I’ve decided I want to do whatever it takes to play some old school Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) games, (the first gaming system I was old enough to really enjoy) without forking out huge piles of cash. Erm… so not ‘whatever it takes’. More like, ‘I’ve decided I want to play nintendo games, unless it would be difficult, expensive or too time consuming.’ That’s done easily enough with NES emulators like NESticle and NES roms (which is the game as a file on your computer). What’s not as easy is playing these games on something other than the keyboard, and computer monitor. It would be nice to have something a little more self contained. This recent flash of interest has led me down a path of great discovery.

Attempt 1
Can I get (Nintendo Entertainment System) NES games to play on my PS3? It appears the answer is “not without installing Linux”. I’m not going to do that. Its tedious, and I prefer not to mod devices that cost me over $400. A search on the matter will lead you to a flurry of youtube videos claiming NES game success on the PS3 without Linux. What may clue you off to the fact that this may not be true is the line “you have to open it under videos, I don’t know why” coupled with mario running and jumping in complete independence from the buttons being pressed! So NES on the PS3 is not impossible, but I wanted to look elsewhere.

Attempt 2
Can I get NES games to play on a NES? I kept an eye on craigslist and ebay. I’ve seen a few in good condition get sold for upwards of $80. They were $200 new back in the day I hear, so resale value should be pretty low if it weren’t for the fact that these are starting to turn vintage. $80 was not worth it for my experiment, but I saw one listed in the contents of a yard sale. I made my way over and got the console and a few games for $35. It was covered in sticker residue and had something jammed in the connection pins. It worked with a little encouragement. I ordered my favorite game of my childhood, Super Mario 3, on eBay for $17 including shipping. The trouble is these systems are 20+ years old (check out the very interesting history of the NES) so the pins that make connection with the game cartridges are often dirty, damaged or oxidized. Every time I switched the game out, it would take some effort to get it working again. Blowing into the cartridge helps and I’ve realized why. Its NOT a matter of removing dust. If it were the cue tips I was using would have helped. What makes blowing effective is the thin layer of moisture it lays down onto the pins, aiding with their connection with the pins inside the console. I cleaned the console inside and out, ordered a tool to open the game cartridges ($2) and replacement pins for the console ($3). Now its all working well and when I lose interest in it I should be able to get $80+ for it on eBay. Its always better when technical exercises are profitable.

My favorite NES games from childhood were:
1. Super Mario Bros. 3
2. Adventure Island
3. Tiger Heli
4. Tiny Toons
5. Rainbow Island
6. Contra
7. Monsters in my Pocket

Attempt 3
I’m trying to figure out where I learned about this next bit. Rosette had joined my retro craze and got a Gameboy at the same yard sale. Perhaps it was just curiosity that sparked my web search for “NES emulator for DS” (Nintendo DS is the Nintendo’s current handheld console offering). But guess what – its a reality. All the NES games of the 80’s and 90’s now in glorious handheld portability. You need a special game cartridge for your DS which takes a memory card (SDHC micro). This was something I had to try. I managed to pick up a slightly battered DS for $70 from some 12 year old kid who told me he had outgrown it. Then found someone on craigslist who could sell me an Acekard 2i ($37). This is one of the harder cards to get because its very new and is mean to support the Nintendo DSi (which is only coming out on April 5th). Got an 2GB SDHC micro for it ($6) and proceeded on install various software and try out some NES emulation. To my surprise it worked within half an hour of arriving home with the new equipment. This is simply fantastic. It will also play Sega / SNES and DS roms.

Attempt 3 here raises a few questions about legality and ethics. I’m not advocating this as an entertainment solution – certainly not for downloading DS games currently on the market (which is all too possible on the above equipment). Game creators rely on people making legal purchases to stay in business. As a technical experiment I found this a lot of fun, but on finding a game I liked (New Super Mario Bros), I went out and got a legal copy.