An empire built to last a thousand years, remembered by a part that lasts twenty.
The game hands you six thousand years. You found a city in 4000 BC, name it, and then spend a winter of evenings deciding where the roads go, which neighbour to trust, when to stop building temples and start building walls. Three hundred turns later there is a nation on the board that exists nowhere else, that no one else has ever built, and that only you have seen. Then you switch the console off. Somewhere under the plastic, a coin cell the size of a shirt button takes over. It is the only thing in the world that now remembers the city you named. It has no idea what it is holding. It just holds it, in the dark, drawing a current so small it is almost nothing — through the rest of the nineties, through the console going into a cupboard, through the cupboard being someone else's, through thirty years of that. An empire designed to last a thousand years. A battery rated for twenty.
About this game
Sid Meier's Civilization is a Super Famicom game released in 1994, developed by MicroProse, published by Asmik. It is a turn-based strategy video game.
The Story Behind
Sid Meier's Civilization was released for PC by MicroProse in 1991, a turn-based strategy game spanning the rise and fall of empires across thousands of years. It reached Japan as a Super Famicom port on October 7, 1994, published locally by Asmik under the title Civilization: Seven Great Civilizations of the World. Like nearly all Super Famicom cartridges of its generation, the game stores progress on battery-backed SRAM rather than a password system, using a coin-cell battery that keeps memory alive when the console is off. Japanese Super Famicom cartridges are also physically region-locked: their rounded shells and an internal lockout chip mean they cannot be inserted directly into a North American SNES without an adapter.
Tricks & Tales
This is not Civilization V (2010, Firaxis) — it is the Super Famicom port of the original 1991 Sid Meier's Civilization, released in Japan in 1994 as Civilization: Seven Great Civilizations of the World. The game saves via battery-backed SRAM, not a password system: a small coin cell inside the cartridge keeps the memory alive, and there is no built-in way to continue a save once that battery dies. Batteries of this type generally last fifteen to twenty-five years, which means many original 1994 cartridges played today have already lost their saved games unless the cell has been replaced. Japanese Super Famicom cartridges are physically region-locked, with a rounded shell and an internal lockout chip that prevent them from being inserted directly into a North American SNES.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
Super Famicom and SNES region differences operate on two separate levels. First, there is a physical incompatibility: a Japanese Super Famicom cartridge and a North American SNES cartridge have different shell shapes. NTSC-J (Super Famicom) carts are narrower and will not seat in a North American SNES slot without the slot's internal tabs removed or bypassed; conversely, the wider NTSC-U carts cannot even be inserted into a Super Famicom. Second, even where cartridges physically fit — PAL carts share a shell shape closer to Super Famicom and will insert — a lockout chip on the motherboard (F411 for NTSC, F413 for PAL) will prevent the game from booting on a mismatched console. Running a Super Famicom cartridge on a Super Famicom purchased in Japan is of course straightforward; playing it on a foreign console requires either a mod or an adapter that addresses both the physical and the chip-level lock.
Maintenance Tips
The 72-pin cartridge connector is the most common maintenance point. Clean the gold-plated pins on cartridges with a cotton swab and 90%+ isopropyl alcohol; never use abrasive erasers on cartridge contacts. The connector slot on the console itself can be cleaned by inserting and removing a cartridge several times, or with a dedicated pin cleaner. For video output, S-Video provides significantly cleaner image quality than composite and uses the same multi-out port -- a passive adapter cable is all that is required. On early SHVC board revisions, a capacitor near the power LED can leak; inspect the board if the console shows instability. Use the original AC adapter or a verified equivalent: the SFC runs on 10V DC and is not compatible with Famicom or NES power supplies.
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 Sid Meier's Civilization copies regularly.
Is this the same as Civilization V or another modern Civilization game?
No. This is the Super Famicom port of the very first Sid Meier's Civilization, originally released for PC in 1991 and brought to Japan in October 1994 as Civilization: Seven Great Civilizations of the World, published by Asmik. It has no connection to Civilization V (2010) or any later entry beyond the name and the core idea. Expect 16-bit era graphics and mechanics, not a modern 4X game.
Will an old cartridge still hold save data?
Maybe not. This game stores saves on battery-backed SRAM — a coin cell inside the cartridge, with no password backup. Batteries like this typically last fifteen to twenty-five years, and this cartridge is now over three decades old. Unless the battery has already been replaced, there is a real chance the save memory is dead and the cartridge will start blank. It can be replaced, though removing the old cell clears whatever was saved.
Can I play a Japanese cartridge on a North American Super Nintendo?
Not directly. Japanese Super Famicom cartridges use a rounded shell and a different internal lockout chip than North American SNES cartridges, so they will not physically fit a North American console. A passive region adapter, inexpensive and widely available, solves this.
Before You Buy
Things worth knowing before you buy Sid Meier's Civilization
A short checklist for buying a used Super 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 Super Famicom cartridge; its shell is shaped differently from the North American SNES and will not fit without modification.
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
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