Information needed: -- Information on Sega/Atari lawsuit(s). -- Information on the Nintendo/SGI thing and on the Saturn. -- The Action Replay information is woefully incomplete. There's no information on the different things called Action Replay, for instance. -- Correct price for Duo. -- I need some system specifications on the 3DO and CD32. -- Can you make a language switch in the redesigned Genesis? How? -- Someone tell me how to make that SNES 50/60 hertz switch. Please. -- Is TTI eventually going to release the SCD card to stores? When? -- What exactly is Turbo Zone? If they are a separate store, why do they have the SCD cards at the same price as TTI, especially when SCD cards aren't supposed to be in stores at all? -- How to do a Neo-Geo language switch, and info on arcade/home adapters. This has become urgent with the censorship on Samurai Shodown. -- The TurboExpress and TG-16 information are inconsistent in CPU and Mhz. -- Other pack-in game secret codes. -- More examples of games that do/don't change with a language switch or in a MD/Genesis, including ones that don't work at all. -- Does the TG-16 really have 482 colors, and a 512x262x482 mode? And wouldn't the existence of this mode, combined with the Turbo Express resolution, mean the TE can't _really_ play all TG-16 games? (Is this the Supergrafx's mode? What _is_ the Supergrafx's mode, anyway?) I want sources.... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Changes since last time: o Changed the time on the Nintendo phone number. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Last modified 1/31/94] [Last posted 1/31/94] Section 1: Basic Questions: ========================== ``Some people have complained about questionable business practices of Nintendo. What are they?'' People are soured on Nintendo business practices because of: 1) NES cartridges have a ``lockout chip'' with availability controlled by Nintendo, which must be there to run the game. (One common excuse is "to preserve quality". Many games come from Japan, where lockout chips aren't used, but the quality is the same. Also, most people agree that Tengen Tetris is higher quality than the Nintendo one.) 2) Price-fixing. Nintendo lost in federal court, and had to give away $5 coupons good towards cartridges; they did not actually admit guilt. (No, I don't think it looks like Nintendo will suffer much from this sentence either). 3) There is a rumor that Nintendo wouldn't let stores have popular cartridges unless they also were willing to sell the Game Boy. [Information anyone?] 4) The Game Genie: This product fits between a cartridge and machine and changes certain bytes on the fly. Nintendo sued, alleging copyright violation, and delaying the Game Genie for a year. (Nintendo lost.) 5) Nintendo has sued stores for renting Nintendo games. 6) Nintendo would for a while not let licensees make the same game for other systems (which is what delayed Genesis Batman for so long). 7) Nintendo's censorship policy on games (no blood, cannot fight females) in games such as Final Fight, where all the female enemies were changed to male, Final Fantasy 2, which had praying changed to "wishing", or the best-known example, Mortal Kombat (no blood or violent fatalities). SF2 doesn't have much censorship, but Nintendo _was_ planning to censor it and only relented after a _lot_ of protests. ``Please tell me about those 100 games in 1 cartridges.'' Most of them are bootlegs, made in Hong Kong or South Korea. I've heard of some for Nintendo, Gameboy, and Game Gear, as well as Mega Drive/Genesis ones with 4-8 games. There might be such things for PC Engine. (If you have one, tell me. I'd probably want to buy it. :-)) They often have some early, lower- quality games and some games which vary only by small details like background color. They also tend to be expensive (though people sometimes try selling used ones at prices which are out of hand, even after considering this). If you really want one, you will probably have to go to Asia or buy one used. There are a number of legal 4-in-1 Nintendo cartridges, and there is at least one (legal) 52 games in 1 cartridge for Nintendo advertised in a US magazine. There is supposedly an upcoming Genesis cartridge with many games, about which I know little. There's also the 4-game Super Mario All-Stars. ``What is the relationship between Tengen and Atari Games?'' They are two branches of the same company; however, both are separate from the Atari which makes the Lynx. (Even though many Lynx games are licensed from Atari