CARTRIDGE DESIGN ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This page gives an overview of the NES game cartridges and how they changed over time. The size, shape, look, and feel of the games were strategically designed by Nintendo to make them not only look cool, but to be high-quality and convey a sense of value. They did a good job.
PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All NES games consist of a printed circuit board (aka PC Board or PCB) with a male 72-pin connector surrounded by two halves of a plastic shell that screw together. The PCB's were made in many different shapes & sizes inside the shell depending on how much hardware the game required to run. Some games have a Save function that uses a battery attached onto the PCB (as opposed to a password save system). They're covered with codes which reveal all kind of stuff about the game, which is why PCB's get their own page on this site here.
PCB model NES-NROM-256
Super Mario Bros.
PCB model NES-SUROM
Dragon Warrior III
PCB model NES-ETROM
Bandit Kings of Ancient China
NES cartridge drawing from U.S. Patent document showing both standard PCB and Famicom Adapter options
5-SCREW CARTRIDGES --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The original version of the cartridge design used 5 standard flathead screws to hold the plastic shell together. These games are known as 5-Screw cartridges. This design was used from the launch in October 1985 through the end of 1987.
5-Screw Cartridge Top Spine
Metroid
5-Screw Cartridge Front
Metroid
5-Screw Cartridge Back
Metroid
There are 8 games that were only produced in the 5-Screw cartridge:
In total there were 86 games produced in the 5-Screw cartridge. This list is of official factory releases only, and does not include any games that got a 5-Screw shell replacement while being repaired/refurbished by a service center.
10-Yard Fight
1942
3-D WorldRunner
Alpha Mission
Arkanoid
Athena
Athletic World
Balloon Fight
Baseball
BreakThru
BurgerTime
Castlevania
Chubby Cherub
Clu Clu Land
Commando
Deadly Towers
Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong 3
Donkey Kong Jr.
Donkey Kong Jr. Math
Double Dribble
Duck Hunt
Elevator Action
Excitebike
Ghosts 'N Goblins
Golf
The Goonies II
Gotcha! The Sport!
Gradius
Gumshoe
Gyromite
Hogan's Alley
Ice Climber
Ikari Warriors
Jaws
Karate Champ
Kid Icarus
Kid Niki: Radical Ninja
Kung Fu
The Legend of Kage
The Legend of Zelda
Lode Runner
Lunar Pool
M.U.S.C.L.E.
Mach Rider
Mario Bros.
Mega Man
Metroid
Mighty Bomb Jack
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!
Ninja Kid
Pinball
Popeye
Pro Wrestling
Rad Racer
Raid on Bungeling Bay
Ring King
Rush'n Attack
Rygar
Section Z
Sky Kid
Slalom
Soccer
Solomon's Key
Spelunker
Spy Hunter
Sqoon
Stack-Up
Star Force
Star Voyager
Stinger
Super Mario Bros.
Super Pitfall
Tag Team Wrestling
Tennis
Tiger-Heli
Top Gun
Track & Field
Trojan
Urban Champion
Volleyball
Wild Gunman
Winter Games
Wizards & Warriors
Wrecking Crew
Zanac
FAMICOM ADAPTER CARTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hidden inside the category of 5-Screw cartridges is, in my opinion, the coolest NES variant of all: The Famicom adapter carts. The Famicom system uses a 60-pin PCB for its games and some of first titles released in the USA had the 60-pin Famicom PCB's inside the cartridges. It's not clear exactly why Nintendo did this, but the commonly-held belief is that there was a surge in demand and this was the solution to get more merchandise on the shelves and/or it was just less expensive to do this since the Famicom PCB's already existed. To make them compatible with the 72-pin NES console, the Famicom PCB's were plugged into a black plastic convertor with a 72-pin connector on the other end. Inside the cartridge the converter is secured with an additional 2 screws. The 72-pin connector sticks out of the bottom of the game like any other NES cartridge, which makes the Famicom adapter carts indistinguishable from the regular versions of the games. They are about 1-ounce heavier than the standard games with the 72-pin PCB's, but the only way to really tell if the adapter is inside is to open the cartridge up and look.
Famicom Adapter Cart
Hogan's Alley
Extra Screw
Extra Screw
Famicom PCB
with Center Hole
Famicom Adapter
Hogan's Alley Famicom Adapter
Disassembled View
Not that you needed any more convincing, but here are three more reasons why the Famicom adapter carts are the coolest variants:
1. The adapter can be unplugged and used to play Famicom games on an NES console.
2. The adapter PCB is assigned the model number NES-JOINT-01, making it an official Nintendo Famicom-to-NES convertor product, something Nintendo never released for sale but was there hiding in plain sight all along.
