
Front
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p182/rockmanhero2003/Sale/jp_front.jpg
Back
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p182/rockmanhero2003/Sale/jp_back.jpg
Board
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p182/rockmanhero2003/Sale/jp_board.jpg
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
The discoloration on the back and the lack of the nintendo logo on the board leads me to believe this is fake.
Front
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p182/rockmanhero2003/Sale/umk3_front.jpg
Back
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p182/rockmanhero2003/Sale/umk3_back.jpg
Board
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p182/rockmanhero2003/Sale/umk3_board.jpg
Any help is appreciated.
Pikointeractive
05-06-2013, 12:34 AM
If you think those might be bootlegs, maaaay be the ones that you judged as bootlegs, weren't bootlegs at all.
Kitsune Sniper
05-06-2013, 12:34 AM
All three are legit.
The code on the Mortal Kombat board is listed at http://cgfm2.emuviews.com/txt/snestech.txt .
Tanooki
05-06-2013, 12:38 AM
I second that, they're all real. I've never seen a fake SA1 chip so Mario is fine. The second one is a reissue by Majesco of a game that had been out before already. The third is just a standard board, they weren't all the same color of green. MX is a chip maker Nintendo still uses for their handheld games. The greening of that sticker I think UV or something else got onto it and wrecked it is all. Also on that JP cart, made in mexico is another tell for a majesco game too or just something later issue in the SNES life as earlier things were done out of Japan.
Zthun
05-06-2013, 12:58 AM
Awesome, thanks for the help guys, and thanks for the descriptions Tanooki.
If you think those might be bootlegs, maaaay be the ones that you judged as bootlegs, weren't bootlegs at all.
Yeah, I considered that, but I had sold Lufia and it was returned as a fake. My Secret of Mana cart got flagged as a fake immediately on eBay and I took the auction down before anyone bought it. My War of the Gems cart has almost the same board as my Mana and Lufia cart, the label looks like it was printed with an inkjet printer, and the color of the cart is wrong.
RP2A03
05-06-2013, 01:16 AM
Do SNES bootlegs even use anything other than glop tops?
Gameguy
05-06-2013, 02:03 AM
Yeah, I considered that, but I had sold Lufia and it was returned as a fake. My Secret of Mana cart got flagged as a fake immediately on eBay and I took the auction down before anyone bought it. My War of the Gems cart has almost the same board as my Mana and Lufia cart, the label looks like it was printed with an inkjet printer, and the color of the cart is wrong.
I'm curious to see what those looked like, if you still have them.
Pikointeractive
05-06-2013, 02:25 AM
I'm curious to see what those looked like, if you still have them.
I have glob top pirates, eprom pirates and flash memories pirates. All of them are the oldschool pirates.
Mind a pic of the boards of your Mana, lufia and Ware of gems!?
Kitsune Sniper
05-07-2013, 04:29 PM
Pirate SNES games with flash memory?
Wouldn't that have been too expensive to produce at the time?
Zthun
05-11-2013, 03:00 PM
I have glob top pirates, eprom pirates and flash memories pirates. All of them are the oldschool pirates.
Mind a pic of the boards of your Mana, lufia and Ware of gems!?
Sorry for the late reply. Was busy this week.
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p182/rockmanhero2003/Sale/100_1534.jpg
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p182/rockmanhero2003/Sale/100_1535.jpg
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p182/rockmanhero2003/Sale/100_1536.jpg
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p182/rockmanhero2003/Sale/100_1537.jpg
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p182/rockmanhero2003/Sale/100_1538.jpg
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p182/rockmanhero2003/Sale/100_1539.jpg
badinsults
05-11-2013, 07:59 PM
Those are definitely pirates. The poor quality of labels and the non-Nintendo PCB boards are clear giveaways.
Atarileaf
05-11-2013, 09:00 PM
Those are definitely pirates. The poor quality of labels and the non-Nintendo PCB boards are clear giveaways.
