Episode 359: Famicom Disk System (Patreon)

Wow! Heck! Next week, the Nintendo Family Computer Disk System turns 35 years old. For those keeping score, that's pretty old. Chances are very, very high that you personally did not own a Disk System back during its heyday, since most of you did not grow up in Japan. Since the Disk System never actually made its way beyond Japan (even though the NES's unused expansion port seemed ready-made for connecting to it), and there wasn't exactly a booming import gaming scene in 1986, it went down in history as one of those foreign-market oddities.

And yet, despite never reaching the U.S., the Disk System nevertheless had an outsized impact on the gaming habits of American and European kids. Nearly all its best games eventually made their way overseas—and the need for cartridges to parallel critical Disk System features (like the ability to save progress and other data) helped pave the way for innovations like carts backed with lithium batteries. Even if you didn't play Disk System in the ’80s, the Disk System made your gaming experiences better.

This week, Nintendo history expert Chris Kohler and author/editor of an entire book dedicated to Disk System Kurt Kalata join me (Jeremy) to talk about the history and importance of the FDS, the games it gave us, and our own experiences with the chunky little self-destructing box. 

Cover art this week comes to us courtesy of John Pading, and Greg Leahy handled the edits, which means he is responsible for including the following jams:

• 12:40 - Arumana no Kiseki: Stage 1/4/6
• 23:04 - Metroid: Title Theme
• 30:39 - Famicom Golf U.S. Course: Name Data
• 37:18 - Akuu Senki Raijin: Stage 1/2
• 44:06 - Moero TwinBee (Stinger): Power-Up Theme
  The Legend of Zelda: Opening Theme
• 59:51 - Dracula II (Castlevania II: Simon's Quest): Bloody Tears
• 1:08:53 - Zelda II: Opening Theme
• 1:17:28 - Aliens (Unreleased): Stage 4
• 1:24:00 - Nazo no Murasamejou: Castle Theme
• 1:34:09 - All Night Nippon Super Mario Bros.: Ending Theme
• Closing - The Legend of Zelda: Ending Theme