Famicom Four Player Adapter

Started by tappybot, February 16, 2011, 04:54:09 am

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tappybot

 

I'm aware of this, and could probably use it for my A/V 'new' Famicom (it ought to work with it I'd assume), but what's the Japanese equivalent?

I'm surprised I haven't seen one in any junk store yet, but there's gotta be a four player adapter for Famicoms, and I'm wondering what that is.



Also, unrelated, but wondering if it's worth it.  There's a Famicom Power Glove in the box for about 20 dollars at a nearby Hardoff.  Should I get it?

satoshi_matrix

hm, that's a good question, but to my knowledge there isn't any such Famicom adapter.When you think of Four Player NES games, almost all of them ever American developed games such as Gauntlet II, Super Jeopardy, Super Spike V Ball or course American football. I checked around and I'm not even sure Bomberman 2 was released on the Famicom so there really might not be any such Japanese adapter!

P

I've been wondering about this too.

If you look at a third party famicom controller then you can see it has a plug that fits in the expansion port. Bomberman 2 and other games uses this for 3 player.
There are games that have 4 player support as well (most Kunio-kun games) but I haven't seen any adapters for this.

Wikipedia only says that you either need a controller with a secondary expansion port or a separate splitter for two controllers in the expansion port. But I haven't seen any pictures of any of these.

senseiman

Wow, that is the first time I've ever seen one of those.  Let us know if you find one!

About the Power Glove, I actually was in the exact same position having found one for 2650 yen at a Fukuoka Hard Off.  In fact I even put photos of it in my post here (http://famicomblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/fukuoka-famicom-shops-ii-decline-and.html ).

I never bought it though.  Actually I had earlier found one at my regular shop boxed for only 100 yen, but I didn't buy that either.  It seems to be the consensus opinion that the Power Glove sucked.  Very difficult to set up and use.

Also, looking at the actual glove in the box, I noticed that the rubber didn't seem to have aged well.  It actually looked kind of gross - not the sort of thing I would feel comfortable wearing.  Years and years of someone else's accumulated sweat stains.  Ugh. 

SO I don't know.  If the thing itself is in pristine condition it might be worth it.  But if not......buyer beware. 

ooXxXoo

This is my answer to the American 4 player adapter counter part for the Famicom...Runs all ports...But is just a  mod  ;)  :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFLwMCRQuGc

tappybot

Interesting.  Surely there must have been something, some kind of four player adapter so that Technos would keep putting 4 player support in their Kunio-kun games.
So if there's no adapter, is there a special pair of controller that plug into the fFamicom accessory port?  I've seen the arkanoid ones, I've picked up the joysticks, and I've also seen the Konami Sports pads (do those even have a d-pad?), but not just a pair of normal functional controllers.

So these NES Four Scores.  From comments here and there and what not, they seem affordable.  How often do these show up in stores in the US?


Senseiman, I haven't taken a good look at the power glove really, but it looked in good condition.  But yes, the point really is... do I even want a power glove?  I'll have to take another look.

UglyJoe

Hori made an adapter for the Famicom called "4 Players Adapter".  Googling for ファミコン用マルチタップ will get you some results.  Here's a picture of it (yoinked from http://kantakupiano.at.webry.info/201001/article_4.html).


tappybot

The Portuguese to English translation is kind of interesting.  So those aren't NES style controller ports, but ports for controllers that firt the accessory port.  Heh, that's

QuoteThe Famicom also received gambles rampant, especially games of the series of Kunio-kun , with beatings and extreme eastern exclusively as Nekketsu Kakuto Densetsu or even the famous Kunio-Kun Nekketsu Soccer League in , or "Goal 3" to his friends, a game that undoubtedly was the "inspiration" for Rockman Soccer and Mario Strikers, but that's another story ... Speaking of only a few games that were more than two simultaneous players in Japan suffered a downgrade to reach the U.S. market. A good example is Moero! Twin Bee , Famicom Disk for three kids simultaneously: the West had as Stinger , only two caboclos.

