"Multi-Region" Mega Drive

Version 2.0

Matthew Neilson June 13, 2004

Contents

1 Introduction 2 Adding Switches to your Mega Drive 2.1 What you Need. 2.2 Opening up your Mega Drive. 2.3 How the Switches Work. 2.4 Building the Switches. 2.4.1 Language Switch. 2.4.2 50Hz / 60Hz Switch. 2.5 Fitting the Switches. 2.6 Widening the Cartridge Slot. 2.7 Congratulations!. 15
3 Frequently Asked Questions Why do I need to make my Mega Drive multi-region?. Why are some Mega Drive games locked out?. How does the lock-out system work?. What is a bridge adapter, how does it work, and why doesnt it allow me to play all import games? What is a `Universal Adapter'?. What about the Game Genie / Pro Action Replay?. Whats the big deal with 50Hz PAL?. Why is my picture black and white?. Why am I experiencing slowdown in 60Hz NTSC mode?. Is there any way to minimise (or, even better, eliminate) slowdown?. Can I play locked out European games in 60Hz NTSC mode?. I plugged one of my English games into a Japanese Mega Drive, and it now plays in Japanese - why? Which games use lock-out technology?. Is it true that widening the cartridge slot makes my console multi-region?. I heard that the very rst run of Mega Drive consoles had no region lockout. Is this true?. Is there any way to make my Mega Drive change its region automatically?. Is there such a thing as a `lock-out chip'?. What about the licensing screen which appears upon powering up the console?. My modied Mega Drive / Genesis has slightly dierent jumper connections to those outlined in the guide, yet it still works. Why?.
c 2002-2004 Matthew Neilson (matt@gneilson.plus.com) A Constructed using TEXShop, the LTEX frontend for Mac OS X

Version 2.20

Why are the printed traces on my Genesis dierent from the "US" setting shown in the guide?. On my board, JP1 and JP2 are in a dierent area from JP3 and JP4. How do I modify this console? My board has a capacitor across one of the four jumpers. How do I proceed?. Does modifying my console allow me to play any Sega/Mega CD game?. Are there any guides for modifying a Mega Drive / Genesis `mark 2', a Nomad, or a Genesis 3?. 4 Recommended Japanese Import Games 5 Credits 6 Disclaimer

Introduction

By denition, an import is something which has been brought in from a foreign country. In gaming terms, the world is split into three main territories: Europe, America and Japan. If you want to guarantee success with playing import Mega Drive games, you have three options 1. Buy a console from each region (takes up lots of space, but if youre a collector this may be the ideal solution). 2. Buy a universal pass-through adapter which allows you to select a specic region (note that a simple bridge adapter will not suce - you actually require an adapter with region switches). 3. Modify your console by building region-switches, making it multi-region (easily achieved on a Mega Drive 1, and also possible on a Mega Drive 2; this is my preferred option due to its neatness - once modied, your Mega Drive can play anything!). Any of the above will save you from worrying about compatibility issues when buying import games. This document is intended to give you detailed step-by-step instructions for the latter option, namely modifying your Mega Drive / Genesis model 1 console such that it can play import games. The console used to demonstrate this procedure is a European Mega Drive, although this guide is 100% compatible with any region of Mega Drive / Genesis. Owners of a PAL Mega Drive are strongly advised to modify their console for 60Hz gameplay - games will run 20% faster (that is, at their intended speed), AND full-screen (no more crushed graphics!). People seem to get very apprehensive when it comes to opening up their Mega Drive dont be, the modication is incredibly simple and the benets of 60Hz gameplay are remarkable. Before attempting anything on your console, you should rst read through the entire guide and make sure that you are absolutely clear of what needs to be done. If you have any doubts, please feel free to Email me - Ill be happy to help you, and any input will help improve this guide. Similarly, if you notice any typos, please Email me and I will update the guide.

Adding Switches to your Mega Drive
Well, theres my switched Mega Drive - damn, it looks good! Notice the switches at the bottom left, just next to the volume control. It is possible to play any game from any region on this console. Follow these instructions to make your Mega Drive / Genesis multi-region - regardless its country of origin. Note that this guide is only intended for use with the original model 1 Mega Drive1.

What you Need

You will need the following: 1. A screwdriver 2. Some long wire 3. A soldering iron 4. Solder 5. A sharp knife 6. Two SPDT switches 7. An RGB SCART lead
Figure 2.1: Mega Drive ipped upside down. Note that
the six screws holding the machine together are located around the perimeter of the case.

Figure 2.2:

Mega Drive opened in the correct manner, with no strain being put on the "power on" LED.
Opening up your Mega Drive
First of all, turn your Mega Drive upside down (as in Figure 2.1), and unscrew the six screws on the bottom of the machine. Now turn your Mega Drive over such that it is in the normal playing position, and slowly lift the top casing as shown in Figure 2.2. Be careful of the wires that connect to the red "power on" LED. To disconnect the wires, simply bend the LED legs so theyre straight, and pull the connector o. When it comes to reconnecting the LED, note that one LED leg is longer than the other - the red wire attaches to the longer leg. Alternatively, you could write R[ed] and W[hite] next to the legs - its inside the case so its not like anyone will see it. Bear in mind that your Mega Drive wont have the red wires shown at the left hand side of Figure 2.2 (yet). Now unscrew the screws that hold down the shielding. Dont forget about the gold screw on top! NOTE: Once youve nished, remember to put the shielding and casing back to the way they were! Be sure to match up the "on" switch and the volume control on the casing with their corresponding parts on the circuit board when putting the upper casing back on. Once the shielding is removed, you should see something similar to Figure 2.3 (minus the extra red wires, of course!). Youre now ready to perform the modication.
Figure 2.4 shows a blow-up of the section we are most interested in on the circuit board of this particular Mega Drive (located in the bottom-right of the circuit board shown in Figure 2.3). There are four sets of jumper switches labeled "JP1", "JP2", "JP3", and "JP4" (as in Figures 2.4 and 2.5). Working from left to right for JP1 through to JP4, each solder point has been denoted a number from 1 to 8, respectively this simply makes referencing somewhat easier later on. Take a sharp knife, and cut a straight line through

If your Mega Drive has a volume control and a headphone jack, it is a "Model 1" Mega Drive.
Figure 2.3: The inside of a Mega Drive once its shielding had been removed.

