Mega Drive compatibility

[flywheels]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I need to know if the majority of US NTSC Genesis games will operate on a Japanese Mega Drive system.

I've got a few MD games w/ the lock-out chips so I can't play them on my Genesis model 3. I'd be quicker to add the MD to my collection if it played both US & JPN games.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Ed Oscuro]

Nope, but I know of a place you can buy a nice boxed Mega Drive with a switchless territory mod (and a blue LED) :)

[Ed Oscuro]

By which I mean - games with a territory lockout won't work.

I don't think the US carts will fit, and I certainly know I wouldn't recommend putting a Japanese MD cart in a US Nomad (or any other Genesis system for that matter). It makes a bad noise when you pull it out and in my case that cartridge was my Contra Hard Corps from my mint $150 copy of the game :P

[The Insomniac]

Some Japanese games work if you have a 32X. The carts will fit, at least mine do.

[Epicenter]

MANY games have a region lock and many don't. Examples: Sonic 1 and 2 work anywhere. Same for Sonic and Knuckles. But not Ecco/Ecco 2, or Sonic 3 .. the cartridges may also not fit the slot. If you can adapt it to fit or run it through a device .. many will work. About 50% I'd say ..

How a 'switchless territory mod' could work is beyond me. The system has no mechanical or electrical differences for when a cart is inserted-- it'd need to read the ROM header, determine the game's native region, set it appropriately, THEN start the MegaDrive. Seems a bit excessive when you could just install a switch. This would require a processor, RAM, a program to determine the game region, relays, et cetera. :P

[Ed Oscuro]

How a 'switchless territory mod' could work is beyond me.

Next time I get, oh, say, $150 I'll go purchase this one (from Lawrence/NeoGeoMan) and find out, how about it? :P

[Darkness X]

Hey, sorry to be all rude and ask a question of my own here, but this seems like the right thread...

I heard that the very first Genesis systems have no lockout feature/sercurity code. Does this mean I can play Japanese MD games on the system? Or am I way off on this?

Thanks, and sorry for sounding like a n00b. It's just my Genesis system(may it Rest in Peace), was one of the last model 1's(just before the M2 came out). so I never had anyway to test this.

[Push Upstairs]

My understanding was that the early Genesis systems didnt have the "produced by" screen so you are able to play "unlicensedl" Sega gamea (Early EA and Accolade games).

Any Genesis model can play early, non-lock out chip games....you just need a device that allows them to fit in the system (like a Game Genie)

Some later region locked out games (like Bare Knuckle 3) have game genie codes that will allow them to play on a US system without any modifcations*




*Genesis 3 systems do not wotk with Game Genies.

[anagrama]

As others have said, early MD/Genesis titles (pre 1993) generally had no region protection. Later games are a bit hit & miss - some will, some won't.
However, you'll still need bridge adaptor to fit the US carts into a Japanese system (unless you want to hack up the cartridge slot).

The double-switch mod (check the Gamefaqs Genesis hardware page) is pretty straightforward, and will allow you to play all Jap/US/Euro games on any Megadrive/Genesis console. It comes highly recommended, and requires minimal soldering skills.

[flywheels]

The cartridge slot on my Genesis model 3 will allow me to play my Mega Drive games w/o the Territory chip...but no such luck w/ Golden Axe III or Rolling Thunder 2.

I'm guessing it would be cheaper for me then to go after a Mega Drive system since converter carts are so hard to find. I just assumed however that since the MD cartridges were wider than the US games, the US games would still fit in a MD system.

No biggie, I think I can accomodate one more system into the mix. Thanks for everyone's replys.

[rbudrick]

I have an original model US Genesis and some Japanese games won't play in it...Like SUper Monaco GP II....it has the region protection built into the cart itself.

-Rob

[Push Upstairs]

The cartridge slot on my Genesis model 3 will allow me to play my Mega Drive games w/o the Territory chip...but no such luck w/ Golden Axe III or Rolling Thunder 2.

I'm guessing it would be cheaper for me then to go after a Mega Drive system since converter carts are so hard to find. I just assumed however that since the MD cartridges were wider than the US games, the US games would still fit in a MD system.

No biggie, I think I can accomodate one more system into the mix. Thanks for everyone's replys.

Best bet is the previously mentioned switch mod for the Genesis.

I did it and its the best thing possible, widen the cart slot and you can play any Japanese or US game without worries about incompatability.

[16-bit]

Here is an excellent FAQ for playing Japanese Mega Drive games. My favorite part is the Game Genie section. The genie works great as a "pass through" cart and there are several codes to allow one to bypass region lockout on some of the more popular games:

http://www.angelfire.com/ny/dezmoowu/Sega/Import.txt

[Ed Oscuro]

One important thing about MDj carts in a US system: I put my Contra Hard Corps ($150 complete) cart in my Nomad; it was hard to get out and made a loud noise which scared the hell outta me. So even if you can play it, actually using a US system might be a bad idea.