Want to play Dream Mary without searching half of the planet for a copy of it? You can convert a regular Super Mario Bros. / Duck Hunt NES cartridge into Dream Mary in two easy steps! ;D
Check it out on 133MHz's Junk Box, the finest in cheap electronic entertainment: :P
http://133fsb.wordpress.com/2009/11/21/dream-mary-on-a-budget/
This was inspired by you guys, and your fascination with Dream Mary. I know you'll like it ;).
If I didn't already own a Dream Mary, I would have done this. Thanks for posting it. However, Dream Mary isn't quite as interesting as I hoped.
Cool article, i never dream mary was like that! Quite simple indeed.
Wierd, do most games have a simple point on the pcb like that for the Horizontal and Vertical mirroring?
At least this way people can forget about tracking down hard to find pirates of this thing :D
Quote from: Bramsworth on November 21, 2009, 08:14:55 pm
do most games have a simple point on the pcb like that for the Horizontal and Vertical mirroring?
Yeah, most
old games, you know, the simple ones. Games like Mario 3, Zelda, etc don't have mirroring select on the board because they control it by software.
Wow, that's what even I would call ridiculously easy.
And I see you used my video to illustrate the point. Thanks. ;D
I'm so glad I know how to do this now. I've always said that I'm never going to spend money on Dream Mary, and now I don't ever have to. That is, unless of course, Manuel is willing to sell his unique version. :P
Another game that's fun to play with switched mirroring is Excitebike. Try it out sometime!
Haha, no, I will probably not sell mine. I like the cover very much and that it has a switch.
Some time in the future I think I'll buy one of those cheap baseball games to get a nice black box and make a custom inlay.
Technically, SMB uses Vertical Mirroring. "On cartridge boards made by Nintendo, this is selected by shorting the "H" solder pad (for "horizontal arrangement"). " A horizontal arrangement gives you vertical mirroring. Check this screenshot of the name table viewer of FCE Ultra XD SP, as an example:
http://ximwix.net/storage/smbmirroring.png (http://ximwix.net/storage/smbmirroring.png)
You're technically right. :P
Horizontal Arrangement !== Horizontal Mirroring. My bad.
Quote from: UglyJoe on November 21, 2009, 09:30:44 pmA horizontal arrangement gives you vertical mirroring
Damn Nintendo and their confusing terminology ::)
Heh, sorry to bring it up. It's a good article. I've never actually taken a look at the solder pads.
I just did this and it worked amazingly, 1 million points for awesomeness.
If I only had a soldering iron I would do this right away.
Will the duck hunt portion have weird mirroring too?
Quote from: cubelmariomadness on November 22, 2009, 07:50:52 am
Will the duck hunt portion have weird mirroring too?
Yeah, but only the title screen is affected, the game plays fine as far as my testing shows (I haven't plugged in my Zapper to test the hit detection so this is not 100% conclusive).
If you want to step it up a notch, you can add a switch just like in Manuel's cart. Just get a small single pole double throw toggle switch and wire it up like this:
(http://133fsb.wordpress.com/files/2009/11/hv-switch.png)
Mount it somewhere on the case and now you can flick the switch to select between SMB and Dream Mary. ;)
I did this to my famicom version of the game. c:
I dont think i soldered it though, i think i taped a wire down. 8)
Will any old piece of copper wire work for that then, nurd? If so, it just makes the mod that much more simple. Use a straightened paper clip to cut the first wire, and tape a second wire on to V.
Yep, anything that electrically bridges the contacts together will work. I wouldn't recommend taping down a piece of wire as a long term solution because if the tape ever comes off and the wire gets loose inside the cart who knows what kind of things could happen, but hey, whatever floats your boat dude :P.
Yep, buying a dream marry cart is still worth it. I could easily do the modification part but I'm not.
Is there any other tool besides that nintendo screw that will open it up? Besides the melted pen too.
I've actually found a regular screwdriver with a small tip to work. It worked for Stack-Up anyway, but since that's a 5 screw cartridge, I've never tried it on a regular game, so I can't guarantee anything. If you have any screwdrivers with interchangeable heads, I suggest you find as many as you can and just keep trying different kinds.
I'm not using a hammer! :o
I just can't get it open.
I can vouch for the small scissors method. When I was a kid I used to open SNES carts using a very fine-pointed scissor that I found on my mom's sewing kit.
