Hey, what do we have here?
A enigmatic BS Zelda "PAL Cartridge", eh?
And hardly even -days- after Con released the "Real Hardware" hack project out.
Can we put two and two together here? Ah, yes. Yes we can.
For reference, I spent many days bug-testing these ROMs on my Super UFO ROM copier.
Yeah, quite a volunteering, wasn't it?
I would have liked to believe that this would not have been the first sight I'd see of a "repro cart" - all my hard work and I don't even get my own? I didn't even get to hear "YEAH THIS WORKS ON PAL BTW CAN I SELL IT?" from this guy.
That's to say nothing about how this is already approaching more money than A repro of NWC 1990, the "most collectible" Nintendo game - and it likely won't be spent in the least on more Satellaview research that would be sent to the public.
I don't particularly like being dismissive, but, hey, I've petitioned hundreds of people to donate to Matthew Callis to get more Satellaview ROMs going around and no one gave a dime - so why should someone who slapped a ROM hack onto a PAL cartridge get more money in one eBay auction than I got in a year of working on this blog?
Friday, December 12, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
TANGENT: All Night Nippon and how obscure Japanese 80's pop culture impacts your Nintendo games.
I did a search for 穴井夕子 (Remember that name? I brought it up earlier on here.) on NicoNicoDouga today and got a mildly pleasant surprise. Before I elaborate you, you guys need to understand what makes it so interesting. And to do that, I'd have to show you something else first...
(Video stoled from supermariobros3636 - I'LL GIVE IT BACK LATER I PROMISE ;-; )
Does anyone here recognize this? Of course, it looks like Super Mario Bros - but twice as strange!
This is "All Night Nippon Super Mario Bros" for the Famicom Disk System. The story behind it is that All Night Nippon themselves raffled it off to contest winners in 1986.
So how doe this relate to what I found? Simply, really...
I found some actual recordings of the program. <3
An episode with the date 91/07/02.
I tried going back down NicoNicoDouga's archive to trace the oldest recording of this - it seems they only have down to 1988. Since I hear the ANNSMB was given out in 86, that means I need to figure out how to dig deeper into this.
Since I found these looking up someone I already identified as a Satellaview radio personality, it makes me curious about Nintendo's past relationships with what many foreigners may see as obscure Japanese 80's Pop Culture - and how it affected the decision to churn out the Satellaview itself.
Original NicoNicoDouga uploads:
大槻ケンヂのオールナイトニッポン
大槻ケンヂのオールナイトニッポン 88.10.06
(EDIT TIEM:
Digging around a bit more has landed me some 1986 content. :D
However, I also got the Japanese Wikipedia article on All-Night Nippon SMB and it looks like I'm actually meant to be looking for 1987...?
Hrrm.)
(EDIT 2: I've tried Excite-translating the All-Night Nippon SMB Article.
also, putting them 1986 segments up.
中島みゆきANN 1986年・ゲスト谷山浩子（30分）
(Video stoled from supermariobros3636 - I'LL GIVE IT BACK LATER I PROMISE ;-; )
Does anyone here recognize this? Of course, it looks like Super Mario Bros - but twice as strange!
This is "All Night Nippon Super Mario Bros" for the Famicom Disk System. The story behind it is that All Night Nippon themselves raffled it off to contest winners in 1986.
So how doe this relate to what I found? Simply, really...
I found some actual recordings of the program. <3
An episode with the date 91/07/02.
I tried going back down NicoNicoDouga's archive to trace the oldest recording of this - it seems they only have down to 1988. Since I hear the ANNSMB was given out in 86, that means I need to figure out how to dig deeper into this.
Since I found these looking up someone I already identified as a Satellaview radio personality, it makes me curious about Nintendo's past relationships with what many foreigners may see as obscure Japanese 80's Pop Culture - and how it affected the decision to churn out the Satellaview itself.
