Estopolis II (Lufia 2) Prototype

just a video of the rleased game to compare the 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la-ykiYHVTw

 

Found the next different location. Its the room before you get the key for the Satyrfish.



Final:


In the final game there are stones with a instrucion board on the wall. I have no idea how to get throw this room :dejection:.
Sorry for the quality.

edit got it! Anything in the middle....

Here the Catfish, looks also different. Also no Water in the fight ^^.



Final:



Hm strange, game crash any time when i try out next location.
Might be the end of the proto :-(

 

Lufia 2 debug mode

That looks like an amazing prototype, congrats!

The retail version of the game has a debug mode. A few years ago while researching some unknown text in the game script I was able to find Game Genie / Pro Action Replay cheat codes to enable it. The debug mode is very advanced and has a ton of features like walk through walls, sprite/monster/background viewer, obtain full inventory, etc.

With any luck, your prototype version has the debug mode intact, and enabled by default. You can explore with much less difficulty and avoid unfinished areas that crash the game. Try this:

Enter a town, like the one at the very beginning of the game.

Hold Select on controller 2, and press X on controller 1. That enables debug mode, hopefully.

Now hold B as you move the d-pad and see if it lets you run and walk through walls. If it does, the debug mode works!

Next step, on controller 1, hold Start, and press X. A debug screen appears. Then press Y to switch to the main debug menu. That screen should also list the build date at the bottom.

If none of the debugging works, enter Pro Action Replay cheat 7E057CFF on your SWC DX2 (assuming it supports cheats on external cartridges) to try to force the debug mode on.

The Lufia 2 page on the TCRF wiki has the full list of debug commands and other Lufia 2 information. That wiki and their forum covers unused content and prototype differences in games, and would be a great place to post your findings. I'm sure many people over there would be very excited to read about the differences.

Have fun exploring the game!

PS: As others have posted, the SWC DX2 is having trouble recognizing the prototype PCB or game's internal header. On the PCB picture you posted, does the upper-right chip start with 27C4? It's hard to read. If yes, then it's a 4 megabit chip, and the total cartridge size is 20 megabit total. (the other 2 chips are 27C8 which are 8 megabit each) Any data above 20 megabit would be repeat or junk data created by the SWC DX2.

 

Thanks for you informations. Very interesting! I try it but nothing happend. Is it possible to damage the game by using codes and let the game crash?
I wait for a parallel gender changer to use uCON64 with the SWC to dump the rom.

Eprom0: D27C8001D-12
Eprom1: D27C8001D-12
Eprom2: 27C4000DC-12

 

even if the games crashes there might still be alot more in it

 

i think so too. There musst be a debug menu for jumping throw the unfinished parts. Otherwise why they put 20MBit on the cart when the proto ends after second dungeon.
I also see other locations on the worldmap when i walk around.

 

Cheat codes (or the game crashing on its own, as you experienced) won't cause damage. At worst, your save data might be deleted. Actually, the final version is well known for having the same problem, and lots of bugs in general. Yet the game has a very complex debug mode for a SNES RPG, lol.

It's very likely that the prototype contains everything that was completed up until that point, but you'll have to use the debug menu and possibly other cheats to skip past unfinished rooms.

Yes, that's definitely 20 megabit (2,621,440 bytes). The SWC DX2 may add a 512 byte header at the beginning, in which case 2,621,952 bytes instead.

 

Last crash delete my complete safegames -.-

What is the best cheating device? Game Genie, Action Replay mk3 or?

 

Pro Action Replay MK3 is best, but usually quite expensive, around 50 Euro. It can use Game Genie codes, and even has a built-in converter to convert Game Genie to Pro Action Replay format. But the Game Genie isn't a bad option if you can find one cheap.

Have you had success using the SWC DX2's built-in cheat system? I think it accepts all the code formats, and it wouldn't be necessary to buy a separate cheat device. It should also have a utility to backup the .srm save file. That way if the game crashes again you can just restore the save file from floppy disk. Even better, does the SWC DX2 have real-time save? You can save and load your game anywhere like when using an emulator.

 

I try the SWC cheat system. Not sure its also for the cart. Anyway dont give me the debug menu.
What do you think is the best way to find it out?
I try pushing different combinations on my two controllers...
Will look for a MK3.

 

So is there any indication of what this cart was used for? Debugging? Preview purposes? Perhaps beyond this crash is where all the interesting stuff is!

My recommendation would be that if you were to think about spending money on a cheat device, spend the money on dumping tools instead, as a working ROM would be a lot easier for you to work with not only for implementing cheats, but exploring the files, as well as protecting the cart from any accidental harm.

 

yeah dump it, it's the best way to have people look into it and re-edit

 

I used a debugging emulator to find the debug mode in the retail version. It sounds like the button combination was changed and/or the memory address shifted, or it simply didn't exist yet in that prototype.

 

You are right, the address is likely not the same. You'll need a ROM dump to compare to and then you can probably find the shifted address.

 

Plus with an emulator, you can use a debugger. When sifting through prototypes, it is an invaluable tool. The debugger from bsnes 070 is really nice.

 

Try these methods for the debug mode:

1) In a town, press X to open the menu
2) Press Select once on controller 2
3) Press B to exit the menu
3) Hold B and move the d-pad to try to dash/walk through walls

If that doesn't work, try this:

1) In a town, press X to open the menu
2) Hold Select on controller 2 as you press B on controller 1 to exit the menu
3) Hold B and move the d-pad to try to dash/walk through walls

If neither works, try these same techniques of pressing or holding Select on controller 2 in different situations (world map, Taito logo during bootup, load save game menu, etc.)

 

thanks for your help guys. I will try it.
Yesterday i order a retrode 2. Hope it will help.

Bad news guys....
I was trying to dump the eproms with my willem. After that i replace it on the pcb but something is wrong... Game crash now after intro, sound is bad.
This is really really bad. The dumps also crashed after intro... All Dumps merged, nothing wrong with the dump itself.
I conatct a few persons, maybe the eproms are corrupt or a conection problem.
At this point i quit and give the cart away. I really hope someone out there can fix it. Im sorry...

Im open for offers, but i think i will post it on ebay as corrupt cart.
Maybe some talent hackers can do something with the data on the eproms.
Or some magic hands fix the problems. All i can say, i quit!

 

Have you tried to reseat the chips on the PCB? It sounds like a poor connection with one of the chips. Although the situation sounds very bad, the fact that the game still boots and shows the intro means a large percentage of the data is being read correctly . It's very possible that just a couple of bytes are corrupt, in which case it's quite easy to identify the problem and fix using a debugger.

 

try to find some real experts, it might still be recoverable!

 

well i stay in contact but will keep them private. Im not able to do it. So here : http://www.ebay.de/itm/221089563518?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649