Power Games (Penguin)

Power Games (Penguin)
By: Justin Anderson

Origin: Unknown
 # of Games: 111 (No duplicates)
 Type: Famiclone/Multi-Game Device

SPECS: Size- 6″ x 3 1/4″ x 2″
Power- 3 AA batteries for the IR controller, 110V
50/60Hz input, 9V 350ma output AC adaptor for
the unit

Interesting what you find on eBay. While searching for a decent multi-cart for my Game Theory Admiral, I came across the Power Games setup, a new model Famiclone. I suspect this was produced by the same people who made the Super Joy III, whoever they may be. The sticker on mine indicates a manufacture date of 11/04.


Click to Enlarge

Before I get to the weird, lets talk about the controllers. The main controller is a larger IR unit, with the standard D-pad, select and start, reset, and 6 buttons. The controller rips off the Sega Saturn, to a degree, especially in button labeling. Buttons B and C serve as standard B and A, A seems to serve as a goofy A button, resulting in a half-jump in games. X and Y are turbo, and Z seems to work only in the menus.


Click to Enlarge

Controller 2 is more of the same, minus the IR and reset, with a standard 9-pin connector that links to the main controller 3DO style. The light gun is a standard SJIII gun.

Controller one is okay aside from the goofy button layout, though I have problems with the up directional responding. Controller 2 isn’t that bad. The gun is very accurate. Plastic quality is good overall. The D-pad on controller one is actually a “stunted joystick” type that Xbox and Gamecube controllers use.

The controllers come in either blue, black, silver, or red. As is standard with many Asian pruducts such as this(including a variety of cheap figurines a local store used to carry), all 4 are shown on the box with a mark beside the one you get.

Now, for the weird. The console itself looks like….


Click to Enlarge

… a cartoon penguin! This plastic penguin, not much larger than 2 Famicom carts, is the game system itself. The beak serves as the power button, with the cart slot and hookup jacks on the back, and the light gun port on the side. The circular shirt button is the IR receiver, making this the first wireless Famiclone.

Of course, IR controllers are horribly outdated by 10 years or so. In an era when 2.4GHz wireless controllers are made for all the next-gen consoles, IR is cheap. However, IR was also ditched because it’s also somewhat unreliable, as any owner of a wireless NES or Genesis controller can tell you. RF can pass through objects and allow for great distances (though who really NEEDS a wireless controller that can work 90 feet away?), while IR requires direct line-of-sight and has a range limit.

The IR connection here works rather decent so long as you have a good line-of-sight. To save space, the AV output is of a mini(headphone type) jack leading to yellow and white plugs. AV output is decent. The penguin is made of very sturdy plastic and is only available in black. The red power light eyes would have looked better as blue, though.

Now the reason I bought this, the 111 in 1 multi-cart. An impressive list of games, and no duplicates. It’s amazing they packed Friday the 13th on here. Game names are, for the most part, right, and the label isn’t too bad. The Aladdin in the game is the SHMUP Aladdin 3, nothing Disney, and their Donkey Kong image lists straight from the DK64 strategy guide. The few misnames are the ones commonly misnamed on pirate carts (Tengen Tetris as “Tetris 2″, etc).

Now, as to the cart itself, despite being a Famicom game, notice something odd? Yes, the case is based on a Japanese Mega Drive game, which means this will not fit in a normal Famicom. It will, however, fit the GTA and the penguin. The penguin’s cart slot is square to take this, but will fit normal Famicom carts. While a good cart, a couple games which work on the console do not work with the GTA. I’m unsure of this is a GTA incompatibility or if the cart has some flaw.

How do I rate this? I’d be a perfect Famiclone if the controllers weren’t so strange. Their decision to do IR was ambitious, yet the buttons leave much to be desired. The penguin is the new R.O.B. and the multi-cart is good.