I finally have pics of my SNES test cartridges! Well, there they are. Allow me to explain what each cartridge actually does......

The Test Cart Pictured on the **LEFT**

This one seems to be an earlier edition of an SNES test cart. It has a place for the Version and the Date, which obviously were never filled in. Until recently, I didn't think that it did anything but a controller test, until I discovered how to access the other tests. Unlike the one on the right, which has a menu screen that is much easier to deal with, the one on the left requires that you push the "reset" button after the power is on and the first test, which is the controller test, is over. The first test is over whenever you want it to be over. So, if you'd like to access the next test right off, just turn on the power, then push "reset."

Test 1 consists of a simple controller test. It prompts you to push certain buttons on your control pad using a nice large picture of a SNES control pad. Arrows will blink towards the button the test requires to be pushed. You have 10 seconds to push one of the buttons. Your controller must really be dead if it doesn't pass the test. At the end, if you FAIL, it makes a nice horn sound and the screen blinks red, reading "FAIL" across the screen. Really makes you feel as if you should have studied harder :) If you PASS, woohoo! It makes a "Doo-Doo" noise. You know the kind. It's the EXACT same noise that is heard on a plane when the captain is about to announce something. Recall that noise? "Doo-Doo." Hehe, either way, I'm not going to type more about it. If you don't get it now, you never will.

Test 2 is a simple SHVC & SNS Sound Module Test. There are 7 different sounds it goes through. Some are from nes games! Just think of an explosion in an NES game and multipy it times 5. They do a couple of those that sound like someone blowing into a mic. You know the sound of a large explosion in Guerilla War or Ikari Warriors don't you? They really blast you out in the sound tests. High pitches and low pitches really make you wince. The last song is very pleasant though. Hear the music playing in the background to this page? I didn't put it there for no particular reason. That music is the opening to Zelda 2 the Adventures of Link. It plays infinitely at the end of the test until you push "reset" or just turn the damn thing off! I prefer to leave it on for a while to listen. I mean, NES music on a SNES cartridge, YES!!!

Test 3 is the SNES Burn in test Ver. 1.02. There is a quick hardware test at the beginning, then come the pictures! They show all sorts of pictures of Mario and the Princess. They even give the number to the Official Nintendo World Class Service Hotline! This test will make your eyes hurt. This test will just continue forever with the hardware test and the color tests. But it's ok! The music in the background is the same as the sound test! Zelda 2 opening music...yay.

The Test Cart Pictured on the **RIGHT**

This NTF Ver.2.5 test cartridge is a little less idiot proof and much easier to use. No more resetting to change tests. The cart says "Copyright 1991" on the front. The other just simply asked for a date. This one prompts you to a "SuperNES Test Menu." Finally! A menu! There are 5 tests to this cartridge.

Electronics Test consists of....uhhh....an electronics test! Nothing much to this one. You just select "Electronics Test" on the menu and it will tell you if you pass or fail. Simple as that! When you pass, you get the same "Doo-Doo" noise. Still thinking of that plane.....fasten..... safty....turbulance...

Character Test is an idiots test. Any oaf could control this one. It has some of the same images from the older version (and many more), only this time it tells you EXACTLY what to look for. "Look for clear images moving across the screen" or "Look for clear image of princess flipping" and "Look for color changes." After the test, it takes you back to the main screen. No continuous loop or any Zelda 2 opening music sound :(

Controller Test is the same test as the one on the other cartridge with the "Doo-Doo" sound still present. Thank god they kept that......

Sound Test prompts you to choose which "channel" to test. Your "left channel" is your left speaker and your "right channel" is your right speaker. When you choose one, a woman's voice will tell you which channel you are testing. She will say "This is your right channel" or "This is your left channel." That is when the funky music starts. The Super Mario Bros music! Yay again for the classics! It's really funny actually. The woman's voice will go along with the music. Kinda like this at the beginning of the music: "This is your right channel.....da, du, da, du, da, da, du, right, right, right, right." If you can understand that gibberish I just wrote, you have an amazing skill that will never get you a job anywhere.....ok...that made no sense....well, I think |tsr knows what I'm talking about....

Color Test prompts you to screens that basically ask the question "Is your picture distorted?" The test would probably be quicker that way. I'm pretty sure it isn't difficult to tell if your SNES sucks. You see dots and lines and asked if they are centered, not fuzzy, etc. You are also asked if the color you see on the screen is the one they claim it should look like as well.