Topic: NES Ambassador Games Slowly Rolling Out in North America

[Caliban]

In Zelda II, the red potions are not filling your life bar as they should, instead they fill the magic bar.

Not a bug.  Red potions fully restore your magic meter, whereas the greenish blueish ones refill about one block's worth.

D'oh! I have no idea why I thought the red jars would fill the life meter... honestly, and I've played this game a lot lol.

It's that damn muscle memory. Remember, red potions = health in every Zelda game after that.

Oh good lord that makes so much sense hahahahahahaha.

[Ras]

I was pleased to see DKjr has the electric sparks level.  I only had the Coleco version, which did not, and never got the Adam version, which did.  I had a friend who claimed the Atari 2600 version of Donkey Kong had the "pie factory" level, accessible if you pulled the cartridge out while it was running, but he LIED.

The games look pretty good to me on the 3DS screen.

[famicomplicated]

On the Japanese side of things, I noticed that Zelda is called "Zelda no Densetsu 1" (Legend of Zelda 1)
Zelda 2 is just called the Adventure of Link as usual.


Any ideas why this is the case?


Also the carts have a red backing like the Famicom carts did!

[MegaByte]

Zelda 1 was re-released in cart format several years later in Japan. They added the 1 to the title screen at that time. The better question is why did they go with the (musically inferior) cart version?

[Bman87301]

On the Japanese side of things, I noticed that Zelda is called "Zelda no Densetsu 1" (Legend of Zelda 1)
Zelda 2 is just called the Adventure of Link as usual.


Any ideas why this is the case?


Also the carts have a red backing like the Famicom carts did!

Here's what I know: There were two separate versions of the original Zelda in Japan-- the original 1986 release was for the Famicom Disk System. Years later (after the FDS was discontinued), Nintendo released a Famicom cartridge version-- which used a new font for the in-game text, re-named the 'Bible' to the 'Book of Magic', and added warnings to hold in the RESET button at the 'Game Over' screen (essentially the version the rest of the world got years earlier, only translated back into Japanese). It also added "1" to the title screen logo.

So, the VC release is apparently the cartridge release-- which seems to make sense since if they're being touted as 'Famicom VC games' and the original release was technically a 'FDS game'.

As for Zelda II, it too was originally released in FDS format. I'm not 100% sure whether or not it also got the cartridge re-release treatment, but if it did, there wouldn't be any reason for the logo to be changed since it was always "The Legend of Zelda 2: Link no Bouken".

[Bman87301]

Zelda 1 was re-released in cart format several years later in Japan. They added the 1 to the title screen at that time. The better question is why did they go with the (musically inferior) cart version?

Dang, you beat me to the punch.. :-(

[Bman87301]

@Bman87301 I can understand that for the Gameboy and the GBA; because they only had two buttons; the 3DS has (X) and (Y) as well; and the level that they are triangulated is sharper as well, which makes it worse. But, I didn’t but the 3DS for Super Mario Bros. so maybe I’m exaggerating. But it is frustrating to see something so simple be overlooked. Now, if they screw up Super Mario 3D Land, then maybe I’ll have a legitimate reason to complain.

No, you seem to have misunderstood...

I wasn't talking about the original systems' button positions. I was talking about the original DS/DS Lite (which had same button layout as 3DS). When you played GBA games on it (which also had only B and A buttons),  you always had the same issue of having to use the DS's B and A buttons rather than Y and B. 

The same also applied to playing NES games on Wii using the Classic Controller, and even again on 3DS with Game Boy VC games (which have been available since June). So my point was, this is nothing new and you should have expected it.

[MegaByte]

As for Zelda II, it too was originally released in FDS format. I'm not 100% sure whether or not it also got the cartridge re-release treatment, but if it did, there wouldn't be any reason for the logo to be changed since it was always "The Legend of Zelda 2".

Zelda II didn't have a cart version.