JP1 JP2 JP3 JP4

Figure 2.4: A magnication of the section of the board
in Figure 2.3 containing the necessary jumper switches.

Figure 2.5:

The diagram corresponding to Figure 2.4, where each end of the four jumpers has been labeled.
the middle of the jumpers (the dotted line in the Figure 2.5 represents the area you need to cut). Youll need to cut quite far into the board - but dont over do it! Those of you with access to a multimeter may use this to determine whether or not you have cut suciently deep. Throughout the Mega Drives life, there were many dierent circuit board revisions. In some versions, the jumpers may be found at a dierent part of the board from the one shown above; in others, the same jumpers may be laid out in a dierent order. As such, your Mega Drives circuit board may look slightly dierent from the one shown in this guide. Dont let that worry you. You should nd that JP1 and JP2 are both located in the same part of the board, with JP3 and JP4 also being paired together. You can deduce
the orientation of each jumper by looking at its printed label (e.g. "JP1" goes from left to right, which tells you which way round my diagrams are in relation to your circuit board).

How the Switches Work

JP1 and JP2 control the language of your machine. Connecting a piece of wire between the points labeled "2" and "3" will set your console to "Japanese mode" (Figure 2.6), while connecting "3" and "4" will put you in "English mode" (Figure 2.7). Similarly, JP3 and JP4 control the output of the console. Connect a piece of wire between points "5" and "8" for 60Hz NTSC output (Figure 2.8), and between "5" and "6" for 50Hz PAL output (Figure 2.9).

JP1 JP2

JP3 JP4

Figure 2.6: Japanese.

Figure 2.7: English.

Figure 2.8: 60Hz NTSC.

Figure 2.9: 50Hz PAL.

Building the Switches

In the following diagrams, the red dashed lines represent wires and each three-pronged hub at the bottom represents a switch. To make things clearer, please refer to sections 2.4.1 and 2.4.2, respectively.

Japanese

English

60Hz (NTSC)

50Hz (PAL)
Figure 2.10: Language Switch.
Figure 2.11: Frequency Switch.

Language Switch

Take a SPDT switch and a piece of wire. Solder one end of the wire to point "3" and the other to the middle connection of the switch. Now take another piece of wire and solder one end to point "2" and the other to the left connection of the switch. Finally take another piece of wire and solder one end to point "4" and the
other to the right connection of the switch, giving something which looks similar to Figure 2.10. Voila - you have your language switch! 2.4.2 50Hz / 60Hz Switch
Take another SPDT switch and a piece of wire. Solder one end of the wire to point "5" and the other to the middle connection of the switch. Now take another piece of wire and solder one end to point "6" and the other to the left connection of the switch. Take another piece of wire and solder one end to point "8" and the other to the right connection of the switch, as in Figure 2.11. Now you have a 50Hz/60Hz switch. It is worth noting here that if you are modifying a PAL console, the 60Hz output given by this switch is not true NTSC (for more information on this, see the FAQs in Section 3). All this means is that you will need to use an RGB SCART lead in order to play your games in colour (in 60Hz mode).2 This works the other way as well - if its an NTSC system that you are modifying, you will need an RGB SCART for games to play in colour while in 50Hz mode.

Fitting the Switches

This part is entirely your choice. You can see what I did, and personally I cant think of a better place to t the switches. By popular demand, the following describes exactly how I went about tting switches to the Mega Drive pictured above: I used two miniature SPDT [Single Pole, Double Throw] mounting slide switches. Most people use SPDT toggle switches, but I tend to prefer the overall look of the slide switches used here (they dont stick out much, making them rather neat and unobtrusive). To actually t one of the switches, I drilled a small hole on the side of my Mega Drive [after hours of measuring/debating], making sure that the hole would be smaller than the head of the switch. I then led away, constantly checking to see whether or not the switch would comfortably slide from one position to the other. Once I had a good, neat (and straight) t, I marked the position of the xing holes and drilled a tiny hole through each of the aforementioned markings. Its then just a matter of screwing the switch into place. The second switch is tted in exactly the same way, but be sure to measure everything out relative to the rst switch if you want them to be neatly aligned. You might want to put masking tape over the area of casing you intend to drill through before marking/drilling, as this can help prevent the drill from slipping.

