Bubble Bobble RIP

[MyTurnToPlay]

I purchased a copy of Bubble Bobble for the nes off ebay a while ago and was never able to get it to work.

I attributed it to a dirty 72 pin connector and forgot about it.

Recently I replaced the 72 pin connector on my nes and now all my games play, except of course that old copy of Bubble Bobble. I've cleaned the cartridge twice now, but still no luck. Below are a few pics of what appears on the screen. I've tried jiggling the cartridge in the slot, the old blowing trick, and all manner of NES video game voodoo but still nothing.

Is my copy of Bubble Bobble dead? Should I let this game RIP? Or does some small possibility that it may yet work exist?

[armonigann]

I purchased a copy of Bubble Bobble for the nes off ebay a while ago and was never able to get it to work.

I attributed it to a dirty 72 pin connector and forgot about it.

Recently I replaced the 72 pin connector on my nes and now all my games play, except of course that old copy of Bubble Bobble. I've cleaned the cartridge twice now, but still no luck. Below are a few pics of what appears on the screen. I've tried jiggling the cartridge in the slot, the old blowing trick, and all manner of NES video game voodoo but still nothing.

Is my copy of Bubble Bobble dead? Should I let this game RIP? Or does some small possibility that it may yet work exist?

Send it my way. Out of 1k+ games I've cleaned, only 1 would not fire up. Super Tecmo Bowl.

[Buapo]

Do you have one of those bits to take apart the cart?

If so, you can sand the contacts down with some SUPER FINE grit sand paper. The stuff that I used was for wetsanding paint on a car. It feels almost smooth.

Take the cart apart, then sand each side of the contacts. This will take any oxidation off. But again, the sandpaper has to be a LARGE grit number. Mine might have been 2000 grit.

Then, just clean the dust off with any method you're used to, and it should work fine.

[mrmark0673]

I have a complete NTSC licensed NES set and have countless NES games come through my hands and I have only had one that had what appeared to be permanent graphical errors. Clean the crap out of it another half dozen times before you quick, these suckers are tough to ruin.

[MyTurnToPlay]

See, that's the thing, I HAVE cleaned the crap out of this game, TWICE now. I open up the cartridge and use my trusty method of Brasso and a 50/50 mix of 70% Isopropyl Alcohol and water.

The connectors are absolutely spotless. No corrosion, no marks, nothing. It's actually the cleanest game I own....the connectors look brand new that's how shiny and clean they are.

I'll post a picture of the connectors in a bit so you guys can see. But I fear my copy of Bubble Bobble may have reached the end of the road

[Gooch3008]

Don't give up! Bub n' Bob are counting on you!

[Gameguy]

Check the solder around the chips inside the cartridge, maybe one is cracked. If not, one of the chips could be dead.

[Dr. Dib]

Is the game dead, or is this a message that you should create a Youtube LP of trying to play your broken Bubble Bobble?

Yeah it's probably just busted.I'm no expert on these things, but I'd guess it is just some chip or crack causing the game to no longer work.

Alternatively it could be a PAL copy and your NES still has the lockout chip. Of course I have no idea if it was even released in Europe though. I also don't know what the lockout chip does when a PAL game is inserted in a NTSC NES.

[MyTurnToPlay]

Here are the pictures I promised. Sorry for the poor quality, I'm using my camera phone to take these pictures. Just to clarify, the pictures above of my t.v. are what I see when I put in my Bubble Bobble cart and power on the NES. There's no sound, nothing, it immediately loads but always goes to that weird screen.

As you can see, the connectors are all spotless. No corrosion, nothing. I'm showing you guys both sides to see if you spot anything fishy.

Sorry also for the large picture size, but I felt it was necessary so that you guys could get as good a view as possible






hmm....so after a more careful examination, I did notice one suspicious thing. I'm not sure if it has anything to do with the Bubble Bobble cart not working, but I'll let more expert people be the judge. I happened to hold the pcb up to the light and I noticed that one tiny little hole is missing solder. The yellow arrows show normal holes covered with solder, but there's one hole that you can completely see through because its missing it's solder(the red arrow).



And another view of the hole.



Is that hole the culprit? Are there other more sinister forces at work here? I refuse to give up on the game, and I'm hoping one of you guys will diagnosis the problem.

thanks

[Gameguy]

Is the hole where a pin from the chip is in? If so, it needs some solder.

[Rickstilwell1]

I'll quote Error's twin brother from another city in Zelda II. "If all else fails, use fire."

On a more serious note if all else fails, if you don't have an NES 2 toploader as well, send it to someone who does (like me) and there is a chance it just won't work on your particular NES. I have had certain NES games that would not work on one system but would work fine on another. And all of the systems were clean and usually worked with all other games.

