Oh god I have one of these and I actually PAID money for mine! Luckily it was only like $5 but still. LOL I love how you found yours in a parking lot though.
The Genesis clone controller's D-pad reminds of both the European 7800's controller, and the Japanese Master System's...both had threads in the center for joystick attatchments. Boy, those were real thumb-killers in my experience.
The audio on this particular Super Joy 3, has the correct audio for the games. A lot of Super Joy 3’s audio change the pitches of the built in games’ audio.
Actually to correct you, the NES Zapper IS compatible with the Power Joy III - at least electrically. The problem is the 4021 interface used in Famiclones is typically the standard DE-9 type whereas Nintendo used a proprietary connection. With a little bit of wire splicing and soldering, you can make a Zapper fully compatible with this one any number of other clones.
Every one of these things seems to be slightly different. The first one I got, I bought for $40 around 2003 in a mall at one of those little isle carts that usually try to get you to buy junk for high prices. At the time, I wanted a gaming console but couldn't afford it. I knew they were hacks, as the sound and colors were only slightly off, but the games were 100% playable. It was the blue set. One of the great things was that the 3-lettered codes at the end of the title meant something uniquely special with each game. If you select the right one, specifically on Contra or Super Mario Bros, up came a list of extra selections. On Contra, one had the 30 lives and always have spread gun "cheats" on it. Others would start you on different levels. On SMB I found "codes" for always stay big and 99 lives. It was really cool. Arkanoid also had infinite lives and Karateka had a super hard mode where if you are touched even once you die, and super easy mode where you can't get killed at all. I eventually began collecting real game consoles including a NES with overdrive so I didn't need the Super Joy any more. A friend of mine who lives in a home for disabled people really liked it so I gave it to him. Eventually the AC cable port gave out and I bought him a new one for $11 on Amazon. It was different in the fact that clicking on the main title didn't show up a list with the extra features like the first one did. The games were very raw and gritty. The graphics and colors were awful and the sound was like it was made by a chainsaw against a piano or guitar. I got it replaced by another one, and though the sound and graphics were better, it too did not have the special game menus. My poor friend struggles to beat Super Mario and Contra to the point where he can't enjoy it any more. I've tried viewing several vids on the Super Joy and have found NONE OTHER like the first one I had. I must have hit the jackpot with that one. It may have been the original release version, but later models skimped on the features because of little funding to continue them. What a bummer. As far as a clone goes, or any plug and play system, this is a pretty good one. It may not really be 76,000 games, more like 100 repeated games, but for its price, I found it to be worth the purchase in its time, which I used for many years.
It was made before the Famicom design patients had expired making it an illegal clone, but more importantly, it has a built-in multicart containing dozens of copywritten games belonging to proper companies. Since Power Joy didn't own the rights to either the design patients or the game code they distributed, it was highly illegal. In fact, the Power Joy III was the center at a major anti-piracy campaign in the US around 2004. Look it up.
+Satoshi Matrix what do you think of the likelihood of a Sega CD clone, or a 2 in 1 Genesis + CD clone? I know the 32x is a mess from an engineering standpoint, so I know that nobody wants to touch it. I just bought a model 2 CD for dirt cheap, however it took me a few months of really searching.
+Jacob Prayer outside of emulation, there will never be a Sega CD clone, and I'll list just some the reasons why: 1. Lack of global popularity: The Sega CD and Mega CD were niche platforms in every market, including Japan. The number of people who care about Sega/Mega CD at all is significantly less than the MegaDrive, SNES and NES. 2. Complexity of the hardware: A CD drive contains moving parts and cannot be cost reduced to a single pcb like MegaDrive/SNES/NES can. Too expensive to produce for clone makers to bother. 3. Lack of software: Sega/Mega CD games are not common. Oh sure they're out there, but you don't see them at every shop you visit, every flea market, every yard sale like you do SNES and Genesis games. Even if a Sega CD clone were produced, most people would have difficulty finding games. 4. The ease of emulation: Sega CD emulation that doesn't require the scratch prone discs nor the expensive to produce moving parts hardware can be easily had thanks to emulation on everything from the original Xbox to modern day smartphones. The few people who would care to play Sega CD stuff can easily do so without spending a penny, using hardware they likely already own.
