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Hello I do not know if anyone has done this before but if no one has may I make a suggestion that we have a list of which games are compatible with only MS2, MS1, incompatible with MD-MS converter, incompatible with MD controllers etc.

EDIT: Thanks to everyone who contributed! Keep the contributions coming =))

I have my own list I'd be happy to share it if it hasn't been done yet!

- Western cartridge-shaped games are incompatible with the Japanese SMS. This is a physical incompatibility, they will work with adaptor.

Games which are incompatible with SMS1 version 1.3 (i.e. Snail Maze only)

- 4 Pak all Action
- Cosmic Spacehead
- Fantastic Dizzy
- Micro Machines
- The Incredible Hulk
- Street Fighter II
- Virtua Fighter Animation
- Japanese Games

Games which are incompatible with Official Sega MD1 --> MS converter

- F-16 Fighter (Card)
- F-16 Fighter (Cartridge)
- F-16 Fighting Falcon (Card)
- Monopoly
- Sega My Card (no picture, sound only)
- Wonder Boy in Monster World
- Games that aren't compatible with SMS1 ver. 1.3

Games which are not compatible with HES MD --> MS Converter

- After Burner (black screen)
- Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars (pink screen)
- Assault City (7034, didn't check 7040)
- Aztec Adventure (black screen)
- Golfamania (animated garbage)
- Golvellius (buzz w/ flickering screen)
- Parlour Games (garbage screen)
- Shinobi (black screen)
- Card Shape games (physical incompatibility)
- 3D glasses.

Games which are incompatible with SMD Controller
(However you can get these games to run with SMD Controller on a JP System)

- Bomber Raid
- Montezuma's Revenge
- Penguin Land
- Shanghai
- Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
- Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? (Tec Toy w/ portuguese text)
- Wonder Boy in Monster Land

Games which are incompatible with SMS2

- Card shaped games
- Japanese Games
- 3-D glasses

Incompatible with the Tototek SMS-Mark III adapter on SMS (thanks to BrianC):

-Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap (blank screen, a bit puzzled on this one since I have seen the video of it working with the gender adapter, though I read at another forum that someone else had the same problem)
-Wanted (red screen)
-Missile Defense 3D (works, but doesn't recognize the light phaser)
-Rescue Mission (ditto)
-Hang On/Safari Hunt (various glitches, may be a problem with the cart itself since I have to put it in a certain way on the regular SMS to get it working, though it works without glitches on the regular SMS)
-GP Rider

Glitchy/Incompatible on NTSC Master System (PAL only):

Back to the Future Part III
Battlemaniacs
Bram Stoker's Dracula
California Games II
Cosmic Spacehead
Desert Strike
Fantastic Dizzy
Home Alone
Micro Machines
Operation Wolf
Predator 2
Quest for the Shaven Yak
Sensible Soccer
Shadow Dancer - The Secret of Shinobi
Shadow of the Beast
Sonic Blast
Sonic The Hedgehog 2
Space Harrier (some versions)
Street Fighter II
Super Smash TV
Taito Chase H.Q.
The Newzealand Story
The Simpsons Bart vs the Space Mutants

I wouldn't mind a list of games that work differently in JP mode compared to US mode when using a PBC with a switched Genesis or playing a US game on a JP system. I noticed that Penguin Land, Bomber Raid, and Wonder Boy in Monster Land play fine with a Genesis controller when I play them using the Power Base Converter with the Genesis switched to JP mode. Strange how playing in a system set to a different region effects how it reacts to the Genesis controller with some games.

There's information going around (lot on this forum but rather scattered).
I suggest we use this thread to try to gather the info. Tycho can you post your initial list?

Sure thing :)

I have not tested absolutely everything I own but I guess this is a great start...

Oh perhaps those of you who have Korean & Japanese games can add info on those too since some korean games might only work on a Korean SMS and not on Japanese? And games which aren't backwards-compatible e.g. those SG-1000 which don't work on Mark III. I have no clue on those actually haha ^_^;

As far as I know, a Korean SMS is no different to a Japanese SMS apart from the branding. (Do all Korean SMSes have the Alex Kidd BIOS?)

Added SF2 and games which won't work on SMS2 :P

I have a HES MS-MD adapter and I recall at least one game I have not working with it, will verify soon. It would be nice to identify the differences between the Official PBC and the HES adapter see if there may be any possible mods to get maximum compatibility.

DMEnduro wrote

I have a HES MS-MD adapter and I recall at least one game I have not working with it, will verify soon. It would be nice to identify the differences between the Official PBC and the HES adapter see if there may be any possible mods to get maximum compatibility.

Likely very little difference as the PBC is mainly a "rewire" of SMS lines to MD lines, there isn't much to it. Sega found a good (cheap) way to monetize the back catalog with the PBC (it was free on the Mark III). Flubba verified there seemed to be a small 2? instruction BIOS with the PBC though, so if the HES doesn't have that maybe there would be differences.

Speedball seems to have issues if you don't initialize the VDP like the BIOS does so that would be a game to test on the PBC. Sega probably made the default state of the VDP for the MD to be compatible with what the BIOS on a real SMS does which would allow games like Speedball to work.

Tycho wrote

Hello I do not know if anyone has done this before but if no one has may I make a suggestion that we have a list of which games are compatible with only MS2, MS1, incompatible with MD-MS converter, incompatible with MD controllers etc.

What about PAL games incompatible with NTSC and vice versa? :)

We faced this issue recently with RetroCopy in regards to what games work on what system. Instead we decided to warn users if the game isn't running on the system it was released on because there are a lot of PAL games which have "issues" on NTSC systems (and a few NTSC games which don't work correctly on PAL). Some are just small issues and some are bigger. Bock probably knows the list too because of his testing with Meka.

Do you have the 4Pak game? Because I'm pretty sure it is undumped, would be good to have a copy out there.

Yes I do have it but I don't have the equipment to dump it... does anyone have it available?

Multi-games are often hard to dump because they are not standard hardware (and switch out the game in a weird way). Having said that, I'm sure Bock has a copy and that the expansion port dumping method would work.

About 4 Pak:
Last time I tried with my parallel SMS Reader I could not get reliable read data. I ought to try again with the USB SMS Reader Charles made me a few months ago - it tends to get better results on dodgy cartridges. However reading from a SMS1 also did not yield reliable data either from what I remember.

RetroRalph wrote

DMEnduro wrote

I have a HES MS-MD adapter and I recall at least one game I have not working with it, will verify soon. It would be nice to identify the differences between the Official PBC and the HES adapter see if there may be any possible mods to get maximum compatibility.

Likely very little difference as the PBC is mainly a "rewire" of SMS lines to MD lines, there isn't much to it.

Yeah simple as it gets really. I had actually posted the pinouts of the HES.
For reference: http://www.smspower.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6875

Quote

Flubba verified there seemed to be a small 2? instruction BIOS with the PBC though, so if the HES doesn't have that maybe there would be differences.