If someone is buying online I don't see how knowing what the PCB's look like is going to help. As for the labels, those all look correct to me when comparing to other pictures online or ebay. What EXACTLY makes those labels a dead giveaway, they don't like poor to me.
Zthun
05-11-2013, 09:06 PM
If someone is buying online I don't see how knowing what the PCB's look like is going to help. As for the labels, those all look correct to me when comparing to other pictures online or ebay. What EXACTLY makes those labels a dead giveaway, they don't like poor to me.
The Secret of Mana is the most obvious. The placement of the text is the giveaway. Look at the bottom of the label, the Super Nintendo Logo is cut off and everything is shifted down.
I don't know what gives the Lufia cart away. It looked legit to me before I had it returned to me, but I didn't open it up.
The War of the Gems label is not obvious mostly because you're looking at a digital photo. The actual label feels like it was printed on an inkjet sticker and the quality is as such.
MoxManiac
05-11-2013, 10:07 PM
The Secret of Mana is the most obvious. The placement of the text is the giveaway. Look at the bottom of the label, the Super Nintendo Logo is cut off and everything is shifted down.
I don't know what gives the Lufia cart away. It looked legit to me before I had it returned to me, but I didn't open it up.
The War of the Gems label is not obvious mostly because you're looking at a digital photo. The actual label feels like it was printed on an inkjet sticker and the quality is as such.
Actually, I'd say the biggest giveaway is the cart design; all three of those games were issued with the later "ramp" design as opposed to the "slot" design that the ones you pictured have. Though some games have had both, i'm quite sure those three were ramp-only.
wiggyx
05-11-2013, 10:36 PM
^^^ that, and the shell design is off ever-so-slightly. The lock slot is the giveaway. I'll have to post a comparison shot when not on my phone...
SparTonberry
05-11-2013, 11:42 PM
Yes, I'm fairly certain the "ramp" design came into use around the spring of 1993.
I can remember renting Yoshi's Cookie right after it came out (definitely before the summer), and I can remember I just thought it looked strange the first time I saw it.
Excluding Majesco re-releases (primarily kid/family stuff like Monopoly, Disney/Warner/Nickelodeon) and Player's Choice, the only games I can recall getting released in both were Super Mario World and StarFox. Maybe SimCity, but I don't know if later copies were just PC and ESRB-rated variants.
Gameguy
05-11-2013, 11:46 PM
Yes, I'm fairly certain the "ramp" design came into use around the spring of 1993.
I can remember renting Yoshi's Cookie right after it came out (definitely before the summer), and I can remember I just thought it looked strange the first time I saw it.
Excluding Majesco re-releases (primarily kid/family stuff like Monopoly, Disney/Warner/Nickelodeon) and Player's Choice, the only games I can recall getting released in both were Super Mario World and StarFox. Maybe SimCity, but I don't know if later copies were just PC and ESRB-rated variants.
There's also Super Scope 6, I'm sure the carts came in both versions.
aryoshi
05-12-2013, 03:29 AM
Actually, I'd say the biggest giveaway is the cart design; all three of those games were issued with the later "ramp" design as opposed to the "slot" design that the ones you pictured have. Though some games have had both, i'm quite sure those three were ramp-only.
Yeah, that was my thing. I have Secret of Mana myself and it, too, is ramped. Definitely fake, I can tell by the labels too, they look very thin and cheap, unlike the normal legit stickers.
Atarileaf
05-12-2013, 08:14 AM
So how prevelant are counterfeit SNES games? I'd really never heard of or thought about this, ever. Now I'm concerned if I have legit games or not. Granted I don't have many and my two rarest games are Space megaforce and Mr. Do and based on what I'm seeing, here and other sites that list/show what to look for, from the outside everything looks correct. Are there certain games that people are counterfeiting or is this across the board?
I can't imagine people counterfeiting ms pacman or super off road but who knows.
