buttheadrulesagain | 48 Posted October 25, 2019 Share Posted October 25, 2019 (edited) This post has been pinned in NA Gamer's Gauntlet for years, and I am proud of it, so I do not want it to be lost. Here it is, I will update this information soon, to avoid reference to NA threads (because who knows what will happen with that anyways). Feel free to ask questions on PP issues. Since I have many other flashcarts now, I will try to include them here too!INTRODUCTIONThis thread pretends to be a complete account of all the relevant information which isn't in Retrozone (from the POV of people who aren't developers or modders), related to the NES Powerpak (and a SNES Powerpak information link). Within this thread you will find the necessary files and help to make your Powerpak much more functional. After reading this thread, you will be able to use savestates as in emulators, have maximum compatibility (even with many pirate games), load save files and savestates automatically, among other things. It includes the following:1. Incompatibility lista) US Licensed Games that don't work (complete list)b) US Unlicensed Games that don't work (complete list)c) Pirates, Hacks and Homebrews that don't work (partial list)d) PAL games that don't work on a NTSC console (partial list)e) Japanese games that don't work (partial list)2. List of non-licensed, and non-US games tested so far that worka) Demos, hacks, pirates, homebrews and protos that workb) European exclusive games that workFDS GAMES WORK, BUT ONLY IF THEY MEET THE CRITERIA DESCRIBED IN RETROUSB.COM3. Powermappers compatibility list4. Mapper releases (official and unofficial). At the end of this section there's a link to download a cocktail of mappers so you can get 100% features and compatibility. Also includes slot files for powermappers to save games for all US licensed releases.5. Resources - include very useful NES and SNES Power Pak utilities and fixes.6. Troubleshooting7. SNES Powerpak Information, here: http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=248125#sdd1 -Unofficial SNES Powerpak firmware, with better capabilities, here: http://manuloewe.de/main/index.php?/pages/snespowerpak.html8. 64drive information, here: http://gbatemp.net/topic/309492-64drive-review/NEWS: new menu version allows to copy controller pak memory contents to the microSD and CF card. Also no RESETTING needed to save. That way, you only need one controller pak, and archive save games any time you need. http://64drive.retroactive.be/support.php9. Everdrive64 information, here: http://micro-64.com/features/everdrive64.shtml10. SLOT FILES for all the licensed NTSC games. Find link at end of section 4. Mapper Releases. Sorry, had to do it that way because I couldn't paste it again, it shows a non-working link (NA issues). This file has also the mapper cocktail to get all features and compatibility.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. INCOMPATIBILITY LISTAll ROMS were previously repaired with NEStoy, and the ones that didn't work were tried with emulator FCEUX. Games were tried exclusively with an american NES (toaster), USING A COMBINATION OF MAPPERS (not the ones available in retrousb.com, links in section 4). a) US LICENSED GAMES THAT DON'T WORKUncharted Waters (MMC5)SPECIAL CASESSuper Cars - This one works, but in most cases you have to fix it with Nestopia. Download Nestopia at http://nestopia.sourceforge.net/ (choose binaries). Run program, select File> Edit INES header. Only change mirroring to vertical, save, and voilá.Action 52 - This one works partially (ROM too big for the Powerpak), some games won't load, including Cheetahmen. I'll leave it out of the final count.Cybernoid - The Fighting Machine - Has severely glitched graphics with the official, beta, and loopy's mappers. The newest thefox savestate mappers fix it (link at "resources" section). If you don't want to use those, you can play normally with game genie code SXZNZV .Karnov - same as Cybernoid, this one is only fixed in thefox's mappers.b) UNLICENSED GAMES THAT DON'T WORKRacermate Challenge IIc) PIRATES, HACKS AND HOMEBREWS THAT DON'T WORK (FROM THE TRIED SO FAR)*many pirates and hacks have custom