Final Fantasy III cart questions

[Kuikorosu]

I'm interested in picking up an original copy of this game, but it seems to me that there might be some inherent risks.

For example, the one I looked at in a local used video games place was in a dirty-ish glass case with no plastic protector tab. It was going for around $44 (the guy was willing to sell it to me for $36).

Now I know carts can be cleaned, all of the NES games I buy don't work when I bring them home, and I can usually bring them back into working order. However, how long does the save battery last? Do most copies of FF3 have a battery near the end of its lifetime? If so, can you send it back to Nintendo for a replacement or will they just laugh at you?

[Kitsune Sniper]

> If so, can you send it back
> to Nintendo for a replacement or will they just laugh at
> you?

Nintendo won't replace the battery on any NES, SNES, GB, or GBC cart. They no longer support the systems - even though they'd get a lot of cash by changing the batteries...

[Ugly Joe]

> However, how long does the
> save battery last? Do most copies of FF3 have a battery
> near the end of its lifetime? If so, can you send it back
> to Nintendo for a replacement or will they just laugh at
> you?

I seriously doubt the big N would help you out there. I would check that store again and ask if you can demo it in the store. If it does boot up and there's no save games, I would pass.

However, they aren't too hard to change yourself. The carts can be a pain to open without the right security bits, but it is possible to do with a small flat-head screwdriver (if you don't mind some scratch marks around the screw holes).

The battery itself is a CR2032, which any electronics store should have in stock. I've replaced the battery in both a FFII and FFIII cart, and both of them had the battery soldered (or at least what looked like solder) in place between two contacts. You can pry the battery off of the contacts by wedging the flat-head screwdriver between the contact and the battery and slowly turning it. Oh, make note of which way the battery was facing. You wouldn't want to put the new one in upside-down.

Once you get that off, the tricky part is getting the new battery to stay in place. I ended up bending the two contacts closer together so that the battery would be wedged and not move. This isn't an ideal sollution, as the battery can get moved out of place if you shake the cart too much. I suppose you could glue it on there or solder it again, but I'm not too knowledgable when it comes to electronics on that level (plus, my roommate was worried enough that I had to pry the battery out at all).

Then you can close the case back on it and test if it worked before putting the screws back in. If it's not working, one of the contacts probably isn't touching the battery, or perhaps the battery is in upside-down. When it's working, put the screws back in and you're done.

That's what worked for me, at least. Your results may vary.