Games.) ``Where is a good source for Japanese games?'' Check the ads in an American video game magazine. (Unless you know someone who is going to Japan or has contacts there.) Also, Stephen Pearl posts a partial list of sources regularly (see below). ``What happened to that version of Tetris they're not making any more?'' It was the Tengen Tetris for NES. Tengen didn't have the proper US rights, and was forced in court by Nintendo to stop making and to recall it. (This was separate from lawsuit threats over Tengen's attempt to work around the lockout chip.) A Tetris for the Mega Drive in Japan was never legal to begin with. ``What are the differences between a "new" and "old" Genesis or Mega Drive?'' Machines made after about October 1991 are "new" machines. They won't play certain old third party US games: Ishido, Budokan, Populous, and Onslaught, or certain pirated Asian cartridges, though you can get around this problem with a Game Genie or Game Action Replay. (No codes, just plug it in.) It doesn't matter whether the new machine is a Mega Drive or a Genesis, and the change has no effect on the ability to play Japanese games. (If the machine says "produced by or under license to Sega" when turned on, it's a "new" machine.) The specific cause of the difference is that the new machines scan the ROM for the text "SEGA" in locations $100-103, and won't run if it's absent. There are similar "new" Game Gear machines. I'm not sure if they have lockout. The change between "old" and "new" came around the same time that the pack-in game was changed from Altered Beast to Sonic the Hedgehog. This isn't a reliable way to tell the difference, but every so often you still hear people refer to the "Altered Beast" and "Sonic" versions, which isn't quite right. Some people also refer to the redesigned Genesis as "new". It's a new shape, but it plays just like the older "new" one. ``Why does the SNES slow down a lot?'' The slowdown is probably a combination of several factors including: -- the SNES uses a slower processor than the Genesis. [The general consensus seems to be that this is only a minor factor.] -- some SNES games have been programmed to run at a slower clock rate than the SNES can support. -- the SNES can only transfer data to the graphics processor during the vertical blank interval. (the period between when the bottom of the screen is drawn and when the top of the next screen is drawn.) -- SNES programmers were at first not used to programming the 65816. Other machines will slow down too when they have lots of sprites on the screen. Sega/Accolade lawsuit. The lawsuit started with Sega suing Accolade, an unlicensed maker of Genesis cartridges who reverse-engineered Genesis games to discover how to write them. Sega also claimed that Accolade was "misleading consumers" because playing its games still gives the "produced by or under license to Sega" message. (Of course, the Genesis, not the cartridge, puts up the message.) The result of the suit is that Accolade will become an official developer for the Genesis and Game Gear; nobody knows who has to pay how much to whom .... Game copiers. Yes, it is true that customs is (or was) stopping deliveries of them. Yes, it is legal to copy games for your own private use. No, it is not legal to give away or sell the copies. No, it is not legal to give away or sell the original and keep the copy. No, there is no known cheap way to copy CD-ROMs yet. Yes, they have legal uses: to copy your own games for backup, and to directly modify the game code without a Game Genie-type device. It's questionable how many copier owners actually use them mostly for this. Zenith TV's. Certain older Zenith TV's have a problem working with video game systems. The following information is for the SF5749W model. To access the service menus, press and hold the menu button, then the volume and channel, so all three are held at the same time. The regular controls search through the menus, and select and adjust change them, with enter to confirm a change. On menu 1 is a "vforced" option which might be necessary to get VCR menus--or games--to work.... Phone numbers for video game companies: Nintendo: 1-800-255-3700 0400-2400 PT Mon-Sat; 0600-1900 PT Sun Sega: 1-800-USA-SEGA 0900-1800 PT Turbo Technologies: 1-800-366-0136 Atari: 1-800-327-5151, 1-800-221-3343. (These were the lines to order Lemmings and Gordo 106; I don't know if they are general lines). The 900 number for hints is 1-900-737-ATAR (95 cents per minute). SNK: 1-310-371-1965 (the earlier toll-free number is gone) Section 2: When is a ... coming out?