Only have one pic... does this Puzzle Bobble look like a boot?

ShmengeTravel

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615b_1.JPG


That's the only pic I have of it. I've never seen one with a clear cart before, and the label being partially ripped off has me worried, but the PCB on the inside looks to be a full size SNK cart. I just wasnt sure if the clear cart was a give away.

Thanks guys!
 

Neo Alec

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My guess from the inadequate picture is that the label isn't real and the solder points are too full of solder to be machine-made. I have to guess it's a boot.
 

Xian Xi

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Same here, most likely a boot. Have the seller take a picture of the other side of the cart. Label is also a reprint.
 

ShmengeTravel

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Thanks guys. I dont think I'm going to get this anyway as a better deal just came up. Good to know what to look for! :)
 

68k

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I had a legit one in one of those clear shells at one point. That being said, nobody in this thread knows for sure if it is original or not, because you can't see the chips. Any answer is a pure guess really.
 

chris1

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I have a cart just like that but it's a BOOT...I've come across several clear caees Puzzle Bobble boots...(Black,Blue,White cases in my quest to find a non boot copy..


The boot I have works great but I don't use it..After getting Puzzle Bobble 2,PB 1 never gets any play..
 

Drakon

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yay that label looks just like the awesome one on my neo drift out boot. Except mine was on upside down and wasn't even in the plastic molded area. Hardcore edition!
 

RabbitTroop

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I really don't think anyone knows what is and isn't a PB boot even when seeing the boards of the game. I've yet to ever see one as all solid PROMS. If anyone has one out there, snap a picture, because I won't believe you if you don't show me some proof they really exist ;) A lot of people claim to have owned one or seen one, but can never show any proof of it. Second, SNK had to act fast to satisfy the demand for this game. That being the case, many believe here that "original" SNK PB carts may be hack jobs of just resoldering EPROMs onto a game's boards that didn't sell well. Whatever the case, it is easily the most difficult one to find as a "non-boot" at least in the way we think of them. As long as it is a clean game with no crazy wires running to and fro you should be fine.
 

kernow

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^ yep, agreed

a lot of original pb's are SNK converted from other carts. i heard FF2 or something.
 

Neo Alec

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I really don't think anyone knows what is and isn't a PB boot even when seeing the boards of the game. I've yet to ever see one as all solid PROMS. If anyone has one out there, snap a picture, because I won't believe you if you don't show me some proof they really exist ;) A lot of people claim to have owned one or seen one, but can never show any proof of it. Second, SNK had to act fast to satisfy the demand for this game. That being the case, many believe here that "original" SNK PB carts may be hack jobs of just resoldering EPROMs onto a game's boards that didn't sell well. Whatever the case, it is easily the most difficult one to find as a "non-boot" at least in the way we think of them. As long as it is a clean game with no crazy wires running to and fro you should be fine.
In my experience, it's not really so complicated. All the legit ones I've seen so far have two eproms (one on each board) and have some chips with the Power Spikes II NGH number on them. There are probably only a handful of variations. It's probably not like they come in all the colors of the rainbow.
 

arfink

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This confusion over Puzzle Bobble is due to the fact that SNK most likely did alot of funny things in order to get more Puzzle Bobbles to sell. Say you have a warehouse with a pile of crap games that won't sell, but Puzzle Bobble is selling faster than you know what to do with. You have compatible cart plastics, PCB's, and custom protection chips, all of which are expensive, but installed in other games. You go to the nearest pile of unprogrammed mask chips or eproms and make more Puzzle Bobble carts to sell, because it's how you make money. The reason for power spike mask roms is probably that power spikes flopped so bad they just stopped burning the mask roms and used em for Puzzle Bobble without changing the printing.
 

acg12xu

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Rather than create a new topic, I thought I would post here because I have the same concern. I haven't opened up the case, but if I look through the vents of the case, I can see NEO-MVS PROG G2 printed on the inside. Is this most likely a boot?

P3200055.jpg
 

chewurface

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Label looks original...hard to tell if it's a boot or not without seeing the boards / chips. Don't be surprised if there's an EPROM or two in the cart, as I understand it, most legit PB / BAM have a couple of them.
 

Xian Xi

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That's legit. Label is legit and an absence of a crease on the label indicates it was never opened. Usually most legit ones have 2 windowed eeproms at most.
 
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