My Little Samson board doesn't look quite like the one on bootgod. Notice the hole missing in the top right corner? My copy also has the older short text back label. Does anybody else have one that looks like this, just kinda worried.
My Little Samson board doesn't look quite like the one on bootgod. Notice the hole missing in the top right corner? My copy also has the older short text back label. Does anybody else have one that looks like this, just kinda worried.
Nothing to worry about, very common for a revised board to be used during production. What is the revision number along the right side (NES-TLROM-XX)?
LS is found with either back label. Lots of data to verify that. No worries if you have one or the other.
That's the same as the one in bootgod's list. Kind of funny that circle is different, but otherwise they appear identical. It's a trivial thing since everything else checks out. Mask roms look legit and that's the major thing. The board and components, other than that circle, are legit too.
I had been researching a while how to spot fake/reproduction SNES games and I never fully understood what to look for until I found this thread this morning.
Below is a photo of my PAL copy of Secret of Mana, now I understand that and read somewhere that I can type the number of the masked rom into Google, the chip that is in the to left of the PCB board in this image. My question is, which one do I search for? I know there are 4 lines and one of them came up with no results as where at least 2 came up with results that were rubbish.
EDIT:
Noticed that the image is too small to see the info on the masked rom chip, so here is a cropped and close up version:
Many thanks for the info, much appreciated. I am now checking my DKC 3, which the chip says A3CP which matches that on the database, I am right believing that this is also authentic?
I suspect that my copy of Super Dodge Ball might be a bootleg. The chips look like originals but the copyright on the board says 1987 and the back of the cart says 1985 but the game was not released until 1989.
So I have a guy who is offering an Aero Fighters cart as part of a trade and I want to know what to look for. Scanning ebay auctions it seems there are a bunch of questionable carts sold. In particular I'm looking at this one:
1st, what's up with the label? It looks different than the obviously legit label, but I don't know if it's a brazil label or a straight up fake or what.
2nd, what's up with the board? snes central says there should be 2 mask roms, and that single rom doesn't have the game code anywhere on it. is it an old pirate or brazil or legit or what?
That Aero Fighters cart in the eBay listing looks like a modern bootleg to me. The label has tell-tale signs of fuzzy lines and low resolution, not enough for tiny details to appear sharp. That and the ROM inside looks to be an EEPROM or a OTP EPROM, going by the lack of Nintendo product code and the MX parts number printed instead.
I was just hoping to get some community feedback before I traded it away, since it's a high dollar cart and all that...
I came across this cart, no label, owner didn't know what the hell game it was. I take it home, the contacts needed a little cleaning, but I fired it up and it's R-Type 3! I thought, this is too good to be true... I open it up there's a handwritten label on the Mask ROM, so I think, "Ah okay it's fake." I peel it back expecting an EPROM, and there's no window, appears to be factory soldered. Underneath the sticker gunk, I can make out "SNS-ER" which is the correct code, on the correct model PCB (SHVC-1A0N-20). I'd upload pics with this, but for whatever reason, my camera doesn't want to talk to Linux and my Macbook is out of commission. I'll get pics uploaded soon.
I'd feel better if I could upload pictures right now, but is there any chance it's fake? Just thought it was weird, no label, obviously been opened up before, but seems totally authentic to me. Though, I'm not an expert.
I was just hoping to get some community feedback before I traded it away, since it's a high dollar cart and all that...
I came across this cart, no label, owner didn't know what the hell game it was. I take it home, the contacts needed a little cleaning, but I fired it up and it's R-Type 3! I thought, this is too good to be true... I open it up there's a handwritten label on the Mask ROM, so I think, "Ah okay it's fake." I peel it back expecting an EPROM, and there's no window, appears to be factory soldered. Underneath the sticker gunk, I can make out "SNS-ER" which is the correct code, on the correct model PCB (SHVC-1A0N-20). I'd upload pics with this, but for whatever reason, my camera doesn't want to talk to Linux and my Macbook is out of commission. I'll get pics uploaded soon.
I'd feel better if I could upload pictures right now, but is there any chance it's fake? Just thought it was weird, no label, obviously been opened up before, but seems totally authentic to me. Though, I'm not an expert.
Thanks for taking the time to read this!
sounds legit. it'd have to be something pretty crazy to have a mask rom with the right code and be a fake.
I was just hoping to get some community feedback before I traded it away, since it's a high dollar cart and all that...
I came across this cart, no label, owner didn't know what the hell game it was. I take it home, the contacts needed a little cleaning, but I fired it up and it's R-Type 3! I thought, this is too good to be true... I open it up there's a handwritten label on the Mask ROM, so I think, "Ah okay it's fake." I peel it back expecting an EPROM, and there's no window, appears to be factory soldered. Underneath the sticker gunk, I can make out "SNS-ER" which is the correct code, on the correct model PCB (SHVC-1A0N-20). I'd upload pics with this, but for whatever reason, my camera doesn't want to talk to Linux and my Macbook is out of commission. I'll get pics uploaded soon.
