Where do you live and why are you interested in Famicom/FDS?

[k_chan42]

I haven't been contributing to this board for almost half a year. Just out of curiosity, I wanted to ask this for awhile.

I was interested in the FDS a few years ago when I decided to buy Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario Bros for FDS. Originally that's all I wanted to get, but I thought the FDS had many more classics besides the Marios. So I hopped in and searched for other games. I read 謎の村雨城 was excellent, so I got that. I also got The Legend of Zelda (ゼルダの伝説）, Metroid, Kid Icarus（光神話　パルテナの鏡）, Castlevania (悪魔城　ドラキュラ）

There were still many other games I needed to get like The Legend of Zelda 2 リンクの冒検、新鬼ヶ島、ファミコン探偵倶楽部　消えた後継者 前後編、ファミコン探偵倶楽部　Part II うしろに立つ少女 前後編、SD ガンダムワールド　ガチャポン戦士　スクランブルウォーズ (SD Gundam World: Scramble Wars)
After many things happened, I finally got all these games as well. These are very hard to find in great condition, so I feel very lucky to be able to get all the aforementioned games either new or in great condition complete. I also plan to get more copies of these games in Japan if they have newer ones. I wasn't able to get sealed copies of the rarer games.

My sudden interest in the FDS prompted me to study Japanese as well and changed my major to Japanese in college. I immigrated from Hong Kong to San Francisco when I was about 11 and a half years old after finishing grade school in Hong Kong. I also went to Chinese school in San Francisco, so my Chinese (Cantonese) is fluent. This is a huge advantage to studying Japanese, so I went for it. I regret studying Spanish in high school and that didn't go too well.  I plan to move to Japan as well, and study abroad next year for 1 year. I also plan to get a master's degree in Japanese in Japan right after I graduate. As for now, I have studied Japanese for just over 1 and a half years and continuing.

How about you guys?

[son_ov_hades]

I've been an avid NES fan for as long as I can remember. My dad got a NES when I was a year old.  After hearing for years about the Japanese version called the Famicom I decided to check it out. Turns out a ton of awsome games were never released on the NES, so I bought a converter and Devil World. I was hooked immediately, it was like a whole new world of NES games was open to me.

[Stan]

Good question.  I grew up with the NES from the day it was first released, so that's where my video gaming, sort-of began.  I played Atari a lot before that, but the NES was the first system we officially owned.  I didn't purchase a Famicom until roughly 10 years ago, but before that I was well aware of games not released outside of Japan that I played on Supervision cartridges my father's friend brought back from Vietnam.  After playing those I was interested in the system, so I picked one up.  I sold it eventually because I just used my Famiclone (fake Dreamcast controller with like 300 original Famicom games built in) since it was less set up and space wasted.

[JC]

I have fague memories of playing some Donkey Kong game on the Atari when I was little. I just remember having to swing from one vine to the next. Somehow that Atari disappeared -- and a couple of years later, when I was about five or so, my grandpa took my older brother and I to Wal-Mart to pick up an NES. I remember it pretty vividly, because my brother begged for a Power Glove and a Power Pad, which we got. We played a heck of a lot of Super Mario Bros. and Track and Field. I only liked Duck Hunt when I held the controller a few inches from the screen to kill the ducks. I grew up on Bubble Bobble, 1942, Snake Rattle N Roll, Tecmo Superbowl and Jordan vs. Bird.

It wasn't until about three or so years ago that I found out about the Famicom. For some reason, after not playing the NES for many years, I got interested again and decided to join NES World to find out about retro NES gaming. At the same time, I was getting interested in web-building. The reason I mention web-building is because I came across FamicomJL -- this site's founder -- who needed help building Famicom World. So, I volunteered, and in time, I developed a liking of the Famicom. I may not have even owned a Famicom or a Famicom game when I started building the current Famicom World.

Guess it doesn't matter, because about three years later, here I am, knowing way too much about a foreign console I love to play. I find new areas to research and make new discoveries all the time. All rooted in nostalgia, I guess, and having very little to do with living in the US -- now I've got to pay all this money to ship stuff from Asia.

[xyzzy32]

My brother and I bought an NES from our neighbors for $30 when I was about five or six, along with Dr. Mario, SMB/Duck hunt, Tetris, and Zelda. It was my second console after N64, so I learned to appreciate retro games when I was very young. A few years ago I read about the japanese famicom but never bothered with it, assuming it'd be a waste of money considering my NES still worked. Only a year and a half ago did I consider purchasing one because of the sound capabilities and compatibility with japan-only games. I picked one up off ebay for $70 shipped, then got an FDS from japangamestock. I currently only have four games for each but am looking to import more.

[Vikingo70s]

My very first console was a pirate famiclone when i was 6 years old. I'm from Argentina where famiclones are very common (and they where the most common thing in the early-mid 90's). Console was a replica of the original famicom but the label read "Family computer" with no nintendo references. Some years later i learned about the original famicom and the North American NES. In 1994 I got a Sega Mega Drive but continued using my old famiclone until 2000, when i got my first computer and gave my famiclone to my little cousin.
I had a lot of pirate carts: tiny toon, rockman 6, chip & dale, felix, double dragon 2, F1 race, super mario bros, goal 3, mach rider, spartan x, soccer, mario bros, and don't remember very well...
I sold some of them and some others I gave to my friends.

