Aero Fighters 2 - MVS

wingzrow

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http://www.ebay.com/itm/252720763628/

Does this look like a bootleg? Sticker matches the MVS scan wiki, & it's a U.S. seller, but there's a sticker on the side of the cart that looks Chinese that says not to open it or it would void the warranty, & that is EXACTLY what I would do back in the day if I wanted people to never check inside to see if it's fake. Plus there's no board pictures.

Please teach me, oh neo geo masters.
 

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NeoLucian

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You will need to open the cart to be 100% sure - I have seen loads of MVS carts with stickers (e.g. over the screw holes) saying "Warranty Void if Removed" - its not uncommon
The label looks fine and the cart does but you cannot be sure until you see the boards inside
 

GohanX

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Yeah, gotta open to be sure but it looks real from the outside and this game isn't worth much so you aren't too likely to find a boot.
 

wyo

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Yeah, gotta open to be sure but it looks real from the outside and this game isn't worth much so you aren't too likely to find a boot.

He can't open it. That will void the warranty!
 

Niko

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That cart is being sold by a reputable member here. It wouldnt be a boot unless he stated it.
 

SmaMan

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But if it's sealed by that sticker, who's to say he's ever opened it to see?

Did he add that sticker? For fun?
 

Niko

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But if it's sealed by that sticker, who's to say he's ever opened it to see?

Did he add that sticker? For fun?

Actually I just looked at the auction. He did open it and he does show board pics. Its the last 2 pictures in the auction.

But even if he didnt open it and look and it was a boot, his auction states he accepts returns. So, I wouldnt worry about it.
 

SmaMan

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Actually I just looked at the auction. He did open it and he does show board pics. Its the last 2 pictures in the auction.

But even if he didnt open it and look and it was a boot, his auction states he accepts returns. So, I wouldnt worry about it.

Hey wait a sec... that's the guy I bought a Puzzle Bobble from. It was a bootleg. Thing doesn't even get past the boot screen.

Sadly, I just got in the Omega to test it this week, so I'm a good ways out of the return window.
 
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xsq

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Hey wait a sec... that's the guy I bought a Puzzle Bobble from. It was a bootleg. Thing doesn't even get past the boot screen.

Sadly, I just got in the Omega to test it this week, so I'm a good ways out of the return window.
Who is it. Link please.
Also: Who buys games without having a console? FFS...
 

SmaMan

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Check the first post. Link the the auction is there. I missed it too, don't worry.

To answer your other question, people who ordered a console and a few games and didn't count on it taking over a month for said console to come in. :glee:
 

wingzrow

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Actually I just looked at the auction. He did open it and he does show board pics. Its the last 2 pictures in the auction.

But even if he didnt open it and look and it was a boot, his auction states he accepts returns. So, I wouldnt worry about it.

He just added them for me when I requested them. So do I buy this? I'm comparing it to the wiki now.

Edit: Everything looks good. Sorry for asking about such a common game, I'm just starting out & this is all good learning material for me. Going to give it a buy. BTW. what's this I hear about being able to tell if a cartridge is a bootleg or not with the unibios? Is there a guide on that? Still waiting on my Omega, but I have a few local sellers that want to unload some carts on me, so it would help if there was an easy way to check a cart's authenticity on the fly.
 
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Niko

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He just added them for me when I requested them. So do I buy this? I'm comparing it to the wiki now.

$25 is a good price for AF2. The only reason its still for sale is collectards wont touch it with a faded label. If you dont care about the label then for sure buy it, AF2 is an awesome game and at $25 its a steal.
 

wingzrow

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$25 is a good price for AF2. The only reason its still for sale is collectards wont touch it with a faded label. If you dont care about the label then for sure buy it, AF2 is an awesome game and at $25 its a steal.

Honestly at this point, as long as it's real I don't care. It's a great game, & it's going to be spending most of it's time in a shockbox when I'm not playing it. I remember reading YEARS ago about an idea to put sales history on stickers within the inside of MVS cases so we can track who's hands all the mvs carts have been through. Did that ever pan out? I still say it's cool idea. Would make keeping track of production numbers & authenticity easier.
 

egg_sanwich

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He just added them for me when I requested them. So do I buy this? I'm comparing it to the wiki now.

Edit: Everything looks good. Sorry for asking about such a common game, I'm just starting out & this is all good learning material for me. Going to give it a buy. BTW. what's this I hear about being able to tell if a cartridge is a bootleg or not with the unibios? Is there a guide on that? Still waiting on my Omega, but I have a few local sellers that want to unload some carts on me, so it would help if there was an easy way to check a cart's authenticity on the fly.

The easiest way to check is to look through the vent grills of the cart. Familiarize yourself with common characteristics of boots (e.g., windowed eproms, off brand rom chips, non-factory soldering, etc.). Most of the time you can tell at a glance without having to even open the cart. Of course it also helps to carry around a philips screwdriver around and pop those carts open just to make sure.

