Shining Force NTSC/PAL question

[Valhalla]

Hey guys I have the opportunity to get Shining Force and Shining in the Darkness for Megadrive, problem is i'm in a PAL territory (Australia) and the games are from the US. I have a Megadrive model 2, and am not 100% sure what the status with region locking on the MD is, I hear it is only games after a certain date and also that only the MD1 is region free. Anyway, would I be able to play these two great games if I picked them up. Cheers!

[108Stars]

Shining in the Darkness should work just fine, it was released long before the region lock was introduced.
Shining Force however is risky, it´s from early 1993 I think, I bet it has region protection.
Region protection was introduces in November 1992.
It has nothing to do with the Mega Drive-model you own, just the games. I own an old MD too, but games are region-locked anyway.

And: Even after November ´92 not all games are protected. Many are not. Your best bet is to try via emulation. Switch the region to EU, and try to load a US-ROM. If it works, it will work on the real MD as well. If not, a message will appear.

[fahlim003]

Shining Force does indeed have region lock, you'll either need to modify your system or get a bypass cartridge like Game Genie or the often prized MegaKey.

[zektor]

Usage of the Game Genie is by far the cheapest method. I use it for PAL territory games on an NTSC machine. As long as you do not mind entering a code you'll be ok.

[108Stars]

Use an Action Replay Pro 2, and you don´t even need to enter codes.
Or mod your Mega Drive. It is said to be easy, and if you let some shop do it it should not cost a lot either.