How to spot fake video games: They’re the reasonably priced ones.

I recently bought Earthbound 64. I’m starting to think it’s not real.

I found out I had a fake copy of Digimon DS Dawn once when I tried to trade it in and the shop owner showed me that the game said it was made by "Nintondo" on the back.

4:04 when you buy Pokemon heart gold but get a massive upgrade instead

This would happen less if Nintendo did more than limited re-releases to preserve their games. There's no reason at this point why every Nintendo owned game from previous generations isn't on a Steam-like platform that carries over from generation to generation.

Need to point out that the GBA Mario kart cartridge you showed, was a european version of Mario Kart though. That's actually the PAL Region seal that nintendo puts on items, it's a circle instead of an oval, and says "original nintendo seal of quality". It's still printed to this day on European and Australian Nintendo products. The CE stamp next to it, which stand for "Conformitè Europëenne", saying it's conform to certain european regulations and stuff. It is indeed a fake though, the code they printed on it was supposedly the code that should be on the box. The real one should always end on -EUR. Cheers!

You skipped the two big giveaways IMO. First is price. If it’s too good to be true, it’s too good to be true. Second is location. The odds that a mint NA release from 20 years ago just happens to be in Asia is effectively zero.

I yearn for the day that bootleggers get so good at their craft that they just start genuinely reproducing these old games

CORRECTION: Some PAL Region Nintendo games actually did use the word “Original” instead of “Official” in their Nintendo Seal of Quality! The suspected fake Mario Kart Super Circuit cartridge we featured also features an incorrect Region code, so it is indeed still a fake! Thanks for the correction Tim! 🙏

Bootleggers watching this vid - "Write that down! WRITE THAT DOWN!!"

Ah yes, Cory in the House is my favorite generation of Pokemon. Hasn't quite been the same since. Edit: Got a like from Nintendo Life, awesome ^_^

5:24 Just in case any people in PAL territories think they've got a fake copy - that's not a fake seal, it's actually the European version of the seal of approval. It's easy to distinguish, as it's circular and it says *"original* Nintendo seal of quality", instead of the US one, which is elliptical and says *"official* Nintendo seal of quality". However, this also becomes another potential thing for bootleggers to get wrong. If the label has a PEGI rating with a US seal, or has an ESRB rating with an EU seal, then it's fake.

Seriously, thank you, Nintendo Life! Recently, I’ve been getting into more retro gaming with the DS and GBA and I had no idea that I wanted a video like this!

For anyone trying to get Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Fire Red or Leaf Green. Another way to spot a fake not listed in the video is to use an original DS or DS Lite which have a GBA slot use a Generation 4 game (Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, Heartgold or Soulsilver) and insert the GBA game as well as the DS game, boot the system and on the file select screen for the DS game scroll down and it should say “Migrate from ...” this message will inform you that it’s a legitimate cartridge as opposed to a fake. I learned this when a Gamestop sold me a fake copy of Fire Red.

Gba is notorious for having the most repros out there. Be careful people when you buy them

The use of music in the background of this video is immense, great choices of OSTs too...

Keep in mind that just because a cart doesn’t match a legitimate copy, that doesn’t mean it’s fake. Often there were multiple production waves of a cartridge with very different insides.

This happened to me twice with Pokémon games! Once with a copy of Fire Red and again with a copy of Soul Silver.

Just a little additional thing about the GBA games because I’ve found that those have the most bootlegs floating around that are getting very close to the originals. On the front, the GAME BOY ADVANCED font is very distinct and is also set very shallow into the cart. However, bootlegs are often made with cheaper plastic and it’s way deeper and the letters are narrow. Same for the little arrow at the bottom. And just a little side note the batteries in the gba Pokemon games are actually just for the internal battery, but that’s not too relevant here. Thought I might help for anyone collecting, but overall this video is amazing for anyone starting out! Thanks!

Love the Game Trade shoutout at the end! It’s absolutely one of the best retro game stores I’ve ever been to! I went to college in the area and I always make it a point to stop in whenever I’m in town visiting friends.

Ebay has become outrageous.

