Originally posted by: EarlyWorm
Though it may be a bootleg... I am unsure.... the link you show points to a famicom version. The south Korean has a 72 pin version, but that version looks like the lower center picture on your link.... but that pix is labelled as famicom.
The picture at the bottom center is the box art for the 72-pin bootleg, which is a part of the series I'll explain below.
First of all, here's a couple pictures of some of the carts in the series:
It's pretty easy to tell the bootlegs apart from the legit Comboy releases. This should help:
Legit Comboy box:
- Has Nintendo seal of quality in English or Korean on the front
- Most (but not all) have a copyright notice from Nintendo or the developer on the back
- All have "Hyundai Electronics" (
????) written on the side of the box in Korean, usually with the green and yellow triangle next to it. Most have the Nintendo Entertainment System logo on the side as well. Konami releases have the Konami name and logo on the side.
- Has "Made in Japan" either on the back of the box (most games) or the top flap of the box (Megaman 3 and maybe others)
Legit Comboy cart:
- Has the name of the game in English on the end of the cart
- Has the Nintendo seal of quality in English or Korean on the front of the label. Most, but not all, also have the words "Korean Version"
- Has "Made in Japan" on the front of the cart, along with the game code (NES-whatever-KOR)
- Has the caution label in Korean on the back, along with the English words "HYUNDAI Nintendo KOR"
Bootleg series box:
- Has "ROM PACK" seal of "quality" on the box
- Has the words "COMBOY HOME VIDEO GAME SYSTEM" on the front, sides, and back of the box
- Has a predominantly black box design
- Has no copyright notice
- Has "Made in Korea" on the back of the box
- Poor image quality typical of bootlegs
Bootleg series cart:
- Has a label that wraps from the front of the cart, over the top, and down the back (see the photo above)
- The name of the game on the end of the cart is written in Korean
- Has "ROM PACK" seal of "quality" on the front of the label
- Has the words "COMBOY ROM PACK" next to "HOME VIDEO GAME SYSTEM" on the front of the cart
- On the caution label on the back, the only English words are "Comboy" and "Korea"
- Has poor image quality, like the box
Although this isn't a way to tell since they can be switched, the original Comboy games come with plastic sleeves like regular North American releases, but the bootleg carts come in a cardboard sleeve laminated with plastic, with the Korean Comboy logo and "Comboy" in English (see the picture above).
Hopefully this sets the record straight. If anyone notices any exceptions to these rules, I'd be interested in hearing about them!
(Not sure why, but I can't seem to get "Hyundai Electronics" in Korean to show up as anything other than question marks. If you can help me out, let me know!)