Weird Game Gear cartridge

[megasilverx1]

Earlier today I found a Game Gear game that had no label besides "GG Checker" at a thrift store. It appears to be official looking at the circuit board and it brings up the licensed by Sega start up screen when I turn the game on. I assume it would be like a button test program or some other kind of test cartridge like Nintendo made for their consoles, but nothing happens after the licensed by Sega screen except that a red screen with Japanese text appears. Pressing the buttons does nothing. I couldn't find anything online about this thing, so I'm not really sure what it is. The only other thing of note about the cartridge is that rather than a game bit screw on the back it has a small phillips screw similar in size to the ones early NES game carts used.

Update: The text on the red screen basically translates to "Poor Connection." So I assume this cartridge is for testing the link cable connection between two Game Gear consoles.

[oldgamerz]

don't know either

I think that the circuit board should have a battery in it but I don't see one. If it were a game.


I just read on an un-secure site google link that there is a game test cartridge out there according to the Game Gear Service Manual page 29 and 30 but I didn't click on the site link

[hoshichiri]

The phillips head screw isn't all that strange- I have a few Majesco-era carts with those in them.

Assuming you've cleaned the thing to make sure 'poor connection' doesn't mean the pins, I'd try taking it to any local retro shops/events you might have around, see if you can find someone with a link cable to try it with. It could also want you to connect it to a PC if it's a diagnostic cart- maybe look around for that previously mentioned service manual for more info.

[tripredacus]

Post it to here, I'm sure Bock would appreciate any information:
https://www.smspower.org/forums/12827-GameGearPrototypeSamplesCartridgesPhotosScansWasRequestGameGearPrototypeCartScans

[megasilverx1]

don't know either

I think that the circuit board should have a battery in it but I don't see one. If it were a game.


I just read on an un-secure site google link that there is a game test cartridge out there according to the Game Gear Service Manual page 29 and 30 but I didn't click on the site link

I assume you're talking about this:

30
31
32
33
34
35

Someone on twitter linked me to this. If I'm reading this manual correctly, then I'd need a link cable plugged in to get past the initial soft check step. The manual also confirms that the Japanese text on the red screen that appears is about a communication cable problem. I'm not sure what the "exclusive adapter" that is mentioned on page 34 is; I'm assuming it would be a Game Gear Link Cable (Gear-to-Gear Cable)?

[redblaze57]

don't know either

I think that the circuit board should have a battery in it but I don't see one. If it were a game.

Batteries in cartridges are for one of 2 things saving, or clocks. Until the GBA era where they were just for clocks.

So games that didn't save or used a password system wouldn't have a battery.

It's actually one of the definitive ways to tell a fake GBA game from a real one because fakes use a battery to save.