Review
The not uncommon Super Joy III TV Game is surely one unique console. It comes with the console, a separate controller you can plug into the front of the controller-console, a light gun, an AV cord, and an AC adaptor that’s ready for 120V use.
These types of consoles are usually referred to as “Plug ‘N’ Plays,” because they have games loaded into them that are ready to play without any sort of cartridge. Heck, you might have seen one of these Super Joy III’s before — they’re just about everywhere, including eBay and flea markets.
The Super Joy III doesn’t look at all like a console at first glance. It looks like an N64 controller. But you simply have to flip it over to find the pins connector, where you can plug in your Famicom games. That’s why FW calls it a “controller-console.”
So whoa! — right? Underneath the N64 controller are the contacts where you insert your Famicom game! And surprisingly, it’s not hard to comfortably hold the controller while a game is inserted. (Imagine trying to play this console with a pin-converted NES game attached.)
You may wonder how reliable this console would be. Maybe you noticed: MADE IN CHINA. And if we know anything about Chinese toys, it’s that they’re cheap and sometimes poisonous.
The light weight of the controller-console lets me know there isn’t much going on inside of it. Testing it out with a reliable Famicom game — Galaxian — proved our suspicion true. Here’s what happened to Galaxian:
Testing the console with more than one game saw no successes. The console, though 100% compatible with 120V power outlets and NTSC televisions, simply doesn’t work. The image is scrambled. (Maybe this test console is a bad one and the rest work fine.)
Before you give up on this controller-console, take note of one more thing. The Super Joy III comes with 76,000 games preloaded! Yep, that’s right — 76,000.
And I kid you not…the makers of this controller-console actually loaded a list of 76,000 games, you can scroll through hundreds of screens, seeing every game. Of course, 76,000 games were never made for the Famicom.
How many games are actually on this controller? Well, it’s tough to say without actually scrolling through and selecting to play every game on it. There are a lot of name variations of the same games (such as “Exerion QEE” and “Exerion FHJ”). Just guessing, there appear to be about 60 different games preloaded. Included is Contra, Super Mario Bros., Burger Time, F1 Race and Tetris, to name a few. There’s a game on there called “Monkey” and some interesting names, like “Toy Story” and “Tekken,” which have nothing to do with the known Toy Story and Tekken unlicensed original games.
And just so you know, not even the preloaded games work well. There are glitches, and sometimes the screen just freezes.
The console also comes with a pistol-looking light gun and an extra controller!
While Famiclones range in price from $10 to $50, don’t pay but pennies for this piece of crap.
