Shown below is the output from a Spectrum 128+2 as displayed on a Japanese Sharp CZ-614D monitor. The pins required on the Spectrum side are:
Red
Green
Blue
Ground
Composite Sync
Red, Green and Blue connect directly to the monitor, and a Ground connection is also necessary. The monitor cannot deal with the composite sync directly however, so an LM1881N was used.
The composite sync is connected to pin 2 of the LM1881, with the composite sync output from pin 1 then fed to the monitor's horizontal sync input (pin 14). Vertical sync is output on pin 3 of the LM1881, and this is similarly fed to the monitor's vertical sync input on pin 15. The LM1881 requires a power input of between 5V and 12V on pin 8 and it must also be grounded.
For a 128K Spectrum the Bright signal available on pin 3 is also required. This must be connected to three diodes which must then be combined with the Red, Green and Blue signals before connection to the monitor. See this website for more details.
Arcade Hardware Power Up
Wednesday, 31 August 2016
Tuesday, 2 June 2015
X68000 Games Technical Details
- HD install indicates whether the game supports installing to the hard disk drive. If it does, the game will almost always require that at least the main system/program disk is present in Drive 0 when booting up. Most games have no install function whatsoever.
- Most games don’t mention how much RAM is necessary, so presumably they can be run on 1 MB machines.
- MIDI support generally includes at least MT-32 synths, however some games don’t support them, as noted below.
Name | No. of Disks | HDD install | MIDI | Required RAM |
Default Video Mode |
Optional Video Modes |
Notes |
After Burner | 2 | - | - | 1 MB | 15 KHz | 31 KHz |
Mouse/Trackball/ Micom Analogue pad support Cyber Stick (CZ-8NJ2) support Mousepad included On machines with 2MB of RAM or more, hold SHIFT while loading to load the entire game into memory |
Ajax | 3 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz |
15kHz – hold HELP when first booting |
Ajax is a three-button game, and can played as such using the keyboard. Using a joystick reduces the number of buttons to two |
Akumajou Dracula 悪魔城ドラキュラ |
2 | Install OK | MIDI OK | 2 MB | - | - |
Requires either a hard drive or blank disk for saving games. At the music selection screen, press the XF1 and G keys together to enable GM music |
Alien Syndrome | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 15kHz | - |
Argos no Senshi アルゴスの戦士 |
1 | - | - | 2 MB | 31 KHz | - |
The overseas version, Rygar, is also available. Features SRAM backup |
Arkanoid Revenge of Doh |
1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz |
15 kHz - hold OPT.1 when booting |
Mouse/trackball support |
Atomic Robokid | 2 | - | MIDI OK | 1 MB | 15 KHz | - | For MIDI support, hold down F1 when booting |
Baraduke | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 15kHz, 24kHz – press HELP to switch resolutions | - |
Battletech | 3 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | - |
Bomberman | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | - |
Bonanza Bros. | 2 | - | - | 2 MB | 31 KHz | 15 KHz | - |
Bosconian | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | To advance to the next stage, press the Q, E, T and U keys together while playing the game. |
Bubble Bobble | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 15 KHz | - |
Butasan | 1 | - | - | 2 MB | 31 KHz | 15kHz – press HELP to switch resolutions | - |
Chelnov | 2 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 15kHz – press HELP to switch resolutions | Megadrive joypad adapter included, as three buttons are required |
Chourensha 超連射 |
1 | Install OK | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz (Narrow) |
31kHz (Wide) 15kHz The display can be rotated |
Free downloadable doujinsoft |
Chuka Taisen 中華大仙 |
1 | - | - | 1 MB | 15 KHz | 31kHz – press F1 to alternate | - |
Code Zero | 2 | - | - | 1 MB | 15 KHz | - | - |
Columns | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | - |
Cotton | 2 | Install OK | - | 2 MB |
31kHz (384 x 256) |
31kHz (512 x 256) 15kHz (448 x 240) 15kHz (512 x 240) |
- |
Crazy Climber Crazy Climber 2 |
1 | - | - | 2 MB | 31 KHz | - |
Crazy Climber 2 requies 2 MB and both games can make use of the XPD-1LR joypad (included with Libble Rabble) To load Crazy Climber 2, boot the game from Drive 1 |
Cybercore | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | - |
D-Return | 2 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | - |
DaiMakaiMura 大魔界村 |
2 | Install OK | MIDI OK | 2 MB | 31 KHz | - | Japanese title for Ghouls'n Ghosts |
Dash Yarou ダッシュ野郎 |
2 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | Cyber Stick (CZ-8NJ2) support |
Detana!! Twinbee 出たな!!ツインビー |
2 | - | MIDI OK | 1 MB | 31 KHz |
15kHz – use F2 to select, F1 to revert to 31kHz |
