Arcade card questions

arromdee · 02/13/2012, 11:25 PM

Basically the obvious questions:
1) What would I expect to pay for one? (I have the separate CD system so I would need a Pro) rakuten has one for $40, but they don't seem to be anywhere near as much a bargain for items in this price range as for cheap items.
2) What games for it are reasonably decent and reasonably cheap? Ports are of less interest since it's easy to get them on other systems, but if really cheap, I may consider them. I do already have a Sapphire bootleg. I don't know Japanese much past being able to read kana.
3) What games might I want to burn a CD for, but could probably not buy for oh, $25 or less? (I have the PSX Strider, so I don't need a port of that.)

thesteve · 02/13/2012, 11:52 PM

$40 is cheap for the pro

CrackTiger · 02/13/2012, 11:54 PM

Buy Kabuki Itouryoden.

Since you're not looking for ports and have Sapphire, that should do it, but still justify the expense of the Arcade Card.

Samurai Ghost · 02/14/2012, 01:24 AM

$40 is a decent price for the Pro. On a really good day on Yahoo Auction you might be able to pick one up for around $25 plus local shipping, but once you factor in international shipping and everything it would still end up being around $40+, especially for a complete copy. If it's a Duo you could probably do it for around $30.

thesteve · 02/14/2012, 02:54 AM

duo can be had for 16-20 from hit

arromdee · 02/14/2012, 03:00 AM

Quote from: Samurai Ghost on 02/14/2012, 01:24 AM$40 is a decent price for the Pro. On a really good day on Yahoo Auction you might be able to pick one up for around $25 plus local shipping, but once you factor in international shipping and everything it would still end up being around $40+, especially for a complete copy. If it's a Duo you could probably do it for around $30.

rakuten would also be international shipping.

I know nothing about Yahoo auctions (Japan I presume); how do you use that?

Samurai Ghost · 02/14/2012, 03:29 AM

Quote from: arromdee on 02/14/2012, 03:00 AM
Quote from: Samurai Ghost on 02/14/2012, 01:24 AM$40 is a decent price for the Pro. On a really good day on Yahoo Auction you might be able to pick one up for around $25 plus local shipping, but once you factor in international shipping and everything it would still end up being around $40+, especially for a complete copy. If it's a Duo you could probably do it for around $30.
rakuten would also be international shipping.

I know nothing about Yahoo auctions (Japan I presume); how do you use that?

Well if you are outside Japan it's next to impossible so basically you'd have to use a proxy service.

NecroPhile · 02/14/2012, 10:00 AM

+1 on $40 being a fair price for a complete ACP, and +1 on buying Kabuki Itouryodan. If you don't care much about the NeoGeo fighters (since you do CDRs, you should at least give 'em a look), the only other games worth getting are Mad Stalker (cheap) and Madou Monogatari (pricey).

Senshi · 02/14/2012, 10:12 AM

+1 for Mad Stalker. Street Fighter-esqe moves in a robot beat'em up. Very fun.

P.S. PSX does not mean playstation 1 or 2. Sorry, pet peeve.

NecroPhile · 02/14/2012, 10:14 AM

Quote from: Senshi on 02/14/2012, 10:12 AMP.S. PSX does not mean playstation 1 or 2. Sorry, pet peeve.

It means both!

Senshi · 02/14/2012, 10:16 AM

I know but it was a separate system and everyone always refers to PS1 and 2 this way.

CrackTiger · 02/14/2012, 01:09 PM

Quote from: Senshi on 02/14/2012, 10:16 AMI know but it was a separate system and everyone always refers to PS1 and 2 this way.

It wasn't a separate system, the system you're thinking of came into existence after many years of people using PSX to refer to the original Playstation. The Sega Master System's official name was the Power Base and calling it the "Sega Master System" is like calling everything NES "Nintendo Action Set" consoles and games. But most people don't have a problem with "SMS". There's no such thing as a Turbo Grafx, Turbografx-16, Turboduo, Turbo Duo, etc either, if you want to stop people from using anything but exactly perfect names for things.

Otherwise, you have to build a time machine and tell Hudson Soft that they're rupturing the space-time continuum with the title "Adventure Island", titling Dawn of Ys as "Y's IV", before racing over to Sega HQ (if reality is still held together), to stop the Wonderboy III paradox.

Senshi · 02/14/2012, 01:24 PM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PSX_%28DVR%29

When people say PSX i think of this. That's all. Jesus, who pissed in your cheerios?

RegalSin · 02/14/2012, 06:00 PM

Also PSX works as a sum of the Playstation model. So people just say PSX. What is stupid is how the Gameboy was basically the same back then.

Bernie · 02/14/2012, 06:41 PM

Quote from: Senshi on 02/14/2012, 01:24 PMhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PSX_%28DVR%29

When people say PSX i think of this. That's all. Jesus, who pissed in your cheerios?

I didnt even know that thing existed. Too bad it wasnt released here in the US. I'd want one.