Failure to use an RGB SCART lead will result in the game playing in black and white. Apparently, some television sets are able to cope with the signal that the Mega Drive outputs when it is being played in the wrong frequency setting, but in most cases you will need an RGB SCART to play the game in colour.
Widening the Cartridge Slot
Ahhh. you thought you were nished - didnt you? Well, youre not - theres still one last thing to do. It turns out that Japanese Mega Drive cartridges are wider than non-Japanese Mega Drive cartridges. Here, Ive used Thunder Force IV 3 as an example:
Notice how the European cart has those little notches at either side (at the back) whereas the Japanese cart is curved. Well, you guessed it, those sleek Japanese carts just dont t into non-Japanese Mega Drives. The reason is that Sega cunningly changed the shape of the Euro/US carts and the shape of the cartridge slot on the console, so as to prevent people importing from Japan. This is easily rectied by simply dismantling the cartridge slot on the Mega Drive and ling down the little notches on each side. Once you have your console open, youll see some screws holding the cartridge mechanism together - unscrew them. Now look for the protruding "corners" at either side of the slot, and take them o. I used a fret-saw to get rid of the majority of the edge, and then led the rest until a Japanese cart would t. Make sure you get a good clean t, with plenty of space for a cart to t in without any scratches - after all, once everythings back together the cart slot will look almost exactly the same as it did before (from the outside, at least). Sunsoft 4 cartridges are probably the best to use for testing the width of the slot, as they are the widest of all Japanese Mega Drive carts. Then screw everything back together, and your Mega Drive will be able to accept Japanese games! Japanese systems also have trouble accepting non-Japanese cartridges due to a cartridge lock that holds the game in the cart slot while the system is switched on. You see that little slot at the side of the Japanese cart? Thats where the piece of plastic slides in to prevent the game being pulled out while the Mega Drive is switched on (a very clever and useful device, I must say). To x this, all you have to do is remove the lock on the inside of the Mega Drive by removing the screw that holds it in place. Then screw everything back together, and your Japanese Mega Drive will be able to accept non-Japanese games. NOTE: DO NOT le the game carts themselves! Apart from potentially destroying the game, the cart will look terrible, and is guaranteed to be worthless - no one likes buying led carts.

Congratulations!

You can now play Import Mega Drive games! Simply switch to "60Hz" and "Japanese" for Japanese mode, "60Hz" and "English" for US mode, and "50Hz" and "English" for European mode.

Whats the big deal with 50Hz PAL?
OK, lets break this down. First, well deal with the PAL issue. In Europe (and some areas of Japan), PAL is the standard television signal. In the USA and Japan, NTSC is the standard television signal. PAL was developed after NTSC, and is, believe it or not, the superior of the two systems - PAL uses more horizontal lines (312 lines compared to 262) for each frame, hence a higher resolution. The reason why the majority of gamers complain about PAL is for one simple reason - most games are developed in the USA and Japan,
where NTSC is the standard, and so most games are optimised for the NTSC system. So the 262 lines used for each frame of game play are squished in the middle of the 312 lines used by a PAL television. This means that PAL games have bars at the top and bottom of the screen, and it also means that the graphics look crushed:

Sonic the Hedgehog (PAL)

Sonic the Hedgehog (NTSC)
As can be seen from the above screenshots, Sonic looks like a dwarf in PAL mode! So thats why most Europeans dont like PAL when playing our Mega Drive games. Now for the 50Hz issue. In 50Hz mode we have 25 frames per second, while in 60Hz mode we have 30 frames per second. So a game running in 60Hz mode is 20% faster than it is running in 50Hz mode. What this means (in Mega Drive lingo) is that Sonic runs 20% faster in 60Hz than he does in 50Hz - and believe me, thats a lot! You can really feel the dierence when playing your favourite game in a dierent frequency setting; 50Hz feels incredibly slow and sluggish, while 60Hz feels fast and slick. Again, with 50Hz being the standard in Europe and 60Hz the standard in the US and Japan, most games were designed to be played in 60Hz mode - which means that the European Mega Drive gamers suer again. As you can see, its really two separate problems that European (and Australian) Mega Drive players have to deal with here.
Why is my picture black and white?
Due to the fact that the main crystal of a PAL Mega Drive is marginally dierent from the main crystal of an NTSC Mega Drive, the output of a switched PAL Mega Drive (in 60Hz mode) is almost (but not quite) an NTSC signal. In order to x this, you must use an RGB SCART lead. Here is a Usenet post from Mike G explaining how it works:
>Coming to think of it right now, there is something on the board that looks like a >crystal or whatever, Its got 53.20342 MHz on it. Not exactly pal or ntsc standard but anyway. Thats the main crystal. This frequency has to be divided by integer numbers to produce the main clock frequency and (in the Mega Drive) the colour subcarrier frequency. (Thats why its such an odd value and not, say, 50MHz.) 53.203425MHz divided by 12 gives 4.433619MHz, which is the exact colour subcarrier frequency required for PAL. In a NTSC Mega Drive, the main crystal is 53.693175MHz. Dividing this by 15, you end up with 3.579545MHz, which is the subcarrier frequency for NTSC. This discrepancy results

