Super Famicom questions.

[Hokori]

Hello racketeers, I was wondering if some of you experts could help me with some info on the super famicom.

I just recently had my interest peaked when I discovered I could buy super famicom games at a local video game store. The only problem is I never thought I would be collecting any foreign consoles, so I never bothered to learn anything about them or their games.

My main questions are what games make the super famicom worth buying. Are there many that never came to the states that won't break my wallet? Also, will I need something special to plug the super famicom into the outlets of my house?

Please exclude any rpgs. I think the language barrier would be too much for me.

thank you all for your time.

[ApolloBoy]

There's quite a few Super Fami exclusives that are worth your time, like Pop'n TwinBee and Mario and Wario, to name a couple. I know there's more out there but those are the ones at the top of my head right now. You'll find that a lot of Super Fami games are significantly cheaper than their SNES counterparts, such as Rockman X3 which is a full $30-40 cheaper than the American version. Personally I think that reason alone is enough to collect Super Fami games, even if you take shipping from Japan and the language barrier into account.

You don't have to worry about the power supply as Japanese power supplies work fine in the US. I've used Japanese power supplies for several years and I've never had any problems. If you're feeling paranoid, you can use a model 1 Genesis power supply with the Super Fami and it'll work fine.

[Ziggy]

Unless you're after the aestetics (becuase let's face it, a SFC and PAL SNES look so much cooler than the NTSC-U SNES) you really don't need to buy a Super Famicom console. A NTSC-U SNES will play any, ANY Super Famicom cart perfectly fine. Both consoles use the same lockout chips. The only real "lockout" (if you even wanna call it that) is the shape of the carts. NTSC-U SNES carts wont fit in a SFC or PAL SNES because they're too large. SFC and PAL SNES carts will fit in the cart slot of an NTSC-U SNES, but there's two plastic tabs in the cart slot that are preventing you from inserting the cart. All you have to do is break off these two tabs and you pretty much have a Super Famicom. PAL carts will fit in too, but they have a different lockout chip, so that will require a little more to get around. But EVERY Super Famicom cart will play perfectly fine.

http://www.mmmonkey.co.uk/console/ninte ... s-tabs.htm

If you DO buy a SFC console, the power adapter isn't a big issue. I've read a lot of people that say they use there JPN power adapter in a USA outlet, so I guess it does work fine. The thing is though, Japanese outlets are 100v while USA outlets are 120v. If you look at the power brick for one of your USA consoles, you can see it says Input: 120v AC. If you look at a JPN power brick, it might say Input: 100v AC. If it does, you'll be over powering the power adapter, which might not be the smartest thing to do. I've read that it'll get a little hotter than usual, but still work. People will say, "buy a step down converter!" but I think that's just silly. You can just buy an appropriate power adapter instead for cheaper.

But just check the power adapter specs. I think the SFC adapter will have an input rating of 100v on it, but sometimes there will be a range. I've seen some adapters that have an input rating of 110v, which is halfway between JPN and USA outlets, so one would assume they did that so it could be used in either territory. Some times you'll see an input rating of 100~240v, which means it can pretty much be used any where in the world.

[CFFJR]

I've read a lot of people that say they use there JPN power adapter in a USA outlet, so I guess it does work fine. The thing is though, Japanese outlets are 100v while USA outlets are 120v. If you look at the power brick for one of your USA consoles, you can see it says Input: 120v AC. If you look at a JPN power brick, it might say Input: 100v AC. If it does, you'll be over powering the power adapter, which might not be the smartest thing to do. I've read that it'll get a little hotter than usual, but still work. People will say, "buy a step down converter!" but I think that's just silly. You can just buy an appropriate power adapter instead for cheaper.

On this front, I just took Hobie's advice for the one Japanese adapter I have (PCE Duo) and simply keep it unplugged if I'm not actively using it.

It never heats up or anything even when I do play for an extended time, but just the same I unhook it when I'm finished. Seems to be working fine.

[Ziggy]

You should really unplug (or switch off a power strip) power adapters when you're not using them anyway.

Like I said, I've read a bunch of people say (now including CFFJR) that they use a JPN power adapter on a USA outlet and never have a problem. I just like to put the info out there.

[CFFJR]

You should really unplug (or switch off a power strip) power adapters when you're not using them anyway.

You know, you're right, I really should start doing that.

I already have everything set up to make that incredibly easy to do for every system I own as well, so I have no excuse at all other than that I'm a dummy.

Edit: I don't know if you thought so, but I wasn't trying to argue or anything Ziggy. I was just talking about my experience.

[sevin0seven]

...so I have no excuse at all other than that I'm a dummy.

Ranma....You Dummy!

[CFFJR]

...so I have no excuse at all other than that I'm a dummy.

Ranma....You Dummy!

You rock man.

[theclaw]

SNES and N64 are similar. Both put US/Japan and I believe Korea into a shared region code.

Making neither console's imported NTSC cousins generally much practical value for America (except to Satellaview fans who need Super Famicom to fit that). Since a US model costs less here. Missing tabs can't be seen anyway under normal circumstances. Whenever the door is closed or a game inside it stays hidden.

Besides SNES direct US<->Japan cart adapters are relatively scarce to find, despite the 1:1 pinout. (Instead most SNES adapters are aimed at Europe. Thanks to PAL lacking so many titles.)

An alternative on N64 Japan games is to swap the back covers from donor US games. But with tabs a long-term solution the effort would be wasting time.

...so I have no excuse at all other than that I'm a dummy.

Ranma....You Dummy!

You rock man.

Nice I must be missing more than I thought. About time I consider to buy past season 1...

[Ziggy]

You know, you're right, I really should start doing that.

I already have everything set up to make that incredibly easy to do for every system I own as well, so I have no excuse at all other than that I'm a dummy.

Well if it makes you feel better, I don't always take my own advice there. In my basement den / band room, I have a ton of consoles and other things that use power bricks. The consoles are never hooked up (unless I'm using them) so it's easy to keep them unplugged. For all my effect stop boxes, I have them all wired into a single power strip, so it's really easy to turn it off when I'm done using them. But the SNES that I keep in my bedroom, it's plugged into a power strip that's behind my entire rig, so that never gets unplugged. That brick has pretty much been plugged in since 1992. Oh well.

Edit: I don't know if you thought so, but I wasn't trying to argue or anything Ziggy. I was just talking about my experience.

No worries.