My NES cartridges are becoming sentient or something

Found an old box of NES games in my parents' basement last weekend. Popped in Megaman 2 and the title screen had this weird green static line across the top that wouldn't go away no matter how hard I blew into it. Tried the official Nintendo cleaning kit with the little plastic thing and isopropyl alcohol, still nothing. Then I just left the system on for 20 minutes and it cleared up on its own. Has anyone else had old cartridges heal themselves like that or am I losing my mind?

2 comments

2 Comments

adams.uma4d ago

Oh man, that's the universe telling you it wasn't ready yet. Electronics have this weird sense of timing. My old microwave sometimes just stops heating for a few minutes, then kicks back in like nothing happened. I swear it's the same with my car's check engine light - it'll come on, I brace for a big repair bill, and by the time I get to the mechanic it's gone. Your NES probably just needed to warm up and remember how to be a proper video game system. Give it time and some patience, it'll straighten itself out.

karencampbell4d ago

Yeah, "remember how to be a proper video game system" is exactly right. Those old NES boards just need a little juice and patience to shake off years of sitting still.