I'll try looking for some.
EDIT: I can't find any.
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/9663/picture220i.jpg
My SMB/DH has a globtop. Would it be just as easy to do, or should I go for a non-globtop version if I attempt to try this myself in the future?
Quote from: cubelmariomadness on November 22, 2009, 10:12:34 am
Is there any other tool besides that nintendo screw that will open it up? Besides the melted pen too.
I only paid like 4$ for my 4.5mm Security bit and 6$ for my awesome black handled "gun shaped" crank screwdriver thing; I can take apart NES carts in record time.
The NES bit is worth having because it also takes apart SNES carts, N64 Carts, and I think GBA carts.
Quote from: DDCecil on November 22, 2009, 12:25:11 pm
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/9663/picture220i.jpg
My SMB/DH has a globtop. Would it be just as easy to do, or should I go for a non-globtop version if I attempt to try this myself in the future?
:o I've never seen a globtop SMB/DH board before! Could it perhaps be a pirated board? What does the cartridge look like?
Quote from: nintendodork on November 22, 2009, 12:35:13 pm
Quote from: DDCecil on November 22, 2009, 12:25:11 pm
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/9663/picture220i.jpg
My SMB/DH has a globtop. Would it be just as easy to do, or should I go for a non-globtop version if I attempt to try this myself in the future?
:o I've never seen a globtop SMB/DH board before! Could it perhaps be a pirated board? What does the cartridge look like?
He is from Switzerland, so the game could just be an official Euro/Pal NES game.
Quote from: DDCecil on November 22, 2009, 12:25:11 pm
My SMB/DH has a globtop. Would it be just as easy to do, or should I go for a non-globtop version if I attempt to try this myself in the future?
I think I can see the mirroring select pads on that one:
(http://img682.imageshack.us/img682/7352/smbgloptopmirroring.png)
The picture is not clear enough so I could be wrong, but in the case that it really says H and V there, the only extra step would be to scrape off the green covering over the V pads to reveal the copper that's underneath so that the solder would stick to it.
Quote from: nintendodork on November 22, 2009, 12:35:13 pm
:o I've never seen a globtop SMB/DH board before! Could it perhaps be a pirated board? What does the cartridge look like?
This is not as uncommon as you think. DDCecil's cartridge probably belongs to the very last production runs for the NES. When the technology is mature and a system is starting to die off, the manufacturers try to reduce costs as much as possible by reducing parts count. I presume that the last SMB/DH carts ever made used gloptops because of a business decision.
Same thing happened with SNES controllers. The very first ones used two chips, then they condensed the two chips into one, and finally when the SNES reached the end of its life cycle they started using gloptops.
Quote from: The Uninvited Gremlin on November 22, 2009, 12:39:47 pm
He is from Switzerland, so the game could just be an official Euro/Pal NES game.
That seems really plausible too, especially considering that our European friends got their games later in time.
Quote from: 133MHz on November 22, 2009, 12:42:43 pm
Quote from: DDCecil on November 22, 2009, 12:25:11 pm
My SMB/DH has a globtop. Would it be just as easy to do, or should I go for a non-globtop version if I attempt to try this myself in the future?
I think I can see the mirroring select pads on that one:
(http://img682.imageshack.us/img682/7352/smbgloptopmirroring.png)
The picture is not clear enough so I could be wrong, but in the case that it really says H and V there, the only extra step would be to scrape off the green covering over the V pads to reveal the copper that's underneath so that the solder would stick to it.
Quote from: nintendodork on November 22, 2009, 12:35:13 pm
:o I've never seen a globtop SMB/DH board before! Could it perhaps be a pirated board? What does the cartridge look like?
This is not as uncommon as you think. DDCecil's cartridge probably belongs to the very last production runs for the NES. When the technology is mature and a system is starting to die off, the manufacturers try to reduce costs as much as possible by reducing parts count. I presume that the last SMB/DH carts ever made used gloptops because of a business decision.
Same thing happened with SNES controllers. The very first ones used two chips, then they condensed the two chips into one, and finally when the SNES reached the end of its life cycle they started using gloptops.
Quote from: The Uninvited Gremlin on November 22, 2009, 12:39:47 pm
He is from Switzerland, so the game could just be an official Euro/Pal NES game.
