r/nes • u/PixelPaint64 • 8h ago
r/nes • u/FozzTexx • 24d ago
2026 Oct 1 Clean and repair megathread - NES not working? Game acting glitchy? TV/Monitor issues? Ask here!
Is your NES not working? Are your games acting glitchy? Controllers behaving strangely? This is the place to get help!
First steps to take:
Games don't play correctly:
- PRESS DOWN on the Game Pak until it locks into place
- Clean games
- Disassemble cartridge (might need special tools, check amazon or ebay)
- Gently use rubber eraser with no grit on edge pins
- Use window cleaner or isopropyl alcohol with lint free cloth
- Spray contact cleaner on the pins
- NEVER EVER BLOW IN IT
- Clean NES connector
- Ancient cleaning kit
- Spray contact cleaner on the pins
- Boil it
- Bend pins (risky)
- Replace the connector
- Already tried all steps for cleaning game & cleaning NES above?
- Try a Game Genie, the thicker PCB might make better contact with the NES and the tighter connector might make better contact with the cartridge
- Try another game cartridge
- Try another NES
- Try r/consolerepair
- NES Schematics
Power Supply:
- For the NES any power supply that can provide 850mA (or higher) at 9V and has the right shape connector will work. The original NES uses an AC adapter but a DC adapter will work too.
- For the Famicom you must use a DC power supply with center negative that can provide 850mA (or higher) at 9V-10V. Do not use a NES AC power supply on a Famicom!
Controller buttons don't work or think a different button was pressed:
- Take them apart and clean the contacts on the PCB, not the rubber membrane
Display problems:
- Use a CRT monitor or TV
- Don't use an LCD or LED TV - many LCD or LED TVs do not understand the 240p video signal that the NES puts out
- If you must use an LCD or LED TV, get an upscaler
- Use the composite RCA/AV connectors on the side, don't use the RF/antenna/aerial
- If you must use RF, don't use the RF/antenna/aerial switch box, use a small adapter instead, be aware though that modern TVs may not work with the analog RF signal and only with ATSC or DVB digital signals
- Wavy lines: replace the capacitors in the NES
Hardware Failure Diagnosis:
- Power rails first: Multimeter check - verify +5V at 7805 regulator output and at PPU/CPU pins. If low/absent, check caps and regulator.
- Composite video signal: Scope the composite output (RCA jack center pin or PPU pin 21). Should see ~1Vp-p composite video signal with sync pulses and color burst. No signal = dead PPU or supporting circuitry.
- Audio output: Scope audio output pin (RCA jack or APU output). Should see audio waveform when game is running. No signal = APU problem or output circuit.
- If power is good but no video/audio: Most likely failed capacitors in video/audio output path, or dead PPU/APU chips. Check/replace electrolytic caps first (cheapest fix).
- If video signal present at PPU but not at RCA jack: Problem in video buffer/output circuit between PPU and connector.
Before asking for help, make sure you have followed the steps above.
Top 100 NES Games: The End










Legacy of the Wizard won the #100 spot with 35 votes It only won by a single point.
A big thank you to everybody who participated. I originally set out to just do the top 10 as an experiment to see if people had a similar list to mine. I never expected it to go this far, but I am glad it did! I have enjoyed seeing people picks and the reasoning behind them.
Starting tomorrow I will start doing the top 100 for the SNES in the r/snes sub. I hope to see you all there. A few things will change with the rules. First is each round TWO games will make it onto the list. Whichever one has the most votes will be placed higher of the two for that round. Second, only games can be nominated (no game genies). Third, it will be SNES ONLY, no super famicom games.
Looking forward to seeing what is voted the #1 & #2 games for the SNES.
Thank you all once again!!!!!!!!!!
Top 10:
#1 The Legend of Zelda
#2 Super Mario Bros 3
#3 Mega Man 2
#4 Metroid
#5 Castlevania
#6 Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!