I suppose an enthusiast's best bet would be to get original hardware and repair/maintain it. Genesis stuff is much less common than Nintendo's onslaught of NES and SNES here in Mexico. I was thinking that something at the least that could connect to the Genesis and have a USB port for a CD/DVD drive. Oh, do you know if a PAL Master System Light Phaser will work on an NTSC console with an NTSC game? I bought a Pal one by accident at a last minute auction. If it doesn't work I'm hoping it can be easily modded. Oh yeah Master System is extremely uncommon here too. Thanks man.
I'm not sure if it's a major difference between the Famicom and the NES or just an issue with the NOAC, but the drum sequence in the games on this sound different.
This was the Famiclone my father bought me back in 2001. Sure, the build quality was poor and died out within 4 months of use, but this was my first exposure to Japan-only games. I had a lot of fun playing Ice Climber with my sister after school while my parents were out.
Playing the Power Pak on the Power Joy 3 while reading Nintendo Power while the power is on when wearing the power glove, NOW youre playing with power.
This was the first Famiclone I ever bought! It as the catalyst for my desire to start collect retro games and consoles! The only thing I liked about the 2nd player comtroller was the third a+b button, i.e. jump in every beat 'em up game on the NES. The d-pad on the 1rst player controller was ok, but not the best. All in all it had good built in games and was indeed "Fun Time"!
I have 2 Super Joy III's in pieces already. I'm considering making 1 into a famiclone portable. and the other I would like to solder it to a donor cartridge and run it's rom file from my original NES. But I'm not entirely sure that it's possible.
I have a friend that has one of these. He actually tried Lagrange Point on it, and the VRC7 music actually worked (The music was a bit quiet, though.)! I am serious.
Yes it is, but then again almost all Famiclones are compatible with the disk system. The FDS isn't a very good measuring stick for a Famiclone's performance. Still considering you have to HOLD the Power Joy III, attaching the giant RAM adapter to the bottom makes it unwieldy.
I think one of my friends ( who moved away about 5-6 years ago) had one of these things, we always thought it was the Nintendo Revolution. I remember having my mom bring my NES Zapper over to see if it would work. It didn't. Damn thing sucked. But I almost want to scavenge the internet for one.
I had an original power joy, it was like the n64 controller that worked as a light gun too, had like 16 games and light gun games too, It could play Famicom games and it had the segalike controller port
@SatoshiMatrix1 I want to say 3 things: 1.) I love your videos, 2.) I have one too, and 3.) Is the Power Joy lll compatible with the Famicom Disk System?
I also wonder if you are going to review the PowerPak on both the NES and SNES. The PowerPak is the flash cart that you can play the games from the compact flash card.
Well, I think you already know that the PowerPak on the NES does not work on most clones like Generation NEX, FC Twin, or most portable NES systems. You reviewed the NES PowerPak on your Wordpress site four years ago though.
Rockman is the Japanese name for Megaman. The original title was both a pun for Rock Paper Scissors (which is a large part of the gameplay) and also a musical pun, as the sister robot is named Roll. So the two robots are Rock & Roll. Get it? Of course, dumb marketers in the west thought that he should have a more impressive name, so they called him "Mega" man. Mega & Roll just doesn't have the same ring to it.
The hardware could fit in a NES controller. It's just 3 blobs of epoxy with processors/memory in it and some buttons. I have a PAL famiclone. I'm not sure if I can play PAL games on a famiclone that is PAL.
You said it was incompatible with the normal games you'd think of ie Castlevania 3 and Battletoads, but you cold always get around this by emulating Castlevania 3 off of the power pack, should it work.
