Polystation III

Polystation III

Origin: China
 # of Games: 8,880 (20)
 Type: Famiclone/Multi-Game Device

Looks & Diagram

I would like to say first, out of all my pirates (um… what’s that now? Three?) the Polystation is my absolute favorite. And you will see why very soon. Okay, how does right now sound for you?

^ The top picture says it all. This pirate system is an obvious clone of the Sony PSOne. The power/reset buttons are positioned identically, the controllers are a complete mold of the original Playstation pads, and the system itself is a mirror image of the hugely popular 32-bit powerhouse. The differences? You are able to play any Famicom game inside where a CD would be inserted if it were a PS1. Included is an awesome light gun (these things are against the law in some states, such as California, due to the lack of a bright color at the ring of the barrel). And, (finally), ya can’t play Crash Bandicoot with it. But, you can play Duck Hunt, instead! Yay!

On the back end of the system are inputs for an 8 volt DC (included), RF ability (not included), and audio/video input-out red and yellow wires (included). The bare essentials needed to hook up the device.

I should also mention, on the subject of appearance, the proverb “You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover” comes to mind. The actual Polystation III has a very cheap, dinky plastic feel to it. This was done, of course, to bring down the price and allow the manufacturers to make a profit. Just make sure you do not drop one of these babies on a hardwood floor. It will definitely shatter into pieces.

Controls

One of the most important parts of any game system is the control scheme. Going along with the PSOne’s look, the two look-a-like control pads feature the Playstation’s original controller design (before there was Dual Shock).

Button Layout

Left circle button – B

Bottom circle button – A

Top circle button – turbo AB

When the excitement of grasping a plastic PS pirated controller with the word, Cyber, wears off.. your attention will most likely turn to the realistic light gun. This ain’t no Zapper. It feels very comfortable, thanks to in part by its small design, and the sheer enjoyment of firing the loosely fit (just right) trigger following a “clicking” sound after release makes it fun to play with, even when you aren’t in a game.

Notes: Most interesting, the connectors found on the gun and pads are identical to that of the SEGA Genesis. I felt lucky the day I received this pirate and decided to experiment with the ports by attaching a Genesis controller. Although only one button was accessible for Super Mario Bros., other games allowed most of the buttons and the d-pad on the Genesis pad to control the game.

Can you tell the difference between the two? One is a Genesis controller, the other from the Polystation.

Controller ports on the Polystation.

General Info

(Main Index of Games)

Touching on the multi-game aspect of the Polystation, it brags to have “8800 in 1 Games!!!!!!!”. I yell back with the same fake enthusiasm, “Bullshush!”. This is another example of a pirate company advertising outrageous claims and not delivering the goods. What the ‘sly cats’ did was they simply added a sequence of AAA, BBB, CCC, DDD, etc. onto the end of the twenty title games. So basically there are only twenty different games, the other 7,880 are all repeats. Sad. Quite.

Did you cheat and scroll down to the link? Don’t, come back! Before continuing on talking about the actual games that were included, we have to talk about the next *best* feature of the Polystation…

Famiclone

..Famicom support! That’s right, something that will make you cry your eyes out if you smashed the system with a hammer after realizing there were only twenty games! I’m going to be blunt: Polystation’s Famicom support is outstanding! No blinking screens, no blowing your lungs out– Polystation played all of my dirty, dusty Fami games just perfectly.

Putting in a game is as easy as inserting a CD into a Playstation. Flip open the lid and “punch” the cart in. Now you have your very own *toploading*, non-blinking, Famicom system to boast about in front of your Xbox-driven geeky friends!

Before

After

 

Featured Games

Now the names and descriptions of the *twenty* included titles:

Num. Menu Name Real Name Description
1 Pocket Yellow Y2K Pokemon Monsters Adventure/Action
2 Aladdin Aladdin III Side-Scroller
3 Future Kid Future Kid Action/Shooting
4 Gotcha Gotcha Light Gun
5 Lethal (???) Light Gun
6 Snow Fighter Gotcha Light Gun
7 Virtual Baseball Major League Baseball Sports
8 Super Mario Super Mario Bros. Adventure
9 Adventure Island Adventure Island Adventure
10 Jewel Tetris 1991 Tetris II Puzzle
11 Duck Hunting Duck Hunt Light Gun
12 Clay Shooting Duck Hunt Light Gun
13 Volleyball Kings of the Beach 91 Sports
14 Road Fighter Road Fighter Racing
15 Galaxian Galaxian Arcade Classic
16 Tank 2000 Tank A 1990 Shooting/Arcade
17 Lode Runner Lode Runner Arcade Classic
18 Ninja (???) Arcade Classic
19 Macross (???) Space Shooter
20 Pinball Pinball Misc./Pinball

 

Note-Worthy Games

Pocket Monster-

#1 most interesting game that should have jumped out at you is Pocket Yellow Y2K. Yes, we’re talking about an 8-bit Pokemon adventure.

 Simply put, this game is whacked out, but amazingly addictive and equally fun. You assume the role of Pikachu as you travel through side scrolling, happy-themed worlds having the ability to jump on other Pokemon (mostly enemies) to “kill” them and the ability to make the screen flash white (it’s called thunder, smart guy) making all enemies on the screen “faint”.

 Since no other site has any info whatsoever about the game, I thought a small shrine would be helpful.

The game is composed of four levels, most of which are forest settings except for a mountain scene and a prehistoric-esque level. At the end of each level you meet up with one main Pokemon which serves as the level’s boss.

The game’s final boss is Blastoise, it moves around the screen shooting balls of water from his “shell barrel”. And we all know, water + electricity = fried rat.

If you can get passed the final boss (or just cheat), you’ll get to the wonderful “ending” above. The yellow mouse dances. The word ‘end’ is shown. Fun was had by all.

Cheat Code- This has to be one of the most stupid glitches I have ever encountered. If you press start and pause the game, you can actually carry Pikachu anywhere on the screen (flying) or move along to the very end of the stage and then un-pause to conclude the level.

Another trick is triggered by pressing start then select. This immediately takes you to the next level, or let’s you skip a boss battle.

Aladdin III-

 Aladdin III is a unique game in many different aspects. If you have ever played the simple Famicom game Aladdin, this is the unofficial triquel that has you, an Arabian man, riding on a flying carpet shooting arrows at various enemies and bosses. I find it most interesting the copyright 1998 found on the title screen. This game is identical to the one shown on Caltron’s 6-in-1 titled Magic Carpet 1001.

Future Kid-

A fun robot shooter at its core, Future Kid is one of the few great games available on the Polystation’s library. Unlike many other scrolling shooting games, the game gives you the ability to turn forward and backward to shoot, and the option of walking on land or flying. Graphics aren’t too shabby, either, and the frantic action on the screen (enemies come from all sides) should keep you busy. Also notice the year, 1998, shown on the title screen. Future Kid is the same game as Color Dreams’ Metal Fighter.

1991 Tetris II-

It’s the same basic Tetris (Tengen version) game. Love it or like it. Notice the 1991 on the title screen.

Super Mario Bros.-

Super Mario Bros. 98% the same except for a weird, hacked title screen and changes in some sound effects.