JeffTheAlpaca

Why not life is short and money is fleeting but Classic NES will always be there for you.

JeffTheAlpaca

One this page you see the preorder on the top and another listing to buy it now after the controller listing.

https://www.gamestop.com/browse?nav=...+classic,28zu0

Deadman31

My wife remembered that I had bought the classic Snes and wanted to know why I needed this one as well. Then she saw it had Donkey Kong and she let it go.

bluetoast

Finally, someone else is talking about the actual games on this thing.

milo bloom

My wife had initially resisted buying this and even went to the trouble of downloading the roms and an emulator for us to play on the computer but I could never get into it. Now, I find myself wanting to get home after work and get in some game time. There’s something about the form factor that makes it feel real for me.

DVDTalker76

I've never really cared what machine I'm playing on, but I got one of the NES controllers for my SNES and it really does make playing NES stuff that much more special. Doesn't hurt that the quality of the reproduction is so great.

Obi-Wanma

Just loaded the entire NA library (and some translated Japanese RPG roms) on mine. Over 800 games.

E Unit

I plan on doing that sometime this weekend. Was it an easy process for you?

Obi-Wanma

Super easy.

E Unit

Awesome.

Josh-da-man

The NES version of Donkey Kong always annoyed me because it doesn't have the fourth level (it was called the Coal Mine when I was a wee one), though Donkey Kong Jr has all four of its levels.

What gives there? It can't be a memory issue can it? If they could fit games like Contra on a cartridge, then surely they could get all eight levels of a static platform game, couldn't they?

DVDTalker76

Yeah, memory. The early games were the smallest. Something like Contra was already a larger ROM size, plus an MMC chip. If they'd somehow saved DK for even the second generation of carts all the levels would have been intact, but that was never going to happen.

Deadman31

Interesting about DK 4th level. Is there another version available that has 4th level?

The Questyen

I think I read that the Arcade Archives version of Donkey Kong that is out on Switch is the first time it has been released on consoles properly. I think it's been included as a bonus on some other DK games but with changes and not arcade perfect.

bluetoast

Is there a site that takes about the history of the cartridge hardware? That sounds interesting to read about.

Jay G.

Looking at this list:
http://tuxnes.sourceforge.net/nesmapper.txt

Donkey Kong had a 16k PGR ROM and 8k CHR ROM, so 24k storage total. Contra has 128k PRG ROM and no CHR ROM, but that's still over 5x the storage.

The 1994 Donkey Kong Game Boy game starts with the 4 arcade levels, and then branches off into an entirely different type of gameplay for an additional 97 levels, with a game map and stuff.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donkey_Kong_(Game_Boy)


Donkey Kong 64 for the N64 had the original arcade game as a "minigame" challenge inside the game. It's described as an accurate port of the Japanese arcade version, which is slightly different than the US version.
http://donkeykongforum.com/index.php?topic=1475.0


There was a "Donkey Kong: Original Edition" that was released as a limited edition freebie in Europe for the Wii in 2010. It was then released as a freebie for the 3DS in 2012, and then finally available for sale in the 3DS eShop in 2014. It had original arcade gameplay and all 4 levels.
https://www.wired.com/2012/07/nintendo-donkey-kong/
http://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/...al_edition_nes


Finally, there's the 'Arcade Archive" version on the Switch that Questyen mentioned:
http://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/...es_donkey_kong

Jay G.

I can't really find a good single article or video about it.

NESDev Wiki has a lot of info on NES cartridges and hardware. Their "Cartridge and mappers' history" is a timeline of cartridge sizes and mappers, and a good jumping off point to their other articles:
https://wiki.nesdev.com/w/index.php/...ers%27_history

Wikipedia has a good article on the MMCs used in NES cartridges. Although not in strict chronological order, it gives an idea of how they developed over time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory...ent_controller

This article written by an emulator programmer gives a good overall breakdown of the capabilities and limits of the NES and its cartridges. It gets technical without getting too technical.
https://medium.com/@fogleman/i-made-...o-2e078c9b28fe


Also, tangentially related, a history of the invention of the game cartridge:
https://www.fastcompany.com/3040889/...game-cartridge

DVDTalker76

I'd say you've got a few good single articles right there.

My knowledge of this stuff is a whole lot of random info picked up over years of reading about games, so I can't really add much. But just Googling "NES ROMs" and "NES MMCs" would probably turn up more stuff.

The Cow

Agree, it's really easy and doesn't take long at all.

bluetoast

Thanks for those links, Jay. Time to go down this rabbit hole.

Jay G.

I meant, a single article that gives a concise, easy to understand history of NES cartridge sizes and memory mappers. You have to read more than one to get the full picture.

I did just search "NES MMCs," and it didn't give a lot, but it did uncover this article explaining NES hardware, with a section on MMCs:
http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/...explained.html

Some digging led me to this article about the creation of Super Mario Bros, with a bit on how they re-used sounds to save space:
https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Iwata-Ask...ry-212974.html

Josh-da-man

The Atarisoft Donkey Kong cartridge for the Commodore 64 had all four levels and was actually a really decent home port for the time.

Jay G.

Review of the Japan-only Shonen Jump 50th Anniversary Famicom Classic Mini:
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/...c-console-yet/
What's worse, is the tiny controllers are hardwired into the system, no plugs to swap them out with bigger controllers.

Images from the review:

DVDTalker76

Yeah, all the Japanese Minis were like that (controllers). I couldn't understand for the life of me why they went that far for authenticity.

JeffTheAlpaca

I wonder why Galaga was not included in the NES classic edition?