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Ive been reading various forums about repros and fakes and bought a Smurfs 2 game for the master system and wondered if there is any way of telling if its a fake or genuine copy.

The usual suspects.

Check the cover of the box. What is the quality of the print like? Is the text aligned straight and clear? Is anything that should be there cropped?

Is the manual cleanly printed. Are the staples in the manual clean and in the middle?

The label or the cartridge top and back. Is it stuck on nicely?

The poster included. Is it folded cleanly? Is the quality print of the poster professional?

Take the cartridge apart and check the PCB and ROM. Is the board official along with the rom?

All of this is pretty much standard stuff when checking for fakes.

I believe a YouTuber TootyUK uploaded a good video showing his fake copy which he picked up for a bargain.

k4l wrote

The usual suspects.

Check the cover of the box. What is the quality of the print like? Is the text aligned straight and clear? Is anything that should be there cropped?

Is the manual cleanly printed. Are the staples in the manual clean and in the middle?

The label or the cartridge top and back. Is it stuck on nicely?

The poster included. Is it folded cleanly? Is the quality print of the poster professional?

Take the cartridge apart and check the PCB and ROM. Is the board official along with the rom?

All of this is pretty much standard stuff when checking for fakes.

I believe a YouTuber TootyUK uploaded a good video showing his fake copy which he picked up for a bargain.

Well I have a pic of the PCB alough I cant post a pic due to being a new member but it looks square with one black chip on it.

This is what the seller said

Quote

It is game itself, box, manual and poster. It works nice. The game is genuine. Check photos, you will get, what you see. If you want to see more photos, just write.

This second Smurfs game on SMS was rediscovered by collectors in 2000 in the Czech Republic. Since then these games appear sometimes in Czech Rep. I found it here by luck.

New users can attach images, but not post links. Please attach the image.

I can see some writing on the black chip and the PCB looks very different to what was in Tooty's video.

122i7it.jpg (266.99 KB)

Looks good to me, one chip is a good sign. A close up of the other side of the board to see the soldering would also help.

Maxim wrote

Looks good to me, one chip is a good sign. A close up of the other side of the board to see the soldering would also help.

Sure. Ive asked the seller and came back with this.

$_12.JPG (22.9 KB)

$_13.JPG (72.07 KB)

It's hard to see, but it looks OK.

Maxim wrote

It's hard to see, but it looks OK.

Are there any ways of telling a genuine board from a fake?

Original games usually have a single chip with an MPR number marked. These are hard to fake, but not impossible. Games with two chips are often used to make fakes, because you can replace one of the chips with a new one with the ROM data; but that is often visible as the manual soldering looks different to the automatic soldering on mass produced games.

It's look good to me .

Author	Message
steven1977 Joined: 18 May 2017 Posts: 12	Just bought Smurfs 2. Is it Genuine? Posted: Thu May 18, 2017 7:29 pm
steven1977 Joined: 18 May 2017 Posts: 12	Ive been reading various forums about repros and fakes and bought a Smurfs 2 game for the master system and wondered if there is any way of telling if its a fake or genuine copy.

k4l Joined: 14 Mar 2016 Posts: 58 Location: Australia	Posted: Thu May 18, 2017 10:11 pm
k4l Joined: 14 Mar 2016 Posts: 58 Location: Australia	The usual suspects. Check the cover of the box. What is the quality of the print like? Is the text aligned straight and clear? Is anything that should be there cropped? Is the manual cleanly printed. Are the staples in the manual clean and in the middle? The label or the cartridge top and back. Is it stuck on nicely? The poster included. Is it folded cleanly? Is the quality print of the poster professional? Take the cartridge apart and check the PCB and ROM. Is the board official along with the rom? All of this is pretty much standard stuff when checking for fakes. I believe a YouTuber TootyUK uploaded a good video showing his fake copy which he picked up for a bargain.

steven1977 Joined: 18 May 2017 Posts: 12	Posted: Fri May 19, 2017 7:15 am
steven1977 Joined: 18 May 2017 Posts: 12	k4l wrote The usual suspects. Check the cover of the box. What is the quality of the print like? Is the text aligned straight and clear? Is anything that should be there cropped? Is the manual cleanly printed. Are the staples in the manual clean and in the middle? The label or the cartridge top and back. Is it stuck on nicely? The poster included. Is it folded cleanly? Is the quality print of the poster professional? Take the cartridge apart and check the PCB and ROM. Is the board official along with the rom? All of this is pretty much standard stuff when checking for fakes. I believe a YouTuber TootyUK uploaded a good video showing his fake copy which he picked up for a bargain. Well I have a pic of the PCB alough I cant post a pic due to being a new member but it looks square with one black chip on it. This is what the seller said Quote It is game itself, box, manual and poster. It works nice. The game is genuine. Check photos, you will get, what you see. If you want to see more photos, just write. This second Smurfs game on SMS was rediscovered by collectors in 2000 in the Czech Republic. Since then these games appear sometimes in Czech Rep. I found it here by luck.

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14745 Location: London	Posted: Fri May 19, 2017 1:18 pm
	New users can attach images, but not post links. Please attach the image.

steven1977 Joined: 18 May 2017 Posts: 12	Posted: Fri May 19, 2017 9:51 pm
steven1977 Joined: 18 May 2017 Posts: 12	I can see some writing on the black chip and the PCB looks very different to what was in Tooty's video. 122i7it.jpg (266.99 KB)

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14745 Location: London	Posted: Fri May 19, 2017 10:06 pm
	Looks good to me, one chip is a good sign. A close up of the other side of the board to see the soldering would also help.

steven1977 Joined: 18 May 2017 Posts: 12	Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 7:21 am
steven1977 Joined: 18 May 2017 Posts: 12	Maxim wrote Looks good to me, one chip is a good sign. A close up of the other side of the board to see the soldering would also help. Sure. Ive asked the seller and came back with this. $_12.JPG (22.9 KB) $_13.JPG (72.07 KB)

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14745 Location: London	Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 8:21 am
	It's hard to see, but it looks OK.

steven1977 Joined: 18 May 2017 Posts: 12	Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 9:06 am
steven1977 Joined: 18 May 2017 Posts: 12	Maxim wrote It's hard to see, but it looks OK. Are there any ways of telling a genuine board from a fake?

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14745 Location: London	Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 9:12 am
	Original games usually have a single chip with an MPR number marked. These are hard to fake, but not impossible. Games with two chips are often used to make fakes, because you can replace one of the chips with a new one with the ROM data; but that is often visible as the manual soldering looks different to the automatic soldering on mass produced games.

Iololike Joined: 20 Nov 2016 Posts: 1	Posted: Mon Jun 05, 2017 9:14 am
Iololike Joined: 20 Nov 2016 Posts: 1	It's look good to me .

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