/Give me information on ... =============================================================== ... Genesis modem? It's available in Japan (1200 baud), but had no US release. Newer Genesis machines don't even have a modem port. Baton Technologies has a modem for the Genesis and SNES called the Teleplay System (2400 baud), which ads claimed should be out by Spring 1993. (I haven't seen any yet. Isn't it wonderful how FAQs keep track of vaporware?) AT&T has announced and shown a 4800 baud modem called The Edge 16. ... Sega CD-ROM? The earlier version was $250 (plus $90 for a Genesis), coming with an arcade classics disk (Golden Axe, Revenge of Shinobi, Streets of Rage, and Columns), Sol Feace, and Sherlock Holmes. The classics are mostly unchanged except for some CD music and sound. The two-player mode on Golden Axe was removed, for some reason. The newer version is $230 with Sewer Shark. Sherlock Holmes is replaced by Cobra Command in Europe. The classics disc also contains Super Monaco GP; the files for this are on the American disc but the game has been disabled. There is something called Project Saturn to become the next generation of Sega game machine. I know little about it. ... Duo (TG-16 Super CD)? It's $280. The separate prices are: TG-16 itself $50, CD player $130, and the SCD expansion is $65 alone, and $95 with a CD containing Gate of Thunder, Bonk's Adventure, Bonk's Revenge, and a hidden Bomberman. The Duo itself comes with this disk, Ys I-II, and Ninja Spirit. The Turbobooster Plus has separate audio and video outputs, and backup memory to save games. This is already built into both the regular CD and Duo. The SCD expansion from the regular CD is available only through the toll-free number (1-800-366-0136), not in stores. The toll-free number 1-800-995-9203 is for "Turbo Zone". You can order the SCD card from them at the same price. ... SNES CD? The system's date has been continually pushed forward. The price was alleged- ly $200 (plus $80 more for the SNES), and the system was allegedly 32-bit. The current plans are for a 64 bit system named Project Reality, involving some sort of cooperation with SGI. It's expected in late 1995 (yeah, right), and little information about it has been released. ... Neo-Geo CD (Neo Star) This was pushed back to 1994, and now indefinitely. Allegedly a laser disk unit, not a CD unit. ... Atari Jaguar? The target for the Jaguar is November 15 in test markets, and 1994 for general release. The system is really 64 bit. It contains 2 megabytes of RAM, has a 720 by 526 resolution, and 24 bit color plus Z-buffering and Gourard shading. The price is now $250, with the upcoming CD to be $200. Cybermorph is the pack-in game. For full information see the Jaguar FAQ. ... 3DO system? It's out, of course. The Panasonic version is officially $700, although available discounted. When other 3DO systems will be out, I have no idea. The system comes with Crash and Burn. For full information see the 3DO FAQ. ... Pioneer LaserActive system? This system plays both laser discs and CD's, and costs $720 (and $480 each for add-on modules allowing Sega CD and Turbo CD compatibility; note that a complete Sega or Turbo CD system costs less than that). The add-on modules only allow the overlaying of graphics on laser discs; the discs are used only for backgrounds. ... Sony console? This system hasn't been named. It's allegedly a 32-bit CD system based around the R3000 processor, to first appear in Japan and "overseas" (whatever that means) for $200-$250. It is being developed after a failed Sony/ Nintendo CD-ROM project. ... CD^32 system? The system has been released in Europe and Canada. The US date was for the winter Consumer Electronics Show (January 6-8). I don't think it's really been released yet. Section 3: Can I use a...? ========================= ... monitor? The Genesis can connect to an analog RGB monitor with a similar scan rate; this means an analog RGB monitor for use with an Amiga, Atari ST, or Apple //gs. An analog RGB multisync monitor _may_ work; a digital monitor (CGA or EGA only for PC's) will not. The SNES will work with an S-video or RGB monitor provided you have the right cable; I don't know what monitors have the right scan rate. The Neo-Geo works with the same monitors the Genesis works with. ... store-bought battery with my battery-backup game cart? Yes, but you'll lose all the saved data (which happens when the battery dies anyway). ... Atari/Amiga/C64 joystick on a Genesis? You can; the button serves as