Ah, if that is the case then there may be issues. The hope is still there.

If I recall correctly Montezuma's revenge won't work properly with a megadrive controller.

DMEnduro wrote

Quote

Flubba verified there seemed to be a small 2? instruction BIOS with the PBC though, so if the HES doesn't have that maybe there would be differences.

Ah, if that is the case then there may be issues. The hope is still there.

I should clarify, when the PBC was used the R register was not 0 like you would expect without a BIOS, but 2 IIRC. Whether that is a small BIOS being run from the PBC or the Genesis hardware does it itself it's hard to say at this point.

Impossible Mission relies on the R register being different each boot after the BIOS finishes loading, I would expect you would get the same map in this game on a PBC or HES on the first boot. This may be something the OP may want to note as it's an incompatibility of sorts, though it probably should be tested.

Thanks Racoon Land

Went through my collection - the following games seem not to work with the HES Master Mega:

After Burner (black screen)
Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars (pink screen)
Aztec Adventure (black screen)

Golfamania (animated garbage)
Golvellius (buzz w/ flickering screen)
Parlour Games (garbage screen)
Shinobi (black screen)

Other notes:
F-16 Fighter (Cartridge) - NOT working

Thanks DMEnduro, I added those to the list :)

Don't forget that Bart Vs. The Space Mutants & X-Men - Mojo World has palette problems on the MegaDrive VDP.

So those two won't work with either the HES Converter and MD-MS converter?

Where can I find a list of US/EU games that won't work on a JP SMS?

From what I tried, these are the games I couldn't get working with the Tototek SMS-Mark III adapter on SMS:

-Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap (blank screen, a bit puzzled on this one since I have seen the video of it working with the gender adapter, though I read at another forum that someone else had the same problem)
-Wanted (red screen)
-Missile Defense 3D (works, but doesn't recognize the light phaser)
-Rescue Mission (ditto)
-Bubble Bobble (blank screen, heard this may just be a finicky one that takes a few tries to get working)
-Hang On/Safari Hunt (various glitches, may be a problem with the cart itself since I have to put it in a certain way on the regular SMS to get it working, though it works without glitches on the regular SMS)

As with the PBC on a switched Genesis 1 in Japanese mode, these games work with the Genesis controller on the JP SMS:

Wonder Boy in Monster Land
Bomber Raid
Penguin Land (terrible FM sound for this one, though)

Thanks BrianC

DMEnduro wrote

Went through my collection - the following games seem not to work with the HES Master Mega:

After Burner (black screen)
Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars (pink screen)
Aztec Adventure (black screen)
Global Defense (black screen)
Golfamania (animated garbage)
Golvellius (buzz w/ flickering screen)
Parlour Games (garbage screen)
Shinobi (black screen)

Other notes:
F-16 Fighter (Cartridge) - working

Can you actually play F-16, or does it just boot up to the title screen? I think I remember something about the title screen working, but no in-game visuals due to the lack of Sg-1000 compatibility.

And I remember back when I was a big SMS collector (not the case anymore, but still a fan), that New Zealand story wouldn't work right at all on an NTSC SMS (serious sprite timing issues), but it would play OK (albeit a bit fast) on an NTSC Powerbase converter. I forget a lot of SMS info, but I used to edit the Digital Press guide, and I believe all the incompatibilities I found are still listed in their online database.

Raccoon Lad wrote

DMEnduro wrote

Went through my collection - the following games seem not to work with the HES Master Mega:

After Burner (black screen)
Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars (pink screen)
Aztec Adventure (black screen)
Global Defense (black screen)
Golfamania (animated garbage)
Golvellius (buzz w/ flickering screen)
Parlour Games (garbage screen)
Shinobi (black screen)

Other notes:
F-16 Fighter (Cartridge) - working

Can you actually play F-16, or does it just boot up to the title screen? I think I remember something about the title screen working, but no in-game visuals due to the lack of Sg-1000 compatibility.

And I remember back when I was a big SMS collector (not the case anymore, but still a fan), that New Zealand story wouldn't work right at all on an NTSC SMS (serious sprite timing issues), but it would play OK (albeit a bit fast) on an NTSC Powerbase converter. I forget a lot of SMS info, but I used to edit the Digital Press guide, and I believe all the incompatibilities I found are still listed in their online database.

Umm have you got the link to this? I'll add their info.

Yes and you get that black screen with F-16 fighter.

http://www.digitpress.com/DP/cmf/search.cmf

Racoon Lad, the guys on vbender from DP where only talking about you the other day and where wondering what you are up to now.

Raccoon Lad wrote

http://www.digitpress.com/DP/cmf/search.cmf

Mmm but this is in the actual descriptions of each item isn't it? Not compiled info.

Tycho wrote

Raccoon Lad wrote

DMEnduro wrote

Went through my collection - the following games seem not to work with the HES Master Mega:

After Burner (black screen)
Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars (pink screen)
Aztec Adventure (black screen)
Global Defense (black screen)
Golfamania (animated garbage)
Golvellius (buzz w/ flickering screen)
Parlour Games (garbage screen)
Shinobi (black screen)

Other notes:
F-16 Fighter (Cartridge) - working

Can you actually play F-16, or does it just boot up to the title screen? I think I remember something about the title screen working, but no in-game visuals due to the lack of Sg-1000 compatibility.

And I remember back when I was a big SMS collector (not the case anymore, but still a fan), that New Zealand story wouldn't work right at all on an NTSC SMS (serious sprite timing issues), but it would play OK (albeit a bit fast) on an NTSC Powerbase converter. I forget a lot of SMS info, but I used to edit the Digital Press guide, and I believe all the incompatibilities I found are still listed in their online database.

Umm have you got the link to this? I'll add their info.

Yes and you get that black screen with F-16 fighter.

Yes, confirmed. Only title screen works. Game is incompatible.

There's no F-16 Fighting Falcon cartridge now is there? Mmm removed :)

One more error/fix. Global Defense is WORKING. My cart had a capacitor rattling around and for some reason worked fine on my SMS but not with the adaptor, until I re-soldered it. Now working in all situations.

I'm curious about why Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap isn't working when I use the Tototek adapter. Bock's video of it using the gender adapter showed it working, so it doesn't seem to be one that is incompatible. More info would be helpful.

BrianC wrote

As with the PBC on a switched Genesis 1 in Japanese mode, these games work with the Genesis controller on the JP SMS:

Wonder Boy in Monster Land
Bomber Raid
Penguin Land (terrible FM sound for this one, though)

I mentioned these because there are the only ones I own with the issues. I have a feeling that Montezuma's Revenge and Carmen Sandiego might still have problems with the Genesis controller since they were designed in the US and I haven't tried Alien Syndrome, Shanghai, or Tennis Ace.

