Interesting as the copy I had on a real chopped up old board cart said ZERO on the title, so maybe that lame hacks involved for emulators caused it to trip up the way the game would run on real hardware which just sucks.

The original prototype wouldn't work at all on emulators like Nesticle back then. It was hacked (zero), would work, but the copy protection would trip at certain points in the game. Another hack (blue zero) disabled the copy protection.

Because there's nothing wrong with the copy protection and the original proto runs fine on real hardware, there's no reason at all to use the hacked zero versions. The prototype is called Earth Bound, there's no zero. There are two USA Nintendo games with the same name (well, one has a space in it). That's a fact. Anyone who tries to retcon NES EarthBound into EB Zero is wacko.

For whatever reason, your traumatic copy of NES Earth Bound is not the standard. You should get a verified good repro of it and give it another chance. Hell even I could make you one. Got a Mother 1 FC cart I put EPROMs and a new battery in, works fine and hotels work as they should. I lifted the EPROM legs rather than cut traces and I still have the original Mask ROMs, so no actual butchering was involved. You want it?

Though new parts are nice too, why not get one from bishop bros or someone?

Amazing! Roms say version 0.1 is it early development proto? Did you play it?

The version number has practaicaly nothing to do with anything. It is based on what ever system the programers had. I have a proto with version 0.02 that is the same as retail. About the only thing you could tell from version number is order.  If you had 0.01 it probably came before 0.02. 

P.S. Thanks Zeldaboy for shareing. I would not have had the nerve to open it up. Heck, if I owned it, it would probably have its own dedicated top loader.

Ahh that explains the blue/white 'zero' as I know they're both realistically illigitimate.  Bishop Bros probably would be the best one at this rate with timewalk dead as they'll use a real board.  Though I do like the concept of what you've been doing too with those FF2 and 3 carts with the pop and swapped chip using the original game as that's a unique concept too.

I figure that same test cart was used throughout Earth Bound's translation and they just never bothered to take off the stickers and put new ones on to indicate a newer software version. Either way. Zeldaboy's cart is the retail version, if it had reached retail.


I always include the original Mask ROMs with the cartridge, even if there's a possibility of them being thrown out. At least they can always be restored to their original form if one wants.

Yeah that's what I liked about that as you're doing something unique I haven't seen before. There's a real novelty to those FF2 and 3 carts you have in the original famicom shell coming up in english and Mother would be amusing too in the little red cartridge.

I doubt that is how it happened being as the date on the chips is three days befor the one on front. That version number probably goes with the date.

Who knows what the version number means, it could be almost anything, we don't know. That copy is the final version, that's really all that matters. The English translation was finished in 1991, so the version numbers on the stickers are rather meaningless.

Well actually it's not the final version. Phil sent that cart to Nintendo of Canada Limited an older build to see if they wanted to do a Canadian release (possibly doing a French translation) but since it was being sent out of house he thought it better to not send the full version. The only real difference between that and the final version are some typos, though, so it's pretty close to what the final version would've been.

Negligible differences really. Though I would have loved if Earth Bound got a Canadian relaese alongside Kirby's Adventure. But, considering Earth Bound was still unreleased by that time, NOCL might have felt the game would again cost too much to produce. Didn't the marketing team still feel it needed half a strategy guide in the form of an instruction booklet? Maybe it could have had more of a budget release. Still, Kirby's Adventure already had marketing in place from the previous year and was a recognizable character.

Oh well.

This makes me want to put a K-A ESRB rating on an EarthBound label and call it a '94 release.

Yeah, they were going for a ...74 page spread? Same size as Final Fantasy, with posters and stuff. I'm sure if they could've just shrunk the booklet they would've, but ultimately the SNES had it's release date pushed forward and the big guys thought that even the carts were "more money than it was worth." I wish they had, it would've definitely changed the way people viewed RPGs at that time.

Hey Sith I'm curious but where did you get all this information from as I don't remember seeing it before (or I did and long forgot it.)

Guntz

I know I am not who your question was directed at, but I would really like to acquire a verified good repro of Mother. Please let me know if you can make 1 for me or how I would go about acquiring one.

Thanks!

Mat

Right this moment I can't make another, but I do have a Mother 1 Famicom cart converted to the Earth Bound prototype. It'd be $30, shipping is extra.

From our interview with Sandhop 10 years ago I think?

http://www.lostlevels.org/200407/...

Definitely proved Ken Lobb wrong. I asked him specifically about that proto ages ago and he said it was not possible so I am glad that solves the mystery. Andrew, I thought you didn't have that proto anymore?

Earlier he had mentioned that he had sold it to his friend, and then recently bought it back.

Oh whoops, that is what I get for not reading the entire thread.

It was actually in a separate thread, so easy to miss. I got it back in January of this year.

edit: Nevermind, was also mentioned in a response to a previous post in this thread, I spaced!

Haha, and it's really funny that you did, considering I got in touch with you about it's whereabouts in February I'm still looking for the cart Matt Alderman had as well as the second cart from Jollerancher (Roo still has his but I don't know where that other one went), so if anyone knows where they are or have been feel free to let me know via PM or something. EB0 cart history has become sort of passion of mine.

awesome pics

Congrats on getting that piece back Andy! It's an amazing cart.

off topic, ... are you still gaming on EQ man, or is that badass SK retired?

Thanks for sharing, that's pretty cool.

No, the hacked "Zero" subtitle came about because Demi, in his boundless "wisdom", decided that people were just too damn stupid to tell the difference between Earth Bound and Earthbound, despite them being on 2 completely-different platforms and being 2 completely-different games.

Also yeah, repro makers tend to use the proto ROM, not the ones hacked up for emulator use.

Although there's a hack with "Easy Ring" or some such that makes it less grindy.