Original NicoNicoDouga uploads:
大槻ケンヂのオールナイトニッポン
大槻ケンヂのオールナイトニッポン 88.10.06
(EDIT TIEM:
Digging around a bit more has landed me some 1986 content. :D
However, I also got the Japanese Wikipedia article on All-Night Nippon SMB and it looks like I'm actually meant to be looking for 1987...?
Hrrm.)
(EDIT 2: I've tried Excite-translating the All-Night Nippon SMB Article.
also, putting them 1986 segments up.
中島みゆきANN 1986年・ゲスト谷山浩子（30分）
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Digging into the history of Satellaview emulation and ROM dumping.
Figured I'd make a post about this to fill up some time.
I've been trying to research into the history of the Satellaview ROM dumping and emulation scene - in particular the very nature of the first Satellaview ROM dumps.
The most notable hint I got comes from This Post at LostLevels. apparently Pachuka, a maintainer of the old site emucult, thieved the ROMs from "Hoarders" a long time ago.
For reference, understanding that the most popular Sonic the Hedgehog 2 prototype, widespread among the internet now, was literally stolen from a videogame expo, I've gotten used -and numb - to this. However, I question even no whether or not such a shady beginning has helped or hindered the progress of emulating and ROM dumping these.
Pachuka's now on the site called X-Cult. I post there once in a while for the sake of my ideals of educating about the Satellaview, but I hope I don't have to have involvement in any such shady business. I generally prefer bonds of trust...
Anyway, I've been unable to ascertain what exactly these ROMs were, but flash forward to now and we have ROMs being dumped by the likes of no-intro members and such.
Hopefully at some point I can make a good DAT documenting the ROM dumpers of certain games. Assuming they don't want anonymity.
PS. While I can't say for certainty whether everything Pach did was wrong, I will say that he really should've tried to understand what he was taking when he got these Satellaview ROMs - Being in contact with him quite a bit gives me the impression he really hardly knows much about the very games he allegedly stole. :(
Hopefully I can at least prevent something like that.
I've been trying to research into the history of the Satellaview ROM dumping and emulation scene - in particular the very nature of the first Satellaview ROM dumps.
The most notable hint I got comes from This Post at LostLevels. apparently Pachuka, a maintainer of the old site emucult, thieved the ROMs from "Hoarders" a long time ago.
For reference, understanding that the most popular Sonic the Hedgehog 2 prototype, widespread among the internet now, was literally stolen from a videogame expo, I've gotten used -and numb - to this. However, I question even no whether or not such a shady beginning has helped or hindered the progress of emulating and ROM dumping these.
Pachuka's now on the site called X-Cult. I post there once in a while for the sake of my ideals of educating about the Satellaview, but I hope I don't have to have involvement in any such shady business. I generally prefer bonds of trust...
Anyway, I've been unable to ascertain what exactly these ROMs were, but flash forward to now and we have ROMs being dumped by the likes of no-intro members and such.
Hopefully at some point I can make a good DAT documenting the ROM dumpers of certain games. Assuming they don't want anonymity.
PS. While I can't say for certainty whether everything Pach did was wrong, I will say that he really should've tried to understand what he was taking when he got these Satellaview ROMs - Being in contact with him quite a bit gives me the impression he really hardly knows much about the very games he allegedly stole. :(
Hopefully I can at least prevent something like that.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
BS F-Zero Grand Prix Ace League
You may be wondering how I'm able to get the links when NicoNicoDouga is apparently down?
Do not question, just accept.
Here's your trump, Ace. And this ain't no children's card game.
Cue the drums.
(The "read more" button vanished? Just click the post name, I guess....)
(...
And then it came back.)
Original NicoNicoDouga vids:
BS F-ZEROグランプリ 第4週 part1
BS F-ZEROグランプリ 第4週 part2
BS F-ZEROグランプリ 第4週 part3
BS F-ZEROグランプリ 第4週 part4
Do not question, just accept.
Here's your trump, Ace. And this ain't no children's card game.
