Swap Cart Tricks

[MrRoboto19XX]

I was looking through some old Genesis strategy guides by Prima and in the back I found some pages dedicated to "Swap Cart Tricks".

Remember these? back when the genny was still current and you could swap out some games with others while the console still had power and get some sort of alteration, usually a title screen change.

Any one else remember these?

I was so afraid to try them because they could "Fry your genesis!" but now that I have about 3 model 2s I figure I might as well.

Does anyone have any knowledge of these tricks working on other systems? Can anyone post any good game combos?

[jajaja]

Even if a genesis is cheap I wouldnt take the chance of fryinng one just to see a change in the titlescreen. Is it supose to be permanently or just temporary?

[cowmando6]

I remember doing this with a Sonic 2 and a Sonic 1 to get some sort of a debug menu, but can't remember how to do it.

[TurboGenesis]

These swap cart tricks did more than title screen changes in several titles. Some offered 99 lives(Space Harrier 2) or invincibility. I had done these tricks back in the day when they were published in Gamepro and my Genesis still works like a top, though I am not recommending or endorsing doing this. As it has always been stated--Do this at your own RISK!

I think these tricks will only work on the original model Genesis that was packed with Altered Beast as the Sonic systems and all others afterwords had the lock out bios. This can be noticed when you turn on the system and get the prompt - "Produced by or licenced by Sega". If it goes right to the game upon power up then it is in fact an Altered Beast System.

[Melf]

These (http://www.sega-16.com/Feature-%20Cart%20Swapping.htm) are all the Genesis swap tricks I know of. If you find any more, let me know and I'll add them in. :)

[Half Japanese]

These (http://www.sega-16.com/Feature-%20Cart%20Swapping.htm) are all the Genesis swap tricks I know of. If you find any more, let me know and I'll add them in. :)

I looked around your site definitely warrants a bookmark.

[Elusive]

Even if a genesis is cheap I wouldnt take the chance of fryinng one just to see a change in the titlescreen. Is it supose to be permanently or just temporary?

Only temporary. Nothing you can do (other than putting it on the floor and jumping up and down on it) will permanently damage your cart. There's very little chance of anything 'frying the machine', as all you're doing is removing a read-only data storage medium. The machine may be confused - e.g. garble onscreen graphics, screw up the music, losing a battery save (which could be interpreted by 10yr old gamers in the day as 'frying the machine'), but not destroyed.

If you want to destroy your machine, you've got better chances playing the thing underwater, rather than pulling out a cart.

[Cauterize]

These (http://www.sega-16.com/Feature-%20Cart%20Swapping.htm) are all the Genesis swap tricks I know of. If you find any more, let me know and I'll add them in. :)

Wow! How many Genesis' have died in the production of that page!

Your site continues to amaze me :)

[Blitzwing256]

One trick you didn't mention is doing this trick with thunderforce 2, pull it out and put in streets of rage 2, you'll get inifnate lives (usually) as well as odd difficulty levles that don't exist normally..either super super easy, or so hard that even the weakest punks have 4 stars. (just try to beat the game like this)

one thing you can do is when you're in the option screen if you move the cursor to the left not the right in sor1,2 thunderforce 2 and a few others, you can change the numbers (if you hit right you'll reset it to the default)

I beleive you can do the same with sor3, but without as good effects.

also some of the pull out tricks with altered beast can mess around with the beast select hidden menu and give you some wierd beasts in the differnt levels (almost always crashing the game sadly)

[Melf]

Sweet! All I need to do is confirm that it works and in it goes! Anyone have a Genesis they're willing to try it out on? :D

Thanks for the kudos fellas. We aim to please!

[Blackjax]

Here's one I discovered myself for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - this lets you access the Stage Select without doing that damn near impossible code the game has.

First, you have to start with Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in your system. Put in the code for stage select. If you don't know it, here's a rip from GameFAQs.com


Level Select
First, go to the Options menu from the main screen. From here, head to the Sound Select menu and play the following sounds in the order they are placed below:

19
65
09
17

Once you have played each one (1 time only), press the C button and then press Start to be brought back to the title screen. Now, when you see Sonic and Tails (Miles) appear on screen, hold down the A button and press Start while holding A to finish off the code. You will be brought to a menu where you have access to play any level in the game, whether you've completed the level you wish to play or not.

Now, rip out the cart, insert Sonic 3, and reset. You should now have the Stage Select option available on the menu.

This worked on the "LICENSED BY SEGA" model Genesis, so it should work on the original too...

[phreak97]

this isnt the same, but related-
crooked cart! i only know this has productive outcomes on n64 on some games.
ill explain for n64 (for those who dont know)
for example, using zelda OOT, go to a door or barrier which needs to be opened later in the game (eg. right at the start, the guy who moves around and wont let you out without a sword and shield) hold up so you are walking into the barrier, while holding up (it's easyer to reset the centre point on the controller to up (hold down, then press L R and start together)) the slowly lift the left side of the cart out of the 64 untill you get what youre looking for - all the models go completely spastic, and sound does something similar - if you pull it further, or try move the control stick in other directions while in this position, the game will probably freeze. anyway, once in this position (in oot) doors and everything forget wtf theyre meant to do, so you go right through them. eg. now youre at the deku tree with no sword or shield. i know someone who almost finished the game like this.. (works in majoras mask too i think)

this will do SOMETHING in every game, it just may not be helpful like it is there.. goldeneye it just causes everyone to have a siesure, mario 64 it makes marios animations break and makes him walk around with his back mashed into the floor(but it doesnt freeze if you dont go through a door).

i have only heard it used productively in the zeldas, but im SURE there are other games which it will have some use in.
(somehow you can make your entire inventory in oot full of ocarinas.. i think that was via CC)

feel free to try on other systems, but other systems may have vital pins at the ends of the carts, so it might just be an instant freeze(i think the right side of the n64 is like that) try both sides, do it really slowly.

i take no responsibility for damaged hardware or software no matter how un-freaking-likely it is youll kill something.

