Licfnse to kill
I was thinking of Ask MetaFiltering this, but I figured you folks could help me out with less snark. Here's the story.
A few weeks ago I traded my copy of Meteos on Zunafish for Tactics Ogre: Knight of Lodis. The exchange went off hitchless and I was satisfied by the experience. I received the game, plugged it in, got to the title screen, saw the opening sequence, great, looks like it works fine. I gave my comrade trader positive feedback. A class act, I think I called him.
But Knight of Lodis would have to wait; I was at that point still scampering around Hyrule in search of pieces of heart. Last Sunday, Ganon having been defeated, I finally started in on some ogrely tactical action. I saved my game after the first tutorial battle and turned in for the night, visions of lichs and hawkmen dancing in my head.
Next day I wake up, and the save slot is empty.
Hmmm, I think to myself. Kind of annoying, but all games have glitches! So I go through the opening sequence again (war, evil, blah, blah, blah, just let me swing my sword and stuff already), get through a few battles, and save my game again. Just to make sure, I turn off the game and start it up again. Sure enough: nothing in the save slot.
For a while I stick to the "it must be a glitch!" story, but then I come across this thread. My cartridge has the right fonts on the plastic, but it doesn't have the "(c) 2001 Nintendo" on the circuit board. It also has the wrong art on the label and - this I found only after heavy scrutiny - it says "LICFNSED BY NINTENDO" next to the Seal of Quality.
I'm thinking it's a bootleg.
So I have a couple of questions.
A few weeks ago I traded my copy of Meteos on Zunafish for Tactics Ogre: Knight of Lodis. The exchange went off hitchless and I was satisfied by the experience. I received the game, plugged it in, got to the title screen, saw the opening sequence, great, looks like it works fine. I gave my comrade trader positive feedback. A class act, I think I called him.
But Knight of Lodis would have to wait; I was at that point still scampering around Hyrule in search of pieces of heart. Last Sunday, Ganon having been defeated, I finally started in on some ogrely tactical action. I saved my game after the first tutorial battle and turned in for the night, visions of lichs and hawkmen dancing in my head.
Next day I wake up, and the save slot is empty.
Hmmm, I think to myself. Kind of annoying, but all games have glitches! So I go through the opening sequence again (war, evil, blah, blah, blah, just let me swing my sword and stuff already), get through a few battles, and save my game again. Just to make sure, I turn off the game and start it up again. Sure enough: nothing in the save slot.
For a while I stick to the "it must be a glitch!" story, but then I come across this thread. My cartridge has the right fonts on the plastic, but it doesn't have the "(c) 2001 Nintendo" on the circuit board. It also has the wrong art on the label and - this I found only after heavy scrutiny - it says "LICFNSED BY NINTENDO" next to the Seal of Quality.
I'm thinking it's a bootleg.
So I have a couple of questions.
- Nintendo nerds: Is the evidence cited above (saves don't work, weird label art, strange circuit board, and oh, I forgot to mention, the cartridge fits into my DS a bit too snugly) sufficient to prove that the game is a bootleg? Would I be able to open the cartridge and replace the battery and play the game normally? (This second question applies whether or not it turns out to be a bootleg.)
- If it is a bootleg, how should I proceed? Should I demand that the trade be rescinded? Should I ask Zunafish to let me change my feedback rating? (I've e-mailed their customer service but have yet to see a reply.) Or should I just suck it up?