That seems really plausible too, especially considering that our European friends got their games later in time.
Yes, Yes. Sometimes Nintendo is really a jerk to our friends overseas.
I'm American and the cart is U.S. ;)
(http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/9760/picture221t.jpg)
Quote from: DDCecil on November 22, 2009, 12:52:54 pm
I'm American and the cart is U.S. ;)
(http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/9760/picture221t.jpg)
I mistakenly looked at MasterDisk's profile instead of yours, also nice to see the NES 101 Toploader; great little system.
That label looks loads better than those pixel style american art.
Quote from: MasterDisk on November 22, 2009, 01:01:01 pm
Quote from: The Uninvited Gremlin on November 22, 2009, 12:56:25 pm
I mistakenly looked at MasterDisk's profile instead of yours, also nice to see the NES 101 Toploader; great little system.
xD
Swiss/German cart looks like that:
(http://swcweb.net/Portals/127/Bilder/NES/Kassetter/SuperMarioBros-DuckHunt.JPG)
It's almost impossible to find it in box.
Thats a very nice label art for such a common nes game.
(http://www.nintendocity.com/shrines/smb_shrine/smb_pictures/smb_dh_track_cart.jpg)
Thats the best artwork we got but it had to include WCTM also.
Quote from: MasterDisk on November 22, 2009, 01:19:53 pm
Quote from: cubelmariomadness on November 22, 2009, 01:09:45 pm
That label looks loads better than those pixel style american art.
It's the same thing for a lot of EEC games. NES-XX-FRA labels looks like Americans labels.
This is the Swiss/german SMB label
(http://swcweb.net/Portals/127/Bilder/NES/4SuperMarioBrosCart.JPG)
My "pirated" Splatterhouse has a label design similar to this. I bought it originally thinking it was a cool official release of Splatterhouse Wanpaku Grafitti on the Euro system but i was wrong.
Speaking of SMB/DH and gloptops, I've found that there are six board revisions for SMB/DH! :o
The first five use standard chips and the last one uses gloptops. Check them out:
NesCartDB - Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt (http://bootgod.dyndns.org:7777/search.php?keywords=&group=cartid&unif=mhrom&unif_op=LIKE%20%60%@%%60&field=9&order=asc)
On the forum in my signature, I posted a link to the blog post, and this question arose: "Would this sort of modification work on a pirated version of SMB2j?"
I believe someone said it used an MMC3 mapper, so I doubt it if that's true. It'd be very interesting to see it if it can be done though. If anyone has high quality pictures of a pirated SMB2j board, could they post them please?
The MMC3 controls the mirroring itself -- there are no pads to solder. You can set it via software, though (like with a Game Genie code or something).
(and, for the record, the cart does *not* use MMC3, but possibly some pirate variant thereof (which may actually have the solder pads))
Nice lockout taser ::) :P
Quote from: MasterDisk on November 23, 2009, 10:01:30 am
Quote from: nintendodork on November 22, 2009, 04:35:45 pm
On the forum in my signature, I posted a link to the blog post, and this question arose: "Would this sort of modification work on a pirated version of SMB2j?"
I believe someone said it used an MMC3 mapper, so I doubt it if that's true. It'd be very interesting to see it if it can be done though. If anyone has high quality pictures of a pirated SMB2j board, could they post them please?
This is my SMB2j Kaiser pirate (NES cart).
(http://www.noelshack.com/up/aac/photo6-f046888929.jpg)
(http://www.noelshack.com/up/aac/photo12-b8682e4f90.jpg)
My Kaiser has a similar layout, but the right chip is Korean (Hyundai) and the left one has KS121 Japan written on it. The upper left of mine also has KS 202, but the other numbers are different. And the board has KS7023 on it. I don't see where the H/V thing would be on here, and I expect most people wouldn't want to mess with a Kaiser SMB2J anyway.
I don't think you can tell by sight alone. Here's a pcb with an MMC3 chip on it (the square chip):
http://nintendoallstars.w.interia.pl/romlab/mmc3pcb1.jpg (http://nintendoallstars.w.interia.pl/romlab/mmc3pcb1.jpg)
Nothing at all like that on the pirate board, but that doesn't mean one of the chips doesn't provide the same/similar function.
