[Yod@]

I found details of this mod earlier, courtesy of m0nk3y on the NTSC-UK forum.
I only found one guy who said that it didn't work for him - no other feedback at all.

I tried it today and it works perfectly - I have a US copy of Mario RPG running on a PAL SNES which has *functioning* region chip (i.e. only PAL games will boot in it).

Just thought I'd post it here in case there was anybody who has a copy of Mario RPG lying about that they haven't been able to play yet!
If anybody would like details of the mod, just let me know. :o

[Yod@]

Instructions:
The mod involves lifting a pin of the SA1 chip located inside the Mario RPG cart, and either leaving it floating or supplying it with 5 Volts.

Note that even after the mod, it seems that the cart doesn't work with most import adapter carts - I found that I had to plug it directly into the SNES.
If you have a PAL SNES and a US copy of the game, this means you'll either need to insert the bare PCB (make sure you don't put it in the wrong way round!), or widen your cartridge slot, or use it with the shell of the SNES removed, or else try and fit the game PCB into the shell of a PAL cartridge.

You'll need a 3.8mm Gamebit in order to open the cartridge.
You'll then need to remove the game PCB, and locate pin 127 of the SA1 chip:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/ret...da/sa1_cart.jpg

To lift a pin of an IC, I normally use a sewing pin or needle - in this case I'd insert the pin between pin 127 and 126, apply the soldering iron for a few seconds, and then gently move the needle to the left in order to force pin 127 to lift.

It's very easy to break the pin off, so be very careful. Once it's lifted, it's probably a good idea to put a small piece of tape underneath to insulate it from the other pins of the chip.

You'll then need to try the game and see if it boots - if not, you'll need solder a wire from pin 127 to a 5 Volt source - I used the positive side of the capacitor shown in the bottom-left hand corner of the picture.

[Dreamcastmaster]

If you're going to mod the cart you might as well just add a 60Hz switch to the SNES and use a datel converter to play the game instead. This is the set-up I have to play SMRPG from when it was new.

The added benifit of this is you now have a 60Hz SNES and if you muck up the conversion of the SNES you can easily get a replacement. If you break the game... :lol:

[Yod@]

Dreamcastmaster, on May 14 2005, 09:06 AM, said:

If you're going to mod the cart you might as well just add a 60Hz switch to the SNES and use a datel converter to play the game instead. This is the set-up I have to play SMRPG from when it was new.

There are two versions of Mario RPG - mine works on any modded SNES, but there's another version which won't work even with the method that you've detailed above.

[CurryKitten]

Yod@, on May 14 2005, 09:07 AM, said:

There are two versions of Mario RPG - mine works on any modded SNES, but there's another version which won't work even with the method that you've detailed above.

I never knew there were two versions, I always thought that Mario RPG was famous for not working on 60hz converted SNES's - I know it didn't work on mine.

Any idea if there's a way to spot the difference so it's possible to pick out one that will work on a converted machine ?

[Yod@]

CurryKitten, on May 14 2005, 10:20 AM, said:

I never knew there were two versions, I always thought that Mario RPG was famous for not working on 60hz converted SNES's - I know it didn't work on mine.

Yeah, I used to think there was only one version, but there was a discussion about it on the Edge forum and it turned out that not everybody had trouble running Mario RPG.

CurryKitten, on May 14 2005, 10:20 AM, said:

Any idea if there's a way to spot the difference so it's possible to pick out one that will work on a converted machine ?

No idea how to tell them apart externally. I do know that that my PCB (which I didn't have any trouble playing on a modded SNES) is marked SHVC-1L5B-10 and I had to supply 5 Volts to pin 127 to enable it to run on a PAL SNES with a working lockout chip.

The one in the picture I found is marked SHVC-1L3B-10 - perhaps that's the only way to tell the difference.

I had one report of a guy who got his working just by lifting pin 127 - although he said he still had to connect it directly to his SNES without using an adapter cart.

EDIT: Maybe you should try connecting your cart directly to your SNES (I'm assuming the region protection has been disabled) - if you were using an import adapter, you may find that's what was preventing the game from running.