Has anyone ever played the BSX version of Legend of Zelda

[scott]

Oh well in that case, I have to apologize for my ignorance. In all honesty I've always wondered about the legality of rom hacks and reproduction carts. Personally I'd prefer to have the real thing anyway, which is why I bought that Gyromite cart today.

[foxhack]

My suggestion is, don't bother with repros of romhacks. Just get a flash cart. Sure, it's more expensive, but it's worth it in the long run since you can play more games that way - legal or otherwise.  Plus flash carts have the advantage that they don't require a game to be sacrificed.

And no need to apologize. Repros are good, but are also bad when it comes to cases like mine. A lot of romhackers don't like people making money off their work.

[darko]

The only reason I choose repros over flash carts is because I like having a physical, dedicated cart to a game. I only buy repros for games that I really like. Most of the games I want to play can't be played on the current flash cart options for the SNES. There's a new flash cart coming out this year (supposedly) that can play every SNES game.  It's going to be pricey from what I've heard ($250).

@foxhack What other translation projects have you worked on?

[foxhack]

Most are listed here: http://www.foxhack.net/trans/

But I've helped out with several projects over the years. I'm mostly retired now, but I still have one left to finish...

[scott]

Eventually I'll have to give that translation of Castlevania III a whirl.

[jcalder8]

 What are the differences in the Famicom version of Castlevania III?

[scott]

From Wikipedia

Besides just the different name in Japan, Akumajō Densetsu, the Japanese version has several other differences. Most notably, the original Japanese version contained a specialized "VRC6" microprocessor chip. The game's audio programmer, Hidenori Maezawa, assisted in the chip's creation. This chip added two extra pulse-wave channels and a saw-wave channel to the system's initial set of five channels. The majority of the music combines the channels to imitate the sound of a synthesized string section. The VRC6 chip also provided smoother animation for sprites. Western versions of the NES didn't have the ability to support external sound chips, so the North American release replaced the VRC6 with Nintendo's Memory Management Controller (MMC) chip, specifically the MMC5 model. The MMC5 chip lacked the extra audio channels, and the game's music had to be downgraded to comply with the NES's standard five channels. Some of the percussion instruments were also slightly changed, even though the low-quality PCM channel was no less capable without the VRC6 mapper.[4]

Other changes differed in the gameplay or graphics. Instead of using a stabbing dagger, Grant throws daggers as his main attack. Some enemies do less damage in the Japanese version, and had their sprites changed for the Western releases. Some instances of nudity on the enemies were also censored. The Japanese version had slightly different backgrounds in many stages, and had special effects not seen in the North American and European releases, also due to the lack of the VRC6 chip.

The North American and PAL versions have several hidden features that can be accessed by entering a certain name for the player, which include starting the game with 10 lives (by entering the name, "HELP ME"), the option to start the game with any of the three spirit partners, and to access the second, more difficult quest. These features are not present in the Japanese version.

[jcalder8]

Thanks for the info Scott, doesn't sound like the changes are that significant though.