WTB/WTT 4 Beat Up but working Mutation Nation Home cart

[Big Bruno]

Cart only don't care on condition, region as long as it works, just prefer none bootleg.

If you read my thread here I have a beta version of this game with a bad graphic boards so really just looking to see if i can get it working by just replacing the graphic board in the shell with one form a working game. I just prefer not to take apart my home version since i tend to break those stupid plastic tabs and if it does work probably will keep it that way, just wanted to see if i can do a proper play through and see what music changes maybe there. LMK if you have one was looking in the $100 range. I also can trade

stuff i have extra to work out a FAIR trade

10 year metal slug mug (from TGS awhile back)
Metal Slug XX (limited run CE or Single PS4) sealed
Samurai Shodown Neo geo collection (limited run CE switch or ps4) sealed
SNK 40th anniversary collection (switch) open
The King of Fighters 98 Ultimate Match (ignition ps2) open
Neo turf master MVS (cart only)

i have more stuff just what i remember and if we get into non-SNK related stuff that a whole other rabbit hole

 

[Digmac]

As rom sizing was not finalized on pre-release/prototype cartridges, they generally have more chips on board than a final cartridge. As an example, your Mutation Nation prototype has 10 ROM chips on the CHA board, compared to the final ROM configuration of just 6 chips. Therefore, PCB swapping is not a possibility.

Your best bet, and something that needs to happen with games that show CRC differences, is to dump the data from the chips, get the data on a computer, and use emulation or a flashcart to test the game. This Mutation Nation already shows that it’s damaged to some extent, so it’s better to do it sooner rather than later, because a PCB swap isn’t going to cut it.

 

[Big Bruno]

As rom sizing was not finalized on pre-release/prototype cartridges, they generally have more chips on board than a final cartridge. As an example, your Mutation Nation prototype has 10 ROM chips on the CHA board, compared to the final ROM configuration of just 6 chips. Therefore, PCB swapping is not a possibility.

Your best bet, and something that needs to happen with games that show CRC differences, is to dump the data from the chips, get the data on a computer, and use emulation or a flashcart to test the game. This Mutation Nation already shows that it’s damaged to some extent, so it’s better to do it sooner rather than later, because a PCB swap isn’t going to cut it.

so here is the beta check rom


and here is the final released check rom



so it appears these read out the same on what chips/size are active aside for the CRC diff. I believe the CH-EPG board breaks in pairs (you will notice the program rom as an odd/even (2 chips) where the release is just one p1 but a larger chip and the release also has 4 C chips where the epg has 8 (i believe these are also odd/even) the s and m chips are not paired. so i do not believe really it is a matter of the number of chips just how the translate to memory which appears to be the same as the release. But your right i am not sure if it will work or not. i suspect worse case is i get a different set of garbled graphics, which is also way i do not want to pay 300+ for a test

 

[Digmac]

so here is the beta check rom
View attachment 51214

and here is the final released check rom

View attachment 51215

so it appears these read out the same on what chips/size are active aside for the CRC diff. I believe the CH-EPG board breaks in pairs (you will notice the program rom as an odd/even (2 chips) where the release is just one p1 but a larger chip and the release also has 4 C chips where the epg has 8 (i believe these are also odd/even) the s and m chips are not paired. so i do not believe really it is a matter of the number of chips just how the translate to memory which appears to be the same as the release. But your right i am not sure if it will work or not. i suspect worse case is i get a different set of garbled graphics, which is also way i do not want to pay 300+ for a test

Going over your original post again, I can see that you maybe meant just swapping the CHA board entirely from a final game, but I don’t think that’s totally advisable due to the possibility of changes in the graphics data. You are correct in that the proto boards would use 2 chips in the place of one, but again, that’s one reason why a traditional PCB swap isn’t possible. Either way, if you actually want to get to the bottom of this Mutation Nation, get in touch with Brian Hargrove, aka neoturfmasta on here. He can assist in dumping the data from your carts with CRC differences. There’s no other easy way you’re going to do this other than getting that data dumped.

 

[Big Bruno]

Going over your original post again, I can see that you maybe meant just swapping the CHA board entirely from a final game, but I don’t think that’s totally advisable due to the possibility of changes in the graphics data. You are correct in that the proto boards would use 2 chips in the place of one, but again, that’s one reason why a traditional PCB swap isn’t possible. Either way, if you actually want to get to the bottom of this Mutation Nation, get in touch with Brian Hargrove, aka neoturfmasta on here. He can assist in dumping the data from your carts with CRC differences. There’s no other easy way you’re going to do this other than getting that data dumped.

yeah complete board swap. i know Brian and Kurtz and other who can dump (i can dump as well if i de-solder the chips ) but not really interested in this route at the moment. i will just give a board swap a try, if it works out ok then great if not then i will look into other options. worse i will see if putting it in jukebox mode will let me get the background music just need to get a unibios on one of my aes's.

 

[Big Bruno]

Going over your original post again, I can see that you maybe meant just swapping the CHA board entirely from a final game, but I don’t think that’s totally advisable due to the possibility of changes in the graphics data. You are correct in that the proto boards would use 2 chips in the place of one, but again, that’s one reason why a traditional PCB swap isn’t possible. Either way, if you actually want to get to the bottom of this Mutation Nation, get in touch with Brian Hargrove, aka neoturfmasta on here. He can assist in dumping the data from your carts with CRC differences. There’s no other easy way you’re going to do this other than getting that data dumped.

Well should mention this worked. I went ahead and took apart my MN cart and did the swap and was able to get it with graphics. However music changed back so must be in z80 code. At any rate I will give it a play through from program differences and anything else
Still want a mutation nation though

 

[Neo Alec]

I know it's asking a lot, but from a preservation standpoint, dumping is really the only way to go. Hoping you will get help with these eventually. Glad you're back, you found these, and good luck.

 

[SuperGun]

I have one of those PC to NEO devices (supported by well known members like Razoola and JMKurtz) and have used it for reading and saving the data from carts without having to open them or desolder the chips.

At present time, it doesn’t support all 5 of the rom banks (P, V, C, S, M) but Jeff was working on expanding it by assembling an adapter, but it’s time consuming and he’s a busy guy. But depending on which chips are unique on your cart, it may suffice?