I'd feel better if I could upload pictures right now, but is there any chance it's fake? Just thought it was weird, no label, obviously been opened up before, but seems totally authentic to me. Though, I'm not an expert.
Thanks for taking the time to read this!
sounds legit. it'd have to be something pretty crazy to have a mask rom with the right code and be a fake.
Thanks. That's what I was thinking too, it fetches a bit on eBay, but isn't particularly valuable. Just thought it better safe than sorry and check with you guys before using it as tradebait. Hell, I might keep it, definitely one of the most amazing shooters of the era. Still gotta wonder what someone was doing with this cart, it's almost like they wanted to pass it off as a fake with no cart label and a piece of tape on the Mask ROM.
Contrary to popular belief, not everyone is out to scam innocent Nintendo collectors. Tape on the Mask ROM could have been put there for any number of reasons. There's no way to know for sure.
But yes, as long as the ROM chip in the game is a Mask ROM (black matte plastic body) and has the game's Nintendo-given product code (SNS-ER-USA for R-Type III), then it is legitimate.
I just received the cart today, thank you all for looking at it. Based on other pictures/threads it does not look authentic (specially the actual program white screen vs black Nintendo screen but I am crossing my fingers) please let me know your thoughts. Last picture is of the screws, they are Phillips not usuall NES 3.8 screws. Thanks again!
I just received the cart today, thank you all for looking at it. Based on other pictures/threads it does not look authentic (specially the actual program white screen vs black Nintendo screen but I am crossing my fingers) please let me know your thoughts. Last picture is of the screws, they are Phillips not usuall NES 3.8 screws. Thanks again!
The yellow shells are unique to test carts. There isn't a good way to distinguish the boards/chips but I wouldn't be too worried with a real shell. I don't know what you mean by the program screen.
Thank you for your reply, most of the videos/images (see attached pictures) out there show a black Nintendo Screen at start then it shows the control test screen in black on red colors not white/blue like my cart. I just wanted to know if someone else had a cart and could confirm if it was correct (were there variations?) Thanks again everyone I really appreciate it
Here's an example of a modern newly manufactured bootleg from China. This is a fake Earthbound a member here received. These are a new problem and will likely only get worse.
Key points:
no Nintendo markings
small form factor surface mounted rom chips
clone cic chip (left side under battery?)
debug header pin pads (on the right)
These won't have the wires or tsop adapters like a hobbyist repro. There are a handful of legit games that will use suface mount chips, so that's not a guarantee. But afaik the lockout is always through-hole style with proper Nintendo markings. That should be the first thing to check.
The one on the left I just found today. It does not have the embossed charcters on the label. The PCB did not seem to match what I was seeing in google images. I compared it to a copy I thought was legit (on the right). It does have an embossed label but the PBC doesn't match google images. Are these copies legit?
Comments
Originally posted by: andrelapse
My Little Samson board doesn't look quite like the one on bootgod. Notice the hole missing in the top right corner? My copy also has the older short text back label. Does anybody else have one that looks like this, just kinda worried.
Nothing to worry about, very common for a revised board to be used during production. What is the revision number along the right side (NES-TLROM-XX)?
LS is found with either back label. Lots of data to verify that. No worries if you have one or the other.
I had been researching a while how to spot fake/reproduction SNES games and I never fully understood what to look for until I found this thread this morning.
Below is a photo of my PAL copy of Secret of Mana, now I understand that and read somewhere that I can type the number of the masked rom into Google, the chip that is in the to left of the PCB board in this image. My question is, which one do I search for? I know there are 4 lines and one of them came up with no results as where at least 2 came up with results that were rubbish.
EDIT:
Noticed that the image is too small to see the info on the masked rom chip, so here is a cropped and close up version:
SPAL means Super NES PAL. In America it would say SNS. In Japan, it would say SHVC.
K2 is the game's product code given by Nintendo. You can look up nearly all product codes here on NintendoAge's database. K2 is Secret of Mana.
0 denotes the revision of the game code. 0 means revision 1.0, or REV00 as you sometimes see online. Some games had one or more revisions.
For your DKC3 product code "A3CP", the A doesn't mean a whole lot, the P means PAL. 3C refers to the game itself, like K2 means Secret of Mana.
Can anyone here tell me if it's fake or not?
http://nintendoage.com/index.cfm?alpha=&Keywords=NES-ND-O&FuseAction=Search.Results&Search=simple
Those dates don't matter, since the same boards and cart shell designs were used for many games over the years.
Thank you to everyone who answered common questions I've been wondering about forever!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/161569572051
1st, what's up with the label? It looks different than the obviously legit label, but I don't know if it's a brazil label or a straight up fake or what.
2nd, what's up with the board? snes central says there should be 2 mask roms, and that single rom doesn't have the game code anywhere on it. is it an old pirate or brazil or legit or what?