both A and B. C and Start are absent. If you use an Atari 7800 joystick, the left button is both A and B, and pressing and releasing both buttons simultaneously gives C and Start. The joysticks also work the other way; the B button replaces the single fire button (left fire button on the 7800; there's no right fire button). ... CD player with my computer? The Turbo Duo has an SCSI adapter letting you use it with a computer. It works on a regular TG-16 CD, providing you don't mind the low speed. ... Duo/TG-16 controller on a TG-16/Duo? There are, or should be, adapters both ways. (Different people who called up TTI got different answers on this one.) The Duo controllers are the same as PC Engine controllers, so the adapter is good for Japanese games that need special controllers (Forgotten Worlds, Street Fighter II). Or you can get a Turbo controller and a Duo Tap and make one yourself.... Section 4: What is a...? ======================= ``What is "Blast Processing"?'' Sega hype. The phrase means exactly nothing. Sega later tried to explain it by claiming it describes the methods used by Sega to get characters like Sonic moving on the screen very fast. (Which still means nothing, of course.) Sega _again_ explained that this is because characters can be drawn on the screen while a different screen is being displayed (which is known as page flipping and isn't new) and that background processing is ignored so sprites can be moved really fast (which isn't new either). ``What is anime?'' Anime refers to Japanese animation. It's often better done, less censored, and aimed towards an older audience than, American animation. (Cautionary note: some American fans go overboard in thinking anime adult; a lot of series popular in America _are_ aimed at children or teenagers.) In the past, lots of anime was hacked up and changed for the US market (Speed Racer, Star Blazers, Robotech), but in the last few years new companies have released unedited anime with better translations. The connection with video games is that many Japanese video games are anime-based or have anime-style art (not to mention anime being videogame-based), and also that such games are often either not ported or drastically changed for American release because of supposed lack of interest in anime. ``What is a Tera Drive?'' It's a Japan-only system combining a PC and a Mega Drive; it's not available in the US. There are similar systems in Europe, though. The connection between the Mega Drive and PC parts is minimal. ``What is a Wonder Mega?'' It's a Japan-only system combining a Mega Drive and Mega CD with a JVC CD system. It's not available in the US. ``What is a Super Gun or a Mach 4?'' These are "home" systems which play a JAMMA arcade board at home. This plays the same as the arcade game, of course, but the board costs about as much as the arcade game. The systems are legal, but at least the Super Gun is often sold with illegal, pirated, arcade boards. They are not 32-bit (nor can they meaningfully be called any-bit) and you could build one yourself with $100 or so in parts. ``What is Valis I/II/III/IV?'' The original Valis game was a Japan-only Famicom game. Valis II was released for the TG-16 CD, then Valis III for the Genesis and TG-16 CD. Valis IV was released for the PC Engine CD, but only in Japan, and then later for the SNES. Valis I came out for the PC Engine SCD (also only in Japan) and the Genesis, long after Valis III. At around this time, SD Valis came out in Japan for the Mega Drive ("Syd Valis" for the Genesis). So no one system has all the games (though the PCE has all except the nearly unrelated SD one). ``What is Thunderforce I?'' It is a game produced by Technosoft for Japanese personal computers. It resembles the "overhead" stages of Thunderforce II. ``What is Phantasy Star I?'' It's a Sega Master System (8 bit) game. ``What is Cosmic Fantasy I?'' It's a Japanese PC Engine CD game, with no US release. ``What is Street Fighter I?'' This old game only let you use Ryu (player 1) and Ken (player 2); versus mode was always Ryu versus Ken. The hurricane kick, fireball, and dragon punch existed and were done the same way as in SF2; there were no throws. The only other character that also appeared in SF2 was Sagat, who was the final boss for SF1. There seem to have been two versions of this game, one with six buttons and one with two buttons where the move depended on how hard you push them. The game was adapted for PC clones and for the TG-16 CD (the latter under the name Fighting Street). ``What does 3DO