Super Cartridge Converter from My Arcade with Nintendo Power Cartridges

[TwoFigs]

Hello,

You all can call me Two Figs, I am mostly active on Tumblr and on GamePress, and I wanted to get a Serenes Forest account for a really long time, but I kept putting it off. But now that I have an actual issue/thing to talk about, I figured now is a good time as any to get started, soooo.... Here's my first post.

I don't really know if I'm posting in the right place, or if I'll even get a reply. I'm copying and pasting this in as many places as possible so I can get a reply, because I know this issue is really niche and there's probably not many people who have ever been in this situation or would even know what to do.

So I just got a game in the mail today. It was the Fire Emblem Thracia 776 Deluxe Pack, it was very expensive. Super excited. For anyone who doesn't know, Fire Emblem Thracia 776 was a game released in Japan only, initially on those Nintendo Power flash memory cartridges that could download multiple games onto that one cartridge. That version of the game is what comes with said Deluxe Pack, and is therefore the one I own now.

Now, normally I believe when you booted up the cartridge, you'd have a menu that would allow you to select which game to play. I don't know if Thracia 776 is an exception though, because the game is so huge that it takes up all of the memory slots on the cartridge. I don't really know if the menu would still come up.

The other reason why I don't know if the menu will come up: the cartridge doesn't seem to work. Whenever I boot it up, I get a black screen. Which is great, the system knows there's something there, but there's no game. I tried cleaning it, same result. I use contact cleanser with a q-tip and canned air to dry it and blow out dust.

So I'm thinking there might be something wrong with my rig. I have other Super Famicom games that I play using my official top-loader model American Super Nintendo. I use an adapter from My Arcade in order to do this, since obviously you can't play Japanese Super Famicom games on an American Super Nintendo.

If anyone doesn't know what adapter I'm talking about, here's a link: https://www.myarcadegaming.com/products/super-cartridge-converter

Basically, I'm just kind of really confused as to why the game doesn't work. Does the My Arcade Super Famicom adapter not work with these kinds of memory cartridges? My other Super Famicom games work perfectly well with this adapter. I also noticed that this cartridge has the extra 8 or so pin connectors. I think the only other game I own that has these extra pins is my SNES copy of Yoshi's Island. I dunno if that might have anything to do with the fact that the game doesn't work. Yoshi's Island works fine with the adaptor on though. (The adaptor is designed to work with both Super Famicom and SNES games.)

So honestly if anyone can give me any sort of lead, I'd be greatly appreciative. But who knows, maybe I just got a bad cartridge. Not that I really mind that it doesn't work. I usually just play it on an emulator so I can play the game in English, and I really just bought the Deluxe Pack for all the cool stuff that came with it. But anyways... Thanks for reading, and if you replied, double thank you!!

Edited October 6, 2020 by TwoFigs

[Lightcosmo]

Is the system you have NTSC? I'm pretty sure older system carts are made a bit differently. Could be wrong, though. 

Edit: I cant read, apparantly. 

Hmmm maybe it being a hi cart matters?

Edited October 6, 2020 by lightcosmo

[TwoFigs]

@lightcosmo That's what I was thinking, but it doesn't seem to make much sense to me.... I mean the only difference between the Nintendo Power flash cartridge and any other Super Famicom cartridge should be the selection menu at the beginning, but that doesn't seem like it would be so difficult for an adapter to recognize... I'm sure it's programmed just like any other multi-game cartridge like Super Mario All-Stars... but I could be wrong. I wish I could just find someone who has a Super Famicom and test it out on their system. I'd buy one myself because honestly that's cheaper than just buying a new Thracia 776 cartridge, but if the playing it on a newly bought Super Famicom doesn't work, that's money I'll have sunk in for nothing. I'd almost feel more comfortable buying a new Thracia cartridge... I guess I'll just have to stick to emulation. I wasn't really expecting anyone to have a perfect answer for this issue because like I said it's a really niche thing but thanks anyways for replying!!

EDIT: 9/5 5:05 PM Good news!! Turns out it was the adapter. It for some reason doesn't recognize those Nintendo Power cartridges. Basically how I figured it out was I did some research, and you can mod a SNES!! to play Super Famicom games!! Without an adapter! Basically SNES systems, in actuality, aren't region locked at all. The only thing that prevents you from playing Super Famicom games on a SNES are two little pieces of plastic that block the cartridge from being inserted. So I yanked them out and sure enough, when inserted directly into the SNES, it works like a charm. It must have been because the adapter is a third party thing or something.... at any rate I'm so happy I have a working copy now! (I mean technically it already worked, I just needed to figure out how to get it to work with what I had.)

Edited October 6, 2020 by TwoFigs

[Lightcosmo]

Hmmmm, I can't imagine your cart being bad, if it's brand new of course.

I would assume it's either your setup, or that Thracia might not simply work with an adapter. Of course that's just me guessing.

If anything, i would recommend just getting a Famicom to try.