in the CPU in NTSC MDs running at a slightly faster clock speed, but not so much that youd notice! The frequency is divided by 12 or 15 depending on what the 50/60Hz jumper/pin is set to. This means that if you have a PAL MD set to 60Hz or a NTSC MD set to 50Hz, the colour subcarrier is at the "wrong" frequency (hence you need a RGB SCART cable when playing games at 60Hz on a European MD, otherwise you get a black-and-white picture). None of the above is relevant for the Mega PC, actually (because it doesnt use a composite or RF connection, so doesnt need a colour subcarrier), but I just thought Id mention it :-) -Mike
Why am I experiencing slowdown in 60Hz NTSC mode?
As many gamers will attest, some sections of games are notorious for slowing down when theres a lot of action going on. This is because the CPU cant process the game information quickly enough to run the game at full speed. In 60Hz mode slowdown is generally more prominent than it is in 50Hz mode. European gamers may remember some slowdown when playing (usually when one player loses lots of rings). Well in 60Hz this the game is running faster in the rst place. It is important to not experience more slowdown than an unmodied US Genesis that matter. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in two-player mode slowdown is slightly more noticeable, since note that a modied PAL Mega Drive will or an unmodied Japanese Mega Drive, for
Is there any way to minimise (or, even better, eliminate) slowdown?
Yes, there is a way of doing this. Apparently, Sega underclocked the Motorola 68000 (the Mega Drives core processor) to run at 7.67MHz. The reasons behind this are unknown (possibly to prevent overheating or premature parts failure?), but people have found ways of overclocking the processor to reduce lag and allow even the most slowdown-ridden games to play without a hitch. The Mega Drives processor has been forced to run at speeds of up to 16MHz while maintaining stability (contrary to popular belief, overclocking a Mega Drive does not cause its games to run faster than their intended speed). Note that overclocking will require a separate modication and, for most people, the eort involved isnt really worth it. However, the hobbyists among you should denitely check out Epic Gamings website at http://www.bluespheer.com/host/epicgaming//md oc/ for information on the procedure involved. Please note that overclocking is not covered in this guide and is completely separate from making your Mega Drive multi-region. I cannot answer any questions regarding overclocking - although Im happy to hear from anyone who has successfully overclocked their console.
Can I play locked out European games in 60Hz NTSC mode?
Yes, you can. Once you have performed the modication, set your Mega Drive to 50Hz PAL English mode, and at any time after the SEGA logo has appeared switch the frequency to 60Hz. In most games, you will be able to play the game at its intended speed. In some games, however, the music will be out of sync (PAL Cool Spot, for example) or there will be some graphical glitches at certain points of the game (as in the PAL versions of Alien Soldier, Virtua Racing, Another World and Gunstar Heroes).

Is it true that widening the cartridge slot makes my console multi-region?
No. The cartridge modication allows Japanese games to physically t into a non-Japanese Mega Drive, but it does not allow locked out games to play.
I heard that the very rst run of Mega Drive consoles had no region lockout. Is this true?
No. All Genesis / Mega Drive consoles block protected import games by default. There are no exceptions.
Is there any way to make my Mega Drive change its region automatically?
There is no known way of modifying a Genesis / Mega Drive to automatically switch its region depending on which game is inserted. Im inclined to believe that it would be impossible to do this, since there are a
number of dual-language games out there. For example, the Japanese and European releases of Streets of Rage 2 use exactly the same ROM - so how would an auto-switching console know which region to choose? It would either crash, or ignore one of the language-settings altogether (e.g. Bare Knuckle 2 - the Japanese version of Streets of Rage 2 - may be impossible to play on such a machine).
Is there such a thing as a lock-out chip ?
There is no such thing as a lock-out chip in Genesis / Mega Drive games. Territorial lock-out is performed in the form of software, and is therefore eectively PART of the game. When a protected cart is inserted, the rst thing the game does is check the console on which it is being run such that it can determine what to do next. For example, say we insert a Japanese game which uses territorial lockout (such as Monster World IV) into a non-Japanese (unmodied) console: 1. First, the game checks the console to determine which region it is from. 2. If the console has the same conguration as a Japanese Mega Drive, the game will then load - otherwise, the game will refuse to load and will instead display a pre-programmed warning message. As you can see, theres no point including an expensive chip to prevent importers playing games when simply adding a tiny (eectively free) amount of code to the game would do the trick.
What about the licensing screen which appears upon powering up the console?
This is the famous Mega Drive Boot-ROM. Later revisions of the model 1 console (those manufactured after February 1991, I believe) introduced a licensing check to prevent companies from releasing unlicensed games (as opposed to territorial lockout, which is used to prevent people from importing games). As such, original model 1 systems are able to play some of the early [and unlicensed] Accolade games. The story goes something like this: Basically, Accolade [under the Ballistic alias] and Electronic Arts [neither of which were ocial Sega licensees] decided to reverse-engineer some ocial Mega Drive / Genesis games in the hope of learning how to write their own games. At one point, some apparently meaningless code was found near the beginning of each reverse-engineered game (i.e. it served no purpose - when removed, the games loaded and played as expected), so they decided not to include this code in their games. A huge court battle between Sega and Accolade ensued and, in the end, Segas later board revisions of the model 1 Mega Drive / Genesis included a check for the omitted "ocial" code to disable the unlicensed releases. Assuming we are attempting to play a protected game, the order in which these two [completely independent] procedures work is as follows: 1. First, the console scans the game to determine whether or not it may be run. 2. Then the game checks the console to determine whether or not that specic console may run the game. Do not confuse the ability to play unlicensed games with the ability to play region locked games! For example, games which checks the frequency of the console before loading (such as PAL Alien Soldier) will refuse to load on a US Genesis - regardless of its model. I have found that consoles with "high denition graphics and stereo sound" printed on the rim of the

disc surrounding the cartridge slot and an "EXT" port on the back are the only ones which might not display the licensing screen (unfortunately, the last batch of consoles to use this "old-style" case also included a license-test). If anyone knows a better method of identifying license-free machines, please let me know.
My modied Mega Drive / Genesis has slightly dierent jumper connections to those outlined in the guide, yet it still works. Why?
The guide is based around the way I modied my Mega Drive - and the set-up shown will work when applied to a Mega Drive of any region (US, Europe, or Japan). However, there are slightly dierent set-ups that also work perfectly well. Galen Tatsuo Komatsu neatly demonstrates this using his modied Genesis. The console was modied in such a way that it has one switch for each jumper, and after a couple of tests he came up with the following tables:

Language

JP1 open open closed closed JP2 open closed open closed output English English Japanese *short*

