Famicom newbie ? - Clamshell cases for Famicom games?

[flywheels]

I received in the mail today my boxed copy of Namco's Dragon Buster II ($5, good deal?) for the Famicom (along w/ some other games) and was surprised to see it in a small black hard plastic clamshell type case. I've noticed other Famicom games though were sold in regular cardboard boxes like the old NES games. Does anyone know how many games were released in the clamshell type cases? Was it certain game companies or were games released after a certain year packaged this way?

I've got a Famicom system enroute to me and I'd like to pick up a few more games. If the majority of the games were cardboard boxed, them I'm fine buying loose carts. Just like to know before I start to plop down my hard earned cash.

I would certainly appreciate whatever help I can get. Thanks!

[16-bit]

I received in the mail today my boxed copy of Namco's Dragon Buster II ($5, good deal?) for the Famicom (along w/ some other games) and was surprised to see it in a small black hard plastic clamshell type case. I've noticed other Famicom games though were sold in regular cardboard boxes like the old NES games. Does anyone know how many games were released in the clamshell type cases? Was it certain game companies or were games released after a certain year packaged this way?

I've got a Famicom system enroute to me and I'd like to pick up a few more games. If the majority of the games were cardboard boxed, them I'm fine buying loose carts. Just like to know before I start to plop down my hard earned cash.

I would certainly appreciate whatever help I can get. Thanks!

As far as I know Namco was the only consistant company that released games in the hard cases. Koei also did a few as did Taito on at least one title (kyukyoku Harikiri Stadum).

If you modify the case, loose carts fit cassete cases like a charm.

[Ed Oscuro]

Huh, the Taito game is a new one on me. I can certainly vouch for the others...haven't seen any others that I remember in hard cases outside some Koei RPGs and many Namco games (Power Blazer, SD Splatterhouse, the Devil World type game, etc.)

As for Dragon Buster II...I didn't know there was a sequel to the original title, nice! Complete FC games of most any stripe are hard to come by in good shape, boxed or unboxed. Definitely not bad, especially by eBay standards.

BTW 16-bit: sorta pissed that I didn't get that Forgotten Worlds + AVE 3 pad boxset, didn't have the money for it though =( If you find another I'm definitely in the market for it. Will say that Super Ninja Kun is one I've been looking for as well.

[flywheels]

If you modify the case, loose carts fit cassete cases like a charm.

Do you just break the small tabs that normally go thru the 2 holes on the cassette? Please let me know what to do to make the carts fit...I definately want to protect any loose carts that I pick up.

[delafro]

Just to clarify, the earliest Namco Famicom offerings came in very small, basically cart-size standard cardboard boxes. I know Pac-Land is that way for a fact, so I'm talking probably only '84-'85 games here.

[spoon]

I have three baseball titles by Taito and four Baseball titles by Namco that came in those cases.

[Ed Oscuro]

Oops: Power Blazer is a Taito title. Not Namco. *squersh*

[Lord Contaminous]

Akira on Famicom, also by Taito is in one of those cases.

I happen to own one Namco game that has that myself. DDS Megami Tensei II to be exact.

[Ed Oscuro]

Ah, I was wondering if that was one of the various hard shell case games. So the series moved from Namco to Atlus? I'm curious as to how that worked out...I dimly recall seeing something about that but I remember no specifics.

[geelw]

there are something like 15 or more different box variants for the famicom, fron simple cardboard boxes, to double boxed games, and a few different plastic cases from different companies. there were also at LEAST twice as many cartridge shapes and variants, lol. unlike most other consoles, there was no uniform size stated as "official" by nintendo, which led to all the creativity. and when you start seeing some of the really oddball stuff (some of the HUGE jaleco carts with their plastic dust covers that are almost impossible to remove at first, the almost a big enix carts, some of the konami stuff- salamamder came in a see-thru blue cart!, replicant for the fds came in a plastic pencil case typre sleeve with a manga manual, etc...)

[Ed Oscuro]

replicant for the fds came in a plastic pencil case typre sleeve with a manga manual, etc...)
Different from a standard FDS game?

[geelw]

replicant for the fds came in a plastic pencil case typre sleeve with a manga manual, etc...)
Different from a standard FDS game?

yup- it's one of those omake deals. the disk case is the same size, but the outer casing was this oversize thing. also, there's a game called galaxy odyssey or something like that that came in a big cardboard box with a soundtrack cassette and a larger than usual manual (the game was a rpg set in space)...

g.

[Lord Contaminous]

So the series moved from Namco to Atlus? I'm curious as to how that worked out...I dimly recall seeing something about that but I remember no specifics.

Well, yeah it's either that Namco made the FC Megaten games themselves......

Or Atlus (who prolly started off very little back then) made them, and did the strategy of letting a widely known developer (who was Namco) do the distributing to draw consumers in just cause it said Namco. It's almost like what Capcom of Japan and Squaresoft USA did with Breath of Fire 1.

[Ed Oscuro]

Galaxy Odyssey...rings a bell. I'll look for it.

I think you're right, Lord C., I'll have to check into that sometime.

[Spartacus]

My copy of Super Xevious is in a clamshell case. I'm guessing that Namco in Japanese is spelled Namcot? The thing that strikes me about the box is that it opens from left to right. I've only noticed that on one other game and that was Super Fantasy Zone for the Megadrive. Opened left to right and that box was a mini clamshell as well.

[Lord Contaminous]

Heh the Japanese and their reverse lifestyle. Right to left.

[geelw]

My copy of Super Xevious is in a clamshell case. I'm guessing that Namco in Japanese is spelled Namcot? The thing that strikes me about the box is that it opens from left to right. I've only noticed that on one other game and that was Super Fantasy Zone for the Megadrive. Opened left to right and that box was a mini clamshell as well.

actually...no. namcot seems to be just what the company called its home games division until about 1993 or 94... don't ask me why, although i vaguely remember reading a few years ago why they added that "t" at the end...

[16-bit]

Batman(by Sunsoft) also has a hard clamshelll case.

[Dimitri]

The thing that strikes me about the box is that it opens from left to right. I've only noticed that on one other game and that was Super Fantasy Zone for the Megadrive. Opened left to right and that box was a mini clamshell as well.

Actually, all Sunsoft small-box MD games came like that, which is to say all Sunsoft games except Panorama Cotton.

It should be safe to say that Taito used the clamshells on a lot of their FC games, I've seen Bubble Bobble 2 and Flipull in them as well.

Here's a clamshell Bubble Bobble 2:
http://img121.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/2/4/5/7/blue_submarine56-img600x450-1104816315p1010153_1_.jpg

And here's one of those wacky Jaleco boxes:
http://img49.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/2/9/9/3/iibinbokun-img600x450-1081619858dscf0569.jpg

[Gunstar_Hero UK]

Hey, i collect the namco clamshell famicom games. I have 11 as of now. I tried to make a complete list of them a while back but lost interest when it went over 50 games. :/

[geelw]

here's a link to some of the different box sizes (plus a shot of my twin famicom for good measure):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v495/geelw/gregstuff018.jpg

-enjoy!

g.