problem with Chinese Chrono Trigger (video added)

[i heart yuna]

Hey, I just bought the Chinese original Chrono Trigger off Trenton_net, and the game starts just fine but when I leave Chrono's house I get to a point just outside and the game resets to the title screen. The same spot every time. Anoyone else having similar problems? I have game play of the rom on youtube and it appears to be possible to progress much further in the game.

[JC]

Probably just a defective copy.

[MS-DOS4]

Record it, and present it to him. Maybe he does refunds? He doesn't directly say he wont.

[L___E___T]

I had trouble with shipping and Trenton went over and above what I would have expected to help me out.    Chat to him - he's a top bloke.

[Trenton_net]

Hey Everyone,

As I recommended, record a bit of the game so people can see what is happening. It does sound like a defect, but it could also be a programming bug, a requirement (Ie. You need something to continue, but they were too lazy to make a condition for it), or a Famiclone incompatibility. If anyone has this game and can confirm or deny that it happens, it would also be helpful too.

I'd try and reproduce the issue your having on a copy I have here, but I can't do it unless you show a video of exactly what is happening, and the steps you did to make it occur. It would also help if you tried reproducing it on various clone systems to weed out if it's a system issue or not.

In any event, if it is a genuine defect of course I'll offer to replace it! But since we are talking about Chinese Originals, I would like to weed out as many variables as possible since these aren't exactly to up to Nintendo approved Quality.

[macmoose]

I recently purchased some games off Trenton. I had something similar where the graphics sometimes corrupt at a particular place. After working with him, I figured out it was because my Famiclone was crap and not making a good connection. I switched to a cart-based system (and not a clone on a game pad unit) and it works just fine now.

[i heart yuna]

here is a vid i uploaded of the glitch. i don't have a famiclone, but i did try it on my famicom and twin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOes6HeDeac

[Trenton_net]

Ah. Here are my thoughts:

I think it's pretty rare to have a reset or a glitch so clean without any messed up tiles or graphics. Because of that I suspect that because the pirate game doesn't have a lockout chip it might be the reason for it not working. I know my Chinese pirates, when used with a converter, cause my US NES to reset like crazy because the lockout chip keeps cycling over and over again. If you use it on a real Famiclone, you shouldn't have that issue. Shouldn't = I think! :-)

Anyone have any other ideas? I've never seen this issue of reseting outside of the scenario I experienced myself with a regular NES. All other glitches I've got were due to bad connections or dirt.

But if your really out of options, your welcome to send it back for an exchange. Though, it was one of the more nicer cartriges (The others being a bit carelessly manufactured). If you want to do that, I'll test the cartrige myself to ensure it works. Then if you still have the problem, you know its your console setup. But if you could, try to find someone with a Famiclone because it would be a shame to exchange that cartrige for a more poor manufactured one.

[i heart yuna]

i am going to open it up tonight, but i highly doubt i will be able to even see anything, but the fact that it was manufactured recently suggests to me that it will be a glob top, and therefore i won't even be able to see anything, let alone fix it.

As for the cartridge connectors, it wouldn't be dirt contacts. You would get graphical garbage, or the game wouldn't start at all if it was something like that.

I would lean more on an error in the actual rom of the game or some damage on the cart itself.. but I will open it up and take some pictures tonight.

[i heart yuna]

And just to clarify, this thread was posted on the suggestion of Trenton_Net. I was absolutely satisfied and impressed with the speed at which he assessed my trade in item, and subsequently sent my games out to me.

Excellent communication before, during, and after the sale and (as you can tell by his postings here) he is more than willing to help find the problem and provide a trade if need be.

[133MHz]

Glob tops can be exposed to light with no problems, windowed EPROMs on the other hand can't (and even then it isn't like they're going to be instantly erased by a little light).

The mapper chip on the cart could be defective, that particular spot where it resets could be a bankswitching point or something like that, causing a system reset when an incorrect operation is performed.

[Trenton_net]

Ah. Figures Famicom carts wouldn't use lockout.

@i heart yuna: Your more than welcome to send it back to me for a swap. Additionally, I can check on a real Famiclone if it works out or not. If you do intend to open the cartrige, I suggest you do so very carefully as I can't really do anything if it gets physically broken in any way. Unfortunatly, I think the only difinitive way to test this is to try it on a Famiclone. As others have suggested, these are usually GLOB tops so unless you see some blatent issues, it probably won't be something serviceable.

[i heart yuna]

Yeah, I am not going to open it up. The plastic feels really cheap and brittle. I will send the cart back to you, PM me your address. Thanks!

[Trenton_net]

Not a problem at all! PM coming!