Can't believe this video came out 8 years ago. Just hear to say I think the design of the famicon is badass

I remember getting this for Christmas when I was a kid. I had asked for a Nintendo and my step father (who is Japanese), purchased this version instead the U.S. version, from a shop in Japanese Village, (Little Tokyo) back in the 80s. While I was excited to have a Nintendo console, I was also kinda bummed out that I was never able to add more than 2 games to my library, because they were so expensive. Literally 90 plus dollars for a game, due to being imports. I only had the yellow cart Mario game, that came with the console and some game based on a Japanese comedian, that came in a purple shell. I was never able to play any Mega Man games, Zelda, Metroid, etc. Just watched my friends played theirs, lol. Today, I would love to own this console again. Brings back so much memories. Since Mario was my only go to game (i didn't care much for the other one) I spent a great deal of hours on it and sort of became an expert at it. Not sure how good I'd be today, after so many years.

Mark your videos are so addictive, I like catching up with ya on the weekends

"This is EASILY the most unattractive console ever created" BLASPHEMY! I like the original Famicom design more than the NES, it's really cute.

I always thought the Famicom looked really cool. Much better than the NES, which was rather dull.

The humming is often caused by the built-in microphone on the Player 2 controller. If you open up the 2nd player control and sand down any corrosion on the contacts of the microphone volume slider the humming should either die down or go away all together.

I'm surprised that you think it's so ugly. Personally, I think it's ten times more attractive than the huge grey brick the NES was.

You may call it ugly but I think it looks cooler than an NES, don't hate on me, I like the colors more and it isn't just a box, I am not saying specs are better because I don't know them, I am merely speculating on looking at the console itself and it's controllers

That one bit at 2:07 where Mark switches the Famicom on and off and it syncs with the music gives me life

My god, that massive Zenith TV is a monster, I don’t think I’ve ever seen something so huge.

That is the MOST attractive video game console I think.

Brought me way back into my childhood, playing countless hours of super mario, excitebike, and others I can't remember! I burst out laughing at the blow-into-the-cartridge fix, and the multiple switching on-off to get the games going! Great vid!

I love the controller cozies. Keeps everything nice and organized.

This is like the best era of KZfaq

Oh crap, I played this in the Philippines back in the mid 80's. Couple of peso's, and you could play for hours.

If you open up the famicom, you can adjust the pots so it will tune in to your tv better. Mine works great on my newer CRT TV. I also discovered a mega-drive 1 power pack powers up the FDS quite well. Hope that helps.

i think the famicom looks cooler than the nes

no way man! This is a friggin awesome clean lines design! I'm in love with this consoles design!

wow it is incredible how good those games still works and had pretty descent graphics too

I hope Mark does a follow-up review on each of those games. I have always found the Japan-exclusive Famicom games to be mysterious and alluring.

the slide to eject mechanism is really good since you can notice that the Famicom games in the videos don't have their sticker labels worn out from pulling on them...

Least attractive? I think it's the most attractive because of the unique color.

Here in Argentina we had this one! Its kinda awesome I got to play SOLBRAIN and years later i realized it was the original version of SHATTERHAND

I've never actually seen one of these before - thanks for sharing!

Review of the Nintendo Famicom...on my birthday? This is a great day

My father bought me famicom back in 94. Brings back so many memories

Besides the hard-wired controllers, I actually LOVE the Famicom design! I loved how it was sleeker, smaller, etc. :)

I like Famicom! Hooray me!

I love cartridge based systems. I used to blow into my cartridges when I was younger but now I use *windex* and a *qtip*. Very good video

I had that one coming with many games and clones.. Really cool

I have that same brand of CRT TV, the one with the Z. Kids today and their new-fangled plasma and LED screen TVs.

Love the Styx reference at the end!

I have the newer version of the redesigned Famicom. It has the A/V output like the one on the SNES, and the detachable dog bone controllers, it works great with any tv. You just have to watch because some still have the RF output.

It's a big part of my childhood memories it's indescriptible the memories and times we had and pop used to complain about power bill lol

If you didn't know mark,the famicom can be modded for composite out and even rbg.On the famicom disk system,it can take (C batteries) to power it or a ac adapter.

I had that same zenith TV when I was younger!

That familiar whine from a CRT, I miss it...well not really but it is nostalgic. You could always tell if someone was watching tv or playing video games in another room just from that whine, half way up the stairs you'd hear it.

The hum is due to the power adapter, i had the same problem on my nes, i was using the recomanded voltage which is 9V here in Europe, and i switched it with a 12V adapter. No humming noises and my nes is working perfectly.