Pressing [ESC] in-game and then F3 enables a pseudo-vertical mode. If you have more than 2MB of memory, hold down HELP while booting to load the entire game into memory. |
Dig Dug Dig Dug II |
1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | To load Dig Dug II, boot the game from Drive 1 |
Dive On | 1 | - | - | 1 MB |
31 KHz (384 x 256) |
31kHz (256 x 256) 15kHz (256 x 256) 15kHz (512 x 256) |
- |
Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari ダウンタウン熱血物語 |
2 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 15kHz – hold down the HELP key while booting | Japanese title for River City Ransom |
Dragon Buster | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 24kHz – press HELP to switch resolutions | - |
Dragon Spirit | 2 | - | - | 1 MB |
31 KHz (256 x 256) |
31kHz (512 x 256) 15kHz (256 x 256) 15kHz (512 x 256) The display can be rotated |
Some releases includes a flag Try setting the internal clock to between midnight and 1:00 AM |
Dungeon Master | 2 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | - |
Dynamite Duke | 3 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | - |
Etoile Princesse | 3 | - | MIDI OK | 2 MB recommended | 31 KHz | - |
Not MT-32 compatible Requires a blank disk for saving games |
Exciting Hour Shusse Oozumou (出世大相撲) |
1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 15kHz – press HELP to switch resolutions | To load Shusse Oozumou, boot the game from Drive 1 |
F-15 Strike Eagle II | 2 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | 16MHz highly recommended |
Fairyland Story | 2 | - | - | 1 MB | 15 KHz | 31 KHz | To see the staff credits, turn Continue off on the options screen, start a game and when the Game Over message appears, press the A and B buttons on your joystick at the same time. |
Fantasy Zone | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 24kHz – press HELP to switch resolutions |
Fantasy Zone includes the undocumented Fantasy Zone 3D - hold down the Shift, CTRL and HELP keys together when booting to activate it. To fast forward through the super play, hold down the CTRL key. |
Final Fight | 2 | Install OK | MIDI OK | 1 MB |
15kHz (512 x 256) |
31kHz (512 x 256) 31kHz (384 x 256) |
Special soundtrack CD included |
Full Throttle | 2 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | - |
FZ Senki Axis FZ戦記アクシス |
3 | - | MIDI OK | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 15 KHz | - |
Galaga '88 | 2 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 15 KHz | - |
Garou Densetsu 餓狼伝説 |
4 | Install OK | MIDI OK | 2 MB | 31 KHz | - |
AKA Fatal Fury Try setting the internal clock to between midnight and 1:00 AM |
Garou Densetsu 2 餓狼伝説2 |
6 | Install OK | MIDI OK | 2 MB | 31 KHz | 15 KHz | AKA Fatal Fury 2; Joypad included with game |
Garou Densetsu Special 餓狼伝説SPECIAL |
9 | Install OK | MIDI OK | 2 MB | 31 KHz | 15 KHz | AKA Fatal Fury Special |
Gemini Wing | 2 | - | MIDI OK | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 15 KHz |
Infinite continues: on the title screen, hold down the G, E, M, I, N keys at the same time and you'll be told you have 9 continues. In reality, they should be infinite. Gemini Wing also has a vertical mode, hold down F7 while the game is booting. Unfortunately it doesn't allow you to rotate the monitor. |
Gempai Toumaden 源平討魔伝 |
1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | Some releases includes a flag and flagpole |
Genocide | 4 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | - |
Genocide 2 | 4 | Install OK | MIDI OK | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 15 KHz | - |
Geograph Seal | 2 | - | MIDI OK | 2 MB recommended | 31 KHz | - |
Not MT-32 compatible Requires a blank disk for saving games |
Gradius | 1 | Copying possible | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | Can be run from a hard disk by simply copying all files to it and running Gradius.x |
Gradius II | 2 | Install OK | MIDI OK | 2 MB recommended | 31 KHz | - | - |
Granada | 3 | - | MIDI OK | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 15 KHz | - |
Gunship | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | - |
Hishouzame 飛翔鮫 |
1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 15 KHz | Japanese title for Flying Shark/Sky Shark |
Image Fight | 2 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 15 KHz | - |
Jack Nicklaus Golf | 2 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | - |
Klax | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | - |
KU2 | 5 | Install OK | MIDI OK | 1 MB | 15 KHz | 31 KHz | - |
Kyuukyoku Tiger 究極タイガー |
2 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - |
Japanese title for Twin Cobra Kyuukyoku Tiger can be controlled with the mouse. Hold down F2 while booting to enable it. |
Lemmings | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | - |
Libble Rabble | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 15kHz, 24kHz – press HELP to switch resolutions |
Includes special joypad (XPD-1LR), which can also be used by Crazy Climber and Crazy Climber 2 |
Mahou Daisakusen 魔法大作戦 |
3 | Install OK | MIDI OK | 2 MB |
31 KHz (256 x 256) |
31kHz (384 x 256) 15kHz (256 x 240) |
Japanese title for Sorcer Striker 16 MHz highly recommended |
Maison Ikkoku Kanketsuhen Special めぞん一刻SPECIAL |
5 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | - |
Marble Madness | 1 | - | - | 1 MB |
31 KHz (384 x 512) |
24kHz (336 x 448) |
Trackball Support A real marble was supplied with the game |
Märchen Maze | 2 | - | - | 2 MB |
15 KHz (256 x 224) |
31kHz (288 x 224) 31kHz (256 x 224) 15kHz (256 x 224) Press the 登録 key to alternate |
On the title screen of Marchen Maze, press Shift and HELP together to access the options screen, allowing you among other things to select the Arcade version Bonus trick: Start the game with Disk B in Drive 0 and Disk A in drive 1 to activate PCM sound. |
Metal Sight | 5 | - | MIDI OK | 1 MB | 15 KHz | 31 KHz | Cyber Stick (CZ-8NJ2) support |
Mid-Garts | 4 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | - |
Motos | 1 | - | - | 1 MB |
31 KHz (256 x 256) |
31kHz (384 x 256) | On Christmas Eve and New Year's Day different opening music is played. Also, for an arranged soundtrack, instead of loading the game from drive 0, load it from drive 1. |
Mr. Do! Mr. Do! V.S Unicorns |
1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 15 KHz - press HELP to switch resolutions | To load Mr. Do! V.S Unicorns, boot the game from Drive 1 |
Naious | 2 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 15kHz – press HELP to switch resolutions | On the title screen, hold down [CTRL] and the W, I, N, K keys and you can select any stage from 1 to 7. |
Nekketsu Koukou Dodgeball Bu 熱血高校ドッジボール部 |
1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 15kHz – hold down the HELP key when first booting | - |
Nekketsu Koukou Dodgeball Bu Soccer Hen 熱血高校ドッジボール部・サッカー編 |
2 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | - |
Nemesis '90 Kai | 2 | Install OK | MIDI OK | 2 MB | 31 KHz | - | - |
Overtake | 6 | Install OK | MIDI OK | 1 MB |
31 KHz (256) |
31kHz (256 SQ) 15kHz (256 Low) |
Cyber Stick (CZ-8NJ2) support |
Pac-Land | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | Includes a three-button pad (left, jump, right) |
Pac-Mania | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 15kHz – hold down the HELP key when first booting |
From the Pac-Mania title screen, press F5 to redefine the keys. Redefine them to X,6,8,0,0,0 and make sure to use the numeric keypad. Exit by pressing Esc and you'll automatically enter the hidden options screen Bonus game: The original Pac-Man is included, run the pac.bat batch file in the PACMAN folder. |
Parodius | 2 | - | MIDI OK | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 15 KHz | - |
Phalanx | 3 | - | MIDI OK | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 15 KHz | - |
Populous | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | - |
Populous The Promised Lands | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | Add-on disk for Populous |
Populous 2 | 2 | - | - | 2 MB | 31 KHz | - | - |
Powermonger | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | - |
Prince of Persia | 3 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | - |
Pro Soccer 68 | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 15 KHz | 31 KHz - press HELP to switch resolutions | - |
Puyo Puyo | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 15 KHz | 31kHz (Six resolution options to choose from) | To enable Tokoton Puyo Puyo mode, at the title screen push the second player's controller to the bottom left and press F1. |
Puzznic | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | - |
Quarth | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | - |
Quiz Torimonochou 苦胃頭捕物帳 |
1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 15 KHz, 24 KHz | - |
R-Type | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | You can start on any level in R-Type. Select the level you want to play from the DEMO option, and then start the game while holding down the S, T, A, G, and E keys. |
R. C. Robot Construction | 1 | Install OK | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | - |
Salamander 沙羅曼蛇 |
1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 15kHz – hold down the HELP key when first booting | - |
Scorpius | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | - |
Shoot Range | 3 | - | - | 2 MB | 31 KHz | - | - |
Sim City | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | - |
Sim Earth | 1 | Install OK | - | 2 MB | 31 KHz | - | Requires SX-Window to run |
Sol-Feace | 2 | - | MIDI OK | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 15 KHz | - |