Hey guys. my SMB/DH is the 1988 globtop revision, and its contacts are mcuh smaller than the earlier ones and a lot harder to solder. Instead, I used my standalone SMB cart. To achieve Dream Mary on the SMB standalone 5 screw cart, there are some slight differences. It seems that Nintendo originally connected point H together with a solder ball (done by hand by the looks of it), not a thin line of copper trace. Disconnecting the solder ball is as simple as using a solder sucker to remove it. Then, simply make your own solder ball on the other point marked V. Thats it! I now have Dream Mary without Duck Hunt.
I've applied this to an extra copy of Castlevania as well. Check it out guys!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_MX2C9w2mg
I did this with ExciteBike.
Quote from: cubelmariomadness on November 22, 2009, 07:50:52 am
Will the duck hunt portion have weird mirroring too?
Nope,
Duck Hunt seems to play exactly the same as it always has with the mirroring messed;
maybe the mirroring only applies to Mario?
Yeah, because Duck Hunt doesn't show any kind of scrolling. It's just the same background the entire time. I tested it to see if the hit detection with the gun still worked, and it did. So all you have for that is a messed up title screen, which is good since a lot of people like Duck Hunt.
Quote from: nintendodork on December 05, 2009, 10:21:04 pm
Yeah, because Duck Hunt doesn't show any kind of scrolling. It's just the same background the entire time. I tested it to see if the hit detection with the gun still worked, and it did. So all you have for that is a messed up title screen, which is good since a lot of people like Duck Hunt.
Indeed, Dream Mary with Duck Hunt cartridges. ;)
I was thinking of making a pirated label for my SMB/DH cartridge, and it'd say something like:
"ULRTA 2 IN 1 1998 FEATURING DUCK SHOOT AND DREAM MARY", but I have no Photoshop skills at all. :D
Quote from: nintendodork on December 05, 2009, 10:51:40 pm
I was thinking of making a pirated label for my SMB/DH cartridge, and it'd say something like:
"ULRTA 2 IN 1 1998 FEATURING DUCK SHOOT AND DREAM MARY", but I have no Photoshop skills at all. :D
If you accomplish it, i would like a label for my cartridge also.
That is if you could make me one and sent it in a letter or something.
What about a standalone Dream Mary NES label? I used a standalone SMB cart.
For that, I would most likely take a regular SMB label, and take Mario out, and put DREAM MARY at the bottom in a really bland design like the pirates who make single Famicom cartridges of it do.
Quote from: satoshi_matrix on December 05, 2009, 11:09:10 pm
What about a standalone Dream Mary NES label? I used a standalone SMB cart.
Actually, both would be good; as I plan to also have a stand alone Dream Mary cart.
How does the "Dream Mary" label look like?
I have mad skills. [/napoleondynamite] 8)
The standalone version? I can't seem to find a picture on Google. I think FW had one before the site was redesigned, but obviously I can't find it now. It's pretty much exactly how I described it. Mario is taken out of the picture, and Dream Mary is written either in Chinese or in English in a really bland font in a white space at the bottom.
Don't forget a seemingly meaningless code like LF-36 or Super-HIK 1997. :P
Quote from: nintendodork on December 06, 2009, 10:10:39 am
I think FW had one before the site was redesigned, but obviously I can't find it now.
Attached.
If you would like a video tutorial on how to make Dream Mary from a SMB/DH cartridge, Youtube finally decided to let me upload mine, so here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrwFAdYlaBg
Quote from: nintendodork on December 06, 2009, 05:34:58 pm
If you would like a video tutorial on how to make Dream Mary from a SMB/DH cartridge, Youtube finally decided to let me upload mine, so here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrwFAdYlaBg
I soldered mine, it was easy just a small tiny blob of solder and its good forever.
I love my Dream Mary cartridges.
I have currently made 3 of them, 2 SMB/DH versions and one plain SMB 1 version
I think I'd rather make a black box label than do something like that image.
QuoteI have currently made 3 of them, 2 SMB/DH versions and one plain SMB 1 version
And why on Earth are you doing this? (http://www.websitegoodies.com/smilies/confused0069.gif)
Do you have nothing better to do?
I think I'll resolder my "DreamBike."
Someone should try this on Waldo & see if it makes the game better.
That's jacked up. I would understand April Fool's. ::)
Any modification would make waldo better. :D