Famiclone: Dreamstation

When I came across this Famiclone for $5 in a flea market, it was as if a dream had come true. And as hard as I may be searching to make a nightmare joke here, I simply can’t bridge that gap. Sure the Dreamstation is a Famiclone, with all the cheap, half-assed Chinese goodness you would expect, but the system has only a few minor flaws.

My only real complaint is that the cables for the controllers are way too short, other than that this system is pretty great, considering it is a Chinese Famiclone. Another thing, although it isn’t really an issue other than cosmetic, is the melting styrofoam which seems to be an issue with most Chinese Famiclones that I’ve seen. Both the styrofoam from the box and the plastic in the system seem to be fusing together for some unknown reason.

Even with the cables being considerably too short, the controllers are surprisingly and extremely comfortable. They also arranged the A and B buttons more like the NES controller than most other Famiclone controller I’ve used, and included A and B shoulder buttons. The light gun included with the set feels very comfortable in my hands and is also surprisingly very accurate, but looks too real to be swung around wildly in public.

To compare the Dreamstation to my 57000 Video Game System, functionality wise I have to hand it to the Dreamstation hands down. The cartridge slot has a nice, broken in feeling where the carts pop in and come out without issue, as where the 57000 seems as if it just doesn’t want to let go of the game. Both pirated games and my Famicom games fit perfectly, with the real Famicom games fitting like a glove, I assume due to their significantly more rigid cartridge plastic.

It seems as if they used a Sega Genesis 2 for the base of the Dreamstation and just rounded it off to fit their needs. The Dreamstation comes with the standard 9 pin controller inputs for 2 players, uses the standard 9v DC power supply and much like the 57000 Video Game system, has AV and RF outs on the back. But unlike the 57000 the Dreamstation’s RF out works, and for some reason broadcasts to channel 23.

The reason I even found the system was because of the pirate cartridge sitting on top of the box, which looked like a black N64 cart, I had bent over to pick it up and read the box it was sitting on. I checked inside and found another cartridge so I figured if nothing more than for the 2 pirate games the price was well worth it, the fact that everything works is just a plus. The black cartridge boasts 9,999,999 games and the yellow cartridge claims 20 in 1, which we can already tell are both lies! Here is a list of games within both cartridges:

Black 9999999 in 1

1)Pokemon – Hack of Nuts & Milk.
2)Super Mario Bros. – Pretty much what is stated.
3)Soccer – Normal Soccer.
4)Duck Hunt – Normal Duck Hunt.
5)Galaxian – Normal Galaxian.
6)Road Fighter – Normal Road Fighter.
7)Long Live Mario – Starts on World 2-1
8)Fancy Mario – (aka Dream Mary) Incorrectly mirrored Super Mario Bros.
9)Clay Shooting – Normal Clay Shooting.
10)Moon Mario – Starts on World 3-1
11+) Repeats of above.

Yellow 20 in 1

1)Bomber Man(2002) – Looks great, plays like Bomber Man. No clue where this came from.
2)Twinbee – Normal Twinbee.
3)Road Fighter – Normal Road Fighter.
4)Baseball – Completely messed up, as always, pirated Nintendo Baseball.
5)Circus Charlie – Normal Circus Charlie.
6)Lode Runner – Normal Lode Runner.
7)Duck Hunt – Actually “Snowfield Shoot”, a hacked version of Duck Hunt.
8-20) Repeats of the above.


Overall the system feels plastic and cheap, but the cartridges go in and perform solidly. The controllers are extremely comfortable, surprisingly solid and the buttons are in a more familiar layout than most Famiclones. Although I paid $5 for the two pirate cartridges I saw, I ended up with a pretty solid Famiclone to add to my ever growing collection.

DreamStationBoxDreamStationSystemDreamStationCartridgeCarts

Posted May 5th, 2012

Attack of the Clones: New wave!

It is no secret, especially here on TVG, that I have a certain affinity for Famiclones. I currently own six handheld Famiclones which seem to be bountiful in thrift stores, yet I had never seen a console Famiclone and I’ve been eager to own one. Luckily I managed to find one hidden within a bin at the Goodwill Outlet store, although its a pretty nasty brownish/yellow it still works! They called it the Super 57000 Video Game.

There are many variations of console Famiclones, anywhere from nearly identical to a Famicom to the anything will do, just shove the clone workings inside and get it shipped. Mine is more of the latter as the outward appearance is that of an original Sony Playstation complete with a lid, eject button for the lid, power button and light as well as a reset button, which seems to be the only thing of real quality throughout the whole system. The console housing doesn’t close flush, nor does the lid, which covers the 60 pin connector. Even though it isn’t an optical lens it should still close properly to keep dust out of the game input slot.

After doing some research I found that the system came with built in games, which the source noted theirs no longer worked, that worried me slightly as I love the built in games in my Famiclones. Using the power supply from a Super Joy I powered the system on and was presented with a white screen of emptiness, so I tried to put in a game which yielded the same results. After popping the system open and pulling out the failed game board I tried again and this time the system roared to life with the bleep of the pirate multicart I had stuffed into the slot.

Like many, if not all, other Famiclones this one has the infamous 9 pin controller inputs. Luckily I happen to find the controllers to the system in another bin, but since they’re both missing the D-pads I’ve been using one of the player 2 controllers from my handheld systems. Unlike my handhelds this one has an RF output, which didn’t work so I rely heavily on the AV outs.. pretty much like my handhelds.

