Finds (All Others)

[FamicomRetroGamer]

You paid 980 yens for that Final Fantasy game? If so that was very cheap.

Not a Final Fantasy fan, but if I was (I never liked FF too much) I'd be "wow you were very lucky to get at that price" or somewhat.

[manuel]

Yes indeed!  Even if I don't like it, 980 Yen isn't a big loss.
The store only had one copy for 980 Yen. The others they had were 1980.

[nensondubois]

Metroid Prime + Echos Demo $3.89 I now have 0.00 and 0.20 versions of prime.

[tankexmortis]

Went to the flea market today and came back with a great haul for all of twenty bucks. Let's dive right in.

Here's a Game Boy I got with a bit of a dirty screen, but I'm pretty sure it'll work when I start it. Haven't put new batteries in yet. Two minor scratches on the edge of the screen, but overall I'm pretty happy with it.


Also this came with it. Anyone played it? Irem makes some good games, but I've never heard of this one.


This was my first kind of unusual find of the day, a Power Joy III! I've heard this is a piece of crap, but I had to get it anyway. It looks like it might not even work, I hooked it up when I got home (with the power adapter for my Famicom, the adapter that came with the Power Joy has a bunch of loose crap in it that makes noise when I shake it so I'm not sure it's safe to use) and nothing happened. This may be due to something else, though...


The Power Joy's back cover is missing (as are the second controller and gun, but I don't care about those), and it seems like there might be batteries needed. But I can't imagine why a machine that's already hooked up to an outlet would need batteries. Can anyone explain this? Do I need to jury-rig a new cover so this thing can work? Is it even worth the trouble? At least the pins seem like they're in good shape, albeit dusty.


I've saved the best for last. This will blow your mind. Actually it probably won't, but it surprised the hell out of me.


That's right! Two CIB Microvision games! And when I say CIB, I mean it! These things are about as near mint as you can get for obscure thirty year old electronics. For those that don't know, the Microvision was the first ever portable console to use swappable cartridges, and the last until the Nintendo Game Boy. I am a huge nerd for this thing although I've never owned one. You know what, that picture seemed a little lame, it didn't quite incorporate the joy I felt at finding these games. Let me show you what they looked like to me when I first saw them at the flea market:

LENS FLARES, SUCKERS!!

Side view!


Here are the cartridges themselves. Huge suckers, aren't they? They actually went over the entire front of the Microvision, covering the screen and the keypad so that different games would have different screen and button layouts (despite the screen only having a 16 x 16 resolution). Another interesting thing about the Microvision is that the processor was not in the console itself. Instead, each cartridge had its own separate CPU. I'm not sure if this is unique to the Microvision or not. I had to look closely at these before I could tell that they'd been played at all, they look so pristine. Bowling, though, has marks on its buttons from someone's fingernails.


Here's the back of Bowling. Note the top, where the connector is. Also apparently the CPU is under that plastic bit under the sticker, but I've been told never to open that because the engineering is so shoddy that static electricity from my hand can destroy the thing. Horrifying. Finding working Microvision stuff is a challenge because they were built pretty poorly. In addition to that flaw, there were battery problems, terrible screens that died at a moment's notice, and buttons that could be destroyed by not trimming your fingernails often enough.


Okay, this is the last Microvision shot. Check out the static shield instructions! Another design flaw? Mine, unfortunately, is no longer sticky. Haven't checked the other box yet.


In addition to that stuff, I picked up Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt and Metal Storm (a personal favorite) for the NES, an Ink Spots/Ella Fitzerald 78, and a cool View-Master.

But that's not all, a few days ago I checked Craigslist and saw that some local guy had some Atari stuff for cheap. I stopped over on the way back from the doctor and picked it up. It's all dirty as hell and smells like cigarettes, but check out that Supercharger (top middle)!


The day before that I got some Atari games from a thrift store, but most of them I got again from the Craigslist guy for way cheaper, so I feel pretty dumb about that. Dunno what I'll do with 'em now.


That's it! Sorry for so many images!

[nintendodork]

I want a Microvision so bad!  Sucks that you can hardly find one now that doesn't have a horrible screen or costs tons of money.

Oh, those games got me excited and I forgot to tell you that the Power Joy isn't worth the trouble.  It'd be easier and more effective to just get a converter if you're just looking to play Famicom games.

[ericj]

Really cool stuff you found.

The Power Joy can operate with either batteries or with the ac adapter. If you use the ac adapter, please remember to unplug it once you're done using it. The adapter is known to malfunction and could cause a fire.

[tankexmortis]

Thanks guys. I've got a Sharp Twin already, I mostly just picked up the Power Joy for the novelty value.

I forgot to mention that the kid that sold me the Microvision games gave them to me for $1 each. I love flea markets now.

[nensondubois]

Does your Power Joy have Super Shrek bros. on it?

[MS-DOS4]

Yes, watch out for the Super Joy's power supply. I once plugged mine in and it vibrated violently with a loud hum. I threw it out promptly.

[tankexmortis]

All right, I'll toss that power supply. Haven't used it anyway. Actually, I just realized that the reason I can't get it to work might be because I forgot how to operate the old television I've been using... Oops. I'll try the thing again, then I'll see if it has Shrek Bros. I assume that's a hack?

[Cam3ron@FW]

I have a microvision somewhere.  Haven't seen it in like a decade...

My brother bought one of those rare black dreamcasts today.

[Pikkon]

Got some more super fami games in today.

[nintendodork]

In addition to Mushihimesama Futari, I got $175, 4000 Microsoft points, and Call of Duty: World at War for my birthday today!

[Marlon]

Sonic Adventure 2 Battle & Metal Gear Portable Ops Boxed

[tankexmortis]

Still can't get the Power Joy to work. Would it have given any feedback if I plugged it into a power supply with the wrong polarity? The power supply I used can switch polarity and I forgot that it was set to the Sharp Twin's polarity when I used it on the Power Joy, so I may have damaged it. However there wasn't any reaction when I plugged it in or powered it on, so I think it may have broken before that. Come to think of it, that may indicate a problem with the power system itself.

I took it apart to look for damage and didn't find anything obvious to my novice eyes, although one wire looked to be pretty flat in one spot, I'll check that out later. Also it had the worst soldering I've seen in my life, but I'm sure that's common with these clones. I found a piece of paper loosely glued to the back of one of the boards, maybe to keep them from shorting when powered on? Although they don't seem to be close enough to touch when screwed in. And does anyone know what the switch on the brown board does? I'm curious.

I also tried the Game Boy, and it works! It does have the common vertical dead line, but I checked that out online and it seems like an easy fix, just need a tri-wing screwdriver. Can anyone recommend the best way to clean a Game Boy screen? Mine's dirty as hell.