mappers, which the POWERPAK doesn't supportLUNAR IPS PATCHING PROGRAM HERE: http://fusoya.eludevisibility.org/lips/100 in 1 contra function (bad mapper 15)22 in 13 in 16 in 1 GamestarAladdin (glitches)Aladdin 3Buzz and Waldog (proto) - this one works if you apply this patch to the ROM http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/424/Final Fantasy VIILolicatsStreetfighter 3Streetfighter alpha zeroStreetfighter II YOKOStreetfighter zero 2Study and Game 32 in 1Super 8 in 1 fighting (?)Super Contra 7Super Mario Adventure - works if you apply this patch: http://www.romhacking.net/forum/index.php?topic=16139.0World Heroes 2 (?)Shin Samurai Spirits 2SalamanderSuper ChineseSuper Mario AdventureTagin' DragonThunder Warriord) PAL GAMES THAT DON'T WORK ON A NTSC CONSOLE (FROM THE TRIED SO FAR)*PAL games are not guaranteed to work with POWERPAK. These games may work correctly on a PAL NESAsterix (E) (glitches)?Beauty and the Beast (E) (glitches)Elite (E) (glitches)?F-1 Sensation (glitches)Kick Off (E) (glitches)?Lion King, The (glitches)Mr. Gimmick! (glitches)e) JAPANESE GAMES THAT DON'T WORKAkiraAkuma-kun: Makai no WanaArmadillo (glitches)Bakushou!! Jinsei GekijouBakushou!! Jinsei Gekijou 2Bakushou!! Jinsei Gekijou 3Crayon Shin-chan: Ora to Poi PoiDaikoukai Jidai (severe glitches)Devil Man (severe glitches)Don Doko DonDon Doko Don 2Dragon Ball 3: Gokuu DenDragon Ball Z Gaiden: Saiyajin Zetsumetsu KeikakuDragon Ball Z II: Gekishin Freeza!!Dragon Ball Z III: Ressen Jinzou NingenDragon Ball Z: Kyoushuu! Saiyajin Dragon Ball: Dai Maou Fukkatsu Dragon Buster (severe glitches)Famicom Jump II: Saikyou no 7 NinFamicom Jump: Eiyuu RetsudenFudou Myouou Den (runs, but crashes in gameplay)Golf Ko OpenImage FightIshin no Arashi (gets stuck when moving around map at the beginning, but doesn't crash)Kaiketsu Yanchamaru 2: Karakuri LandKaiketsu Yanchamaru 3: Taiketsu! Zouringen Lagrange PointMagical Taruruuto-kun 2: Mahou DaiboukenMagical Taruruuto-kun: Fantastic World!!Major LeagueMeikyuu JimaMeimon! Dai San Yakyuu BuMetal Slader Glory (character boxes glitched, otherwise seems playable)Mezase Top Pro: Green ni Kakeru YumeMississippi Satsujin Jiken: Murder on the Mississippi (ROM loads, but you can't do anything, flashing screen)Moe Pro! '90: Kandou-henMoe Pro!: Saikyou-henMoero!! Pro Yakyuu '88: Kettei Ban (loads to black screen)Ninja Jajamaru: Ginga DaisakusenOeka Kids: Anpanman to Oekaki Shiyou!! (severely glitched)Paaman Part 2: Himitsu Kessha Madoodan o Taose!Paaman: Enban o Torikaese!!Pizza Pop!Plasma Ball Rokudenashi Blues Power BlazerSakigake!! Otoko Juku: Shippu Ichi Gou SeiSalamanderSD Gundam Gaiden: Knight Gundam Monogatari SD Gundam Gaiden: Knight Gundam Monogatari 2: Hikari nSD Gundam Gaiden: Knight Gundam Monogatari 3: DensetsShin Moero!! Pro YakyuuSpartan X 2Suikoden: Tenmei no Chikai (playable, but glitched)Takeshi no Sengoku FuuunjiTerao no Dosukoi OozumouTiny Toon Adventures 2: Montana Land e Youkoso (Same game as US version anyways)Toukon ClubTsuru Pika Hagemaru: Mezase! Tsuru Seko no Akashi USA Ice Hockey in FCUchuu Keibitai SDF (start screen severely glitched, but that's all it seems)Youkai Kurabu (severe glitches)KEYS:? - didn't run in FCEUX neither, or still had glitchesCOMPATIBILITY TESTED WITH BETA MAPPERS, COMBINED WITH LOOPY'S LATEST MAPPERS (INCLUDING MMC5 MAPPERS) AND POWERMAPPERS:Mapper files at section 4NUMBERS:The Powerpak is compatible with 766 out of the 768 US releases (licensed and unlicensed, not counting pirates) listed in NA 99.73% with beta mappers + loopy's mappers + powermappers.