The most interesting and obscure is that Nintendo has never released a multitap for the Famicom! Curious, no? The only four joystick adapter that has news is the HORI ! I need to mention it's almost impossible to take off one of those? A detail nearly as dire as the difficulty to find this white fly the "blue Zoio [save, Corisco!]: To play in the multitap HORI , probably will need four controls compatible with the extra port of the Famicom, or fail to function automatically controls two standard plugs and are now worth only plugs special multitap. This means that besides the quest to get an adapter to four controls will require a mission with four stages, each of them to get a control that is compatible with the extra port of the Famicom! Must have great faith in the Invisible Famicom for it!


Cool. I googled that and this also came up:



Wonder if this is is just a modern mass produced thing or an actual release by a third party back in the day.
(Hmm.. seems like the link is from a site that might sell it)



UglyJoe

There wouldn't have been much of a market for such an adapter back then.  Only the AV Famicom controllers used the NES-style ports (afaik) and if you had the AV Famicom controllers then you probably had an AV Famicom to plug them into :P

linkzpikachu

or you could just be an import nazi like the rest of us in north america/europe/not in japan
FUCK YEAH SEAKING!

UglyJoe

I said "back then".  Please notice the usage of past-tense "had" throughout.  It's very likely a latter-day adapter for using NES controllers with a Famicom.

Xious

February 16, 2011, 07:43:24 pm #11 Last Edit: February 16, 2011, 07:51:16 pm by Xious
For what it's worth, the FourScore and the Hori MultiTap work on entirely different principles, and the games are not cross-compatible. To use 3/4-Player Famicom games, you need a MultiTap (even on the "New Famicom" A/V); the FourScore and the NES Satellite won't function for them.  

Here is a technical brief that details the differences, for anyone wanting to read it. I'm kind of shocked that the Hori adapter isn't universally known, as 'Moreo! Twinbee' requires it, amongst a handful of other games, for multi-player mode.

nintendodork

Quote from: ooXxXoo on February 16, 2011, 04:39:02 pm
This is my answer to the American 4 player adapter counter part for the Famicom...Runs all ports...But is just a  mod  ;)  :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFLwMCRQuGc
I have something like this too.


Only two ports, but works with all accessories I've tried it with, including the Four Score.
I like to glitch old VHS tapes and turn them into visuals for live music events. Check out what I'm working on - www.instagram.com/tylerisneat

tappybot

Alright, so how the games read those ports are important too...
So if I want to play a 4 player Famicom game, I'm going to need the Hori Multitap?   And on a US machine with a Four Score, a 4 player famicom game won't work either?

And if I want to play a 4 player game on a Famicom, there's no way around it, I'm going to need the multitap?


What do you guys use to play 4 player famicom games?
Nintendodork, So on your famicom, can use a four score to play four player games by plugging the four score into that device right there?  Or...  Hah, I'm sorry, I believe I've confused myself.  :crazy:

Xious

February 16, 2011, 08:17:37 pm #14 Last Edit: February 16, 2011, 08:29:06 pm by Xious
4-Player Famicom games need the Famicom-type multitap on any system: You would need to buy or construct one.. On the NES (toaster) this can be done via the Expansion port (underneath the console).

To use 4-Player NES games on a Famicom you'd need to custom-wire up the ports to function as they do on a NES.

It is not possible to use a FourScore to run 3/4-player Famicom titles, as the method it uses for this is completely alien to that required by the games. 'To accommodate four player gaming on the NES, Nintendo released the Satellite and Four Score, which requires games to support another method of reading the joystick ports (first eight reads come from the first controller on the port, second eight reads come from the second controller on the port, followed by another 8 reads that includes a signature, letting the game know whether or not a four-player device is plugged in). '-Richard Hoelscher

The multitap actually uses independent signals for the joystick reads, whereas the FourScore uses (to put it in simplest terms) a form of multiplexing.  :bomb:

P.S. I still think a technical discussion forum is a good notion...