Post by Martin St. Louis on Oct 29, 2006 0:41:57 GMT -5
When it comes to blowing, everyone has their own ritual/technique in getting the job done. Heck, some of you went as far as banging it and slamming the damn thing wherever possible. What I’m trying to say is “How did you blow your Nintendo cartridge?” The following are descriptions of some of the known and more popular techniques used to get an NES cartridge to work.
The Blower:
This individual casually blows into his/her cartridge a few times before trying to place the game in their NES. After repeated failed attempts, he/she retires and finds pleasure elsewhere – often finding siblings or friends to keep his/her mind entertained.
The Harmonica Blower:
This individual is an exaggerated version of the blower. Rather than casually blowing into the cartridge, he/she blows into the cartridge in much the same way an individual blows into a harmonica. Usually, there is a set pattern to his/her technique which can vary depending on title. It is natural to discover saliva has escaped his/her mouth and onto the cartridge. If unsuccessful, he/she may retire or often resort to more drastic measures (see list below).
The Temperature Sensitive Blower:
This individual relies on temperature to get his/her games to work. He/She may blow hot air or cold air depending on title. It’s often important to insert the cartridge into the system as quickly as possible as to not allow either cold or hot temperature to escape from the cartridges opening. If the game does not load up, he/she may resort to using his/her mom’s hair dryer for added help.
The Alcoholic:
This individual does not rely on blowing. He/She often uses ear swabs soaked in alcohol from his/her medicine cabinet to clean the inner opening of the cartridge. While many wait and make sure the inside is dry before placing it into their NES, others swear the key to its success is to place the cartridge into their system while the cartridge is still wet. When both procedures fail, this individual may resort to cleaning the cartridge with other liquids (hydrogen peroxide, baby oil, water, etc).
The Banger:
This individual neither blows nor cleans his cartridge; instead, he slightly bangs or slams his cartridge on various household objects. Often, he/she may find banging the cartridge while inserted in the system leads to better results. If banging the cartridge on the system fails to work, he/she may resort to bang the game on the bed, floor, and in some instances, their younger sibling.
The Gamer:
This individual never gives up. He/She applies all techniques listed above while adding a few more to the list. When all fails to produce positive results, he/she applies all known techniques to the system itself, often resulting in undesired effects.
Well, that’s the list. I'll be honest, I did a bit of everything on the list and then some. I even knew friends who did far more to get a chance at playing their games. When the SNES came out, I remember one of the big selling points for me was the fact that you didn’t have to blow into the games to have them work. I thought of it as some sort of new technology in much the way HD is a new feature in next-generation systems such as XBOX 360 and PS3. So, how did you blow your NES?
blogs.ign.com/Beyond1nfinite
I've always just used alcohol. The only games I've ever had real problems with were Super Mario Bros. 3 and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
The Blower:
This individual casually blows into his/her cartridge a few times before trying to place the game in their NES. After repeated failed attempts, he/she retires and finds pleasure elsewhere – often finding siblings or friends to keep his/her mind entertained.
The Harmonica Blower:
This individual is an exaggerated version of the blower. Rather than casually blowing into the cartridge, he/she blows into the cartridge in much the same way an individual blows into a harmonica. Usually, there is a set pattern to his/her technique which can vary depending on title. It is natural to discover saliva has escaped his/her mouth and onto the cartridge. If unsuccessful, he/she may retire or often resort to more drastic measures (see list below).
The Temperature Sensitive Blower:
This individual relies on temperature to get his/her games to work. He/She may blow hot air or cold air depending on title. It’s often important to insert the cartridge into the system as quickly as possible as to not allow either cold or hot temperature to escape from the cartridges opening. If the game does not load up, he/she may resort to using his/her mom’s hair dryer for added help.
The Alcoholic:
This individual does not rely on blowing. He/She often uses ear swabs soaked in alcohol from his/her medicine cabinet to clean the inner opening of the cartridge. While many wait and make sure the inside is dry before placing it into their NES, others swear the key to its success is to place the cartridge into their system while the cartridge is still wet. When both procedures fail, this individual may resort to cleaning the cartridge with other liquids (hydrogen peroxide, baby oil, water, etc).
The Banger:
This individual neither blows nor cleans his cartridge; instead, he slightly bangs or slams his cartridge on various household objects. Often, he/she may find banging the cartridge while inserted in the system leads to better results. If banging the cartridge on the system fails to work, he/she may resort to bang the game on the bed, floor, and in some instances, their younger sibling.
The Gamer:
This individual never gives up. He/She applies all techniques listed above while adding a few more to the list. When all fails to produce positive results, he/she applies all known techniques to the system itself, often resulting in undesired effects.
Well, that’s the list. I'll be honest, I did a bit of everything on the list and then some. I even knew friends who did far more to get a chance at playing their games. When the SNES came out, I remember one of the big selling points for me was the fact that you didn’t have to blow into the games to have them work. I thought of it as some sort of new technology in much the way HD is a new feature in next-generation systems such as XBOX 360 and PS3. So, how did you blow your NES?
blogs.ign.com/Beyond1nfinite
I've always just used alcohol. The only games I've ever had real problems with were Super Mario Bros. 3 and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.