[Bman87301]

Just out of curiosity, has anyone made it far enough into Zelda 1 to encounter the Pols Voices? If so, I'm curious to know if the Japanese microphone trick (which has always been unusable here in the States due to the lack of a mic on the NES hardware) works now via the 3DS's microphone. I still haven't made it far enough to try it yet, so I'm curious.

P.S. If anyone does try it, remember to switch to Player 2 before blowing!

[Mop it up]

Interesting question, actually. I can't find anyone who's tried it yet, but I'm sure someone will eventually.

[ShyGuy]

Oh Metroid, you're still amazing...

[TheFleece]

Just out of curiosity, has anyone made it far enough into Zelda 1 to encounter the Pols Voices? If so, I'm curious to know if the Japanese microphone trick (which has always been unusable here in the States due to the lack of a mic on the NES hardware) works now via the 3DS's microphone. I still haven't made it far enough to try it yet, so I'm curious.

P.S. If anyone does try it, remember to switch to Player 2 before blowing!

I just tried it and nothing happened. Well, I got taken out by a Gibdo. Do I need the Recorder to do this?

[Bman87301]

I just tried it and nothing happened. Well, I got taken out by a Gibdo. Do I need the Recorder to do this?

No, it has nothing to do with the Recorder. All you should have to do, while you're in a room with Pols Voices, is switch to Player 2 then blow or yell into the mic, which would result in them instantly dying.

I have since tried it myself and can confirm it doesn't work. Hopefully, this will be fixed in the updated version. There's really no excuse for not making it functional now that there's a working mic available.

Someone should ask Famicomplicated if it works in his Japanese version-- I have a feeling it still won't.

[famicomplicated]

I've never played Zelda 1 for more than a few minutes, Zelda 3 was my first, so I don't know what you're talking about.

However, Danny.B is well accustomed to the game, I'll ask him to check it out.


However I will say one thing: it's very un-Nintendo to rework modern (read: original) features into a VC game, hence no rumble in StarFox 64 etc...

[TJ Spyke]

Other than the rare exception like letting you share pictures taken in the VC version of Pokemon Snap.

[MegaByte]

I have since tried it myself and can confirm it doesn't work. Hopefully, this will be fixed in the updated version. There's really no excuse for not making it functional now that there's a working mic available.

Except reprogramming assembly code? I'm pretty sure the NES version played on Famicom would still not yield the desired results. I'm not sure about the Japanese cartridge version though, and I'm interested to hear the results.

[Chozo Ghost]

Remember how Super Metroid has completely customizable button configuration?  When do you see THAT in a Nintendo game?

That was back when Gunpei Yokoi was still alive. Maybe that was why things were better back then.

[ejamer]

Disappointing that the Pols Voice trick doesn't work, I guess. But I really didn't expect Nintendo to add anything to Virtual Console games.


Adding multi-player options is something handled by the emulator code, so that should happen. Same with restore points. Heck - throwing fully configurable buttons should happen too! But actually changing ROM code to take advantage of the 3DS hardware or to update/improve certain parts of the game? Unless there is a 3D Classics release, I strongly doubt Nintendo would make the effort.

[Bman87301]

I've never played Zelda 1 for more than a few minutes, Zelda 3 was my first, so I don't know what you're talking about.

However, Danny.B is well accustomed to the game, I'll ask him to check it out.


However I will say one thing: it's very un-Nintendo to rework modern (read: original) features into a VC game, hence no rumble in StarFox 64 etc...

Actually, that's really only been the case with N64 games... And I think they just chose to exclude rumble in order to prevent the GameCube controller gaining favorability over the Classic Controller. Then, not allowing savability via emulation of the Control Pak was just their way of trying to look consistent.

If you look at VC games from other systems, special features are consistently supported. Games that originally supported 4 players via an adapter, will support 4 players. Excitebike's save feature never worked on an original NES since the Famicom Data Recorder was never released-- but the feature did work when the game reappeared as an unlockable in Excitebike 64 and Animal Crossing, as well as its GBA release as part of the NES Classics Series. And let's not forget the multiplayer support already promised for these games for a future update.

