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Given that the Famicom was primarily designed for arcade game experiences for the home it could be that during early Famicom software development folks at Nintendo were aware of this game and sought out to make a version of it for their hardware. Hard to say for certain though...

Print advertisement for the 1981 arcade game Gomoku Narabe Renju.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 16h

Aside from both representing the tabletop "Five in a row" game, the interface and gameplay between the two are nearly identical. While Nichibutsu's game has a larger board, when scaled down it matches perfectly with Nintendo's game. The cursor and animations are also extremely similar.

Game board for the 1981 arcade game Gomoku Narabe Renju.

Game board for the 1983 Famicom game Gomoku Narabe Renju.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 16h

Was researching and stumbled upon a 1981 arcade game by Nichibutsu titled Gomoku Narabe Renju which is also the title of a 1983 Famicom game by Nintendo. I have reason to believe that Nintendo may have taken heavy inspiration from the arcade game.

Title screen for the 1981 arcade game Gomoku Narabe Renju.

Title screen for the 1983 Famicom game Gomoku Narabe Renju.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 29/09/2026

Despite my wiki site prioritizing titles in romaji there's also proper English translations for these titles which also act as redirects, but if I was casually talking about these Japanese games to folks I'm probably using the English titles just to avoid any confusion.

https://famiwiki.net/wiki/Fire_Emblem:_Ankoku_Ryuu_to_Hikari_no_Tsurugi

https://famiwiki.net/wiki/Dragon_Ball_Z_Gaiden:_Saiyajin_Zetsumetsu_Keikaku

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 28/09/2026

I actually stopped by the other day while I was in the area and saw this in-person. Hope to see the store open soon!

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 28/09/2026

Had a conversation about the current state of emulators which spiraled into me trying LJN's Video Art in MAME. Even in emulation the controls are so bad you'd be lucky to draw anything coherent in it. Can't imagine the real hardware experience...

Roo the Kangaroo trapped in LJN Video Art. He is not happy.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 26/09/2026

Speaking of product codes, if you didn't know most physically released games and software including Famicom cartridges have codes on them. I've made it so if you look up these codes on FamiWiki you'll be redirected to the software page for it.

The product code NAT-T8 for Chuugoku Janshi Monogatari: Tonpuu.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 25/09/2026

Been a while since I've been able to buy more import games but I was nearby Book-Off today and managed to get a couple cartridges.

2 Game Boy cartridges and 2 Famicom cartridges.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 22/09/2026

An unreleased Nintendo 64 game has been released today by Team Carrot. Kaminari no Gotoku: Choukousoku Igo by Seta is as you can guess from the screenshots a table Go game. This prototype build appears to be near final and can be fully played, as long as you have knowledge of Japanese and Go.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 21/09/2026

Terminator 2 published by Pack-In-Video and WWF WrestleMania Challenge published by HOT-B.

https://famiwiki.net/wiki/WWF_WrestleMania_Challenge

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 21/09/2026

I have finished adding every LJN published NES game to @famiwiki.net which if you didn't know there were 26 games. Many of these were North American exclusive but some were released elsewhere including two getting Japanese Famicom releases. So here's all the NES box artworks. famiwiki.net/wiki/LJN

All 26 games published by LJN for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). These are North American box artworks.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 19/09/2026

So remember that Famicom panel I had planned? I finished up doing a rough version of it in VRChat with a small audience and it went okay. I'll probably need to take notes for each slide before I do this for real but I was able to talk about aspects of Nintendo and the Famicom from just my knowledge.

Donkey Kong arcade and Masayuki Uemura of Nintendo R&D2.

Top 10 best-selling Famicom games in Japan.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 18/09/2026

Some more "solo adventures" in VRChat.

Roo the Kangaroo conducting a Japanese train Densha de Go! style.

Roo the Kangaroo in a Japanese game center arcade playing Puyo Puyo Tsu.

Roo the Kangaroo watching a trailer for a Conan anime movie.

