Forums

The other day, I had an MIB Japanese Master system arrive and I grabbed a Raphnet SMS->Mk3 Converter from ebay.

Anxious to test out the FM Chip inside, I threw in a US copy of Wonder Boy III, but it won't boot. I get a black screen and nothing else. I have several other master systems, both US NTSC and PAL, and the game boots fine on those, and other US NTSC games boot fine on the JPN SMS with the adapter. At first I thought perhaps it was something wrong with the FM chip, but other games using the FM chip work fine, as does the Space Harrier bios.

Looking around on SMS Power, I see some tototek SMS->Mk3 converters have the same problem. I tried asking Bock on twitter if he knew about it, and he suggested making a topic. Anybody know why in particular Wonder Boy III has trouble booting, and is there any way to get around this? I have a master everdrive, so perhaps a patch could be developed or something?

If it's the same with an Everdrive then that rules out any adaptor issues. Then it's tricky to diagnose as I don't think any emulators have this problem...

This has been mentioned in the past and it would indeed be nice to experiment and try looking for a patch.
My first intuition would be to try disabling the FM code and see if it's related to it (maybe it is faulty somehow and can then be fixed).

This thread I made years ago describes a fix for that problem: http://www.smspower.org/forums/14101-WonderBoyIIIDoesNotWorkWithToToTEKConverter#76068

Basically what is most likely happening is that the reset line on the export side is connected to 5V and is preventing WB III from booting. If you cut the trace on the converter, it will get Wonder Boy III working again but the Master Everdrive doesn't work. You can fix this by wiring up a switch or, as outlined in the thread, wire up an MCP130 reset generator to create a proper reset signal for the export SMS end and everything should work.

Cooljerk: Have you actually tried booting the ROM from an Everdrive instead of an original cartridge? Your initial post is ambiguous about that... hence Maxim's answer. And ApolloBoy's answer as I understand it suggests that the problem wouldn't happen when running Wonder Boy III from an Everdrive.

(We haven't brushed off the possibility that there might be different board variants used by Wonder Boy III and some may be affected, some not.)

Author	Message
Cooljerk Joined: 16 Aug 2018 Posts: 5	JPN Master System, raphnet SMS->MK3 Converter, Wonderboy III not booting Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2018 6:44 am
Cooljerk Joined: 16 Aug 2018 Posts: 5	The other day, I had an MIB Japanese Master system arrive and I grabbed a Raphnet SMS->Mk3 Converter from ebay. Anxious to test out the FM Chip inside, I threw in a US copy of Wonder Boy III, but it won't boot. I get a black screen and nothing else. I have several other master systems, both US NTSC and PAL, and the game boots fine on those, and other US NTSC games boot fine on the JPN SMS with the adapter. At first I thought perhaps it was something wrong with the FM chip, but other games using the FM chip work fine, as does the Space Harrier bios. Looking around on SMS Power, I see some tototek SMS->Mk3 converters have the same problem. I tried asking Bock on twitter if he knew about it, and he suggested making a topic. Anybody know why in particular Wonder Boy III has trouble booting, and is there any way to get around this? I have a master everdrive, so perhaps a patch could be developed or something?

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14745 Location: London	Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2018 8:18 am
	If it's the same with an Everdrive then that rules out any adaptor issues. Then it's tricky to diagnose as I don't think any emulators have this problem...

Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 8652 Location: Paris, France	Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2018 5:06 pm Last edited by Bock on Mon Aug 27, 2018 7:57 am; edited 1 time in total
	This has been mentioned in the past and it would indeed be nice to experiment and try looking for a patch. My first intuition would be to try disabling the FM code and see if it's related to it (maybe it is faulty somehow and can then be fixed).

ApolloBoy Joined: 30 Jan 2007 Posts: 317 Location: San Jose, CA	Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2018 6:49 am
	This thread I made years ago describes a fix for that problem: http://www.smspower.org/forums/14101-WonderBoyIIIDoesNotWorkWithToToTEKConverter#76068 Basically what is most likely happening is that the reset line on the export side is connected to 5V and is preventing WB III from booting. If you cut the trace on the converter, it will get Wonder Boy III working again but the Master Everdrive doesn't work. You can fix this by wiring up a switch or, as outlined in the thread, wire up an MCP130 reset generator to create a proper reset signal for the export SMS end and everything should work.

Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 8652 Location: Paris, France	Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2018 8:03 am
	Cooljerk: Have you actually tried booting the ROM from an Everdrive instead of an original cartridge? Your initial post is ambiguous about that... hence Maxim's answer. And ApolloBoy's answer as I understand it suggests that the problem wouldn't happen when running Wonder Boy III from an Everdrive. (We haven't brushed off the possibility that there might be different board variants used by Wonder Boy III and some may be affected, some not.)

Forums

View topic - JPN Master System, raphnet SMS->MK3 Converter, Wonderboy III not booting