Famiclone: Power Joy Voyager
Being the Famiclone freak I am, I’m quite familiar with the Power Joy name, considering that is the name that kicked off my adoration for not only Famiclones, but the system and game piracy market as a whole. When you think of a handheld Famiclone many would think of the jet fighter/Nintendo 64 cross-breed I’ve shown here many times before, but Power Joy took the term quite literally. Power Joy created a Famiclone concealed within a package that most casual gamers would pass up without a second glance, however this Famiclone is definitely worth a second glance, and perhaps even more.
Today I will be taking a look at quite a peculiar Famiclone called the Power Joy Voyager, a Famiclone that I had only seen online and never really expected one to ever cross my path, which recently happened. I was at the Goodwill outlet store, digging through bins, when I happened to unearth what I originally thought was a Nintendo Gameboy, but upon further inspection it was the Power Joy Voyager. The screen is clearly an LCD of a cheap Chinese Tetris clone, but when I flipped the unit over it had a cartridge inside, which gave me hope that it had more games than just cheap Tetris knock-offs.
After getting everything home I pulled the Voyager out of the bag and gave it a test, sure enough it was nothing more than different variations of games made up of blocks; Tetris clones, blocky designed tank battle games and even (admittedly fun) blocky car racing games. I turned the unit over and pulled out the cartridge to see how it would function without it, which yielded absolutely no change in the game selection. I wondered to myself why the unit would have a cartridge inside of it that had no bearing on the games.
At this point I have to admit that prior to even testing the unit I was well aware of the controller port and power input on the bottom (luckily I also found the controllers), as well as the AV output on the top. However, this is a Chinese made system, which means this unit doesn’t need to follow any sense of logic, this thing could have a Megazord built in, simply because they had one laying around that day. But when the cartridge failed to change the game selection I was stunned and decided that I needed to plug it in to see exactly what was going on.
Oddly enough there is no volume adjustment wheel, like Nintendo’s Gameboy, but while in LCD mode you simply press the yellow button to cycle through different volume levels. The switch on the side of the system has 3 options: off, TV and LCD. LCD is pretty obvious but when I tried the TV option the LCD shut off and a red light turned on, which at first seemed to do absolutely nothing until I jiggled the switch a bit, and much to my surprise the television screen flashed up just like the other Power Joy I own, with a list of NES games!
As I mentioned before the system has a controller port and power input on the bottom, as well as AV ports on the very top, none of which hinder the ability to use it as a portable system, should you want to. The controllers come paired together, much like the old Atari 2600 paddle controllers, simply two controllers with a single plug at the end. Aiding in the efforts to push the unit’s “portability” is the ability to use (4xAAA) batteries to power the system, although this doesn’t yield the best results in TV mode, I also presume this would drain the batteries quite quickly.
The built-in controls are pretty standard for any Famiclone, even including a reset button, but the detachable controllers are quite unique. Small, yet comfortable, player one’s controller has an integrated light gun and standard D-pad, while player two has more of an analog style stick. Both controllers have the standard and turbo A and B buttons as well as their own start and select buttons.
The shell is blatantly copied from the Gameboy Color, which makes the system comfortable to hold, sadly the portable side of the unit isn’t strong enough to make you want to hold it for too long. The Voyager’s cartridge design isn’t exactly based off the Gameboy cartridge design, it may slightly resemble it but it any gamer should easily be able to tell the difference, nor are the cartridges interchangeable between the two systems.
The cartridge (PJ-008) has 84 games comprised mostly of pirated classics with no repeats, which is the exact same line up of games in the Famicom sized PJ-008 cartridge. Being a Chinese system, yet again I must note the cheap AV outputs, but the picture quality is great compared to other handheld Famiclones. Much like other handheld Famiclones using batteries isn’t the best option, and when the batteries start running down you will notice strange reactions to pressing buttons, as well as lines in the screen.