Space Harrier | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 15 KHz | - | - |
Star Force | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 15kHz – press HELP to switch resolutions | - |
Star Luster | 1 | - | MIDI OK | 2 MB | 15 KHz | 31 KHz |
Not MT-32 compatible Supports the AE-1AP Analogue Joypad |
Star Trader | 2 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 15 KHz | A Takeru game - not a full commercial release |
Star Wars Attack on the Death Star | 2 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | Runs more smoothly at 16 MHz |
Street Fighter II' | 4 | Install OK | MIDI OK | 2 MB | 31 KHz | 15 KHz | Includes an adapter for Megadrive controllers, specifically the Capcom Power Stick Fighter |
Strider Hiryuu ストライダー飛竜 |
3 | Install OK | - | 2 MB | 15 KHz (512 x 256) |
31kHz (512 x 256) 31kHz (384 x 256) |
- |
Super Hang-On | 2 | - | MIDI OK | 1 MB | 15 KHz | 31 KHz | Cyber Stick (CZ-8NJ2) support |
Super Street Fighter II | 7 | Install OK | MIDI OK | 4 MB |
15 KHz (Narrow) |
15kHz (Wide) 31kHz (Narrow) 31kHz (Wide) |
16 MHz recommended |
Syvalion | 2 | - | - | 1 MB | 15 KHz | 31kHz – hold down the HELP key when first booting |
Trackball support Cyber Stick (CZ-8NJ2) support |
Terra Cresta Moon Cresta |
1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | You can switch between narrow and wide display sizes by pressing the HELP key | To load Moon Cresta, boot the game from Drive 1 |
Tetris | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | - |
The NewZealand Story | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 15kHz – hold down the HELP key when first booting | - |
The Return of Ishtar | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 15 KHz | - | - |
Thunder Blade | 3 | - | MIDI OK | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | Cyber Stick (CZ-8NJ2) support |
Thunderforce II | 2 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 15kHz – hold down the F10 key when first booting | - |
Twinbee | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 15 KHz | - | - |
Undeadline 幻獣鬼 |
3 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | - |
V'Ball | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 15kHz – hold down the HELP key when first booting | - |
Viewpoint | 2 | Install OK | - | 2 MB | 31 KHz | - | Runs better at 16 MHz, but it’s still slow compared to the Neo Geo version |
World Court Pro Tennis | 2 | - | - | 2 MB | 15 KHz |
31kHz (Square) 31kHz (256 x 256) 15kHz (256 x 256) Hold Down 0, 1 or 2 on the numeric keypad respectively while booting |
- |
Xenon 2 | 2 | - | MIDI OK | 1 MB | 31 KHz | 15kHz, 24kHz – press HELP to switch resolutions | - |
Xevious | 1 | - | - | 1 MB | 31 KHz | - | Both Xevious and Super Xevious are available |
Monday, 1 June 2015
X68000 Games Tricks and Undocumented Features
Although Gradius II has its real arcade mode hidden but documented, what's not documented is the arcade test mode. Enable it by holding down F4 while booting (at the same time as holding down the button to enable arcade mode)
For those of you with machines with 2MB of RAM or more, holding down the Shift key while loading After Burner will load the entire game into memory.
Kyuukyoku Tiger can be controlled with the mouse. Hold down F2 while booting to enable it.
You can start on any level in R-Type. Select the level you want to play from the DEMO option, and then start the game while holding down the S, T, A, G and E keys.
Akumajou Dracula has an extra undocumented MIDI option. For GM, press XF1 and G together on the MIDI selection screen.
Arkanoid: Revenge of Doh has a 15KHz mode which is undocumented. Hold down the OPT1 key while booting to enable it.
Try setting the internal clock to between midnight and 1:00 AM and then boot up either Dragon Spirit or Garou Densetsu, check if you can see and hear anything unusual.
On the title screen of Marchen Maze, press Shift and HELP together to access the options screen, allowing you among other things to select the Arcade version. Bonus trick: Start the game with Disk B in Drive 0 and Disk A in drive 1 to activate PCM sound.
From the Pac-Mania title screen, press F5 to redefine the keys. Redefine them to X,6,8,0,0,0 and make sure to use the numeric keypad. Exit by pressing Esc and you'll automatically enter the hidden options screen. Bonus game: The original Pac-Man is included, run the pac.bat batch file in the PACMAN folder.
Super Hang On: Hold down the HELP key as soon as the game starts booting up, and the display will change to 31kHz.
Fantasy Zone includes the undocumented Fantasy Zone 3D - hold down the Shift, CTRL and HELP keys together when booting to activate it.
It can also be started from the command line, and there are some other hidden features in this game
So, let's have a look at command line options. First, boot the game in Drive 1 (not 0) and you'll be returned to a command prompt.