SMH
It's sad how many fake games are being made and sold now adays on eBay.
NA and in the wild is the only place I'll trust any high end games.
I came across this cart, no label, owner didn't know what the hell game it was. I take it home, the contacts needed a little cleaning, but I fired it up and it's R-Type 3! I thought, this is too good to be true... I open it up there's a handwritten label on the Mask ROM, so I think, "Ah okay it's fake." I peel it back expecting an EPROM, and there's no window, appears to be factory soldered. Underneath the sticker gunk, I can make out "SNS-ER" which is the correct code, on the correct model PCB (SHVC-1A0N-20). I'd upload pics with this, but for whatever reason, my camera doesn't want to talk to Linux and my Macbook is out of commission. I'll get pics uploaded soon.
I'd feel better if I could upload pictures right now, but is there any chance it's fake? Just thought it was weird, no label, obviously been opened up before, but seems totally authentic to me. Though, I'm not an expert.
Thanks for taking the time to read this!
I was just hoping to get some community feedback before I traded it away, since it's a high dollar cart and all that...
I came across this cart, no label, owner didn't know what the hell game it was. I take it home, the contacts needed a little cleaning, but I fired it up and it's R-Type 3! I thought, this is too good to be true... I open it up there's a handwritten label on the Mask ROM, so I think, "Ah okay it's fake." I peel it back expecting an EPROM, and there's no window, appears to be factory soldered. Underneath the sticker gunk, I can make out "SNS-ER" which is the correct code, on the correct model PCB (SHVC-1A0N-20). I'd upload pics with this, but for whatever reason, my camera doesn't want to talk to Linux and my Macbook is out of commission. I'll get pics uploaded soon.
I'd feel better if I could upload pictures right now, but is there any chance it's fake? Just thought it was weird, no label, obviously been opened up before, but seems totally authentic to me. Though, I'm not an expert.
Thanks for taking the time to read this!
sounds legit. it'd have to be something pretty crazy to have a mask rom with the right code and be a fake.
I was just hoping to get some community feedback before I traded it away, since it's a high dollar cart and all that...
I came across this cart, no label, owner didn't know what the hell game it was. I take it home, the contacts needed a little cleaning, but I fired it up and it's R-Type 3! I thought, this is too good to be true... I open it up there's a handwritten label on the Mask ROM, so I think, "Ah okay it's fake." I peel it back expecting an EPROM, and there's no window, appears to be factory soldered. Underneath the sticker gunk, I can make out "SNS-ER" which is the correct code, on the correct model PCB (SHVC-1A0N-20). I'd upload pics with this, but for whatever reason, my camera doesn't want to talk to Linux and my Macbook is out of commission. I'll get pics uploaded soon.
I'd feel better if I could upload pictures right now, but is there any chance it's fake? Just thought it was weird, no label, obviously been opened up before, but seems totally authentic to me. Though, I'm not an expert.
Thanks for taking the time to read this!
sounds legit. it'd have to be something pretty crazy to have a mask rom with the right code and be a fake.
Thanks. That's what I was thinking too, it fetches a bit on eBay, but isn't particularly valuable. Just thought it better safe than sorry and check with you guys before using it as tradebait. Hell, I might keep it, definitely one of the most amazing shooters of the era. Still gotta wonder what someone was doing with this cart, it's almost like they wanted to pass it off as a fake with no cart label and a piece of tape on the Mask ROM.
But yes, as long as the ROM chip in the game is a Mask ROM (black matte plastic body) and has the game's Nintendo-given product code (SNS-ER-USA for R-Type III), then it is legitimate.
I just received the cart today, thank you all for looking at it. Based on other pictures/threads it does not look authentic (specially the actual program white screen vs black Nintendo screen but I am crossing my fingers) please let me know your thoughts. Last picture is of the screws, they are Phillips not usuall NES 3.8 screws. Thanks again!
The yellow shells are unique to test carts. There isn't a good way to distinguish the boards/chips but I wouldn't be too worried with a real shell. I don't know what you mean by the program screen.
Thank you for your reply, most of the videos/images (see attached pictures) out there show a black Nintendo Screen at start then it shows the control test screen in black on red colors not white/blue like my cart. I just wanted to know if someone else had a cart and could confirm if it was correct (were there variations?) Thanks again everyone I really appreciate it
Key points:
no Nintendo markings
small form factor surface mounted rom chips
clone cic chip (left side under battery?)
debug header pin pads (on the right)
These won't have the wires or tsop adapters like a hobbyist repro. There are a handful of legit games that will use suface mount chips, so that's not a guarantee. But afaik the lockout is always through-hole style with proper Nintendo markings. That should be the first thing to check.
The one on the left I just found today. It does not have the embossed charcters on the label. The PCB did not seem to match what I was seeing in google images. I compared it to a copy I thought was legit (on the right). It does have an embossed label but the PBC doesn't match google images. Are these copies legit?
Thanks