Although this thing is extremely cheap in terms of build quality, almost unabashedly, it does it’s job to a great extent. I wish the system’s built in games worked so I could give more information on them, even when I put the board in a handheld Famiclone it still didn’t work, so I’m pretty sure that part of the system is beyond repair. A feature that I found amusing was the use of two 60 pin connectors inside, one is for the built in board and the other is for the game cartridges. Having spare Famicom boards from the converters I’ve been building, I decided to use Hogan’s Alley as the built in game and it works perfectly.

I’m sure if I wanted to I could modify the system to work with NES controllers, fix the RF out and generally make the system more reliable than it is currently, but I’m not looking for anything more than a Famiclone console that is just that. Given the utter lack of components to go wrong, if something were to go wrong I could replace the part and get it back up and running with minimal trouble, such as the RF output which I do plan to fix. Again, this system is without a doubt just thrown together to get yet another Famiclone out on the market, but it is a working Famiclone and in the end that was all I was looking for.

The Super 57000 Video Game has once again fueled my interest in Famiclones, much like the Power Joy sparked my interest in them to begin with. I’m naturally looking to get my hands on a few more, including one that looks identical to the Famicom, but to at least own the first Famiclone console I’ve seen out in the wild is good enough for now. I can play my Famicom/pirate games in my NES, sure, but there is just a strange, simple joy of using a system that was designed to play these games specifically and nothing more, short of owning a real Famicom.

Posted April 17th, 2012

Attack of the Clones!

With as often as I go to flea markets and thrift stores, I see a lot of crazy items. Some of these items aren’t even related to video games, but sometimes I see things that are video game related that are just as crazy, such as the onslaught of systems known as Famiclones. These systems are made in China, boast an insane number of games or features it can’t truly offer and are built within slightly modified and brightly colored gaming systems we already know and love. I personally own 2 handheld Famiclones, I believe only one of them slightly works as I can’t test the other because I tried to power it up with an NES power supply and think I fried it.

My Super Joy 3 next to an N64 controller. Top (left) and bottom (right) comparison.

Since Nintendo let the patents to the Famicom and the NES go, you would assume these systems would be sold anywhere other Chinese goods are sold, but you’d be wrong. See, it isn’t the hardware that these companies create (or ripped-off, depending on your point of view) but the illegally pirated software within the units that comes under fire and keeps them off most store shelves. Essentially the system is a Nintendo on a chip, or NoaC, which emulates (to an extent) the same features the Famicom and NES did, while packing in game ROMs to make it a complete system with games. Some will boast anywhere from 76 to 99 million built-in games, which isn’t true. Although you may see that many choices, most of the games are split up into certain levels of the same game featured over and over within the system.

For example my Super Joy 3 offers 12000 games incuding: Super Mario Bros., Tennis, Baseball (utterly broken), Arkanoid, 1942, Pacman, Donkey Kong 3, Dig Dug, Clu Clu Land, Super C and a few other titles, from the maybe 30-40 original titles within the system, the rest of the choices are areas 1-1, 2-1, 3-1, etc. of Super Mario Bros., or different levels of Super C. Also, as you may suspect, these units are Chinese made so they aren’t built to stand the test of time, my Super Joy 3 has a terrible buzz and there are lines on the screen, but once you’re captured in a game it really tends to fade away to an extent. I do have to admit that I have had quite a bit of fun with my Super Joy 3, its fun to have that many games in your hands and it feels closer to the real thing than PC emulators.

So if the systems emulate the NES instead of the Famicom, why are they called Famiclones? Well, that is because most of them have a 60 pin connector attached to them, which is standard for the Famicom as the NES systems all used 72 pins. I’ve seen evidence that you may also be able to play official Famicom cartridges on these units, some other Famiclones are geared specifically for doing just that, but since I only own the handheld units and don’t own any Famicom games, I can’t claim this to be true.

My Super Joy 3 (left) and Power Joy (right) 60 pin connectors.

The systems range from Playstation shaped all the way to the odd shape of my Power Joy, which is like an N64 controller mixed with a jet fighter toy to allow for the light gun built into the unit. These systems almost always use a 9 pin input, much like the Atari 2600 or Sega Genesis, for a second controller or light gun. The handheld units can be run off batteries or DC adapters, they also have the standard power on/off switch, a reset button, D-pad, A and B with matching turbo buttons above them as well as start and select buttons. If you’re use to the N64 controller, at times you may want to pause the game and instead hit the reset button, but if you know what you’re looking for you can always scroll through the games and find the level you were on listed somewhere along the way.

All it took was buying the Power Joy for $1 that set off my obsession with wanting to understand the Famiclones. These units are often used for parts to create better handheld versions of the full systems they emulate, but on their own they’re pretty weak. These items will never come close to replacing the original Famicom, but for those of us who either can’t afford or don’t want to hunt down a working Famicom system, these might do enough to pass the time until we just can’t live without the real thing anymore. I will be doing more research and testing with mine as well as hopefully getting more Famiclones to test, but the bottom line is, I just want to enjoy the Famicom even in this sad, cloned, fraction of a sense.

Posted April 24th, 2011