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Thread: HOWTO: Modding a Genesis/Mega Drive 6 button pad for use with an X68000

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    Insert Coin (Level 0) TheRogue's Avatar
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    Default HOWTO: Modding a Genesis/Mega Drive 6 button pad for use with an X68000

    Ok everyone, I thought I would do everyone a service here. Finding the X68000-to-SNES/MD controller adapter for playing games that require more then 2 buttons on the X68000 is next to impossible, and so is playing SF2/Fatal Fury with a regular 2 button pad. So, brought to you for the very first time ever (at least to my knowledge, it's probably been done in the Japanese community many times before, but not that I've seen) a simple, 5 minute mod to allow the ubiquitous Genesis/MD pad to function as a 6 button X68k pad. Pass it around, spread it around the web all you want. This mod can be attempted by anyone with even the most minimal of soldering skills. It requires 3 wires to be cut, crossed, and re-soldered. That's it, that's all.

    Step 1: Open up your 6 button Genesis/MD controller and expose the printed circuit board

    Step 2: Locate the small white molex connector that connects the controller cable to the board
    NOTE: In every 6 button controller I have ever opened, the wire colors have always been the same. In case yours are different however, the wire number takes precedent over the color. For example, if I asked you to cut the orange wire (#5 in the photo,) yet your #5 wire was green and your #7 was orange, you should cut the #5 wire anyway.



    Step 3: Cut the black (#1), grey (#7), and white (#9) wires directly in the middle, so an equal length remains on both sides. I will now refer to the half of the wire connected to the white connector as the "controller side" and the half of the wire connected to the cable as the "cable side".

    Step 4: Re-connect the wires in the following way:
    NOTE: The copper wire inside the genesis controllers is of very poor quality and breaks easily, so I recommend wrapping each solder joint liberally with electrical tape immediately after making the join or the wire is apt to snap.

    Cable side - Controller side
    Black (#1) - Gray (#7)
    Gray (#7) - White (#9)
    White (#9) - Black (#1)

    Step 5: Make sure that all your solder joints are insulated, then close the controller up. You're done! You have a pad that works with the Fatal Fury games, the Street Fighter games, Atomic Runner Chelnov, and any other game requiring more then 2 buttons, with the exception of games using FM Towns-style start/select (as in sending up+down for start and left+right for select). A lot easier then looking for one of those pesky adapters, isn't it? Good luck and good gaming!
    Go up to your brother, kill him with your gun. Leave him lying in his uniform dying in the sun. War, it's never been so much fun.

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    Peach (Level 3)
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    I was lucky enough to get an adapter with Super Street Fighter II. Seems to work fine with both the FM Towns and the X68000

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    Insert Coin (Level 0) TheRogue's Avatar
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    Yes, if you are lucky enough to get that adapter, then you wouldn't need this mod (unless you wanted to play multiplayer) but for those who didn't, this mod will work for the FM Towns as well as the X68000, I forgot to mention that. Any game that is compatible with either the Capcom adapter or the Chelnov adapter will work with this mod. Right now I'm working on an update to this mod that will put a switch on the back of the 6 button controller. With the flick of that switch allow the 6 button controller to function as the dual d-pad controller used with Crazy Climber and Libble Rabble on the X68000. The ZYBC buttons will function as the second d-pad with X and A functioning as A and B. I know it will require quite a bit of re-wiring, and it won't function as well as the original, but it's better then having two great X68000 titles left unplayable for those without the 2 D-Pad controller.
    Go up to your brother, kill him with your gun. Leave him lying in his uniform dying in the sun. War, it's never been so much fun.

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    Peach (Level 3)
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    I'm still trying to hunt down a 2 D-Pad controller. Even the X68000 version of Libble Rabble is still pretty damn expensive on YAJ.

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    I was lucky enough to get my Libble Rabble with controller for 1500 yen, but it can get quite expensive. There is an FM Towns version of Libble Rabble on Yahoo Auctions at the moment, which includes the same controller. Starts at 5000 yen though.

    I've bought 6 SFII's, and three had the adapter (average cost: 550 yen). I've had three Garou Densetsu 2's, and two had the joypad (300 yen for each of the three), and Chelnov cost me 1200 yen with the adapter. Pac-Land with the controller cost 1400 yen, but you can use a joystick with this if it's unavailable (still better to have it though).

    The Cyberstick cost me 2000 yen unboxed, and I've bought two XE1-ST2's, one for 2000 and the other for 980. The Capcom Power Stick Fighter MD cost me 980 yen locally, again unboxed.

    Hopefully that will give you an idea of the kind of costs involved.

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    drowning in medals Ed Oscuro's Avatar
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    Arasoi will be happy to see this - he's been looking for his Panasonic "jelly bean" controller and was considering modifying a Genesis controller so he can play Space Manbow right.

    I actually have X68000 / MSX controllers (including the ST2 and the Cyber Stick, just a loose one unless I bought a boxed one and forgot) coming out my ears. Sitting right next to me are a couple six-button FM Towns pads, supposedly rare, that came with an uncommon title. I've got the Garou Densetsu controller, got the adapter in one of the Capcom games.

    Did Pac-Land, Chelnov, or any other games come with a special controller in the box? The boxes look too small to fit anything in. I know Pac-Land's box advertises the Pac-Land controller (I'd love to get one, great game), but I always assumed it was sold separately. I did not know of the Libble Rabble controller either (nor did I even know the game used two sticks until recently anyway); isn't there some other game that could use it?

