FDS Conversions of Section Z and Karate Champ, do they exist? (let's end this)

[fcgamer]

For as long as I can remember, rumors have circulated about there being FDS conversions of Section Z and Karate Champ, done by bootleggers (Kaiser, Whirlwind Manu, etc).  You can search through older posts, and see these things being discussed, confirmed, etc.  But here is the thing, I honestly believe they don't exist.

I have had many Famicom cart copies of Section Z cross through my hands, and they all turned out to be the NES version.  Although the NES and FDS versions are similar, you need to play enough and head to the bonus / secret room to check whether the message is in Japanese or English.  All the copies I've found thus far have been English (hence NES) versions.  I suspect that the folks that thought these were FDS versions of the game, never actually played the game and checked to see for sure or not.

Regarding Karate Champ, it would be much more obvious to check (i.e. is the intro screen copyright Nintendo of America or not).  With that said, again another long-rumored FDS conversion, yet I have found many NES versions, but none of the FDS version.  Again, I think it is just a mistake.

While on the topic, I also have to question the suposed FDS conversion of Castlevania.  Never saw any evidence of it either, though have owned five or six bootleg carts that all contained the NES version of the game.  And then there's Smash Ping Pong.  While I have never seen this on a cart, I have found it on a multicart before, and it *is* listed in the Whirlwind Manu catalog I have, so it seems that it *could* indeed exist, though I have never seen one.

Let's try to either confirm (or disprove) these carts once and for all!

[UglyJoe]

How do these conversions typically handle mirroring? 

The FDS version of Section Z uses vertical mirroring for most of the game (since the levels scroll horizontally), but switches to horizontal mirroring for the ending animation and staff roll.  There are ASIC mappers that let you switch mirroring, but those are more expensive than the discrete mappers that do not.  (They are also proprietary by nature).  I know the NES port cheaped out and used a discrete mapper with fixed vertical mirroring.  They altered the ending and staff roll so that there was no scrolling at all!

If handling the vertical/horizontal mirroring switch isn't something bootleggers would typically deal with, then that would suggest a true port of the FDS Section Z is unlikely.

I know Metroid switched mirroring as well, though.  Are there FDS conversions of Metroid, or are those all NES versions?

[fcgamer]

There are FDS conversions of Metroid; I own one.  On a different note, I have seen some FC bootleg carts that use the USA art for Metroid.  I wonder if they contain the USA code for the game, or are the FDS conversion version?  Anyone from Poland or elsewhere know?

About Smash Ping Pong, ironically enough I happened upon a picture of an actual cartridge of this tonight.  So as far as I am concerned, it can be considered confirmed.

But about Section Z and Karate Champ, I have never seen proper FDS conversions of these, and honestly am starting to doubt whether they exist or not.  Same with Castlevania.