very basic console and gaming related questions - NES, MEGA CD, SMS, C64

[extra_anchovy]

some basic questions I should know the answer to by now

MEGA CD Question:
when I play Dune on the Mega CD it doesn't run 100% smoothly. there is some stuttering and lines go across the screen, kinda hard to explain. like when watching a VHS or something.
any idea what causes the problem? something to do with a laser? not the game either because I burnt a copy from a downloaded ROM and it does the same thing

NES Question:
I heard the NES Toploader is region free, does this mean that my PAL NES Toploader is compatible with NTSC games?

Commodore 64 / Master System Question:
Is the AV cable for Sega Master System I compatible with the Commodore 64?
Or should a Master System I AV cable work when plugged into a Commodore 64?

[JSoup]

some basic questions I should know the answer to by now

MEGA CD Question:
when I play Dune on the Mega CD it doesn't run 100% smoothly. there is some stuttering and lines go across the screen, kinda hard to explain. like when watching a VHS or something.
any idea what causes the problem? something to do with a laser? not the game either because I burnt a copy from a downloaded ROM and it does the same thing

Sounds like a bad connection.


NES Question:
I heard the NES Toploader is region free, does this mean that my PAL NES Toploader is compatible with NTSC games?

Can you? Yes.
Will it be perfect? Depends on the game.
Some games will require a little surgery to work at all, while others (I'm under the impression the majority) will run faster than normal and may develop glitches why in play. There are a few Youtube videos out there exemplifying this.


Commodore 64 / Master System Question:
Is the AV cable for Sega Master System I compatible with the Commodore 64?
Or should a Master System I AV cable work when plugged into a Commodore 64?

I'm going to say yes based on the one time I saw someone do it, but I have no personal experience with doing it. A little Googling tells me that grayscaling is a common side effect, do to the Master System expecting composite, while a C64 is something else.

[Tanooki]

Of the exclusive PAL games we didn't get, most of them run and they will run (movement) at the right pace, but in some the music will play faster, also you can get some of the screen cut off at the bottom of your TV. I had Parodius PAL, and I couldn't see my score and the bottom few pixel lines of the power up bar were off screen, but the game (pace and music) ran at the appropriate speed. And it's not just NES based, I have Doshin the Giant and it too plays and sounds right, but the bottom of the screen is cut off so when you get those little hearts/skulls around the screen when you be nice/hurt people the lower half of those little pictures are off screen.

The OLD NES can also play anything the toploader can with one super stupid brainless tweak to the system. There's plenty of videos or pictures online, but basically one of the on board chips (the security chip) you need to snip or detach pin #4 from the motherboard. Doing this PAL games will work, and it also gets rid of that flickering garbage when the 10NES decides to block your game from loading up too. I've done it on the last old style NES I had and it made loading up games a lot happier thing. I just have a sharp NES tv now and given the rarity of the setup I just can't make myself do it to it so I just put up with it.

[extra_anchovy]

bad connection in what way? video cable or mega cd to mega drive connection?
when I plugged in an AV SMS cable to my C64 I got a really bad feedback sound, so it should of displayed a picture?
the c64 has problems with RF (fuzzy and static) I was told if I used an AV cable it would fix the problem, so trying to work out if it's worth buying a c64 AV cable.

tanooki - It's opposite for me, I'm from Australia so playing NTSC games on PAL consoles. I'm guessing it probably won't work. Any solutions ie. easy 50/60mhz mod?

[Satoshi_Matrix]

MEGA CD Question:
when I play Dune on the Mega CD it doesn't run 100% smoothly. there is some stuttering and lines go across the screen, kinda hard to explain. like when watching a VHS or something.
any idea what causes the problem? something to do with a laser? not the game either because I burnt a copy from a downloaded ROM and it does the same thing

I've never played Dune, but I know that with some Sega CD games, choppiness is just natural. Same with TG-16 CD games. Or it could be a dirty connection between your Genesis and the Sega CD. Try taking them apart and doing the NES cartridge blow on the contacts.



NES Question:
I heard the NES Toploader is region free, does this mean that my PAL NES Toploader is compatible with NTSC games?


The NES-101 "toploader" does not contain the NES-10, so technically it is region free. However, a PAL NES has a 17% slower processor than an NTSC NES. You'll be able to play NTSC games on it, but they'll be so bloody slow that you'll basically be playing in slow motion as your poor PAL NES struggles to keep up. A much better choice would be to buy a good NTSC based Famiclone like a Super 8 or RetroDuo and play your games on that instead of a PAL NES-101. Europeans really, really got screwed over in the NES era. Don't suffer with 50-Hz PAL 1.66Mhz a minute longer than you ha




Commodore 64 / Master System Question:
Is the AV cable for Sega Master System I compatible with the Commodore 64?
Or should a Master System I AV cable work when plugged into a Commodore 64?

Yes...but since you live in a PAL country, just buy a MegaDrive model 1 RGB cable. It'll also work with the Master System, and SCART > Composite.

[BlastProcessing402]

Maybe it's different in PAL regions, but I never had any luck with Sega and C64 cables on the other system. The cables fit, but didn't work.