CrackTiger · 02/14/2012, 07:11 PM

Quote from: Senshi on 02/14/2012, 01:24 PMhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PSX_%28DVR%29

When people say PSX i think of this. That's all. Jesus, who pissed in your cheerios?

People telling others what to say in a forum is a pet peeve of mine. PSX not meaning what everyone takes it to mean has come up several times online for me lately. Someone on another forum even called others "stupid" for using the term. I have to assume that people who have a problem with it didn't read game mags going into and through the 32-bit generation.

Sometimes they mention the extremely obscure fully loaded Japan exclusive Sony model that adopted the monicker, but they never wait until after an awkward exchange of "I don't understand what you mean, the PSX doesn't have games, it just plays regular PS2 games". They always know exactly what the other person meant, just as you did, even if it also reminded of that one hardware model.

Another pet peeve of mine is when people who are telling others the correct terms to use, go ahead and use incorrect terms themself. The PSX-doesn't-mean-Playstation thing is usually accompanied by the use of the term "PS1". But there is no such thing as a "Playstation 1". There is a model titled "PSOne", but it is in the same boat as the model titled "PSX".

I didn't mean to come off as negative as it appears I have, but this is a place where terms like "Turbob" and "Obey" are casually thrown around. I was also just trying to make the point that you can't go by what a game company states as official at any given tme.

As is often pointed out by those who respond to people correcting the language of others in a forum, if you understand what someone meant, then they communicated their thoughts successfully and there is no need to pretend not to understand or to correct them.

nat · 02/14/2012, 07:17 PM

Agreed.

That said, the best Arcade Card game is probably Compile's Madou Monogatari.

If you can't handle a little Japanese, though, the charm will be lost on you.

arromdee · 02/14/2012, 08:09 PM

What about the games that don't require an Arcade Card but do have extra features on it?

snickersbar · 02/14/2012, 08:38 PM

Hey got an arcade duo when I put it in my duo the screen stays the same as the super cd ( I havn"t got any arcade games yet still in the mail)

Bernie · 02/14/2012, 08:48 PM

Quote from: snickersbar on 02/14/2012, 08:38 PMHey got an arcade duo when I put it in my duo the screen stays the same as the super cd ( I havn"t got any arcade games yet still in the mail)

Yeah, there is no difference in the screen for the Arcade Card.

RegalSin · 02/14/2012, 09:38 PM

Asides the version, and of course the artwork.

arromdee · 02/14/2012, 11:27 PM

Quote from: RegalSin on 02/14/2012, 09:38 PMAsides the version, and of course the artwork.

Sorry, that's nonsense. There's no difference in the version or the artwork.

It's easy to confirm simply by finding a PC Engine ROM set. You'll notice there's no BIOS for the Arcade Card. That's because it uses the same one as the regular 3.0 card.

thesteve · 02/14/2012, 11:45 PM

Quote from: RegalSin on 02/14/2012, 09:38 PMAsides the version, and of course the artwork.

there goes the thread

Vecanti · 02/15/2012, 10:30 PM

Quote from: RegalSin on 02/14/2012, 09:38 PMAsides the version, and of course the artwork.

Screenshot or it didn't happen.

HercTNT · 02/16/2012, 12:01 AM

I would die for a translation of Madou Monogatari.

arromdee · 02/16/2012, 12:17 AM

Well, they did fan-translate the Game Gear version.

HercTNT · 02/16/2012, 12:23 AM

was not aware of that, thanks for the info.

nat · 02/16/2012, 12:33 AM

Too bad the Game Gear version has nothing on the Duo version.

HercTNT · 02/16/2012, 12:36 AM

Indeed, would have to imagine alot is lost in the porting from an arcade card cd game to a handheld.

thesteve · 02/16/2012, 01:00 AM

especially that handheld

SignOfZeta · 02/16/2012, 01:32 AM

The port of Evolution from DC to Neo Geo Pocket was pretty impressive. It wasn't really a "port" exactly since there is zero code from the original used in the NGP version. The entire game was recreated from scratch for the 2D NGP, but it was in fact the same game, not a "Magic School" sort of thing. Pretty weird, IMO.

arromdee · 02/16/2012, 01:40 AM

Madou Monogatari was originally an MSX game, the PCE and GG versions were both a port of that: http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/puyo/puyopuyo3.htm

Game Gear fan translation: http://www.romhacking.net/translations/1502/

majors · 02/16/2012, 11:11 AM

Quote from: arromdee on 02/14/2012, 11:27 PMIt's easy to confirm simply by finding a PC Engine ROM set. You'll notice there's no BIOS for the Arcade Card. That's because it uses the same one as the regular 3.0 card.

I wondered about that. My Duo ACD card seemed to take a dump and I wanted to use my flash card but could not find a ROM of the Arcade Card. So it looks like I'm in the market for another ACD Duo.

