Super Nintendo

The Japanese Super Famicom and the PAL Super Nintendo are physically different machines — rounded colourful shell for Japan, squarer grey design for Europe — but share the same hardware marvel: the SPC700 audio chip and a graphics bus that enabled Mode 7 effects used to jaw-dropping effect in F-Zero and Pilotwings. The PAL version ran at 50Hz and 50fps versus NTSC's 60: many developers never optimised the conversion, leaving games slower with black borders. Cartridges with enhancement chips — SuperFX for Star Fox and Doom, SA-1 for Super Mario RPG, DSP-1 for Pilotwings — are the most sought-after and the most prone to board connection issues over time. Among PAL collectors, boxed copies with the Italian-language manual command a noticeable premium over English-language equivalents.