Roo the Kangaroo in real life. Yes this is a scan of a real place apparently.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 17/09/2026

Well this is a surprise! The GEMS Module Test Program for the Mega Drive/Genesis was dumped and released today by CartridgeCulture. It features music composed by David Javelosa, who uploaded footage of this demo back in 2019. It features music composed with the GEMS sound program.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 16/09/2026

This makes my buisness card look like a powerpoint presentation in comparison.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 16/09/2026

A long while ago I was sent a copy of Doraemon UNO, which is a typical UNO card deck but themed with Doraemon characters. I had scanned both the cards and packaging but it took me until now to port it all over to Tabletop Simulator. Have fun! steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/...

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 14/09/2026

I played Episode 1 of this fanmade English version of the Satellaview game and wow I now understand what SoundLink had to offer. This is a must play if you are into unique retro game experiences and for Mario fans that want to hear characters interact and affect the game as you play.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 11/09/2026

Today is a day we shall never forget. That's right Klonoa: Empire of Dreams allegedly released on this day 25 years ago. At least that's the date Nintendo uses in the NSO applet, but other sources claim it actually released on August 30, 2001. So which is it then?

North American box art for Klonoa: Empire of Dreams.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 09/09/2026

Can confirm this works on hardware via a flashcart.

Project Dream running on an SNES Jr. console via an SD2SNES flash cartridge.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 08/09/2026

Dunno why western box art for Zelda games in the 1990s had that gold background template so here's the Japanese box art for comparison.

Box art for Zelda no Densetsu: Toki no Okarina aka The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for Nintendo 64.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 07/09/2026

Just for the heck of it I watched this Japanese dubbed version mainly to compare with the English original. I'm obviously not the target audience for this dub but we'll see how it ends up performing.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 05/09/2026

The Goonies stage is switched to Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa while the King Kong 2 stage is switched to Antarctic Adventure. The layout is the exact same but all the graphics had to be changed. I presume if the original Famicom game were to ever get re-released these changes would have to carry over.

Goonies stage (Famicom).
Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa stage (Keitai).

King Kong 2 stage (Famicom).
Antarctic Adventure stage (Keitai).

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 05/09/2026

Was poking around with keitai emulation and played some of the mobile phone versions of Famicom games Konami released in the 2000s. The version of Konami Wai Wai World is actually pretty interesting cause it changes 2 of the main 6 stages likely due to rights issues.

Konami Wai Wai World for the Famicom and in a keitai emulator.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 04/09/2026

So I try to steer away from political talk on here cause that aint my cup of tea, but I am interested in video games and for some god forsaken reason there's now a page on a government website that features clones of popular video games including a Tetris clone... where you can't even clear lines?

The arcade page featuring 5 different games.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/arcade/

"Build The Wall" which is a clone of Tetris where you don't even clear lines.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 03/09/2026

Anyways here's a glitch I am sure most people would actually not know about. This one was discovered within the last decade and actually does some crazy stuff with the game. This can also be used to farm 1ups which isn't shown in the clip below.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 03/09/2026

I'm very familiar with how this game works and speedrunners have been tinkering with SMB1 for over a decade, so believe me when I say this is not the most insane glitch this game has to offer. Anyways I've known about this glitch for several years, for about as long as when I first played it.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 31/08/2026

So for clarification, there are 2 different Famicom peripherals called Hyper Shot. There's the Konami one which are pairs of big button controllers and the Bandai one which is a light gun with extra buttons. I'm using the Bandai one in that video.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 31/08/2026

The Famicom and NES never had any rhythm games during their initial lifespans so it's nice to see when we get ones made in recent years. "Taiko NES" by Deni_iguess takes Taiko no Tatsujin and shoves it into the old Nintendo, very impressive work.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 29/08/2026

Happy 1 year anniversary to the greatest find of my Famicom collecting journey. Still at home with all the other cartridges. @pinkgorillagames.com

Igo Meikan inside a case sitting on top of a Famicom.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 29/08/2026

Very curious if it's doing the resource pack enhancements as the most recent reissue of Sugoro Quest lets you toggle between the original 8-bit graphics and music to newly created 16-bit iterations.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 27/08/2026

Gonna have to do more research on this but on the back label of most Nintendo manufactured cartridges contains a 6-digit code. It appears to be a production code for the cartridge shell though not for any specific releases as examples have been found of later releases with earlier codes.

