Flash carts...authentic?

[zedrein]

I am on the verge of purchasing the popular "PowerPak" flash cart for the NES, but I still have some lingering questions about the performance of this product (I have very limited knowledge about computer engineering, so please be patient)

1.) Considering that the PowerPak flash cart does not use Nintendo brand circuitry or chips for the mappers, won't the games look and sound different than if I were to use an original cartridge? Perhaps the mappers simply add more "binary" code to help process the graphics and therefore don't need to be Nintendo brand, but I just had to ask this. You see, I am sort of a stickler for keeping things literally 100% authentic when it comes to classic gaming (that's why I loathe emulation for the NES) And while it wouldn't necessarily deter me from buying this product, I'd like to know what differences I can expect!

2.) Is there a master list of games that aren't supported? My friend who owns the PowerPak told me that there is a Japanese game called, "Gimmick!" that doesn't support certain sound channels, and he also said that "Castlevania III" does not work at all.

I sincerely thank you for your guys' time and hope to hear back from you all soon! I am more and more excited about the prospect of playing all of my NES games in the most authentic way possible, but I also am a person that needs as much information as possible before making such an investment.

(Please feel free to tell me about ALL of the pros and cons of console flash carts)

Russell S

[NFG]

Generally speaking, conversations about piracy tools aren't condoned here.

Personally, I have no interest in 'authenticity' unless it directly affects my enjoyment of a game.  If I play it and don't notice it's not 100% like the original, then it's just fine by me.  When you ask the question 'will it be 100% authentic?  Will they look and sound different?' I can't help but believe you're being pedantic for no good reason.  In many cases emulation is as good or better than the real thing, though I (as much as anyone) understand the value and joy of original hardware.  There's something to be said for convenience, screenshots, and save-states.  I think you should try the thing and if you don't notice it's different, then it's not.

Re: mappers: you'll probably find either the cart or the rom file contains the mapper required, 'cause the games won't run without 'em.  At all.

Finally, re: sound: the Famicom had sound inputs on the cart connector, the NES did not.  If a Famicom game had additional soundchips, no hardware in the world will allow you to enjoy that sound on a NES.

[zedrein]

Thanks for your response, Lawrence. I personally have played NES emulators for years, whether they be on my PC or Nintendo's own Virtual Console. Generally speaking they do a great job on consoles like the SNES, Sega Genesis or Sony Playstation, but I've always found that nothing can substitute the good ol' NES. To me, anything else just doesn't look/sound right.

I'll concede that I'm probably being a bit needlessly obsessive about getting everything 100% identical, but that's just my curse I suppose. I'm sure there are some members here on gamesx that have purchased the said product and hopefully they'll find their way to this thread, but thank you again for offering your insight into this matter.

[NFG]

That's about the most polite way I've ever been told to STFU in my entire life.  Good work. =)

[kendrick]

We get a lot of content here on GamesX that doesn't end up on other forums because of the people who post here. However, I think it's worth mentioning that just because we're experts doesn't mean that everything we have expertise in is on-topic here. I'd like to politely suggest that discussion about a third-party accessory of this type be taken to another board that covers the topic more thoroughly. A good place to start is probably the Rare and Obscure forum over at ASSEMbler games.

[Hojo_Norem]

I have a PowerPak (a first run model which needed the resistor fix) and I think it works rather well considering its the work of one person.  There's plenty of info on the PowerPak over at the NesDev Hardware forum.

The GFX reproduction on the PowerPak for some games is practically 100% like the original while some other games not so.  This is because the PowerPak uses a FPGA, a blank chip so to speak, to re-create the support gubbins inside the carts.  With work the FPGA in the PowerPak  can be made to act exactly like the support chips for nearly any game.  There are some games that can't be done (mostly specific Famicom games and some Pirate carts) while some games just don't have the mappers written for them (Castlevania III uses the MMC5) but the PowerPak has the capacity for them.  The sound expansion hardware on some Famicom games (including Disk System games) does work but requires a slight modification to your NES (check NesDev for more info and yes, there is a FDS mapper ^_^).

[zedrein]

That's about the most polite way I've ever been told to STFU in my entire life.  Good work. =)

lol, that wasn't really what I was trying to convey, infact I like to hear about others opinions when it comes to something I am still learning about.

I think I'll take Kendrick's advice and find a forum more suitable for this question. Also, thanks to butter_pat_head for offering his first hand experience with this product!