50Hz/60Hz

JP3 open open closed closed JP4 open closed open closed output 60Hz 60Hz 50Hz *short*
As you can see, selecting two conicting states simultaneously (i.e. "English and Japanese" or "50Hz and 60Hz") results in the power line being connected directly to the ground line and the console fails to power up. It is also worth pointing out that "English" and "60Hz" appear to be the dominant settings. So on this console we could have wired it such that our language switch connects across JP1 when switched to one position, and is open when icked to the other. Referring to the diagram in Section 2.3 we could have, for example, "1" wired to the middle connection, "2" wired to the right connection, and leave the left connection open. Similarly, our 50Hz/60Hz switch could have been wired such that we have JP3 closed in one position, and open in the other. I believe the modication would have also worked if we had used "1" and "7" as the central connections for our language and frequency switches respectively, since "1" is soldered to "3", and "5" to "7" on the backside of the board. NOTE: I strongly recommend you stick to the original settings used in Section 2, as these have been thoroughly checked and better explained.
Why are the printed traces on my Genesis dierent from the "US" setting shown in the guide?
The printed traces on a US Genesis go across JP2 and JP4 (thats 3-4 and 7-8 in the diagram). As explained in the above answer, points "5" and "7" are are already connected - so end result is the same. In short, just stick to the guide and youll be ne! For the record, the printed traces on a PAL Mega Drive go across JP2 and JP3, and on a Japanese Mega Drive they go across JP1 and JP4.
On my board, JP1 and JP2 are in a dierent area from JP3 and JP4. How do I modify this console?

This will not aect the modication procedure. JP1 and JP2 control the language of the console, and work independently of JP3 and JP4 (which control the output frequency [50/60]Hz). So instead of wiring both switches to the lower-right section of the circuit board, simply wire one switch to the section in which JP1 and JP2 are located, and the other to the area in which JP3 and JP4 are located.
My board has a capacitor across one of the four jumpers. How do I proceed?
On some of the older boards you may nd a capacitor on one jumper (usually one of the language jumpers). If you have a capacitor here, note that it is on the unused jumper for your consoles region - for example, on an English-language console the capacitor will be across JP1. It has been determined that this serves no purpose, and so its completely safe to de-solder the capacitor at either end (i.e. remove it). You can now use Section 2 of this guide to modify your console. NOTE: Thanks to Carlo Savorelli and Lorenzo Nocentini for risking their Mega Drive to verify this.
Does modifying my console allow me to play any Sega/Mega CD game?
As far as unmodied consoles go, you cannot pick and mix Sega/Mega CD and Genesis/Mega Drive systems. A US Genesis will only work with a US Sega CD. The Sega CD (US version of the Mega CD) needs a US Genesis in order to function - it simply wont work with a foreign console. Of course, with switches installed on your base Mega Drive (or Genesis) you can get round this by switching to US-mode before loading a Sega CD game. As for playing Mega CD (that is, European or Japanese) games on a US Sega CD, you need a converter cartridge such as the Pro CD-X released by Datel in the UK. This plugs into the cartridge slot of your system, allowing games from the selected region to play on your Sega CD - you dont need switches on your system to play Jap CD games if youre using a US Sega CD. The downside? You cant have a back-up RAM cart and an import converter in your system at the same time - so games that rely on a RAM cart, like Japanese Shining Force CD, are pretty much out of the question. Note that you cant switch your Mega Drive to Japanese mode to play a Japanese CD game on your US Sega CD, as the two systems would think they are from dierent regions - and the Sega CD wouldnt work. You need an adapter to force two systems from dierent regions to work with one another. If you live in Europe and wish to play import CD games on your European Mega CD, youve got an extra hurdle to overcome - namely the dreaded 50/60Hz problem. When you load an import game using the Datel adapter on a European Mega CD, things generally work OK until you reach FMV-heavy sections of the game (in fact, the CD audio works independently of the game speed, and so all CD audio will be out-of-sync with the graphics). Now I havent tried this myself (as I dont have a Mega CD), but I believe it should be possible to play imports on a modied European Mega Drive by switching to 60Hz, plugging in the Pro CD-X adapter, and then loading the import you wish to play. Alternatively, you can obtain the so-called "switchable MultiBIOS" for your Mega/Sega CD. You swap your current CD BIOS with this MultiBIOS and install the appropriate switches, allowing you to play import CD games on your system without the need for an adapter. For more information, check out Arakons guide, available at http://arakon.hn.org/tutorial/bios.html.