stand for?'' It is allegedly from the sequence "audio, video, 3DO" and isn't an acronym. Early information did say that it stood for "three dimensional object" or "three dimensional optics". Probably, they changed their minds. ``What does "Atari" mean?'' The word is from the Japanese game Go. It's used when making a threat, like "check" in chess. -- Ken Arromdee (email: arromdee@jyusenkyou.cs.jhu.edu) ObYouKnowWho Bait: Stuffed Turkey with Gravy and Mashed Potatoes "There are no good or evil plants. There are only... plants." --Ficus (Quark) Section 5: Game-Specific Questions (including spoilers for pack-in games): ========================================================================= Debug mode and level select on Sonic the Hedgehog. Level select: 1) U, D, L, R, A+Start 2) U, D, D, D, L, R, A+Start (Japanese version) Debug mode: 1) U+C, D+C, L+C, R+C, then A+Start. 2) U+C, D+C, D+C, D+C, L+C, R+C, A+C+Start. (Japanese version) 3) C, C, C, C, U, D, L, R, A+Start. 4) U, C, D, C, L, C, R, Start, Hold A [immediately after start] The best information is that 1)-2) do it on older Sonics, and 3)-4) on newer ones. I have no idea if 3) and 4) work on the Japanese version. Keep your fingers on A and Start until Sonic first appears in an act. Within debug mode, B toggles between sprite mode and normal mode; A selects the sprite, and C places it. There should be a bunch of hexadecimal numbers on top of your score. (Sonic also can't die by getting hit or falling onto spikes in this mode.) Codes for Sonic II. For the level select, go to the sound select screen, set it to 19, press C, set to 65, press C, set to 9, press C, set to 17, press C. Go to the main screen and wait until the 1 player/2 player menu appears, and press A+start. For 14 continues, the code is 1, C, 1, C, 2, C, 4, C on the sound test screen. To become Super Sonic without collecting emeralds, the code is 4, C, 1, C, 2, C, 6, C. Select a stage and hold down A while pressing START. (You still need to collect 50 rings.) For debug mode, go into the level select and in its own sound test, 1, C, 9, C, 9, C, 2, C, 1, C, 1, C, 2, C, 4, C. Select a stage and hold down A while pressing START. The 96 worlds on Super Mario World. > All Stages, All Exits (Yes, Virginia, there are 96) (NOTE: exits marked with '*' do NOT contribute to the *96 total) Stage Exit 1 Exit 2 ---------------------- --------------------- ------------------------- Yoshi's House *Yoshi's Island 1 *Yoshi's Island 2 Yoshi's Island 1 Yellow Switch Palace Yoshi's Island 2 Yoshi's Island 3 Yoshi's Island 3 Yoshi's Island 4 Yoshi's Island 4 Iggy's Castle Yellow Switch Palace Yellow Switch Palace Iggy's Castle Donut Plains 1 Donut Plains 1 Donut Plains 2 Donut Secret 1 Donut Plains 2 Donut Ghost House Green Switch Palace Green Switch Palace Green Switch Palace Donut Ghost House Donut Plains 3 Top Secret Area Top Secret Area Donut Plains 3 Donut Plains 4 Donut Plains 4 Morton's Castle Donut Secret 1 Donut Ghost House Donut Secret House Donut Secret House Donut Secret 2 Star Road 1 Donut Secret 2 Donut Plains 3 Morton's Castle Vanilla Dome 1 Vanilla Dome1 Vanilla Dome 2 Vanilla Secret 1 Vanilla Dome 2 Vanilla Ghost House Red Switch Palace Red Switch Palace Red Switch Palace Vanilla Ghost House Vanilla Dome 3 Vanilla Dome 3 Vanilla Dome 4 Vanilla Dome 4 Lemmy's Castle Lemmy's Castle Cheese Bridge Area Vanilla Secret 1 Vanilla Secret 2 Star Road 2 Vanilla Secret 2 Vanilla Secret 3 Vanilla Secret 3 Vanilla Fortress Vanilla Fortress Butter Bridge 1 Cheese Bridge Area Cookie Mountain Soda Lake Soda Lake Star Road 3 Cookie Mountain Ludwig's Castle Butter Bridge 1 Butter Bridge 2 Butter Bridge 2 Ludwig's Castle Ludwig's Castle Forest of Illusion 1 Forest of Illusion 1 Forest of Illusion 2 Forest Ghost House Forest of Illusion 2 Forest of Illusion 3 Blue Switch Palace Blue Switch Palace Blue Switch Palace Forest of Illusion 3 Forest Ghost House Roy's Castle Forest Ghost House Forest of Illusion 4 Forest of Illusion 1 Forest of Illusion 4 Forest of Illusion 2 Forest Secret Area Forest Secret Area Forest Fortress Forest Fortress Star Road 4 Roy's Castle Chocolate Island 1 Chocolate Island 1 Choco-Ghost House Choco-Ghost House Chocolate Island 2 Chocolate Island 2 Chocolate Island 3 Chocolate Secret Chocolate Island 3 Chocolate Island 3 Chocolate Fortress Chocolate Fortress Chocolate Island 4 Chocolate Island 4 Chocolate Island 5 Chocolate Island 5 Wendy's Castle Chocolate Secret Wendy's Castle Wendy's Castle Sunken Ghost Ship Sunken Ghost Ship Valley of Bowser 1 Valley of Bowser 1 