Early Famicom (pre-Super Mario Bros.)

[Gunstar Green]

So, prfsnl_gmr mentioned collecting these. I think grabbing the NES versions of all the ones released in the US would be cool, and Famicom for all the Japanese exclusives (obvi).

But holy hell was I shocked at some of these prices. Donkey Kong is now a $50 game?! Donkey Kong Jr. Math and Stack-Up teeter close to $100 each? Really now? Damn son. In contrast the Japanese exclusive are like $2-$8 a pop.

I better start saving some dough.

Yeah you're better off going all Fami if you want to collect them at this point. A lot of NES collectors like having a full "Black Box" set and it's driven up the price of a lot of these games. I don't even like NES Donkey Kong that much personally.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Growing up I had the DK/DKJR/MB arcade cabs at local pizza shops and the games were always available to rent in my hometown so I never through to actually buy them.

[Gunstar Green]

The Donkey Kong Classics version is still cheap and includes Jr. if you want to go that route.

Mario Bros. is around $20 but it's still way more than I'd want to pay for it.

[prfsnl_gmr]

IMO, only a few of the original "pixel art label" games are really "must haves" for the system. They are:

Baseball
Balloon Fight
Excitebike
Kung Fu
Pro Wrestling
Kid Icarus
Rad Racer

The rest either aren't that good (e.g., Urban Champion, Volleyball, etc.) or are available in a subsequent, less expensive release (e.g., Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Super Mario Bros., etc.).

[BoneSnapDeez]

Less expensive you say? This is my copy of Balloon Fight.

[Tanooki]

Have to agree, those so called 'ugly' early Famicom (NES) games are awesome. There's zero difference as they were teeny so they mostly kept with english anyway, even the game labels too which are overly generic. All those cool little games have a different colored shell so you end up with a rainbow shelf effect going on too. They cost so little, and if you slam out a bulk order from some Japanese retailer say like ryoplanshop which is very friendly, nicely priced and reliable.

Even if the shipping ends up being like $20-30, if you're getting a bunch of games at like a dollar a piece, that's far better than paying $5-6/ea shipped or more from the US.

Easy rule to think of, outside of a few uniques (Holy Diver, Crisis Force) and some NES spill over (Samson, BB2, Panic Restaurant) the famicom stuff is cheap, very cheap. In some cases going with bulk it's like the pre-hype days of dollar cartridges.

I'm actually feeling the Famicom buzz a bit now, been awhile since I cared about NES due to abuse, but that FC Mobile 88 I got with the Super Games 500in1 thrown in is amusing me quite a bit as I just leave it out on my desk for pick up and play. Not 'honest' but if you want a cheap test bed, some of those multicarts have a lot and cost almost nothing.

...and finally, need a master list of anything Famicom, this is best: http://famicomworld.com/game-list/

[BoneSnapDeez]

Another game that didn't come out until 1985 is Binary Land which was a port of a 1984 MSX game. It's another really challenging and interesting single screen game where you control two penguins and have to get them to meet at the exit.

My daughter and I have been playing this. It's a lot of fun and I love the concept but damn is it tough. I'll never get used to the controls. Looks like it loops after level 16 or so. I'll try to get there. Right now I'm toast around level..... five.

[alienjesus]

IMO, only a few of the original "pixel art label" games are really "must haves" for the system. They are:

Baseball
Balloon Fight
Excitebike
Kung Fu
Pro Wrestling
Kid Icarus
Rad Racer

The rest either aren't that good (e.g., Urban Champion, Volleyball, etc.) or are available in a subsequent, less expensive release (e.g., Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Super Mario Bros., etc.).

I know I'm replying to a 6 month old post here, but I've always had a soft spot for Clu Clu Land, and it's not easily available elsewhere otherwise.

[Damm64]

I know about 80% of those games since they always come on those cheap bootleg multicarts back in the day "42 games in one" and it would have at least 30 of those titles and super mario bros.

Clu clu land is fun, you play as this wierd fish looking thing that has to uncover several "cristal" ( as i remember them looking like) on the screen to reveal an hidden figure or image at the end. The way you move it is a bit strange since you dont have total control of this fish thing, you can only decide its direction, he moves automatically. Theres various hazards o the screen besides enemies like rubber bubble gum looking things that make you bounce on the opossite direction, and they are hidden like the cristals as well.

Definetly worth picking up.