Just a quick correction, pokemon gba games use flash memory for saving, and the battery for keeping time in the in game clock.

ZION, this has to be your best video. Between your presentation, editing, and just overall tone, you can tell you've been stepping up your game. Great video and great work!

Brilliant video Zion 👏🏻 ... also, I liked the way you treated your GB Metroid, I was shocked you didn’t fling it like most things in your videos

Don't want to be that guy but, the GBA Pokemon games uses a battery for the clock only (RSE), the 5 games saves in flash memory. Good video btw (Y)

I only found out years later that most of my gba games were fakes. They still work fine so I'm not bothered

One thing I learned that really helped me with N64 carts was looking at the nintendo logo on the back of the cart. A real one is supposed to have a square for the dot in the I in nintendo while fake ones just have a regular circle as the I dot

Original seal of quality is on the EU GBA cartridges, so just because it has that doesn't mean it is fake

Emerald uses its internal battery for the real time clock, not for save data. I did most of my playthroughs with a dead battery with no save issues, before I got around to replacing it

Tip 1: NEVER buy from a seller that won't accept returns. Tip 2: if the sale listing looks too good to be true, that means it is.

Very good video! There are many good tips for newcomers to learn and to keep in mind for future retro purchases! Editing is also very well done, might I say top-notch, and I must say that I love the sense of humor! This video was a lot of fun to watch! :) With that being said, there is one glaring error in this video: The fake Mario Kart: Super Circuit cartridge is trying to pass itself off as a European copy of the game. A big thing to keep in mind about EUR copies of GBA games is that they should NEVER have an ESRB rating on them, Rather, they have a CE on them, which from what I know is a type of European classification (I'm not European, if you couldn't tell, I just like to research regional differences in game cartridges/discs including GBA carts. There was a comment somewhere within this comment section that talked about the meaning of CE, if you're able to find it). Another thing is that EUR GBA cartridges do in fact say "Original Nintendo Seal of Quality", rather than USA cartridges which say "Official Nintendo Seal of Quality", and on newer games, "Official Nintendo Seal". Aside from that, however, this is a great video that will very much help you out if you don't know how to identify real cartridges from fakes. This video gets a like from me! :D

I ended up with an FFV bootleg... I was like "alright I'll just go with it" and lost my save after about 20 hours.

An excellent guide. An additional point to make with GBA games is that, if you look into the connection pins and use a light, you should seea printed serial number on the inside. Usually a Copyright symbol, followed by Nintendo, then a string of characters: AGB (Advanced Game Boy) then two additional 3 strings. Make sure this code stretches across the entire width of the board, rather than a small section. Additionally, for GBA pokemon games, you can easily check by using a legit copy of a Gen 4 game. Using the Pal Park function, a legit copy will allow you to transfer 6 pokemon across, provided that their is a save file with at least 6 'mons. Bootlegs simply lack this feature, and nothing will display on the title screen if you try to activate the Pal Park feature.

As GameBoy/Color/Advance games go, the stamped numbers are my favorite checkmate if the label looks suspiciously uncanny. Something else I have learned is that some copies of GBA cartridges will have the "GameBoy Advance" logo on top a bit too marked, while genuine cartridges have it more like a very subtle relief.

Year 2076: Thank you for calling Official Retro Video Game Inspectors, what will we be inspecting for you today? Me: BATTLETOADS - A LINK TO THE PAST STADIUM DX 64 2

Thanks for the video. It was very informative. I was unaware there were even bootlegs for the Game Boy so thanks for shedding light on the subject.

As an eBay seller, I'm concerned about selling counterfeits. I don't want them in my store, but they are seriously hard to spot, especially at garage sales. I appreciate your content and ways I can look out for counterfeits!

You guys nearly gave me heart attack over an English translation of Fire Emblem Heroes of Light and Shadow that I bought off eBay in December

I bought a couple bootlegs of the gba pokemon games years ago and I learned all of the cool things you said about the labels and its rrally nice to see someone making a video about this topic. I was able to get my money back but I was super disappointed that they were fake copies. I ended up giving them to ppl who didn't care and just wanted to play the game anyway. I didn't havr the tools to open my games to check those things but I was curious so im happy u made a video including all of that too. This was so cool

Watched this several times over. This is definitely a good reference to go by as I try to complete my GBA and DS collections.