Valley of Bowser 2 Valley of Bowser 2 Valley Ghost House Valley Fortress Valley Ghost House Valley of Bowser 3 Larry's Castle Valley of Bowser 3 Valley of Bowser 4 Valley of Bowser 4 Larry's Castle Star Road 5 & Front Door Valley Fortress Back Door Larry's Castle Front Door Back Door *END Front Door *END Star World 1 Star Road 1 Star Road 2 Star World 2 Star Road 2 Star Road 3 Star World 3 Star Road 3 Star Road 4 Star World 4 Star Road 4 Star Road 5 Star World 5 Star Road 1 Star Road 6 Gnarly Tubular Tubular Way Cool Way Cool Awesome Awesome Groovy Groovy Mondo Mondo Outrageous Outrageous Funky Funky Star Road 7 (Yoshi's House) (Mario Mania) > Super Mario World Map ********** *MAIN MAP* ********** P3---27---28---29---30---31---32---. | | .---34---33 | | | | `---' | P4 | | | | 35 | P3 23------. | | | | | | | *---20 21--. 24 * .' | | | | | | | | `---18--' 22 25 `--' | | | | | 26 | | | | | P4 | | .--38---37---. 14 | | | | | | 41---+-------39--40 .--13--------15---. | | | | | | | | | 42 `---43---' | | | 16---17 | | 12---9 10--. `-P2 *---45---' 46--' | | | | | | | | `---8 11--P1 To Valley Of P5 | | | Bowser Map \ 48-----47 | * | \ | | | \ | 7-. P6 .----56 \| | | | .--. + 1 6 | | | | |\ | | `--55 51---+--50--49 \ | 5-' | | | | | | | | 53-------52 `--' `--' 2---3--4 ********************** ************ *VALLEY OF BOWSER MAP* *STAR WORLD* ********************** ************ 19----P2 * | / \ P1 / \ *----58 59 *-----54 57-----* | | | \ / 60---61 62 \__36 * 68_/ | | | / | \ 63---64---65---66---To Main Map / 67 \ / / \ \ *----' `----* P6-------44---------P5 ********* *SPECIAL* ********* *--76--75--74--73--. ******** | *LEGEND* *--69--70--71--72--' ******** 1- Yellow Switch Palace 31- Butter Bridge 2 61- #7 Larry's Castle 2- Yoshi's Island 1 32- #4 Ludwig's Castle 62- Valley Fortress 3- Yoshi's House 33- Cookie Mountain 63- Valley Of Bowser 3 4- Yoshi's Island 2 34- Cheese Bridge 64- Valley Ghost House 5- Yoshi's Island 3 35- Soda Lake 65- Valley Of Bowser 2 6- Yoshi's Island 4 36- Star World 1 66- Valley Of Bowser 1 7- #1 Iggy's Castle 37- Forest Of Illusion 1 67- Star World 5 8- Donut Plains 1 38- Forest Ghost House 68- Star World 4 9- Donut Plains 2 39- Forest Of Illusion 2 69- Gnarly 10- Donut Secret 1 40- Blue Switch Palace 70- Tubular 11- Donut Secret House 41- Forest Of Illusion 4 71- Way Cool 12- Green Switch Palace 42- Forest Secret Area 72- Awesome 13- Donut Ghost House 43- Forest Of Illusion 3 73- Groovy 14- Top Secret 44- Chocolate Secret 74- Mondo 15- Donut Plains 3 45- Forest Fortress 75- Outrageous 16- Donut Plains 4 46- #5 Roy's Castle 76- Funky 17- #2 Morton's Castle 47- Chocolate Island 1 * - Star Road 18- Vanilla Dome 1 48- Chocolate Ghost House P1..6- Pipes 19- Donut Secret 2 49- Chocolate Island 2 20- Vanilla Secret 1 50- Chocolate Island 3 21- Vanilla Dome 2 51- Chocolate Fortress 22- Red Switch Palace 52- Chocolate Island 4 23- Vanilla Ghost House 53- Chocolate Island 5 24- Vanilla Dome 3 54- Star World 2 25- Vanilla Dome 4 55- #6 Wendy's Castle 26- #3 Lemmy's Castle 56- Sunken Ghost Ship 27- Vanilla Secret 2 57- Star World 3 28- Vanilla Secret 3 58- Front Door 29- Vanilla Fortress 59- Back Door 30- Butter Bridge 1 60- Valley Of Bowser 4 Sol-Feace code: Press the sequence A, B, C, A, B, C, B, C, B, A on the title screen. Select continue. This will let you select the starting stage and get 99 ships in the options screen. Streets of Rage code: Press start on controller 1 to enter options, then press right+A+B+C on controller 2. On the non-CD version, you can do this on controller 1. Streets of Rage II code: Go to the screen before the options screen, go to the "options" line, and press A and B on the second controller and hold, then go to the options screen. The options screen will now have a stage select and extra difficulty levels. Keith Courage code: Reset the game, and hold I, II, and SELECT at the same time until "start" appears. Press U 8 times for the debug screen. Ninja Spirit code: Press START while holding SELECT at the title screen for the sound test option to appear in the menu. For a stage select, on the title screen press II, I, II, II, I, II. Hold SELECT and press RUN. You can now stage select 1-3. To select 4-6, hold down SELECT while choosing a level. The message "Have you played Mr. Heli" appears with I, II, II, I, SELECT, RUN or I, II, II, I, SELECT, II, I, I, II. (the latter unconfirmed) Gate of Thunder code: On the title screen, I, II, II, I, S, I, II, I, II, S, S, RUN and enter the configuration menu for a stage select. Bomberman on Turbo Duo pack-in