@Corey6496 What are you talking about? Power Blade? Yes, Power Blade has a Japanese counterpart called Power Blazer, but that game isn't nearly as good. Check my blog for a full review.
But you DO understand this is a Famiclone for a system that has two action buttons. The DB-9 PowerJoy III MegaDrive style controller doesn't need or most of the buttons on that controller. This is NOT a Megadrive controller, it's a clone NES controller. There is no digital multiplexer, only a 4021 clone. This is beyond redundant. THAT is my confusion.
@keoni29 Of course NOAC clones can be made into the controller, but my point was that this is a BAD choice with solid state cartridges. They move, your game gets screwed up. PAL Famiclones should run PAL games just fine. They'll also run most NTSC games too, but 17% slower.
Aren't you supposed to use the other controller when playing carts, that way you can keep the system face down so the cart won't move?? makes sense to try that
@@SatoshiMatrix1 I have one of these it's exactly the same in grey, it came in different packaging to the others I've seen on RU-vid it came on it's own, no 2nd controller and no lightgun and sadly I don't have a famicom cart to try it out
@keoni29 Yeah I know. its all to do with the solid-state nature of Famiclones and how little it makes sense for you to be holding it in your hands with the controls.. never use the battery pack. It's a complete gimmick anyway.
Wasn't to do with the NOAC, but the built-in multicart containing dozens of copywritten games belonging to proper companies. Since Power Joy didn't own the rights to either the design patients or the game code they distributed, it was highly illegal and the focus of a large crack-down. That's why.
the MAX is one controller I have such mixed feelings about. On one end I love the turbo fire ease of use and feel of the controller, on the other I hate the buttons and don't get the dpad circle thing. Would have been much better to use use a normal dpad. I'll get around to a Controller Chronicles episode on the MAX sooner or later.
Yeah. I'd like to find another one of these clones though. The only thing really wrong with it is that it's controls are built in. If I could find another one, I've like to padhack it to a standard NES controller. It's a odd clone. Not a bad one.
I remember these were sold at a mall stand, this was around 2003. lmao some guy bought one because he was all nostalgic for NES games. came back 2 hours later. Piece of shit fell apart, starting with the fake stiff joystick. The famicom connector falls off. The stand got closed down in the mall. All of these were seized for piracy. It was fucking lulzy. But I also saw this in various swap meets, bootleg game shops. Crazy to think garbage like this can be in the USA everywhere. Like I said, it was sold at fucking malls. What trips me out even more, are people who collect bootlegs and famiclone systems. They find a way to dump the roms out of these multicarts or shitty plug and play consoles.
Episode 1 the phantom nes Episode 2 attack of the famiclones Episode 3 revenge of the snes Episode 4 Nintendo hope Episode 5 xbox strikes back Episode 6 return of the play station Episode 7 fortnite awakens Episode 8 the last joy stick
I had something like that when i was a kid. It was horrible. It had 64 nes games built into the controller, and even though a lot of them offered a two player-mode there was no room for plugging in an extra controller.
Hey thanks for this video! I had seen this system AND the COOL thing about these type of system is that you may be able to mod them into a single NES cardtridge casing as a different portable or maybe a console. This is why it's them around. Give it a TRY, and LET RADIOSHACK Help you in the way! Thanks
Why would that be interesting or surprising? Famiclones are based on NOACs, which are incredibly inexpensive to produce in China. Real Famicoms hold value because of nostalgia, brand, enduring quality, and desire. I dunno if you caught this, but I literally found this clone in a parking lot. That's how little someone wanted it.
Amusingly enough, this clone has appear in Nintedo Power in an anti piracy ad warning people of how illegal it was because it includes copyritten and licensed games, Look it up, Power Joy III Anti Piracy Ad.
@SatoshiMatrix1 sorry i just dont buy controllers and games anymore, but i just look at them for what the designers did just to either enjoy or laugh. But your videos are quite good, i might make a review of the nes max controller some day.