[SF78]

Are any of the chips legs black or darkened? That usually gives away a burned chip. Other than reflowing all of them, there really isn't much to do. Except try with another deck as previously suggested.

[Classicgamesdepot]

I just wanted to chime in and say that I recently had a Bubble Bobble cart not work on me.

Possibly this title has more compatibility issues than other cartridges. As previously stated, it is rare for carts to go dead, but unfortunately some of them do.

I tested my bubble bobble cart on an FC II mobile so I am hoping that if I test it on another deck it will work. The contacts are also spotless.

[jb143]

On the hole that's missing solder...Is there a trace running to it? How about on the other side of the board? It could be a via which connects a trace on the top of the board with one on the bottom. The wikipedia link has pics you can compare it to...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Via_(electronics)

If it looks like there should be a connection there, you can stick a piece of wire through the hole and solder it to both sides. Then cut off the excess wire.

Or it could be nothing.

My Bubble Bobble is one of the few NES cartridges I have that really needs fiddled with to get to work even after multiple cleanings.

[MyTurnToPlay]

Is the hole where a pin from the chip is in? If so, it needs some solder.

No, all the pins for all chips have solder. Everything on the board looks excellent, except for that small hole that has no solder, but like I said, I'm not sure that has anything to do with it(I'm starting to think it doesn't).

It might just be a compatibility issue. The game loads up immediately, but with the weirdness I showed in the first pics.

*Update I borrowed my friend's copy of Bubble Bobble and it works. I was comparing both carts, and I never knew that there were 2 versions of the game released. They even have different shaped pcbs.

This is the copy I own, with the white seal shown by the red arrow.


And this is my friend's copy, with the black Nintendo seal.


So I'm still stumped. I was hoping both copies would be identical to compare all the insides and stuff. I don't know what's going on here

[jammajup]

That hole may not be used on that game but they use the same pcb for other titles were it may be used,pcb looks clean,looks just just a logic fault to me like bad ROM game code.
Good luck with that anyway

[rbudrick]

You could always individually dump the rom chips' contents. If one doesn't read, that's the problem. Also, use a multimeter to test every pin to make sure they all have a connection to the leads they connect to.

Are there any resisters or whatever on the board? Any component could go bad, so test them all.

-Rob

[MyTurnToPlay]

I have a complete NTSC licensed NES set and have countless NES games come through my hands and I have only had one that had what appeared to be permanent graphical errors. Clean the crap out of it another half dozen times before you quick, these suckers are tough to ruin.

Did this again, put it in, and still no luck. Like always, it immediately goes to that garbled weird screen. Then I did this:

Do you have one of those bits to take apart the cart?

If so, you can sand the contacts down with some SUPER FINE grit sand paper. The stuff that I used was for wetsanding paint on a car. It feels almost smooth.

Take the cart apart, then sand each side of the contacts. This will take any oxidation off. But again, the sandpaper has to be a LARGE grit number. Mine might have been 2000 grit.

Then, just clean the dust off with any method you're used to, and it should work fine.

and not surprisingly, it still didn't work So now I'm considering doing as my last resort, doing this:

You could always individually dump the rom chips' contents. If one doesn't read, that's the problem. Also, use a multimeter to test every pin to make sure they all have a connection to the leads they connect to.

Are there any resisters or whatever on the board? Any component could go bad, so test them all.

but I don't have the equipment nor the expertise I dunno guys, this thing may be dead. I keep getting that jumbled screen. I can see my reflection from the pins now, that's how super clean they've gotten. Even if it's broken, I don't think I could ever part with this cart. I feel like who knows, maybe someday, after WW3 against the chinese, WW4 against the aliens, among the ruins of some bombed out city, my copy might be the last one remaining.

I'll still take whatever advice/suggestions you guys have though

[rbudrick]

Did this again, put it in, and still no luck. Like always, it immediately goes to that garbled weird screen. Then I did this:



and not surprisingly, it still didn't work So now I'm considering doing as my last resort, doing this:



but I don't have the equipment nor the expertise I dunno guys, this thing may be dead. I keep getting that jumbled screen. I can see my reflection from the pins now, that's how super clean they've gotten. Even if it's broken, I don't think I could ever part with this cart. I feel like who knows, maybe someday, after WW3 against the chinese, WW4 against the aliens, among the ruins of some bombed out city, my copy might be the last one remaining.

I'll still take whatever advice/suggestions you guys have though

Buy a $20 multimeter from WalMart or Radio Shack something. You'd probably use it many times over the years. They pay for themselves in saved frustration.

-Rob

[Atarileaf]

I also have a Bubble Bobble with the white NES seal on it. It works from time to time and its contacts are in pristine condition, but its the hardest cart in my collection to get working on any deck (toaster or top) that I own.