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2. LIST OF NON-LICENSED, AND NON-US GAMES TESTED SO FAR THAT WORKa) DEMOS, HACKS, PIRATES, HOMEBREWS AND PROTOS THAT WORKVIRTUALLY ALL TRANSLATIONS WORK1kfrogger (homebrew)8-bit XMAS (all editions; homebrew)Adventures of Dr. Franken (proto)Airball (proto)Batman 3 (pirate)Battle Kid: Fortress of Peril (homebrew)Battle Kid 2: Mountain of Torment (homebrew)Bio Force Ape (proto)Bomberman Collection (pirate)Boxboy (homebrew)California Raisins: The Grape Escape (proto)Capcom 30 in 1 (pirate)Captain Tsubasa English TranslationCaptain Tsubasa 2 spanish translation (2007)Chunkout 2 (homebrew)Drac's Night Out (proto)D-Pad Hero (homebrew)D-Pad Hero 2 (homebrew)Earth Bound (proto)Earthworm Jim 2 (pirate)Escape from Atlantis (proto)Exerion 2 (proto)Faxanadu Uncensored (hack)Final Fantasy 2 (proto)Final Fight 3 (pirate, has to be fixed with Nintendulator)Fishfall (proto)Free Fall (proto)Hero Quest (proto)Ganon's Revenge (hack)Geminim (homebrew)Gradius Arcade (Gradius hack)Harry Potter (pirate)Hoppin' Mad (Proto)Kart Fighter (pirate)King of Fighters 99 (pirate)Kitty's Catch (Proto)King of Fighters 97Lion King 3, The (pirate)Luigi's Chronicles (SMB hack)M-82 menuMegaman X (pirate)Metroid Deluxe (Metroid hack)Metroid Suicide (Metroid hack)Mike Tyson's IPP (proto)Mystic Pillars (homebrew)NintendoAGE fundraiser (demo)Nyancat (homebrew)NESnake (homebrew)NESnake 2 (homebrew)NES Virus Cleaner (homebrew)Pegs (homebrew)Pokemon Blue (pirate)Pokemon Green (pirate)Pokemon Yellow (pirate)Potman 3 (SMB3 hack)Rickroll (homebrew)Robocop vs The Terminator (proto)Rockman No Constancy (hack)Saint Seiya - Ougon Densetsu Kanketsu HenSeanbaby (Megaman hack)Siamond (homebrew)Sokoban (homebrew)Solar Wars (homebrew)Solomon's Key 2 (proto)Sunman (proto)Super Contra 2 (pirate)Super ArabianSuper Bat Puncher (homebrew)Super Mario World (pirate)Tekken 2 (pirate)Time Diver: Eon Man (proto)Tommy Tallarico's - Play Me Sound Editor (proto)Ultimate Frogger Champion (homebrew)U-Force Power Games (proto)Wu Shi Hun (Samurai Shodown) (pirate)Zelda Outlands (Extensive Zelda 1 hack) Twin Dragons Black Box Challenge Babel Blox Larry And The Long Look For A Luscious Lover E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial All games made with NESMaker NEScape! Scramble The Incident Khan Games 4-in-1 Retro Gamepak b) EUROPEAN EXCLUSIVE GAMES THAT WORK ON AN AMERICAN NESAussie Rules Footy (Australian)Banana PrinceDuck (this one's Australian)Four Players TennisGoal 2Hammerin' HarryInternational CricketLes Chevaliers du ZodiaqueNoah's ArkOver HorizonProbotectorRod LandSuper TurricanThe SmurfsTrolls in Crazyland-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3. POWERMAPPER COMPATIBILITY LISTDon't pay attention to "Game Runs" column, if you apply all mappers and fixes as I explain in the following section, you'll retain maximum compatibility.https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13s79Q6BdxXlUv3620TSkmeCReB94mvXkNxjyanKXXBw/edit#gid=17685440184. MAPPER RELEASESTo install, just copy the POWERPAK folder to the root of your Compact Flash card. Instructions for loopy mappers, and savestate mappers are included in the respective zip files. If you want to have them all at once, download file at the end of this section and place contents in root directory of your CF card.LATEST OFFICIAL RELEASE1.34http://www.retrousb.com/downloads/POWERPAK134105.zip Latest beta release:1.35 b2http://nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=22&threadid=41012&keyword1=powerpak mappersLATEST LOOPY MAPPERSThese fix Batman: Return of the Joker, improve mapper 90 compatibility (Final Fight 3 and Super Mario World, both pirates), among other things. Copy/paste to address bar in browser:http://3dscapture.com/NES/powerpak_loopy.zipPOWERMAPPERS BY THE FOX (v 2.3)Makes saving at any point of the games possible! Features a fancy ingame menu, accessible by pressing SELECT+START. Using special slot files included you have 5 slots per file to save games. You can also exit to the main menu without turning off the console. IMPORTANT NOTE: these mappers make Game Genie code functionality to be lost.https://fo.aspekt.fi/Slot files for all licensed games: https://www.dropbox.com/s/vh7q4tzf7h5b8lv/Powermapper%20slots.rar?dl=0SPECIAL MAPPER TO CHANGE TIME FOR NWC ROM: http://nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=8&threadid=97798MAPPER THAT MAKES THE AUTOMATIC LOADING OF SAVE FILE WORK, WHEN PRESSING START ON FIRST SCREEN: copy/paste to address bar in browser: forums.nesdev.