I just found two today that I did not know. Note that this is tested under MEKA which is not 100% faithful. Can somebody confirm on real hardware or other emulators?

- Sensible Soccer
Seems to crash in NTSC mode. I tried to do a Quick Match (haven't tried another mode)

- Sítio do Picapau Amarelo
Sega logo not showing in PAL/SECAM mode, and glitches moving on the left of the screen.

I was testing these last night in RetroCopy for the online database actually.

Bock wrote

- Sensible Soccer
Seems to crash in NTSC mode. I tried to do a Quick Match (haven't tried another mode)

Yes seems to freeze when in NTSC mode.

Bock wrote

- Sítio do Picapau Amarelo
Sega logo not showing in PAL/SECAM mode, and glitches moving on the left of the screen.

No issues in RetroCopy when set to PAL mode for the SEGA logo, or glitches like I saw in Meka.

I have noted quite a few glitches though in brazilian games in PAL mode though usually nothing game breaking. I've currently gone through 80% of the SMS library in PAL mode.

All Codemaster & Tec Toy games all work on a Sega Master System 1 (Sega Master Plus version) which has Hang On & Safari Hunt Built in. The only other system which may work with all these is the (Super System version) MS1 with Missile Defence 3-D built in. Maybe someone could try these games to see if they work. I don't own one sadly.

Phil wrote

All Codemaster & Tec Toy games all work on a Sega Master System 1 (Sega Master Plus version) which has Hang On & Safari Hunt Built in. The only other system which may work with all these is the (Super System version) MS1 with Missile Defence 3-D built in. Maybe someone could try these games to see if they work. I don't own one sadly.

OK I corrected it. If thers any other SMS1's they dont work with let me know.

Not an actual incompatibily, but I tested World Soccer today with a Sports Pad connected, knowing it supported it, and noticed that it actually switches its display to Sports Pad Soccer if the controller is detected.

Bock wrote

Not an actual incompatibily, but I tested World Soccer today with a Sports Pad connected, knowing it supported it, and noticed that it actually switches its display to Sports Pad Soccer if the controller is detected.

Is this true for the US version on a JP system, as well (I know it switches to World Soccer when played in JP mode)? I don't have a sports pad to test.

Just wanted to say that Hang-On/Safari Hunt works OK on my Japanese SMS. So far all of the American and European SMS games I have work fine through the ToToTEK adapter.

ApolloBoy wrote

Just wanted to say that Hang-On/Safari Hunt works OK on my Japanese SMS. So far all of the American and European SMS games I have work fine through the ToToTEK adapter.

I had a felling that Hang On and Safari Hunt might be the cart itself, but it was one that seemed to be working at first glance, as were Rescue Mission and Missile Defense (and the former was even mentioned in this forum in the thread about the gender adapter). I might have to use an eraser on the contacts since the one I got has stuff that wouldn't come off with the game cleaning fluid. Anyway, would someone please tell me why my Wonder Boy III isn't working and how I can get it working? I asked this a few posts ago and on sega8bit.com and didn't get a reply.

Bock has mentioned that some games have issues on a JP system few times in this forum, but I used the search feature quite a bit and found very little. This is what I did find, though. Bock, would you please give us a list of which games have a problem on the JP system?

Also, in reply to that one thread, the European Bubble Bobble works fine on both my regular US NTSC SMS and PBC on NTSC US Genesis (I'm in the US) with no problems starting it up and the JP Final Bubble Bobble works fine on my JP SMS.

I don't know or have a proper list.
Afaik I thought that many Light Phasers games would not work because the code is not inverting the TH bits properly on a Japanese system.

Also some bits from meka.pat:

;-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
; Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap [SMS]
;-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
; Patch ROM to enable FM Unit support in European/US mode.
; The non-patched game uses the FM Unit only in Japanese mode.
ROM[025B] = 00, 00

;-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
; Monica em: O Resgate [SMS]
;-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
; Patch ROM to enable FM Unit support in European/US mode.
; The non-patched game uses the FM Unit only in Japanese mode.
ROM[025B] = 00, 00

;-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
; American Pro Football [SMS]
;-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
; Fix a bug preventing the game to function if FM Unit is detected.
ROM[05A7] = AF, 00

;-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
; Walter Payton Football [SMS]
; Fix a bug preventing the game to function if FM Unit is detected.
ROM[0592] = AF, 00

;-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
; Sports Pad Soccer [SMS]
;-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
; Fix a bug preventing the game to function if FM Unit is not detected.
[mekacrc: 6333A82396B2CF88]
ROM[0173] = 0C

;-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
; Wanted [SMS]
; Fix a bug preventing the game to function if FM Unit is detected.
[mekacrc: 1E9957BF6F2A4B4F]
ROM[045D] = 00, 00

cool. Thanks. So that's why Wanted doesn't work. I wonder if there were different boards for WBIII or something. I read on at least one other forum that someone couldn't get it working with the ToToTek adapter (but he did get Monica working with FM on the JP system), but it doesn't seem to be an incompatibility with the JP system since you got it working with the gender adapter. However, I even tried just the loose board for WBIII (which is square shaped, oddly enough) in the ToToTek adapter and it still didn't work (contacts are nice and clean too).

A couple of the gun games did work on the JP system with no problems. Rambo III and Gangster Town. Rambo III even has that Sega Mark III splash screen.

Maybe I should see if I could make a video, or at least take a pic of those Hang On/Safari Hunt glitches (hang on looks really crazy. The course gets messed up and the motorcycle gets stuck when it messes up.), but I think it might be better to wait until I take an eraser to those contacts before trying it on the JP system again.

Bock wrote

Fix a bug preventing the game to function if FM Unit is not detected.

I don't think all of those are actually bugs, just a by product of MEKA's FM chip/IO emulation.

According to this thread, the following are incompatible with the Gender Adapter:

Fantasy Zone
Lord of the Sword
Out Run
Rastan
Time Soldiers
Wonder Boy

I can confirm that these games work fine with the Tototek SMS to Mark III adapter:
Fantasy Zone
Time Soldiers
Wonder Boy

I haven't tested the US versions of Lord of the Sword, Rastan, or Out Run with the Tototek since I don't have them. JP Out Run works fine with the system, though.

I'm still perplexed by WBIII apparently working with the Gender Adapter and not with the Tototek. As mentioned, it seems at least one other poster couldn't get the EU Bubble Bobble working on the JP SMS. Strange since it's just a localization of the JP Final Bubble Bobble and even runs at the same speed in NTSC.

Edit: Here is a comment about a similar problem with Wonder Boy III and the Tototek adapter, but on a Mark III rather than a JP SMS. There are some comments here about Wonder Boy III not working with the Tototek, as well. However, telling from other forums, it seems some have gotten it to work with the Tototek. Maybe different cartridge boards? It would be nice to know why it works with some, but not others.

List updated.

