Opinion

The vast majority of people I know begun their journey into the foray of gaming on a little console we like to call the NES. The NES was not my first console, that would have been the Atari 2600, but I would have to say that it has still had the biggest influence on me gaming wise. It was in those early years that Nintendo shaped the future of gaming for years to come. Now, some 15+ years later, many of you still have the original NES that you had when you were kids. If that is you, then you are more than familiar with the blinking screen problem. You probably had your own way of fixing the blinking screen as well, blowing into the cartridges or even banging your hand on the NES.

My NES has been sitting for quite some time now and about 2 years ago I went on a shopping spree and bought up every original NES game that I always wanted but couldn’t have back in the day. I had no way to play these games as both of my NESs had seemingly died. I was fully aware that the vast majority of the problems could be fixed by simply replacing the 72 Pin connector inside the NES, but I never bothered to look into the procedure. Your other alternative is to purchase one of the coveted Top Loading NES systems which go for a premium on Ebay. I am newlywed so money isn’t freely flowing so I opted for the replacement part. Upon doing a little research I found the standard silver connector connecter as well as a connecter with high grade gold pins. The prices for each connecter were $5 and $9 respectively so I figured the $4 extra was not a huge deal. The gold connecters from this particular person were also backed by a 1 year warranty.

So lets say you want to embark on the journey of repairing your Nintendo, what would you need to do…

The first thing you need to do is email Rob Langan at rob.langan AT verizon.net (Don’t want to get him signed up for tons of spam!) and tell him that Snowcone here at Snackbar Games sent you to buy a gold 72 pin NES connector. Once you purchase the connector from Rob then you can proceed with the installation.

The only tool you should need for installation is a Philips screwdriver and a clean place to work.

  1. Your first step is going to be to flip the NES upside down and remove the 6 philips screws. I have taken the liberty of circling the screws in the following picture. After you remove the screws you will want to flip the NES back over and remove the top cover.


    Remove 6 screws from bottom

  2. Your will next want to remove the large silver cover by removing the 7 screws holding it in place. Again the screws are located in the red circles.


    Remove silver cover

  3. After having removed the silver cover, you are going to need to remove the cartridge slot. In order to do this you will need to raise the motherboard out of the deck casing a bit. To do this, I removed all 6 screws holding the cartridge slot as well as the 2 screws holding the RF module down. All screws are circled again. Once you remove all the screws then lift the motherboard out of the casing and slide the cartridge slot out towards the front of the console. Make sure you pay attention to how it goes on as you will be putting it back on during reassembly.


    Remove cartridge slot

  4. Next, simply pull the 72 pin connector off the motherboard. Mine was pretty snug and I had to tug a little hard to get it off. Obviously it slides off towards the back of the motherboard. Now connect the new connector to the motherboard. Make sure you pay attention to how the connector goes on (the side with the two rows of matching silver connectors are what slide onto the motherboard).


    Replace connector

Before reassembling the NES, make sure the cartridge slot will click down into place when putting a game in. If it doesn’t, loosen the screws and then pull the cartridge slot forward just a little. The front edge of the slot needs to hook under the motherboard in order to fit properly.

Reassembly

  1. Slide the cartridge slot back onto the 72 pin connector.
  2. Ease the motherboard back down into its original position and screw the cartridge slot and RF module back down (8 screws)
  3. Attach the silver cover (7 screws)
  4. Attach the top half of the NES deck casing and turn the NES onto its top and screw it together (6 screws)

There are a few things you need to be made aware of and the first one is that this is not a 100% guaranteed fix for your NES. You may have damaged something else during use a while back. The second thing is that you are trying this on your own and I, in no way, shape, or form, am liable if you bunk up your NES even more than it was before. My NES currently works and on occasion it has a tad bit of trouble reading the games. Rob recommended that you clean each of the games prior to playing them in the “new” system. He recommended using water and a Q-tip. I have also heard that rubbing alcohol will work.

I do hope that some of you will get a chance to repair your NES and revisit some childhood memories. If you have questions or comments then feel free to post them in the forum like always or email me.

I realize that I am doing this in reverse order, posting an article, then doing a little intro thing, but that’s just the way it works. This isn’t going to be some long and drawn out life’s story, so I best just start with the basics.

