A few years back, I got in a pretty expensive SNES trade-in order; it had several of the most expensive games in the order. A lot of times, I don't look at the exact contents of the order till I review the order sheet inside the package.
The first thing I noticed was two copies of Aero Fighters; there is no way someone has two copies of Aero Fighters sitting around. Not to mention, when I pulled them out of the box, these games looked so shiny I almost fell over. What am I, some sucker? Come on.
The Quick 4-Step CheckList
- Back Label: Must have a 2-digit factory number stamped/indented into it.
- Internal Branding: Look for “© 199X Nintendo” printed directly on the internal board.
- Molded Shell Imprints: Genuine shells have alphanumeric codes (e.g., F-55) molded inside.
- Board Size: Authentic boards fill most of the cartridge; fakes are often half the size or smaller.
- Save Battery: Games like EarthBound and Chrono Trigger will have an actual save battery.
The Table of Contents
My first reaction was: Wow! These games had almost no scratches or blemishes on the shells or labels.
Step 1. Condition Matters
- The Shell: For games over 30 years old, these looked almost brand-new, which seemed pretty suspicious.
- The Screws: Check the security screws closely. On these fakes, the screws weren’t perfectly round. They looked jagged, as if they were punched out of metal instead of being carefully made by Nintendo.
Step 2. Look for Molded Imprints
One of the best hidden signs is inside the plastic shell. If you look just above and below the game pin connector, you should see letters and numbers molded into the plastic.
- Authentic: Our real copies had molded imprints, such as E-27 on the top shell and B-43 on the bottom.
- The counterfeit games had no markings or stamped imprints on the inside of the shell.
- Note: This tip also works for identifying fake NES, N64, and GBA games.
Step 3. Look at the Labels
If you look closely at the game label, the flaws on the counterfeit games are easy to spot.
- Blurry Print: The text on the fake Chrono Trigger was hard to read and out of focus.
- Font Issues: The fake EarthBound used the wrong font and colors on the end label.
- Zelda Specifics: On the fake Legend of Zelda, the "Player’s Choice" logo was very small. Also, the end label was incorrect.
- The back label of Authentic SNES cartridges will have imprinted numbers “stamped into” it, generally two or three characters like 11A, 03, or 0B.
Step 4. Examine The Internal Board
The best way to tell if an SNES game is fake is to open the cartridge and check the circuit board. You’ll need a 3.8mm gamebit opener to do this.
- Branding: A legit board will have the year and "Nintendo" imprinted directly on the internal board (like, 1993 Nintendo).
- Board Size: Real boards usually fill most of the shell. As shown in the photo above, fake boards are often much smaller than the originals.
- Save Battery - Zelda, Chrono Trigger, and EarthBound will all have a CR2032-sized battery soldered to the internal board.
Watch the Real Vs Fake Comparison Video
I made a video walkthrough that shows these fake games (like Chrono Trigger and EarthBound) next to real ones. You can also find high-resolution photos on our Pinterest page.