Insert the Fantasy Zone disk into Drive 0.
To activate the options, type "A:FZBOOT XX" where XX is one of the following options:
24 :- activates 24kHz mode
opaopa=n :- number of lives, range is between 1 and 5
rank=n :- difficulty level, range is 0-3
price=n :- price of an Opa Opa, range is 0-3
jpn :- use the Japanese soundtrack
arrange :- use the arranged soundtrack
3D :- enable Fantasy Zone 3D
continue :- enable continuing
save :- enable high score saving
So example commands would be "fzboot -24", "fzboot -rank=3" and so on. By the way, most of these can be changed in-game. 3D mode is an exception.
Similarly, following the same procedure as above, enter "A:FZMAIN debug" (instead of "A:FZBOOT XX")to start the game with a reduced display size. Looks bizarre. You can cycle through to normal mode with the [HELP] key.
To fast forward through the super play, hold down the CTRL key.
The method of accessing the Space Harrier level (Dragon Land) is well documented, so there is no need to mention it here.
Motos
On Christmas Eve and New Year's Day different opening music is played. Also, for an arranged soundtrack, instead of loading the game from drive 0, load it from drive 1. If you turn on the 「ひらがな」「全角」「INS」「CAPS」「コード入力」「ローマ字」「かな」 keys within the config screen, you can select a special SARU mode, which is easier than the EASY mode.
Bosconian
To advance to the next stage, press the Q, E, T and U keys together while playing the game. If you turn the code key on, you'll hear an echo of the sampled voice.
Full Throttle
There's a debug mode present within Full Throttle, but enabling it isn't straightforward. First you have to create a text file on disk A called FTH.DBG, and within that file enter the desired attributes. Here are the parameters:
Pass Word = 大西結花
Debug Mode = OFF/ON
Display Mode = High
Nitro Stock = 3
Timer Count = 070
BGM Test = OFF
Sound Test = OFF
No Hit = OFF
Continue = 0
Select = OFF
Level = 5
Sound Type = 0
The Pass Word has to be set to 大西結花 to enable the debug mode at all. To enter the four kanji, enable code entry by pressing the code key, and the four codes you need are 4267, 403E, 376B, 3256
Turning on Debug Mode allows you to see how much memory is being used when the game is loading.
If the Display Mode is set to High, the frequency is 31KHz, Low gives 15KHz
Nitro stock has a range from 0 to 9
Timer Count has a range from 000 to 999 (all three digits are necessary)
BGM Test and Sound Test, when turned on, allow you to run their test modes - press ESC during the game and then the 1-8 and A-S keys to try them out
Turning No Hit on makes you invincible
Continue allows you to continue the game, the number of continues can be set from 0 to 9
Turning Select on allows you to select the stage. In order to enable it you have to turn on the appropriate Kana, Code Input and Romaji keys:
Stage 1: all off
Stage 2: Code Input on
Stage 3: Romaji on
Stage 4: Code Input and Romaji both on
Stage 5: Kana on
Level
The range is 0 to 9
Sound Type
Four versions of the music can be chosen, the range is 0 to 3.
Puyo Puyo
To enable Tokoton Puyo Puyo mode, at the title screen push the second player's controller to the bottom left and press F1.
The Fairyland Story
To see the staff credits, turn Continue off on the options screen, start a game and when the Game Over message appears, press the A and B buttons on your joystick at the same time.
Phalanx
Phalanx includes a hidden stage. Crash into what looks like a red window and you'll be warped through.
On the configuration screen, the following commands can be entered for their respective effects:
AKICHANSUKI Stage Select
SUGOINO Invincibility
FUERUNO Increase your number of lives
For these to work, you have to hold down the first key, and then the second together, then take your finger off the first key and press the third and so on. So for the first cheat you'd hold A and K, then K and I, then I and C and so on.
Parodius
There's a sound driver test mode on Disk A. Run SD_DRV.X from the command line. As the program tells you, pressing Space progresses to the next piece and ESC will end the program.
For fun, try holding down the following keys while the game boots:
K, 6, 8 : one for the MSX fans probably
[SPACE]
[HOME], G, 2
Detana!! Twinbee
This has a music mode like Parodius. Run SD_DRV.BAT from the command line.
Pressing [ESC] in-game and then F3 enables a pseudo-vertical mode.
If you have more than 2MB of memory, hold down [HELP] while booting to load the entire game into memory.
Baraduke
On the high score table, enter your name as JUNKO, KISSY or TAKKY and observe the result.
