Internet Info 1994 March/Internet Info CD-ROM (Walnut Creek) (March 1994).iso/answers/rec/games/video-games/faq/part1

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From: [e-mail] (Ken Arromdee)
Newsgroups: rec.games.video.misc,rec.games.video.nintendo,rec.games.video.sega,rec.games.video.atari,rec.games.video.3do,rec.games.video.advocacy,news.answers,rec.answers
Subject: rec.games.video Frequently Asked Questions (part 1 of 3)
Followup-To: rec.games.video.misc,rec.games.video.nintendo,rec.games.video.sega,rec.games.video.atari,rec.games.video.3do,rec.games.video.advocacy
Date: 15 Apr 1994 18:15:21 -0400
Organization: Johns Hopkins University CS Dept.
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Xref: bloom-beacon.mit.edu rec.games.video.misc:15998 rec.games.video.nintendo:19771 rec.games.video.sega:21613 rec.games.video.atari:6088 rec.games.video.3do:4065 rec.games.video.advocacy:3387 news.answers:18106 rec.answers:4911

Archive-name: games/video-games/faq/part1

Information needed:
-- What is the name of that SNES ftp site?
-- Is my Sony PSX information sufficiently ungarbled?
-- Information on 3DO Japanese/US compatibility.
-- 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.
-- I need some system specifications on the 3DO.
-- Can you make a language switch in the redesigned Genesis?  How?
-- Someone tell me how to make that SNES 50/60 hertz switch.  Please.
-- How to do a Neo-Geo language switch, and info on arcade/home adapters.
This has become urgent with the censorship on Samurai Shodown.  (Someone
posted that they _have_ such a switch, so it must be possible.)
-- The TurboExpress and TG-16 information are inconsistent in CPU and Mhz.
-- Other pack-in game secret codes.
-- Language switch/lockout Genesis/Mega Drive examples.
-- 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 Put myself down as maintaining the anime video game list (sheesh).
o Added the introduction.
o Added the Sega Saturn FAQ, and a Saturn system statistic section (which is
still mostly ?s).
o Deleted the Sega CD cheat list.
o Listed the Gameboy FAQ and server.
o PC Mortal Kombat is present tense now.
o Shortened the Ranma 1/2 section and included a pointer to the anime video
game FAQ.
o Added the Final Fantasy version question.  (Can someone help me?  Was FF1 in
Japan the same as in America?  And were FF2-3 in Japan for the Famicom or
Super Famicom?)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Last modified 4/15/94]
[Last posted 4/15/94]

Section 0: Introduction
=======================
This is the general home video games FAQ list.  It doesn't have cheats for
most games except for pack-ins and obvious hits like Street Fighter II.  It
does have just about everything else, and will probably continue to do so at
least until we get full FAQs for each system (which as far as I know, the
Genesis and SNES don't have).

All references to prices that are close to round numbers have been rounded
(you will not see the price $99 anywhere in here).  All references to "megs"
and "M" of memory refer to megabytes (I hate 'megabits').

    Section 1: Basic Questions
    Section 2: When is a ... coming out?/Give me information on ...
    Section 3: Can I use a...?
    Section 4: What is a...?
    Section 5: Game-Specific Questions (including spoilers for pack-in games)
    Section 6: System Capabilities
    Section 7: Connecter/Controller Pinouts
    Section 8: Compatibility
    Section 9: Game Magazines
    Section 10: Other FAQ's/regular postings/mailing lists

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.  (Not
much of a punishment.)
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", naming hell hounds
"heck hounds" in Secret of Mana, 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; advertisements for it show some questionable "games" added just
to increase the count, like the 15-puzzle.  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 and Jaguar.  (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 Taiwan or Hong Kong, 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,
orn get around this problem
with a Game Genie or 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,
and has no volume control or headphone jack.  Stereo jacks have been added.
There's no difference in what games it can play.


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 ....


Atari/Nintendo lawsuit.

A recent lawsuit over the "114 Patent", which seems to be connected to
horizontal scrolling in video games, was settled by March 25, 1994.  Atari
claims that Nintendo had to pay Atari, which Nintendo denies.


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, to try developing
your own games, 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), 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.

The CDX (not to be confused with the CDX adaptor for foreign games) is $400.


... Sega Saturn?

The Saturn's release date is supposed to be November 1994 in Japan at a price
of 50000 yen.  It is a CD-ROM system; the similar Jupiter by Sega is not.

Sega plans a device called the Genesis Super 32X, an add-on to the Genesis that
costs $150.  It is to use chips which have been designed for the Saturn.  The
actual press release does not say that a Genesis plus 32X is equivalent to a
Saturn, only that it provides similar performance.


... Duo (TG-16 Super CD)?

The Duo is available on clearance, at the price of $100.  It's basically a dead
system in the US (Japan is another story, although a PC Engine magazine did
recently stop publishing there).

The SCD expansion from the regular CD was 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 were able to order the SCD card from them at the same
price.  I have no idea if you can even still buy a SCD card now.

The final expansion is the Arcade Card.  There are no plans to release it or
any of its games in the US.  This card contains 2M memory (the CD has 64K and
the SCD 256K), and there are different versions depending on whether you're
using it with a system that has the SCD card built-in (Duo).  You need an
adapter to use one.  Most Arcade Card games are Neo-Geo fighting game ports.


... 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 was November 1993 in "test markets", because Atari
couldn't get enough of the needed chips.  The general release was supposed to
be around March 1994, and seems to have been pushed to at least June.  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.

The CD is to be released summer of 1994.


... 3DO system?

It's out, of course, and now also out in Japan.  The Panasonic version is
officially now at $500.  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 PSX?

This system is 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.  The
system should appear in Japan in November-December 1994 (yeah, right).


... CD^32 system?

The system has been released in Europe and Canada.  It was announced as
available in the USA on March 1, 1994.  The suggested retail price is $400.
The pack-in games are Pinball Fantasies, Wing Commander, and Oscar.  The system
is basystem and no keyboard.


... NEC FX?

This system is currently in the same state as Nintendo's Project Reality; some
screen shots have been shown, but they're from workstations, not actual
systems.


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?

There was going to be an SCSI adapter for the Duo (it never came out).

A PC CARD will allow use of a 3DO to run software on a PC, with a possible
Macintosh version.


... 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).

The 6 button controller for PCE/Duo and the TG-16 controller have an internal
plug which is the same size.  You can therefore open the controllers up and
combine them to have a 6 button controller for use on the TG-16.


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, for the Atari ST, 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: [e-mail])
ObYouKnowWho Bait: Stuffed Turkey with Gravy and Mashed Potatoes

"You, a Decider?"  --Romana    "I decided not to." --The Doctor