Cue the drums.
(The "read more" button vanished? Just click the post name, I guess....)
(...
And then it came back.)
Original NicoNicoDouga vids:
BS F-ZEROグランプリ 第4週 part1
BS F-ZEROグランプリ 第4週 part2
BS F-ZEROグランプリ 第4週 part3
BS F-ZEROグランプリ 第4週 part4
Nintendo can't tell two Zeldas apart.
A rather hilarious post at the BS Zelda forum is viewable
here
A little bit of background; the shrine has lately decided to try looking for an elusive FDS version of the Legend of Zelda named ゼルダの伝説 チャルメラバージョン ("CHARUMERA RAMEN Zelda no Densetsu") or as such.
(If anyone has any info, feel free to go and post about it there.)
So, anyway, MasterofPuppets decided to give Nintendo a mail asking them about it; here's his quote.
"Wow, Nintendo has screwed up automated e-Mail answeres, I E-Mailed them about this game here's what I sent and what I got back.
SENT:
Hi
I was recently reading an online forum and I came across a new topic about a very rare version of The Legend of Zelda for the Famicom Disk System entitled, CHARUMERA RAMEN or in Japanese, "ゼルダの伝説 チャルメラバージョン" I was hoping you could shed more light on this as there is almost no info on it on the internet.
Thanks,
Alex
RECEIVED
Hello and thank you for contacting Nintendo,
In answer to your question, BS Zelda no Densetsu was a game released for the Satellaview attachment for the Super Famicom in Japan. It was never released here in the Americas.
Nintendo excels at making sure our fans can get back story information, character descriptions, and--most importantly--the information they require to complete the games that we publish here in the Americas. This can happen through our website (www.nintendo.com), Player's Guides, and Nintendo Power magazine.
Having said that, many details about our games will remain mysteries, left to the active imagination of the player.
Sincerely,
Alain Dao
Nintendo of America Inc."
I can only assume the reason for this mix-up is because Nintendo was compelled to make a "canned response" specifically targeted towards BS Zelda - have they gotten that many e-mails about it over the years? Why does Nintendo not re-release it if they were compelled to this action?
And the lack of info... Does the shrine perhaps know more about BS Zelda than they do?
here
A little bit of background; the shrine has lately decided to try looking for an elusive FDS version of the Legend of Zelda named ゼルダの伝説 チャルメラバージョン ("CHARUMERA RAMEN Zelda no Densetsu") or as such.
(If anyone has any info, feel free to go and post about it there.)
So, anyway, MasterofPuppets decided to give Nintendo a mail asking them about it; here's his quote.
"Wow, Nintendo has screwed up automated e-Mail answeres, I E-Mailed them about this game here's what I sent and what I got back.
SENT:
Hi
I was recently reading an online forum and I came across a new topic about a very rare version of The Legend of Zelda for the Famicom Disk System entitled, CHARUMERA RAMEN or in Japanese, "ゼルダの伝説 チャルメラバージョン" I was hoping you could shed more light on this as there is almost no info on it on the internet.
Thanks,
Alex
RECEIVED
Hello and thank you for contacting Nintendo,
In answer to your question, BS Zelda no Densetsu was a game released for the Satellaview attachment for the Super Famicom in Japan. It was never released here in the Americas.
Nintendo excels at making sure our fans can get back story information, character descriptions, and--most importantly--the information they require to complete the games that we publish here in the Americas. This can happen through our website (www.nintendo.com), Player's Guides, and Nintendo Power magazine.
Having said that, many details about our games will remain mysteries, left to the active imagination of the player.
Sincerely,
Alain Dao
Nintendo of America Inc."
I can only assume the reason for this mix-up is because Nintendo was compelled to make a "canned response" specifically targeted towards BS Zelda - have they gotten that many e-mails about it over the years? Why does Nintendo not re-release it if they were compelled to this action?
And the lack of info... Does the shrine perhaps know more about BS Zelda than they do?
