Game runs on Genesis clone but not the real thing?

[gorfcadet]

So I have a Genesis copy of Battletoads, and it has never worked on my CDX, Genesis I, model 2, or passed through my 32X. In all, I have run it through 5 original SEGA consoles with no luck. I picked up one of the atgames clones and tried it on a whim and it fired right up!

So anyone have any theories why it might hate original hardware so much but run on a clone? The cart looks super clean; I just can't figure it out.

 

Any similar stories or theories?

[Austin]

Huh, that's interesting.. I assume the contacts on the cart are fine? I remember having this back in the late '90s and never had any issues running it on a CDX or Model 2 Genesis with the 32X attached. Weird.

[gorfcadet]

Yeah, I popped it open too. The leads and insides of this thing are immaculate. It makes no sense. It looks like it was just opened yesterday. That is ehy I've kept it really; so I could get an ugly copy and swap the guts. Hate to waste such a pretty cart shell and label.

[Andromeda Stardust]

Maybe the Atgames console lacks some component the real Genny uses to read the carts. The Battle Toads may lack this component or have a defect that causes the missing component not to work.

 

For instance, a Ballz 3D cart with the DSP1b removed will still run on a retron5 but not a real SNES.

[CatPix]

Interesting!

 

Aside from a missing or defective part, one thing that clones usually lack is a region lock.

However your consoles should display a screen with a text along the lines of " this game pack is made for the Japanese or PAL/SECAM version of the console".

The only other solution I can think of is that the cart is a bootleg made for a console clone... But the cart shells and stickers are usually poorly made.

[gorfcadet]

I wondered if it might be a bootleg as well, but it looked legit when I opened it. Maybe a bad chip that the clone doesn't need?

[Great Hierophant]

 

For instance, a Ballz 3D cart with the DSP1b removed will still run on a retron5 but not a real SNES.

 

That is because a Retron5 is an emulator that dumps the ROM from the cartridge and emulates the SNES and the cartridge's DSP1b chip.

[Andromeda Stardust]

 

That is because a Retron5 is an emulator that dumps the ROM from the cartridge and emulates the SNES and the cartridge's DSP1b chip.

Exactly. The Atgames console is totally unofficial and they have similar nearly identical hardware that runs roms from SD. Also the audio is atrocious and both units have issues with savegames. Gen on a chip clones exist that are nearly perfect. My SRT even plays Master System games.

 

This leads me to postulate there may be some sort of dumper in the ATgames console. Either that or the game fails the Sega security check. If the game is a bootleg that won't work on real hardware due to this reason, it may still work on one of those 3-in-1 clones.

[homerhomer]

Just a guess.

 

I wonder if the @games console is doing some sort of error checking

 

All in all my money is still on the contacts. Either there's some warping and it not fitting that tight or there's still some grime on them. Probably not the best advice, but after trying multiple times to get my 7800 copy of double dragon to work, as a last resort I used an eraser on the copper contacts. I honestly felt that it was just a fancy paper weight otherwise.

 

worked!