The Famicom disk system, and how to fix `em

Apologies for the lengthy delay, I have been busy getting my mini web shop up and running - it's now LIVE!

The Famicom Disk System is a funny piece of hardware, the toy like appearance of a Famicon (Japanese NES) stacked on one of these maroon plastic slabs is pushed further into fisher price aesthetic thanks to the Bright yellow plastic disks used for the games. You almost expect them to play a tinkly nursery rhyme instead of booting up Metroid!

Released in 1986, the FDS was never sold outside of Japan and shifted over 4 million units, at the slightly mind blowing price of 15,000Y ($150)

The FDS connects to the FC via a large flat cartridge that lays across the top of the FC and is plugged into the FDS with a cable.

The adapter cart has 32K of RAM and 8K of graphics RAM. 

The disks hold 56K per side.

A franchise was born

A number of well loved Nintendo titles such as Zelda and Metroid started on FDS thanks to the save data writing capability, allowing relatively quick game saving without passcodes, these later were ported to more costlier cartridges later.

Graphically there is no differences between and FDS game and a cartridge game, but audio wise there is an addition of an extra sound channel via the RAM adapters` wavetable capable sound chip, meaning some of the FDS games that made it to cartridge had slightly re-edited soundtracks, as this youtube video below demonstrates.

A Famicom stacked on an FDS isn`t the most endearing or compact of devices, and the usage of a bulky mains adaptor for each piece of hardware is a little cumbersome, so I personally opted for the FDS`S big brother、The Twin Famicom.

Released a mere 6 months after the FDS, Nintendo licensed the hardware to SHARP and gave birth to the all in one Famicom / FDS solution of the Twin Famicom at a Jaw dropping 32,000 yen.



The Twin, for me is a more sensible option, the red model looks gloriously 80's.

Store flyer for the Twin Famicom featuring Hudson`s Takashi meijin.

So what`s the point in getting one? All these games came out in the west on cartridge right?

Well, a few at least, but if you own or want to own a famicom, say for example, Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania) on cartridge is a rarity, so a disk version is a cheaper bet.

Here are a few language friendly games from its full catalogue of 229 legit and unlicensed back catalogue that were not released in the west, or have curiosity value.

• Super Mario Bros 2- Face clawingly difficult sequel to the original Mario Bros.
• Doki Doki Panic- Tweaked and visually transformed into Super Mario Bros 2 in the west. The original version has different graphics with an Arabian theme.
• Otocky - Possibly the world`s first game with reactive, melody matched sound effects.
• All Night Nippon Super Mario Bros - A TV tie in version of SMB.
• Falsion - A 3D glasses compatible disk only shooter.
• Monty no Doki Doki Daisassō: Monty on the Run - A Japanese version of the c64 classic, messed about with almost to unrecognizable levels by Jaleco.
• Wardner no Mori - Disk only version of Taito`s obscure arcade platformer.
• 3D Hot Rally - The first ever Mario kart game, kinda.

What Went right?

Mainly the price of software and erasability. Kids lucky enough to own a FDS compatible device could overwrite their old games with new ones at their local store for 500Y, or even buy cheap blanks to make their own 2 sided game combinations complete with replaceable stickers. 

Nintendo Disk writer for retail

I have seen photos of old Japanese candy shops with yellowed, fading "Write your FDS disks here!" stickers still in the windows.

Another plus point was the ability of writing save data to the disk, eliminating the rigmarole of writing passcodes down.

The FDS fell out of favour due to larger memory capacity cartridges that the FDS`S paltry 112K Disk capacity couldn`t compete with. Other extras like expanded audio chips such as the VRC6 and 7 which beefed up the Famicom`s 4 channel audio considerably also tarnished the appeal.

Nowadays you can find FDS units occasionally at used game stores, obviously Akihabara has them at the usual extortionate prices, and Ebay has its fair share of "Junk" and Refurbished units.

Which brings us to 2 annoying factors about owning an FDS in this day an and age.

Problem 1 : Misleading re-written disks.

Buying disks on online auctions or at used goods/junk shops means you don`t actually know if the game you think you are buying is the game you will actually get..

I`ve gotten a number of disks that have the box and label of one game, but contain a completely different title on the disk. The most depressing I found so far was a lovely clean copy of Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania) only to find it overwritten with an utterly dreadful unlicensed porno game.

Are you really getting what you think you`re getting?

Sometimes this can also work in a more fortunate way. I have also found a few single sided games that have gotten an extra game written on the other side of the disk.

I have found that buying sets of disks to be the cheapest way of getting titles I want. Often the set is described as "Misc FDS Disk set" and little else, meaning you have to be able to ID all the games in the photo to see what you might be getting..Or think you might be getting!

Problem 2 : Belt rot.

FDS Drive belt

It`s pretty safe to say that any FDS that hasn`t been repaired in its lifetime no longer has a belt inside. The black rubber belt will now be reduced to a gooey putty and dashed around the inside of the unit.

Replacement drive belts are a very specific size, and can be found online easily enough for varying prices, (or from me at the lowest online price!)  but the actual repair process  requires calibrating the drive spindle that rotates the disc to a very specific position which is lost when the belt breaks.


Tutorials to replace the FDS drive belt are available on YouTube, some telling you to dismantle the whole drive down to a near molecular level, some telling you to use a specific bicycle inner tube cut to a specific height for a belt, and some telling you where to rotate the drive spindle, yet not telling you how to fine tune it for re-written disks.

Fine tuning?

With the disks being re-writeable on well used disk writer machines, some of these writer machines may have gradually gotten misaligned spindles or just not repaired properly resulting in badly written data.

The standard yellow disks have no protective slider over the data area, so can get dirty, or can simply be worn down after years of use, not to mention badly written pirate or unlicensed disks.

So the whole process of fixing one of these things, is buy a belt, open the unit, clear the belt goo away, replace the belt then calibrate the spindle, which can be quite daunting, so I have come up with a
much simpler method of changing an FDS or Twin Famicom belt..

The idea came from the fact that no tutorials so far describe a proper "reset position" for both the drive head and the spindle that spins the disk, which will end up completely out of wack after you replace the belt, so by finding a reliable positon to start every belt replacement, we end up with a much quicker way of getting the unit back up and running, instead of trial and error.

So, with the right tools, and a replacement belt, you can be up and running in no time at all!

If you need a replacement FDS belt, don`t waste time on ebay, visit the RETRO RAIDER JAPAN online store for replacement belts, at the lowest price online, shipped FREE!!

Here is the tutorial in its 30 minute badly narrated glory! See you soon!