The Nintendo Family Computer (more commonly known as the Famicom) launched in 1983 in Japan, a full two years before its Western analog, the NES, debuted in North America. This was right as the video game market underwent a temporary implosion in other parts of the world and was strangely the best time possible for Nintendo to break into the home market.
Collecting for a Japanese console can cause some hesitation for an Anglophone. The fear is that the best games will remain in their native language, and you’ll be left with piles of RPGs where you can’t even navigate the menus. That can certainly be a problem as you get into later generations of consoles, but with the Famicom, there are a lot of great games that don’t require much reading comprehension.
To make things more tantalizing, the Famicom is a relatively cheap console to collect for. While the price of NES games have been climbing to upsetting levels over the past few years, the Japanese collector’s market hasn’t really moved much. Most titles in the system’s library don’t exceed $50, and many of them have a higher price tag because they’re regional variations of expensive NES titles.
Because of its accessibility and affordability, the Famicom has remained my favorite console to import for, so I’m going to share some of that knowledge with you.
The Games
The Famicom is a lot more than just the Japanese NES. While you can get nearly identical versions of popular titles like Super Mario Bros. and the Legend of Zelda on both platforms, the Famicom offers a whole world beyond that. If you love the NES but feel you’ve plumbed the depths of its library for all the gems it has to offer, then the Famicom is where you should go next.
When I started out with the Famicom, I mostly targeted three main groups: Nintendo, Kunio-Kun, and Konami.
There are very few Nintendo games that stayed exclusively in Japan. Of these, most are on the Famicom Disk System and are visual novel titles that are impossible to play unless you speak the language. But two of them stand out: Joy Mecha Fight and Devil’s World. The former is a fighting game in the vein of Street Fighter II, while the latter is a weird maze game (like Pac-Man) designed by Shigeru Miyamoto.
A great deal of the Kunio-Kun/Nekketsu/Downtown games stayed in Japan. You might know these games better as one of their localized titles: River City Ransom or Crash ‘N’ the Boys. Since they’re all part of one series, you might expect that there would only be a small number of titles, but there’s actually just short of a dozen. My personal favorites are Ike! Ike! Nekketsu Hockey-bu and Nekketsu Street Basket: Ganbare Dunk Heroes. Note that you can now get all of these titles as part of the Double Dragon & Kunio-kun: Retro Brawler Bundle.
Finally, there are the titles Konami never localized, and there’s a lot of them. Over here, we knew the company mainly for titles like Contra or Castlevania, but in Japan, they offered a whole lot more. There are the Ganbare Goemon games (including two RPGS), a port of Parodius Da, Crisis Force, and several hidden gems. Then there are the two Wai Wai World crossover games. I spend a lot of time extolling the greatness of Konami’s Japan-only library, and that isn’t about to stop.
The Hardware
The most common version of the Famicom is the original beige and red model. It’s a little uncomfortable for modern gamers for a few reasons. The first concern is over the console’s extremely short controller cables hardwired into the system. The idea is that you’ll pull it off the shelf and play it on the floor, but that’s not a very Western thing to do. The easiest way about it might be to just use a long AV and power cable so you can pull the whole console over to where you sit.
If you’re crafty, you can modify the controller cables to give you more length. However, another option is to use the extension port on the side. There’s a variety of third-party controllers that you can buy, as well as extension cables and wireless controllers that can be used through that port. Be careful, though. A controller is wired either as a first player or second player. A player two controller plugged into the extension port will only act as a player two controller. So, if you’re playing alone, you need to make sure you have a player one controller.
The other downside is that the original Famicom model only supports RF out. This looks terrible on modern TVs and can be rather grainy on CRT. You’ll need to modify the console if you want better output.
The one I use is a Sharp Famicom Twin model. These are unique because they have the Famicom Disk System built in. They also support composite out, which provides a better video signal than RF. However, remember that these two have hardwired controllers with short cords.
The last common Famicom model is the “New Famicom,” sometimes called the “AV Famicom.” This one is visibly similar to the “New-Style NES” (or top-loader), with a few differences. Most importantly, the controllers aren’t hardwired, and it has a composite video output. It’s generally a bit more expensive than the standard Famicom, but it’s much cheaper than the Sharp Twin models.
