Takashi Tezuka's first project at Nintendo — six months in, turning Miyamoto's ideas into pixels.
Takashi Tezuka joined Nintendo full-time in April 1984. Six months later, Devil World shipped. It was his first project: Miyamoto would supply the ideas, and Tezuka would design the images. During development, Tezuka suggested holes the player's character would fall into — a mechanic he thought would add tension. They built a version to test it. When they tried it out, he was told it was 'a bit flat.' The idea didn't make it in. That's how you learn — not by getting it right the first time, but by testing, hearing 'no,' and moving forward anyway. Tezuka went on to co-design Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and more. But it started here, with pixels and a version that didn't quite work.
— inspired by Takashi Tezuka
About this game
Released in Japan on October 5, 1984, Devil World was Shigeru Miyamoto's first console-exclusive game after a legacy of arcade development. Designed by Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, the game featured maze-based action gameplay reminiscent of Pac-Man, but with religious imagery — demons, crosses, Bibles, and Satan himself — that prevented its release in North America until 2023. For Tezuka, who had joined Nintendo full-time just six months before the game shipped, Devil World was his first project at the company.
The Story Behind
Devil World was released for the Famicom in Japan in October 1984 and for the Nintendo Entertainment System in Europe in July 1987. However, Nintendo of America's policies against religious icons prevented the game's North American release. The game featured large golden crosses as part of each maze layout, along with demons and Satan as characters. For nearly 39 years, Devil World remained Miyamoto's only game not localized to North America — until it finally received an official North American release on October 31, 2023, as part of the Nintendo Switch Online service.
Tricks & Tales
Devil World was composer Koji Kondo's first musical score for a video game. Takashi Tezuka, who designed the game's images based on Miyamoto's instructions, did not know of Pac-Man at the time — despite Devil World's resemblance to it. During development, Tezuka suggested adding holes the player's character would fall into, but when they tested the idea, he was told it was 'a bit flat' and the mechanic was not included. Tezuka went on to co-design Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
Famicom and NES are the same hardware family but use physically incompatible cartridge formats — Famicom carts have a 60-pin connector and a narrower shell, while NES carts use a 72-pin connector with a wider housing. You cannot insert a Famicom cartridge into a North American NES slot without an adapter, and vice versa. The Famicom itself has no lockout chip, so any Famicom cartridge from Japan will run on a Famicom console regardless of origin. If you are buying a Japanese Famicom cart to play on a NES, you will need a 60-to-72-pin physical adapter; if you own a Famicom, Japanese-market software is your native format and no workarounds are needed.
Maintenance Tips
The gold-plated edge connectors on Famicom and NES cartridges pick up skin oils and oxidation over decades — a gentle wipe with a cotton swab dampened in 90% or higher isopropyl alcohol, stroking along the length of the pins rather than across them, is the accepted standard. Let the alcohol fully evaporate before reinserting. The old habit of blowing into a cartridge is folklore: the moisture in breath causes slow corrosion of the contacts over time, and any improvement you felt came from the act of re-seating the cart, not from the breath itself. Nintendo eventually updated its own troubleshooting guidance to say explicitly: do not blow into your Game Paks.
Going deeper
Explore the machine this game ran on, and what to check before you buy or care for one:
What to Watch Out For
Before buying, these are the points worth knowing — from someone who handles original Japanese Devil World copies regularly.
How do I know if a Famicom or NES cartridge is authentic and not a reproduction?
Authentic Nintendo cartridges have security screws — a proprietary gamebit pattern, not standard Phillips heads. The PCB inside should have a copyright year and 'Nintendo' etched directly onto the board. The back label of genuine carts has imprinted stamped characters (such as 11A or 03); reproductions typically have no imprint at all. If screws look jagged or the board inside is undersized with no Nintendo branding, treat it as a repro. When in doubt, ask the seller for interior photos.
My Famicom cartridge won't start — what should I try first?
Clean the edge connector with a cotton swab and 90%+ isopropyl alcohol (IPA). Do not blow into the slot. If cleaning does not help, re-seat the cartridge firmly and try again. Persistent read failures on a NES may also be caused by worn-out 72-pin connector pins on the console side, which is a separate repair.
Can I play Famicom games on a NES, or NES games on a Famicom?
Not without an adapter. The cartridge shapes and pin counts differ (60-pin for Famicom, 72-pin for NES). A 60-to-72-pin physical adapter allows Famicom carts to run on a NES. In the other direction, NES-format carts are too wide for the Famicom slot and cannot be inserted at all.
Before You Buy
Things worth knowing before you buy Devil World
A short checklist for buying a used Famicom cartridge wisely — useful with any seller, anywhere.
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Choose a seller who tests it before shipping
A copy that has actually been powered on and checked is a known quantity. An untested one is a gamble you only settle after it arrives.
Look for a seller who states it was function-tested and says what they confirmed. A serious seller can tell you exactly what was checked.
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Make sure it fits your console
This is a Japanese Famicom cartridge with a 60-pin connector; a North American NES uses a 72-pin slot, so it will not fit directly.
Play it on a matching Japanese console or a region-free system, and confirm the listing states the region.
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If this title saves your progress, check the battery
Cartridges that save use a small coin-cell battery that fades over decades — a dead one wipes your save without warning.
Ask the seller whether the save function was tested. Replacing the battery is possible, but doing so erases any existing save.
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Check that the contacts are clean
Dirty edge contacts are the most common cause of startup and sound trouble in cartridges of this age.
Choose a seller who cleans the contacts before shipping. A note that it was tested and cleaned means the basics were handled.
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Confirm it is genuine, not a reproduction
Sought-after titles are targets for reproduction boards with replacement labels.
Ask for a photo of the circuit board and look for factory markings. Favour a shop with a licensed second-hand dealer permit (古物商) — by law its stock has a traceable origin, your simplest guard against fakes.
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Read the seller's reviews and return policy
A 100% positive record across thousands of sales is close to a guarantee — packing, communication and problem-solving all work for everyone. A return policy protects you if something is off.
Read the feedback and confirm a clear return window before you buy.
The last step before buying anywhere is knowing what it's worth.
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Rooms this game lives in
Wander deeper — explore the themed rooms where Devil World sits alongside its kin.
Memories from around the world
This is a young museum, and this page is still waiting for its first voices. The memories people send reach Taisei personally, and the ones that move him find a home here over time — always with the writer's blessing. Yours could be the very first for this game.
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