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
I've been found!
!! Oh wow, look what I found!... or they found!.... or... yeah, just look or something !!
The blog's been mentioned here.
Moreover, it seems like a positive comment on how my links work. I'm glad I got them fixed recently! ^_^
Ah, but um, all shock and awe aside...
Here's a message for them, if it's remotely comprehensible:
(EXCITE.JP TRANSLATION)
すべての2ch訪問者:
こんにちは。
私の貧しい日本語を許してください。
あなたの神秘的なサテラビューのために世界を教育したいと思います。
あなたの多くがそれをたいへん知っているように思えるか、またはファンさえいます。
しかしながら、合衆国と別の国の人々は、それを握るのに苦労します。
それの誤伝は容易に広まります。
私はこれを修理したかったです。
このブロッグは私のツールです。
私は自分がそれで学ぶことを書き留めます。
そのうえ、私は誤伝を修正しようとします。
そうすれば私が、興味があるサテラビューの、そして、恐らく他の話題に関するコミュニケーションを改良するのを助けることができることを願っています。
それは、謝意がこれのために申し上げられて欲しいです。
私は、私のブロッグに関する多くの内容がニコニコ動画, と他の日本のウェブサイトから来たのを理解していま
す。
それは、これが受け入れられて欲しいです。
私は彼らにアクセスすることにおける外国人がする苦労のためにこれらを映し出します。
これに関して問題があなた方のどれかにあれば、遠慮なくそれらについて私に説明してくだ
さい。
他方では、また、私の仕事が承認されるかどうか私に言ってください。
助けたいなら、遠慮なく私に連絡してください。
言いたがっているものがそうであることができるなら、言葉か絵を入れてください、そ
して、私は答えるつもりです。
NON-JAPANESE READERS:
Don't bother. Even if you can theoretically translate it it's so poorly written it's embarassing.
I really should take Japanese Lessons. Too bad not many colleges here have any...
Also, you may expect to see more horribly-written Japanese soon if the folks give me their blessings.
If they give me anything new, in particular, I'll be sure to post proper credit where it's due.
The blog's been mentioned here.
Moreover, it seems like a positive comment on how my links work. I'm glad I got them fixed recently! ^_^
Ah, but um, all shock and awe aside...
Here's a message for them, if it's remotely comprehensible:
(EXCITE.JP TRANSLATION)
すべての2ch訪問者:
こんにちは。
私の貧しい日本語を許してください。
あなたの神秘的なサテラビューのために世界を教育したいと思います。
あなたの多くがそれをたいへん知っているように思えるか、またはファンさえいます。
しかしながら、合衆国と別の国の人々は、それを握るのに苦労します。
それの誤伝は容易に広まります。
私はこれを修理したかったです。
このブロッグは私のツールです。
私は自分がそれで学ぶことを書き留めます。
そのうえ、私は誤伝を修正しようとします。
そうすれば私が、興味があるサテラビューの、そして、恐らく他の話題に関するコミュニケーションを改良するのを助けることができることを願っています。
それは、謝意がこれのために申し上げられて欲しいです。
私は、私のブロッグに関する多くの内容がニコニコ動画, と他の日本のウェブサイトから来たのを理解していま
す。
それは、これが受け入れられて欲しいです。
私は彼らにアクセスすることにおける外国人がする苦労のためにこれらを映し出します。
これに関して問題があなた方のどれかにあれば、遠慮なくそれらについて私に説明してくだ
さい。
他方では、また、私の仕事が承認されるかどうか私に言ってください。
助けたいなら、遠慮なく私に連絡してください。
言いたがっているものがそうであることができるなら、言葉か絵を入れてください、そ
して、私は答えるつもりです。
NON-JAPANESE READERS:
Don't bother. Even if you can theoretically translate it it's so poorly written it's embarassing.
I really should take Japanese Lessons. Too bad not many colleges here have any...
