Famicom Disk System
The Family Computer Disk System (ファミリーコンピュータ ディスクシステム [Famiri Konpyuta Disuku Shisutemu], known commonly as the Famicom Disk System is a disk drive attachment to the Famicom created by Nintendo and released only in Japan on 1986-02-21. To use the Famicom Disk System (FDS), the disk drive is placed below the Famicom, and a communication unit is placed into the cartridge slot of the Famicom. Disks are placed into the drive and the Famicom is turned on. Famicom disks are double sided, but the reader is not, so larger games would require the user to flip the disk over as needed. Because the disks were re-writable, FDS games often featured saving a loading. Also, the FDS included a new audio channel to the APU which added a simple programmable waveform.
To help sell FDS games, Nintendo placed Famicom Disk System vending kiosks called "Disk Writers" around Japan where a person could insert a blank disk, pay a fee, and have games written to their disk. However, because there wasn't anything too complex about the disk design, thrid-party manufacturers began selling off-brand disks and copiers which made piracy pretty easy. The FDS also was expensive and had a tendency to break down, so the unit didn't sell very well. Those games that did sell well on the FDS were remade to run on the NES often with passwords or battery systems to save progress.
Since the FDS was only released in Japan, I never played it when it was popular, and still have never played an actual console. However, with the advent of emulation, I have now played many of the games released on the platform.
Status
I do not own a Famicom Disk System and have never played a real one.
Games
- See all Famicom Disk System Games.
These are the FDS games that are important to me:
- Kid Icarus: Angel Land Story
- The Legend of Zelda
- Metroid
- Vs. Excitebike
- Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic
- Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Review
Good
- Having a way to save and load was a heck of a lot better than password systems, although the battery backup of later cartridges made it redundant in most cases.
- Being able to sell games through an automatic vending kiosk was way ahead of its time.
- The additional audio channel was a nice addition, unfortunately, few developers took advantage of it.
Bad
- Disk reading and writing was pretty slow.
- Most games required turning the disk over to load from both sides, which is annoying if you're used to the instant speed of a cartridge.
- Like all magnetic disks, the Famicom disks eventually had bad sectors causing the loss of a game.
- Most of the games made for the platform didn't take advantage of the new hardware.
- The FDS required its own power supply.
Ugly
- The rubber band that allowed the motor to spin the disk was made out of poor material and usually broke far earlier than it should.
Media
Hardware
The FDS attached to a Famicom.
The FDS box.
The unboxed FDS.
A collection of game cases and a disk.
Links
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Computer_Disk_System - Wikipedia.
- mobygames.com/attribute/sheet/attributeId,2001 - MobyGames.
