My apologies is this has been asked before, but I didn't see it anywhere:

Is there an easy way to build a Famicom cart around a circuit board that was removed from one of those black box NES carts that have Famicom adapters inside?

I recently discovered that my copy of Wrecking Crew for NES has an adapter and I'm considering removing it so I can try out some Famicom games, but I also don't want to leave Wrecking Crew as just a circuit board (if only the game was Gyromite instead...).

I see all kinds of tutorials online where they just put the board back into the adapter to play the game, but I'd prefer not to do that obviously. Everything I find focuses on the adapter, but not the game.

Any help is most appreciated!

You keep saying "chip"... but you mean circuit board, right?

That is, is your copy of Wrecking Crew not just the inner circuit board for a Famicom cartridge that is mated with a Famicom adapter to make an NES cartridge?

Yup, sorry "circuit board", not chip lol.

Ok...yeah, that "circuit board" IS the equivalent Famicom board, more or less "as is".

Even without a case, you could just plug it directly into a Famicom cartridge slot, but obviously a housing of some kind would make it easier (and less prone to have something short any of the contacts).


So... are you trying to make it a "Famicom cartridge"?  or are you really trying to somehow turn it back into an "NES catridge" without the use of the adapter it came with?

 

I think you're going about this in the wrong way.

First those nes-joint adapters are pretty terrible for use as a general converter. Many famicom shells won't even fit into it. Second wrecking crew with an adapter is a tough find. You'd do better keeping it original and if you're not attached to it, selling to fund a more suitable purchase.

If you want to play famicom carts on a NES, save your wrecking crew and buy a purpose built adapter

Based on what you guys have said, I'm going to go back and buy myself an adapter the old fashioned way. I had already been considering it, but I was curious about this option just to cover all possibilities.

I didn't know that the adapters from NES carts sucked, so thanks for talking me out of that.

I am curious though. If the adapters are so terrible, why would my Wrecking Crew cart be worth more for having one? Is it purely for the rarity or is there another reason?

The adapter is fine for it's single job inside a NES cart, but it's not designed for modular use. The black box adapter carts are variants people collect because they're different, wrecking crew being a less common title to contain an adapter.

The adapters are fine.  It is probably the highest quality adapter you could use, since it is basically the only "first party" manufactured option.

Lincoln is saying they suck for "modular" use, though  (i.e. swapping in other Famicom boards), since so many Famicom boards vary so wildly in size and may not fit within the confines of an NES shell.

Couple that with this Wrecking Crew variant being more rare than other similar-era adapter variants, and you are potentially better off just buying a passable "self contained" adapter.

 

Makes sense. So the NES adapters work well for their original intended use of playing the single game inside the cart, but not switching out the boards with other games.

Thanks for the help everyone. Much appreciated!