If anyone has the SMS1 which has any of the following games built-in:

hang-on
hang/on safari hunt
alex kidd mw
sonic

If the games I wrote are incompatible with the western sms1 ver. 1.3 work or do not work on these consoles?

Also can anyone confirm/deny that card-format games released in japan work on western consoles, and vice-versa.

I have bomb jack, and it doesn't work on sms1, and only sound works on mega drive with the converter.

I dunno anything about electronics but my guess is that there is some lockout chip on the master system consoles, which isn't present on the mega drive, however the MD is missing some video chip which is present on the MS.

...................................

Also does anybody know which console can play the most master system games?

There are none that can play absolutely all of them are there? You'd need 3 I am guessing!

Since I also collect megadrive/megacd/32x I generally just use the original master system converter, but then I cant play any of the sms2-only games, japanese games, or f-16 fighter. Bleh you can't win! =(

Bomb Jack is a SG-1000 game.
The MegaDrive can't display the TMS-9918 modes.
Western SMS's has a region check in the Bios.

So you should be able to play most Japanese SMS games on your MegaDrive.

Tycho wrote

Also can anyone confirm/deny that card-format games released in japan work on western consoles, and vice-versa.

This was mentioned in another thread. I heard US/EU card games work on the JP SMS or Mark III, but JP Mark III My Card games won't work on a US/EU system. However, JP Mark III My Card games work on a US/EU Genesis/Mega Drive with Power Base Converter. I can confirm that Hang On works on the US PBC. However, SG-1000 My Card games won't work on the US SMS or any PBC/Master System Converter/Mega Adaptor.

Quote

Since I also collect megadrive/megacd/32x I generally just use the original master system converter, but then I cant play any of the sms2-only games, japanese games, or f-16 fighter. Bleh you can't win! =(

You can play Japanese Mark III card games with the Master System Converter. There are other converters available that let you play JP Mark III cartridge games (no FM sound, though).

BrianC wrote

Tycho wrote

Also can anyone confirm/deny that card-format games released in japan work on western consoles, and vice-versa.

This was mentioned in another thread. I heard US/EU card games work on the JP SMS or Mark III, but JP Mark III My Card games won't work on a US/EU system. However, JP Mark III My Card games work on a US/EU Genesis/Mega Drive with Power Base Converter. I can confirm that Hang On works on the US PBC. However, SG-1000 My Card games won't work on the US SMS or any PBC/Master System Converter/Mega Adaptor.

Quote

Since I also collect megadrive/megacd/32x I generally just use the original master system converter, but then I cant play any of the sms2-only games, japanese games, or f-16 fighter. Bleh you can't win! =(

You can play Japanese Mark III card games with the Master System Converter. There are other converters available that let you play JP Mark III cartridge games (no FM sound, though).

Oooo... What japanese card format exclusives are there exactly? Just Woody Pop, Machinegun Joe and Satellite-7?

Tycho wrote

Oooo... What japanese card format exclusives are there exactly? Just Woody Pop, Machinegun Joe and Satellite-7?

http://www.smspower.org/museum/lists/smsallj.txt

- Great Baseball
- Satellite 7
- Comical Machine Gun Joe
- Woody Pop - Shinjinrui no Block Kuzugi

Although there are plenty of SG-1000 cards too.

Tycho wrote

Oooo... What japanese card format exclusives are there exactly? Just Woody Pop, Machinegun Joe and Satellite-7?

Not really an exclusive since in a 2-in-1 EU cart, but Pit Pot has a simple edit mode that, from what I heard, isn't in the cart version.

BrianC wrote

Not really an exclusive since in a 2-in-1 EU cart, but Pit Pot has a simple edit mode that, from what I heard, isn't in the cart version.

I had never noticed that before, thanks for the info. I always play the standalone Pit Pot, and indeed, the EDIT mode was removed from the 2-in-1 cartridge.

I added a note about it on the WIP Astro Warrior / Pit Pot page.

Author	Message
Tycho Joined: 16 Dec 2009 Posts: 249	List of Incompatibilities among SMS Games + Hardware Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 5:56 am Last edited by Tycho on Sat Feb 25, 2017 3:42 am; edited 28 times in total
Tycho Joined: 16 Dec 2009 Posts: 249	Hello I do not know if anyone has done this before but if no one has may I make a suggestion that we have a list of which games are compatible with only MS2, MS1, incompatible with MD-MS converter, incompatible with MD controllers etc. EDIT: Thanks to everyone who contributed! Keep the contributions coming =)) I have my own list I'd be happy to share it if it hasn't been done yet! - Western cartridge-shaped games are incompatible with the Japanese SMS. This is a physical incompatibility, they will work with adaptor. Games which are incompatible with SMS1 version 1.3 (i.e. Snail Maze only) - 4 Pak all Action - Cosmic Spacehead - Fantastic Dizzy - Micro Machines - The Incredible Hulk - Street Fighter II - Virtua Fighter Animation - Japanese Games Games which are incompatible with Official Sega MD1 --> MS converter - F-16 Fighter (Card) - F-16 Fighter (Cartridge) - F-16 Fighting Falcon (Card) - Monopoly - Sega My Card (no picture, sound only) - Wonder Boy in Monster World - Games that aren't compatible with SMS1 ver. 1.3 Games which are not compatible with HES MD --> MS Converter - After Burner (black screen) - Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars (pink screen) - Assault City (7034, didn't check 7040) - Aztec Adventure (black screen) - Golfamania (animated garbage) - Golvellius (buzz w/ flickering screen) - Parlour Games (garbage screen) - Shinobi (black screen) - Card Shape games (physical incompatibility) - 3D glasses. Games which are incompatible with SMD Controller (However you can get these games to run with SMD Controller on a JP System) - Bomber Raid - Montezuma's Revenge - Penguin Land - Shanghai - Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? - Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? (Tec Toy w/ portuguese text) - Wonder Boy in Monster Land Games which are incompatible with SMS2 - Card shaped games - Japanese Games - 3-D glasses Incompatible with the Tototek SMS-Mark III adapter on SMS (thanks to BrianC): -Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap (blank screen, a bit puzzled on this one since I have seen the video of it working with the gender adapter, though I read at another forum that someone else had the same problem) -Wanted (red screen) -Missile Defense 3D (works, but doesn't recognize the light phaser) -Rescue Mission (ditto) -Hang On/Safari Hunt (various glitches, may be a problem with the cart itself since I have to put it in a certain way on the regular SMS to get it working, though it works without glitches on the regular SMS) -GP Rider Glitchy/Incompatible on NTSC Master System (PAL only): Back to the Future Part III Battlemaniacs Bram Stoker's Dracula California Games II Cosmic Spacehead Desert Strike Fantastic Dizzy Home Alone Micro Machines Operation Wolf Predator 2 Quest for the Shaven Yak Sensible Soccer Shadow Dancer - The Secret of Shinobi Shadow of the Beast Sonic Blast Sonic The Hedgehog 2 Space Harrier (some versions) Street Fighter II Super Smash TV Taito Chase H.Q. The Newzealand Story The Simpsons Bart vs the Space Mutants

BrianC Joined: 28 Mar 2006 Posts: 36	Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 5:25 am
BrianC Joined: 28 Mar 2006 Posts: 36	I wouldn't mind a list of games that work differently in JP mode compared to US mode when using a PBC with a switched Genesis or playing a US game on a JP system. I noticed that Penguin Land, Bomber Raid, and Wonder Boy in Monster Land play fine with a Genesis controller when I play them using the Power Base Converter with the Genesis switched to JP mode. Strange how playing in a system set to a different region effects how it reacts to the Genesis controller with some games.

Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 8556 Location: Paris, France	Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 5:53 am
	There's information going around (lot on this forum but rather scattered). I suggest we use this thread to try to gather the info. Tycho can you post your initial list?

Tycho Joined: 16 Dec 2009 Posts: 249	Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 7:48 am Last edited by Tycho on Tue Jan 05, 2010 4:31 am; edited 1 time in total
Tycho Joined: 16 Dec 2009 Posts: 249	Sure thing :) I have not tested absolutely everything I own but I guess this is a great start... Oh perhaps those of you who have Korean & Japanese games can add info on those too since some korean games might only work on a Korean SMS and not on Japanese? And games which aren't backwards-compatible e.g. those SG-1000 which don't work on Mark III. I have no clue on those actually haha ^_^;

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14365 Location: London	Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 11:47 am
	As far as I know, a Korean SMS is no different to a Japanese SMS apart from the branding. (Do all Korean SMSes have the Alex Kidd BIOS?)

Tycho Joined: 16 Dec 2009 Posts: 249	Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2010 4:30 am
Tycho Joined: 16 Dec 2009 Posts: 249	Added SF2 and games which won't work on SMS2 :P

DMEnduro Joined: 27 Apr 2005 Posts: 420 Location: Australia	Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2010 5:38 am
	I have a HES MS-MD adapter and I recall at least one game I have not working with it, will verify soon. It would be nice to identify the differences between the Official PBC and the HES adapter see if there may be any possible mods to get maximum compatibility.

RetroRalph Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Posts: 138	Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2010 6:25 am
RetroRalph Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Posts: 138	DMEnduro wrote I have a HES MS-MD adapter and I recall at least one game I have not working with it, will verify soon. It would be nice to identify the differences between the Official PBC and the HES adapter see if there may be any possible mods to get maximum compatibility. Likely very little difference as the PBC is mainly a "rewire" of SMS lines to MD lines, there isn't much to it. Sega found a good (cheap) way to monetize the back catalog with the PBC (it was free on the Mark III). Flubba verified there seemed to be a small 2? instruction BIOS with the PBC though, so if the HES doesn't have that maybe there would be differences. Speedball seems to have issues if you don't initialize the VDP like the BIOS does so that would be a game to test on the PBC. Sega probably made the default state of the VDP for the MD to be compatible with what the BIOS on a real SMS does which would allow games like Speedball to work.

RetroRalph Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Posts: 138	Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2010 6:37 am
RetroRalph Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Posts: 138	Tycho wrote Hello I do not know if anyone has done this before but if no one has may I make a suggestion that we have a list of which games are compatible with only MS2, MS1, incompatible with MD-MS converter, incompatible with MD controllers etc. What about PAL games incompatible with NTSC and vice versa? :) We faced this issue recently with RetroCopy in regards to what games work on what system. Instead we decided to warn users if the game isn't running on the system it was released on because there are a lot of PAL games which have "issues" on NTSC systems (and a few NTSC games which don't work correctly on PAL). Some are just small issues and some are bigger. Bock probably knows the list too because of his testing with Meka. Do you have the 4Pak game? Because I'm pretty sure it is undumped, would be good to have a copy out there.

Tycho Joined: 16 Dec 2009 Posts: 249	Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2010 9:14 am
Tycho Joined: 16 Dec 2009 Posts: 249	Yes I do have it but I don't have the equipment to dump it... does anyone have it available?

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14365 Location: London	Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2010 10:17 am
	Multi-games are often hard to dump because they are not standard hardware (and switch out the game in a weird way). Having said that, I'm sure Bock has a copy and that the expansion port dumping method would work.

Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 8556 Location: Paris, France	Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2010 10:20 am
	About 4 Pak: Last time I tried with my parallel SMS Reader I could not get reliable read data. I ought to try again with the USB SMS Reader Charles made me a few months ago - it tends to get better results on dodgy cartridges. However reading from a SMS1 also did not yield reliable data either from what I remember.

DMEnduro Joined: 27 Apr 2005 Posts: 420 Location: Australia	Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:05 pm
	RetroRalph wrote DMEnduro wrote I have a HES MS-MD adapter and I recall at least one game I have not working with it, will verify soon. It would be nice to identify the differences between the Official PBC and the HES adapter see if there may be any possible mods to get maximum compatibility. Likely very little difference as the PBC is mainly a "rewire" of SMS lines to MD lines, there isn't much to it. Yeah simple as it gets really. I had actually posted the pinouts of the HES. For reference: http://www.smspower.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6875 Quote Flubba verified there seemed to be a small 2? instruction BIOS with the PBC though, so if the HES doesn't have that maybe there would be differences. Ah, if that is the case then there may be issues. The hope is still there.

Raccoon Lad Joined: 16 Dec 2004 Posts: 494 Location: El Cerrito, CA	Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:34 pm
	If I recall correctly Montezuma's revenge won't work properly with a megadrive controller.

RetroRalph Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Posts: 138	Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 1:00 am
RetroRalph Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Posts: 138	DMEnduro wrote Quote Flubba verified there seemed to be a small 2? instruction BIOS with the PBC though, so if the HES doesn't have that maybe there would be differences. Ah, if that is the case then there may be issues. The hope is still there. I should clarify, when the PBC was used the R register was not 0 like you would expect without a BIOS, but 2 IIRC. Whether that is a small BIOS being run from the PBC or the Genesis hardware does it itself it's hard to say at this point. Impossible Mission relies on the R register being different each boot after the BIOS finishes loading, I would expect you would get the same map in this game on a PBC or HES on the first boot. This may be something the OP may want to note as it's an incompatibility of sorts, though it probably should be tested.

