PAL retro collecting tips?

[Obiwanshinobi]

By "safe buys" I meant certain 60 Hz games either not released in US/C, or having local enough flavour to make for a souvenir. There is, however, one game I have not mentioned yet simply because I don't think it's much good - WipEout Pulse PS2 port is 60 Hz, but its loading times and framerates can make one sorry for the game.
Now - you didn't ask about last gen, but WipEout HD Fury came out on Blu-ray in PAL. I gather it's otherwise exactly the same as downloadable version, except: a) there's disk-check now and b) the Vita game is not included. Even mandatory install is of the exact same size as PSN download (so Blu-ray is excess). Still terrific value for the sort of price I paid and something to put on shelf if you're into that.

[ZellSF]

By "safe buys" I meant certain 60 Hz games either not released in US/C, or having local enough flavour to make for a souvenir. There is, however, one game I have not mentioned yet simply because I don't think it's much good - WipEout Pulse PS2 port is 60 Hz, but its loading times and framerates can make one sorry for the game.

It's worth putting up with loading times and low framerates to get to the real fun part of the game: it corrupts memory cards.

Now if you're one of those weirdos who really like keeping your save games, I recommend sticking with the PSP version on either a Vita or Vita TV.

Actually one of the very few cases where Europe got a better deal, as four teams and tracks are only available as EU exclusive DLC. I still wouldn't use EU as my PSN region.

[Skykid]

Personally I'm glad they're collecting PAL games and not something that would be useful to someone else.

Ha ha!

[BIL]

^ WORD

[8 1/2]

My Visa came in this week, so the move is getting far more real now! I'll be working in the Seven Dials area, so maybe I'll see some shmup-os at a meet some day. Thanks again everyone!

[BrianC]

SMS is relatively safe as far as PAL games go. It's also one of the better systems for PAL exclusives. Cartridge shape is the same and a good chunk of games play great on US systems (most first party games are safe and some third party games like Marble Madness also play fine on a US SMS). Some games like Lucky Dime Caper can be found for cheap with box and manual too. There are still a few games like New Zealand Story and Back to the Future II and III that don't work right on US systems, though.

For PAL games on 60 Hz systems, try checking the ROM in an emulator. Often the cart includes multiregion ROMs - for example the Genesis Thunder Force III includes a PAL optimised version that runs at the correct speed if played on a PAL Mega Drive (basically it's the same game but with PAL borders). Whether anything PAL only goes the other way though... certainly isn't the case for later SMS titles due to market conditions but 16 bit titles might be okay.

I'm a bit confused here. Are you saying that most later SMS games don't work on ntsc? I'm aware of third party developed and published PAL games that don't work well on US SMS systems, but I have a bunch of PAL exclusives for SMS and they all play fine on the US SMS, and apparently at the correct speed. As far as I know, many (but not all) later third party games won't work, but, from what I heard and tried via emulator later JP developed exclusives work fine on US systems. The latest game I have for SMS was released in 1992.

To add to the confusion, some larger sized Brazilian SMS games won't work on early SMS systems. Nothing to do with PAL/NTSC (especially since Brazil is 60Hz PAL), but due to a bug in the hardware that keeps games with a larger file size from working.

edit: watched a twingalaxies video of Sonic Chaos on a US SMS. 1993 game. Runs at the correct speed.

[TransatlanticFoe]

There are a number of games that have issues on NTSC consoles (fairly sure there's a list somewhere on SMS Power), and Codemasters games don't even run on anything other than an SMS2! I can only speak for my Fusion experiences but I found a few games that ran too fast unless I set it to 50 Hz. Power Strike 2 runs too fast at 60 Hz, for example. I have heard that dev kits were geared to 60 Hz so it is possible both the "original" and PAL optimisation exists on some carts - much as many Genesis carts include PAL optimised code that it loads if you put it in a PAL Mega Drive.

[BrianC]

There are a number of games that have issues on NTSC consoles (fairly sure there's a list somewhere on SMS Power), and Codemasters games don't even run on anything other than an SMS2! I can only speak for my Fusion experiences but I found a few games that ran too fast unless I set it to 50 Hz. Power Strike 2 runs too fast at 60 Hz, for example. I have heard that dev kits were geared to 60 Hz so it is possible both the "original" and PAL optimisation exists on some carts - much as many Genesis carts include PAL optimised code that it loads if you put it in a PAL Mega Drive.

As I said in the previous post, I'm aware there are a number of games with issues. I'm also aware of the issues with Codemasters games. However, given my experience with what I read and played of PAL SMS games and their GG counterparts, it seems some issues are exaggerated. One example is the slowdown in Sonic 1 for NTSC, which actually happens in the same places in the GG version. Not to mention the garbage issue with Sonic 2 that the sega8bit forums blow up as a major issue is actually very minor (I played the game on real hardware) and no more distracting than the flickering of the status area in Duck Tales for NES (not to mention that the game even runs at the correct speed). BTW, I saw that list on SMS Power. It doesn't mention specifics, lists games with issues that have nothing to do with NTSC/PAL (certain Brazilian games), and lists games with very minor issues as incompatible (even if they run at the correct speed).

Anyway, from my experience, a good chunk of EU only SMS games run great in NTSC and saying that most newer games don't work is inaccurate. I'm also aware that while most EU games with US counterparts work fine on US systems, Space Harrier has a EU specific version that doesn't work right in NTSC.

As far as third party SMS games, I only have a couple, but I heard Impossible Mission checks for NTSC and PAL and displays a different splash screen in NTSC. Marble Madness plays fine in NTSC and seems to be another game that checks for PAL and NTSC.

Anyway, I feel, that while PAL games in general are a good thing to stay away from in the US, SMS for the most part is an exception to the rule. Some of the better games for the system are games that didn't come out in Japan or the US. SMS is one of the few systems where EU has more worthy imports than Japan.

Another oddity with SMS is that a good chunk of EU games were released in Brazil, including some that have issues on 60 Hz systems. Doh!

I'm not sure if Power Strike II runs too fast or not. There's no JP version to compare it to and I heard conflicting reports. I'm leaning towards it running too fast, but I also heard it's still fully playable.

edit: After trying Power Strike II in emulator again I honestly can't tell which speed is correct. Some aspects seem slow in PAL and other aspects seem fast in NTSC.