To be honest - yes, my mods are a matter of convenience for playing imports. (backups are a secondary concern). I like the ability to look at my game cabinet, pick a game for a console and just put it in the console. Not having to swap out my unit for my japanese one I have in storage, etc etc. SNES game, just pop it in. Saturn game? Just put it in.
The easiest thing to do is swap the BIOS for one that has the region checks patched out, that way you don't have to do any external mods to the console. I did that, and also fitted a 50/60Hz switch (controlled via a long press on the reset button, and with a bi-color power LED for indication). The nice thing was that since I did these mods on a spare main board I can restore the system to stock configuration if I ever want to just by swapping the original board back.
Indeed! Been meaning to. Are PS2 modchips still finicky? I stayed away from them years ago because it didn't seem like all the kinks were worked out with game compatibility.
FWIW, a TurboGrafx will play Japanese HuCards with a converter, no mod needed, however, a PC Engine/Core Grafx will need to be modded to play Turbo Chips (expect for Klax. You can use a converter to play the US version of Klax on Japanese hardware, but that's just silly). I don't know why you'd need to play Turbo Chips on Japanese hardware though, it's not like Yo, Bro is worth playing. Of course, the "ultimate" PC Engine set up is the supergrafx hooked into the Super cd rom2 (with 2 power supplies) and the TG-16 off to the side for the occasional Darkwing Duck gaming sesh. :witless: I like the Twin Famicom Turbo for Famicom games. You get the longer cables on the controllers, the built in disk drive and built in composite. There are enough exclusives to warrant a top loader NES purchase, but if you are only getting one, famicoms are better, as they allow for the expanded audio on the few games that use it and you can use the exclusive active 3D glasses. Of course, you might be able to find an NES cheaper than a converter... A Japanese Sega Master System is better than the Mark III & other region SMS because of the expanded sound built-in. It's better than later revisions of the SMS because later revisions took out the card slot... (although I do love the look of the Mark III & you can get the expanded sound from the card slot). There's no region lock, so you won't need a mod chip, but you'll need a converter.
Which mods? I already have a GC with a region switch I installed, playing burns/backups isn't my main concern. I have it running with S-Video since component cables cost an arm and leg.
The problem is that those converters tend to be very finicky and are actually more expensive than having a region mod done. True, the TG-16 exclusives aren't exactly worth playing but having a region modded PCE would be useful for English versions of games like Neutopia, the full version of R-Type (the Japanese version is split into two HuCards) and a cheaper version of Ninja Spirit. For some reason the PCE version of that game is hideously expensive compared to its TG-16 counterpart. The Mark III FM unit actually attaches to the expansion port on the front, not the card slot. You can also mod the Mark III with viletim's FM board, which I've done with mine. One other thing to point out about the Japanese consoles is that the Light Phaser doesn't work, so if you're big on the light gun games for the SMS I'd suggest keeping an American/European system or PBC around.
PC-Engine: If you want to play games, get a US Duo with a Kisado adapter, an Arcade Card Duo and a 6 button controller. That will get you playing 99% of the games. You'll need a JPN System Card 1.0 for one specific title IIRC. If you want a system that looks cool (and don't care about US games) then get a Duo-RX with the Arcade Card Duo.
Problem with US duo is that it costs a Shitton. I opted for a JP Duo-R with arcade card and a TG16. That will play 100% of the games afaik.
Close! It won't play Altered Beast (requires system card 1.0) or the SuperGrafx games (might be splitting hairs if you want to consider these part of the PCE library or not).
