Thin Chen Enterprise
Encyclopedia
Thin Chen Enterprise, also known as Sachen, was a Taiwan
ese company that developed several original games for the Nintendo Entertainment System
(NES), Mega Drive, Game Boy
and other early cartridge-based handheld systems
such as the Watara Supervision
and Mega Duck. With the exception of the latter two handhelds, all of Thin Chen's games were produced without license from the console manufacturer
s; the company produced at least 70 unique games for the NES and Famicom and at least 32 for the Game Boy (albeit compiled into eight 4-in-1 cartridges), making it the most prolific unlicensed developer and publisher for both consoles by a considerable margin. The company also produced its own Nintendo Entertainment System hardware clone
s, such as the Q-Boy.
Most of Thin Chen's products were released under the Sachen brand name, although the names Joy Van and Commin were also used for certain early games for the Famicom and handheld consoles respectively. Several of their NES games were released outside Taiwan under license by foreign publishers, including Hacker International
in Japan
(usually with added pornographic
content), Color Dreams
and American Video Entertainment
in the USA, and Milmar in Brazil
.
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
ese company that developed several original games for the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
(NES), Mega Drive, Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
and other early cartridge-based handheld systems
Handheld game console
A handheld game console is a lightweight, portable electronic device with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are run on machines of small size allowing people to carry them and play them at any time or place...
such as the Watara Supervision
Watara Supervision
The Watara Supervision is a monochrome handheld game console, originating from Asia, and introduced in 1992 as a cut-price competitor for Nintendo's Game Boy. It came packaged with a game called Crystball, which is similar to Breakout...
and Mega Duck. With the exception of the latter two handhelds, all of Thin Chen's games were produced without license from the console manufacturer
Console manufacturer
A console manufacturer is a company that manufactures and distributes video game consoles. It is also known as a first-party video game publisher...
s; the company produced at least 70 unique games for the NES and Famicom and at least 32 for the Game Boy (albeit compiled into eight 4-in-1 cartridges), making it the most prolific unlicensed developer and publisher for both consoles by a considerable margin. The company also produced its own Nintendo Entertainment System hardware clone
Nintendo Entertainment System hardware clone
Owing to the popularity and longevity of the Nintendo Entertainment System , the system has become one of the world's most cloned video game consoles...
s, such as the Q-Boy.
Most of Thin Chen's products were released under the Sachen brand name, although the names Joy Van and Commin were also used for certain early games for the Famicom and handheld consoles respectively. Several of their NES games were released outside Taiwan under license by foreign publishers, including Hacker International
Hacker International
Hacker International was a Japanese video game company that developed and published games from 1990 to 1994 for the Nintendo Famicom and NEC PC Engine consoles...
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
(usually with added pornographic
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
content), Color Dreams
Color Dreams
Color Dreams was a company that developed video games for the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System . While most companies that developed NES games obtained an official license from Nintendo to produce game cartridges, Color Dreams was unusual in that it developed NES games without an official license...
and American Video Entertainment
American Video Entertainment
American Video Entertainment was a San Jose, California–based software development company that developed unlicensed video games for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The company developed two games on its own, Krazy Kreatures and Trolls on Treasure Island in 1990, and published 19 games...
in the USA, and Milmar in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
TC numbered series
- TC-001 Jovial Race
Similar to Rally-XRally-XRally-X is a maze driving arcade game that was released by Namco in 1980. It runs on Namco Pac-Man hardware, and was the first Namco game to feature "Special Flags", which would become a recurring object in later games .It was the first game to ever feature a "bonus round." The object is to...
. - TC-002 Hidden Chinese Chess
- TC-003 Sidewinder
- TC-004 Little Red HoodLittle Red HoodLittle Red Hood is an unlicensed Taiwanese NES video game by Thin Chen Enterprise .-Summary:Little Red Hood is loosely based on the Little Red Riding Hood tale. In Little Red Hood, Red Hood must clear levels by going down staircases to find keys, and collecting fruit to allow the exit to...
- TC-005 Silent Assault (AKA Raid)
Released in the US by Color Dreams. - TC-006 Twin Eagle
Released in the US as Double Strike: Aerial Attack Force by American Video Entertainment. - TC-007 Master Chu and the Drunkard Hu
A platform game. - TC-008 Metal Fighter (AKA Joyvan Kid)
Released in the US by Color Dreams and in Japan by Kinema Music. - TC-009 Galactic Crusader (AKA Incantation, Papillon)
Released in the US by Color Dreams. Papillon features nudity and was released in Japan by Kinema Music. - TC-010 Mahjong Trap
Contains nudity. - TC-011 Challenge of the Dragon
Similar to Double DragonDouble Dragonis a classic beat 'em up video game series initially developed by Technos Japan Corporation, who also developed the Kunio-kun series ....
