Dead Games?

JohnnyPhantomJohnnyPhantom
in Collector's Corner
Hey Everyone,

On my Sega Genesis, I've found 3 games that simply will not work, I've been collecting carts for a while, and never seen a bad NES, SNES, N64, Game Gear, Game Boy, Ect. cart ever. I cleand the contacts of the system and cart very well, man they shine so brightly now. Yet still nothing. I've tested these games on a Sega Nomad, Genesis 2, and a CDX all with no luck. I'm assuming it is possible to have a cart die, I just never had it happen myself.



The 3 games are

Fatal Fury

Populus

Street Smarts



I opened them all up, and with the exception of Street Smart (which it appears some one has cleaned with a utlility knice as all the eprom legs are horrible mangled and cut), the other 2 carts look pristine with out a spec of dust or damage. What would cause these to go bad? are they saveable?



Thanks for any input!

~John

Comments

  • dballindballin
    I've got a few games that while they look pristine just flat out refuse to work. My list is Super Monaco GP, Wings of War, Sonic Spinball, and Test Drive II. I've cleaned them to death, but they still refuse to work. There's a couple more things I can try but haven't had the time/desire to do esp since they're not really worth that much.
  • T.A.P.T.A.P.
    I had a Thunderforce 3 die.



    I hear Tengen carts are timebombs.
  • nieds16nieds16
    Don't you need a game genie code to get populus to work? I don't own it, but i thought it was one of those games. I've had a. Few games do that. A copy of toy story used to work 1/100 times though the contacts were clean. I've had 2 bad ms. Pacan carts as well. One refused to boot and the other would boot all the way but the controls wouldn't work. It was weird. Do the battery save carts die if the battery dies? I think so, but i'm not sure. Interesting convo to bring up though.
  • dballindballin
    the carts won't die. Just the saves won't work.
  • maelwysmaelwys
    Oh sure, it happens. I have two Sonic Spinball carts that won't get past the loading screen. It's usually caused by corrosion killing one or more of the traces right before the connector. I recently fixed someone's Crusader of Centy cart that wouldn't boot by testing all the traces with a multimeter and soldering a thin wire on any where the corrosion had broken the connection. Sometimes all it takes is one trace to be bad and you get controller issues or strange loading behavior. Easy enough to test with a meter.
  • dcdandcdan
    Grind Stormer is the famous non working gem as most tengen games rot as already stated. My bonanza bros, david crane, and a few others so it is possible.
  • supergamboysupergamboy
    Yes, every one knows Grind Stormer well. I also heard of quite a few Gauntlet IV carts being dead. I personally had a beautiful mint looking Battletoads that never responded no matter how much I coaxed it.
  • MrFlutterPieMrFlutterPie
    I have a forgotten worlds that starts up just fine but the second you start the game it switches over the game over screen and brings you back the title screen in an endless loop.
  • flatuswalrusflatuswalrus
    My Lethal Enforcers II refused to work no matter what I did, some carts were just not meant to live a long happy life.
  • bronzeshieldbronzeshield

    Originally posted by: JohnnyPhantom



    I've tested these games on a Sega Nomad, Genesis 2, and a CDX all with no luck.



    The 3 games are

    Fatal Fury

    Populus

    Street Smarts



    Populous won't work in any of those systems, because they all use the TMSS lockout system Sega introduced in an attempt to lock out unlicensed games.  However, you can run the game if you use a Game Genie as a passthrough cart, or use a system without TMSS (i.e. earlier revisions of the original Model 1 Genesis).




    Originally posted by: nieds16



    Don't you need a game genie code to get populus to work?

    Not a code, but just the GG itself, whch supplies the necessary headers to boot the system.



    Other games that need a Game Genie on a system with TMSS include Onslaught, Zany Golf, and Ishido.  There are also a few Japanese exclusives (Super Daisenryaku) or initial release versions of games that won't work.



    The US release of Budokan won't work at all on a TMSS system, with or without the Game Genie, but the European release will work fine.  Certain pirate/unlicensed games from Asia may also work with a Game Genie (but fail otherwise on a system with TMSS).




    Originally posted by: MrFlutterPie



    I have a forgotten worlds that starts up just fine but the second you start the game it switches over the game over screen and brings you back the title screen in an endless loop.



    That's happening because you're using a 6-button controller.  Plug in a 3-button controller instead, or hold down MODE on startup, and it'll be fine.



    I've had two non-working carts: Pit Fighter and Comix Zone.  Comix Zone was chewed by a dog so it doesn't count (though I didn't see any PCB damage, just case damage), but Pit Fighter was clean as a whistle and still didn't work.  I've heard that's typical of a failing Tengen cart.  I hope someone identifies exactly what the fault is with those, because it's probably fixable.
  • JohnnyPhantomJohnnyPhantom
    Thanks for the tip! I think I tried the game genie with fatal fury. Not sure if I trued with populous. Ill try it tonight. Thanks again!
  • T.A.P.T.A.P.
    My solution was just to get rid of my Tengen games.
  • razeakrazeak
    I have an Alisa Dragoon cart that looks cherry, but won't work. It could be a bad capacitor.
  • snatch1414snatch1414
    For what it's worth Fatal Fury was probably the most difficult cartridge for me to get it to play after cleaning. Also someone mentioned Ms. Pac-Man acting up. I booted mine up and the up/down on the Dpad wouldn't work. Odd. I guess some games are more finicky than others
  • TENGENTENGEN
    What is rotting on Tengen boards that isn't rotting on others? Is it fixable?
  • bronzeshieldbronzeshield

    Originally posted by: snatch1414



    Also someone mentioned Ms. Pac-Man acting up. I booted mine up and the up/down on the Dpad wouldn't work. Odd. I guess some games are more finicky than others

    Six-button controller issue.  Hold down MODE and it'll be fine.
  • csgx1csgx1

    Originally posted by: razeak



    I have an Alisa Dragoon cart that looks cherry, but won't work. It could be a bad capacitor.

    I also have a non-working Alisa Dragoon cart.  The board is clean.  I double checked all traces and solder joints multi-meter and they all seem good.  I replaced the cap and it still doesn't work.   






  • razeakrazeak
    I haven't replaced the capacitor, but everything else inside is pristine.
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