I'm surprised there hasn't been a Famicom review on CGR yet. Cool stuff on demonstrating the console though along with some Japan exclusive games. Reviewing the Famicom Disk System sounds great as well as that was also a Japan exclusive.

This is the Japanese version and It's US counterpart is the NES. But of course this is the better one, we asians grew up with this :P

Great review!

Hi Lord Karnage. When I got my original famicom, the hum was ear drum exploding loud. I remembered controller 2 had a mic and I thought maybe it was giving itself feedback, so I cleaned everything in controller 2 and BAM! no hum! Also, the famicom power supply works on the disk system. I used one for a year until I got an original disk system power brick. Thanks for the videos!

Least attractive ?? It's beautiful. Especially the color scheme.

to anyone having the humming problem, it is most likely the 2nd controller's microphone. if you open the 2nd controller and clean the contacts for the volume slider, all humming should go away. and if worst comes to worst, you can open it up and unplug the 2nd controller. mine had the same problem.

The humming is coming from the second controller mic you need to move the volume dial around to find the sweet spot to make the humming stop.

30 years later it still works! so sick

I've used my old SNES RF switch on my old famicom and it works like a charm. Also, you may want to use your tv's channel scanning feature to get the best signal.

Shiiiiittt This had to To Be GOLD! Like The NES In 1985 ESPECIALLY On the Game crash in 1983!!!! Thank you Nintendo!!! For saving the gaming industry

that humming was the soundtrack of my early gaming days

FYI, the humming usually comes from the mic on Controller 2. You have to take apart Player 2's controller and clean off the PCB and volume swiper with alcohol to make sure there's a good connection. Same issue happened on my Rev 1 Famicom.

I had this console as a kid back in Perú . My mother bought it as a mistake because I wanted a NES and she show up with this one. It was really kool, I couldn’t get as many games as I would with the NES . This could console may still be at my old house with the rest of my toys from the 80s and early 90s. Next time I go back I should look for it.

Famicom looked really nostalgic to me. So many childhood memories. The only thing I hate was the short cords for the game pads, and the 2nd controller didn't had a start button.

got an A/V famicom new back in 2006 as nintendo didnt actually stop making them till like 2003. there great as you can use RCA cords for the video and audio so no RF tuning required and they work with every famicom accessory including the disk system and 3D headset :)

You guys from CGR are cool, I wish I had your jobs!

What is that opening music? Did you make it yourself? I love the bass!

This is what i had back home in Argentina when i was a kid.

The hum is more than likely due to the player 2 controller mic. if you move the volume slider up and down real fast and sometimes that will clear it up, otherwise you can take apart the controller and clean the slider... and if that doesn't work you can simple cut the wires to the mic :)

Where can I find some of this wonderful music you use on CGR?

I love Classic Game Room. It's one of those things in life that is so perfect.

You have to solder RCA jacks or 3.5mm multi-port on. Once you do that you can plug it into an HDTV. Some assembly required. It's old.

I like to play this classic game when was a child...

The Famicom was way better than the NES~

I really like the look of the Famicom :) great review.

awesome hahaha my childhood days spent right in front of a big ass TV with famicom hooked on it

The hum is due to controller 2. If you turn the mic switch all the way down, the humming will stop. Keep up the good reviews!

Hey Mark, nice review. I have a pretty big famicom collection and love it! I believe it has the eject button because if you pull out the cartridges with your hands you will create unwanted pressure on the pins in the console where it grabs the game board. Overtime it'll create problems although it can be fixed. But this baby is old and has suffered a lot so doesn't matter anymore, right. haha I have to agree that the famicom is not really cool looking although marketed more like a toy I think. The system should have been pure white but so many old famicoms are now yellow due to people smoking in their house....gross eh. That and that damn sun! (shakes fist)

-I use a multi adapter because I don't have an official power supply and dropping the voltage down 1 slot got rid of the hum. -Connecting first to a VCR is an easy way to get to channel 95 . -I always used batteries in my disk system.

I have the grey one that does not have hard wired controllers. Still loving my nes consoles!

I love the Nintendo Famicom. Got one at the TooManyGames expo in 2012. I also got the games that never came out in the U.S. of A.. I remember vacationing in India playing the games on a pirate Famicom console.

Legendary Classic Console... And it still works!