. - TC-012 The World of Card Games (AKA Poker I)
4 games in 1: Omnibus Hearts, Fan Tan, Chinese Rummy, The Clock. - TC-013 Poker II
4 games in 1: Max 2, Ghost Buster, 99, Change Around. - TC-014 Strategist
- TC-015 Olympic I.Q.
- TC-016 Happy Pairs
Mahjong solitaireMahjong solitaireMahjong solitaire is a solitaire matching game that uses a set of Mahjong tiles rather than cards. It is also known as Shanghai solitaire, electronic or computerized mahjong, MahJong solitaire, solitaire Mahjong and, erroneously, as Mahjong...
. - TC-017 Auto-Upturn
A puzzle game. Contains nudity in later levels. - TC-018 Magic Cube
A puzzle game. - TC-019 Chinese Checkers
- TC-020 Poker III
5 games in 1: King of Casino, King Poker, Poker, Blackjack, The 13 Cards. - TC-021 Super Pang
An unofficial port of the arcade game Pang. - TC-022 Super Pang II
An unofficial port of the arcade game Super Pang. - TC-023 Popo Team
- TC-024 Rockball
- TC-025 Silver Eagle
- TC-026 Q Boy
A prototype screen shot in the back of certain Sachen game manuals shows the game being named 'Puff Kid' at one point, and having a menu that contains an "Options" menu. - TC-027 Street Heroes (AKA Samurai Spirits)
A fighting game with extensive use of voiceVoiceVoice may refer to:* Human voice* Voice control or voice activation* Writer's voice* Voice acting* Voice vote* Voice message-In film:* Voice , a 2005 South Korean film* The Voice , a 2010 Turkish horror film directed by Ümit Ünal...
samples. The version titled Samurai Spirits is not a port of the arcade game. - TC-028 Jurassic Boy
A Sonic-esque game that lacks abilities from the original, such as rolling along the ground and spin dash. The NES manual mentions these features, however, and the game itself contains numerous unused sprites, suggesting these features were planned. Says "Jurassic Boy 2" on title screen. - TC-029 Gaiapolis
An unofficial port of the arcade game of the same nameGaiapolisGaiapolis is an arcade game released by Konami in 1993.An unofficial Famicom port of the game was released by Thin Chen Enterprise the following year.-Plot:...
. - TC-030 Thunder Blaster Man (AKA Rocman X)
A platformer with a gliding ability and a boomerang weapon, title screen and Chinese version label says Rocman X. - TC-031 Unknown
- TC-032 Zhong Guo Da Heng (AKA Millionaire II)
SA numbered series
- SA-001 Taiwan Mahjong
- SA-002 The Penguin and Seal
- SA-003 Middle School English
- SA-004 Lucky 777
- SA-005 Colorful Dragon
A maze game. Released in the US by Color Dreams as Tagin' Dragon. - SA-006 Honey Peach
Contains nudity. - SA-007 Bingo 75
A slot-machine simulator. Contains nudity. - SA-008 The Mahjong World
- SA-009 Pyramid
A puzzle game. Released in the US by American Video Entertainment and in Japan by Hacker International. The Hacker version contains nudity and was also re-released by Sachen. - SA-010 Pyramid II
- SA-011 Pipe V
Released in Australia by Home Entertainment SuppliersHome Entertainment SuppliersHome Entertainment Suppliers Pty. Ltd. is an Australian company that distributes computer games and gaming equipment. HES offices are based in Riverwood, Sydney....
as Pipemania. - SA-012 Millionaire
A board game similar to MonopolyMonopolyA monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
. - SA-013 Dancing Blocks
- SA-014 Magical Mathematics'
- SA-015 Chess Academy
- SA-016 Hell Fighter
- SA-017 Locksmith
A mix of action and puzzle. - SA-018 Poker Mahjong
- SA-019 The Great Wall
- SA-020 Tasac
A basic vertical space-shooter. - SA-021 Final Combat
- SA-022 Huge Insect
A GalagaGalagais a fixed shooter arcade game developed and published by Namco in Japan and published by Midway in North America in 1981. It is the sequel to Galaxian, released in 1979. The gameplay of Galaga puts the player in control of a space ship which is situated on the bottom of the screen...
-style game with a wildlife-theme rather than a space-theme. Produced in 1993 but remained unreleased until the early 2000s. - SA-023 Cosmocop
2 games in 1: Cosmocop and Cyber Monster. Cartridge says "Light Gun Game", red-grey label. - SA-024 Tough Cop
2 games in 1: Tough Cop and Super Tough Cop. Cartridge says "Light Gun Game", green label. - SA-025 Taiwan Mahjong II (AKA Bonus Tiles Mahjong)
- SA-026 Mahjong Academy (AKA Mahjong School)
- SA-027 Mahjong Companion (AKA Mahjong Partner)
Multi-game cartridges
- Super Cartridge Version 1: 4-in-1
Contains Bingo 75, Lucky 777, Honey Peach, Chess Academy. - Super Cartridge Version 2: 10-in-1
Contains Hidden Chinese Chess, Omnibus Hearts, Fan Tan, Chinese Rummy, Max 2, Ghost Buster, 99, Change Around, Fortune Telling (Chinese), Fortune Telling (English).
