Caltron 6 in 1

Lore & Background

The Caltron 6 in 1 multicart was released in 1992 by Caltron Industries, Inc., a Taiwan-based company that was either closely related to or a pseudonym for NTDEC. The cartridge includes six games: Cosmos Cop, Adam & Eve, Magic Carpet 1001, Balloon Monster, Porter, and Bookyman. All six games, including Porter, had been released as single-game cartridges in Spain by Gluk Video (Porter under the title 'Porter'). The games are mostly clones of popular arcade titles, such as Balloon Monster being a clone of Pang, and Adam & Eve resembling Balloon Fight. The compilation received poor reviews, with one reviewer calling the games 'uniformly awful' but noting they were of higher quality than Active Enterprises' Action 52.

Reader's Guide

The Caltron 6 in 1 is significant as a rare unlicensed NES multicart that exemplifies the low-budget, clone-driven market of early 1990s third-party NES software. Its legacy is tied to its scarcity: after Caltron went out of business, Myriad Games bought the remaining inventory, added a generic label, and sold them in numbered boxes. Fewer than 100 copies are believed to exist, with serial numbers ranging from 000003 to 000888. The games themselves are notable for their derivative nature—most are direct clones of arcade hits—and for the unusual fact that the Myriad version retains the original Caltron title screen. Collectors prize complete sets with matching serial numbers, and at least two sealed copies are known. The multicart is often cited in discussions of unlicensed NES rarities and the pitfalls of rushed compilation releases.

Did You Know?

• The Myriad version of the cartridge has a label slightly too small to cover the original Caltron label, leaving the edges visible.
• Magic Carpet 1001 was later released on pirate cartridges as Aladdin III and as Super Harry Potter with graphical and sound modifications.
• Porter requires holding the A button to move boxes; pressing B restarts the level without warning.

Development & Regional Distribution

Caltron 6 in 1 was developed and published in 1992 for the North American NES market by Caltron Industries, Inc., a Taiwan-based company that was either closely tied to or simply a pseudonym for NTDEC. The six games on the cart had all previously appeared as standalone Famicom-format releases by NTDEC, often under their U.S. brand Mega Soft. The compilation saw distribution across multiple international markets under different names and publishers: in Australia, HES released it as Real Player's Pak; in Brazil, Dynacom marketed it as Multi Ação 6-in-1; and in Spain, Gluk Video put out five of the six titles (all except Porter) as individual single-game cartridges. This patchwork of regional branding and the company's ambiguous corporate identity reflect the broader landscape of unlicensed NES production during the early 1990s, where Taiwan-based manufacturers frequently operated through multiple corporate shells and regional partners to reach Western audiences.

The Six Games

The cartridge bundles six titles spanning several genres, most of which are recognizable clones of popular arcade or console games from the era. Cosmos Cop attempts a pseudo-3D into-the-screen shooter in the style of Sega's Space Harrier, though the NES's limited first-person scaling capabilities cause significant image breakup. Magic Carpet 1001 is a horizontal scrolling shooter and the only original title on the cart; it later resurfaced on pirate cartridges as Aladdin III and Super Harry Potter, and drew criticism for its punishing difficulty. Balloon Monster is a Pang clone. Adam & Eve is a single-screen platformer in the Balloon Fight mold where the player bursts balloons attached to snakes' heads, though reviewers noted its tenuous connection to the biblical story. Porter is a Sokoban-style puzzle game criticized for awkward controls—boxes only move while holding A, and pressing B restarts the level without warning. Bookyman is a Brush Roller hack, itself a clone of Alpha Denshi's Crush Roller, originally programmed by Hwang Shinwei in 1990.

Critical Reception

Reviews of Caltron 6 in 1 have been overwhelmingly negative. One reviewer described all six games as "uniformly awful" and of "barely first-generation NES quality." However, the same assessment acknowledged that the titles are more playable and of "much higher quality" than other notorious unlicensed compilations, specifically pointing to Active Enterprises' infamous Action 52 as a lower benchmark. Individual games attracted their own specific criticisms: Magic Carpet 1001 was faulted for a steep difficulty curve despite being the sole original entry; Adam & Eve was noted for having very little meaningful connection to the biblical narrative it borrows; Porter's control scheme was singled out for being unintuitive and punishing, with the B-button level-restart mechanic offering no warning; and Bookyman, like its Brush Roller source material, was considered inferior to the original arcade Crush Roller. The overall consensus paints a picture of a product that, while marginally better than the worst of its unlicensed peers, still falls well short of acceptable quality standards.

The Myriad Reissue & Collectibility

As Caltron Industries, Inc. neared the end of its operations, Myriad Games, Inc., a company based in Kingwood, Texas, purchased the entire remaining inventory of tan-colored cartridges. Myriad's sole modification was replacing the front label with their own generic, art-free sticker—so small, in fact, that the edges of the original Caltron label remain visible beneath it. No programming changes were made; the title screen still reads "Caltron," and all six games are identical to the original release. Each Myriad cart was individually numbered and packaged in a custom box with a folded manual. Shortly after this reissue, Myriad itself went out of business for unknown reasons. The result is that the Myriad version has become one of the rarest unlicensed NES games in existence. Collectors estimate fewer than 100 copies survive, with even fewer in complete condition. The most prized examples feature matching serial numbers across box, manual, and cartridge. The lowest known serial number is 000003 and the highest is 000888, and at least two sealed copies are documented.