Are there any guides for modifying a Mega Drive / Genesis mark 2, a Nomad, or a Genesis 3?
I have not written any guides for these variants, and I have no intention to do so. The reason for this is simple: I have never modied any of these consoles myself! However, there are a couple of useful guides you might want to check out on the internet. For the Mega Drive 2 and the Genesis 3, see Mike Gs guides, available from: http://www.mikeg2.freeserve.co.uk/masterful/md2lang.html http://www.mikeg2.freeserve.co.uk/masterful/md2new.html A guide for modifying a Sega Nomad is available at the following URL: http://www.gamesx.com/importmod/gen2nomadbutton.htm As previously stated, I have not attempted any of these modications myself, so Im afraid that I cannot give any help/clarication for any aspects of these guides.
Recommended Japanese Import Games
Since Japanese games are somewhat hard to come by, and since information on them is scarce at the best of times, Ill list ten excellent Japanese Mega Drive games you should check out - easily enough to get you started. 1. Monster World IV 2. Langrisser II 3. Vixen 357 4. Yuu Yuu Hakusho: Makyo Toitsusen (the Treasure one!) 5. Magical Taluluto-Kun 6. Flaming Dodgeball Kid 7. Puyo Puyo 8. Twinkle Tale 9. Lord Monarch 10. Dyna Brothers 2 Im warning you now that Japanese Mega Drive games tend to be a tad pricey (the most expensive can go for up to $200+), simply due to their rarity (Alien Soldier and Rockman are prime examples), but in general Japanese games are worth forking out for. After all, most still sell for around $5-$10 and for this you get a beautiful full-colour manual complete with manga sketches - you just have to see one to believe how exquisite the layout and artwork are! Buy Magical Taluluto-Kun and youll see what I mean - beautiful 17
manual, fantastic game (only released in Japan, by the way), and also pretty cheap if you can nd it. I import all my games from Japan if I can, unless its absolutely essential to be able to read the language in order to progress through the game. I have to make a special mention here for two of my all-time favourite Import Mega Drive games - Monster World IV and Langrisser 2. The former is a continuation of the Monster World saga (referred to as Wonder Boy outside Japan), which is easily one of the best games on the Mega Drive - atmospheric, graphically among the best Ive ever seen, and one of the only games Ive played where I really felt attached to the characters. The second is the sequel to a game which was released in the Sates as Warsong. While the original was a pioneer of turn-based strategy games (and still one of the best, might I add), the sequel is easily the best of its kind, with vastly improved graphics, a much better game engine, great music and cunning AI (Langrisser 2 was, incidentally, voted #3 in an all-time Mega Drive game poll in Japan). Anyone whos a fan of the Shining Force games will love it. Both Monster World IV and Langrisser 2 were criminally never released outside Japan - two of the many unusual decisions Sega made in the past. But never mind, neither are too expensive and thankfully there are text translations on the internet for both (although it is possible to comfortably work your way through the games without any Japanese knowledge).

Credits

SEGA Enterprises, Ltd.

http://www.sega.com

Manufacturers of my favourite games console of all time, the Mega Drive. Without Sega, this guide would not exist!

Apple Computer, Inc.

http://www.apple.com
Computer manufacturer, developer of Mac OS X. This guide was written on an Apple Powerbook G4 running Mac OS X.
TEXShop http://www.uoregon.edu/koch/texshop A Frontend for the powerful LTEX typesetting system, primarily used for scientic document typesetting.

Eidolons Inn

http://www.eidolons-inn.net
Site devoted to the classic Sega consoles. The Tavern message board in particular was an invaluable source of information during the compilation of this guide.

GoogleTM Groups

http://groups.google.com
A complete archive of every Usenet post since 1981. The alt.sega.genesis newsgroup was used to discuss many aspects of Mega Drive modication.

GameFAQs

http://www.gamefaqs.com
Home of numerous useful Mega Drive documents which were consulted throughout the evolution of this guide. The Genesis message board raised some of the questions included in the FAQ section of this guide.

Special Thanks.

THANKS!
Mike G, Galen Tatsuo Komatsu, Flavio, |Ray| (Arakon), Eidolon, Dark Grue, Samudra, Amano Jacu, Carlo Savorelli, Lorenzo Nocentini and everyone else that has contributed to this guide. I couldnt have done it without you guys thanks!

Disclaimer

This guide has been checked and double checked. To the best of my knowledge, all of the information given here is correct. However, I am not responsible for any damage which results form the [mis]use of this guide. If you have any questions or wish to point out any typos, please contact me via Email. One of the reasons for me writing this guide was because I found it dicult to obtain thorough, reliable information on Mega Drive modications - so I encourage you to distribute this document as much as you want, using any methods you see t (e.g. through websites, le-sharing programs, message boards,. etc.), so that others can have an easier time nding it. Finally, and most importantly, if you feel that you should be credited for any part of this guide, please Email me and you will be added to the "Credits" section in any future releases. Thanks!

The encyclopedia of consoles, handhelds & home computers 1972 - 2005

The encyclopedia of

Consoles, handhelds & home computers 1972 - 2005
tari From A rom ,f to Sega tendo DS: Nin o of Apple t rated history st , The illu machines 0 s, 50 icture 600 p ory & hist al data technic
33 years of on-screen fun and interaction: This book presents every game computer and console ever created, from Japan, USA and Europe, along with classic software in its authentic, pixellated glory, and background information and key technical facts. More than 400 dream machines and million sellers, bizarre slip-ups and exotic variants are celebrated in full colour chapters with extensive appendixes. From Atari to Xbox, from the C64 to Nintendo DS: Game.Machines is the reference point for members of the PlayStation generation; whether theyre gamers or collectors. Originally published in Germany, Game.Machines has been recognized as a `suitable reference and `recommended reading (by Germany's premier micro monthly Ct), as `very entertaining (Gamestar) and `compulsory reading (PlayZone) or simply as `Ace (ComputerBILD). Two years in the making, this greatly enhanced and revised edition invites you to a time journey across the video game epoch: From the 4-Bit beginning to the broadband future.
`A thrilling journey. don't miss it!
(Official PlayStation Magazine, OPM) The author Winnie Forster is a publisher and expert in digital media and has worked in the computer and video game industry since 1990. He was co-founder and editor of the legendary German game magazines PowerPlay, VideoGames and Man!ac. He now lives, plays and works in a Bavarian village near lake Ammersee.
17.95 ISBN: 3-00-015359-4

www.game-machines.co.uk

153594

Winnie Forster

GP15_001-009_UK Wi.qxd

21.01.2005 15:31 Uhr

Seite 2

Contents

Preface Explanation of hardware chapters Introduction to game storage media First era: Birth of electronic games. Mainframes, arcades and TV games 1972 Magnavox Odyssey 1976 Saba Fairchild 1977 TRS-Apple II 1977 CBM Pet 1977 Atari VCS 1978 Interton VCPhilips GNEC PC-Atari Sharp MZ 1979 Mattel Intellivision 1979 Microvision 1981 Sinclair ZXTexas Instruments TI99/Commodore VC Second era: Videogame crash and home computer success story 1982 CBS Colecovision 1982 Entex Adventurevision 1982 Vectrex 1982 Hanimex HMG Sinclair Spectrum 1982 Acorn BBC B 1982 Commodore C VT Creativision 1982 Atari Sharp XOric-MSX 1983 Sega SG-1000 & Master System 1983 Nintendo Famicom & NES 1984 Epoch Super Cassettevision 1984 Commodore 16 & Plus/Atari Amstrad CPC