Edit: this thread should be required reading. It has lots of pictures of how to identify a boot: http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?261209-Bootleg-Gallery-(Pic-Heavy)
 

Gyrian

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That warranty sticker is in better shape than the cart label, and seemingly the cart itself too.
I think this means the warranty is super strong.
 

wingzrow

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I'm doing something unheard of & hijacking my own thread to ask another question. Are both of these metal slug X carts boots? What confuses me is the MVS scan wiki has chipsets made by toshiba on the left, but both of these listings have chipsets that simply have 250 printed on them (which does match the master list). Is this just a case of another chipset, or are they boots?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/122307896845/

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231965428813/
 

NeoLucian

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I'm doing something unheard of & hijacking my own thread to ask another question. Are both of these metal slug X carts boots? What confuses me is the MVS scan wiki has chipsets made by toshiba on the left, but both of these listings have chipsets that simply have 250 printed on them (which does match the master list). Is this just a case of another chipset, or are they boots?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/122307896845/

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231965428813/

They dont look like boots to me but would like to hear others opinions
 

xsq

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Check the first post. Link the the auction is there. I missed it too, don't worry.
I saw that, but which "reputable member" (Niko49) is grabiela8 supposed to be?


what's this I hear about being able to tell if a cartridge is a bootleg or not with the unibios?
you can do a CRC32 check, just press and hold (A)+(B)+(C) on startup and you'll get into the Universe Bios menu - this only confirms if the program is good (aka if the roms in the tested cart fit the known roms of good dumped carts). There are still some undumped versions and a really well made boot could theoretically pass the test (it would have to dublicating the real deal 1to1, even the encryption. It would then of course play the very same as an official cart... the NeoSD can do that for example and passes the checks).


I remember reading YEARS ago about an idea to put sales history on stickers within the inside of MVS cases so we can track who's hands all the mvs carts have been through. Did that ever pan out? I still say it's cool idea. Would make keeping track of production numbers & authenticity easier.
Xian Xi and Xiao_haozi built a tracking site for this purpose in 2011, it was called neocartman.com... sadly they canceled it some time in 2015, because it didn't get enough support from the scene. [Here's Xian Xi's old vid about it.]


Are both of these metal slug X carts boots? What confuses me is the MVS scan wiki has chipsets made by toshiba on the left, but both of these listings have chipsets that simply have 250 printed on them (which does match the master list). Is this just a case of another chipset, or are they boots?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/122307896845/

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231965428813/
They look alright to me. It's not uncommon that the numbers/make of the chips vary - as long as the boards are the right type (and have "SNK" printed on them), the chips are maskroms and in the right positions and the back shows they're factory (wave) soldered, you're safe.
 
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aha2940

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I'm doing something unheard of & hijacking my own thread to ask another question. Are both of these metal slug X carts boots? What confuses me is the MVS scan wiki has chipsets made by toshiba on the left, but both of these listings have chipsets that simply have 250 printed on them (which does match the master list). Is this just a case of another chipset, or are they boots?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/122307896845/

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231965428813/

Both of them are original, since the chips are all original, both have the PROGEOP board that only MSX uses, and that it contains that damned Altera chip that will make the cart die eventually. Since no other game uses these boards, and conversions are not possible using it, I'd say the games are original with a 99.9999% probability.
 

wingzrow

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It contains that damned Altera chip that will make the cart die eventually.

Can you expand on that? Is this specific to Metal Slug X, or are all MVS carts affected by this? I know MS2 had to be completely redone due to slowdown, so is this what you're referring to? They used a specific chipset on Metal Slug X that's prone to failure?
 
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Niko

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I saw that, but which "reputable member" (Niko49) is grabiela8 supposed to be?

There is another member on here who often post items for sale on ebay and he often takes pictures of the carts ontop of a priority mail shipping box, just like in the photo. So base don that and the price I had just "assumed" it was him. However after looking at the seller I see it is indeed someone else. So that was my fault for assuming.

Can you expand on that? Is this specific to Metal Slug X, or are all MVS carts affected by this? I know MS2 had to be completely redone due to slowdown, so is this what you're referring to? They used a specific chipset on Metal Slug X that's prone to failure?

SNK used an "Altera" brand CPLD to decrypt the Program roms in Metal Slug X. The Altera chip is known to die, and since nobody (until recently from the neosd team) has reversed the logic used to decrypt the roms. The only solution for repairing the cart was to replace the Program rom with a patched version.

I think Metal Slug X is the only cart that used that specific Altera CPLD for decryption. Metal Slug X is certainly the only cart I hear about dying.
 
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aha2940

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I think Metal Slug X is the only cart that used that specific Altera CPLD for decryption. Metal Slug X is certainly the only cart I hear about dying.

KOF98 also uses the same Altera chip for the same purpose, but programming for the chips and PROG boards differ between kof98 and MSX (EOP board on MSX, SF1 board for kof98). I have had several kof98 carts with working CHA boards but dead PROG boards because of Altera chips.
 

Liquid Snake

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SNK used an "Altera" brand CPLD to decrypt the Program roms in Metal Slug X. The Altera chip is known to die, and since nobody (until recently from the neosd team) has reversed the logic used to decrypt the roms. The only solution for repairing the cart was to replace the Program rom with a patched version.

That sux :(
 
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