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Thread: Metroid II DX (Gameboy Color) repro cartridge?

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    Default Metroid II DX (Gameboy Color) repro cartridge?

    Has anyone ever successfully made a Gameboy or Gameboy Color reproduction cartridge? I'm curious, because I recently discovered the existence of the fan-made Metroid 2 DX "restoration," and I think it's a really cool project. However, it would be really nice if there was some way to put it onto an actual Gameboy color cart. Nothing would be more awesome than squinting in front of a tiny LCD screen and experiencing it the way it was meant to be played.

    Unfortunately, I haven't really been able to dig up any examples of Gameboy cartridge reproduction projects, let alone anyone who makes them for commission. Even as I drool at the thought of playing Metroid II DX on an actual cartridge and a real gameboy, I have more or less reached a dead end in my search. It doesn't really matter a whole lot since I'm pretty much broke for the next two weeks or so, but still, I don't want to give up my quest for this grail of handheld gaming just yet.

    So, any ideas?

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    It's definately possible, although getting hold of a flash cart might be the simplest option.

    PM me if you want me to look into building a repro for you.

    Andy.
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    Well gameboy is a system that had a pretty decent pirate scene and pirate carts wind up using the same technology as the actual production carts for the most part. You could consider them to be repros as most of the time if they weren't straight up knockoffs they were just cheesy rom hacks. But yea as stated its going to be much easier and more economical to get a flashcart over a single hand made repro.
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    So what is this MII restoration hack?

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    Getting a rom onto a cartrige isn't too complicated. I'm (re)building a gameboy cart flasher right now actually. The problem will probally come if the game was never tested on a real gameboy durring development. If it wasn't, then there's a very good chance it won't work. From a programming perspective, things have to be done just right to get it to run on the real hardware although it will run on an emulator just fine.

    Also,(probally less of a big deal) when programming, if you only test your colors on an emulator, when they make it to the actual GBC then they won't look quite right. The big rule for GBC development I've found out, is always test on the real hardware as you go.
    Last edited by jb143; 11-03-2008 at 12:52 PM.
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    Well then, I suppose that the brightest idea would be to test the game on a flash cart before going out and spending money on a reproduction cart, although in the long run I'm not really sure if that'd be more economical. I should probably research a little more to find out if Metroid II DX has been tested on real Gameboy hardware or not.

    BTW Pootle, thanks for the offer. I'll definitely keep you in mind if / when I decide I'm ready to get a cartridge made up.

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    play MII on a super gameboy. It's color enhanced. Much like how DX games were enhanced for play on GBC system.

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    I'm pretty sure the super game boy uses fewer color palettes than the gameboy color which means that a DX version could have much better colorization. I havn't seent the game yet though, so I can't say if it's true or not.
    "Game programmers are generally lazy individuals. That's right. It's true. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Since the dawn of computer games, game programmers have looked for shortcuts to coolness." Kurt Arnlund - Game programmer for Activision, Accolade...

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    I have a flashcart on the way, but it's a GBA cart and uses emulation to do GBC. So I can say that I do intend to test this out on hardware per se, it will be emulated anyway.

    There are at least three different color scheme hacks for Metroid II, by the way. And yes, it would be an awesome repro cart, maybe in one of those black cases to go along with Zelda DX. Someone should really do a Megaman V DX too since Capcom backed down.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cryomancer View Post
    I have a flashcart on the way, but it's a GBA cart and uses emulation to do GBC. So I can say that I do intend to test this out on hardware per se, it will be emulated anyway.

    There are at least three different color scheme hacks for Metroid II, by the way. And yes, it would be an awesome repro cart, maybe in one of those black cases to go along with Zelda DX.
    Yeah, I was thinking Metroid 2 DX would be best done in a black cart too. Basically, the official Gameboy cannon is as follows:

    Gameboy carts: gray
    Gameboy Color carts that are compatible with GB classic: black
    Gameboy Color only carts: "smoked" transparent

    So, if Metroid II DX is compatible with old black-and-white Gameboys, it should be in a black cart. If it will only play on a gameboy color though, then it should be in a "smoke" cartridge.

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    Long time no see, everyone... Make that one HECK of a long time! My curiosity about whether or not Metroid II DX will run on actual GBC hardware has once again flaired up, and I figured I'd follow up on this thread. Sorry if it comes across as thread necroing, however I've kind of reached a dead end in my research. I haven't found any documented instances of anyone having put Metroid II DX onto a GBC flash cart. Several people have put it onto a GBA flash cart successfully, although I'm pretty sure the GBA runs it through emulation so that doesn't really answer my question in regards to the creation of a working Metroid 2 DX cart.

    I recall that jb143 stated 2 years ago that he was rebuilding a gameboy flash cart writer, and I was wondering if anyone here with a Gameboy Color-compatible flash cart has given Metroid 2 DX a try on it yet, or would be willing to give it a try (for science! ). This is one of those annoying things that is going to keep pestering my mind until I can finally get a solid yes/no answer as to whether or not it works, so any input or info would be appreciated!

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    Im sending you a pm right now

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