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9880MY ADVICE IN USING THESE MAPPERSFor maximum compatibility and features, first install the 1.35 b2 mappers. After that, copy loopy's newest mappers (both the main mappers and the mmc5), then the power mappers as well as the NWC mapper fix and intro fix. That should give you benefits of all mappers! Or just download this file and place its contents in the root directory of your CF card. <<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>https://www.dropbox.com/s/2vbdj43u2kvu15b/ULTIMATE MAPPERS.rar?dl=0Includes slot files for all licensed games.<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>If you want to keep having Game Genie compatibility, use the following combo instead. Only compatibility difference is one of the KOEI games (forgot which) and a couple of the SACHEN games (one is Bubble Bath Girls). Also, you don't get the fancy ingame menu, and no NES 2.0 support. You can only load one file/slot at a time, instead of having 5 slots at the same time like in Powermappers. Includes 5 save files per licensed game arranged in folders:https://www.dropbox.com/s/2l312es6z3cibp2/SAVESTATE MAPPER COMBO.rar?dl=0I am building a series of txt files with all the GG codes to use at your leisure (no more looking for a code in a book/online). Stay tuned.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5. RESOURCESHOW TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CF CARD SPACE, BY ARRANGING ROMS BY DIVERSE CRITERIAhttps://connect.gocollect.com/discussion/40502/powerpak-attack-making-use-of-the-extra-space-on-your-cf-card#latestPROGRAMS THAT WILL SORT YOUR ROMS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER IN THE CF CARDThe NES is not capable of sorting files alphabetically, so files in the CF card, they'll be displayed in the order they were copied. These programs will help you to sort them.https://www.softpedia.com/get/System/File-Management/FAT-Sorter.shtmlhttp://www.anerty.net/software/file/DriveSort/HOW TO MOD NES TO GET EXTRA AUDIO FROM SOME JAPANESE GAMES (LIKE GIMMICK! AND AKUMAJOU DENSETSU)http://www.retrofixes.com/2014/05/open-hidden-sound-channels-in-nes.htmlSLOT FILE DIRECTORIES FOR MAPPERS BY THE FOXThis is a set of folders for each licensed game, in alphabetical order. I includedA slot file per game. Copy/paste to address bar in browser: www.dropbox.com/s/kkx533i8bo9xesz/mappers%26slots.rar?dl=0LIST OF FAMICOM GAMES PLAYABLE BY ENGLISH-SPEAKING GAMERShttps://connect.gocollect.com/discussion/40620/definitive-list-of-famicom-exclusives-for-english-speaking-peopleALTERNATIVE SNES POWERPAK MENULooks nicer, and allows more characters per entry in the ROM list.http://www.manuloewe.de/main/index.php?/pages/snespowerpak.htmlFIX FOR SAVE FILE AUTOSELECTION BUG:http://forums.nesdev.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9880With this you can actually use the sav file that is loaded (if you were using one) when you press Start, to load the last game you were playing.SNES POWERPAK FIX FOR GAME GENIE CODES BUGwww.retrousb.com/downloads/SM.BIN NEW MAPPERS Bananmos over at the NesDev forums has created a Mapper 30 (Version 4 is the one you want), which is needed to run the following homebrews on the PowerPak: Twin Dragons Black Box Challenge Babel Blox Larry And The Long Look For A Luscious Lover E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial All games made with NESMaker Link to Mapper 30 V4:http://forums.nesdev.com/viewtopic.php?p=236715#p236715 NovaSquirrel over at NesDev has created GTROM Mapper 111 for the PowerPak, which is needed to run the following homebrews: NEScape! Scramble The Incident Khan Games 4-in-1 Retro Gamepak Link to Mapper 111: https://forums.nesdev.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=16631 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6. TROUBLESHOOTINGWHEN I TURN ON THE NES, THE MAPPER VERSION DOESN'T SHOW UP, AND I CAN'T DO ANYTHINGAssuming you copied the mapper files in the right place, the Powerpak isn't detecting the CF card. Try reformatting (FAT16 or FAT32), and if that doesn't work either your CF card probably isn't compatible (or is damaged). THIS IS A NESWORLD EARLY REVIEW OF THE POWERPAK, WHICH HAS A SMALL LIST OF CARDS THAT WORK AND DON'T WORKhttp://www.nesworld.com/nespowerpak.phpMY ROM, WHICH ISN'T IN THE INCOMPATIBILITY LIST, DOESN'T WORKIf it's not in the "complete lists" it's probably a bad dump or