Differences between Super Mario Bros 2 (Japan) versions

[mfm]

This is the normal FDS version:



This is a version I have on a cartridge:



Where does the second version come from? I think I read something about it earlier but didn't find anything useful when searching now...

[Ghegs]

I'm not entirely sure if this is what you're asking, but.

SMB2j was officially released on the Famicom only for the Disk System. There is no official cart version of it on the Famicom. All carts of the game are just pirate carts, and their accuracy in comparison to the original game varies wildly. Some have the game's name completely altered (or have the title missing completely), some have altered graphics, some don't have Luigi at all or Luigi has incorrect physics, some don't have the wind present in some stages working correctly, et cetera. Some carts are better than others, the discontinued RetroUSB one is the best one I've come across.

[Cheetahmen]

Never thought someone would hack the SMB1 graphics into SMB2. I've seen it done the other way round but this doesn't really make sense to me

[P]

Yeah it would make much more sense to just port the FDS game as is to cart. I guess they thought it was easier to just import the levels from SMB2 into SMB1, or maybe they were limited on what board types they could use.

[fcgamer]

I've seen versions of SMB with hacked SMB2J graphics, as well as versions of SMB2J with hacked SMB graphics.  Just one of those weird things pirated liked to do, possibly to disguise the game as something new, I guess.

[mfm]

Some carts are better than others, the discontinued RetroUSB one is the best one I've come across.

Yes, who would have thought that the most shameless Mario pirate would be a corporation out of California...

I'd like to have the proper version on an FC cart but seems it's not that easy to find at a reasonable price. I have the FDSStick now though, so it's easy enough playing the real version.

BTW, does anyone know why it would be hard or expensive to make a Famicom cart version of the western Kid Icarus ROM? I asked some Chinese pirates (AKA respectable retro reproduction companies) and they tell me they can't do it (except one that sells copies of the USA version at a very high price, maybe using donor boards?). I also haven't seen it on any multicarts but I have seen Metroid on a multicart. I could use the NES cart with an adapter but the only thing more stupid than a big 72 pin cart is a 72 pin cart plus an adapter...

[FrankWDoom]

Some carts are better than others, the discontinued RetroUSB one is the best one I've come across.

Yes, who would have thought that the most shameless Mario pirate would be a corporation out of California...

I'd like to have the proper version on an FC cart but seems it's not that easy to find at a reasonable price. I have the FDSStick now though, so it's easy enough playing the real version.

BTW, does anyone know why it would be hard or expensive to make a Famicom cart version of the western Kid Icarus ROM? I asked some Chinese pirates (AKA respectable retro reproduction companies) and they tell me they can't do it (except one that sells copies of the USA version at a very high price, maybe using donor boards?). I also haven't seen it on any multicarts but I have seen Metroid on a multicart. I could use the NES cart with an adapter but the only thing more stupid than a big 72 pin cart is a 72 pin cart plus an adapter...

What does your smb2j cart look like? There's a rom widely available that is a proper fds -> cart conversion. Any repro maker should be able to put one of those together. There are several vintage pirate conversions of varying quality but none as good as the "modern" conversion.

Kid Icarus (U) would be very easy to put on a famicom cart. Hit up HVC-Man, he has stuff like that for sale regularly and should be able to help you out.

[P]

Yeah it's Loopy's mmc3 hack of SMB2j I think (or maybe there was another one as well)? That's probably as close to a "proper cart conversion" you will get. You will be missing out on expansion audio of course.

For Kid Icarus it wouldn't be very easy to convert it to cart, and since it's already been done quite nicely by Nintendo I don't think anyone else bothered.

Edit: Nevermind I saw now that you were talking about the western version.

If you are looking to experience the Japanese version without all the changes, you have no choice but to get an FDS, or maybe even better, the RAM Adapter and an FDSStick.

[mfm]

What does your smb2j cart look like? There's a rom widely available that is a proper fds -> cart conversion. Any repro maker should be able to put one of those together. There are several vintage pirate conversions of varying quality but none as good as the "modern" conversion.

Thanks. The cart looks like this:

Yeah it's Loopy's mmc3 hack of SMB2j I think (or maybe there was another one as well)? That's probably as close to a "proper cart conversion" you will get. You will be missing out on expansion audio of course.

Yes, I found it after some googling. Does SMB2j actually use the audio expansion channel?

If you are looking to experience the Japanese version without all the changes, you have no choice but to get an FDS, or maybe even better, the RAM Adapter and an FDSStick.

Yeah I recently got an FDSStick (and I already had an FDS RAM Adapter that came with an MGD1 unit I got from HK ages ago) which is very neat, I'm not interested in magnetic disks for actual playing in 2016.

