Fixin' the old NES.

First off yes, I have an NES. In fact I happen to have 2. I love my SMS for sure and I love using the genesis controller in it to play Phantasy Star. But for cripes sake! I bought and NES at a garage sale for $5 and another for $9 at a salvation army. It's a fun little system to screw around with dammit! So get off my back!

I am still a Sega fan at heart. In fact I was still using my Dreamcast to play NES games because my real NES was not working properly at all. (The other NES has Zelda in in and I do not want to take out the game.) However, the flashing blue screens were driving me crazy so I decided to try to fix the actual system.

SO I found this guide...
http://www.classicgaming.com/features/articles/nesrepair/

I am not one to bitch about electronics but the f'ing screws that they use to put that thing together suck major ass.

Anyways I go through the whole thing and even spray it with some contact cleaner/protector from work. I carefully clean off all the contacts and even re-clean all my games. (Lotsa dirty Q-tips)

Result?

Blue Screen flash...ARGH!!!!!!

But with some minor jiggling to the left and right MOST of the games I have work fine (Even the VERY beat up Link game). Much better than the system was before. I think the the games that do not work properly are broken or too badly tarnished to clean without cleaning solvent.

Final thought on the classic gaming article? I don't know. My NES was from 1985 and it was BEAT UP and stored in a damp place. That guide might work on a NES that has been treated better but in my case it was only partially successful. But better a partial success than nothing working at all right? If you have multiple NES systems try it. It's easy enough if you can install RAM into a computer.

GAMES THAT I PLAYED YESTERDAY ON MY SOMEWHAT RESTORED NES\

Of all the games that I played Link was the most surprizing since I did not have high hopes for it. It turns out to be a pretty good game though!

Dragon Warrior (Dragon Quest) is still a fun RPG IMHO. I just like the simple setup and the cool little enemies you face off against.

Punch out is still a classic. I played Ready to Rumble a bit afterword and I have to say I really liked Punch Out better. And remember people I BEAT Mike Tyson in that game!

Double Dragon 2 is MUCH easier than the PC version that I played on my 386 computer back in the day. I HATED that PC game because of the buggy nature. NES version is cooler. Little touches like the fight on the helicopter where you and your enemies can get sucked out the door are cool. Controls are a bit weird.

Needless to say I have to get one of the dual SNES/NES players they are selling out there. My SNES still has a weird graphics problem that cannot be fixed.