Growing up with pirate console (and other 8-bit nostalgia)

[CyberAngel]

I'd like to share the story of consoles that were around where I live during my childhood. You see, post-USSR countries didn't get any consoles released officially in them at the time. Instead, they were flooded by China-made Famicom clones. Yes, Famicom. This resulted in two things. First, many games were pirate copies of those for Famicom. Not understanding the language was sometimes a problem, but on the flip side, we got some Japanese exclusives. However, those same pirates were also doing their copies of NES games, so we sorta won in the end, being able to play games from all regions. Second, since games were pirated, they were also hacked. And the degree of being hacked varied greatly. Sometimes they were barely touched. Sometimes the changes were nice, like more lives or new cheats. Sometimes game-breaking bugs were introduced. Sometimes there were aesthetic changes, and they were usually a steady source of an equal share of confusion, mindscrew and hilarity. And sometimes there was stuff like ports from 16-bit consoles, with some being awful, some quite playable, and some even awesome. So overall, things were a mess, but it was fun.

There is a lot that can be said about this, and I suggest this guy's channel. His videos are in Russian, but the more interesting ones have pretty accurate English captions. I suggest you start with this video for a general overview of how things were, and then go over his Dendy Chronicles videos to see what individuals games and series suffered. While it's essentially a talk about Chinese hacks, these things were widespread over a big area, so I suggest everyone who is interested in NES era to take a look how it went in our locale. (Besides, there's a lot of hilarious stuff. Sorta like AVGN with less swearing and more facts.)

You can post your impressions and ask questions here, I guess. Also, since a rush of nostalgia is inevitable, you can talk about your favourite stuff from the era as well (preferably something you'll see in the videos). I guess I'll start with nostalgia myself

While the cartridges were affordable, swapping was more widespread, since it was harder to get interesting stuff. Thanks to that I managed to play a lot of interesting stuff. Even though I completed few games, mostly watching my friends do that, there were a few favourites I went through many times. First and foremost, Duck Tales 2. It was the first game that I have ever completed, and the first one where I found all secrets, all by myself without any outside help to boot. I never gave away the cartridge that had this game, and played through it on a regular basis. Another game I really liked was Terminator 2. Despite being in an AVGN episode, it's not a bad game at all (better than the first part, anyway). You just have to learn how to do the bike stage, and the rest is easy. I completed it many times as well. Lastly, for Japanese exclusives we had, Kyatto Ninden Teyandee was very popular. It's a game based on the anime series of the same name, better known in English as Samurai Pizza Cats. I never actually owned this game, only borrowing it to play, but I completed it a few times and explored all possible paths thoroughly. It always gives me a feeling of anime nostalgia.

[redlakitu]

As stated in my thread, my experiences with pirated consoles are rather insignificant, mostly limited to playing Mario (or Dr. Mario) and assorted games, either alone or together with my godparents' daughter. Here's one reminiscence which really stands out, though: when I was 10 or so, some distant family came over to visit my parents. Sitting with them and listening to their stories would surely result in death of boredom, so I decided to be crafty and try connecting my Famicom clone to a 30-or-so years old TV which barely functioned (took a few times for the screen to warm up, for example). Somehow, it worked! The display was wavy and shaky, and the sound full of white noise, but it worked. I spent the evening playing Gremlins 2 (or at least some illegal version of Gremlins 2). Pure magic.

Although right now, I really wish I had a handheld with Pokemon back then...

One of my classmates had a console as well, plus a much bigger collection of cartridges (richest family in the village and all that) - Contra, Excite Bike, Robin Hood and whatnot. The next time I'm going to a flea market, I totally need to get myself one of those consoles and look around for some bootleg cartridges.

[Teewee]

I remember once my aunt buying this thing called the "Funstation" for my nephew. It looked a lot like a PS1, its controller highly resembling the PS1 controller. It was quite a few years back, and I remember it having built-in games which were pretty much clones of classic NES games. Or at least one; I remember it having a game thats a lot like Super Mario Bros.

