The game plug-in artifact “Game Doctor” that was popular in Hong Kong in the 1980s and 1990s has now been reborn! This oneBuilt by Tomy, the gaming PhD expert on Twitter Venus Mini Doctor’s new accessory is a perfect tribute to the prototype device of the year – it allows the Famicom Disk System to directly read cassette games, recreating that era of rampant piracy and unlimited creativity!
The principle is simple yet crazy
The original Game Doctor was a “cassette emulator” that transferred the ROM into the RAM of the Famicom Disk System and ran it through the BIOS and bus architecture. Although this time the Mini Doctor is only the “most basic version”, it still retains the classic functions. It supports 32K NROM(No bank switching, the structure is similar to FDS games, so many NROM games have had FDS versions) and CNROM(Simply switch the type of Bank Switch), you can directly start time-honored masterpieces such as “Gradius”, “Popeye”, and “Battle City”, and even the classic “New Humans” and “Maplestory” can also run! Of course, the capacity of the later game doctor can be increased to a higher capacity. If you want to upgrade, that is another matter…
Supports FDS disks and FDSStick, a testing tool for independent developers
Players can use the original FDS disk (many counterfeit products were produced in Hong Kong back then) or the more popular ones in recent years. FDSStick / FDSKEY USB emulation device to load games. The maximum supported capacity of the game is 32K PRG + 32K CHR (a total of 64KB / 512Kbit). Although there is no battery save function, it is still a treasure for independent developers. It is not only a machine for playing old games, but also a “retro development platform” that can be used to develop FC games or test home-made programs. After all, developing retro games is a great business.
Caseless design, $30 brings back the romance of the disk era
This device is currently eBay and Tototek They are all sold online and cost about US$20. They are a bit more expensive on eBay at US$22. Since it is a small amount of handmade work, it does not come with a case when leaving the factory. However, players can find cassette protectors or Goldfinger devices from the red and white consoles of the year and modify them, or directly design a 3D-printed exclusive case to create a unique nostalgic accessory. For collectors, this is not simply “reusing old technology”, but a resurrection of eight-bit faith.
The romantic return of retro gamers
In Hong Kong and Taiwan in the 1980s, the Game Doctor was the dream toy of almost every “game boy”, especially in the later era when there was the Super Nintendo Game Doctor – in that era when cartridges were extremely expensive, it was both a money-making tool for game stores (copying and selling disks could make them prosperous) and an alternative game distribution system (there were many unofficial Thurs games). Now Venus Mini Doctor makes this memory come true again, using the most primitive technology to awaken an era of “reading dreams from disks”.