Tycho Joined: 16 Dec 2009 Posts: 249	Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 10:44 am
Tycho Joined: 16 Dec 2009 Posts: 249	Thanks Racoon Land

DMEnduro Joined: 27 Apr 2005 Posts: 420 Location: Australia	Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 11:07 am Last edited by DMEnduro on Sun Jan 10, 2010 11:48 pm; edited 2 times in total
	Went through my collection - the following games seem not to work with the HES Master Mega: After Burner (black screen) Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars (pink screen) Aztec Adventure (black screen) Golfamania (animated garbage) Golvellius (buzz w/ flickering screen) Parlour Games (garbage screen) Shinobi (black screen) Other notes: F-16 Fighter (Cartridge) - NOT working

Tycho Joined: 16 Dec 2009 Posts: 249	Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2010 12:11 am
Tycho Joined: 16 Dec 2009 Posts: 249	Thanks DMEnduro, I added those to the list :)

FluBBa Joined: 21 Jul 2005 Posts: 412 Location: GBG	Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2010 11:55 am
FluBBa Joined: 21 Jul 2005 Posts: 412 Location: GBG	Don't forget that Bart Vs. The Space Mutants & X-Men - Mojo World has palette problems on the MegaDrive VDP.

Tycho Joined: 16 Dec 2009 Posts: 249	Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 4:43 am
Tycho Joined: 16 Dec 2009 Posts: 249	So those two won't work with either the HES Converter and MD-MS converter?

BrianC Joined: 28 Mar 2006 Posts: 36	Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 8:49 pm
BrianC Joined: 28 Mar 2006 Posts: 36	Where can I find a list of US/EU games that won't work on a JP SMS? From what I tried, these are the games I couldn't get working with the Tototek SMS-Mark III adapter on SMS: -Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap (blank screen, a bit puzzled on this one since I have seen the video of it working with the gender adapter, though I read at another forum that someone else had the same problem) -Wanted (red screen) -Missile Defense 3D (works, but doesn't recognize the light phaser) -Rescue Mission (ditto) -Bubble Bobble (blank screen, heard this may just be a finicky one that takes a few tries to get working) -Hang On/Safari Hunt (various glitches, may be a problem with the cart itself since I have to put it in a certain way on the regular SMS to get it working, though it works without glitches on the regular SMS) As with the PBC on a switched Genesis 1 in Japanese mode, these games work with the Genesis controller on the JP SMS: Wonder Boy in Monster Land Bomber Raid Penguin Land (terrible FM sound for this one, though)

Tycho Joined: 16 Dec 2009 Posts: 249	Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2010 12:47 am
Tycho Joined: 16 Dec 2009 Posts: 249	Thanks BrianC

Raccoon Lad Joined: 16 Dec 2004 Posts: 494 Location: El Cerrito, CA	Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2010 12:48 am
	DMEnduro wrote Went through my collection - the following games seem not to work with the HES Master Mega: After Burner (black screen) Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars (pink screen) Aztec Adventure (black screen) Global Defense (black screen) Golfamania (animated garbage) Golvellius (buzz w/ flickering screen) Parlour Games (garbage screen) Shinobi (black screen) Other notes: F-16 Fighter (Cartridge) - working Can you actually play F-16, or does it just boot up to the title screen? I think I remember something about the title screen working, but no in-game visuals due to the lack of Sg-1000 compatibility. And I remember back when I was a big SMS collector (not the case anymore, but still a fan), that New Zealand story wouldn't work right at all on an NTSC SMS (serious sprite timing issues), but it would play OK (albeit a bit fast) on an NTSC Powerbase converter. I forget a lot of SMS info, but I used to edit the Digital Press guide, and I believe all the incompatibilities I found are still listed in their online database.

Tycho Joined: 16 Dec 2009 Posts: 249	Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2010 4:20 am
Tycho Joined: 16 Dec 2009 Posts: 249	Raccoon Lad wrote DMEnduro wrote Went through my collection - the following games seem not to work with the HES Master Mega: After Burner (black screen) Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars (pink screen) Aztec Adventure (black screen) Global Defense (black screen) Golfamania (animated garbage) Golvellius (buzz w/ flickering screen) Parlour Games (garbage screen) Shinobi (black screen) Other notes: F-16 Fighter (Cartridge) - working Can you actually play F-16, or does it just boot up to the title screen? I think I remember something about the title screen working, but no in-game visuals due to the lack of Sg-1000 compatibility. And I remember back when I was a big SMS collector (not the case anymore, but still a fan), that New Zealand story wouldn't work right at all on an NTSC SMS (serious sprite timing issues), but it would play OK (albeit a bit fast) on an NTSC Powerbase converter. I forget a lot of SMS info, but I used to edit the Digital Press guide, and I believe all the incompatibilities I found are still listed in their online database. Umm have you got the link to this? I'll add their info. Yes and you get that black screen with F-16 fighter.

Raccoon Lad Joined: 16 Dec 2004 Posts: 494 Location: El Cerrito, CA	Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2010 7:12 am
	http://www.digitpress.com/DP/cmf/search.cmf

Emuaust Joined: 10 Aug 2005 Posts: 79	Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 2:11 am
Emuaust Joined: 10 Aug 2005 Posts: 79	Racoon Lad, the guys on vbender from DP where only talking about you the other day and where wondering what you are up to now.

Tycho Joined: 16 Dec 2009 Posts: 249	Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 4:14 am
Tycho Joined: 16 Dec 2009 Posts: 249	Raccoon Lad wrote http://www.digitpress.com/DP/cmf/search.cmf Mmm but this is in the actual descriptions of each item isn't it? Not compiled info.

DMEnduro Joined: 27 Apr 2005 Posts: 420 Location: Australia	Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 9:52 am
	Tycho wrote Raccoon Lad wrote DMEnduro wrote Went through my collection - the following games seem not to work with the HES Master Mega: After Burner (black screen) Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars (pink screen) Aztec Adventure (black screen) Global Defense (black screen) Golfamania (animated garbage) Golvellius (buzz w/ flickering screen) Parlour Games (garbage screen) Shinobi (black screen) Other notes: F-16 Fighter (Cartridge) - working Can you actually play F-16, or does it just boot up to the title screen? I think I remember something about the title screen working, but no in-game visuals due to the lack of Sg-1000 compatibility. And I remember back when I was a big SMS collector (not the case anymore, but still a fan), that New Zealand story wouldn't work right at all on an NTSC SMS (serious sprite timing issues), but it would play OK (albeit a bit fast) on an NTSC Powerbase converter. I forget a lot of SMS info, but I used to edit the Digital Press guide, and I believe all the incompatibilities I found are still listed in their online database. Umm have you got the link to this? I'll add their info. Yes and you get that black screen with F-16 fighter. Yes, confirmed. Only title screen works. Game is incompatible.

Tycho Joined: 16 Dec 2009 Posts: 249	Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 10:45 am
Tycho Joined: 16 Dec 2009 Posts: 249	There's no F-16 Fighting Falcon cartridge now is there? Mmm removed :)

DMEnduro Joined: 27 Apr 2005 Posts: 420 Location: Australia	Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 11:51 pm
	One more error/fix. Global Defense is WORKING. My cart had a capacitor rattling around and for some reason worked fine on my SMS but not with the adaptor, until I re-soldered it. Now working in all situations.