The NES side of this strange little beast heavily out weighs the handheld block games, but that isn’t saying the handheld games are all bad. With a few good variations of Tetris, some Breakout clones and various other games thrown in, the Power Joy Voyager will keep you entertained on short car rides, work commutes or even between your favorite TV shows. I picked this thing up super cheap, or else I probably wouldn’t have bought it at all, but if you find one for a few bucks I would highly recommend it, if nothing more than just the sheer oddity of the thing.
Since I don’t have the instruction manual I did a Google search and came up empty, although I did send off an email to someone who was selling one on Craigslist from Derby, CT. That person was gracious enough to actually scan the manual and send me the photos! For that I have to send a huge thank you to Bryan!
Attack of the Clones: Send in the Clones!
I will admit that I’m pretty fond of my Super Joy 3, but lately it has been giving me problems. I think the batteries are going dead, but with anything made in China, it may also just be dying for good. Recently I found a functional Power Joy that may take it’s place, so I figured what better to do than to give the Power Joy it’s own review!
The Power Joy also has the N64 controller resemblance, but takes it a few steps further from the Super Joy, for the integrated light gun. The first thing you’ll notice is the toy jet design on the front, as well as the toy gun like handle, with trigger, underneath. The toy jet design may have been added to throw off the N64 controller shape, but the handle and trigger are essential and feel quite comfortable when you’re playing one of the many shooting games packed into this unit. Also, the light gun’s accuracy is surprisingly good!
At the bottom of the handle is the second controller port, as well as the hardwired AV cables, with optional power input. The cables are decent in length and don’t get in the way, despite their placement. Underneath the unit you’ll also find a 60 pin connector and the battery storage, which has an extremely weak feeling cover. The Power Joy does play Famicom cartridges, but the unit isn’t quite big enough to play them comfortably, so your fingers might be cramped until you find a comfortable playing position.
On top of the Power Joy are the controls, which are setup much like the Super Joy’s, but with a few exceptions. Here the D pad is still inaccurate, the reset button is much smaller but still too easy to hit in a hurry, the power switch is right above the reset button and start and select are the same. One feature the Super Joy lacks, but I enjoy on the Power Joy, is a fully functional joystick, which is more accurate (just slightly) than the D pad. A minor drawback is that the A and B buttons (including their turbo counterparts) are backwards, which takes a little time to adjust to.
My new Power Joy came with the cartridge, so I had a chance to see what it could offer. I honestly think the cartridge alone was worth the $3 I paid for the whole unit! The PJ-008 is packed with playable games, and it even works on the NES, with a Famicom to NES converter. Out of the 84 games on the cartridge, there are only a handful of failures. That isn’t to say they’re not functional, they’re just not games I enjoyed. It is noteworthy to say that most of the games packed on the PJ-008 are simply pirated, very few are hacks.
Overall, again, I am impressed with this cheap, Chinese toy. I enjoy sitting in front of my TV and having many choices right at my finger tips, which the Super Joy and Power Joy units provide in abundance. The controls are whacky, the games are mostly pirates or hacks of games we already know and love, but this system is a pretty cool little device. Thanks to my new Power Joy, I now know that my other Power Joy works as well, it just needed the battery cover to power up properly. I don’t expect them to live long, but for what they are, I will enjoy them as long as I can.
Here is the list of games that the Power Joy offers, as well as the PJ-008 cartridge. I know they released a few different versions, so I would imagine the games differ from cartridge to cartridge, so this is a list of what I’ve got on my system.