All games appear on The World of Card Games or Poker II except the two versions of Fortune Telling. - Super Cartridge Version 3: 8-in-1
Contains Jovial Race, Little Red Hood, Twin Eagle, Silent Assault, Super Pang, Mine Sweeper, Mine Sweeper II, Mine Sweeper III.
The three versions of Mine Sweeper were only released on this cartridge. - Super Cartridge Version 4: 6-in-1
Contains Master Chu, Metal Fighter, Galactic Crusader, Auto-Upturn, Magic Cube, Super Pang II. - Super Cartridge Version 5: 7-in-1
Contains Penguin and Seal, Middle School English, Pyramid, Magical Mathematics, Strategist (which itself contains two games, Poker Racing and The Battle of Poker), Olympic I.Q., Chinese Checkers. - Super Cartridge Version 6: 6-in-1
Contains Colorful Dragon, Pyramid II, Pipe V, Millionaire, Dancing Blocks, Locksmith. - Super Cartridge Version 7: 4-in-1
Contains Sidewinder, Happy Pairs, Tasac, Silver Eagle. - Super Cartridge Version 8: 4-in-1
Contains Final Combat, Worm Visitor, Frog Adventure, Magical Tower.
All games bar Final Combat were ported from the Game Boy exclusively for this cartridge. - Super Cartridge Version 9: 3-in-1
Contains Challenge of the Dragon, Rockball, Popo Team.
Others
- Mei Shao Nu Meng Gong Chang
An unofficial Chinese-language port of Princess MakerPrincess Makeris a series of Japanese life simulation bishōjo games by the computer game and anime production company Gainax. The first Princess Maker, while popular enough to be translated into Chinese, was never released in the United States. Princess Maker 2 was translated by for a North American release,...
.
Single game cartridges
- 1B-001 Beast Fighter
- 1B-002 Jurassic Boy 2
- 1B-003 Thunder Blast Man (AKA Rocman X)
Although they are essentially the same game, it is worth noting that the in-game characters from Thunder Blast Man and Rocman X are completely different, the first being the original Sachen creation from the NES version, and the second being a clone of Megaman. - 1B-004 Street Hero
Multi-game cartridges
All games released on these cartridges were previously available for the Mega Duck.- 4B-001 4-in-1 Version 1
Contains Street Rider, Vex Block, Trap & Turn, Duck Adventures. - 4B-002 4-in-1 Version 2
Contains Virus Attack, Electron World, Dice, Trouble Zone. - 4B-003 4-in-1 Version 3
Contains Taiwan's Mahjong, Japan's Mahjong, Hong Kong's Mahjong, Store Tris. - 4B-004 4-in-1 Version 4
Contains Pile Wonder, Snake Roy, Suleiman's Treasure, Puppet Knight. - 4B-005 4-in-1 Version 5
Contains Arctic Zone, Magic Tower, Railway, Worm Visitor. - 4B-006 4-in-1 Version 6
Contains Bomb Disposer, A-Force, Black Forest Tale, 2nd Space. - 4B-007 4-in-1 Version 7
Contains Ant Soldier, Dan Laser, Sky Ace, Zoo Block. - 4B-008 4-in-1 Version 8
Contains Captain Knick-Knack, Flea War, Explosive Brick, Magic Maze. - 4B-009 4-in-1 Version 9
Contains Zipball, Small Gorilla, Crazy Burger, Deep. - 8B-001 Color 8-in-1
Contains Zip Ball, Final Mission Deep, Crazy Rider, Small Gorilla, Street Rider, Vex Block, Trap & Turn, Duck Adventures. - 8B-002 Color 8-in-1
Contains Virus Attack, Electron World, Trouble Zone, Dice Square, Pile Wonder, Snake Roy, Puppet Knight, Suleiman's Treasure. - 8B-003 Color 8-in-1
Contains Arctic Zone, Magical Tower, Railway, Worm Visitor, Bomb Disposer, 2nd Space, Black Forest Tale, Armor Force. - 31-in-1 Mighty Mix
See also
- MulticartMulticartIn video game parlance, a multicart is a cartridge that contains more than one game. Typically, the separate games are available individually for purchase or were previously available individually . For this reason, collections, anthologies, and compilations are considered multicarts...
- CaltronCaltronCaltron 6 in 1 is a multicart published in for the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America, and the only game known to be released by Caltron, a Taiwan-based video game company. In Australia, it was published under the title Real Players Pack by Home Entertainment Suppliers...
- NTDECNTDECNTDEC was a Taiwanese manufacturer of video game cartridges and accessories for the NES and Famicom. They also manufactured Famicom to NES converters to play Famicom games on the NES.-Piracy:...
- A picture of two Sachen multicart games.