Does a NES top loader lock-out pirate Famicom carts?

[norkusa]

I have this pirate Contra Famicom cart that I'm trying to play in my top loader with a NES to Famicom converter I found in a Stack-Up cart. All I'm getting is a grey screen though. I know everything is plugged in right because I can get Stack-Up working. Can pirate Famicom carts even play on a top loader? I was able to play a pirate 190-in-1 NES cart on it, but I was thinking maybe Famicom pirates were different. Or maybe it's a dead cart. Anyone know?

[Aussie2B]

I use a top loader to play my Famicom carts. All the official carts I have work just fine, but I have the same exact problem with the one pirate cart I have. I'm guessing pirate carts are just poorly made with cheap parts, thus making them more likely to go kaput. If there is some other reason, I'd sure like to know too.

[norkusa]

Finally got it playing right after I posted. I guess they do work! All I did was take the board out and put it back in again...strange. Anyway, this is one strange Contra pirate. It's for the Famicom but it is based of the US version. Also lets you start the game with 1-of-4 weapons that you still retain after you die. Even has a stage select at the title screen. Another weird thing...to get the 30 men, you hold A+Start at the title screen.

[spoon]

I know that the convert and cart must be facing a certain way when connected. That was probably your problem.

[jerkov]

I'm going to have to agree with Spoon.....when I first tried to use a Stack-Up converter I had everything facing the wrong way too. I thought the Famicom game was broken or something, but it was just my stupidity.

I have a couple of pirate carts that work absolutely fine on my toploader (Street Fighter 3 and World Heroes), so no one should have a problem with them. One question I do have is do these carts last forever? Do they use EPROMs or anything else subject to bitrot? I'd hate to find out that these carts won't work one day, that Street Fighter 3 (well, it's really SF2) cart is really cool.

[sisko]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I am 99% positive that the Top Loader does not have a lockout chip. Only the toaster does.

[Bratwurst]

You are correct Senor Sisko, the top loader lacks a lockout. Alliteration ahoy!

However it has been documented by the ancients that certain carts of illegitimate repute won't work on the later models. NWC carts, Camerica carts, etc. So it would not be entirely out of the question for -some- pirate games to not work properly.

Even the toaster NES decks went through a few internal revisions in an effort by Nintendo to thwart unlicensed publishers.

[gamergary]

Most pirate games will work on the top loader unless they need something from a famicom to get it to work. (Special sound chip carts may not work)

[portnoyd]

The main problem with pirate carts and using that Stackup converter is some pirate games won't fit physically onto it. All of them will work though.

dave

[norkusa]

The main problem with pirate carts and using that Stackup converter is some pirate games won't fit physically onto it. All of them will work though.

dave

Yeah, that was the problem with this one. I actually had to take to board out from the cartridge case so it'd fit in the converter.

Now that I think about it more, I probably did have the cart facing in the wrong direction. :embarrassed: I could have sworn it was in the same direction Stack Up was.