Pal Super Mario Rpg, Lift pin or Eprom cart?

Pal Super Mario Rpg, Lift pin or Eprom cart?
by SnesGuy on 2009-12-22 (#54307)

Hi guys ive just finished making some Som2 and Starfox2 carts and next on the list is a Pal english Super Mario Rpg. I was originally planning on just making an eprom cart with a single 32mbit but then realised that the only pal Sa-1 carts didn't have enough ram and so would need 2 doner carts, which with the the eproms and willem adapter cost more than a shipped Ntsc version which apparently can be made to work by simply lifting and or soldering a pin.

So can somebody on here confirm that all (apparently theres differnet versions) Super mario rpgs can be modded to work on either a modded or unmodded pal Snes from start to finish without secruity crashes or something?? Or does the rom need to patched and soldered?

Thanks a bunch

by d4s on 2009-12-23 (#54316)

Yeah, this works fine on unmodified PAL units.
Tie SA-1 pin 127 to GND or VCC for NTSC or PAL mode, respectively.

by SnesGuy on 2009-12-23 (#54350)

Alright thanks

by SnesGuy on 2010-01-06 (#54784)

Well, my super mario rpg arrived today in the mail today and im not having much luck

I lifted the pin up and tried leaving it floating and soldering it to the +5 on the capacitor but all i get is the square and nintendo screen and then goes to the opening cutscence and just freezes straight away( at the clouds and blue sky) whilst the music continues to play...

My lockout chip is still enabled although my snes does have a 50/60 switch will that effect it? Also the serial on the cart is SHVC 1L5B-11.

Please tell me its just the 50/60 switch, i reeeeeeeeeeally dont wanna buy another SMRPG

Again thanks for the help

by SnesGuy on 2010-01-06 (#54799)

Ok, ive been fiddling with this bastard for a while now, and sometimes when i rapidly mash the start button i can skip the custscene before it freezes and get to the start screen/menu screen BUT from there if i hit any buttons i get a black screen and if i just wait, it goes back to the opening cutscene and freezes but has the butterflys and some garbled brown sprite.

Any ideas?? It seems weird that it wouldnt work when i got it, i lift the pin and it boots just to freeze on me.

The only things i can think of is
A. Its a total fluke
B. This cart is a later one with secruity up the ass
C. It can somehow detect the 50/60 switch which i find hard to believe

by heiopeio on 2010-01-11 (#55050)

yeah, thats the same error that i had.

erase the sram on the donor cartridge and it will work.

the game uses the sram as ram, to buffer textures.
if you dont erase the sram, there is garbage data in the sram
and the game will crash.

try it, and you will see

i have made 2 mario rpg pal, and both of them freezes on startup or after 5 sec.
after erasing the sram, it works fine!

and please, if u want to play it on a unmodified pal console.. leave the pin floating!

by SnesGuy on 2010-01-14 (#55183)

Thanks heiopeio for replying . I litteraly just checked back in before i ordered the adaptor and eproms and started hacking the cart up. Its not an eprom cart like yours as i only lifted the pin on an orig US cart but il still give it give it ago (remove the battery).

If it works i will love you forever

by SnesGuy on 2010-01-15 (#55204)

No good I removed the battery and left it over night and still get the same thing. That would have erased the S-ram right? Or do i need to do it manually?

by heiopeio on 2010-01-17 (#55258)

i put mine on an action replay 3 and startet the game... it crashes, then i removed the action replay, and it worked without problems.

to erase the sram you can use a 9v battery. put it on the contacts of the sram battery for max 10 seconds and the sram is erased completely.

if its not working... can you make a short vid or a picture of the crash?

by SnesGuy on 2010-01-18 (#55303)

Well i dont know what to do to it, Its either a hardware issue or security and either way unless i have an american snes il never know. My Jap MRPG arrived today and now all im waiting for is my eproms and adaptor. Im to scared to lift the pin on the jap one just yet incase i do the same thing.

While filming the vid (uploading now will take about an hr) i noticed that there was no longer garbled graphics after rewatching the opening cutscene twice (must be the s-ram) and after playing the Jap MRPG on my famicom i noticed that the Us cart doesnt have the sword in the castle is that normal?

If i cant get it working before the adaptor and eproms arrive as a last resort il just slap an eprom on and if i get the same problem i know the cart is broken.. but seriously how often does that happen? It seems unlikely.

by SnesGuy on 2010-01-18 (#55306)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie4RUsGb1DU

by heiopeio on 2010-01-18 (#55327)

ok watched the vid.

generally, super mario rpg works on pal consoles with the SA-1 pin lifted and floating... there is no more that you must do.

maybe you broke something while you lifted the sa-1 pin.. or you have lifted the wrong pin! its pin 127, so please doublecheck!!
or the lifted pin, touches slightly pin 128 or 126.

if its not working, the pcb must be faulty...

i have tried 2 mario rpg´s, and both worked fine on pal consoles, after lifting the pin and erasing the sram.
ok in my case, i´ve made an eprom cart... but this can´t be the error!

it also doesen´t matter if you have an multinorm snes or not.
it should run run run!

the only thing you can try, is to test it on an american snes, with the pin connected to GND.

so my next question... where are you from?
if you want it to play on a pal.. maybe you´re not too far away

i have an american snes, so you can send it to me, and i will test it.
but only, if you´re living in the same country...
otherwise, its too expensive for this game.

i´m from germany, so look where you are hehe

by SnesGuy on 2010-01-18 (#55334)

Well i feel totally retarded, I a tiny bit of solder on pin 126 and its now working.

by heiopeio on 2010-01-19 (#55349)

ok then congratulations!

have fun with mario