SMS FM Modulation [Archive] - Retrogaming Roundtable

Coldguy

01-25-2009, 06:22 PM

A friend of mind informed me about someone who sells a plug (or solder) connection to enable the SMS to blast things in FM and make them sound incredibly better.

http://www.smspower.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10841

Here is a site about a guy who sells then, anyone ever buy from him, or found another way to get the FM modulation on their SMS?

grolt

01-26-2009, 03:19 AM

Here is a site about a guy who sells then, anyone ever buy from him, or found another way to get the FM modulation on their SMS?

Just buy a Japanese Master System - it has FM built into it, as well as other perks like the 3D glasses card and rapid fire built in too. With the small little expansion connector that you can also get from Bock at SMSPower, you can play all your western games on it no problem, in addition to all the Japanese exclusive games. I bought mine last year, and it's been the only Master System I've used since.

klausien

01-26-2009, 10:26 AM

Mobius

01-26-2009, 10:56 AM

What games support FM sound, and do the US releases still have the support in them?

PresidentLeever

01-26-2009, 11:25 AM

The FM on sms is usually not very good though.

grolt

01-26-2009, 11:58 AM

What games support FM sound, and do the US releases still have the support in them?

Most Japanese games from OutRun onwards support it, and with the exception of larger RPGs like Phantasy Star and Ys, where the English text took up more characters than the Japanese, therefore forcing them to remove the FM tracks from the cart, all the US versions of the Japanese games support FM as well. There are also a number of games released only in western countries (like Altered Beast, California Games, etc. that have support for the chipset.

For a full listing of games, and the option to buy the awesome gender adapter from Bock, check out this thread (http://www.smspower.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8714).

Bratwurst

01-26-2009, 12:05 PM

Wonderboy III is probably the most notable game to support FM, it never got released in Japan with the exception of the Game Gear port, and that was slightly different in design.

Personally I don't care for the FM sound at all, I'm more familiar with the original tunes as I was playing them back in the 80s and 90s so the 'enhanced' soundtracks just sound odd.

grolt

01-26-2009, 12:08 PM

The FM on sms is usually not very good though.

Where do you get that idea? Honestly, FM sounds beautiful, allowing for a much fuller and rounded sound space. Games like Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars, Golvellius, and Lord of the Sword really come to life with the device. It's often as if the soundtrack has been completely remade on a game that you've played through hundreds of time as a child. You can't beat that.

zektor

01-26-2009, 12:24 PM

Personally I don't care for the FM sound at all, I'm more familiar with the original tunes as I was playing them back in the 80s and 90s so the 'enhanced' soundtracks just sound odd.

I have to agree with this. Although I have never owned an FM'ed SMS, I have tried the FM in various SMS emulators. It does sound good no doubt, but because I did not grow up with this type on sound in my SMS games I could never get in to it. It just doesn't seem "right" to me. Maybe if it were included in the USA SMS back then this would have been a different story.

Emuaust

01-26-2009, 03:10 PM

ApolloBoy

01-26-2009, 03:31 PM

I have to agree with this. Although I have never owned an FM'ed SMS, I have tried the FM in various SMS emulators. It does sound good no doubt, but because I did not grow up with this type on sound in my SMS games I could never get in to it. It just doesn't seem "right" to me. Maybe if it were included in the USA SMS back then this would have been a different story.
It's actually more of the opposite for me; I got used to playing SMS games on an emulator with FM sound, so for me it's the original PSG soundtrack that sounds odd. I have a Japanese SMS (the one with the FM chip built-in) and a US to Japanese cart adapter, so I'm able to enjoy the enhanced audio with my US carts.

Mobius

01-26-2009, 07:23 PM

Most Japanese games from OutRun onwards support it, and with the exception of larger RPGs like Phantasy Star and Ys, where the English text took up more characters than the Japanese, therefore forcing them to remove the FM tracks from the cart, all the US versions of the Japanese games support FM as well. There are also a number of games released only in western countries (like Altered Beast, California Games, etc. that have support for the chipset.

For a full listing of games, and the option to buy the awesome gender adapter from Bock, check out this thread (http://www.smspower.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8714).

Cool, this is exactly the info I was looking for!

PresidentLeever

01-26-2009, 07:39 PM

Where do you get that idea? Honestly, FM sounds beautiful, allowing for a much fuller and rounded sound space. Games like Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars, Golvellius, and Lord of the Sword really come to life with the device. It's often as if the soundtrack has been completely remade on a game that you've played through hundreds of time as a child. You can't beat that.

Well, by listening to the soundtracks ;) The drums sound like some cheap toy instrument and the bass is too loud. It sounds really un-dynamic in general. There are exceptions (like Cyborg Hunter) but most of the time I strongly prefer the psg versions.

Golvellius sounds pretty good in FM, I'll admit... But it has a different feel to it, in a bad way.

ApolloBoy

01-27-2009, 02:30 AM

The drums sound like some cheap toy instrument and the bass is too loud.
Interesting you bring that up, considering the YM2413 was actually used in a few toy keyboards (by Yamaha, of course).

rbudrick

01-28-2009, 11:37 AM

Some Western games even have FM sound that were never released in Japan. So, no one could hear these except in emulation until now.

There is a translation of Phantasy Star that HAS the FM sound, btw.

-Rob

Aussie2B

01-28-2009, 12:50 PM

Huh, I never knew the Master System was capable of FM synth. Pretty interesting. It's a shame that they took the support out the US model. It's never hurts to give composers more options so as to give their music more depth.

The title of this topic is a little silly, though. You're basically saying "Frequency Modulation Modulation". :P

Rob2600

01-28-2009, 01:49 PM

The title of this topic is a little silly, though. You're basically saying "Frequency Modulation Modulation". :P

It's like when people say "PIN number" or "ATM machine." I hate that.

Coldguy

01-28-2009, 09:34 PM

WOW! Thank you for posting that Coldguy! Ordered :)

Glad to see that someone has finally come up with a solution for FM sound on non-Japanese systems. I am a huge fan of the 3D games on the SMS, and most of them have FM soundtracks, so I am very excited for this.

Let me know how it is

It's like when people say "PIN number" or "ATM machine." I hate that.

I caught that the next day and went...ah screw it I'll leave it as it.

Rob2600

01-28-2009, 09:37 PM

I caught that the next day and went...ah screw it I'll leave it as it.

My hate wasn't directed toward you, just people in general who say "ATM machine" and "PIN number." :)

klausien

02-05-2009, 06:52 PM

My plug-in FM board came in today. Transaction was perfect as expected. Installation was pretty simple if you have the guts to do a little soldering. The fact that it comes with a toggle switch is awesome. It really is about as easy as it gets in terms of system mods, about on par with a Saturn or Genesis US/Jp switch. The only tricky part is finding out which cap you need to yank (C37 for me), but it wasn't too bad. The sheer amount of soldering required in the SMS2 version makes it more of an intermediate to advanced level mod.

I am more of a fan of the PSG just because it's what I'm used to, and I love the "CHOOM!!!" explosion sound used in games like AfterBurner. That said, it is awesome to finally have the FM option for such a reasonable price (A Jp SMS or Mark III with FM Unit is cost-prohibitive IMHO). I haven't tried any other games outside of AfterBurner & OutRun (which I used to test), but it is a good day indeed. Can't wait to give Golvellius a go.

Coldguy

02-06-2009, 01:12 PM

The one thing I am sad about this is they took out the FM music in the JRPGs for the system, where they could haved used it the most...anyone know a way (outside of emulation) to get the FM sound and the english text?