The NewZealand Story
To activate Debug Mode, hold down the [UNDO] key while booting. While playing the game, try out the following "features" using the keys indicated:
F1: change your weapon (cycles through them)
F2: control the balloon you're riding on
F3: increase the speed of your jumps
F4: become invincible
F5: freezes the enemies
F6: kills all enemies on screen
F7: sends you to the end of the round
F8: makes enemies riding on balloons fall off
ESC: pauses the game, you can then use the left/right controls to select the round
Naious
On the title screen, hold down [CTRL] and the W, I, N, K keys and you can select any stage from 1 to 7.
Chuka Taisen
Another debug mode. Hold down the 記号 key while booting, and during the game use these keys for the given effects.
F6: kill all enemies
F7: change your speed
F8: change the level
F9: change the magic power you currently have
F10: turn invincibilty on/off
[UNDO]: end the current stage
Gemini Wing
Infinite continues: on the title screen, hold down the G, E, M, I, N keys at the same time and you'll be told you have 9 continues. In reality, they should be infinite.
Gemini Wing also has a vertical mode, hold down F7 while the game is booting. Unfortunately it doesn't allow you to rotate the monitor.
For those of you with machines with 2MB of RAM or more, holding down the Shift key while loading After Burner will load the entire game into memory.
Kyuukyoku Tiger can be controlled with the mouse. Hold down F2 while booting to enable it.
You can start on any level in R-Type. Select the level you want to play from the DEMO option, and then start the game while holding down the S, T, A, G and E keys.
Akumajou Dracula has an extra undocumented MIDI option. For GM, press XF1 and G together on the MIDI selection screen.
Arkanoid: Revenge of Doh has a 15KHz mode which is undocumented. Hold down the OPT1 key while booting to enable it.
Try setting the internal clock to between midnight and 1:00 AM and then boot up either Dragon Spirit or Garou Densetsu, check if you can see and hear anything unusual.
On the title screen of Marchen Maze, press Shift and HELP together to access the options screen, allowing you among other things to select the Arcade version. Bonus trick: Start the game with Disk B in Drive 0 and Disk A in drive 1 to activate PCM sound.
From the Pac-Mania title screen, press F5 to redefine the keys. Redefine them to X,6,8,0,0,0 and make sure to use the numeric keypad. Exit by pressing Esc and you'll automatically enter the hidden options screen. Bonus game: The original Pac-Man is included, run the pac.bat batch file in the PACMAN folder.
Super Hang On: Hold down the HELP key as soon as the game starts booting up, and the display will change to 31kHz.
Fantasy Zone includes the undocumented Fantasy Zone 3D - hold down the Shift, CTRL and HELP keys together when booting to activate it.
It can also be started from the command line, and there are some other hidden features in this game
So, let's have a look at command line options. First, boot the game in Drive 1 (not 0) and you'll be returned to a command prompt.
Insert the Fantasy Zone disk into Drive 0.
To activate the options, type "A:FZBOOT XX" where XX is one of the following options:
24 :- activates 24kHz mode
opaopa=n :- number of lives, range is between 1 and 5
rank=n :- difficulty level, range is 0-3
price=n :- price of an Opa Opa, range is 0-3
jpn :- use the Japanese soundtrack
arrange :- use the arranged soundtrack
3D :- enable Fantasy Zone 3D
continue :- enable continuing
save :- enable high score saving
So example commands would be "fzboot -24", "fzboot -rank=3" and so on. By the way, most of these can be changed in-game. 3D mode is an exception.
Similarly, following the same procedure as above, enter "A:FZMAIN debug" (instead of "A:FZBOOT XX")to start the game with a reduced display size. Looks bizarre. You can cycle through to normal mode with the [HELP] key.
To fast forward through the super play, hold down the CTRL key.
The method of accessing the Space Harrier level (Dragon Land) is well documented, so there is no need to mention it here.
Motos
On Christmas Eve and New Year's Day different opening music is played. Also, for an arranged soundtrack, instead of loading the game from drive 0, load it from drive 1. If you turn on the 「ひらがな」「全角」「INS」「CAPS」「コード入力」「ローマ字」「かな」 keys within the config screen, you can select a special SARU mode, which is easier than the EASY mode.
Bosconian
To advance to the next stage, press the Q, E, T and U keys together while playing the game. If you turn the code key on, you'll hear an echo of the sampled voice.
Full Throttle
There's a debug mode present within Full Throttle, but enabling it isn't straightforward. First you have to create a text file on disk A called FTH.DBG, and within that file enter the desired attributes. Here are the parameters:
Pass Word = 大西結花
Debug Mode = OFF/ON
Display Mode = High
Nitro Stock = 3
Timer Count = 070
BGM Test = OFF
Sound Test = OFF
No Hit = OFF
Continue = 0
Select = OFF
Level = 5
Sound Type = 0
The Pass Word has to be set to 大西結花 to enable the debug mode at all. To enter the four kanji, enable code entry by pressing the code key, and the four codes you need are 4267, 403E, 376B, 3256
Turning on Debug Mode allows you to see how much memory is being used when the game is loading.
