Post by CkRtech on Apr 19, 2007 23:19:57 GMT -5
Hey all -
I am not certain how many of you know this, but before I collected toys...I collected video games. Most of these games were classic games (NES, SNES, a little Atari 2600, etc)
Recently, I acquired a Sharp Twin Famicom that was born in Japan. The Nintendo units over there were a lot different from ours, and one major difference was the add-on disk drive unit. Many games (especially some that we consider classics) were first shipped on a disk that resembles a 3 1/2 inch floppy. The disks were actually several times thick and just a tad longer in the dimensions than the traditional floppy disk.
Nintendo contracted Sharp to make an official "all in one" unit that combined the cartridge-based Famicom with its add-on floppy drive. This is the unit that I picked up.
![](http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b40/estation/248e_1.jpg)
You can just see the disk drive in the front (with yellow eject button) and the cartridge slot in the middle on the right up top.
The Legend of Zelda was originally released as a disk game in Japan. In fact, it wasn't until 1992 that Japan saw a cartridge release of the game.
The disks are actually a bit fragile in their old age. One little bit of static and poof! the contents are gone, so you have to be careful. Using a disk required load times and flipping, but it had its advantages too. Many times, the music sounded better on the disk version than it did on the cartridge version. With the use of a floppy disk, batteries and passwords were not needed. Therefore, games such as Castlevania I, II, and III, Zelda, and Metroid all had save games. No passwords! Play. Save. Quit.
Anyway, the disks came packed in what I consider to be a pretty collectible mini bundle. There was a soft case for the outside. In addition to the game, this holds the logo and documentation.
![](http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b40/estation/jzel1.jpg)
The disk inside is also in a case - but a hard plastic one this time. This set up was kinda neat because you had a single container to store the game and manual, and the disk had dedicated protection to keep it in good shape.
![](http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b40/estation/jzel2.jpg)
The disk itself was usually yellow and had the word Nintendo "etched" into it. The disk was double-sided. One interesting thing about Zelda is that you boot it up on side A and to start the game, you flip the disk to side B (rather than pressing start)
![](http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b40/estation/jzel3.jpg)
Import gaming is around in all different shapes and sizes today. This is my first true dive into the medium (aside from owning two Super Famicom Final Fantasy carts).
I am mostly a NES fan, and it is fun to get "the real" stuff under my collecting belt. Call it collecting the "Diaclone of Nintendo" in a manner of speaking.
I am not certain how many of you know this, but before I collected toys...I collected video games. Most of these games were classic games (NES, SNES, a little Atari 2600, etc)
Recently, I acquired a Sharp Twin Famicom that was born in Japan. The Nintendo units over there were a lot different from ours, and one major difference was the add-on disk drive unit. Many games (especially some that we consider classics) were first shipped on a disk that resembles a 3 1/2 inch floppy. The disks were actually several times thick and just a tad longer in the dimensions than the traditional floppy disk.
Nintendo contracted Sharp to make an official "all in one" unit that combined the cartridge-based Famicom with its add-on floppy drive. This is the unit that I picked up.
![](http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b40/estation/248e_1.jpg)
You can just see the disk drive in the front (with yellow eject button) and the cartridge slot in the middle on the right up top.
The Legend of Zelda was originally released as a disk game in Japan. In fact, it wasn't until 1992 that Japan saw a cartridge release of the game.
The disks are actually a bit fragile in their old age. One little bit of static and poof! the contents are gone, so you have to be careful. Using a disk required load times and flipping, but it had its advantages too. Many times, the music sounded better on the disk version than it did on the cartridge version. With the use of a floppy disk, batteries and passwords were not needed. Therefore, games such as Castlevania I, II, and III, Zelda, and Metroid all had save games. No passwords! Play. Save. Quit.
Anyway, the disks came packed in what I consider to be a pretty collectible mini bundle. There was a soft case for the outside. In addition to the game, this holds the logo and documentation.
![](http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b40/estation/jzel1.jpg)
The disk inside is also in a case - but a hard plastic one this time. This set up was kinda neat because you had a single container to store the game and manual, and the disk had dedicated protection to keep it in good shape.
![](http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b40/estation/jzel2.jpg)
The disk itself was usually yellow and had the word Nintendo "etched" into it. The disk was double-sided. One interesting thing about Zelda is that you boot it up on side A and to start the game, you flip the disk to side B (rather than pressing start)
![](http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b40/estation/jzel3.jpg)
Import gaming is around in all different shapes and sizes today. This is my first true dive into the medium (aside from owning two Super Famicom Final Fantasy carts).
I am mostly a NES fan, and it is fun to get "the real" stuff under my collecting belt. Call it collecting the "Diaclone of Nintendo" in a manner of speaking.