Alright, as far as gaming things go I don’t have one genre of games that I prefer. I always have to ask Cone what the hell kind of game I like and he always asks me which game I am talking about liking at the moment. As far as all time favorites I am a Donkey Kong Country (SNES) girl all the way. I still like to go back and play through that game. Plus I have Diddy’s Kong Quest and Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble. Oh yeah, then there is Donkey Kong 64. I was heartbroken to hear the Rare and Nintendo partnership is no more. This is only a problem because Donkey Kong is owned by Nintendo and you just can’t have a DK game without Rare. I am still praying for a DK on the new generation consoles…any of them. Please…

Speaking of new generation consoles, I prefer the X-Box. This is mostly because my new favorite, Halo, is on this console. I have other reasons too, but like I said, I am trying to keep this relatively short. I also really enjoyed Kingdom Hearts on the PS2. A side note about me and saying that I enjoyed/liked games. I also judge games by their A

Are Today

May 12, 2003

I know what you are thinking. A

Many times does life take a turn for the worse. The King’s reign
ends, and yet the King knows it not. Frailty in one’s heart turns
to bitterness. What a wicked web we weave indeed. So the story of
Sam Fisher, former NSA Agent, now a blue collar man making his way
through this dog eat dog world of ours.

I have learnt through my sources as Snackbar Investigative Reporter
that our hero has fallen indeed. He was a super spy and now he is
but a super exterminator. Sam Fisher is now the CEO and President,
and sole employee, of Sam’s Super Extermination. A local “Critter
Killer” if you will. It seems as though he has lost all will
to save the world from terrorism, but only save the backyards of
trailer parks from vermin.

Here is the transcript of my exclusive interview with Sam Fisher.

Pic: Sam, Sam? May I have a word with you?

Sam: Who the hell are you?

Pic: My name is Pickle; I’ve spoken with some people and
located you…you are a hard man to find…especially in the
dark.

Sam: So I have been told.

Pic: Sam answer me this…why are you doing this…why
are you…a vermin exterminator?

Sam: So the cat’s out the bag huh?

Pic: Yes Sam it is…explain how did this happen?

Sam: Well as you know I like to work at night. I have a
family to support you know, and the damned NSA was always risking
my ass to piece together information about this and that. I mean
what kind of job security is it when they send you into a base full
of enemies, or hell the CIA Headquarters!

Pic: I can understand your pain Sam really, I feel for you.

Sam: Shaddup.

Pic: Yes sir…but what exactly do you do?

Sam: Well I get the call, for instance at the moment I have
a 312.

Pic: 312?

Sam: Yeah, a raccoon infestation, over behind the trailer.

Pic: I see…so what are you going to do.

Sam: Well I am going to sneak up on the little bastards
then knock them out…that seems to work most of the time.

Pic: That’s dammed brilliant. One question…can’t raccoons
see in the dark?

Sam:

Sam: Then I fill them full of lead. I got this here silencer.

Pic: Can’t argue with that, well good luck Sam. I wish the
best for you and your new business.

Sam: Thanks, tell yer friends about it. That’s Sam’s Super
Extermination; look us up in the phone book!

Pic: You heard it here folks, the man is happy he is doing
what it is he does best. I for one wish him the best of luck.

How the mighty have fallen. So it seems some people are satisfied
killing critters as opposed to terrorists. Well this is one reporter

that won’t give up on the War on Terrorism so easily. I say suit
me up Johnny; let’s do this for the Red, White, and Blue.


When people come up to me and ask me which game I like better,
FIFA 2003 or Winning 11, I usually tell them I have both and that
they are both good. But if you were to come up and ask me ” Hey
Jon, which game do you play more? “, I’d basically give them the
answer they were asking for in the first question.

World Soccer Winning Eleven 6 (WW6) and FIFA 2003 are similar and
different in many ways. Graphically WW6 has a bit of an edge in
the race, but just slightly. The character features and physics
tend to look a bit more fluid than FIFA as well as when the up close
shots, FIFA still needs to work on the “zombie like features of
some of the players faces. However they have made vast improvements
since FIFA 2002 & World Cup and seem to be moving closer to their
goal. The player’s looks are a bit dated however, maybe due to the
fact this is the 1st time WW6 has made it to the states, it seems
more like a 2002 version more than a current.