[CF7]

Ah, yes. Dendy. That pirated NES clone. Fun memories. It all started with that little console plugged into an old tv.
I had a really large collection of cartridges. I completed most of these.
In no particular order. Duck Hunt, Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros (made it to world 7 without warp tubes), Super Mario Bros 2 (iirc it was that game what was all a dream of some sort with playable Toad and Peach) Contra, Super Contra, Ninja Gaiden 1, 2, 3, Castlevania II Simon's Quest (considering dubious hints and my lack of understanding english language at the time i somehow managed to beat it. Easiest Dracula in the series.), Top Gun, Duck Tales 2, 3, Blaster Master, TMNT 1, 2, 3, Adventure Island 1, 2, 3, 4, Magical Doropie (it's like a Megaman, but you're playing as a witch who can summon a broom and has all 6 abilities unlocked from the start), Chip & Dale 1, 2, Back to the Future 2, 3, Tom & Jerry, Lion King (i never finished that ostrich race), Double Dragon 1, 2, 3, Battletoads 1, 2, Battletoads & Double Dragon, Adventures of Rad Gravity, Robin Hood, Road Rush, Tiger Heli, 1942 (or was it 1943 not sure), Legend of Crystal Palace and other games i can't remember at the moment.

[CyberAngel]

Super Contra

Ah, another fond memory, I owned a multi-game cart where all selections were Super Contra with 30 lives by default and different starting weapons. That included several different flamethrowers, including one that actually looked like a flamethrower (think one from Contra III or Contra Hardcorps). Even though I was bad at it and still had to use a few continues to finish the game, I think I started liking the series thanks to it.

Duck Tales 2, 3

?! I assume Duck Tales 2 was the official one, but care to remember what was hidden behind Duck Tales 3?

Lion King (i never finished that ostrich race)

Kinaman, whose channel I linked to in the OP, talked about a pirate and the official versions of Lion King in Dendy Chronicles #5. Even though you didn't make it far, maybe you can remember whether it was the one shown there?

Battletoads 1, 2, Battletoads & Double Dragon

?!?! Okay, we had the same problem with Battletoads 1 being called Battletoads 3 that Kinaman talked about in his movie I linked to in the OP, but can you remember what was the deal with Battletoads 2, if it wasn't Battletoads & Double Dragon?

[CF7]

?! I assume Duck Tales 2 was the official one, but care to remember what was hidden behind Duck Tales 3?

It was more than 10 years ago. IIRC, one game ended with you fighting some sort of Dracula Duck at the end and the other had some sort of liquid duck or something like that. Maybe they just stamped number 3 to the cartridge. For example my Blaster Master cartridge was labeled as "Back to the Future IV" on the cartridge with a sticker that actually said Back to the Future IV.

Kinaman, whose channel I linked to in the OP, talked about a pirate and the official versions of Lion King in Dendy Chronicles #5. Even though you didn't make it far, maybe you can remember whether it was the one shown there?

Yep, it looks like it.

?!?! Okay, we had the same problem with Battletoads 1 being called Battletoads 3 that Kinaman talked about in his movie I linked to in the OP, but can you remember what was the deal with Battletoads 2, if it wasn't Battletoads & Double Dragon?

Hm... Yeah Battletoads 1 were actually named Battletoads 3 or at least it had 3 toads head as a logo. And i think it was actually "Battletoads II Double Dragon" that was written on the cartridge or something like that. I can't really remember.

[CyberAngel]

It was more than 10 years ago. IIRC, one game ended with you fighting some sort of Dracula Duck at the end and the other had some sort of liquid duck or something like that. Maybe they just stamped number 3 to the cartridge. For example my Blaster Master cartridge was labeled as "Back to the Future IV" on the cartridge with a sticker that actually said Back to the Future IV.

Yes, one is from Duck Tales 1 and the other is from Duck Tales 2, so it was just a mislabel. Good thing it wasn't something crazy like Darkwing Duck 2 turning out to be a Super Contra hack.