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[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Does anybody use an MC Cthulhu and it's 100% working with all games?]

Well you'll have to contact the creator of the device then. Is it driven by a MCU? Feels overkill for PCE and other retro consoles.

The creator of it hasn't fielded questions about it for a very long time.  I've already been down this road and it's why I created a thread on this forum to ask if anybody else had knowledge or experience beyond what is generally available via google or the SRK forums.

It's an all-in-one solution where all you do is swap cables to use the same Arcade stick across a large selection of consoles.  I don't see that as overkill.  Overkill is making a new case, buying a new stick, new buttons, new wiring and new pad and doing all the work for each console you want an arcade stick for.  So I guess we'll have to disagree on that point.

The MC Cthulhu works with my NES, Super NES, PS1, PS2, PS3, XBOX, Gamecube, Dreamcast, Saturn, PC and of course the TG16/PCE.  The only system I have issues with is my PCE and that seems to be only particular games (mostly Japanese but not always).  The Cthulhu has 3 modes it can swap between for 2 button mode, SNK mode and 6 button mode.  Which works fine in some games but none of the modes seem to work correctly for other games.  Most likely there is not a resolution based on my testing but othes online have said they got their working.  However, they didn't specify how they did this and they are no longer answering questions about it as the info I found is quite a few years old now.

These two sticks work with all of those consoles which is pretty convenient and obviously higher quality than the 3rd party 25 year old stuff you can buy.  And I might wire in a padhack to get it to work with the Genesis at some point.  So you can probably see why I wouldn't mind putting in some effort to get a resolution.  At least they work fine with a lot of games.  But since the TG16/PCE is a great system for SHMUPS

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Memory Base 128 and Emerald Dragon - locks up and loses system save]

I'll try out Private Eye Dol...where is the save feature located?  And do you mean that if I have an Emerald Dragon save only or do you mean more games?  Mostly I am interested in the Ys series and Dynastic hero for now.  I can't play Emerald Dragon or Private Eye Dol, sadly, due to my severe lack of ability in reading Japanese.  Which sucks because Private Eye Dol looks pretty awesome.

It's the last option in the title screen:

(Screenshot borrowed from PCECP.com. The three options are "Start", "Continue" and "Backup Utility".)
You can backup entire content of your backup RAM to the MB128 (and then restore them), just like Emerald Dragon or Ten no Koe Bank. As far as I remember, it probably does other things such as copying files, etc. It's much polished and stable than the one in Emerald Dragon.

I don't know why when talking about this matter, everyone recommends Emerald Dragon, but my memory with its utility wasn't good. It's as buggy as the game itself. Maybe it's because Private Eye Doll, as a visual novel, was a bit obscure for westerners, that nobody even dared to try it.

I should have tried the game before asking.  I found the menu and I also got far enough in the game to make my own save from the in-game menu system.  However, I could not figure out how to transfer save files or banks around.  There is what appears to be a Copy option which I can't figure out.  Then to it's right is a copy all function which seems to copy all the contents of the PCE to any bank I want on the MB128.  Then the bottom left option, I believe, is a format option?  I lost all my saves on the 128 when I chose it.  And the bottom right option I thought was an erase but I am not sure.

So, if I have this straight, I can use the second copy all option and copy everything from the "PC" (first in the list) option to any bank in the MB 128.  So when I run out of room, I copy to those banks and then delete files to make space.  And if I ever want those files back, I just copy that bank back to the PC option in the menu?

If that is correct, then I can use that utility to do what I want instead of Emerald Dragon.  And it's a hell of a lot safer than using an HuCard bank option since this thing allows me to change the batteries while it's plugged in without losing all my saves.