Now I wan't some of them back
   

[NintendoKing]

I grew up playing the american Nintendo Entersys; and when I was on wikipedia a few years back I read of a system called the Family Computer also made by Nintendo. I was shocked to read that it had many games that did not exist in america, and I love playing 8-bit classic games.

So I quickly ordered one, but could not get it to work at all. I had never heard of the Famicom channel of 95 at that time. So the Famicom sat for 2 years in my closet, until about 9 monthes ago when I found Famicom world I learned what to do; and ordered a second Famicom and some starter games. I now have 24 games, which isnt that bad; since I am quite broke 90% of the time.

I love when friends come over and see it sitting on a stand, instantly they say "What is that?" I respond, "Obviously something you have never seen before... its called a Famicom." they respond, "Famicom?" and then later they buy one. I actually started a trend in my town, I was the first to my knowledge in my area to own a Famicom.  Since then 7 of my friends also own one.

[FamicomFreak]

I started playing NES back when I was 3. I lived in Peru for the first nine years of my life which could have meant I was introduced to Famiclones first but my parents used to travel a lot to the States so they bought me a NES. I remember how big the box was and the games it came with it. Plugging it in was so confusing for the first time but then I got the hang of it. I used to borrow a lot of games from my friends and traded as well. The first game I played was the one that came with the NES and I still have it to this day. The game was the SMB/Duck Hunt/Track Meet. I had so many great memories of the NES. I also used to go play at "Gaming Rooms" where I was introduced to pirate carts like metroid, TMNT2, Street Fighter 2, Mickey Mouse, Super Mario Bros 8, and many more. I also started to buy this magazine called Club Nintendo which was being published and it's still published to this day in Chile. I still have some of the old magazines showing tricks to NES games as well as strategy guides and info on how bad pirate carts were lol! I recently around two years ago got back into the NES and then the Famicom which inspired me to start collecting the sweet looking Famicom carts as well as the pirates I cherished so much in my child hood. My goal now is to create a respectable collection of Famicom carts + other interesting items. I'm not sure how much longer I will be collecting, all I know is that it rocks!!

[manuel]

My first console was a NES. Later I got interested in Japan. Japan + NES = Famicom. It's that easy. 

To the first part of the question: I grew up in Germany and now live in Japan with wife and son.

[Vikingo70s]

I also started to buy this magazine called Club Nintendo which was being published and it's still published to this day in Chile.

Eh !!! I used to read club nintendo too !!!!
i bought it until 1994 it was a great magazine.

[FamicomFreak]

Yeah I loved reading the Dr.Mario responde section. Great stuff!

[djdac]

I grew up playing the NES. I remember the day my older brother brought one home with Super Mario Bros and it blew my mind. The only video games I was exposed to was watching my older bro play coleco. A few years ago I heard of the Japanese version of Super Mario 2 and I had an intense urge to play it. But I didn't want to play roms, I wanted the real thing. So I bought a famicom and disk system with Super Mario 2 and a bunch of other games.

[thegreatgonzo]

I remember my parents always buying us any console that came out , just to keep my brother and I busy. It started with the C64, favorites included Alpine Climber and Congo Bongo, A-Maze-Ing, etc. When the Atari came out, we had tons of games to play.. Defender, River Raid and Missle Command were the most played. In the summer before I started 8th grade, we got our first NES with the Powerpad package. I think we shook the foundations of the house we rented every time we played Track and Field!

I had no idea about the Famicom but I was a big Nintendo Power reader, reading anything I could about the Super Famicom and waiting breathlessly for the SNES. It wasn't until I bought a cheap Retro Duo with no region lock when I decided to check out SFC games, and I think Devil World was the first Famicom cart I bought. I had no research on the Famicom and did not realize they needed a converter to work on NES/NES clones. I was amazed at all these great 8-bit treats... once you start down the road of collecting and playing Famicom, there is no turning back!

[waiyan115]

Wow, finally someone like myself, I moved from Hong Kong to San Francisco 18 years ago and I am living in SF right now !!!

My dad got me my first Famicom and FDS in 1984ish because I was top of the class, since then my grades dropped like crazy and he sent me to America...... Good Choice !

Nintendo and my dad ROCKS !

[Trium Shockwave]

The NES in the 80's was a singularly unique experience in the history of games. Just about every middle class home had one, creating a unique social experience that no other console has had the market dominance to repeat. If you went over to someone's house, you could jump right in and start playing. You already knew the major games, as you either had it or someone else you've hung out with did. You also got to experience a broad array of games this way, especially since most of them were pretty easy to pick up and play. You can't do that anymore, since others don't necessarily have the same console you do. And even if they do, the learning curve on modern games is so steep that it's hard to play someone else's game with them if you haven't had your own copy to practice on. This is the aspect of the NES I look back on most fondly, and miss from modern games which are a much more solitary experience.

I also have always had an interest in Japan, an interest which greatly expanded in the late 90's with the coming of the Internet. Getting a Famicom has been something I thought about over the years, especially since my NES was stolen years ago. Finally, I just made the leap and did it. I can play pretty much any of the classics I remember, as well as a wealth of new games. The improved audio capabilities excite me too, as I eagerly await the arrival of my FDS with Zelda and Metroid. In addition, as an anime and tokusatsu fan, a whole new library of mediocre to awful licensed games is out there for me to explore and bash my head against.