View Full Version : SNES Mario RPG - How to determine the software revision without dumping the ROM?
sniperCCJVQ
09-07-2011, 07:54 AM
Title say pretty much everything
Anyway to know if my copy is version 1.0, 1.1..... ?
badinsults
09-07-2011, 09:20 AM
Check the stamp punched on the back label of the cart.
If it has an A with two digits on it, then it is 1.1. If it is just two digits, it is 1.0.
RPG_Fanatic
09-07-2011, 09:41 AM
What's the difference between the two versions of the game?
Informationator
09-07-2011, 12:25 PM
What's the difference between the two versions of the game?
I, too, am curious.
sniperCCJVQ
09-07-2011, 12:38 PM
I dont know the difference, It did have an impact, on clone SNES system some cannot play the game with revision X
sniperCCJVQ
09-07-2011, 06:28 PM
Check the stamp punched on the back label of the cart.
If it has an A with two digits on it, then it is 1.1. If it is just two digits, it is 1.0.
Thanks
I just checked and there's no "A with 2 digits" only SNS-006 and the patents #'s
note that the back label is bilingual and its a canadian release
therefore, could it be 1.0 ?
WesternNYCollector
09-07-2011, 08:16 PM
Just to make sure you got what Evan_G meant, it's a number physically stamped into the label, not printed on with ink. For example, my US copy of the game from June 1996 (less than a month after release) has "34" pressed into the label between the "IMPORTANT" and "SNS-006" text. It is hard to see in low lighting and at the wrong angle.
It could also very well be missing from a Canadian release, I don't know enough to tell you.
sniperCCJVQ
09-07-2011, 08:26 PM
Just to make sure you got what Evan_G meant, it's a number physically stamped into the label, not printed on with ink. For example, my US copy of the game from June 1996 (less than a month after release) has "34" pressed into the label between the "IMPORTANT" and "SNS-006" text. It is hard to see in low lighting and at the wrong angle.
It could also very well be missing from a Canadian release, I don't know enough to tell you.
GOT IT
I have a "40" stamped...so no "A" means version 1.0
RPG_Fanatic
09-07-2011, 08:28 PM
Mine has the number "12" stamped on it. just like this one on ebay. Scroll to the bottom and you can see the "12" stamped on the back.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Super-Mario-RPG-Cartridge-SNES-Super-Nintendo-VERY-RARE-/330422765829#ht_2511wt_1114
sniperCCJVQ
09-07-2011, 08:32 PM
hey! thanks to everyone that was very instructive
WesternNYCollector
09-07-2011, 10:57 PM
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Super-Mario-RPG-Cartridge-SNES-Super-Nintendo-VERY-RARE-/330422765829#ht_2511wt_1114
Wow, with that price you'd think they would go to the effort of wiping some of the spots off first.
Mayhem
09-08-2011, 11:33 AM
Mine has "08" on the back, whatever the numbers are supposed to mean...
I always ensure I buy the latest revision of all my SNES games. It is a pain especially since half the eBay sellers have no idea what I am talking about despite my explicit instructions.
fahlim003
09-08-2011, 03:15 PM
I always ensure I buy the latest revision of all my SNES games. It is a pain especially since half the eBay sellers have no idea what I am talking about despite my explicit instructions.
Any particular reason for this? Also, nobody has elaborated on why Mario RPG has two supposed versions.
Informationator
09-08-2011, 03:44 PM
I always ensure I buy the latest revision of all my SNES games. It is a pain especially since half the eBay sellers have no idea what I am talking about despite my explicit instructions.
I imagine a good way to tell would be via label revisions, although many games don't have any.
However, Pinball Dreams, for example, has at least three different label versions.
Kitsune Sniper
09-08-2011, 04:40 PM
Any particular reason for this? Also, nobody has elaborated on why Mario RPG has two supposed versions.
They probably reprogrammed the game to block the Game Genie and dumping tools, and / or released an updated version with a bugfix of some kind.
For example, my copy of Final Fantasy III has the Relm Sketch bug that was fixed in a later printing; some Game Genie codes wouldn't work on my cart.
Any particular reason for this? Also, nobody has elaborated on why Mario RPG has two supposed versions.
I see no reason not to have the latest, bug-fixed version of each game in my collection.
I have not researched Super Mario RPG specifically, but with the games I have researched (some examples: Dragon Warrior, Final Fantasy III, Castlevania, Super Mario Bros 3) the reason for the revisions are obscure, but game-breaking bugs. Dragon Warrior and SMB3 took extra steps to fix spelling and grammar.
There are many games with ROM revisions that I have never found any documentation of the changes, but there are also many games that do have these documented. One game I would like to know more details of is Legend of Zelda. I haven't personally detected any differences.
WesternNYCollector
09-08-2011, 06:42 PM
The absolute worst bugs in Final Fantasy III (SNES) weren't fixed until the 2nd US re-relase on the GBA. Enemies that are supposed to be almost impossible to hit with physical attacks (which is what the Sniper Sight is for) are easy, and blind status does (almost) nothing.