At 5:30, you stated that the 'Original' SoQ was fake however it is like that in PAL regions so if Jon and Alex see that they should be fine :)

How did I not realise that a 20 dollar sealed warioware diy in 2021 was a bootleg

You forgot to mention one of the most tell tale signs for DS cartridges. The Nintendo logo on the back is embossed, it has very fine and subtle depth. You can feel it by running your finger over it. If it feels flat, it's almost guaranteed to be a repro, as they never get that detail right.

Good idea to bring this up. The past is a treasure to many. Hopefully those that do seek those adventures, they are all the original versions of the game

This is why I will never get into retro game collecting.

None of the Pokemon games for GBA use the battery to store your save. They have a real time clock that the battery is powering. FireRed and LeafGreen are just lacking this feature.

One way to tell with pokemon GBA games, is by inserting it into a DS with pokemon diamond, pearl, or platinum. Assuming you have pal park unlocked, you should see the option to migrate pokemon from the GBA cart. Bootlegs generally won't show the migration option.

Oh my god the Ace Attorney music and sound effects... THIS VIDEO IS PERFECT!!!! Nintendo Life ftw, your content is so dope!

I thought my pokemon white cartridge was acctually fake because of the black cartridge lol, glad I found this!

I bought Leafgreen and Sapphire off eBay over 10 years ago now and when I was younger I used to be so confused why the game data on both games would just delete itself every so often but looking at the cartridges they’re 100% fake rip

That is some mighty Nintendo DS collection man. I love it. Bonus points for the stamped numbers on the GBA carts, not many people notice it and most bootlegs dont have it.

I used to have so many issues with this on the GBA. I bought a copy of FireRed second-hand and it was a fake, I took it back to the shop, they gave me a voucher and I ordered another. It took me 17 attempts to get hold of a real one because the shop didn't believe me and kept putting the fake one back on stock, then when I ordered a FireRed they'd just keep sending me the same one. The worst thing is that Pokémon games are the easiest fakes to spot because when you load up the game a fake always says: "The save file has been loaded successfully" before you get to the continue menu.

"Hello sir, I'm interested in this rare copy of Earthbound you have on sale here. Mind if I pop it open with a screwdriver to see if it's legit?"

I just bought a gold NES Legend of Zelda cart as well as a Link to the Past cart. I think they're legit x)

love the channel dude keep up the great videos

Great video Zion. Very helpful for buying on the retro market!

One oddity I find with DS bootlegs (sometimes) is that they seem to have issues with going into sleep mode. For example, something like this: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/bq6YgrqX2tKaYnU.html where the game does not enter sleep mode.

Honestly if Nintendo's gonna be as stingy with their releases of old games as they have been since the start of the Switch era, I don't care at all if repros provide an affordable way for the average casual retro game fan to play a classic on a real system. I only take issue with anyone who doesn't label their games and packaging as repros and price them as high as the real deal.

between this and how to deal with your backlog, zion is there making me a better gamer

Thanks for sharing these tips and tricks, Zion. My preference is to always buy new, and this really helps solidify my already firm neurotic tendency. But really, it was great to get some insight into the underbelly of collecting "older" games.

OK, looks like Zion is picking up where Candyevie was doing before she felt the bootleggers were using her "how to spot a bootleg" game videos. Unlike Candyevie at the time though, Zion seems to not be entertained by times where bootlegs are hilariously messed-up trying to pass off as the real deal and failing epically. Also, I once got a bootleg myself. I had my mom buy a copy of Megaman Battle Network 6 Cybeast Falzar, which when it arrived at our home, I noticed the label looked washed-out abit, but I tried playing it, and oh boy was it a fake that failed to fully mimic the real deal. While it did hold your save data, every time you progress in the game to an exact point of the game, the rom crashes, and when you boot it up again, all your save data on it is gone. Mom threw-out the fake copy of that game and later bought me a legit copy of it. The bootleg always crashed at that exact point of the game and erase your save data. Good she threw it out though, no longer will any time of that specific fake cart will be fooled by that one anymore.

