Popeye and Super Mario Brothers

Late last week I had a voicemail from a guy who had seen one of my listings and said he had two games in his garage that he wanted to sell. He said he had a Popeye and what he called a “dual chip” Top Gun. He wasn’t able to provide photos unfortunately, so sight unseen I arranged for a truck and headed up to the northside of Indianapolis to see what he had.

I came back with both games, here they are;

We have a dedicated Popeye with no sideart that is in a solid cabinet, although definitely not perfect. The control panel will need to be replaced, and so will the T-Molding and you can see the bottom is missing a piece of the wood. View the full photo album of the Nintendo Popeye.

I also got a Nintendo Vs. machine in a blue upright cabinet. Sure enough, it was Top Gun and it also has Super Mario Brothers! How exciting, I love the original Super Mario Brothers and have toyed with the idea of having a SMB upright. One other cool note, was when I got home and looked closer, I realized that the Vs. machine was a Donkey Kong conversion at some point, because the bezel was just a flipped around Donkey Kong bezel. Granted, it isn’t worth much, there are some scratches and one area where the artwork is rubbed away (lower left corner), but still cool. View the full photo album of the Nintendo Vs. Machine - Super Mario Brothers and Top Gun.

He told me that he bought them off another guy here in Indianapolis a couple of years back, so that is all I know about the games. They are pretty decent condition, but I would guess they were on location somewhere at some point. He said they were both working when he last powered them up over a year ago, but we didn’t try them at his house and when I got home neither of them did anything:(

What should I do with these Nintendo Games?

I am not sure what I am going to do with them yet. Unlike projects of the past, Frenzy, Wizard of Wor, I actually like the gameplay on Popeye, love Super Mario, and I haven’t ever played Top Gun but judging by the screenshots, it doesn’t look like the type of game I like. I had toyed with the idea of converting the Vs. machine into a Dr. Mario. Either way, I am not looking to sell these to someone else dirt cheap, and am in no hurry to get rid of them.

What do you think? What should I do with them? Should I keep the Popeye and buy new sideart from Arcadeshop? What other good Nintendo games are there? I am not a Donkey Kong fan, so that is out for me unless I sold it as a flip. I am definitely open to local trades. Contact me if you are interested.

Comments

Jamie
March 31, 2008

Hey Jeff,

Nice score. If you need one, I could probably sell you a working Popeye PCB. I have an extra Popeye in the garage that I’m going to convert to a Donkey Kong.

I read that you need a CPO. The one on mine isn’t in very good shape. There are no pieces missing or cracks, but it’s warped in certain areas.

Jeff Rothe
March 31, 2008

I will keep the PCB in mind. With the posts this weekend, and the arcade auction, I didn’t get out into the garage to do any testing on either the Popeye or Vs. machine. I did get manuals, so that is progress. If I need one, I’ll let you know.

I may add a photo of the Popeye control panel tonight, I think mine might be worse than yours. It is dirty enough.

Have reproduction of the control panel not been made? I haven’t seen a game before that has a plastic control panel overlay that is kind of like a bolted down marquee.

Jamie
March 31, 2008

I don’t have any plans to sell the PCB anytime soon. If I do get around to it, I’ll ask you before I list it in case you need it.

Here’s a pic of my extra Popeye CPO:
http://flickr.com/photos/17948214@N00/1258030557/sizes/o/in/set-72157601719924900/

It actually doesn’t look bad in that pic, but the warp is worse when you view it at the right angle. It’s warped above the buttons. If you want it, you can have it for free + shipping.

There aren’t any repros that I know of. They do make DK and DK Jr. ones that look just like the originals. I think PhoenixArcade.com made them, but I’m not sure. I bought a pretty decent one for the Popeye that I’m keeping, and sold the one that it replaced on eBay awhile back.

I have the instruction card if you want the file to print it. The one on LocalArcade was a bit screwed up. I took it and fixed the file to make it look better. Let me know if you want it and I can email it to you.

Bally Mappy Cabinet Project | Rotheblog
April 24, 2008

[...] is ready and I like to help other collectors out when I can, we did an even swap and he took the Vs. Nintendo Mario Brothers / Top gun cabinet I got last month. I kept the pcb, and at some point Jeff is going to get me the harness since he [...]

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