Rating: 2/5
I was so 
psyched when I saw this product in Osaka Don Quijote (discount chain store) for 2500 YEN and bought it without any hesitation. I knew it was a Famicom (Japanese version of NES) knockoff as the design of the product is strikingly similar to the actual thing. After doing some careful research, I found out that FC = “Famiclone” as Nintendo’s patents on the hardware have expired, hence it is now legal to sell any “Famiclone” that does not have pirated software built in. Regardless, I was excited and determined to try it out.
The game list was also quite intriguing – it ranges from Devildom Doom to Assart to Shrew Mouse, none were Famicom/NES originals. However, when I started the game play, I immediately realized why it comes at such discount. The background music for each game was on a 15 second 8-bit loop, which got mind-numbing incredibly fast. The controls were extremely insensitive and even inaccurate at times. (e.g. Characters can easily fly off in the wrong direction with the tap of a button) The names for some of the games were not indicative of the game play. (e.g. Shrew Mouse has nothing to do with shrew/mouse, main character was a blue blob jumping platforms) Some levels were just continuously repeated after another with only background colour change etc.
Amazingly I tried all 88 games but failed to find one that was actually fun and playable. Almost all games were infested with crazy glitches and bugs, atrocious controls, random blobs as characters, dying in mid-air, misleading titles and power-ups, unorthodox weapons, eye-straining graphics, enemies not showing up (or all showing up at once), impossible wins and losses, lack of sense, mind-numbing music and so much more.
However, I still would like to present it with a 2-star rating because I love the design of this product and it was amazingly affordable!
P.S. I have now taken the product apart and used it as the cover case for my Raspberry Pi!!
Jenn's Thoughts Basket 