Can you play Famicom games on a Game Boy Advance?! Review of the rare item "AdFami" made 20 years ago

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I recently got hold of a peripheral device called “AdFami” that was released by GameTech on June 2nd, 2004. This device allows you to play Famicom games on the Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Advance SP by simply inserting the original Famicom cartridges.

So it’s an item from 20 years ago, but I was so surprised that something like this existed that I ended up buying it. But how does it perform? Well, here is my review!

This is the front of the “AdFami” package.

The back of the package looks like this.

Powered by 4 AA batteries!

The contents of the package for this machine only include the main unit, manuals, and some postcards, and the configuration other than the hardware is quite ordinary. To actually operate this “AdFami” main unit, you need to insert four AA batteries.

By the way, I tried putting in some Eneloop batteries that I had on hand at first, but the batteries themselves were a little swollen, so they were tight and I was in danger of never being able to take them out again. So I quickly bought some regular batteries and put them in, but there were no problems at all.

You can open the battery cover by sliding the lid.

Do I also need a separate Game Boy Advance game to actually get it to work?

Actually, when I first tried to use it, I didn’t read the manual properly, so I made one mistake. In order to operate the unit properly, you have to insert any Game Boy Advance software into the AdFami.

Thinking for sure that there was a loose connection, I cleaned the terminals many times, but the characters became garbled at the first logo mark and it stopped. I wondered if it was a faulty product, but I never imagined that it was necessary to insert a Game Boy Advance software. I think it was probably to avoid some kind of protection at startup, but it was designed like that!?

By the way, there is no specific Game Boy Advance software to use at this time, so any software will do.

Now that you mention it, there was a Game Boy Advance slot.

On the other hand, the Famicom fits into the slot and can be inserted as is. I didn’t have any issues with this one, except that it was a bit difficult to hold.

The Famicom cartridge is inserted according to the shape of the slot.

Only compatible with Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Advance SP

Well, it seems that the models that are compatible with this “AdFami” are limited to Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Advance SP due to the shape of the slot. I tried attaching it to a Nintendo DS and Analogue Pocet that I had on hand, but the shape of the slot did not match and I couldn’t insert it on either of them.

Due to the shape of the slot, devices such as the Nintendo DS and Analogue Pocket cannot be inserted properly.

Since it is a normal model, the screen is difficult to see so we are not using it this time, but the Game Boy Advance SP can also be combined perfectly like this.

To be honest, it’s quite thick and heavy, so it’s not very practical.

Is the image worse than composite?

Now that we’ve confirmed that Famicom software works, let’s take a look at the essentials: the contents. First, the image output to the Game Boy Advance looks even worse than the composite output. It looks like RF is being output!?

Well, the image is a bit dirty because my eyes are too discerning, but that’s just how it is. The sound output was also unstable, and there were some scenes that sounded somewhat tone-deaf.

What I found rather impressive was that the multi-cartridge “EverDrive N8 PRO Fami” worked. However, the size of the cartridges was too large, making it completely impractical!

これはひどいｗ pic.twitter.com/qYuVBsW65W
— レトロゲームで遊ぼう！ (@Retoro_Gamer) June 30, 2024

I tried out some regular games like “Super Mario Brothers” and “Excitebike”, and although it was hard to see the screen and it was hard to tell, they seemed to be working. So I decided to try out some games with an extended sound source. First up was “Moero!! Pro Yakyuu”. Sounds like “Play ball” should play, but after I selected the players, the game froze before it even started.

Immediately after this, “Burn!! Professional Baseball” froze.

Although I could play “Gimmick,” the sound was loud and the pictures were a little hard to see. I could also play “Castlevania Legends,” but I couldn’t hear the sound from the expansion sound source. I couldn’t hear any sound at all in “Erika Satoru’s Dream Adventure” and “Lagrange Point.”

So, basically, the titles that feature the Famicom extended sound source performed quite poorly. I thought that this completed the check for now, but then I noticed that you can adjust the image quality by pressing the Select button while holding down the L or R button!

I hastily looked at the manual and found that by pressing the A button while holding down the Select button, you can change the way the screen looks, from color intensity to hue to brightness. Also, although I didn’t try this, it seems that the L and R buttons themselves can also be used to adjust the continuous shooting.

I’ve tried out a lot of things, but in terms of technology it feels like something from 20 years ago, and it’s more of a device for enjoying images with quality similar to that of a Famicom compatible machine that sells for around 1000 yen. Overall, it’s more of a collector’s item than a practical item!