"Don't shoot at me, I'm Vic Tokai!" lmao some vintage CGR

I had the same humming issue on mine. It may be feedback from the mic on the second controller. I took the controller apart, cleaned it, and made sure the slider was turned all the way down. Seem to make a difference. :D

This really is awesome I love this. I started with the Atari pong. 1976ish

In Chile (1987), due to Namco-Bandai's "Galaga" Success, famiclones had huge sales. But "Super Mario Bros" was unknown success yet in these years until 1992, when "Super Mario Bros Super Show" ran in chilean local TV.

I'm sure someone must have commented about this hum, but if you open up the second controller, clean up the volume slider for the microphone and also clean up where the slider meets the board and you'll completely remove the humming sound.

super thumbs up! this was the game console that i started out with XD

Mark, your Genesis 1 power supply works with the FDS. Just plug that in, i'm sure you have a couple extra :P

Lord karnage will always be the coolest KZfaqr alive.

This is the one I really grew up with, I was really surprised that this was not kinda popular in console posting or something... pretty popular in south east asia to say the least

Try turn down the mic on the second pad, the bussing could be the mic getting sent through the TV.

I have one, In South America the famicom is the standard model for the generation of the 8-bit. Greetings from Argentina.

The simplest solution to the buzzing issue might be to get a Famicom AV (model 2) as it supports composite (unlike its US counterpart, the NES Toploader)

Did you check the mic volume on the second controller? If it's turned up, it can case a buzzing sound. I thought mine was broken at first because of this.

Mark, you better have a PS4 review. I will be getting one... but when you take into account that the Dreamcast is still getting games and they look INCREDIBLE, I cannot help but think "Why do we need new consoles again...?" But maybe a solid console review from you will help me decide on Friday if I purchased a winner or a needless "upgrade."

Famicom was my first console. Also in Famicom, we had a lot of multi-carts. And I mean A LOT of multi-carts. Most of them are made in China but it was convenient to have them. I can play Twin Bee, B-Wings, Pooyan, Macross, etc from one cart.

awesome design better than toaster nes, but still cool

2021 had mine for about a year I got mine off Amazon and already av modded so need to route up a specific tv thank fxxx

I can't pull cartridges out of my Famicom with my fingers because the cartridge slot is still nice and tight like it's supposed to be, Mark's one is like that because it's old and has seen a lot of use. It also feels good to not have humming because I got an RF splitter and sent one end into the TV as usual and the other end sticks to the end of a radio antenna which I tune to the Famicom's audio frequency. I actually have to do this, because I'm on a PAL TV.

The buzzing is from the microphone. Turn the volume down on the second controller. If it continues to crackle or buzz with the volume turned all the way down, the connection on the volume slider has rusted.

Did you guys never learn how to manually tune in old AV equipment there? I spent a great deal of my childhood scanning across the UHF and VHF bands looking for Sonic the hedgehog.

This is just a suggestion, but the humming noise you are hearing is most likely a direct result of a faulty ground. You could try grounding the system to something by attaching a wire to the coaxial output (or whatever the connection that you're using is) and attaching that wire to a proper ground. It may work, it may not, but it will not hurt your system I promise you! (Unless you ground it to something stupid... a screw on the T.V will do, prettymuch anything metal that electricity is not going through).

I HAVE A FAMICOM!! I got the Famicom in 2012 at a video game expo!

The newer Famicom systems can use RCA cables so you can use a scart. Works great

Cant you get a composite cable for the NES? I used to have one fore my SNES...

Did you turn down the mic? A lot of people say that got rid of the noise.

The hum might disappear if you change the TV channel to elsewhere then back to Channel 95 while the Famicom is running. Do not switch off the Famicom when you do this for the TV's automatic fine tuning to work. If it doesn't work, another reason for the hum is the controller 2 with microphone. The contact of volume control can get dirty causing the sound to hum. Try slide the volume back & forth if the hum disappears. You can also clean the contact but you have to open the controller. I think the reason why it didn't work on other TV because the TV is set to "Antenna mode". Set the TV to "Cable mode" and tune to Channel 95 or 96. It works with my Sony KV-AR212N60. In Sony's settings, it's Cable On or Off. I just set it to On and it works. You need a cable ready TV that can tune in to Channel 95 or 96 because not all cable ready TV can tune that channel. If you set the TV to Antenna mode it can only go up to Channel 69 while in Cable mode, some TV can go up to Channel 125 (NTSC).

If you cannot locate another AC adapter for the Disk System, you can just use D batteries. The system doesn't require a constant stream of power, it only spins the disk to load the game into the cartridge.

Holy crap! That Ultraman game looks like it kicks ass compared to the one most people remember!

I actually like the Famicom design over the NES.

I found out on my famicom at least. That if you turn the mic volume all the way down it will eliminate the buzzing.