Popeye and Super Mario Brothers – A lucky score!

Late last week I had a voicemail from a guy who had seen one of my listings and said he had two games in his garage that he wanted to sell. He said he had a Popeye and what he called a “dual chip” Top Gun. He wasn’t able to provide photos unfortunately, so sight unseen I arranged for a truck and headed up to the northside of Indianapolis to see what he had.

I came back with both games, here they are;

We have a dedicated Popeye with no sideart that is in a solid cabinet, although definitely not perfect. The control panel will need to be replaced, and so will the T-Molding and you can see the bottom is missing a piece of the wood. View the full photo album of the Nintendo Popeye.

I also got a Nintendo Vs. machine in a blue upright cabinet. Sure enough, it was Top Gun and it also has Super Mario Brothers! How exciting, I love the original Super Mario Brothers and have toyed with the idea of having a SMB upright. One other cool note, was when I got home and looked closer, I realized that the Vs. machine was a Donkey Kong conversion at some point, because the bezel was just a flipped around Donkey Kong bezel. Granted, it isn’t worth much, there are some scratches and one area where the artwork is rubbed away (lower left corner), but still cool. View the full photo album of the Nintendo Vs. Machine – Super Mario Brothers and Top Gun.

He told me that he bought them off another guy here in Indianapolis a couple of years back, so that is all I know about the games. They are pretty decent condition, but I would guess they were on location somewhere at some point. He said they were both working when he last powered them up over a year ago, but we didn’t try them at his house and when I got home neither of them did anything:(

What should I do with these Nintendo Games?

I am not sure what I am going to do with them yet. Unlike projects of the past, Frenzy, Wizard of Wor, I actually like the gameplay on Popeye, love Super Mario, and I haven’t ever played Top Gun but judging by the screenshots, it doesn’t look like the type of game I like. I had toyed with the idea of converting the Vs. machine into a Dr. Mario. Either way, I am not looking to sell these to someone else dirt cheap, and am in no hurry to get rid of them.

What do you think? What should I do with them? Should I keep the Popeye and buy new sideart from Arcadeshop? What other good Nintendo games are there? I am not a Donkey Kong fan, so that is out for me unless I sold it as a flip. I am definitely open to local trades. Contact me if you are interested.

Here are some similar arcade posts

• Stash of arcades in Indianapolis, IN
• Glak’s version of Popeye
• Bally Mappy Cabinet Project
• Donkey Kong Arcade Game Restoration – A Photo Walkthrough
• How To: Removing Nintendo bezel retainer brackets

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