BrianC Joined: 28 Mar 2006 Posts: 36	Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2010 3:38 am
BrianC Joined: 28 Mar 2006 Posts: 36	I'm curious about why Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap isn't working when I use the Tototek adapter. Bock's video of it using the gender adapter showed it working, so it doesn't seem to be one that is incompatible. More info would be helpful. BrianC wrote As with the PBC on a switched Genesis 1 in Japanese mode, these games work with the Genesis controller on the JP SMS: Wonder Boy in Monster Land Bomber Raid Penguin Land (terrible FM sound for this one, though) I mentioned these because there are the only ones I own with the issues. I have a feeling that Montezuma's Revenge and Carmen Sandiego might still have problems with the Genesis controller since they were designed in the US and I haven't tried Alien Syndrome, Shanghai, or Tennis Ace.

Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 8556 Location: Paris, France	Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2010 2:02 pm
	I just found two today that I did not know. Note that this is tested under MEKA which is not 100% faithful. Can somebody confirm on real hardware or other emulators? - Sensible Soccer Seems to crash in NTSC mode. I tried to do a Quick Match (haven't tried another mode) - Sítio do Picapau Amarelo Sega logo not showing in PAL/SECAM mode, and glitches moving on the left of the screen.

RetroRalph Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Posts: 138	Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2010 3:01 pm
RetroRalph Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Posts: 138	I was testing these last night in RetroCopy for the online database actually. Bock wrote - Sensible Soccer Seems to crash in NTSC mode. I tried to do a Quick Match (haven't tried another mode) Yes seems to freeze when in NTSC mode. Bock wrote - Sítio do Picapau Amarelo Sega logo not showing in PAL/SECAM mode, and glitches moving on the left of the screen. No issues in RetroCopy when set to PAL mode for the SEGA logo, or glitches like I saw in Meka. I have noted quite a few glitches though in brazilian games in PAL mode though usually nothing game breaking. I've currently gone through 80% of the SMS library in PAL mode.

Phil Joined: 16 Mar 2006 Posts: 279	Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2010 5:44 pm
Phil Joined: 16 Mar 2006 Posts: 279	All Codemaster & Tec Toy games all work on a Sega Master System 1 (Sega Master Plus version) which has Hang On & Safari Hunt Built in. The only other system which may work with all these is the (Super System version) MS1 with Missile Defence 3-D built in. Maybe someone could try these games to see if they work. I don't own one sadly.

Tycho Joined: 16 Dec 2009 Posts: 249	Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2010 2:13 am
Tycho Joined: 16 Dec 2009 Posts: 249	Phil wrote All Codemaster & Tec Toy games all work on a Sega Master System 1 (Sega Master Plus version) which has Hang On & Safari Hunt Built in. The only other system which may work with all these is the (Super System version) MS1 with Missile Defence 3-D built in. Maybe someone could try these games to see if they work. I don't own one sadly. OK I corrected it. If thers any other SMS1's they dont work with let me know.

Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 8556 Location: Paris, France	Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2010 3:16 pm
	Not an actual incompatibily, but I tested World Soccer today with a Sports Pad connected, knowing it supported it, and noticed that it actually switches its display to Sports Pad Soccer if the controller is detected.

BrianC Joined: 28 Mar 2006 Posts: 36	Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2010 11:46 pm
BrianC Joined: 28 Mar 2006 Posts: 36	Bock wrote Not an actual incompatibily, but I tested World Soccer today with a Sports Pad connected, knowing it supported it, and noticed that it actually switches its display to Sports Pad Soccer if the controller is detected. Is this true for the US version on a JP system, as well (I know it switches to World Soccer when played in JP mode)? I don't have a sports pad to test.

ApolloBoy Joined: 30 Jan 2007 Posts: 287 Location: San Jose, CA	Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2010 8:59 pm
	Just wanted to say that Hang-On/Safari Hunt works OK on my Japanese SMS. So far all of the American and European SMS games I have work fine through the ToToTEK adapter.

BrianC Joined: 28 Mar 2006 Posts: 36	Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2010 1:47 am
BrianC Joined: 28 Mar 2006 Posts: 36	ApolloBoy wrote Just wanted to say that Hang-On/Safari Hunt works OK on my Japanese SMS. So far all of the American and European SMS games I have work fine through the ToToTEK adapter. I had a felling that Hang On and Safari Hunt might be the cart itself, but it was one that seemed to be working at first glance, as were Rescue Mission and Missile Defense (and the former was even mentioned in this forum in the thread about the gender adapter). I might have to use an eraser on the contacts since the one I got has stuff that wouldn't come off with the game cleaning fluid. Anyway, would someone please tell me why my Wonder Boy III isn't working and how I can get it working? I asked this a few posts ago and on sega8bit.com and didn't get a reply. Bock has mentioned that some games have issues on a JP system few times in this forum, but I used the search feature quite a bit and found very little. This is what I did find, though. Bock, would you please give us a list of which games have a problem on the JP system? Also, in reply to that one thread, the European Bubble Bobble works fine on both my regular US NTSC SMS and PBC on NTSC US Genesis (I'm in the US) with no problems starting it up and the JP Final Bubble Bobble works fine on my JP SMS.

Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 8556 Location: Paris, France	Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2010 3:36 am
	I don't know or have a proper list. Afaik I thought that many Light Phasers games would not work because the code is not inverting the TH bits properly on a Japanese system. Also some bits from meka.pat: ;----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ; Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap [SMS] ;----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ; Patch ROM to enable FM Unit support in European/US mode. ; The non-patched game uses the FM Unit only in Japanese mode. ROM[025B] = 00, 00 ;----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ; Monica em: O Resgate [SMS] ;----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ; Patch ROM to enable FM Unit support in European/US mode. ; The non-patched game uses the FM Unit only in Japanese mode. ROM[025B] = 00, 00 ;----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ; American Pro Football [SMS] ;----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ; Fix a bug preventing the game to function if FM Unit is detected. ROM[05A7] = AF, 00 ;----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ; Walter Payton Football [SMS] ; Fix a bug preventing the game to function if FM Unit is detected. ROM[0592] = AF, 00 ;----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ; Sports Pad Soccer [SMS] ;----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ; Fix a bug preventing the game to function if FM Unit is not detected. [mekacrc: 6333A82396B2CF88] ROM[0173] = 0C ;----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ; Wanted [SMS] ; Fix a bug preventing the game to function if FM Unit is detected. [mekacrc: 1E9957BF6F2A4B4F] ROM[045D] = 00, 00

BrianC Joined: 28 Mar 2006 Posts: 36	Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2010 3:45 am
BrianC Joined: 28 Mar 2006 Posts: 36	cool. Thanks. So that's why Wanted doesn't work. I wonder if there were different boards for WBIII or something. I read on at least one other forum that someone couldn't get it working with the ToToTek adapter (but he did get Monica working with FM on the JP system), but it doesn't seem to be an incompatibility with the JP system since you got it working with the gender adapter. However, I even tried just the loose board for WBIII (which is square shaped, oddly enough) in the ToToTek adapter and it still didn't work (contacts are nice and clean too). A couple of the gun games did work on the JP system with no problems. Rambo III and Gangster Town. Rambo III even has that Sega Mark III splash screen. Maybe I should see if I could make a video, or at least take a pic of those Hang On/Safari Hunt glitches (hang on looks really crazy. The course gets messed up and the motorcycle gets stuck when it messes up.), but I think it might be better to wait until I take an eraser to those contacts before trying it on the JP system again.

