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Explorer 1 --- Honyü
Amazingly enough, I found the Explorer I by Honyü in my local Funcoland. For $2.95 I was certain this was a good deal. I have never before and never since seen this joystick, except one other time, on Ebay.
Overall, the Explorer I joystick is a major NES Advantage rip off. The Explorer I has EVERY function the NES Advantage has, even the slow-mo. The cord plugs into both controller ports too.
I am not certain if the Explorer I is pirated, it is unlicensed at least. After examining the joystick some more, I notice two mysterious buttons, one marked with a # and another with *. What do these buttons do? I have no clue! Things get even stranger from here.
The lower left corner of the joystick case actually comes off. Under it is a spot where 4 A batteries could fit. Why is this so? I really don't know, it's quite strange though. Was Explorer ][ (is there such a controller?) supposed to be cordless and battery operated? So many things left unanswered. I'll try to find more on Honyü and its controllers later.
-----Added 8-10-2002-----
A website reader, Cooljerk, sent me a feasible explanation as to why the Honyü Explorer I has a battery port yet it has a cord. When Cooljerk was at his friend's house, his friend had several two pirated game controllers which were identical to each other except one had used a cord, the other ran off of batteries. When he inquired his friend as to where the controllers were gotten, his friend promptly stated that they came from a guy he knew that came over from Hong Kong and that he made the pirated the controllers himself.
Piraters are notorius for making controllers as fast as possible while keeping the controllers different. It is a sales technique. Cooljerk thought that that may be the case with the Explorer I...it makes a lot of sense. Cooljerk also said that maybe the # button on the Honyü Explorer corresponds with the # button on the Power Glove, though he isn't certain. Thanks Cooljerk for the interesting theories.
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