CD: The following code on the Gate of Thunder/Bonk CD will let you play Bomberman, a hidden fourth game: U, R, D, L, II. ``What are all the home Street Fighter II versions?'' There are of course the SNES versions of SF2 (2 meg) and SF2HF (Turbo) (2 1/2 meg). The HF game doesn't have a true Champion Edition mode; Champion Edition mode removes the HF-specific moves but leaves in other differences. The Genesis version is 3 megabytes; it doesn't have a true Champion Edition mode either. The PC Engine version (Champion Edition) is out in Japan for 9800 yen. The game is 2 1/2 megabytes (2 1/2 times as large as any other PC Engine cartridge). It's not a CD or a CD/cartridge combination. The controller was released separately for 3980 yen. Chances this version will come out in America are negligible. Note that the PC Engine game, at the usual import game rates, plus the price for adapters and imported controller, costs more than just buying a Genesis or SNES in America and getting SF2 for it. There will allegedly be a Sega CD version of Streetfighter II. There's an illegal Famicom version; EGM claimed a legal NES version, which Capcom denies. There is an Amiga version, sold only in Europe. (Some dealers can get you one in America anyway.) There's also a legal IBM PC version (which is not very good) and a widely circulated Asian pirate version. Mortal Kombat versions and codes: There are versions for SNES, Genesis, Game Gear, and Gameboy, with upcoming Sega CD (12/30/93, apparently delayed), PC, and CD-32 versions. There is a rumored Jaguar version which, as the story goes, is _not_ being done by Acclaim. The Nintendo one is censored; fatalities are renamed to "finishing moves"; blood is removed and bloody fatalities are replaced by different fatalities without blood. The Genesis and Game Gear versions are somewhat censored, but can be fixed with an "Arcade Mode" code. Use the code on the text screen which talks about codes: ABACABB (Genesis), 2,1,2,down,up (Game Gear). The Genesis cheat code is DULLARD entered on the title screen. Flags are: 0 Player 2 dies after one hit. (Unless Reptile gives a hint or player 2 is the second computer player on an endurance match) 1 Player 1 dies after one hit. 2 Objects always fly across the moon (makes getting to Reptile easier) 3 Programmer face/initials fly across the moon. 4 Reptile always gives hints at the start of a match. 5 Infinite credits. 6 Lets the computer do fatalities on you (it normally won't). 7 Some sort of difficulty code. The Game Genie blood codes for the SNES version (use all five) are: ddbfd7a7, ddb4dd07, ddb4dda7, ddb4df07, ddb4dfa7. On a copier, change 6D 25 AE 29 D0 31 12 36 54 3A 75 42 B7 46 F9 4A to 10 00 18 00 1A 00 1B 00 1C 00 1D 00 1E 00 1F 00. (It should be at offset 1C18, or sector 14 offset 24.) These codes only change the color of the white 'sweat' to blood, and don't fix the fatalities. The Game Genie codes just translate to the 00 parts of the copier code. They don't fix the color of the heart Kano pulls out; I have no idea if the copier codes do. EGM listed, and printed screen shots for, the one-address code bdb4dd07. I have no idea how the two codes compare. (If this is equivalent to the first code, and does it in only one address, it might be possible to do other stuff in addition, like get that heart color right, or spell "Raiden" with an 'i'....) There are a number of people, it seem, who think neither version is very good. (Not because of the fatalities, but because of bad playability on SNES and bad graphics and sound on Genesis.) The Japanese (Super Famicom) version does not have the blood or violence. There is no Mega Drive version. Street Fighter II codes: Down-Right-Up-Left-Y-B-X-A on the Super Famicom version, Down-Right-Up-Left-Y-B on the SNES one. Right and left are the buttons, not the right and left on the control pad. Do this at the start of the Capcom screen and finish it before the screen fades; when it works a tone will sound. This lets you select a character versus himself. The second secret code brings up the CONFIG menu: hold down the select button and keep holding it while you start the game. This allows you to change options in the middle of the game. If you hold down the left and right buttons on the second controller, you will be taken through the character description scenes and can let go to select which character you want to see in the demo. There is no code to let you play as the last four characters. The following Game Genie code can be used in versus mode with the first player as Ryu, and the second player selecting an ordinary character but picking the boss character's screen. 