Advise on buying a JP Gamecube over an US Gamecube and using Freeloader

[forte]

Hi all

Ive been looking for some time to buy a Gamecube but I would prefer one that is NTSC and not PAL. And complete. When I was looking up auctions for the GC, most of the US GCs I have come across have either, dont have a box or the condition of the console has marks or the front has been yellowed. Prices for the console have really inflated if its completed.
My other option was to look at the JP GCs. And I gotta say, most of these conditions I have seen are pristine but for some weird reason, are more cheaper then the US GCs?
I am going to be buying mostly US and maybe some PAL games because of the language barrier but I wanted to know if anyone has any experience using the Freeloader swap disk in general? As I have heard of issues with the memory card formatting but I dont know if this is true or not?

[Aussie2B]

I'm sure there are others with more experience than me, but I've had no problem using Freeloader to play Japanese games on my US GameCube. I assume playing US GameCube games on a Japanese GameCube wouldn't be a challenge either. How a game interacts with a memory card varies from game to game. Some files from different regions can be on a card simultaneously with no issue, while other games will format the card if it was previously used for games from a different region. So it's wise to keep separate cards for each region.

That's Japan NTSC and US NTSC, though. I own one single PAL GameCube game (Doshin the Giant), and I've never had success in getting it to play on my GameCube, not even with Freeloader. But I couldn't say if the problem lies solely with the combination of the system and game or if my TV is also a factor.

[Spartacus]

My advise would be to purchase a Xeno chipped Gamecube. If you don't find one boxed, purchase an empty console box separately.

[forte]

Thanks guys for the reply. Much appreciated it.

[dj898]

My Japanese GameCube has the switch installed to let US/JP games to load. No need for the loader disc.
From memory it wasn’t that difficult to install.

[Tanooki]

I've used the freeloader 1.06 for some time now and I've got 5 JP and 1 PAL game and never had any fatal issue. ONe game, Shikigami no Shiro II has some garbled chat text in there, but given that it's a vertical shooter it's useless rambling anyway. I've got PAL Doshin the Giant which runs without error as well as Nintendo Puzzle Collection, Gundam vs Z-Gundam, and both Hudson Selections of Star Soldier and Bonk. It's not a 100% device, there are a select few games that will sour up some rotten errors that make them unusable safely like Mr Driller being on the short list. All in all though if you don't want to go hacking into your system it's an easy great option.

[theclaw]

The short version is modchips or Freeloader don't change the system region/language.
As you're aware, some Japanese games have compatibility issues with non-Japanese modes.

It's also useful to enable inaccessible languages. NTSC versions of Star Fox Adventures swap between English or Japanese text.

The Gamecube cannot read memory cards formatted to a different region.
This part is easy to tell in the memory manager. If a game saves/loads successfully, the card is the right format for the console.
But problematic games may fail to save, or erase the card. Hence the risk.

For most PAL games you should hack or patch 60hz mode.
NTSC systems display 50hz with messed up color encoding. A component cable or other things can fix 50hz if necessary.

[Aussie2B]

I wish there was more info out there on the different versions of the Freeloader and how they may function differently. The Freeloader I bought is copyright 2006 and says it works with the Wii, so you'd assume it's one of the later versions and should, presumably, be one of the best. Yet the instruction manual says it's version 1.0. I don't know if that's something they forgot to update or what.

But this does remind me that I never did try Doshin on my Wii, and I also borrowed a different version of Freeloader from my bro-in-law that I never got around to trying. Maybe I can find some combination of Doshin + system + Freeloader + TV that'll actually work for me. Not being able to get it to work when I initially bought it kind of took the wind out of my sails in regard to it, but it would be nice to actually get it working and have PAL GameCube games in general available to me.

[theclaw]

It seems Datel completely redid their software. Later versions look different.

I've heard Freeloader removed the ability to force PAL games to 60hz.
If your TV supports PAL, you should at least be able to play in black and white. The color issue is on the console end. Obviously that's irrelevant if the TV doesn't recognize 50hz at all.