Hi people,
I've been browsing the web looking for Famicom games :redcart: and I discovered that, while in North America and in Europe there was a single box format, in Japan they came in several sizes and materials :o
So far, I've listed the following formats:
- Small cardboard boxes until 1985-1986,
- Medium cardboard boxes, only in 1985 for Nintendo, from 1985 and after for Hudson Soft and Jaleco (maybe others),
- Slightly larger cardboard boxes, from 1985 onwards for most editors, artworks mostly laid horizontally but some laid vertically,
- Medium keep cases for Namcot, Taito and Sunsoft from 1986 onwards,
- SNK's Athena came in a special cardboard box similar to US and EU boxes, packaged with the game cartridge and a music cassette.
I may be wrong here and there but this is the general picture I got from looking up all those games. But actually checking all those games is quite a huge task :-[
Is there a website listing all the Famicom games along with their box formats?
Dezaemon looks like it comes in an even larger box than the tall cartridges do (MMC5/VRC6 games etc). There are also of course unique boxes for games that include extra peripherals (http://www.famicomworld.com/forum/index.php?topic=361.0), like Arkanoid, Family Trainer, Family Basic, Genpei Toumaden and so on.
For Famicom Disk System there are also a few:
-Normal retail games in soft plastic box
-Disk writer games (often a fold-out manual but otherwise similar to retail)
-Wave Jack series comes with lots of extra material (3 games only)
-Kiki Kaikai Douto Hen comes in an unique package with plastic figures
-Apple Town Monogatari is in a cardboard box, I think there is a limited edition box too.
-Suishou no Ryuu seems to come in a cardboard box
NES also have a variety of formats (but not even close to as many variants there are for Famicom).
In Europe, the earliest games are known as the "black series". They came in a shorter box which was black and had the same hand-drawn cover art as the early Japanese non-pulse line series had. The carts often also had 5 screws instead of 3 like later carts had.
The American counterpart to the black series is probably the boxes with a pixelated cover art that looks like it was taken directly from the game.
One thing I didn't realize until I got a copy of it a few weeks back is that SDF's square box is a bit bigger than the square boxes that later Jaleco games use. I swear, I always assumed it was the same size box from looking at pictures.
Thanks P and Nightstar699 for giving me a more complete picture of the situation.
I indeed forgot to write about FDS: I saw that Suishou no Ryuu came in a cardboard box containing the game in its regular FDS plastic case. I think I won't be able to have a complete reliable database of Famicom game boxes unless I actually start to collect them all... a collection I cannot afford to start :-[ even though I do have a few of them here.
Don't forget about Bubble Bobble on FDS which came in a plastic zippered case with a normal disk holder inside. Looks like a pencil case ;D
There are also some Square games published on FDS which have big boxes the size of American NES boxes with the little disk holder inside.
Of the random Famicom boxes, my favorite are the Namcot hard cases. They held up really well over the years and had some pretty interesting cover art like Super Xevious which is a shiny gold color.
Apple Town Monogatari and Suishou no Ryuu are both Square games published on FDS as well, so big boxes with soft disk holder inside. I got the complete list somewhere but Square published a dozen of games on FDS using this box format.
I also found out that Relics Ankoku Yosai came in a big cardboard sleeve containing a metallic box with the game and its notice, quite luxurious!
Oh and Hikaru Genji Roller Panic came in a CD jewel case-like box.
Games like AV Mahjung etc. came in an additional clamshell design (and cart shape)
Dragon Quest IV also came in a Special Collector's Set. I have it (it's square, large, with extras) but I can't find any pics online.
And there was another game with a Japanese rockband that did something similar, I forget the name.
________
Relics FDS pics as this was mentioned:
Front of package:
(http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii47/L___E___T/null_zps75b3ca9b.jpg) (http://s261.photobucket.com/user/L___E___T/media/null_zps75b3ca9b.jpg.html)
Back of package:
(http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii47/L___E___T/null_zpsb37a6bab.jpg) (http://s261.photobucket.com/user/L___E___T/media/null_zpsb37a6bab.jpg.html)
Inner sleeve:
(http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii47/L___E___T/null_zps93699a5f.jpg) (http://s261.photobucket.com/user/L___E___T/media/null_zps93699a5f.jpg.html)
Closed Tin (that is inside the sleeve)
(http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii47/L___E___T/null_zps21076949.jpg) (http://s261.photobucket.com/user/L___E___T/media/null_zps21076949.jpg.html)
Opened Tin (portrait) with additional unique inserts
(http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii47/L___E___T/null_zps7d27a785.jpg) (http://s261.photobucket.com/user/L___E___T/media/null_zps7d27a785.jpg.html)
Opened Tin (landscape) with normal FDS game and additional unique Monster Manual (it's a bestiary)
(http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii47/L___E___T/null_zpse4f50170.jpg) (http://s261.photobucket.com/user/L___E___T/media/null_zpse4f50170.jpg.html)
Was it Seikima II? Love the concept of that game. Wish the music was done better, though.
Could have been. Something 'Live at The Power Bowl'?
[EDIT]
It is TM Network - Live at the Power Bowl. Think it's a visual novel type.
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/TM-Network-Live-in-Power-Bowl-Famicom-NES-JP-GAME-/311506049949?hash=item4887351b9d
(http://yamatoku2.sakura.ne.jp/img/90079009c.jpg)
Yes, games as AV Mahjong were unlicensed games published by Hacker International, and all developed by the same guy I believe. There was also Papillon Gals, a dozen games in total.