Yes, the evade bug is ridiculous, especially since it was known prior to the PlayStation ports, yet still not fixed.
theclaw
09-08-2011, 11:36 PM
A handful of Canada revisions are very different, being French localized. In some areas one could end up with Kirby's Adventure and Zelda LTTP like that by not looking at the cart label.
Jorpho
09-09-2011, 12:50 AM
If there's more than one revision of the software out there, shouldn't there be more than one version of the US ROM floating around? The game is so ridiculously popular I doubt it would have gone undumped after all this time.
skaar
09-09-2011, 01:16 AM
One game I would like to know more details of is Legend of Zelda. I haven't personally detected any differences.
Purple Ganon.
*snicker*
badinsults
09-09-2011, 11:11 AM
I think there are revisions of the lockout chip that was on the board, rather than a revision of the actual game binary.
BTW, the numbers stamped in the back correspond to where the game was manufactured.
SparTonberry
09-09-2011, 01:49 PM
One game I would like to know more details of is Legend of Zelda. I haven't personally detected any differences.
The original didn't have the Reset Button warning on the save screen.
SparTonberry
09-09-2011, 01:51 PM
A handful of Canada revisions are very different, being French localized. In some areas one could end up with Kirby's Adventure and Zelda LTTP like that by not looking at the cart label.
Or by not knowing the sign to look for.
How is one supposed to know NES-KR-CAN = English and NES-K5-CAN = French?
If there's more than one revision of the software out there, shouldn't there be more than one version of the US ROM floating around? The game is so ridiculously popular I doubt it would have gone undumped after all this time.
I don't know what you mean by "floating around", but the GOODSNES list is pretty definitive. There are some missing ROM revisions, but its comprehensive. I refer to it when adding any games to my want list, and note down the latest revision.
I just noticed that I never mentioned in this thread that there is only one known version of Super Mario RPG.
spongerob
09-09-2011, 03:59 PM
Mine has 19 on it. I wonder what it means, or where it was manufactured.
JLukas
09-09-2011, 10:26 PM
If there are 1.0 and 1.1 versions, the differences might not be in the game program but the special chip (SA-1) instead. This was the case with Super Mario Kart - newer versions had an updated DSP-1 which fixed bugs.
Jorpho
09-10-2011, 12:50 AM
If there are 1.0 and 1.1 versions, the differences might not be in the game program but the special chip (SA-1) instead. This was the case with Super Mario Kart - newer versions had an updated DSP-1 which fixed bugs.Specific, repeatable bugs? Are these documented somewhere?
If there are 1.0 and 1.1 versions, the differences might not be in the game program but the special chip (SA-1) instead. This was the case with Super Mario Kart - newer versions had an updated DSP-1 which fixed bugs.
This is false. The labelled revisions are strictly PRG (program) revisions, and the PRG chips inside are labelled accordingly.
Co-processors and the PCB layout is changed often, but apparently never labelled as a new revision.
Specific, repeatable bugs? Are these documented somewhere?
There is no known revision 1.1 of Super Mario Kart, so I don't understand where he is getting the idea that the DSP chip would trigger it to be a new revision.
But yes, there was a revised DSP1 chip put into all games that used it in later production runs.
jon-theBeard
09-27-2012, 09:56 PM
This information about the numbers being stamped is incorrect. I have contacted every person selling a copy of Super Mario RPG on eBay and have heard back from 17 people. None of them have a copy of the game with more then two numbers stamped on the back. No one has the letter A. This is not to say it did not happen, but it doesn't look likely if I can't find 1 person in 20 that has the letter A stamped on the back.
Also this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr-v8N9j_I4) shows a working copy of Super Mario RPG running on the Supaboy that only has the number "19" stamped on the back.
My copy is made in Japan and has the number 19 stamped on it and it will only load once every 20+ times. I consider this a fail and have won 3 more copies of SMRPG on eBay in a attempt to find a copy that works. I'm going to sell the others I just want one copy that will work while I travel...
From what I have gathered from a lot of Google searches is that the only way to find out which version of SMRPG you have is to take the cartridge apart and look at the chips. I wouldn't know what to look for but that sounds like the real way to find out which version you have and whether or not it will play nicely with clones.
JLukas
09-27-2012, 10:54 PM
This thread over at NintendoAge has some PCB photos of the different versions. The 1.1 version seems to be the most common...
http://www.nintendoage.com/auth/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=5&threadid=82965
SparTonberry
09-27-2012, 11:59 PM
Can't you also tell by the date stamp in the corner of the PCB (with the dots in the box)?
jon-theBeard
10-09-2012, 01:19 AM
Can't you also tell by the date stamp in the corner of the PCB (with the dots in the box)?
If you describe that in more detail, I'll be happy to check. Turns out I have 3 working copies of 1.0 and 2x 1.1