So I can play Kid Icarus FDS reliably but it still has loading times and disk flips which is annoying. It's best to have both versions of course, so I'd like a cart even though I don't need it as much now.

[P]

I see. Yes SMB2j uses expansion sound in the ending song (the rest of the game uses the same sound as SMB1 AFAIK). The SMB1 ending theme was improved and continued in this game (it's more similar to the SMB3 ending song). After finally beating a game as hard as this you really appreciate this nice tune. And SMB2j doesn't have much loading at all so I'd suggest to play it on your FDSStick for maximum accuracy and joy.

If you aren't interested in having the game CIB, but just want to be able to play Kid Icarus US version on your Famicom without a flimsy pin adapter you could always get an Everdrive Famicom version.

[mfm]

I see. Yes SMB2j uses expansion sound in the ending song (the rest of the game uses the same sound as SMB1 AFAIK). The SMB1 ending theme was improved and continued in this game (it's more similar to the SMB3 ending song). After finally beating a game as hard as this you really appreciate this nice tune. And SMB2j doesn't have much loading at all so I'd suggest to play it on your FDSStick for maximum accuracy and joy.

OK, that's good to know. I'm a lousy action gamer though so I will probably never even hear it once. But yes, the loading is quite painless for SMB2j.

If you aren't interested in having the game CIB, but just want to be able to play Kid Icarus US version on your Famicom without a flimsy pin adapter you could always get an Everdrive Famicom version.

CIB of what, the non-existant Kid Icarus FC cart version?

I don't want an Everdrive for gaming as having "all" games on one card devalues the games and gives too much choice. Also for Everdrive you must select the right file and then flash it, which takes more time than just booting a normal cartridge game. Also these kind of products usually break after a while after which you're left with no games at all (I have dozens of copiers from 10-25 years ago including prototypes sent by HK/TW companies and I rather wish I bought more real games than mostly using the copiers). These things are great for quick tests or development but for gaming I just think it's mostly negative.

So I always prefer physical FC cartridge (which may be Japan CIB, Japan loose cart, multicart or pirate/repro depending on price, availability,  technical circumstances and my interest in the particular game).

[P]

CIB of what, the non-existant Kid Icarus FC cart version?

I mean the NES version. Since you just want it on a Famicom cart you might as well use an Everdrive I thought. No need to get bootlegs.

But you make valid arguments. I agree that having too much possibilities may be a negative. Also I'm a fan of CIB myself and prefer having the manual and box with all the artwork, items, hints, story and so on. But when it comes to pirating just to be able to play a certain game, I'd prefer using my Everdrive over bootlegs (it's pretty much the same thing anyway). It's neat to own a bootleg game or two but I wouldn't really be playing them.

The point about flashcarts being good for testing and development is a a big selling point for me, but I understand it doesn't appeal to everyone.

But I have to correct you on one thing: The Everdrive doesn't use FLASH, it uses RAM to load ROMs to, so loading a game takes milliseconds (you won't notice the loading time). If you switch between different games you of course have to select it from a directory on the SD card, but that probably doesn't take longer than digging up a cart from your cart collection (you can also load the same game again by just pressing start which makes it super quick). So the loading time isn't really longer for the Everdrive than real carts at all.

Also I wouldn't compare the Everdrive with old crappy copiers. It's a solid piece of work using modern FPGA technology, and technically pretty much the same as using real carts (once they are loaded).

[mfm]

Some games doesn't work at all or has sound issues on the Everdrive, so for some of the more interesting Famicom games you need "bootlegs" or you don't play them properly or at all. Probably works for Kid Icarus though but quite expensive for just that.

CIB can be nice but I usually have no interest in paying the nutty collectors price for western NES stuff. I have two Kid Icarus loose carts (and the Famicom Mini CIB), that's enough for me. Also CIB is not useful for actually playing games since you want to put away the fragile paper boxes so it's much more work to actually play the game.

OK, the other Everdrives use flash so I assumed this one did too but it makes sense to use RAM since the games are so small.

[P]

The games that doesn't fully work on Everdrive are quite few nowdays. It's mostly advanced mappers like MMC5 or obscure pirate mappers. The games that has sound issues are games that uses expansion sound, which the Everdrive reproduces poorly if at all. But you won't find bootlegs for these games either anyway (except some are made by repromakers but they often require a donor of the same cart type).

Yeah Super Everdrive uses flash I think (SD2SNES uses RAM though) so does the Game Boy Everdrive.

[MarioMania]

One the 2nd Pic with the SMB graphics

Is there a ROM for that? I would love to try it out on my Famicom EverDrive N8