An alternative to region-modding your PC Engine

[ishiyakazuo]

Hi all,
I'm so happy to announce that there is finally an alternative to performing modifications on your PC Engine to play TG16 games.  Over the past year, I've been working with db Electronics on an updated converter board.
For TG16 owners, the big improvement over the previous db TG16 converter is that there is no longer the switching system that interferes with devices such as the Super System Card.  We call the completely passive model "PC Henshin" (as a pun on PC Engine -- it "transforms" a TG16 into a PC Engine).
For PCE owners, we've made a version with a chip that patches out the region check in real-time, leaving the rest of the game untouched.  We call this "PC Henshin Turbo" and it should go on sale in the coming weeks, now that the prototype is functional.  I've tested it with 8 titles so far, but based on our research, if it works for those titles, it should support the entire TG16 library.
A picture and a short video of it working is now posted at http://www.db-elec.com/home/News/dontmodthatpc-engine-pchenshinturbooffersmodlessalternativetoregionmoddingbothpceandtg16 for your enjoyment.  Personally, I was thrilled to get this working, because I foolishly sold my TG16 as a child, and I later regretted it and bought a PC Engine and a ton of games when I lived in Japan.  I don't like modding classic consoles, myself, so I was happy to be able to play Keith again for the nostalgic value (because I never picked up Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru... but if I'd done that, maybe I wouldn't have been as motivated to get this going!)
Anyway, this is basically just a heads-up that this is coming real soon!

[esteban]

 

Looks pretty darn awesome.

[db-electronics]

Credits to Ishiyakazuo for the algorithm development! I'm excited for my PCe to arrive so that I can start testing and building more PC-Henshin Turbos!

[xcrement5x]

Many props to you guys, it seems like an awesome idea.

[ctophil]

Awesome work.  I'm always delighted to hear people so passionate about their hobbies enough to develop alternative ways to play games on classic consoles. 

Thanks, ishiyakazuo and DB-elec, for producing the converter for people like me who dislike modifying their systems.

[crans]

Nice work guys.

Dont beat me but i love the look of a clean system. Will you offer in the future a switch free region chip for those who love to get down with a solder iorn? Turbo or PCE?

[ishiyakazuo]

Nice work guys.

Dont beat me but i love the look of a clean system. Will you offer in the future a switch free region chip for those who love to get down with a solder iorn? Turbo or PCE?

Not planning on it, sorry.  I've already got my next project or two figured out, and while one or more of them involve TG16/PCE, this isn't one of them ;)
To be honest, I'm not sure it's possible without some ridiculous effort.  The chip would need to sit there and in the early bits of code determine "am I getting gibberish?  Or is this valid HuC6280 code I'm passing up to the console?"  I mean, it's doable with some effort (if the chip has a limited HuC6280 opcode decoder in it, etc.) but that's a whole level beyond this.  I can't imagine it would be as reliable as the existing methods (it would take some iterations to get it right).  If the console had a reset button, there could be something done where you hold it for X seconds to flip the bus, but NEC in their wisdom neglected to put one of those on.
I also like the look of a clean console, which is why I'm happy with this solution.  When I'm done playing, take this out and my PCE doesn't have a switch or extra jacks on it anywhere to be found

[override]

When will these be available! I'm totally wanting one awesome work by the way, it's good to see and know that peeps are still making retro systems playability better and better!

[db-electronics]

When will these be available! I'm totally wanting one awesome work by the way, it's good to see and know that peeps are still making retro systems playability better and better!

Hopefully very soon, all I need is for my PCE to arrive and I can start testing these devices as I build them. I'll post here when the first batch is up for sale.

[majors]

+1 for db-electronics! I just got a FM PBC mast month and love it. Looking forward to Henshin but I've been swapping all my US Chip Cards for PCE versions of late so I might not even need it since I only have Japanese obey consoles.

[esadajr]

just watched the video, that is amazing! Good job guys!

[pixeljunkie]

definitely buying one of these

[ishiyakazuo]

+1 for db-electronics! I just got a FM PBC mast month and love it. Looking forward to Henshin but I've been swapping all my US Chip Cards for PCE versions of late so I might not even need it since I only have Japanese obey consoles.

You need it for JJ & Jeff.  And Impossamole.  And Turrican.  And... yeah, there are a lot of pretty crappy US region games out there, aren't there?

[NecroPhile]

You need it for JJ & Jeff.  And Impossamole.  And Turrican.  And... yeah, there are a lot of pretty crappy US region games out there, aren't there?

There's a lot of really good ones too, but it's more fun to dump on Turdican.

[pnauts]

I'm curious but where your Hucard socket come from ?
Thanks.

[ishiyakazuo]

You need it for JJ & Jeff.  And Impossamole.  And Turrican.  And... yeah, there are a lot of pretty crappy US region games out there, aren't there?

There's a lot of really good ones too, but it's more fun to dump on Turdican.

Yeah, I can't think of very many standout USA-exclusive games for the unit though.  Specifically talking about HuCard, here, though.  (JJ & Jeff isn't exactly an exclusive to the region, but it's so edited, I figure it's pretty close to a different game.)

[ishiyakazuo]

I'm curious but where your Hucard socket come from ?
Thanks.

It's a hand-assembled custom-made assembly designed to fit a HuCard.  Not an off-the-shelf part.  (Not the sort of thing I'd want to do on a regular basis, but db has a lot of experience with that -- that's the main reason we collaborated on this one!)

[db-electronics]

I'm curious but where your Hucard socket come from ?
Thanks.

That's the hard part ain't it? I banged my head a few times before figuring out a workable and affordable solution.

[ishiyakazuo]

It should be noted that db is now actually selling this thing... so it has transitioned from interweb discussion into something that can be inserted into your OBEY... for MORE OBEY.

[db-electronics]

It should be noted that db is now actually selling this thing... so it has transitioned from interweb discussion into something that can be inserted into your OBEY... for MORE OBEY.

Yes, this = truth!

http://www.db-elec.com/home/products