Gunpei Yokoi's Withered Technology: Virtual Boy, Game & Watch, Wonderswan, etc. Let's laterally think!

[ThornGhost]

I went digging through some boxes at my parents' house this weekend (they've been vaccinated) and whiffed on finding my Mario watches. I did find the boxes and manuals for my Chrono Trigger and Megaman X carts though so that was very exciting at least. I need to do a really deep dive but it is kind of inconvenient to get to where they've stored a lot of my old stuff.

 

[MetManMas]

Yeah, it wasn’t really about Game & Watch so much as Super Mario Bros. Which is fine, considering the anniversary! I just pine for the days of Game & Watch Gallery when the line got real love.

I would love nothing more than a new Game & Watch Gallery that has all the (non-licensed) Game & Watch games with both classic and modern versions.

Or at least a Game & Watch Gallery that remakes all the stuff from the previous games but without all that stars-grinding nonsense for unlocks. Maybe I'd like to play Ball with Bowser or the Zelda Game & Watch without having to master a bunch of incredibly mean LCD games.

 

[Kazin]

I feel that - I want to try the Zelda Game & Watch on the GBA collection but you have to master like, every G&W game on there to do it, and I don't feel like it lol. I also haven't looked very hard for a save file to put on my flash cart, though, so maybe that's the way to go...

 

[Kazin]

I'm going to attempt to replace the capacitors in my Bomb Sweeper Game & Watch. The screen works fine at an extreme angle - there's no LCD bleed or anything like that. From the (extremely few) places I've been able to find info about this, it seems old - as in, not even leaking, yet - capacitors can cause the display to be very faint. So, I'm hoping that's the issue, and if it's not too difficult, I might replace them in all my games if Bomb Sweeper goes well.

To that end, I've ordered a multimeter, which I've never used before, to try to identify the capacitors so I know I'm buying and installing the right ones. If anyone has any tips on a good way to do that, and/or where to get capacitors, please let me know, as I'm going to document all the stuff I need before I buy it, including for games that don't even need a repair yet.

 

[Beowulf]

Does anyone have a preferred Virtual Boy emulator? I like the way VBjin looks, but it doesn't support save states or SRAM saves, and I'm not trying to play Wario Land all in one go.

 

[John]

I've only tried Mednafen for a little while this morning, but it seemed to have a ton of options. Definitely get a launcher, I tried MedLaunch which worked OK. I was able to start a game, but haven't figured out how to disable the 3D or change the color of the screen from the garish pink it starts as, which may look fine with red/blue glasses.

 

[Kazin]

I used Mednafen when I played through Virtual Boy Wario Land about a month back - you have to edit a text file to disable 3D, and it supports savestates. It's kind of a pain, unfortunately. The site I used to find the text string to disable 3D is blocked at work, unfortunately, so I can't look it up for you... some light googling should work.

 

[Beowulf]

I'll fiddle with these. Thank you!

 

[Sarge]

I think Mednafen/Beetle VB is part of RetroArch as well.

 

[Kazin]

@Beowulf Looked at my mednafen.cfg, and I have the settings changed to the following:

;3D mode.
vb.3dmode anaglyph

;Reverse left/right 3D views.
vb.3dreverse 0

;Allow draw skipping.
vb.allow_draw_skip 0

;Anaglyph maximum-brightness color for left view.
vb.anaglyph.lcolor 0xff0000

;Anaglyph preset colors.
vb.anaglyph.preset disabled

;Anaglyph maximum-brightness color for right view.
vb.anaglyph.rcolor 0x000000

;CPU emulation mode.
vb.cpu_emulation fast

;Disassembly font size.
vb.debugger.disfontsize 5x7

;Character encoding for the debugger's memory editor.
vb.debugger.memcharenc shift_jis

;Default maximum-brightness color to use in non-anaglyph 3D modes.
vb.default_color 0xF0F0F0

;Disable parallax for BG and OBJ rendering.
vb.disable_parallax 1

;Enable (automatic) usage of this module.
vb.enable 1

I *think* that's all the relevant changes you'll need to make so you can get fullscreen, non-3D emulation for VB in mednafen. Make a copy of your config file before copying and pasting this stuff in just in case I forgot something (I'd be happy to send you the whole config file if you like, but it also has my controller configs in there and would probably mess up your setup). Apologies if you've already figured this out.

 

[John]

I just bought some red/blue cardboard glasses from Amazon, will be curious if they do the job. Actual Virtual Boy stuff has gotten crazy expensive, and more often than not needs the ribbon cable repaired. They didn’t go with cable sockets, probably as a cost saving measure, so every cable is direct soldered to the circuit boards. Over time those connections give way, so one of the lenses stops working.

 

[Kazin]

Toss Up, the American version of Ball, is here and working after a clean (got it for a good deal, the seller wasn't sure if it worked because the buttons weren't responding. They were just filthy, so now it's working fine). Changed the polarizer, too.

I've ordered a set of capacitors, and plan on trying to fix my Bomb Sweeper (and, if that works, Pinball) from upthread.

 

[spines]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1372320206534549508

haven't really had a chance to check it out yet, with no carts and a screen replacement to be done at some point, but i'm pretty excited

 

[Kazin]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1372320206534549508

haven't really had a chance to check it out yet, with no carts and a screen replacement to be done at some point, but i'm pretty excited

Ooh, nice! Happy Birthday! If I get any hint of the Flash Masta cart being put on sale/in stock again, I'll get your attention for it.

 

[Kazin]

...I just spent $400 on two Game & Watches: Balloon Fight (wide screen, not crystal, sadly) and The Exterminator (American version of Vermin), both in fantastic shape with manuals.