With all that in mind, it's really more 'un-Nintendo' not to support an original feature for a non-N64 VC title.

[Bman87301]

Disappointing that the Pols Voice trick doesn't work, I guess. But I really didn't expect Nintendo to add anything to Virtual Console games.


Adding multi-player options is something handled by the emulator code, so that should happen. Same with restore points. Heck - throwing fully configurable buttons should happen too! But actually changing ROM code to take advantage of the 3DS hardware or to update/improve certain parts of the game? Unless there is a 3D Classics release, I strongly doubt Nintendo would make the effort.

We're not  talking about necessarily adding a new feature here... It wouldn't be changing the original code at all if it was originally coded in the first place but the NES hardware simply lacked the mic. If that's the case (and it's my understanding that it is), it would only be a matter of emulation, just like multiplayer, etc.

Let's not forget that games that supported the Famicom Data Recorder in Japan, not only didn't have the support for it removed from the NES versions, they were even marketed as being part of a "Programmable Series". At the time, NOA was entertaining the idea of eventually releasing an NES Data Recorder, which of course never happened.

Keeping that in mind, and the fact that Zelda's US manual still referenced Pols Voice's hatred of loud noises, it seems quite plausible that the feature was left in with the consideration that they might later release a microphone enabled controller as an add-on accessory.

[Bman87301]

Except reprogramming assembly code? I'm pretty sure the NES version played on Famicom would still not yield the desired results. I'm not sure about the Japanese cartridge version though, and I'm interested to hear the results.

From what I've read, the feature has been tested using a US cart on a Famicom via an adapter and the feature supposedly has been shown to still work... Of course, not everything posted on the Internet is worth being believed, so it could be a bogus claim, especially as no video was shown.

But I do know for a fact that the Japanese cartridge version did still support it (and keep in mind, it was released after the original Famicom model was discontinued, and the mic was excluded from the newer model.  And considering that that cartridge version was basically the same version we got, only in Japanese text, it seems very likely to be true).

[Mop it up]

And not allowing savability via emulation of the Control Pak was just their way of trying to look consistent

Cruis'n USA used the Controller Pak and that's on the VC.

[Bman87301]

Cruis'n USA used the Controller Pak and that's on the VC.

I wouldn't know since I've never played the VC version of Cruis'n USA. But I have Mario Kart 64's VC version and it doesn't support the Control Pak's Ghost Data saving feature. But if other games do, then it proves my point even further-- Nintendo is willing to support special features for VC releases.

[famicomplicated]

Allowing Ghost Data in Mario Kart to be saved to SD card would be just the same as what they did for Pokemon Snap, yet they didn't do it. (and never expected them to)

Changing the banners in Wave Race 64 was a legality, but man, the Pokemon Snap thing is still surprising to me now.

But I do agree with multiplayer options they're quite good, like I heard there are some 5 player games (Bomberman possibly) that are supported using 4 remotes and a GC pad, that's kinda cool.

Maybe we'll get all these features in the 3D classics versions on the eShop full $40 retail games that will inevitably come out in the future.

[famicomplicated]

I have definitive answer about the Pols Voice trick on the Famicom VC games on the 3DS.


I finally arrived at the fourth dungeon (which is all new territory for me) and bumped into those little rabbit dudes that take 3/4 hits to kill, I left one guy alive and switched to controller 2, blew like crazy into the mic aaaaaaand.............


Nothing.


So yeah, even though its the FC version being emulated, they haven't emulated that particular FC controller feature into this version of the game...


Yet?


Although it does somehow make me want to track down the cart for real and try it, it would be cool to kill those pesky buggers all at once. I'd rather it worked on the Darknuts though, god damn they're pain in the arse. (2 hits, invincible from the front)