About importing Mr. Nutz for Sega Mega Drive

[Rickstilwell1]

I hear with a Game Genie you are supposed to be able to play imports if you type in the right code for a specific game. Unfortunately I can't find the code for Mr. Nutz anywhere and I have already imported it CIB.

Does anyone on this board know anything about the Game Genie code? I don't really have room to collect a bunch of import systems at this time so I really don't want to bother with a PAL Mega Drive and a signal converter for my TV.

I have the SNES version of this game too, but that one doesn't utilize level select passwords like the Genesis version does.

[A Black Falcon]

It's not region-locked, so unless it has NTSC problems, which only a few European games do, it'll work fine on a US Genesis with no Game Genie needed.

The Genesis one looks good, but it definitely has better graphics on SNES... but yeah, passwords definitely make a difference. I like games to have saving.

[Rickstilwell1]

Hmm, I always get a black screen. Maybe my cart was dead the whole time? It wouldn't even display on the Sega Nomad. But it was released in 1994 so the non-region locked thing surprises me.

[A Black Falcon]

I could be wrong. The European rom loads without a lockout message when it's set in US region, at least; games with that kind of lockout show the message.

Also not all games had lockout even later; look at the Codemasters games for instance, Micro Machines 2 ('94), Micro Machines '96 ('95), and Micro Machines Military ('96) are all Europe exclusives and all three are not region-locked.

So it's most likely that the game has NTSC issues or it's just dead, I think.

[Spazmonkey]

Your TV might just have problems displaying a PAL color scheme, and 50hz. What you need are region switches. Super duper easy to make, just follow this, I would say, if this is your first time soldering, you could do this with just taking your time. http://mmmonkey.co.uk/console/sega/md1switches.htm

[Vlcice]

I could be mistaken, but I think that Genesis hardware always outputs its native video signal so the game shouldn't be displaying PAL50. I don't think that's likely to be the problem.

[Rickstilwell1]

I am starting to think that the SEGA header has suffered from bit rot. On my newer Genesis systems, the "Produced by or under license from Sega Enterprised LTD" screen appears. Then where the game is supposed to show the SEGA logo, all I get is a black screen.

Is this likely the problem? Someone off Sonicretro said they know for sure it works on all systems and I already know the Mega Drive version of Mortal Kombat runs at normal speed because I somehow got it at a used game store. Somebody imported it and traded it in there.

[Gameguy]

I came across a few games that were like that, the license screen showed up but the screen stayed black afterward. It wasn't with import games, I was trying to play North American Genesis games on my North American Genesis systems. I haven't figured out what causes them to be like that, but I assume it's caused by a faulty solder joint around the chip, a bad trace on the board, or a faulty capacitor(or the ROM chip is broken beyond repair). I currently don't have any of the tools to open carts up so I haven't tried to fix them yet. See if you can open the cart up and take a look at the board for any problems.

[InsaneDavid]

I'm pretty sure every region locked Genesis game will give you an error message of some time. A 60Hz/50Hz switch isn't made so that region locked PAL games on a Genesis can be run at 50Hz. It's used to boot the game in 50Hz, get passed the region check, and then switch back to 60Hz for play. While switched to 50Hz the picture has no color and rolls on most NTSC sets. Most of the time the 60Hz/50Hz switch is used to improve speed of PAL games that were poorly written / converted to PAL.

But again, I was fairly certain that every region locked Genesis / Mega Drive game displayed some sort of error message. Heck, some games like Streets of Rage will boot in English under USA/60Hz and Japanese (as Bare Knuckle) under JPN/60Hz. As you said, it's more than likely a dead cartridge.

[A Black Falcon]

I came across a few games that were like that, the license screen showed up but the screen stayed black afterward. It wasn't with import games, I was trying to play North American Genesis games on my North American Genesis systems. I haven't figured out what causes them to be like that, but I assume it's caused by a faulty solder joint around the chip, a bad trace on the board, or a faulty capacitor(or the ROM chip is broken beyond repair). I currently don't have any of the tools to open carts up so I haven't tried to fix them yet. See if you can open the cart up and take a look at the board for any problems.

Yeah, I have two Genesis games like that myself, the license screen appears and then nothing. One other just goes black with no license screen, and a fourth isn't recognized by the system at all (the Sega CD boots)... but I don't have a Gamebit screwdriver so I can't open three of those. One of the two license screen ones, though, is one of the "Assembled in Mexico" carts with normal star-bit screws instead of the usual security screws, so I opened that once... didn't know what to look for though. Just opened it again, but yeah, what should I be looking for... It says Majesco 1998 on it, so I know it's a Majesco re-release (the front of the cart also says "Mega Hit Series" on it), but other than that... I don't see anything obviously broken or something. There are a bunch of chips and other things on the cart though, so a bunch of things could have happened I imagine depending on what's bad. I have no idea, I'd need a lot more electronics skills I imagine.

[plasticMan]

but I don't have a Gamebit screwdriver so I can't open three of those.

so that you can have everything you need to open those carts and the console, here's where to get the Gamebit screwdriver.

Or google it, but make sure you stay away from the black ones. Those ones are the cheapest you can buy and they don't last long. Also the teeth are malformed and broken. Not to mention they are not long enough to reach into some game consoles like the virtual boy - no matter what the seller or company says. So, stir clear of all black or brown ones - besides the shinny one looks nicer. hee hee

good luck on your project.

[rbudrick]

Bitrot does not occur on non-windowed chips.

-Rob