Making Sure A Holy Grail Video Game For The NES Is Actually Legit
226Since early 2024, I've had to sell a lot of my video game collection. In the past few months, things have turned around and my situation has improved, and I've been able to do some light game hunting. While I've been looking and hunting, I hadn't bought anything until now. On a recent trip to a local video game store, I happened to find something I never thought I'd see at a price I couldn't believe. The game was Felix the Cat for the NES, a holy grail video game for many. But this is a game that is often faked, and with the price about 20-30% lower than I had seen traditionally, I needed to check to make sure it was legit. Here's how I went about making sure that this game was actually legit.
Check the Labels
The front and back labels are giveaways regarding a game's authenticity. If the front label doesn't feel right or look right, it could be a repro. The same goes for the back label. You can check Internet archives to see if the labels look right with the correct colors, SKUs, and information.
Check the Chips
Any reputable store or reseller should not have any problems with opening up and verifying the chips inside a cartridge. Again, check the internet archives to verify the numbers on the ROM and RAM are correct. Some games are complicated to verify due to blobs on the chips, called blob tops. Note these are actually LEGIT games as Nintendo themselves used these in limited situations.
Does it work
If you can, plug the cartridge into a system and make sure it plays. Things like copyright years and such are dead giveaways for whether a game is legit or not. Sometimes, games that are hacks or fakes use ROMS that omit or have incorrect data on the copyright screen. Plus, by testing it, you know that the game you're about to plunk money down on actually works.
I am so glad that I got this copy of Felix the Cat for the NES. Have you ever seen it? Have you ever played it? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
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