    Controllers included, I still have to say the most unexpected cool thing that I've seen in a X68000 game is the standard (battle flag) inside Genpei Touma Den.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ed Oscuro View Post
    Did Pac-Land, Chelnov, or any other games come with a special controller in the box? The boxes look too small to fit anything in. I know Pac-Land's box advertises the Pac-Land controller (I'd love to get one, great game), but I always assumed it was sold separately. I did not know of the Libble Rabble controller either (nor did I even know the game used two sticks until recently anyway); isn't there some other game that could use it?
    Chelnov's controller came in the box, it's only small, here's an ad for it:
    http://kikux68k.hp.infoseek.co.jp/x68k_gspos62.html


    The Pac-Land controller was obviously not in the box, the game and the controller came in a bigger transparent box, one of which I have here. At least I assume it came that way. It was not sold separately as far as I know.
    Ad for that is here:
    http://kikux68k.hp.infoseek.co.jp/x68k_gspos81.html

    The full package: http://kikux68k.hp.infoseek.co.jp/x68k_spph61.html


    Quote Originally Posted by Ed Oscuro
    Controllers included, I still have to say the most unexpected cool thing that I've seen in a X68000 game is the standard (battle flag) inside Genpei Touma Den.
    Have you seen this?
    http://kikux68k.hp.infoseek.co.jp/x68k_spph20.html


    I won't give you too many links, it would spoil the fun, so have a good look around the site they're on:
    http://kikux68k.hp.infoseek.co.jp/menu.html


    The extras I can think of are:
    Afterburner: mouse mat
    Akumajou Dracula: sticker for data disk
    Chelnov: Megadrive adapter
    Crazy Climber 1/2: THIS is what you were thinking of, it also uses the Libble Rabble controller
    Detana!! Twinbee: postcards
    Dragon Spirit: pennant
    Final Fight: soundtrack CD
    Garou Densetsu 2: controller
    Gempai Toumaden: flag
    Gradius II: Art of Gradius book
    Libble Rabble: controller, stickers or tokens or something, haven't opened them.
    Maison Ikkoku Kanketsuhen Special: wedding invitation (really)
    Marble Madness: marble
    Mr. Do!/Mr. Do! Vs Unicorns: demo disk (for shops maybe?)
    Pac-Land: controller
    Puyo Puyo: stickers, comic etc.
    Street Fighter II': Megadrive adapter


    I'm sure there are more, just can't remember them all now.
    Last edited by an_turtar; 12-08-2009 at 03:13 AM.

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    drowning in medals Ed Oscuro's Avatar
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    Son of a gun, I'm missing a lot of swag, aren't I?

    Set for Dracula, Genpei Touma Den, Gradius II, Detana!!, GD2 and SFII', though.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ed Oscuro View Post
    Son of a gun, I'm missing a lot of swag, aren't I?

    Set for Dracula, Genpei Touma Den, Gradius II, Detana!!, GD2 and SFII', though.
    Well, you've made a start! The Final Fight CD is pretty easy to get, the After Burner mouse mat not so much. There's one on ebay I think, too expensive for me though. The controllers and adapters are obviously the main things to collect, as they're actually useful. It's all worth getting though, and usually I find the Japanese sellers charge the same price whether the extras are there or not.

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    I've got the After Burner mouse mat, but unfortunately it was folded up in the box for so long that it won't sit flat anymore. I've also got the controller that came with Fatal Fury 2, but I haven't tried it out yet since until recently my X68k didn't have enough RAM. I want to hunt down a Cyber Stick eventually too, those seem to go for cheap.

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    drowning in medals Ed Oscuro's Avatar
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    Here's part of the problem for me right now:

    Galaga '88
    X68000 eBay price $139

    Almost certainly inflated, and again I've only been able to judge completeness based on what I've come across.

    Galaga '88 JPN PCB
    Forum price $230

    Not guaranteed to be the most competitive price (rather hard to find board, especially out here), but dang. A big difference, sure, but with proper handling I'd expect the arcade board to last longer - it's also the superior version.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ed Oscuro View Post
    Here's part of the problem for me right now:

    Galaga '88
    X68000 eBay price $139

    Almost certainly inflated, and again I've only been able to judge completeness based on what I've come across.
    Galaga '88 on the X68000 is a 1000-2000 yen game. All x68k eBay prices are inflated (except mine!), the only cheap things are the utility packages etc.

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    Insert Coin (Level 0) TheRogue's Avatar
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    Yes, eBay prices for just about every Japanese game and system are horribly inflated. Even japanese hardware prices are hideously inflated. I got my complete X68000 XVI for 40,000 yen, whereas any X68000 I've ever seen on eBay that is complete and in the same condition as mine sells for over 1000 bucks with shipping NOT included. I have seen people selling an FM Towns Marty UIB for 700USD on there before, whereas on Y!Jp that same console would rarely sell for over 100USD. I just bought a Roland SC-88GS Sound Canvas synth for use with my X68000 off of Y!Jp for 9000 Yen, whereas on eBay they sell for 200 USD and up. I have pretty much given up on purchasing from eBay unless it is my only option, the prices are just too ridiculous.
    Go up to your brother, kill him with your gun. Leave him lying in his uniform dying in the sun. War, it's never been so much fun.

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