If the Display Mode is set to High, the frequency is 31KHz, Low gives 15KHz
Nitro stock has a range from 0 to 9
Timer Count has a range from 000 to 999 (all three digits are necessary)
BGM Test and Sound Test, when turned on, allow you to run their test modes - press ESC during the game and then the 1-8 and A-S keys to try them out
Turning No Hit on makes you invincible
Continue allows you to continue the game, the number of continues can be set from 0 to 9
Turning Select on allows you to select the stage. In order to enable it you have to turn on the appropriate Kana, Code Input and Romaji keys:
Stage 1: all off
Stage 2: Code Input on
Stage 3: Romaji on
Stage 4: Code Input and Romaji both on
Stage 5: Kana on
Level
The range is 0 to 9
Sound Type
Four versions of the music can be chosen, the range is 0 to 3.
Puyo Puyo
To enable Tokoton Puyo Puyo mode, at the title screen push the second player's controller to the bottom left and press F1.
The Fairyland Story
To see the staff credits, turn Continue off on the options screen, start a game and when the Game Over message appears, press the A and B buttons on your joystick at the same time.
Phalanx
Phalanx includes a hidden stage. Crash into what looks like a red window and you'll be warped through.
On the configuration screen, the following commands can be entered for their respective effects:
AKICHANSUKI Stage Select
SUGOINO Invincibility
FUERUNO Increase your number of lives
For these to work, you have to hold down the first key, and then the second together, then take your finger off the first key and press the third and so on. So for the first cheat you'd hold A and K, then K and I, then I and C and so on.
Parodius
There's a sound driver test mode on Disk A. Run SD_DRV.X from the command line. As the program tells you, pressing Space progresses to the next piece and ESC will end the program.
For fun, try holding down the following keys while the game boots:
K, 6, 8 : one for the MSX fans probably
[SPACE]
[HOME], G, 2
Detana!! Twinbee
This has a music mode like Parodius. Run SD_DRV.BAT from the command line.
Pressing [ESC] in-game and then F3 enables a pseudo-vertical mode.
If you have more than 2MB of memory, hold down [HELP] while booting to load the entire game into memory.
Baraduke
On the high score table, enter your name as JUNKO, KISSY or TAKKY and observe the result.
The NewZealand Story
To activate Debug Mode, hold down the [UNDO] key while booting. While playing the game, try out the following "features" using the keys indicated:
F1: change your weapon (cycles through them)
F2: control the balloon you're riding on
F3: increase the speed of your jumps
F4: become invincible
F5: freezes the enemies
F6: kills all enemies on screen
F7: sends you to the end of the round
F8: makes enemies riding on balloons fall off
ESC: pauses the game, you can then use the left/right controls to select the round
Naious
On the title screen, hold down [CTRL] and the W, I, N, K keys and you can select any stage from 1 to 7.
Chuka Taisen
Another debug mode. Hold down the 記号 key while booting, and during the game use these keys for the given effects.
F6: kill all enemies
F7: change your speed
F8: change the level
F9: change the magic power you currently have
F10: turn invincibilty on/off
[UNDO]: end the current stage
Gemini Wing
Infinite continues: on the title screen, hold down the G, E, M, I, N keys at the same time and you'll be told you have 9 continues. In reality, they should be infinite.
Gemini Wing also has a vertical mode, hold down F7 while the game is booting. Unfortunately it doesn't allow you to rotate the monitor.
X68000 Games tested at 16MHz
These games ran better at 16MHz.
With some, like Populous etc. it's hard to tell if they're much better overall, but generally the graphics move slightly faster.