A Famicom cartridge of 4 Nin Uchi Mahjong with the production code 830901 which translates to 1983 September 1
https://famiwiki.net/wiki/Family_Computer_Cassette

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 26/08/2026

There were plans to release this game for the Famicom Disk System, though it ultimately got shelved. At least we have a prototype build so that's nice.

https://hiddenpalace.org/Aliens:_Alien_2_(Dec_15,_1986_prototype)

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 26/08/2026

Imagine running low on fuel in Japan so you turn to the nearest gas station and you just see this while turning in.

An EneJet gas station towered over the Nintendo Co., Ltd. building in Kyoto.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 25/08/2026

Some weirdness with 4 Nin Uchi Mahjong aka 4 Player Mahjong. I assumed it was a "debug menu" but it appears to be a glitched results screen for when a mahjong hand is completed.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 25/08/2026

Next up to bat was this busted up Famista '87 cartridge.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 25/08/2026

While streaming my process of cleaning dozens of Famicom cartridges I bumped into some rather interesting glitches when attempting to test them. First up is this cursed Soccer cartridge.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 24/08/2026

That was a fun stream! Still crazy to see the hobby site I've worked hard on featured in printed pages of a book.

Screenshot of the live stream featuring FamiWiki.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 24/08/2026

There are a surprising amount of Famicom games that are based on MSX games specifically, like enough to where I'm kind of shocked this hasn't really been documented all that much. Anyways here's Konami's Ping Pong aka Smash Ping Pong for the Disk System.

Konami's Ping Pong for MSX on the left and Smash Ping Pong for the Famicom Disk System on the right.
https://famiwiki.net/wiki/Smash_Ping_Pong

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 20/08/2026

I should note that I already have plans of attending the event this year so if you wanna say hi feel free. If you do you'll be getting one of these from me.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 19/08/2026

It has occurred to me that I own every single blue Disk Fax game for the Famicom Disk System. Maybe I should attempt to go for a full set of Nintendo published FDS games...

All five blue Disk Fax games.
Famicom Grand Prix: F-1 Race
Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally
Nakayama Miho no Tokimeki High School
Golf: Japan Course
Golf: US Course

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 17/08/2026

More on-model than other 2D to 3D transitions, not to say other attempts have been "bad" per say.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 14/08/2026

I see those Famicom cartridges on the far right!

Famicom cartridges and their cooresponding FamiWiki infoboxes.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 13/08/2026

That was definitely a Big Walk. Probably one of the most memorable experiences I've had with friends in recent memory.

Big Walk with 21.3 hours of play time and all 12 achievements unlocked.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 12/08/2026

related clip www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lbdi...

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 12/08/2026

I'm holding back so much restraint commenting on this further cause this is apparently newsworthy to non-gaming publications presumably because it's about Super Mario and Duck Hunt. If this was about an obscure game non-gamers wouldn't care to pick up this story. It's still neat but oh my god why.

Several publications covering "Rare Nintendo cartridges".

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 10/08/2026

Yeah I re-watched this episode fairly recently and was kinda surprised but I don't really blame him. When I first started collecting Famicom cartridges I also bought ones that turned out to be bootlegs but then I spun that off into its own collection of odd carts.

Some bootleg Famicom ccartridges of all varieties.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 08/08/2026

I've been keeping an eye on the used price for loose GBA copies of Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen and ever since they got re-released for Nintendo Switch, used prices have dropped around $20 to $30 for loose cartridges according to PriceCharting. If this continues it'll probably be under $100 soon.

A comparison between used loose cartridge prices for Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen between February 2026 and August 2026.

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Brenden @bro3256.com · 06/08/2026

I'm never doing an internet speed test ever again.

"are you actually shitting me"
Download Mbps: 67.69
Upload Mbps: 13.37

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