Add PAL CIC to Super Mario RPG possible?

I recently managed to acquire a copy of Super Mario RPG.
A somewhat rare and sought after title in the SNES library.
(especially in PAL territories)

To keep this part short, I got it on eBay, quite cheap as there was a slight miss-spelling in the listing, so it didn't show up via searching.

Anyway;

My plan was to use it on my SupaBoy (also a relatively recent acquisition).
Only, it didn't work.
So, I tried it through my Super UFO Pro 8, and still nothing.
Next I tried my SNES itself (still via the Super UFO, as I don't have the slot cut out, but do have PAL/NTSC & 50/60Hz switches). Still nothing.
I tried taking the game board out of it's case and plugging straight into the SNES, and the theme of this description, nothing. (Regardless of the positioning of the switches)

After a little internet research, I learned about the "pin 55" mod.
Where you gently lift 'pin 55' from the chip, and link it to the "+" side of the capacitor.
On doing this the game now loads. But only if my SNES is in PAL mode.
And it even loads through the Super UFO Pro 8 now. But, again, only in PAL.
The game still refuses to boot in NTSC, regardless of the position of my 50/60Hz switch.
And as my SupaBoy is NTSC, it won't do anything in that either.

I find this extremely bizarre, as the game was designed to boot on NTSC and 60Hz.

I concluded that the game doesn't like 'pretend' American hardware.
Based on the evidence it won't load on my SNES in NTSC, and the same goes for my SupaBoy (which is American).

After some more research, I came across a single entry on YouTube of someone documenting that only versions of the game made in Mexico will load on the SupaBoy.
While the Japan produced carts will not.
Mine, of course, is the latter.

Now, I'm fine with playing it on my SNES, in PAL 50Hz.
But, the whole idea behind me buying the SupaBoy was not only to have a portable SNES I can take to my friends, but also something somewhat 'native' to play American games.

The SupaBoy isn't compatible with some of my PAL games.
PAL being my native teritory, so my entire collection is PAL (other than Super Mario RPG).

Now, there was one obscure reference to a native PAL copy of Super Mario RPG I found.
It was on another forum site, and was quickly labeled as a "fake".
And rightly so, as no mass produced electronics would have ever left the warehouse with the design this cart had.
It was clearly a 'custom' job.

But, one of the pictures intrigued me:




That is clearly a 'D413' chip from a PAL game.
And it's clearly a custom job.

This got me thinking;

Is this a 'working' mod, or a failed experiment?
Does it specifically need to be a D413 chip, or would one of the later revisions with added letters do?
And would it fool my SupaBoy into thinking it's a PAL game, and hopefully load?

The only catch is that the photos, although clear in some important places, aren't that helpful.
All they tell me is that someone put a PAL chip in a NTSC copy of Super Mario RPG.
What's more, There aren't any pictures of the back of the board, so I have no idea if there has been modification there.
Also, is there any soldering under the chip, are there any other removed/replaced components, are there any pins lifted on other chips?
There are too many questions for me to feel confident attempting this mod myself based solely on these pictures.

The forum post I found them on was less than helpful. As it was populated entirely by people who had no idea what this mod was.
The only fact they collectively came to was that it isn't a 'real' PAL copy.

I'm posting here, as a lot of modders, gamers and retro preservation enthusiasts come here.
And I hope your collective knowledges can shine some light on this.

Perhaps I'm looking for horse feathers, and my copy of Super Mario RPG will never play on my SupaBoy.
But, it would be nice.

If anyone has a cart with this mod, or even willing to try it, please let me know how it works out.
Whats more, if anyone does have a copy with this chip installed, and they have a SupaBoy, can you do a test to see if it works?
I know the chances of those two items being owned by the same person are remote, but it is a chance.

There is one factor though, it must be a "Made in Japan" cart. Because, I already know the "Made in Mexico" ones work.
It took me long enough to find this copy at a price I felt comfortable with, let alone hunting for one from Mexico.

All I need are solid facts.
If this does work, and will play in a SupaBoy, I have no hesitation of trying it.
But, if it's pointless, then I'll leave it, and just play the game on my SNES.

Alternatively would be a mod to my SupaBoy.
But, as the device isn't that old, and not many people have had time to experiment with it, I've heard nothing about modding it at all.
Ideally, a PAL/NTSC & 50/60Hz mod would be perfect, but the layout of the SupaBoy is so alien, I wouldn't know where to start.
If anyone has any info on this, that would be great.

Thanks.


Sisee.

 

You could replace it with the supercic "key" programmed to a pic, which will work in either NTSC or PAL consoles.

But I am pretty sure the pin 55 mod forces the cart to work on pal hardware. To work in NTSC mod - you need to reverse that mod IIRC