3. The engineering is genius. Famicom cartridges from this time don't have any screws, they just snap together. The hole in the center of the Famicom PCB is for a plastic nub (for lack of a better term) that helps hold it in place. Nintendo sized the black plastic part of the adapter just right so this same hole would line up with the center screw of the NES cartridge.
Famicom Game Cartridge
Ballblazer
Plastic Nub
Currently there is no definitive list of which games were produced with the Famicom adapter. I can safely say that the list would be limited to the 17 launch titles. So far I have been able to confirm 8: Duck Hunt, Excitebike, Gyromite, Hogan's Alley, Pinball, Stack-Up, Wild Gunman, and Wrecking Crew.
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All USA copies of Stack-Up have the Famicom adapter. Stack-Up was only made into a true 72-pin NES game for European releases that came later. In Japan Stack-Up is called Robot Block, and when you play Stack-Up the title screen says Robot Block. That's because you are in fact actually playing Robot Block, the Famicom game, hidden inside of an NES cartrdige.
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Famicom adapter games do not have any cartridge or label variants. They are all 5-Screw, Non-REV-A 1, NES no TM, no MiJ, no ID Code. Click here to see what that means. The Famicom PCB's can be found in both the standard and Gel Blob varieties.
Robot Block
Famicom Cartridge
3-SCREW CARTRIDGES -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At the end of 1987 a new cartridge design was introduced that replaced the 2 screws at the top of the cartridge with interlocking molded plastic tabs. These are known as 3-Screw cartridges. By the start of 1988 all new games were manufactured in the 3-Screw cartridge, and this design was used until the end of production.
Molded
Plastic Tab
Molded
Plastic Tab
3-Screw Cartridge Top Spine
Metroid
3-Screw Cartridge Front
Metroid
3-Screw Cartridge Back
Metroid
SECURITY SCREWS -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When the 3-Screw carts were introduced, the remaining 3 screws in the center and bottom corners were initially the same flathead design as the 5-Screw carts. These were later changed to a star-shaped 3.8mm "GameBit" security screw that requires a special tool to remove.
The new screw type was introduced when the REV-A 1 back label was in use, sometime around April 1988, and also conveniently around the same time Nintendo started opening their World Class Service locations. So you will find games with the 3-Screw Circle SOQ cartridge & REV-A 1 back label combo with both the security screws, and the flathead screws. Since the screws are interchangeable there is no way to know if they've been switched out and therefore don't ever represent a variant all by themselves. All games were using the GameBit screws by the time the REV-A 2 back label and the Oval SOQ came out.
REV-A 1 Back Label
This is the only back label that can have either Flathead or GameBit screws in the cartridge.
Games released at the very end of the NES era have a version of the GameBit screw that, when installed in the cartridge, appears to be tarnished. However when the screw is removed you'll see that the color is consistent all the way through. Why the change? Who knows? So if you think your pristine copy of Bonk's Adventure has rusty screws, don't worry. They're supposed to be that way.
Original
Flathead Screw
1985-1988
3.8mm GameBit
Security Screw
1988-1993
3.8mm GameBit
Security Screw
Late Model
1993-1995
3RD PARTY BACK PLATES --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One thing that Nintendo did not change about the cartridges was the Nintendo logo molded into the bottom of the back plate. Apparently their patent application was in "pending" status for 10 years. Toward the end of the NES era however, some companies were given permission to start manufacturing their own games in the USA and a few of them added their logos into the design. Acclaim (and their subsidiary LJN), Hi-Tech Expressions, and Virgin Games each released some games with an updated logo. There are no cartridge variants of these games, they either have the updated design or they don't.
Nintendo Back Plate
Hi-Tech Expressions Back Plate
Acclaim / LJN Back Plate
Virgin Games Back Plate
UNLICENSED GAMES ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some companies released games to play on the NES that were not approved or endorsed by Nintendo. These companies all developed their own versions of the plastic game cartridge, and they vary greatly in shape, color, and design. My humble opinion is that, for the sake of organizing a collection, the best thing to do is to group them all together into a category called Unlicensed and then sort them by publisher. This will keep different cartridge styles from getting mixed up (just looks cool that way). Unlicensed NES games have their own page on this site here.
Color Dreams Cartridge
King Neptune's Adventure
Camerica Cartridge
Mig 29 Soviet Fighter
Tengen Cartridge
Road Runner