Xeno modding PAL Gamecube for NTSC games

[thetallguy24]

So I'm in the US and I want to be able to play my NTSC GC and GBA games on my PVM using RGB Scart.

Since PAL GC's are the only one's that output RGB Scart, will modding a PAL GC with the Xeno chip allow me to do that?

I've also read somewhere that the GC's optical drive handles region locking and the only way to do this properly is to install the Xeno chip in a NTSC GC and swap the motherboard with a PAL GC.

Can anyone confirm the best way to do this?

[Guspaz]

Yes, that's basically what I've done. Voultar had clarified that the locking is actually in the motherboard, but the xeno is patching stuff via the drive board, so the distinction is moot.

This is the scenario that I have:

1) Started out with an unmodified NTSC cube
2) Installed a XenoGC into the NTSC cube to run GBI, used that for a while (over s-video)
3) Bought a PAL cube and put its motherboard into the NTSC cube (and use it over RGB)

After having done this, NTSC games still appear to work and use NTSC over RGB (I tried a burned copy of Windwaker, a retail copy of some Namco arcade thing, and GBI).

The only side effect is that the cube's system menus are all PAL, but that's not a problem on a PVM since they can do both PAL and NTSC.

I'm told that it's possible to permanently replace the PAL bios with an NTSC bios so that the cube really becomes a full-time NTSC console with RGB (Voultar has done that), but it's probably difficult to do and there wouldn't be any benefit if you're using a display that supports PAL in the first place.

EDIT: While I have not tested the scenario, you can probably just take a stock PAL cube, install a XenoGC, and be done with it.

[thetallguy24]

It'd be nice if all I had to do was add the chip to a PAL GC

Can anyone confirm if this works?

[Einzelherz]

You'll need a pal cube donor anyway so if you can remove solder easily it should be nbd to try it.

[thetallguy24]

You'll need a pal cube donor anyway so if you can remove solder easily it should be nbd to try it.

Yeah, but If I'm just going to be swapping motherboards, I'd rather not waste a good working Gamecube. I could just get a Gamecube that's got a broken optical drive. Saves money and doesn't waste a GC. Otherwise, I have to spend extra for a good, working PAL GC.

[Einzelherz]

I'm not sure where you're shopping but in the states they're not exactly common.

[thetallguy24]

Actually I think I found a video that answers the question

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh5TLBDRC_U

[Guspaz]

I just bought a beat-up PAL cube from the UK. It was like 12 GBP, although shipping was several times that. The outside of the cube was all beat up, but the motherboard was fine, and the PAL cube shell wasn't going to be used so didn't matter.

[parodius]

I'm told that it's possible to permanently replace the PAL bios with an NTSC bios so that the cube really becomes a full-time NTSC console with RGB (Voultar has done that), but it's probably difficult to do and there wouldn't be any benefit if you're using a display that supports PAL in the first place.

Hey guys, anyone tried this ?

The problem I have is that Japanese characters are not displayed properly when playing Japanese games on a PAL mobo.
I have a DOL-001 NTSC mobo and PAL mobo (so, DOL-001 as well).

Looks like the IPL/bios is contained in a 14 pin maskrom located next to the Flipper chip.
Doesn't seem like a very difficult job to swap the chips between the consoles, even with my mild soldering skills.

Or is there more to it ?

[Extrems]

The font is present in the PAL IPL ROM, swapping would do nothing.

Swiss automatically patches the SDK functions that choose the system's text encoding.

[parodius]

Which version of Swiss is required at minimum ?
I couldn't manage to display Japanese characters with v0.3r277.

[Extrems]

It was added in r269.

[AndehX]

Adding a XenoGC to a stock PAL Gamecube works perfectly fine. I run all my NTSC games no problem on my PAL Gamecube.

[parodius]

Adding a XenoGC to a stock PAL Gamecube works perfectly fine. I run all my NTSC games no problem on my PAL Gamecube.

NTSC-J ?

Well my PAL GC has an NTSC-J drive with XenoGC, because I already had an NTSC-J console modded with XenoGC so I just swapped the drives.
With this setup, my NTSC-J games (F-Zero, Zelda WW) do not display properly the Japanese characters (F-Zero does but only on the progressive/interlaced choice screen), whether I boot them directly or via Swiss r277.

I can try to add a XenoGC in my PAL drive (was going to do it eventually) but I'm not sure why it should change anything ?

[AndehX]

Japanese characters won't display properly but unless you can read Japanese then it's not really a problem

[parodius]

I'm more interested to know why it happens, and how to solve it, than in arguing if I need it or not

[theclaw]

XenoGC does not change the console's internal region. Such as composite (and s-video on NTSC models) encoding, the system menu language, character encoding, and the memory card format. None of this is affected by swapping the disc drive either.

I've never tried switching drives between unmodded Gamecubes. My best guess about the outcome is the drive has no part in region checking, and both systems will continue to play only games that are correct for the motherboard. Xeno disrupts the process to make imports boot, it isn't necessarily indicative of Nintendo's intended behavior.

Japanese characters won't display properly but unless you can read Japanese then it's not really a problem

It's pretty interesting to try out different games. A few Japanese games have other effects when they detect the system isn't Japanese.

Radirgy refuses to save data, it'll halt and wait for you to remove the memory card. Something like that.
F-Zero GX has UI and HUD graphics issues. Various text becomes either English or Engrish.
Star Fox Adventures will play in English. Cool, but a letdown if you deliberately wanted the Japanese version of the game.

If you'd like to regularly use Swiss with imports, then I suggest looking for a modchip able to run homebrew from an SD card. Disc swapping gets old fast IMHO.

[parodius]

Thanks for the input.
For the disc drive, yes that's what I thought. As long as they are modded with XenoGC, it does not matter which origin the drive is from.

Now regarding the motherboard, the question is : how do we get a PAL mobo to act as if it were an NTSC-J mobo, with the added benefit of the analog RGB output ?

[theclaw]

Thanks for the input.
For the disc drive, yes that's what I thought. As long as they are modded with XenoGC, it does not matter which origin the drive is from.

Now regarding the motherboard, the question is : how do we get a PAL mobo to act as if it were an NTSC-J mobo, with the added benefit of the analog RGB output ?

Either use Swiss, or you're looking at hardware modding like a replacement IPL.
At least I've never heard of NTSC-J jumper points on a PAL mobo.