Also, you may expect to see more horribly-written Japanese soon if the folks give me their blessings.
If they give me anything new, in particular, I'll be sure to post proper credit where it's due.
Kay, now we're moving. BS F-Zero King League.
Regularly (un)scheduled video embeddings ahoy.
Ace League will be the last one - unless somewhere down the line I find F-ZEROグランプリ2 第2週. It's apparently been on NicoNicoDouga at one point, with some re-upload requests...
Only two videos this time, folks. Looks like these got cut up a lot more.
Original NicoNicoDouga vids:
BS F-ZEROグランプリ 第3週 part1
BS F-ZEROグランプリ 第3週 part2
Since 2 videos is a bit of an odd number, I decided to throw in a couple of the Jazz Arrange MP3s, as per my peculiar realization.
BIG BLUE
SILENCE
WHITE LAND
DEATH WIND
Ace League will be the last one - unless somewhere down the line I find F-ZEROグランプリ2 第2週. It's apparently been on NicoNicoDouga at one point, with some re-upload requests...
Only two videos this time, folks. Looks like these got cut up a lot more.
Original NicoNicoDouga vids:
BS F-ZEROグランプリ 第3週 part1
BS F-ZEROグランプリ 第3週 part2
Since 2 videos is a bit of an odd number, I decided to throw in a couple of the Jazz Arrange MP3s, as per my peculiar realization.
BIG BLUE
SILENCE
WHITE LAND
DEATH WIND
Monday, December 1, 2008
BS F-Zero - wait! Before I go any further....
I just noted something weird about BS F-Zero's music.
As I've noted earlier, "MUTE CITY" and "RED CANYON" are taken from "SUPER FAMICOM GAME MUSIC". Up until a few nights ago, I had no idea where the other mixes came from.
I mean, yeah, sure, there was that Jazz arrange, but that's Jazz, right? The BS F-Zero stuff sounds electronic, not jazz!
.... wait a moment, Youtube! What kind of trickery is this.
1:27 or so in this video. That's the Jazz version of Silence? Wait a moment....
The melody sounds identical to the BS F-Zero's electronic version! For this track in particular, this is strange because the Jazz arrange of Silence sounds nothing like the original SNES Version - it's like a completely different song altogether.
So what you get with BS F-Zero is a jazz song played with electronic instruments?... what?
But also! Silence was not the only track like this! Big Blue, Death Wind and White Land are also as such! Peculiar! And the main opening theme, while altered much moreso, still resembles the Jazz version more than the original version.
That just leaves me with Port Town and Fire Field, then...? Port Town's music, I have still not identified, and I didn't check Fire Field's song yet, so I'm not certain on that...
I ponder if there's any way I could alter this music myself... hrm...
Right, King League should be popping up soon.
As I've noted earlier, "MUTE CITY" and "RED CANYON" are taken from "SUPER FAMICOM GAME MUSIC". Up until a few nights ago, I had no idea where the other mixes came from.
I mean, yeah, sure, there was that Jazz arrange, but that's Jazz, right? The BS F-Zero stuff sounds electronic, not jazz!
.... wait a moment, Youtube! What kind of trickery is this.
1:27 or so in this video. That's the Jazz version of Silence? Wait a moment....
The melody sounds identical to the BS F-Zero's electronic version! For this track in particular, this is strange because the Jazz arrange of Silence sounds nothing like the original SNES Version - it's like a completely different song altogether.
So what you get with BS F-Zero is a jazz song played with electronic instruments?... what?
But also! Silence was not the only track like this! Big Blue, Death Wind and White Land are also as such! Peculiar! And the main opening theme, while altered much moreso, still resembles the Jazz version more than the original version.
That just leaves me with Port Town and Fire Field, then...? Port Town's music, I have still not identified, and I didn't check Fire Field's song yet, so I'm not certain on that...
I ponder if there's any way I could alter this music myself... hrm...
Right, King League should be popping up soon.
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