has a bad header. Try repairing all your ROMS with NEStoy, which will also rename your ROMS in a simple format. If it's a hack or a pirate game, it probably isn't compatible at all because of a custom mapper that isn't supported. For homebrews, there are certain games that won't work on real hardware so they'll never be compatible.Nestoy programhttp://www.zophar.net/utilities/nesaud/nestoy32.htmlIf it still doesn't work after repairing, try getting it from another source. If you can't solve your problem with a particular ROM, YOU CAN CONTACT ME.MY POWERPAK DOESN'T WORK ON MY FAMICOMYobo adapters for NES->Famicom are said to be low quality, and many times won't work with the Powerpak. Try getting another brand. By the way, inserting the Powerpak with the adapter the wrong way might DAMAGE IT.THERE ARE GRAPHICS PROBLEMS WITH MY POWERPAK, WHICH DON'T APPEAR IN MY NORMAL CARTSThis may be due to some problem with power input. Either check with a different power adapter (1st party preferably), or with another console. Related thread: Edited November 10, 2019 by buttheadrulesagain 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttheadrulesagain | 48 Posted November 9, 2019 Author Share Posted November 9, 2019 @WaverBoy, you made it here! please tell me what updates you remember are needed 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaverBoy | 20 Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 (edited) Alrighty sir, here we go with PowerPak update info for you: Bananmos over at the NesDev forums has created a Mapper 30 (Version 4 is the one you want), which is needed to run the following homebrews on the PowerPak: Twin Dragons Black Box Challenge Babel Blox Larry And The Long Look For A Luscious Lover E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial All games made with NESMaker Link to Mapper 30 V4:http://forums.nesdev.com/viewtopic.php?p=236715#p236715 NovaSquirrel over at NesDev has created GTROM Mapper 111 for the PowerPak, which is needed to run the following homebrews: NEScape! Scramble The Incident Khan Games 4-in-1 Retro Gamepak Link to Mapper 111: https://forums.nesdev.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=16631 Edited November 9, 2019 by WaverBoy 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaverBoy | 20 Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 (edited) 22 minutes ago, buttheadrulesagain said: @WaverBoy, you made it here! please tell me what updates you remember are needed I did indeed, and was putting together my update post as you posted that! Now you can add Mapper 30 and Mapper 111 to your Ultimate Mappers download, eh? Thanks in advance for updating your original post, sir, and for putting it together in the first place! Can we get it stickied/pinned/whatever? Edited November 9, 2019 by WaverBoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sign Collector Guy | 334 Posted November 13, 2019 Share Posted November 13, 2019 I got a powerpack a couple years ago and havent touched it. May have to take a closer look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaverBoy | 20 Posted November 13, 2019 Share Posted November 13, 2019 51 minutes ago, Sign Collector Guy said: I got a powerpack a couple years ago and havent touched it. May have to take a closer look. It’s a great piece of kit, as they say. One of my most prized possessions. I like keeping my physical cartridge count to a minimum. With the info in this thread you’ll be able to squeeze the most out of it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperJimtendo | 1,209 Posted November 13, 2019 Share Posted November 13, 2019 Hey thanks for doing this 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wongojack | 304 Posted August 26, 2022 Share Posted August 26, 2022 I'm so glad you saved this post. I've been using Ultimate Mappers for years and couldn't remember where I got them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMR | 538 Posted August 31, 2022 Share Posted August 31, 2022 PowerPak is still a great flash cart. I wish RetroUSB would make an updated version. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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