Author Topic: pc engine questions  (Read 580 times)

77FordTruckMan

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pc engine questions
« on: June 20, 2010, 10:21:50 AM »
I just bought a pc engine core grafx system with an IFU-30A Interface unit and a CD-R30A CD-ROM player and have some questions. I plan on getting it region modded so I can play U.S games on it and I was wondering what if anything needs to be done to play U.S cd games on it, or will this mod take care of that as well http://www.multimods.com/SlotMod1.html, I plan on getting this guy to do it, because even though I probably can do it I don't really want to mess with this system because it was very expensive.My other question is about the cd system cards, it came with the super system card 3.0, so in order to be able to play regular cd games which 2.0 card do I need? it mentions this one http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-ARCADE-CARD-PRO-PC-ENGINE-JAPAN-/290369755579?cmd=ViewItem&pt=US_Vintage_Video_Games&hash=item439b62d9bb but what about this one http://cgi.ebay.com/Turbo-Grafx-16-CD-System-Card-2-0-/350367017755?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Video_Games&hash=item5193806b1b  do I need the U.S and Japanese versions of the 2.0 card to play both types? Thanks for helping to clear this up.

rag-time4

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Re: pc engine questions
« Reply #1 on: June 20, 2010, 10:28:57 AM »
I just bought a pc engine core grafx system with an IFU-30A Interface unit and a CD-R30A CD-ROM player and have some questions. I plan on getting it region modded so I can play U.S games on it and I was wondering what if anything needs to be done to play U.S cd games on it, or will this mod take care of that as well http://www.multimods.com/SlotMod1.html, I plan on getting this guy to do it, because even though I probably can do it I don't really want to mess with this system because it was very expensive.My other question is about the cd system cards, it came with the super system card 3.0, so in order to be able to play regular cd games which 2.0 card do I need? it mentions this one http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-ARCADE-CARD-PRO-PC-ENGINE-JAPAN-/290369755579?cmd=ViewItem&pt=US_Vintage_Video_Games&hash=item439b62d9bb but what about this one http://cgi.ebay.com/Turbo-Grafx-16-CD-System-Card-2-0-/350367017755?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Video_Games&hash=item5193806b1b  do I need the U.S and Japanese versions of the 2.0 card to play both types? Thanks for helping to clear this up.
CD games are not region locked, so you could always play US CD games on a Japanese system card.

To play regular CD 2.0 games, you need a system 2.0 card at a minimum. The Super System 3.0 card will work fine, and on a PCE with IFU-30, the Arcade Card Pro will also work fine.

If you want to be able to play Arcade CD games, you must have an Arcade card. For the PCE with IFU-30, you must use the Arcade Card Pro.

The only problem you will run into is Altered Best CD, which requires system card 1.0 to run properly.
« Last Edit: June 20, 2010, 10:40:49 AM by rag-time4 »

sunteam_paul

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Re: pc engine questions
« Reply #2 on: June 20, 2010, 10:30:14 AM »
CDs are not region coded so you can play all US CDs on a Japanese PC Engine. The Super System card will play 99.9% of all CD games, except those which are made for the arcade card (which are not that many). The only problem you will have is Altered Beast.

EDIT: Beat me to it!
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rag-time4

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Re: pc engine questions
« Reply #3 on: June 20, 2010, 10:32:51 AM »
CDs are not region coded so you can play all US CDs on a Japanese PC Engine. The Super System card will play 99.9% of all CD games, except those which are made for the arcade card (which are not that many). The only problem you will have is Altered Beast.

EDIT: Beat me to it!
Well hey two responses in 10 minutes ain't bad!

77FordTruckMan

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Re: pc engine questions
« Reply #4 on: June 20, 2010, 10:48:05 AM »
wow, thanks for the fast responses, so can I play the us cd games before I get the mod?

77FordTruckMan

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Re: pc engine questions
« Reply #5 on: June 20, 2010, 10:54:53 AM »
I have a turbografx 16, so I guess I don't even need to get it modded.

rag-time4

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Re: pc engine questions
« Reply #6 on: June 20, 2010, 11:36:46 AM »
wow, thanks for the fast responses, so can I play the us cd games before I get the mod?
Sure you can play the US CD games without getting a mod, provided you have a Japan region System card. Having a Japanese console is nice because the Arcade card was only released in Japan.

77FordTruckMan

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Re: pc engine questions
« Reply #7 on: June 27, 2010, 12:10:40 PM »
I just got it on Friday, so far I am very happy with it except for the backup ram's lack of space, I had a saved game (might and magic III) stored on it, and when I went to play shadow of the beast it said the file cabinet was full, so I had to delete that save. It wouldn't even let me play the game. Is there any way to expand this or something?

77FordTruckMan

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Re: pc engine questions
« Reply #8 on: June 27, 2010, 12:41:39 PM »
maybe something like this http://cgi.ebay.com/PC-Engine-ROM-RAM-Hu-Card-TENNOKOE-BANK-BUCK-UP-MEMORY-/360272003864?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Video_Games_Accessories&hash=item53e1e28318 is there anything you can use with the cd system attached? if you use this, what about the system card?

77FordTruckMan

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Re: pc engine questions
« Reply #9 on: June 27, 2010, 01:02:21 PM »
I think I found something, the memory base 128

SuperDeadite

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Re: pc engine questions
« Reply #10 on: June 27, 2010, 01:46:37 PM »
Memory Base 128 only works with certain games that were programmed to use it. And the
list of such games is fairly small.  It also runs off of 6 (or was it 8?) AA batteries.  More trouble
then it's worth really.
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Tatsujin

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Re: pc engine questions
« Reply #11 on: June 27, 2010, 01:59:31 PM »
save-functions were a real mess back then.
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Necromancer

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Re: pc engine questions
« Reply #12 on: June 28, 2010, 04:35:22 AM »
The save capacity isn't really as bad as it seems, as most games don't require anywhere near as much room as Might & Magic III, so you'll normally have plenty of room for multiple titles' save files.  To play such pigs as M&M III or Sim Earth (which eats up all of the save space), you need to get yourself a Tennokoe Bank card, with which you'll be able to backup your current saves and swap 'em back in when you're done with the 'big save' game.  It may not be convenient to have to swap out the saves, but that's the way it is.
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rag-time4

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Re: pc engine questions
« Reply #13 on: June 28, 2010, 10:24:39 AM »
Memory Base 128 only works with certain games that were programmed to use it. And the
list of such games is fairly small.  It also runs off of 6 (or was it 8?) AA batteries.  More trouble
then it's worth really.
The MB-128 requires 4 AA batteries.

It's required for all the KOEI strategy games.

Necro's suggestion of the Ten-no Koe bank HuCard is the best way to go!

77FordTruckMan

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Re: pc engine questions
« Reply #14 on: June 29, 2010, 09:03:36 AM »
guess I should have mentioned the memory base before I bought one. I did pick up a tennokoe card, how much do those things hold? Also, I haven't been able to find a complete list of games that support the mb-128, does anyone know? all I found was this http://www.pcenginefx.com/forums/index.php?topic=615.0