Games in the Power Joy
Power Joy Title | Extra Info |
Shoot Copter | Hacked Duck Hunt |
Falling Bricks | Fairly decent Tengen Tetris Hack |
Shoot Copters | Hacked Duck Hunt |
Panzer Fly Car | Road Fighter Hack |
Debar Bomb 1 | Hogan’s Alley Hack |
Shooting | Hacked Hogan’s Alley – Can shoot |
Debar Bomb 2 | Hogan’s Alley Hack |
Future Tank | Battle City Hack |
Space War | Exerion Hack |
Shoot Glass | Hacked Duck Hunt – Clay Shooting |
Games in the Cartridge
Power Joy Title | Extra Info |
80 Days | Puss ‘n Boots: Around the World in 80 Days |
1942 | 1942 |
Arkanoid | Arkanoid |
Aladdin III | Magic Carpet 1001 (Infamous Pirate) |
Argus | Famicom Argus |
Adisland | Famicom Adventure Island |
ASCII | Famicom Penguin-Kun Wars |
Arabian | Famicom Super Arabian |
Badminton | Famicom Super Dynamix Badminton |
Baltron | Famicom Baltron |
B-Wings | Battle Wings/Famicom B-Wings |
Bird Week | Famicom Bird Week |
Boat Race | Seizure inducing F1 Race Hack |
Boom Man | Bomber Man |
Brush Roller | Hack of a Pirate called Bookyman |
Clay Shoot | Hacked Duck Hunt |
Chack and Pop | Famicom Chack’n Pop |
Circus Chablie | Circus Charlie – Menu is spelled wrong |
City Connection | City Connection |
Challenger | Famicom Challenger |
Dig Dug | Dig Dug |
Dough Boy | Famicom Dough Boy |
Druaga | Famicom Tower of Druaga |
Devil World | Famicom Devil World |
Ding Dong | Famicom Binary Land |
Door Door | Famicom Door Door |
Dynamite Bowl | Famicom Dynamite Bowl |
Elevator Action | Elevator Action |
Exerion | Famicom Exerion |
Formation Z | Famicom Formation Z |
Front Line | Famicom Front Line |
Fire Dragon | Interesting clone of the Atari game Surround |
Flappy | Famicom Flappy |
Flipull | Famicom Flipull |
Filed Combat | Field Combat – Menu is spelled wrong |
Galaga | Galaga |
Galg | Famicom Zunou Senkan Galg |
Geimos | Famicom Geimos |
Gyrodine | Famicom Gyrodine |
Goonies | Famicom Goonies |
Gotcha | LJN’s Gotcha! I like this one, since the Power Joy is also the light zapper! |
Galaxians | Galaxian |
Gradius | Gradius |
Hyper Olympic | Track and Field |
Joust | Joust |
Karateka | Famicom Karateka |
Kage | The Legend of Kage |
Lode Runner 1 | Lode Runner |
Lode Runner 2 | Championship Lode Runner |
Lunar Ball | Lunar Pool |
Macross | Choujikuu Yousai Macross |
Magic Jewellery | Pirate of Magic Jewelry |
MagMax | MagMax |
Mappy | Mappy |
Millipede | Millipede |
Othello | Pirate of HES’s Othello |
Pooyan | Famicom Pooyan |
Pac Land | Famicom Pac-Land |
Paper Boy | Paperboy |
Pandamar | Hacked Super Mario with a Panda |
Penguin | Famicom Obake no Q Tarou: Wan Wan Panic/ NES Chubby Cherub (w/ drastic changes!) |
Route 16 | Famicom Route 16 Turbo |
Raid on Bay | Raid on Bungeling Bay |
Road Fighter | Famicom Road Fighter |
Sky Destroyer | Sky Destroyer |
Space ET | Space Invaders |
Star Gate | Famicom Stargate/Defender II |
Star Force | Star Force |
Son Son | Famicom Son Son |
Spartan | Famicom Spartan X/NES Kung Fu |
Spelunker | Spelunker |
Spy vs Spy | Spy vs Spy |
Squoon | Famicom Squoon |
Starslider | Star Soldier |
Star Luster | Famicom Star Luster |
Tag Team | Tag Team [Pro] Wrestling |
Tank | Battle City |
Twin Bee | Famicom Twin Bee |
Wrestling | M.U.S.C.L.E. |
Wisdom | Wisdom Boy – Puzzle game of unknown Origins |
Warp Man | Famicom Warpman |
World Cup | World Cup 2002 Chinese hack of Soccer |
Xevious | Xevious |
Zippy Race | MotoRace USA/Zippy Race |
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.
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.
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.