You might also consider just using a Famicom adapter for your NES. This essentially just changes the Famicom’s 60-pin configuration to the NES’ 72-pin and allows you to play Famicom games on your NES with some caveats. First, Famicom game cartridges aren’t standardized, so some are much taller than others and won’t fit in an NES. Second, games that use specialized chips for additional audio channels will work, but you won’t get the boosted soundtrack. For example, Akumajou Densetsu, which is the Japanese version of Castlevania 3 won’t have its deeper soundtrack.
Since my NES is RGB modified while my Famicom isn’t, I’ll often use my NES to get a better picture through an upscaler. However, I love hooking the Famicom up to an old CRT for that authentic feel.
Finally, there are plenty of clone Famicoms available. While a lot of these are rather inconsistent in quality, there are enthusiast consoles like the RetroUSB AVS and the Analogue NT Mini. They can be useful if you want a simple, all-in-one solution without the need for tinkering.
The Famicom Disk System
If you’re feeling even more adventurous, it’s worth getting into the Famicom Disk System. This expansion to the console allows you to play a subset of games that were released on what are essentially recognized as floppy disks. This is where you’ll find games like Nintendo’s own Famicom Grand Prix 2: 3D Hot Rally and Nazo no Murasame-Jou.
Like standard Famicom games, these are generally cheap and easy to come by, with some standout titles being a bit more expensive. Nothing like some games in the NES library, however.
Getting the Famicom Disk System itself isn’t too expensive either. There’s one thing to note, however. The FDS console’s drive belt is prone to, er, melting. It’s an almost unavoidable flaw of the system, and chances are, if you have an FDS, it either has a broken belt or one you’ve already replaced. Replacing the belt isn’t as easy as it sounds, either. Putting a new one in is simple enough, but disassembling, recalibrating, and reassembling is a bit more difficult.
Likewise, the disks have the same issue as normal floppy disks: they are prone to degaussing. That is to say, they can lose the data written to them. Of all the FDS games I’ve handled, I’ve only found one that doesn’t read. Most sellers will test the games first, ensuring they’re still functional.
The disks are rewritable, too. So, that’s led to some fancy hardware hacks allowing for the restoration of degaussed games. This isn’t easy or accessible, but in the future, there may be more options when it comes to restoring the data on these disks.
Where to get a Famicom supplies
This one is a bit trickier. The absolute best way would be actually going to Japan and visiting one of their many fantastic retro game stores. Doing this will allow you to choose the condition of the games more easily. Likewise, it will give you access to a lot of games that still have their boxes and manuals. For some reason, Japanese gamers were in the habit of keeping their packaging, which is pretty cool.
However, that’s not a very realistic option. Unless you have a particularly well-stocked retro game store near you, you’re probably going to have to order online. Personally, I still use eBay, but there are non-auction websites you can go through. In the wake of COVID, there are a lot more stores that have turned to selling internationally on eBay, which is a benefit to importers. There are a tonne of well-stocked and reputable stores you can browse through.
Shipping can be an issue, especially if you’re buying consoles. Many sellers allow for combined shipping, and since many Famicom games reside in the $20 and below range, it’s easy to score a big care package of games. Shipping from Japan is often very quick unless you go with seamail. Seamail can take weeks, while I’ve had packages shipped by air arrive in a few short days.
Why you should get a Famicom
I’m not sure if I’ve said this enough, but the Famicom is more than simply a Japanese NES. It has an ecosystem of its own, with tons of quality titles unreleased in the West. Furthermore, there are unique experiences that we missed over here, like secret-heavy titles such as Atlantis no Nazo or fascinating kusoge like Spelunker II. Even while the NES has a well-rounded library of its own, the Famicom provides even more depth.
If you need recommendations, you can check out my old Famicom Friday column. However, I feel like part of the fun is diving into the unknown and seeing what you turn up. It’s still a bit of a frontier for a lot of video game hobbyists, so there’s a lot to discover on your own. And that’s what’s so exciting about the Famicom. There’s a lot of stuff that you just don’t hear about in the West, and, personally, my favorite games are the ones I haven’t played before.
