Playing Mega Man X2 and X3 on SNES without breaking the bank?

[Edmond Dantes]

So lately I've been bitten by the Mega Man bug, and want to revisit the classics.

I used to own X3, but sold it like an idiot and now its expensive. And apparently, X2 and X3 are un-repro-able because of the cx4 chip, which also makes them not play in flash carts. X3 is the one I really want to revisit and its SNES version has different music from the later ports, which as the SNES music is what I grew up with its what I want to hear (I've heard the remixed music and a lot of it sounds just completely different).

It's seeming like the cheapest option is just to get the Japanese copies, altho I read somewhere that these might not play perfectly in an American SNES (I'm guessing that's just an unfounded rumor though?)

Altho, I do suppose I could offer some games and anime for trade, as I've got some crap I no longer care about...

Anyway, I wanted to ask about my options and see if maybe I overlooked something before I go doing anyting costly.

So, anyone have ideas or options or can correct any misconceptions I may have?

Thanks in advance.

[gbpxl]

So lately I've been bitten by the Mega Man bug, and want to revisit the classics.

I used to own X3, but sold it like an idiot and now its expensive. And apparently, X2 and X3 are un-repro-able because of the cx4 chip, which also makes them not play in flash carts. X3 is the one I really want to revisit and its SNES version has different music from the later ports, which as the SNES music is what I grew up with its what I want to hear (I've heard the remixed music and a lot of it sounds just completely different).

It's seeming like the cheapest option is just to get the Japanese copies, altho I read somewhere that these might not play perfectly in an American SNES (I'm guessing that's just an unfounded rumor though?)

Altho, I do suppose I could offer some games and anime for trade, as I've got some crap I no longer care about...

Anyway, I wanted to ask about my options and see if maybe I overlooked something before I go doing anyting costly.

So, anyone have ideas or options or can correct any misconceptions I may have?

Thanks in advance.
Buy it on eBay then when you're done, re-sell it. You'd basically just be paying the eBay and PayPal fee ($15-40 I imagine?)

[Aussie2B]

I don't see any reason why the Super Famicom versions wouldn't work properly on a SNES. I mean, of course you can't just stick a SFC cart into a SNES without any modification, but outside of that, which would be an issue for any SFC cart, you should be good. The one thing that I could see possibly causing people problems is if they're using a pass-through device that doesn't support the extra side contacts, which I assume both X2 and X3 have. Some of those converters even have slots for those extra parts of the board that are empty, so they can be deceptive. If the signal from those contacts isn't reaching the system, the game may load but not correctly.

[FoxNtd]

SFC and (NTSC) SNES are completely interchangeable. Take the casing off the hardware contained within and they're identical machines. Just snap the tabs off the rear bottom part of the cart slot inside an SNES and you can play any SFC cart.

[Gameguy]

Isn't there a language difference between the Japanese and North American versions? I'm not sure if they altered the games in any other ways where there would be a difference.

I have X3 but not X2, I got lucky and found it at a thrift for $4.99 a few years back. I'm not sure if saying to be lucky is any practical advice but that's what I'd go with.

[Tron 2.0]

Japanese version,are the way to go for X2 and X3 far as price is concern.Though i've never heard not being able to play them on a snes since you just remove tabs from the cartridge slot.Though awhile ago capcom did announce another mega man x compilation for modern consoles as a tba.

[Edmond Dantes]

The only reason I haven't jumped on the Japanese versions is basically because I wanted to be able to read the story sequences, but I suppose I could just get the J-versions, then play the X Collection english versions later for the story.

One other method I heard of is some flash cart called the Super UFO Pro8 that gets around CX4 issues using the Sonic and Knuckles method (meaning you can plug another cart on top)--if you own the legit cart you can play a rom of it, even if the rom is in a different language (Someone demonstrated using this to play English-MMX2+3 using Japanese carts on youtube). That seems like a viable strategy, but I've heard mixed reports about the device itself.

Someone last night told me that repro cart compilations of X2 and X3 DO exist. Not sure how that works, so I'm gonna be doing LOOOOOTS of looking into before I go buying it.

(Unless Gameguy is willing to trade that one cheap copy he mentioned? I sorta doubt I'll have it that easy tho)

[bb_hood]

Ive played X2 and X3 on the famicom versions, and they play fine but they are in Japanese.

If you really wanna follow the story you could just watch a replay of the english version somewhere on youtube or elsewhere online

[Bratwurst]

You're not supposed to play Megaman games for their story, get the Japanese Super Famicom releases.

[jperryss]

X2 and X3 both play perfectly on an SD2SNES flash cart. Not exactly cheap but it also opens you up to other translations, rom hacks, etc. Otherwise go with the cheaper SFC versions as others have suggested.

[Spartacus]

Mega Man X Collection on the Gamecube and PS2 is the cheapest way to play. X3 is the 32-bit version in the collection though.

[Niku-Sama]

i'm with most in this thread.

I'm finishing off my megaman stuff with famicom/super versions and its the way to go. I paid something like $25 for Rockman x3 at PRGE year before last and I don't think the price has hiked that much on it

[Gameguy]

(Unless Gameguy is willing to trade that one cheap copy he mentioned? I sorta doubt I'll have it that easy tho)
Sorry, I'm not planning to get rid of it unless I stumble across another cheap copy. Hopefully a cheap complete copy. I think I had 30% off with that price too, and found a copy of Kirby Super Star at the same time. It was a good day.


I also just found these nifty blank notebooks. Probably the closest thing to a reasonable price for X3.

https://s10.postimg.org/cu9epifh5/Mega_Man_notebooks.png

[Az]

One other method I heard of is some flash cart called the Super UFO Pro8 that gets around CX4 issues using the Sonic and Knuckles method (meaning you can plug another cart on top)--if you own the legit cart you can play a rom of it, even if the rom is in a different language (Someone demonstrated using this to play English-MMX2+3 using Japanese carts on youtube). That seems like a viable strategy, but I've heard mixed reports about the device itself.

It's a low quality device at a (reasonably) low price, so you get what you pay for. I've went through 2 of them and probably didn't have a dozen hours use on either.

If you're mainly looking at a flash cartridge you can pick up a Chinese Everdrive knockoff cheaper than a Super UFO, and have a lot better experience with it. But, if you want to do other things like backup saves, dump carts, or play weird stuff, and you really really like 1990's floppy copier GUI, the Super UFO is your man.

[Edmond Dantes]

I actually have the X Collection on PS2, I just specifically wanted to play the original versions again (although to my knowledge the only game that's different is X3).

Strongly leaning towards import copies at this point, with an "SFC if I want to play, PS2 if I want to understand" dealie going on. Tho if I ever get a chance at a real SNES X3 I'll jump on it, as I regret selling that one.

Lesson learned: if you're ever a one-time Mega Man fan and you stupidly decide to part with your collection... invent time travel and hit yourself for doing it. (At least I was never stupid enough to sell my store-bought copies of Legends 1 and 2 or Tron Bonne, that's a blessing).

[eskobar]

In case you go with import copies and want to interchange the PCB to avoid modifications of the original case, you need to use a compatible snes case like super mario rpg or yoshi island that have the extra pins on the pcb, the regular snes cases aren't compatible.

In my last trip to japan I saw a few copies of rockman x2 and x3 quite cheap. the art is beautiful and the price should rise in the next years, so its a really good option.

I got a copy of MMX3 yesterday for $1500 pesos (80 usd), not so bad, they are really becoming hard to find...

[Edmond Dantes]

I already took the tabs out of my SNES so I can play imports, that won't be a problem.