Famicom World

One of the best pirate companies, proud enough of its games to place its name on them, was Hi-Game. The company brought to the Famicom a few games that were never made for the Famicom. By porting the games from other systems, Hi-Game gave Famicom gamers something new to play all the way up to 1999, even though the last licensed Famicom game was released in 1994. This is true of Super Donkey Kong 2, also called Donkey Kong Country.

Most Hong Kong originals and ports are poor in quality, with ridged controls that make the game difficult to play. Hi-Game, however, was successful in recreating this Donkey Kong game for the Famicom. You avoid and kill enemies, gather bananas and letters, and monkey your way to the end of each level.

Of pirates, ports and originals tend to cost the most. Maybe surprisingly, I got this Donkey Kong port for about $10. It could bring in as much as $30 in an auction.