Hello everyone, I'm new here.

I ran into this board while looking for information on the redesigns known as NES 2 (or TopLoader NES) and AV Famicom.

A few weeks ago, I was watching one of the Angry Videogame Nerd videos (the new Bible Games one), and he said he couldn't play a PAL game on his regular NES, so he put it into a top loader saying that "it plays anything".
That was quite the revelation to me, I didn't know the top loader lacked region locking!

I decided to get myself one of those (I already was tempted because I figured it would work better and feature a more comfortable controller), but then, while researching the matter I started to have doubts.
My primary concern is: even if it has no region lock, would Japanese games fit into its slot (because of their diferent form)? Would the pins even match?

Then I also found out that the NES 2 only had RF output, so I turned my attention to the AV Famicom... but the same question applies: is the AV Famicom free of any region locks? Even if it is, I'm pretty sure the shape of the carts would be a problem since ours are larger than Japanese ones.

Lastly, I'm told that certain Japanese games will never work correctly on a NES, whether it is free of region locks or if used with an adaptor.
In the specific, it can be read on the Castlevania Dungeon in the page dedicated to Akumajo Densetsu

Quote:

I actually own the cartridge of this, but due to the differences between the Nintendo Entertainment System and Famicom hardware, the music does not play correctly.

Would that be true also for a NES 2? Or maybe (on account of being a newer model with no region lock and so similar to the AV Famicom) that one would be able to handle it right?

Well, I hope you guys can help me answer some of these question because at  this point, I'm not really sure what I want to buy anymore [smiley=undecided.gif]

I have a Twin Famicom which lets me play all Famicom and the disc games as well as a PAL NES which had the region lock out chip snipped (very easy to do by yourself) so it can play PAL and US games. So Id recommend going for both.

I suppose that might be the best solution. Still, I would like to know the answers to those questions.
For example, can your modified pal NES play Japanese games? (I realize you have your Twin Famicom for that, but I wonder if the modified NES is really universal or not because of either pins or slot)
Would any Famicom (AV, Twin or other) be able to play games of other regions as is (without modifications) like the NES 2?

Anyway, thank you for your reply :)


Edit:
I did find some answers!
Apparently the NES 2 can only run US and PAL games, not Japanese ones, due to the difference in pins (guess the AVGN got carried off). Which means of course that the AV Famicom can't play anything other than Japanese games.

Well, seeing as apparently no NES is able to play every Japanese game, even with an adaptor while the contrary seems to be possible, I guess I'll get an AV Famicom and a universal adaptor for it (ought to be more comfortable and reliable than an adaptor for my front loader NES).

Not to mention that I'll get more comfortbale controller along with it :)


(...or I might get a Twin Famicom like you, if I can find one that doesn't bankrupt me)

I have an NES (toaster) with RGB mod, extra sound channels mod,  stereo knobs, and PowerPak flash cart/512mb CF card.  Plays NES +Famicom (USA, JAP, EUR, protos, translations, etc), FDS, and NSF.  Truly the most awesome combo.