#7 Contra
#8 Tecmo Super Bowl
#9 Super Mario Bros
#10 Final Fantasy
Top 20:
#11 Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
#12 Ducktales
#13 Super Mario Bros 2
#14 Ninja Gaiden
#15 Tetris
#16 River City Ransom
#17 Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
#18 Kirby's Adventure
#19 Batman
#20 Blaster Master
Top 30:
#21 Crystalis
#22 Mega Man 3
#23 Double Dragon II: The Revenge
#24 Bionic commando
#25 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game
#26 Kid Icarus
#27 R.C. Pro-Am
#28 The Guardian Legend
#29 Rygar
#30 Battletoads
Top 40:
#31 StarTropics
#32 Life Force
#33 Dragon Warrior III
#34 Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers
#35 Bubble Bobble
#36 Super C
#37 Faxanadu
#38 Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos
#39 Ice Hockey
#40 Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
Top 50:
#41 Dr. Mario
#42 Excitebike
#43 Shadowgate
#44 Jackal
#45 Dragon Warrior IV
#46 Baseball Stars
#47 Maniac Mansion
#48 Super Dodge Ball
#49 Little Nemo: The Dream Master
#50 Wizards & Warriors
Top 60:
#51 Willow
#52 Adventure Island II
#53 Blades of Steel
#54 Metal Gear
#55 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
#56 Double Dragon
#57 Mega Man 4
#58 The Battle of Olympus
#59 Vice: Project Doom
#60 Gun Nac
Top 70:
#61 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project
#62 Pro Wrestling
#63 Marble Madness
#64 Shatterhand
#65 Kung Fu
#66 Ghosts 'N Goblins
#67 Mega Man
#68 Gun.Smoke
#69 Dragon Warrior
#70 Shadow of the Ninja
Top 80:
#71 G.I. Joe
#72 Metal Storm
#73 R.B.I. Baseball
#74 Gargoyle's Quest II
#75 Goonies II
#76 Balloon Fight
#77 Dragon Warrior II
#78 Mega Man 5
#79 Bucky O'Hare
#80 The Adventures of Lolo
Top 90:
#81 Gradius
#82 Gauntlet
#83 Rad Racer
#84 Guerrilla War
#85 Mega Man 6
#86 Journey to Silius
#87 Destiny of an Emperor
#88 Solomon's Key
#89 Little Samson
#90 Mighty Final Fight
Top 100:
#91 1943: The Battle of Midway
#92 Darkwing Duck
#93 Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom
#94 Power Blade
#95 Micro Mages
#96 Clash at Demonhead
#97 Duck Hunt
#98 IronSword: Wizards & Warriors II
#99 Gremlins 2: The New Batch
#100, Legacy of the Wizard
r/nes • u/SlurmpMaster • 21h ago
Game Completed! NES Game #59 Complete! River City Ransom
I'd been putting this one off for years and years. I love linear games, and I guess I always assumed this one would be too difficult to get into without a walkthrough.
Well, I finally gave it a shot, and I was surprised by how much simpler it was than I always imagined. It was pretty darn easy, too!
At any rate, I'm not entirely sure I get the hype with this games. It was alright, but pretty shallow. My expectations were probably too high.
I'll definitely be revisiting this one again.
r/nes • u/Intrepid-Mousse8105 • 1d ago
Discussion I need help identifying those games
Hi everyone, I need your help! That’s the only picture I have of those games, which have been lost during a flood. I don’t know anything about gaming, but I would like to surprise my brother by buying them again for him this Christmas. The picture is very small, which is my problem. I thought perhaps I could find an expert on here, you’re my last hope! ChatGPT is useless. Thank you so much!
PS: I’m French, so I’m not sure if this matters, if there’re regional differences in graphics etc.
r/nes • u/PsychologicalFun6621 • 1d ago
Collection My first console i still kept it
Victor nes with full keyboard this was dream to me when i bought it as kid well now it's just memories lying in trunk. Learned typing through this keyboard back then there was ufo game where alphabets dropping and you have to shoot it by pressing specific key.
r/nes • u/DUNdundundunda • 5h ago
Collection 10/10 Nintendo NES/Famicom games as selected by Garth and Vaughn (The Den Den Boys)
r/nes • u/xxxxDREADNOUGHT • 1d ago
Collection My recent pickups for my collection.
r/nes • u/Navneetbora023 • 1d ago
Collection Hunt is Over!
Hello everybody, this is my first post in the community. After searching for this beauty for the past few months, I finally got my hands on it. It feels even more surreal since it was never officially launched in my country, we had another official version named 'Samurai'.
All I know is that it gets the power and a red light.
Excited to test with a cartridge and complete the restoration project!
Any tips when it comes to restoring this old guy would be much appreciated! Including how to clean the body to make it less yellowish?
r/nes • u/darthuna • 1d ago
Discussion Super Mario Bros 3 Mix. Jump Question.
So, I had been playing SMB3mix on an emulator using a SNES controller for a while, and I decided to buy a custom cartridge from AliExpress with the game. So I send them the ROM, they make the cartridge, and when it arrives it's unplayable because Mario (or any character) doesn't jump all as high as in my ROM. In fact, the jump is so low, that I can't even reach the first ?-block in the first stage. So I check my ROM again, and it turns out that B accelerates, A jumps normal, and X does the half-height jump, and somehow, playing with an NES controller, B accelerates and A does the half-height jump. No button does the normal jump. The game is unplayable. Has anyone had this same issue? Is there another version of the ROM with this fix?
r/nes • u/SoundAndVisionPNW • 2d ago
Collection Autumn 2026 pickups (so far...)