RetroRalph Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Posts: 138	Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2010 5:26 am
RetroRalph Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Posts: 138	Bock wrote Fix a bug preventing the game to function if FM Unit is not detected. I don't think all of those are actually bugs, just a by product of MEKA's FM chip/IO emulation.

BrianC Joined: 28 Mar 2006 Posts: 36	Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 6:03 am
BrianC Joined: 28 Mar 2006 Posts: 36	According to this thread, the following are incompatible with the Gender Adapter: Fantasy Zone Lord of the Sword Out Run Rastan Time Soldiers Wonder Boy I can confirm that these games work fine with the Tototek SMS to Mark III adapter: Fantasy Zone Time Soldiers Wonder Boy I haven't tested the US versions of Lord of the Sword, Rastan, or Out Run with the Tototek since I don't have them. JP Out Run works fine with the system, though. I'm still perplexed by WBIII apparently working with the Gender Adapter and not with the Tototek. As mentioned, it seems at least one other poster couldn't get the EU Bubble Bobble working on the JP SMS. Strange since it's just a localization of the JP Final Bubble Bobble and even runs at the same speed in NTSC. Edit: Here is a comment about a similar problem with Wonder Boy III and the Tototek adapter, but on a Mark III rather than a JP SMS. There are some comments here about Wonder Boy III not working with the Tototek, as well. However, telling from other forums, it seems some have gotten it to work with the Tototek. Maybe different cartridge boards? It would be nice to know why it works with some, but not others.

Tycho Joined: 16 Dec 2009 Posts: 249	Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 6:29 am
Tycho Joined: 16 Dec 2009 Posts: 249	List updated. If anyone has the SMS1 which has any of the following games built-in: hang-on hang/on safari hunt alex kidd mw sonic If the games I wrote are incompatible with the western sms1 ver. 1.3 work or do not work on these consoles? Also can anyone confirm/deny that card-format games released in japan work on western consoles, and vice-versa. I have bomb jack, and it doesn't work on sms1, and only sound works on mega drive with the converter. I dunno anything about electronics but my guess is that there is some lockout chip on the master system consoles, which isn't present on the mega drive, however the MD is missing some video chip which is present on the MS. ................................... Also does anybody know which console can play the most master system games? There are none that can play absolutely all of them are there? You'd need 3 I am guessing! Since I also collect megadrive/megacd/32x I generally just use the original master system converter, but then I cant play any of the sms2-only games, japanese games, or f-16 fighter. Bleh you can't win! =(

FluBBa Joined: 21 Jul 2005 Posts: 412 Location: GBG	Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 8:09 am
FluBBa Joined: 21 Jul 2005 Posts: 412 Location: GBG	Bomb Jack is a SG-1000 game. The MegaDrive can't display the TMS-9918 modes. Western SMS's has a region check in the Bios. So you should be able to play most Japanese SMS games on your MegaDrive.

BrianC Joined: 28 Mar 2006 Posts: 36	Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 10:56 pm
BrianC Joined: 28 Mar 2006 Posts: 36	Tycho wrote Also can anyone confirm/deny that card-format games released in japan work on western consoles, and vice-versa. This was mentioned in another thread. I heard US/EU card games work on the JP SMS or Mark III, but JP Mark III My Card games won't work on a US/EU system. However, JP Mark III My Card games work on a US/EU Genesis/Mega Drive with Power Base Converter. I can confirm that Hang On works on the US PBC. However, SG-1000 My Card games won't work on the US SMS or any PBC/Master System Converter/Mega Adaptor. Quote Since I also collect megadrive/megacd/32x I generally just use the original master system converter, but then I cant play any of the sms2-only games, japanese games, or f-16 fighter. Bleh you can't win! =( You can play Japanese Mark III card games with the Master System Converter. There are other converters available that let you play JP Mark III cartridge games (no FM sound, though).

Tycho Joined: 16 Dec 2009 Posts: 249	Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 3:54 am
Tycho Joined: 16 Dec 2009 Posts: 249	BrianC wrote Tycho wrote Also can anyone confirm/deny that card-format games released in japan work on western consoles, and vice-versa. This was mentioned in another thread. I heard US/EU card games work on the JP SMS or Mark III, but JP Mark III My Card games won't work on a US/EU system. However, JP Mark III My Card games work on a US/EU Genesis/Mega Drive with Power Base Converter. I can confirm that Hang On works on the US PBC. However, SG-1000 My Card games won't work on the US SMS or any PBC/Master System Converter/Mega Adaptor. Quote Since I also collect megadrive/megacd/32x I generally just use the original master system converter, but then I cant play any of the sms2-only games, japanese games, or f-16 fighter. Bleh you can't win! =( You can play Japanese Mark III card games with the Master System Converter. There are other converters available that let you play JP Mark III cartridge games (no FM sound, though). Oooo... What japanese card format exclusives are there exactly? Just Woody Pop, Machinegun Joe and Satellite-7?

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14365 Location: London	Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 9:55 am
	Tycho wrote Oooo... What japanese card format exclusives are there exactly? Just Woody Pop, Machinegun Joe and Satellite-7? http://www.smspower.org/museum/lists/smsallj.txt - Great Baseball - Satellite 7 - Comical Machine Gun Joe - Woody Pop - Shinjinrui no Block Kuzugi Although there are plenty of SG-1000 cards too.

BrianC Joined: 28 Mar 2006 Posts: 36	Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2010 7:36 am
BrianC Joined: 28 Mar 2006 Posts: 36	Tycho wrote Oooo... What japanese card format exclusives are there exactly? Just Woody Pop, Machinegun Joe and Satellite-7? Not really an exclusive since in a 2-in-1 EU cart, but Pit Pot has a simple edit mode that, from what I heard, isn't in the cart version.

Bock Site Admin Joined: 08 Jul 2001 Posts: 8556 Location: Paris, France	Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2010 8:01 am
	BrianC wrote Not really an exclusive since in a 2-in-1 EU cart, but Pit Pot has a simple edit mode that, from what I heard, isn't in the cart version. I had never noticed that before, thanks for the info. I always play the standalone Pit Pot, and indeed, the EDIT mode was removed from the 2-in-1 cartridge. I added a note about it on the WIP Astro Warrior / Pit Pot page.

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