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Hi, all. It’s Kim. You all know that we do our best to find new and interesting things for you to check out. I’d say we usually do a pretty good job, but I must say, we’ve outdone ourselves this time. What we have for you today is a copy of the Happily Ever After NES version.
Yes, you read that right. This is the Nintendo copy, not Super Nintendo. The SNES version of Happily Ever After came out in 1994. But, only after a long convoluted history of the NES version that was supposed to release first, but never came to fruition. The game was actually connected to a movie made in 1985 by Filmation Associates, a sequel to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The animated film, original called Snow White and the Seven Dwarfelles but changed to Happily Ever After on Disney’s orders, was finished in 1988. However, it wasn’t released until Memorial Day weekend of 1993 (it opened with Super Mario Bros.). So it’s pretty obvious that the film ran into a few snags along the way. The same can be said for the game. Here’s a brief rundown of the timeline:
- 1990 – At CES rumors begin circulating about a Happily Ever After game being developedby Japanese developer/publisher SOFEL
- January 1991 – Game scheduled for delivery
- March 1991 – Single screen shot of 8-bit game published by GamePro, Game Player says game release will coincide with film release
- Fall 1991 – Film delayed so game release pushed back
- Spring 1992 – Game Informer lists buy back and used game prices
- June 1993 – Expected release date per GamePro following Winter CES
- Memorial Day 1993 – Film release. Poorly received and panned by reviewers
- Game fades off into oblivion, SNES version developed to take advantage of newer platform advantages
- 1994 – SNES version of game shipped
- July 2015 – Sean McGee purchases the ROM from a private seller in Texas, later followed by a ROM dump
The game has since been made available to everyone for download, can run on both Everdrive N8 and RetroUSB PowerPak as well as various emulators. Of course, you can also buy the Happily Ever After NES cart here on eBay (1 has already been sold but there are 4 more up for grabs). The price is just about as amazing as the game considering the asking prices of some of the other prototype video games. If you head over to Nintendo Player (just click this link) you can find details about game play and screenshots.
Since we’re taking a sort of retro fueled trip back in time, I looked into some video game demakes in the spirit of 8-bit nostalgia. I came across this list. Being the Halo fan that I am, number 4 is probably my favorite. Demakes aside, there are also some extremely cool NES ROM hacks out there as well. The video below is a few years old but is a pretty accurate top ten list by Portal of Awesome.
Here are some other interesting finds I dug up on the ‘bay:
- Freddy vs Jason NES Collector’s Edition – fancy collector’s version of fan made game
- Final Fantasy 7 NES English Translation
- Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst Collector’s Edition 14″ Faith Statue – box only NO GAME
- Resident Evil Outbreak Ultra Rare Promotional FM Radio
- RARE Nintendo SUPER Smash Bro’s Vinyl Promo Poster
- Biohazard 2 Prologue of Terrors Resident Evil Book VERY RARE
- NEW ULTRA RARE Dying Light Lighter – Promo Gadget
- ASSASSIN’S CREED 2 COLLECTORS EDITION STRATEGY GUIDE
- Mother 25th Anniversary Edition NES English Translation – New battery freshly installed
