NES ZELDA III PROTOTYPE??????????????

**Nicola** · 10-19-2005, 06:59 AM

Ok, I will post it also on ebay forum, but this must be seen by everyone. Is this real????????????

http://cgi.ebay.com/Nintendo-Zelda-I...QQcmdZViewItem

The seller doesn't look like a videogame seller. The label looks real. I am confused, really confused.

**poloplayr** · 10-19-2005, 07:02 AM

IF Zelda 3 was even considered for a NES release I have a feeling we've known it by now.

**Jumpman Jr.** · 10-19-2005, 07:03 AM

Hmmm.. that's really interesting.
He seems to know alot about NES games:
" The pins on the bottom look pretty clean, and it's a 60-pin game (there is that gap in the middle like lots of other NES games). This is a cart-only auction, there was never a box made for this (that I know of...)."

But doesn't have a NES? Can't be tested? Seems fishy to me but still interesting as hell.

**Nicola** · 10-19-2005, 07:20 AM

The word "prototype" in the title...but a 3 days only auction...
He states that he is sure it's pretty rare and then he writes one-of-a-kind...
Own a piece of history, but, since he can't test it, sold as is...

I asked for pics of backside, inside (if the screws are the standard ones for nes titles and he can open them...well, also if inside there is a tkeprom board i can't believe it's real) and close up of the label.

**WanganRunner** · 10-19-2005, 07:32 AM

lol, it's still at 5 bucks.

I'm watching the auction though, if no one else decides to bite, I probably will.

**Darth Sensei** · 10-19-2005, 07:37 AM

Does anybody know????????????????????????????????????

**Lady Jaye** · 10-19-2005, 07:50 AM

Maybe rbudrick could ask Ben Smith -- if there was such a thing as a Zelda III project for the NES, he probably would have heard about it...

**Ulticron** · 10-19-2005, 08:10 AM

WanganRunner Posted:

lol, it's still at 5 bucks.

I'm watching the auction though, if no one else decides to bite, I probably will.

If you get it let us know whether you got the real deal or if it was just a hoax, and if possible some screenshots please.

The Auction Guy on Ebay:

The reason I spent $20 on it and i'm starting the auction at $5US? Because I have no doubt it'll hit 5 times what I spent on it. I was practically laughing when I bought it, this is a relic among video game collectors! Own a piece of history! Don't hesitate! This won't show up again any time soon! = )

A bit arrogant on his part if you ask me, it's almost like he's bragging about shafting the buyer before anyone even buys it. Also the comment about it not showing up again anytime soon, if it's a prototype shouldn't it never show up again unless the owner decides to sell it?

**poloplayr** · 10-19-2005, 08:29 AM

Originally Posted by Lady Jaye

Maybe rbudrick could ask Ben Smith -- if there was such a thing as a Zelda III project for the NES, he probably would have heard about it...

Please enlighten me...who's Ben Smith?

**Lady Jaye** · 10-19-2005, 08:35 AM

Ben Smith is a former Nintendo Game Play Counsellor. He posted a few times in the past few months.

See this thread: http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=66125

**zerohero** · 10-19-2005, 08:36 AM

Originally Posted by poloplayr

Originally Posted by Lady Jaye

Maybe rbudrick could ask Ben Smith -- if there was such a thing as a Zelda III project for the NES, he probably would have heard about it...

Please enlighten me...who's Ben Smith?

Old Ben,

That stupid wizard up in the Mountains!? You stay away from him Luke!

**Slimedog** · 10-19-2005, 08:40 AM

Blatent scam. If he knows so much about NES games and he know what a rare item it is, he would know that verifying its legitimacy with one or two screen shots could net him thousands of dollars. He's just banking on peoples' curiosity overcoming their common sense and he is probably right.

**jajaja** · 10-19-2005, 08:52 AM

Interresting. Maybe its a homemade cart with the Zelda 3 (SNES version) on it. I've heard that someone ported Zelda 3 SNES to NES. They have done Street Fighter 2 and Super Mario World so porting Zelda 3 shouldnt be impossible.

**Li Wang** · 10-19-2005, 09:04 AM

I especially love all the attention given to getting all the copyright symbols just right on this particular hastily typed up prototype label. You always need those on stuff that's strictly for internal use only, kept in a triple sealed vault that's constantly guarded by an army of pitbulls backed up with laser beam installations on the wall and a few bear traps just for good measure. Also: good thing NOA distinguished it as the NTSC version to further guide their hapless employees. Everyone knows the dev teams at NOJ often loved to recode and send them things in PAL format years before a PAL version would ever be needed. Just for shits and giggles, you know?

Hoaxes like this can be fun, though. Remember "Pitfall 3"?

Looks like the guy was trying to copy the format of those Euro prototypes. I wonder what Zelda 1 hack he burned to the EPROMS...

**rbudrick** · 10-19-2005, 09:06 AM

I'm sure if he is truly positive it is a one of a kind, he would have tested it. Otherwise, how can he be positive he himself isn't being hoaxed? Flawed logic on his part.

Also, with the SFC already out in Japan by 1990, I would find this very unlikely.

FAKE!

-Rob

**syd** · 10-19-2005, 09:15 AM

I agree. There's no way this thing is the real deal. I mean if it was so rare why would the guy at the flea market sell it for only $20? At the very best it's just a port of the SNES version to the NES, and I'm not even sure if that ROM is floating around.

**Chronodriftersx** · 10-19-2005, 09:29 AM

whats odd is he'll throw in a nintendo branded dust cover for an extra $1 the question is what's he doing with one of those?

**Dangerboy** · 10-19-2005, 09:32 AM

Originally Posted by syd

I agree. There's no way this thing is the real deal. I mean if it was so rare why would the guy at the flea market sell it for only $20? At the very best it's just a port of the SNES version to the NES, and I'm not even sure if that ROM is floating around.

Well, I can at least admit to having a real score like that.

I found two real prototypes of NES Indiana Jones / Last Crusade and Goal 2 at the local swap-o-rama from a mexican fellow who always had boxes of nes stuff. He probably just bought stuff from garage sales etc. I bought them for $6 total, had them confirmed, and sold them off for $250. The seller had no idea, he just thought they were damaged carts (since they had the roms jutting out).

My way of telling this fake Zelda one? No one noticed the label is the *exact same* shape, layout, font, etc as his actual typed out description in the auction? LIke he just cut and paste from Word into the auction after he hit print.

I find it hard to believe someone would go the distance to match up the description that well.

Also, look closely at the label. Weren't those real versions the peel off labels like you'd use for mailing larger envelopes? In the auciton it looks like it's a piece of paper haphazardly glued on.

Jason

**ProgrammingAce** · 10-19-2005, 09:41 AM

Oh, come on... $12 bucks for this thing? Count me in! If this were real, someone out there would have seen promo literature for it while it was in development. There would probably have been some mcdonalds tie in, comercials, the works. Nintendo power would have been talking about it for months. If the game even got to a remotely playable state, everyone and their mother would have heard about it.

Be that as it may, I'll pay $12 just to be sure. If I win, i'll post back here.

EDIT: Oh well, bidding went up over $12, too rich for my blood.

**Xexyz** · 10-19-2005, 10:33 AM

*Sigh*, $142.50...

Somebody's getting shafted!

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