That is, by hundreds of dollars, the most I've spent on these so far, and mean I will be listing more stuff for sale this weekend for sure, likely my 3DS collection and (finally, been lazy about it) my complete Pokemon Sapphire.

 

[Mr. Sensible]

That is, by hundreds of dollars, the most I've spent on these so far, and mean I will be listing more stuff for sale this weekend for sure, likely my 3DS collection and (finally, been lazy about it) my complete Pokemon Sapphire.

Did you end up replacing the battery in your copy of Sapphire, or are you selling as-is? I've been considering replacing batteries in some of my GB/GBC/GBA games and was wondering if it's possible to solder a clip-holder for coin cell batteries into cartridges that small.

 

[muteKi]

I managed to get by with a fresh battery and some electrical tape with my copy of emerald

 

[Kazin]

Did you end up replacing the battery in your copy of Sapphire, or are you selling as-is? I've been considering replacing batteries in some of my GB/GBC/GBA games and was wondering if it's possible to solder a clip-holder for coin cell batteries into cartridges that small.

I plan on replacing the battery this weekend - this is why I've been lazy about it, hadn't felt like getting the soldering iron out lol. But, I got my capacitor kit in the mail today for my Bomb Sweeper and Pinball Game & Watches, so it's going to be a project weekend... lol

In any case, I won't be using a clip holder, as that's not what I have. I just have tabbed batteries and will be using that.

 

[Phantoon]

Did you end up replacing the battery in your copy of Sapphire, or are you selling as-is? I've been considering replacing batteries in some of my GB/GBC/GBA games and was wondering if it's possible to solder a clip-holder for coin cell batteries into cartridges that small.

Yeah, just buy tabbed batteries, it's a really easy solder job. Don't try to bodge it. The batteries will last forever in anything without a clock, so you're going to have to do it in another 20 or so years time. Not too onerous.

 

[Kazin]

Welp, I replaced the 10uF 16V capacitors in both Bomb Sweeper and Pinball with no change - both have faint screens, but still work, and the sound works. I didn't replace the smaller capacitors, which I don't have replacements for, so the problem is either those, or - and I hope it's not this - these things just get faint eventually. Which would be awful news.

 

[Kazin]

Man, I'm buying these from Japan from now on. I got these for a total of about $150, and two of these (Popeye and Parachute) needed zero work, while the rest needed new reflectors/polarizers, which are easy. They look great:

Fire has a 3D printed battery cover which works fine, and Octopus has no battery cover, so I have to either order one or use, say, Parachute's. Oh well! They all look better in person than here, even (as always, they're difficult to photograph).

 

[Kazin]

For anyone who wants a Wonderswan Flash Masta - a small batch is being offered for sale at 2 PM EST here

 

[spines]

managed to snag one! thought about grabbing some ngpc stuff as well, but i think i might hold out a bit longer and see where that stuff goes on the switch, lol...

a copy of the saga 1 remake also showed up in the mail today, so i'm pretty excited about that. i think i may try and get some of the FFs and probably RS1, and maybe riviera for my dept.heaven love (although that's somehow pretty pricey...), but that's about the edge of my collector's side here. well, i'd love to score a gg petit 2 as well, but it's sooooooooo expensive for something i'd play with a friend as a joke, god

 

[Kazin]

Excellent! I'm glad you got one!

 

[Kazin]

So, now that my buying frenzy has died down a little bit, I wanted to post some pictures of my Game & Watch collection, now that I have them all displayed:

I'm only missing 9 in total now:

1. Flagman (typically goes for $350-$500 loose)
2. Egg (typically goes for $1,000+ loose)
3. Climber (Widescreen) (typically goes for $300+ loose)
4. Mickey Mouse (Panorama (typically goes for $500+ loose)
5. Donkey Kong Circus (typically goes for $500+ loose)
6. Crab Grab (usually about $250ish loose?)
7. Super Mario Bros. (Crystal Screen) (usually goes for $400+ loose)
8. Balloon Fight (Crystal Screen) (I think it goes for $400+ loose? Doesn't show up for auction very often)
9. Super Mario Bros F-1 Prize Edition (usually goes for $1,000+)

So, you can probably see why I'm missing the ones I'm missing lol. Please don't ask how much I spent on the collection I already have, it's a lot, though I did sell off a ton of stuff on eBay to fund it.

I also have a working Virtual Boy again, and I can't wait for the flashcart to go on sale again so I can finally try Bound High with PROPER 3-D, dangit. In the meantime I have a Wario Boy cart that I'm going to enjoy whenever I finish Trails to Azure.

 

[Phantoon]

That's beautiful! Nice touch with Mr Game & Watch there.

 

[Kazin]

That's beautiful! Nice touch with Mr Game & Watch there.

Thank you! I bought some 3D printed stands for the extra Mr. Game & Watches so I could have them all standing upright. I also need to get some more stands for the G&Ws themselves off Etsy eventually... and probably at least one more set of risers.

 

[Kirin]

Damn, now *that* is a Collection.

 

[Kazin]

Holy shit that's a nice setup.

I found out recently that my friend has a Virtual Boy that he's willing to give me, assuming he ever finds it in storage.

A free Virtual Boy? Nice. Any games with it too, I hope? Hopefully it works...

 

[Sarge]

If it's anything like mine, probably one of the screens will be busted, possibly both. The ribbon cables weren't attached well - pretty sure they used glue - so it's just a matter of time before it fails. I haven't tried to fix mine yet.

Maybe you'll get a copy of Jack Bros.!