The bootleg of Super Monkey Ball for the GBA looks like a start to a creepypasta

Very good video! As an Ebay Buyer/seller and video game collector, I always wanted to make a video like this but don't know how! excellent work!

Awesome video, such good info here. 👏👏

I recently bought a copy of Pokemon Emerald for like $15, which I'm now learning is fake.

Alright, this is useful.

I’ve been reselling games for a while now and had to learn all this stuff myself, such a fantastic videos to post I wouldn’t be surprised if mom and pop game stores use this to train their employees

This video has lead me to realizing that my Mario Party Advance cartridge that I've had since I was like 5 and I thought I somehow broke was actually fake this entire time. Neat!

grandma: i'm gonna pretend i never saw that

“How to spot fake video games” Me, a russian: I was born in the dark, molded by it.

Mandatory like and sub for mentioning Greg at Game Trade!

5:25 Actually just learned about this! For some odd reason, in the PAL region, the "Seal of Quality" is "Original" and circle-shaped whereas in the US, it's "Official" and more ovular. Same goes for some Game Boy cartridges and boxes where it's either "official" or "original" game pak.

Honestly if it looks good on my shelf, I’m happy

Me, who pirates my games: Aw yes great video!

Thanks for the info! I was able to go through all my DS and 3DS (and one GBA) games using the product code trick to see if they matched with the back of the cartridge and they did!👍 Maybe you could do a followup on how to spot bootleg games for the Wii U, Wii, Switch, PS4, etc.

Love the plug for pink gorilla games. Very cool

The way you can tell is you have to use your GAMER EYES

Way to tell if it's real: you spend a scalper price on the game online. Also you insert your Pokemon GBA game into a DS Lite with a Gen 4 game to migrate

Love this channel so much!

Great video Zion!

I remember back in like 2008 I bought a dubious copy of Mario Kart DS on ebay for $10 and it ran like a dream! 10/10 would bootleg again.

Pokéman is one of the best video games.

A little note from me, on the GBA games Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald use flash memory for saves, the battery is for the in game time, so berries will continue to grow while the game is turned off.

In my experience, the cart and especially the label's condition is the first dead giveaway of a fake, especially on the DS. It's a portable console meaning game carts are moved around a lot, pushed in and out of a slot, tossed haphazardly in a case with a dozen other games. And many of these games were owned by kids who don't think twice about how they handle their games. My childhood copies of Pokemon Black and Soulsilver have scuffed (but not torn or damaged) labels from general use and handling over the last 10+ years. It's not an infallible method of weeding them out (see that FireRed cart) but it's easier to trust a game that looks its age. On a side note, I was in a retro shop near me and was about to buy a copy of Mario 64 when the cashier and I started noticing "wow this thing is almost in TOO good condition" and in a moment out of a comedy sketch we both looked at each other realizing it was fake. TL;DR Don't trust game carts that look too new.

I'm fairly certain 99% of all gba carts are fake 😂

I recently bought a reproduction cart of Pokémon Silver on ebay, but the seller made sure to advertise it as a repro cart and was selling it much cheaper than any official copies were going for. For me in that situation, it didn't matter that it was a repro cart because I wanted to try out the Game Boy Printer features of the game and give it a go on the backlit Game Boy I had just got, so I was happy with it. Not long after I picked up some romhacks for various Game Boy, Game Boy Colour and Game Boy Advance games. One thing I noticed is that the repro cart for Silver and the other GB and GBC games all had triwing screws holding the cartridge, rather than a gamebit screw. Plus the copy of Silver was actually put onto a GBA flash board with a flash chip for the save (the other GB and GBC games were on GB/GBC flash boards and even had new batteries for battery saves). Another thing I noticed was the the two GBC games I ordered were Crystal hacks and their cases were just a clear blue plastic in the same mould as a GB cartirdge, rather than the fat type for GBC carts, even having the notch for the og Game Boy's power switch. I gave them a try in an og Game Boy and it thought I'd put the game into a Game Boy Pocket/Light and gave a message saying to use a GBC. The GBA games I got were similar flash boards to the one in Silver, and I ended up ordering a blank one from InsideGadgets, along with a USB-C cart flasher, to see how that works. Apparently, I should be able to take my actual copy of FireRed, put it into the flasher to make a rom bcakup of my own, then randomise the game and flash that the the blank cart to try out some randomisers on official hardware (something I'm pretty excited to try). Repro carts do have their place in existence, and I feel that place is better suited for those who wish to try out some rom hacks on official hardware (if they own the original games, that is), or to at least allow you to be able to play games that are no longer that easy to play, due to battery save deteriation and such (at least Gens 1 and 2 of Pokémon are on the 3DS VC, and I already do own Silver on the VC, so I don't feel so bad having purchased a repro when another option to support devs is available, especially when the repro allows for a feature no longer available in the VC release).