Third era: 16-Bit 1984 IBM PC-AT 1984 Apple Mac 1985 Atari ST 1985 Commodore Amiga 1985 Enterprise 1987 Acorn Archimedes 1987 NEC PC-Engine 1987 Sharp XSega Mega Drive 1989 Nintendo Game Boy 1989 Atari Lynx 1989 FM Towns 1990 SNK Neo Geo 1990 Sega Game Gear 1990 Super Nintendo

139 140

Seite 3
Fourth era: Rendered crazy 1991 Philips CDi 1991 Supervision 1993 Atari Jaguar 1993 Panasonic 3DO 1994 Sega Saturn 1994 Sony PlayStation 1994 NEC PC-FX 1995 Nintendo Virtual Boy 1996 Nintendo Bandai Pippin 1997 Tiger Gamecom Fifth era: The 21st century: Caught in the net of gaming 1998 Sega Dreamcast 1998 Neo Geo Pocket 1999 Bandai Wonderswan 2000 Sony PlayStation Nuon 2001 Nintendo Game Boy Advance 2001 Microsoft Xbox 2001 Nintendo Gamecube 2002 Gamepark GPNokia N-Gage 2004 Nintendo DS 2004 Sony PSP Other formats: Home computers Other formats: Game consoles

168 169

Appendix: Technical data 8-Bit home computers 8-Bit and 16-Bit game consoles 16-Bit home computers 32-Bit and CD-ROM consoles 64-Bit and DVD consoles Handhelds Multimedia handhelds Technical data: Explanations Index A: Hardware Index B: Games Bibliography Imprint 224 224
Bandai Wonderswan Tare Panda no Gunpey Edition (Japan, 2001)
The Tramiel clan extended the Atari range with a `Jackintosh. Despite similar technology, the 520 ST and its variants couldnt match the audio and visuals of Commodores Amiga.
French adventure artists dropped 8-Bit in favor of the ST: Future Wars by newcomers Delphine.

Atari ST

USA, 1985
Units sold: Number of games: Game storage: Games developed until:
6 Million 1,000 Disk 1994
San (Starglider) supported the platform right into the 90s. Germany was another stronghold for Atari, where Thalion developed mainly for the ST, releasing huge RPGs (Dragonflight) and fast action games (Wings of Death). By 1990, the Amiga overtook the Atari as a graphics and games machine, but due to its MIDI port, the ST remained the first choice for professional musicians. Similarly, small DTP offices used it as an affordable alternative to Macs. The final variant was the 68030-driven Falcon in 1992.
Dungeon Master was a revolution. If you didn't own an ST, you had to wait ages for a conversion of this realtime expedition. New wine in old bottles: The last ST compatible was called Falcon and was audio-visually more powerful than its predecessors, though it wasnt a success.

Variants and successors

520ST 1985 The 512 K ST first shipped with a monochrome monitor, an external power supply as well as TOS on disk. It was replaced by the 260ST and 520ST+ (1 MB) and was also available as STm (with TV modulator) and STf (internal floppy drive). This short-lived 520ST twin (also with 512 K, external floppy) was shipped only in Europe. A 1 MB computer with TOS in ROM and internal power supply. An `m in the name stands for TV modulator; `f for a sideward floppy drive. A desktop PC with separate keyboard, integrated floppy, up to 4 MB memory as standard and two new chips for graphics acceleration. Professional add-ons were hard-drive and removable media with up to 60 MB as well as a DTP-suitable 19 monitor. The 520ST successor was enhanced in terms of graphics (4,096 colour palette, hardware scrolling, Blitter) and memory, shipping with 1 to 4 MB, in the UK and France along with 512 MB RAM as 520STE. Apart from two ordinary 9-pin ports Atari used its own 12-pin controller ports. The laptop with monochrome LCD, mini-trackball, 4 MB RAM and 40 MB hard-drive was replaced in the early 90s by a lighter, just as unsuccessful ST-Book (no LCD backlight, no floppy). A compatible successor with new 68030 CPU (2 MB RAM, up to 8 MB on top of the TTs RAM) and better graphic modes: 320x480 in 256 of 4096 colours, 640x480 in 16 colours and a monochrome mode in 1280x960 pixels. It was replaced by the Falcon. Mega-ST successor with separate keyboard, a CPU clocked at 16 MHz, cache and an optional co-processor. A keyboard computer with integrated floppy, 68030 CPU as well as a programmable DSP, 4 to 14 MB RAM and a graphics resolution of 640x480 pixels in 16-Bit colours.
Musicians and DTP artists bought their Atari ST with the 12 monitor SM 146 and got a small, but crisp picture.

