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Vanceastro

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Hi all, I’m new to MVS collecting. One of my carts is a Puzzle Bobble, and I’m curious about its possible history. I’ve checked the boards against MVS Scans, and they are original. I was wondering about the shell and label, however. The label looks correct and authentic, but there looks to be evidence of an older label underneath it. The shell also has two circle indentations like the ones you might see on League Bowling. I have read that many (most?) Puzzle Bobbles were official conversions from Power Spikes II boards. But were old shells also repurposed, and the old labels replaced?

Thanks for any info. I’m just interested in gaining more knowledge about MVS history.
 

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Given that most authentic puzzle bobbles used to be a Power Spikes II cart, I wouldn't be surprised if they reused the shell. I have also seen English labels covering up an original Japanese label and vice versa.
 
I asked myself the same question when I bought my cabinet. It included a copy of Metal Slug. The label is english, and you can see that there is an other label below it. You can even read "SNK" on it. On the other side it has a Asian warning text on it. I don't think it's a bootleg but I never looked inside. Because I don't like to destroy the seal, I like it :)

It's interesting that you noticed something similar. Maybe there are other people that have seen something like this too.
 

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It's possible that was done to Fatal Fury 3. The first Real Bout contains a significant number of Fatal Fury 3 mask roms.
 
Companies are always looking for ways to cut costs, and one of the most popular ways is reworking/reusing existing stock.
However as @XianXi said, per Tony's insider information Puzzle Bobble was a case of extreme demanding outpacing SNKs ability to produce PCBs.
 
We were having a discussion about factory conversions in the CPS2 forum and someone had a game with four stickers on top of each other.
 
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