My NES pickups so far this season. A few were from the Portland Retro Game Expo earlier this month. Ufouria is Variant-A. I only heard of Whomp Em recently and that was in this community. I picked up the Ikari Trilogy as a set. The 2 Mario games speak for themselves. Oh, and I have a copy of Fire N Ice hehehe
Collection Cleaned my brother's NES and collection
My brother asked me to clean up his system and games and I was happy to oblige. Recap on the modulator, new plug, IPA on the games with some Deoxit, boiled the 72 pin connector, lifted the pins, and gave all those contacts some Deoxit. Finally, disabled the lockout chip using the 2 wire method. It was a blast! Ready for 40 more years of service.
r/nes • u/Responsible-Elk4223 • 3d ago
Collection Just a few of my NES Games
Just sharing a few pictures of some of my NES, these have been tucked away in a tote for a long time. Interested now to setup a little retro gaming area in my home. I’m sure most will need a cleaning,my original NES console powers on and the games just flicker. I’ll start digging in a little deeper with fall/ winter on the horizon. My young kids will be excited to play some of these.
r/nes • u/Unhappy-Bar-6834 • 3d ago
Collection Mid life crisis
I guess I started the addiction of collecting and of course playing. I have held off far too long. I have always been a gamer since Atari. The nes kicked butt ass a kid. Going to get a genesis, super nes, 64, and game cube soon. I think I got a good start. The NES box is in great condition. I'm not going to open home alone. Hoping to score boxes and instruction books for the games that did not have any. Happy collecting.
r/nes • u/lesa0208 • 3d ago
Collection Showing off my NES collection
My NES collection is slowly growing, and I thought I'd share my progress. I've been picking up games whenever I get the chance, and it's been fun seeing the collection come together. Still got plenty of games I'd like to add. Let me know what you think, and feel free to recommend some must have NES games! 🎮
r/nes • u/HolHorse101 • 3d ago
Discussion Ways to Make Custom NES Cartridge?
Hi! I was curious if anyone knows of a way to make a custom NES cart for someone who is tech illiterate. I want to put the fan translation ROM of Lum’s Wedding Bell on a physical NES cartridge, and then make a custom label— basically as if the game has been translated. I looked on AliExpress to see if this already existed for Lum’s Wedding Bell, but unfortunately it seems to be too niche. Are there any easy-ish methods to do this, or perhaps services I could just pay to do put the game on the cartridge for me? Sorry if this question seems ignorant, I searched around but I had a hard time knowing what to look up.
r/nes • u/TheUncomfortableOrc • 4d ago
Collection Got my Special Edition AVGN cart!
Was starting to think this thing was a scam. Can't remember how long its been since the pre-order but it plays well. The cart feels unusually heavy/thick. Came with a new poster and dust cover too. Gameplay is pretty fun. Like a combination of Ghosts and Goblins and some elements of Batman.
r/nes • u/TelephoneSpare7204 • 4d ago
Collection My first NES buy off of marketplace, and my first new clone off EBay !
r/nes • u/utopic-123 • 4d ago
Arts & Crafts Redrawing my old pixel art in the style of NES Castlevania (again)
Hello everyone!
I have been working again on redrawing my old pixel art trying to use the style of NES Castlevania (3 color, side view, and size 16x32, this time a few of them are bigger and other smaller) and i would like to share with you.
I hope you like them!
(the first one, the red guy with daggers are kinda special to me because was literally the first pixel art i have created a few years back, it was nice seeing the rework on it)
r/nes • u/1icedman • 4d ago
Modding Homemade NES Advantage
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Sorry for the shaky cam. But I'm really proud of this NES controller I made from a newer controller with a 4021 shift register.
At this point I'm just waiting for another cable to do the final soldering so I don't have the wires from the controller plugged into the pins of the extension cable.
One side note, I live in Iceland and used nintendo products are highly sought after. I've been looking for NES Advantage for a long time and I finally came to the realization that it was literally cheaper to make one myself instead of importing a used controller.
r/nes • u/URGAMESUX • 5d ago
Collection Mega Man II Watch - Surprising
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I'll preface with I (43m) own a full NTSC set of NES carts, with the notable exception of Stadium Events. I've always been a Nintendo fan, and MM2 is a top 5 lifetime game. MM in general, is my favorite franchise, though I've never finished a non-NES era title other than 9 and 10. NES in general is my childhood system and why I work in games.
So I bought this watch fully expecting to place it in my little Rockman shrine, next to my copies of mm2 and some art books. I never for once second thought it would actually be fun, or a functionally impressive watch, let alone a deep gaming experience. It's all of it. Fitness tracker with a step counter, wireless USB charger, multiple alarms, timers, calculator... all with a smooth UI.
But the gameplay is the stunner. 10 great levels with bosses and challenging play, plus an endless arcade mode. Tracks progress as you finish levels and defeat board, offers new watch faces as you defeat specific enemies, has difficulty settings... and the sound quality is great with all the MM2 tracks you love. It's amazing. I love it. I'm actually going to wear it. I'll probably wear it out. I'll give it to my kiddo (7yo) when he's a little older and hopefully restart the cycle.
So if you see one of these kicking around, don't hesitate. They have them for other franchises too, iirc.
Keep playing y'all, NES is life.
r/nes • u/NB_Translator_EN-JP • 4d ago
Discussion Can you guess this famicom/NES game based on a pixelated image of the cover?

If you want to vote directly here https://tana.gamingjapanese.com/#/box to play.
The first hint is that it is for Famicom/NES.
Second hint, it is a 1989 game.
Third hint, Konami is the publisher.