260ST 1040ST Mega ST

In 1984, while devising its 16-Bit computer range, Atari invested in the Amiga company, owned by ex-employee Jay Miner. However, a bullish negotiating-style drove the hardware team to competitor Commodore, which promptly swallowed Amiga and released a computer of the same name simultaneously to the Atari ST. Miners graphics chips were missing from the ST, but other than that it was similar to the Amiga: Both machines used a Motorola 68000 CPU, 3.5 disks and a mouse as input device, and both enticed punters with a graphical user interface. GEM was the name given to Ataris GUI with its
small drive and drawer symbols accompanied by the `Tramiel Operating System (TOS). The Atari ST was cheaper than other 16-Bit machines and was supported by many games manufacturers. 1987 turned out to be its most successful year: In the US, the real-time RPG Dungeon Master was released, along with Dan `Choplifter Gorlins Typhoon Thompson and Midi Maze which networked 16 computers anticipating the deathmatches of the 90s. After that, the scene shifted to Europe. Prominent programmers like the Bitmap Brothers (Speedball, Cadaver), Eric Chahi (Another World), the adventure specialists Magnetic Scrolls as well as 3D pioneers Paul Woakes (Damocles) and Jez

1040STe

STacy Atari TT

1989 1990

Mega STe Falcon

1991 1992

In the UK, most games were developed for both ST and Amiga: A cheering Speedball 2 player from 1990.
Trendsetter Sega commenced the age of 16-Bit consoles, becoming popular in western markets. Supporting the console were almost 1,000 games, add-ons for all purposes and tastes, as well as several upgrades.
The peaceful dolphin Ecco was brought to life by Novotrade in Hungary, later known as Appaloosa.

Sega Mega Drive

Japan, 1988
Sega itself created the best cartridges: Advanced Military Commander even supported the Mega Drive modem.
This is excellent vertical action: Musha Aleste was coded by Compile for Sega and published in late 1990.
parties held back in order to avoid complications with Nintendo. Square, Enix and Konami ignored Sega; Capcom preferred to sell licences instead of developing and publishing Sega software under its own logo. In the west, the machine was much more welcome, as developers thirsted for an alternative to Nintendos licence-dictatorship. At first, Atari ST and Amiga games were converted, followed by original Mega Drive game concepts. In the UK Virgin supported Sega with games and hardware distribution, in the US Electronic Arts immediately stood by Sega. Nearly all EA Sports series
started out on the Mega Drive, while computer-hits like Populous, Budokan and Starflight were converted, the action-adventure Immortal even with enhanced graphics. From 1992 on, the Mega Drive became the most popular platform amongst western developers. Sega countered the introduction of the Super Nintendo with a CD-ROM upgrade: The Mega CD introduced a second 68000 chip, and was placed under the actual console, merging with it to become more powerful than any hardware. However, as few Mega Drive users bought the upgrade, the market remained too small to attract a
30 Million 850 Cartridge, CD 1997
Japanese games manufacturer Sega had always come in second producing accomplished technology and brilliant arcade and console games, but lacking the worldwide success of Nintendo. In joining the 16-Bit fray, Sega finally sought to capture the market from its rival: As the successor to the Master System, the Mega Drive was released in Japan in 1988, arriving in Europe two years later. American and European gamers welcomed the new hardware: The console was technically similar to the successful Amiga and ST home computers, but

graphically superior and thanks to proven and well documented chips, pretty easy to code for. Early releases like Altered Beast had good visuals, but were a let-down gameplay-wise. Thereafter new cartridges went to prove both the hardwares capabilities, as well as the creativity and talent of Segas developers: The RPG Phantasy Star II, the Capcom conversion Ghouls n Ghosts and a year after the launch the excellent action skirmish Revenge of Shinobi. But in spite of Segas internal development teams programming full steam ahead, the large third-
Mickey Mouse was charming as one of the first licensed Mega Drive heroes: Castle of Illusion (1990).
To fight Nintendo, Sega invested heavily in internal game development (picture: Story of Thor) and.
.manufactured the flat Mega Drive 2 (sparing minor details like the volume control) as well as a cheaper Mega CD device.
A glimpse into the future: The polygon background in Silpheed streamed from CD. Smaller vehicles were rendered in realtime.
In 1993, Japanese developer Treasure unleashed a late sprite- and pixel-feast starring the Gunstar Heroes.
major commitment by the software companies; developers rarely utilized the CD capacity or the power of the second CPU. Just a few months after release (12.12.1991 in Japan), the CD system was perceived to be dead whilst Nintendos new cartridge machine the Super Famicom replaced the market-leading NES. In the west, Sega closed in on their arch-rival selling 12 million consoles before the end of 1993 in the US alone, where
Core proved their competence and squeezed the most out of the complicated Mega CD setup: Thunderhawk
the console was released as the Genesis, and where the industry veteran Tom Kalinske was in charge. According to US magazine Wired, Segas market share of 45% overtook Nintendos 44%; in Europe as many as 66% of gamers played with the Mega Drive. With Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega provided their console with a mascot that was more modern and swaggering than Mario. Now, Acclaim and Konami, previously exclusive Nintendo partners, joined Segas bandwagon.
Segas Plan for World Domination declared Wired as it put the blue hedgehog on its cover and quoted EAs Bing Gordon: The Genesis has an older custom base than Nintendo. And thats the growth market for the back half of the 90s. Gordon was eventually to be proved right, but it wasnt Sega that tapped into this adult market of gamers, but Sony. Following the introduction of the Mega CD, the Sonic-

With adapters for the cart port, the Mega Drive played both, past and future: The Master System Converter for 8-Bit cartridges and cards was released 1992.
Unreliable ports, area-coded lock out and dependence on a second mains outlet limited the Mega CDs use. The picture shows the Japanese, first variant; the Mega CD II was shipped world wide in a new look.
. four years later, the 32X add-on with its RISC chips appeared. It required its own power supply and had only 40 games.