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[Dragona Akehi]

Sooo, I managed to find myself a Mega CD (the South-East Asian region and PAL "compatible") and I'm wondering, is it possible to trick it into working with an NTSC USA Model 1 Genesis and multi regional games? (ie: JPN/USA/PAL etc)

 

[drohne]

i don't know if it'll work with a domestic genesis console (my guess is that it won't), but it certainly won't play games from multiple regions out of the box. i know there's a converter cartridge that'll let you play japanese mega cd games on a sega cd, but it's pretty hard to find, and i don't think it'll work the other way.

the good news: while there is territory lockout, there's no copy protection - you can rip games, change their region, burn them to cd-r, and then play them on your system.

 

[Dragona Akehi]

Hrmm.. so now I have to find a goddamned Southeast Asian Megadrive? Joy.

Oh well, that's what you get for 10$.

 

[MightyHedgehog]

If it's in stock, Telegames sells the Mega Key 2, which I believe allows you to play all regions of CD games on any model of the Mega/Sega CD.

 

[fennec fox]

Actually it doesn't matter what region of Genesis you use with the CD. All you need is for the CD's region to match the games.

All PAL Mega CDs are the same, so go get some Euro games or a cartridge.

 

[Dragona Akehi]

Well when I hooked it up to a NTSC USA Genesis Model 1, it displayed the message: "Error! This is a PAL compatible MegaCD for use exclusively in Southeast Asia."

Couldn't even get to a screen to try a music CD or anything. (No eject button on the actual unit.)

 

[Argyle]

Actually all Mega/Sega CDs have a region lock, and the regions of the CD unit and the console are checked on boot.

I believe there are a few ways to solve the problem...

1. Mod your Genesis/Megadrive. It's not much harder than doing a Sega Saturn mod, but keep in mind that once you get the CD drive to boot, you'll only be able to play CD games that match the region of the CD unit.

2. Mod your CD unit. You can do this by opening the machine up and replacing the BIOS chip with one from the region you want to change to. Note that you'll still only be able to play CD games from the region of your new CD BIOS...

3. MegaXKey or CDX cartridge. Some versions of the CDX won't work on all Mega/Sega CD variants. This solves both the BIOS lockout and the region lockout on the discs.

Also, I think you can copy/patch/reburn discs so that they match the region of your CD unit. The bad news is that none of the Sega CDs I've tried read CD-R reliably

NOTE: the Mega Key 2 will NOT do anything for the CD unit, it only allows cartridges from different regions to physically fit in the console. I'm pretty sure that there is a combination cart/CD no region cartridge but I don't think that's it, judging by NCS' description of it...

 

[Dragona Akehi]

Thanks for the information. I'll try the MegaXKey if I can find one.

 

[Argyle]

I'm not sure if "MegaXKey" is the right name for it, as I never had one.

I have personally used the Datel CDX cartridge tho, and it works, BUT you need to make sure you get a revision of the cartridge that supports your CD unit. Early versions may not work with a Mega-CD 2, for instance.

 

[Shompola]

My CDX reads cdr pretty damn fine

Of course the CDX came out later than the original mega cd and mega cd 2.

 

[Fularu]

Thanks for the information. I'll try the MegaXKey if I can find one.

You need a cdx, but it's pretty expensive

cheaper to buy a Japanese set (mega cd/megadrive) and an american set (genesis/sega cd).

You don't really need a pal set

 

[FortNinety]

I was always under the impression that Sega/Mega CD units worked regardless of the origin of the Mega CD/Genesis system. Shows what I know...

 

[ferricide]

FWIW i have an american genesis 2 hooked up to a japanese mega CD 2 and it works fine. i wasn't even expecting it to work, and it did.

 

[Seth C]

If you had the original Genesis I think it would work, but it has to be the Altered Beast Model I and not the Sonic Model I. I could be wrong though.

 

[Dragona Akehi]

I have a Genesis Model 1. (The ORIGINAL ugly thing) and it won't work.

I guess it could be the fact it's PAL "compatible".