10a40767, f0ae6d04, df80ad64 When the code was posted to the net, it was claimed to work for all bosses except Sagat. EGM says it works for all four. The code is rather buggy and crash-prone, and not really very useful. The following code does the same thing without color problems. f0ae6d04, go to VS mode, select your player and boss stage, and reset at round start. Then add the codes 10a40767, 67666d0d, df80ad64. Select the same player and boss stage. On SF2 Turbo, the Down-Right-Up-Left-Y-X code (plus B-A on Japanese versions) works in two places. On the Capcom logo, it disables all special moves; where "turbo" is displayed, and done on controller 2, it lets you choose 11 speeds. You _can_ disable the special moves in a player-versus-player game; do the code on the VS. Battle stage select option. The code 7e183e0f lets you play a SNES/SF NTSC Hyper Fighting on a PAL system using the Game Action Replay, though it still has some problems. The Game Genie code 6dc0efd5 supposedly works too. On the Genesis version of SF2 Turbo, the code down, z, up, x, a, y, b, c disables all the _standard_ moves when entered at the CAPCOM logo, sets the champion mode to a higher speed if entered while the logo is spinning, and allows picking the same character twice in the match mode. EGM gives a three- button controller code as down, c, up, a, a, b, b, c. ``What is the difference between the Japanese and American versions of SFII?'' One background character's hand motions were changed in the US version to look less like masturbation. The bosses' names are also different on both arcade and home versions: USA Japan Balrog M. Bison (named after Mike Tyson) Vega Balrog M. Bison Vega The secret codes to play character-versus-character are also different. On Turbo Edition, Vega's claw doesn't draw blood when hitting an opponent. ``What are the Ranma 1/2 games available?'' Gameboy: two games. The first is a block moving/maze type of game, the second is a platform-type game. Super Famicom: two SF2-type games, and an upcoming roleplaying game. PC Engine CD: an earlier punch/kick/scroll game (CD), and a more recent "video comic" game (CD); you need to know Japanese to play it (or at least be an anime fan and end up understanding about as much as you do when watching anime in Japanese). There is also a fighting game (CD/SCD) for the PC Engine. Mega CD: one video comic game (EGM implied two). The first SF game was ported to the US as "Street Combat", with just about everything in the game changed. General consensus seems to be to skip it. The second SF game will be released by DTMC, with people from Viz doing the translation. Some text was censored, and the voices were changed (and the new voices have nothing to do with the voices used in the dubbed anime.) The third PCE game was announced for the TG-16. Don't hold your breath. ``What version of Might and Magic is available for the Genesis?'' It's Might and Magic II, even though it's packaged without the number II. ``What are the Japanese Super Mario games which correspond to the US ones? I hear there was a Mario game in Japan that did not make it to the US.'' The Japanese Super Mario 2 was a Famicom Disk System game never ported to the NES. The US Super Mario 2 was adapted from a non-Mario Japanese game called "Dream Factory Doki Doki Panic". This game in turn was sold in Japan as Super Mario USA. The Super Mario All-Stars cartridge (Super Mario Collection in Japan) has all four of these games. ``Can you play Forgotten Worlds (Japanese PCE-SCD) on a TG-16, even though the controller doesn't fit?'' Button I fires, button II is clockwise. You can make either SELECT or button III be counterclockwise, so you can play the game on a TG-16 if you don't mind using SELECT as an action button. The controller fits on the Turbo Duo, since the Turbo Duo uses PC Engine type controllers (the regular TG-16 uses its own odd controllers). ``Why does John Madden 93 Championship Edition for the Sega Genesis sell for such a high price?'' It's priced for rental, not for sale, just like many video tapes. Selling them to consumers is still legal, but not really intended. ``Is the Japanese version of Mortal Kombat censored?'' The Super Famicom version is. There is no Mega Drive version at all. -- Ken Arromdee (email: arromdee@jyusenkyou.cs.jhu.edu) ObYouKnowWho Bait: Stuffed Turkey with Gravy and Mashed Potatoes "There are no good or evil plants. There are only... plants." --Ficus (Quark)