VS. UniSystem
Nintendo's arcade answer to the NES era, running VS. Super Mario Bros. — which is not the game you think it is.
In 1984 Nintendo put NES-grade hardware into arcade cabinets a full year before the NES itself reached American living rooms. The VS. System let operators swap games by changing a board, and it let Nintendo test what American players would pay a quarter for before betting a console launch on it.
This is the dedicated single-screen UniSystem. A VS. Interchanger switcher means it runs two titles without opening the cabinet — VS. Super Mario Bros. and VS. Duck Hunt — with more boards in storage to rotate in. Super Mario Bros. is what is usually up. And that game deserves a warning: it is not the Super Mario Bros. you finished as a child. It is a deliberately harder arcade edition built to eat quarters, with levels lifted from what became The Lost Levels, narrower platforms, and fewer places to rest.
The house rules
Every slot on the high score board is initialed DK, and every run on it went to 8-4. That is not a boast about the machine so much as an admission about the person who owns it.
There is a longer piece on exactly how and why the arcade version is harder — the level swaps, the enemy changes, and what Nintendo learned from it. Read that here →
Work log
What has been done to it, and one thing worth knowing before anyone opens it up.
- VS. Interchanger fitted — A switcher by Tony Swann, so the cabinet runs VS. Super Mario Bros. and VS. Duck Hunt without swapping boards.
- Spare boards held — Further VS. titles in storage, ready to rotate in.
- Control panel overlay replaced — New CPO by ThisOldGame.
- Service note: inverted voltage monitor — Worth knowing before anyone puts a meter on it.
- Cabinet
- Nintendo — Dedicated VS. UniSystem, single screen.
- Game
- VS. Super Mario Bros. — 1986. The harder arcade edition.
- Status
- Free play — High score board initialed DK, top to bottom.
Quick answers
What is the Nintendo VS. UniSystem?
Nintendo's 1984 arcade cabinet built on NES-grade hardware, a year before the NES reached American living rooms. Operators swapped games by changing a board. This is the dedicated single-screen version.
Is VS. Super Mario Bros. different from the NES game?
Yes. It is a deliberately harder arcade edition built to eat quarters: levels lifted from what became The Lost Levels, narrower platforms, fewer places to rest. The full piece on how and why →
Can a VS. cabinet run more than one game?
With a VS. Interchanger switcher, yes. This one runs VS. Super Mario Bros. and VS. Duck Hunt without opening the cabinet, with more boards in storage to rotate in.
What's the difference between the UniSystem and the DualSystem?
The UniSystem is the single-screen upright. The DualSystem is the two-screen, two-player cabinet — the sit-down cocktail with the red canopy is one. The Red Tent →
More photos of the VS. UniSystem in the gallery →
Sources & further reading: Museum of the Game — VS. Super Mario Bros. · Super Mario Wiki
The UniSystem sits in the cabinet row with Donkey Kong, the Mario Bros. widebody and Big Blue. See the whole lineup →