F-15 Strike Eagle II
Hishouzame (slightly better scrolling)
Jack Nicklaus Championship Golf
Mahou Daisakusen
Populous
Populous 2
Populous The Promised Lands
Powermonger
Salamander (a lot better, almost no slowdown)
Sim City
Sim Earth
Star Wars Attack on the Death Star
Super Street Fighter II
Viewpoint
These games ran too fast:
Arkanoid Revenge of DOH
D-Return
Full Throttle
Granada
These games exhibited problems:
Dragon Spirit (music messed up)
Fantasy Zone (music messed up)
Gradius (music messed up)
Naious (music messed up)
Nekketsu Koukou Dodgeball Bu (corrupt graphics)
Twinbee (corrupt graphics)
These games run the same, as far as could be detected:
After Burner
Ajax
Akumajou Dracula
Alien Syndrome
Argus no Senshi
Atomic Robo-Kid
Baraduke
Battletech
Bomberman
Bonanza Brothers
Bosconian
Bubble Bobble
Butasan
Chelnov
Chuka Taisen
Code-Zero
Columns
Cotton
Crazy Climber 1/2
Cybercore
DaiMakaiMura
Dash Yarou
Detana!! Twinbee
Dig Dug/Dig Dug II
Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari
Dragon Buster
Dungeon Master
Dynamite Duke
Etoile Princesse
Exciting Hour/Shusse Oozumou
Final Fight
FZ Senki Axis
Galaga '88
Garou Densetsu
Garou Densetsu 2
Garou Densetsu Special
Gemini Wing
Gempai Toumaden
Genjuuki
Genocide
Genocide 2
Genocide 2
Geograph Seal
Gradius II
Image Fight
Klax
KU²
Kyuukyoku Tiger
Lemmings
Libble Rabble
Maison Ikkoku Kanketsuhen Special
Marble Madness
Marchen Maze
Metal Sight
Motos
Mr. Do!/Mr. Do! Vs Unicorns
Nekketsu Koukou Dodgeball Bu Soccer Hen
Nemesis '90 Kai
Overtake
Pac-Land
Pacmania
Parodius Da!
Phalanx
Prince of Persia
Pro Soccer 68
Pro Tennis World Court
Puyo Puyo
Quarth
Puzznic
Quiz Torimonochou
R.C. Robot Construction
R-Type
Shoot Range
Sol-Feace
Space Harrier
Star Force
Star Luster
Street Fighter II''
Strider Hiryuu
Super Hang-On
Syvalion
Terra Cresta & Moon Cresta
Tetris
The Fairyland Story
The NewZealand Story
The Return of Ishtar
Thunder Blade
Thunderforce II
U.S. Championship V'ball
Xenon 2
Xevious
With some, like Populous etc. it's hard to tell if they're much better overall, but generally the graphics move slightly faster.
F-15 Strike Eagle II
Hishouzame (slightly better scrolling)
Jack Nicklaus Championship Golf
Mahou Daisakusen
Populous
Populous 2
Populous The Promised Lands
Powermonger
Salamander (a lot better, almost no slowdown)
Sim City
Sim Earth
Star Wars Attack on the Death Star
Super Street Fighter II
Viewpoint
These games ran too fast:
Arkanoid Revenge of DOH
D-Return
Full Throttle
Granada
These games exhibited problems:
Dragon Spirit (music messed up)
Fantasy Zone (music messed up)
Gradius (music messed up)
Naious (music messed up)
Nekketsu Koukou Dodgeball Bu (corrupt graphics)
Twinbee (corrupt graphics)
These games run the same, as far as could be detected:
After Burner
Ajax
Akumajou Dracula
Alien Syndrome
Argus no Senshi
Atomic Robo-Kid
Baraduke
Battletech
Bomberman
Bonanza Brothers
Bosconian
Bubble Bobble
Butasan
Chelnov
Chuka Taisen
Code-Zero
Columns
Cotton
Crazy Climber 1/2
Cybercore
DaiMakaiMura
Dash Yarou
Detana!! Twinbee
Dig Dug/Dig Dug II
Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari
Dragon Buster
Dungeon Master
Dynamite Duke
Etoile Princesse
Exciting Hour/Shusse Oozumou
Final Fight
FZ Senki Axis
Galaga '88
Garou Densetsu
Garou Densetsu 2
Garou Densetsu Special
Gemini Wing
Gempai Toumaden
Genjuuki
Genocide
Genocide 2
Genocide 2
Geograph Seal
Gradius II
Image Fight
Klax
KU²
Kyuukyoku Tiger
Lemmings
Libble Rabble
Maison Ikkoku Kanketsuhen Special
Marble Madness
Marchen Maze
Metal Sight
Motos
Mr. Do!/Mr. Do! Vs Unicorns
Nekketsu Koukou Dodgeball Bu Soccer Hen
Nemesis '90 Kai
Overtake
Pac-Land
Pacmania
Parodius Da!
Phalanx
Prince of Persia
Pro Soccer 68
Pro Tennis World Court
Puyo Puyo
Quarth
Puzznic
Quiz Torimonochou
R.C. Robot Construction
R-Type
Shoot Range
Sol-Feace
Space Harrier
Star Force
Star Luster
Street Fighter II''
Strider Hiryuu
Super Hang-On
Syvalion
Terra Cresta & Moon Cresta
Tetris
The Fairyland Story
The NewZealand Story
The Return of Ishtar
Thunder Blade
Thunderforce II
U.S. Championship V'ball
Xenon 2
Xevious
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