Right now it will load my 3 ACD games but it seems to be missing sprites. Ex: Sapphire I get backgrounds but the ships are all big unrecognizable squares.

soop · 02/16/2012, 11:19 AM

Quote from: majors on 02/16/2012, 11:11 AM
Quote from: arromdee on 02/14/2012, 11:27 PMIt's easy to confirm simply by finding a PC Engine ROM set. You'll notice there's no BIOS for the Arcade Card. That's because it uses the same one as the regular 3.0 card.
I wondered about that. My Duo ACD card seemed to take a dump and I wanted to use my flash card but could not find a ROM of the Arcade Card. So it looks like I'm in the market for another ACD Duo.

Right now it will load my 3 ACD games but it seems to be missing sprites. Ex: Sapphire I get backgrounds but the ships are all big unrecognizable squares.

That means it's not in right. Mine does that and it seems to take a while to get right. It's annoying.

thesteve · 02/16/2012, 02:33 PM

could just be dirty, i have seen that before

nat · 02/17/2012, 01:38 AM

Arcade Cards are notorious for this problem, especially if you are playing them through a region adapter. In 99% of cases like this, the cart isn't seated correctly or has a dirty pin, like Steve mentioned.

I'm not sure why ACs are more prone to this problem than, say, the System 3.0 cards but they do seem to be.

Also, you probably couldn't find a ROM of the AC because the AC isn't just a ROM. It's also a bank of RAM. You can't emulate a bank of RAM (a physical piece of hardware) with a simple ROM image.

arromdee · 02/17/2012, 01:53 AM

Quote from: nat on 02/17/2012, 01:38 AMAlso, you probably couldn't find a ROM of the AC because the AC isn't just a ROM. It's also a bank of RAM. You can't emulate a bank of RAM (a physical piece of hardware) with a simple ROM image.

A 3.0 card is also a bank of RAM, but you can easily find a ROM of it.

nat · 02/17/2012, 02:08 AM

Interesting. It's useless, in that case, you wouldn't be able to use it on a flash cart for the same reason you wouldn't be able to use a ROM image of the AC.

That said, a ROM image of a 3.0 card and an AC would be identical since the BIOS part, which is what the ROM is an image of, is the same between the two. Obviously neither one contains the physical RAM, which is the only difference between them.

majors · 02/17/2012, 09:26 AM

Quote from: nat on 02/17/2012, 01:38 AMArcade Cards are notorious for this problem, especially if you are playing them through a region adapter. In 99% of cases like this, the cart isn't seated correctly or has a dirty pin, like Steve mentioned.

JP Duo...so no convertor. I did recently have a maulfunction with a card slot pin that I repaired. I really doubt that could be the cause but it's the only thing recent. I let a buddy with a US Duo borrow my Kisado and ACD, but he did not have any luck but I believe that to be due to what you said above. I should get it back this weekend and I can get out the isopropyl alcohol. The fact that is loads the games instead of giving you the "so sad, no correct system card found" message threw me. Thanks for the advice.

Quote from: nat on 02/17/2012, 01:38 AMAlso, you probably couldn't find a ROM of the AC because the AC isn't just a ROM. It's also a bank of RAM. You can't emulate a bank of RAM (a physical piece of hardware) with a simple ROM image.

That explains why Magic Engine and PCE.EMU have options for Arcade card, since there is no "ROM" of it other than the System 3.0

NecroPhile · 02/17/2012, 09:36 AM

Quote from: nat on 02/17/2012, 02:08 AMInteresting. It's useless, in that case, you wouldn't be able to use it on a flash cart for the same reason you wouldn't be able to use a ROM image of the AC.

They do work on a flash cart, provided the RAM exists on the system (i.e. - using a PCE Duo ROM on a TurboDuo for the handful of region picky games, or using a 1.0 ROM on anything to play Altered Beast).

arromdee · 02/21/2012, 05:15 PM

Quote from: guest on 02/17/2012, 09:36 AMThey do work on a flash cart, provided the RAM exists on the system (i.e. - using a PCE Duo ROM on a TurboDuo for the handful of region picky games, or using a 1.0 ROM on anything to play Altered Beast).

Wait a minute. Handful of region picky games? I knew about the Altered Beast and 1.0 cards but I didn't know about this--what are they?

NecroPhile · 02/21/2012, 05:46 PM

Quote from: arromdee on 02/21/2012, 05:15 PMWait a minute. Handful of region picky games? I knew about the Altered Beast and 1.0 cards but I didn't know about this--what are they?

There's Take the A Train III, Shadow of the Beast, Bonanza Bros., and perhaps others.

Bernie · 02/22/2012, 07:02 AM

Quote from: arromdee on 02/21/2012, 05:15 PM
Quote from: guest on 02/17/2012, 09:36 AMThey do work on a flash cart, provided the RAM exists on the system (i.e. - using a PCE Duo ROM on a TurboDuo for the handful of region picky games, or using a 1.0 ROM on anything to play Altered Beast).
Wait a minute. Handful of region picky games? I knew about the Altered Beast and 1.0 cards but I didn't know about this--what are they?

Watch this video. It explains about certain games needing different region cards, ect..