Nintendo Famicom Mini hackers find a secret message waiting for them

By Eric Abent/Jan. 11, 2017 1:37 pm EST

Though the NES Classic Edition and its Japanese counterpart, the Famicom Mini, shipped with a mere 30 games on them, we all knew it wouldn't be long before they were hacked. Sure enough, that happened over the weekend, with one hacker posting video proof that they had added more games to their NES Classic. Today we're hearing more interesting things from the people who have looked at the code for these new consoles, with one hacker taking to Reddit to share a secret message he found hiding in the Famicom Mini.

In looking at the Famicom's code, Reddit user durmoo found a message addressed specifically to hackers who may have a look. The message is from someone who calls themselves the "Hanafuda Captain," and asks hackers to resist breaking everything while they're looking at the code. Here's the message in full:

This is the hanafuda captain speaking. Launching emulation in 3..2..1. Many efforts, tears, and count less hours have been put into this jewel. So, please keep this place tidied up and don't break everything! Cheers, the hanafuda captain.

The title "Hanafuda Captain" is almost certainly a reference to the early days of Nintendo, long before it made video games. For those not in the know, Nintendo was actually founded 127 years ago, in 1889. That's roughly 85 years before the rise of video games, and for the first 70 years of its existence or so, Nintendo mainly produced and marketed a card game called Hanafuda in Japan, leading the company to become quite popular.

Nintendo still produces Hanafuda cards in Japan, even though the main focus of its business these days are video games. All in all, this was likely a pleasant discovery for the hacker who took a peek inside the Famicom Mini's code, and it offers a nice little throwback to Nintendo's beginnings. There doesn't seem to be any confirmation if such a message exists within the NES Classic Edition's code, but given the playfulness expressed here, there could very well be something waiting.

SOURCE: Reddit