The MK3 must have had a rear shell swap if it is legit. Any "assembled in Mexico", aka Majesco re-releases, had the embossed plastic rear shell instead of a sticker label.
theclaw
05-12-2013, 10:43 AM
Check out this SNES shape list for ideas.
http://www.nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=5&threadid=81640
There's also Super Scope 6, I'm sure the carts came in both versions.
I think ramp Super Scope 6 is exclusive to Canada.
Kitsune Sniper
05-12-2013, 11:12 AM
The font on those labels is off.
The "Licensed by" text in War of the Gems, compare it to this (http://www.mobygames.com/game/snes/marvel-super-heroes-in-war-of-the-gems/cover-art/gameCoverId,78919/), it's not right.
wiggyx
05-12-2013, 11:22 AM
The MK3 must have had a rear shell swap if it is legit. Any "assembled in Mexico", aka Majesco re-releases, had the embossed plastic rear shell instead of a sticker label.
No, that's not true. Many made in Mexico carts still had a paper label on the back. Just the very newest carts switched over to the molded-in label.
Also, getting back to the lock slot, it should be textured the same as the rest of the cart, not smooth like with those bootlegs.
BetaWolf47
05-12-2013, 05:34 PM
For the labels, the pink square on the upper right is too far down. Plus, the color is pretty far off the mark on that Lufia label.
Gameguy
05-12-2013, 11:29 PM
I think ramp Super Scope 6 is exclusive to Canada.
That could be, I'll try to check the part numbers at some point if I can get to my box of spare carts. I know I have a bunch of them in both versions.
Definitely fake, I can tell by the labels too, they look very thin and cheap, unlike the normal legit stickers.
The font on those labels is off.
The "Licensed by" text in War of the Gems, compare it to this (http://www.mobygames.com/game/snes/marvel-super-heroes-in-war-of-the-gems/cover-art/gameCoverId,78919/), it's not right.
For the labels, the pink square on the upper right is too far down. Plus, the color is pretty far off the mark on that Lufia label.
Whoever is making these just needs to get advice from Tanooki so the labels can be perfect copies, just put the boards in the correct cases first and they'll be good to go.
Urzu402
05-13-2013, 04:02 AM
Whoever is making these just needs to get advice from Tanooki so the labels can be perfect copies, just put the boards in the correct cases first and they'll be good to go.
No they don't, the last thing people need is knockoffs floating around that are almost indistinguishable from the real thing.
Tanooki
05-13-2013, 12:07 PM
Whoever is making these just needs to get advice from Tanooki so the labels can be perfect copies, just put the boards in the correct cases first and they'll be good to go.
There's always got to be some asshole troll in every group eh? I hadn't even gone there with it, but you had to. Grow up. Fakes are fakes and you damn well know it as those set of 3 are in that one post with pictures.
wiggyx
05-13-2013, 01:01 PM
Because we all know Tanooki supports pirate SNES games :rollseyes:
Tanooki
05-13-2013, 01:16 PM
Arr yeah matey. :P :ass:
Pikointeractive
05-13-2013, 05:37 PM
No they don't, the last thing people need is knockoffs floating around that are almost indistinguishable from the real thing.
I know those fake boards, those are an old design. I even found the Schematics a while back.
JLukas
05-15-2013, 05:15 PM
War of the Gems? WTF, the real cart sells for only 10 bucks...
dementia_
05-15-2013, 08:32 PM
War of the Gems? WTF, the real cart sells for only 10 bucks...
I imagine the fake was probably manufactured around the time it was still a current release
No, that's not true. Many made in Mexico carts still had a paper label on the back. Just the very newest carts switched over to the molded-in label.
All "made in Mexico" carts have paper rear labels. All "assembled in Mexico" carts have embossed rear shells.
FABombjoy
05-16-2013, 09:40 AM
I am honestly surprised that Majesco used Elna caps. They must have been salvaged from something else :D
wiggyx
05-16-2013, 11:15 AM
All "made in Mexico" carts have paper rear labels. All "assembled in Mexico" carts have embossed rear shells.
Ah, nice tidbit there. Thanks :)