When it comes to sound, FIFA absolutely dominates in the competition.
If you truly want to enjoy playing a football game (Soccer), then
you need to turn the commentators off (only have them on when you
and a buddy are playing or with a group of friends). You can truly
enjoy haring the banter between players and the crowd, and the crunch
of a good tackle. WW6 truly drops the ball in this department. Football
(Soccer) is a living, breathing, experience brought to life with
atmosphere. The crowd chanting, booing …singing songs. The rush
of blood that fills you with excitement when a goal is scored or
a penalty saved. The crowd is a living thing, and in winning 11
it’s stagnant. However in FIFA, team songs as well as player songs
add to a game and let you know who’s ” house ” you are playing in.
when you are losing 2-0, nothing hurts worse than a smile on your
friends face and the crowd singing.. ” two nil, Two nil, Two Nil!!!!
” and the players on the field screaming at each other. FIFA puts
you in th
e stadium, and engulfs you in the sounds of the world’s
game.

Knowing what to do and actually doing it are two different things.
Control in a game can either make or break a title and if a person
gets frustrated and fed up with playing then what’s the point of
even playing. FIFA’s controls over the years haven’t changed to
drastically. They have improved with each passing year. In fact
the only complaint one might have with the game, is they left out
the “give and go “control that was so very useful in the game. Give
and go’s if used properly can be devastating, and one who mastered
its technique would control the tempo of a game. Give and Go’s are
like a “Fast Break “in the NBA or a QB faking a hand-off and going
for a long bomb down field. When FIFA added this into the 2002 game,
it was a huge leap forward. And I feel that if they would have kept
it into the 2003 game with the additions they made, the controls
would have been perfect, maybe in 2004? WW6 control is a whole other
story. The full range of control you have with WW6 is amazing. Almost
each button has 4-6 different functions on both defense and offense.
While at first one becomes amazed by this, once the novelty wears
off, you realize that in the game you might have to result to button
mashing and crossing your fingers to even get control in a game,
never mind score.

The main thing I always her people complain about in FIFA is either
“it’s too hard to score,” or, “it’s too easy to score”. I’m going
to shed some light on some people that may have a hard time understanding
what to do when the little game is getting too hard for them or
too easy. See there is this “weird” little menu selection in a game
called OPTIONS, and in the magical menu there is a way you can (now
see if you can stay with me on this one) A-D-J-U-S-T the Difficultly
level on the game. It’s a pretty weird concept, but if the game
is too easy and you find yourself scoring 10-12 goals with your
injured water boy I’d say it’s about time you bumped up to the normal
or even try putting all the rules on and making sure the ref’s strictness
is a little higher than having it set where he’s blind to everything
on the field. Additionally, if you can’t even score a goal with
11 of your men vs. 9 of theirs and the goalkeeper signing autographs
in the stands… I’d say you need to slap those training wheels
back on and try a little more practice at amateur level, there’s
no shame, you just aren’t Pele.

Now what you need to ask yourself when you are trying to decide
between these games is a real easy question. Why are you playing
a soccer game? to play with you favorite team, or to pick up and
play with a buddy something easy and simple. Do you want to pick
a team and start a franchise or run simulations? FIFA has a major
advantage over WW6, license! Even though many of the players on

all the teams in WW6 are named correctly and are in the right positions
and have the right squad numbers. None of the FIFA licensing is
there, so Manchester United, Real Madrid, Arsenal, A.C. Milan, Juventas,
and Ajax are all called other teams. Many players have to be renamed,
and even though WW6 is fully editable, who wants to spend 6 hrs
fixing the game so all the team names are right and the squads are
up to date? WW6 also seems to only have a little less than 20 “professional”
teams and the rest are all world cup squads. When you want to play
a Basketball game.. Don’t you want to play with your favorite team,
and have them called what they are and have them spell the players
right? How much fun would it be to play a NBA game with the San
Antonio Sparkles? How about the latest version of Madden with the
world champion Green Bay Cheese heads??? Yes you know they are the
Packers and Spurs.. But wouldn’t it irk you if they weren’t called
that? I have been a Manchester United supporter my whole life; my
grandfather supported the club since 1910, and my Uncle since 1944.
Now I’ve read some reviews in “other” sites with tag lines like
“Soccer players play Fifa and Football players play WW6”, and it
makes me laugh. WW6 may be the top seller over FIFA in Europe, but
does that mean it is the better game? Maybe, but don’t judge either
game on sales. Ask yourself why you are getting a football (soccer)
game. What do you want out of any sports game? License can play
a major part in one’s decision. I personally like my teams named
right and to be immersed in a sports game as much as possible. Game
play is a major factor, but sports games are different. Why do we
play them? We want to be on the team we follow. We want to pound
our rivals and win the league. We want the fantasy mixed with the
real.