how can i get my dreamcast to play pal-uk,europe games???

[biggamer]

i saw some pal games on ebay and i want them but how do i play them on us dc??converter of some sort?I want to by japanese games also.

[kevincure]

There are a bunch of discs that let you do it. I think the best one is called "Action Replay" or something like that, but there are others. Check any DC importer site (ncsx.com) and they'll hook you up.

[Achika]

Gamesharks also work. Basically it's a boot swap trick. You put the boot disc in and it says "please insert game CD" you put the game CD in. Voila.

In the case of the gameshark, you can load up the gameshark like normal, make sure to TURN OFF the codes and then select start game with 0 codes. Insert import disc of choice.

PAL games will most likely play with slow down and or "jitters"

[hamburgler]

I only use the Innotive import adapter and to tell you the truth,it works perfectly.

[JWKobayashi]

There is also the Utopia boot disc that allows you to play imports on your system. Assuming you have a CD burner, this is free, and is available on sites along with the NES emulator for DC.

[Charlie]

You can 'play' Pal games with a gameshark or emulator boot disc, but it doesn't mean it will work. I have Shenmue 2 and it plays incredibly poor. I wouldn't recommend it. On the other hand, I have a couple Japanese games that work just fine.

[JWKobayashi]

Oh yeah....

I'm sorry, I forgot to mention that you'll need a VGA Box in addition to the boot disc to play PAL games. :/

[slapdash]

I'm sorry, I forgot to mention that you'll need a VGA Box in addition to the boot disc to play PAL games. :/

Does anyone have a picture of the official Sega one? I want that one, but I see lots of third-party ones online...

Also, what's the name of the Innovation disc?

[hamburgler]

Innovation import adapter.Thta's the name of it.

[slapdash]

Innovation import adapter.Thta's the name of it.

Heh, creepy. Thanks for the info...

[Chunky]

rewind.

So i picked up Bangai-o PAL this weekend. on loading it gave me a screen with a choice of playing 50 or 60 Hz.

now, do all pal games do this? only some?

[Oobgarm]

I've got Toy Racer, and I did not see any such option (unless I am blind or something).

Kinda sucks, as I was looking forward to playing that one. Toy Commander ruled.

[maxlords]

Only some PAL games have a mode choice. Most will automatically play in 60Hz if you play them on an NTSC machine. I don't know why in the world you'd need a VGA box to play PAL games either...that makes NO sense.

I use the Utopia bootdisc (burned one from a website) and it works like a charm with EVERY import (PAL & NTSC both) that I've tried it with, including Border Down and PAL Rez. No other tools necessary. However, some websites don't have an uncorrupted Utopia ISO, so you may have to waste a few CDs to get it right!

Also....import forum is a GREAT place to ask stuff like this

[Chunky]

well my DC cheats err somehow

I've never seen a menu before, thats why i ask, I did load up the 2 or3 load screens just fine.(press start and all that) then after it asked 50 or 60 saying some TV's can't handle 60 but the picture would be cleaner. and of course if you pick 50 it flipps. I don't want to buy any others that i can't play, so i was just wondering. did i just get lucky?

[Saturn Sensei]

I have a US DC and a bunch of PAL DC games(all of the European uniques, save one, as a matter of fact). The boot disc covers most of the games. Some, like Rez only work with a mod-chipped machine. Some are 50hz only and can't be played on an NTSC TV. Some start up with a rolling 50 hz screen that gives you the option of 50 or 60 hz and if 60hz is selected they work fine.

Most work just fine though. Though I have basically only sampled the PAL uniques on my machine.

see the PAL uniques HERE

The boot disc covers about 90% of the Japanese DC-titles as well.

[davidbrit2]

Only some PAL games have a mode choice. Most will automatically play in 60Hz if you play them on an NTSC machine. I don't know why in the world you'd need a VGA box to play PAL games either...that makes NO sense.

It's because games on a VGA monitor always run at 60 Hz. There's no PAL/NTSC distinction there. But you should be using a VGA monitor anyway, since it makes everything look so damned nice. ;-)

[maxlords]

I have a US DC and a bunch of PAL DC games(all of the European uniques, save one, as a matter of fact). The boot disc covers most of the games. Some, like Rez only work with a mod-chipped machine.

That's not true at all. I bought my DC brand spanking new, and have never modded it, and PAL Rez plays just fine with the Utopia boot disc, no modding necessary.

[Hypnotuba]

rewind.

So i picked up Bangai-o PAL this weekend. on loading it gave me a screen with a choice of playing 50 or 60 Hz.

now, do all pal games do this? only some?

I have the PAL versions of 90 Minutes: Sega Championship Football, Evil Twin, Headhunter, Stunt GP, Shenmue 2, and Record of Lodoss War. All play fine on my US Dreamcast (purchased on launch day) with either the Utopia disc (v1.2) or the DC-X. All automatically go to 60Hz, except Lodoss War which has a scrolling screen with the 50/60Hz option on boot.

[kainemaxwell]

http://homebrew.dcemulation.com/Utopia.htm

Here's where you can download the Utopia boot image.

[anagrama]

I have a US DC and a bunch of PAL DC games(all of the European uniques, save one, as a matter of fact). The boot disc covers most of the games. Some, like Rez only work with a mod-chipped machine.

That's not true at all. I bought my DC brand spanking new, and have never modded it, and PAL Rez plays just fine with the Utopia boot disc, no modding necessary.

I believe that original print run of PAL Rez, distibuted in the UK by Big Ben, work fine with Utopia or similar, but later pressings require a modded machine.