Tennokoe Bank / longer term solutions to save games on Turbo Duo

[falz]

Hello, I've had a Turbo Duo for a long time. I last played it extensively ten or so years ago- I got to the end of Ys book 2, had it off/unplugged for a while and then realized how the internal save states work on it- capacitors, so I lost my save game.

I'm looking for a more permanent solution to back up the internal save state on a US Turbo Duo. I came across the 'Tennokoe Bank'. Googling shows there are other versions of them. Is this the current preferred method to transfer save games from a US DUO on to an external source that perhaps will allow it to retain memory for extended periods (years)?

[NecroPhile]

Many Tennokoe Bank cards still work today with their original batteries, so if you put a new battery in one today it should easily keep your saves safe for a decade or more.

But really, why bother?  I can't fathom anyone wanting to return to something as awesome as Ys after so many years yet not want to replay from the beginning, or even why anyone would abandon it in the first place.

[CGQuarterly]

I have a Tennokoe Bank Card that I use, but it uses an internal battery to hold on to your data.  So at some point that's going to die and need to be replaced, as well.  It would be great if the Turbo Everdrive could emulate a Tennokoe Bank Card and back your saves up to the SD card, but I do not believe that krikzz is going to implement that.

Edit: NecroPhile has a good point.  Buy a Tennokoe Bank Card and immediately replace the battery with the highest quality one you can find.  Then you're covered for a long time.

[falz]

I used years as an example- in reality it was maybe a month or so and I lost my save game. It was due to being frustration of the end boss in Book II. I don't have foresight in to other games I'd play, but the point is something with a real battery save that actually has a chance to last.

Anyhow, if I were to get one I'd likely just replace the battery right away. To be clear, it WILL work on the US Turbo Duo? Are there any alternatives to it? google seems to indicate there's a version 2 of it, and maybe some other things. I was under the impression that the pinout on the HU card slot on the Duo was reversed from Japan which is my concern about it not working.

[pulstar]

The Ten no Koe 2 is an add-on that connects to the EXT port of the original PC Engine HuCard models. The Ten no Koe bank is the HuCard that you'd be looking for. As long as you can play Japanese HuCards on your system it'll work fine. If not, it'll need to be modded (or you need a region adapter).

[falz]

Ah, I didnt realize they'd require a region mod. I was hoping to nod mod my Duo except possibly for Svideo. So there do not exist any backup cards like this, original or aftermarket for US DUO's?

[NecroPhile]

There are no other such cards; if you really don't want to mod your system, you could get a converter card with the cheapest option being a chopsado.

There's also the Memory Base 128 and the functionally identical Koei Save-Kun, which provide similar functionality but connect through the controller port.  They're not quite as user friendly (only certain games have utilities that can transfer saves to/from them) and they rely on AA batteries which surely won't last for years like a Tennokoe Bank will.

[SignOfZeta]

I stopped caring about backing to up my saves ages ago. I've perfected Dracula X like 20 times now. Ys I&II just as many times. Playing the game is what I like. Losing my save is usually a good thing.

It would be different if the PCE had FirePro S or Sim City or something, but for the most part the only advantage I can think of to having a large amount of long term storage for saves is to to view cinematics, and even then only for games that don't have a debug mode.

[falz]

Googling for converters got me to this, which is quite expensive at $80:

http://www.db-elec.com/home/products/turbo-pc-henshin

the Tennokoe Bank itsself seems relatively inexpensive, although all of them on Ebay would require international shipping.

It alsmost seems cheaper to just get a Core Grafx or just get a turbo grafx USB controller adapter and emulate

[CGQuarterly]

Googling for converters got me to this, which is quite expensive at $80:

http://www.db-elec.com/home/products/turbo-pc-henshin

the Tennokoe Bank itsself seems relatively inexpensive, although all of them on Ebay would require international shipping.

It alsmost seems cheaper to just get a Core Grafx or just get a turbo grafx USB controller adapter and emulate

Just get a Chopsado instead and leave it permanently "installed" on the Tenokoe card.

[falz]

Nice, this is the first Ive heard of those. I see someone selling a possibly iffy 'professional' version that's smaller, but haven't come across any definitive forum thread of where to get one.

I'll do some more searching on that as well as see if any trusted folks on here do region mods.

[CGQuarterly]

Nice, this is the first Ive heard of those. I see someone selling a possibly iffy 'professional' version that's smaller, but haven't come across any definitive forum thread of where to get one.

I'll do some more searching on that as well as see if any trusted folks on here do region mods.

There are definitely dudes here on the forums who will do a region mod for you.  If you're going to send your system to someone to do that, I recommend that you have your caps replaced as well.

[esteban]

Nice, this is the first Ive heard of those. I see someone selling a possibly iffy 'professional' version that's smaller, but haven't come across any definitive forum thread of where to get one.

I'll do some more searching on that as well as see if any trusted folks on here do region mods.

Comrade, for Ys I & II, you can always take a photo of the password (yes it has a password system!).

Of course, few games actually support password, so you still need to find a solution for saving files.

[falz]

There are definitely dudes here on the forums who will do a region mod for you.  If you're going to send your system to someone to do that, I recommend that you have your caps replaced as well.

Roger, I've certainly read that everyone seems to think eventually it needs a re-cap. If I were to mod I would definitely just do them both.

Comrade, for Ys I & II, you can always take a photo of the password (yes it has a password system!).

Of course, few games actually support password, so you still need to find a solution for saving files.

Now this I did not realize. Perhaps I'll cheat and find a password that starts my at Book II (I've played book I once on Duo, multiple times on Sega Master System).

Edit: I just googled a password and holy shit they're long! I guess it would work in a pinch should I be disconnecting it from power for an extended period.

[A Black Falcon]

There are no other such cards; if you really don't want to mod your system, you could get a converter card with the cheapest option being a chopsado.

A mod is better, though, and usually cheaper too...

There's also the Memory Base 128 and the functionally identical Koei Save-Kun, which provide similar functionality but connect through the controller port.  They're not quite as user friendly (only certain games have utilities that can transfer saves to/from them) and they rely on AA batteries which surely won't last for years like a Tennokoe Bank will.

That's true -- good batteries last me maybe 7 months -- but you can switch them easily, which isn't true for the Tennokoe Bank.  Also it will hold your saves while power is on and has a shortlived rechargeable backup capacitor inside, so you won't lose saves when you replace the battery, so long as you replace them before they die.