(it wont kill anything, but its not my fault if it does:P)

[CrimsonNugget]

I remember finding out completely by accident that jiggling the cart in Sonic 3D Blast will take you to the level select, because that's how it responds to a crash (try loading a foreign savestate in Sonic 3D in Kega for the same effect). I figured out that if you partially lift the right end of the cart and shove it back in (all of this should be done really quick), it'll take you to the level select. It's much harder to do with a Nomad, but I've done it.

[Elusive]

I think these tricks will only work on the original model Genesis that was packed with Altered Beast as the Sonic systems and all others afterwords had the lock out bios. This can be noticed when you turn on the system and get the prompt - "Produced by or licenced by Sega". If it goes right to the game upon power up then it is in fact an Altered Beast System.

Nope. The 'PRODUCED BY OR UNDER LICENSE FROM SEGA ENTERPRISES.' screen only appears on system power-up, not when you 'soft-reset' the machine by pressing the reset button. The TMSS has no effect on whether the swaptrick works or not.

[Cauterize]

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - this lets you access the Stage Select without doing that damn near impossible code the game has.

Please say ur not trying that one with the tiotle screen button presses... That is impossible.. use this one... (When Locked onto Sonic & Knuckles)

Start a game and go to Angel Island Zone Act 1. Go to one of the swings that you hang from and grab on. While Sonic is swinging, press Left, Left, Left, Right, Right, Right, Up, Up, Up. You will hear a ring if you entered the code correctly. Pause the game and press A to take you back to the title screen. Press Down twice to find the newly unlocked Sound Test menu. Enter it, where you can play all of the sounds/music in the game and warp to any level.

[rbudrick]

you can do (other than putting it on the floor and jumping up and down on it) will permanently damage your cart. There's very little chance of anything 'frying the machine', as all you're doing is removing a read-only data storage medium. The machine may be confused - e.g. garble onscreen graphics, screw up the music, losing a battery save (which could be interpreted by 10yr old gamers in the day as 'frying the machine'), but not destroyed.


It probably won't kill your system, buit it can definitely kill your games. I killed a Thunder Force III cart this way...it never worked again after doing this for a while. It did do some very strange things at first, like max the score on the demonstration screen, but nothing major...not like TF II.


Also, let's not forget NES frying. Everyone remember that BIZARRO trick for Zanac involving frying and the Zapper(I recently read online it is an odd debug of key combinations intended for the Famicom Basic keyboard)? I've gotten some extremely strange things to happen in The Adventures of Dino Riki. In Batman, I was able to get the copyright screen to to look like Chinese...or at least I thought it was Chinese back then. If I looked now, I'd know for sure.

-Rob

[rbudrick]

Oh, I almost forgot, I've never had any trouble doing any of these tricks with just the cart itself (no other title needed). Also, Last Battle was not on that list for the stage select.

-Rob

[mills]

budrick elaborate further on the NES tricks?

[rbudrick]

These tricks involved ejecting the carts slightly and putting them back down, resettting, and pulling the game out just enough so that it barely pushes back down. Obviously, I only got these tricks to work on a toaster model. It's a real pain in the ass to get to work on most games, but some are easier than others.

The Zanac one was quite a bit more complicated though...I haven't done it in probably 14 years. I think the trick was in either an old issue of Gamepro, EGM, or VG&CE, but probably one of the first two. Definitely was one of the first year issues if it was EGM or GP.

-Rob

[DDCecil]

you can do (other than putting it on the floor and jumping up and down on it) will permanently damage your cart. There's very little chance of anything 'frying the machine', as all you're doing is removing a read-only data storage medium. The machine may be confused - e.g. garble onscreen graphics, screw up the music, losing a battery save (which could be interpreted by 10yr old gamers in the day as 'frying the machine'), but not destroyed.


It probably won't kill your system, buit it can definitely kill your games. I killed a Thunder Force III cart this way...it never worked again after doing this for a while. It did do some very strange things at first, like max the score on the demonstration screen, but nothing major...not like TF II.


Also, let's not forget NES frying. Everyone remember that BIZARRO trick for Zanac involving frying and the Zapper(I recently read online it is an odd debug of key combinations intended for the Famicom Basic keyboard)? I've gotten some extremely strange things to happen in The Adventures of Dino Riki. In Batman, I was able to get the copyright screen to to look like Chinese...or at least I thought it was Chinese back then. If I looked now, I'd know for sure.

-Rob

I recently did that on Batman. it was a mixture of hiragana and katakana which is strange, because the Japanese version of Batman doesn't even have the copyright screen (Plus stage 1 and 2's musics are switched around)!

[rbudrick]

I recently did that on Batman. it was a mixture of hiragana and katakana which is strange, because the Japanese version of Batman doesn't even have the copyright screen (Plus stage 1 and 2's musics are switched around)!

Sweet! My memory tells me it was mostly Kanji back then, but I think I have a videotape of me fucking around with it somewhere....I'll investigate it eventually. Maybe it was some hiragana and katakana. I'd like to look at it so I can tell if it's gibberish or real words...

-Rob

EDIT: I almost forgot...I knew there was no copyright on the Japanese version, but I never noticed about the music thing.....probably because I only tested my fami cart of Batman to see if it worked...never played it. That's really weird....I think it would just be strange to start the game w/ level 2's music...