Thank you for making this video. This was really helpful.

Love the ending 😩 _I actually think about that all the time_ If you're poor enough ... Some people have the financial resources to put you in a matrix where information and applications are specific to you and what you see

Long story short, I got M&L:SS for the GBA from a Flea Market as a kid. The characters sprites would flicker for performing any action, especially walking, and even though you hit that save book and it claims to save your file, it doesn't save when you turn off and on your GBA.

Loved the video! Just a suggestion, would you be able to mention the background music songs in the description so we can listen on our own time?

9:08 I like the fact that they left Pocket Monsters on the cartridge, which is never used in the states. Maybe in another country outside of America and Japan. But in the states I believe it conflicted with another games name ( I believe it was Monsters in my Pocket ) and thus they shortened it to Pokemon and stuck to it.

Thank you so much for making this video!!

Good lord I didn't even realize this was a thing for retro game collecting, I like sneakers and this a huge problem in that industry as well. It amazes me how much time and effort is put into makes fake products but I guess it is what it is.

This is why my copy of LeafGreen is nearly as old as when the game was released. Sure the sticker has long since fallen off, but it still runs as smoothly as it did all those years ago.

Thanks for the video! I was actually planning on buying a copy of the original The World Ends With You on DS. This video helped a lot!!

Hi to you guys at Nintendo Life! I have a couple of the systems in question as far as the copies of the games go- I have been checking my copies to see if they are genuine and also following tips from your video as well as others here on KZfaq and wanted to say thanks for the tips- I have found them really helpful and I might be asking my wife to help me requisition one of these tool sets to check out the games that I have- because everyone has been mentioning it on their videos as well. Thanks and God Bless!

I’m so thankful for this video. I just realized I got finessed out my mind a few times lol.

I hadn’t realized how widespread this was. Recently been buying back into some older consoles and games I had sold off years ago. Recently got a reproduction collection of the first two Pokemon generations on GB, I knew they weren’t real but I just wanted to have physical copies again for my own nostalgia and the price of repros meant I wouldn’t be blowing rent money to do it. I couldn’t believe how good they look. The only immediately obvious thing was the labels were peeling up slightly at the edges and the general condition is way too good. I’m just glad the seller didn’t try to pass them off at authentic prices, even if it wasn’t immediately clear in the item description either.

Thank you very much for this guide. I have been in a Game Stop years ago where they had wrong colored cartridges, poor lable imitations and just obvious fakes. When pointing thus out to the manager he said that as long as the game on the system plays the same it didn't matter. I was so mad. Fakes and "reproductions" should be labled as such.

EDIT: A difference between real and fake cartridges that I didn't see mentioned in this video is that sometimes the letter indicator for the age rating on the label has a different width to it - on a lot of bootlegs I see the large E in the ESRB square thing isn't as thick as a real one. Sometimes the GameBoy Advance logo on the cart's plastic has a thinner font than a legitimate one too I definitely learned some new from this video! Before it even ended, I anxiously went through my entire collection of OG DS games just to be extra sure (luckily I only have 15). Fortunately, none of the secondhand sellers I bought them from were lying in saying they were authentic, but this gave me some new tools to identify what's real and what isn't, so thank you so much for this video!