Hi,
I recently worked on a Kaneko Super Nova System and took the opportunity to make a Quick Boot BIOS based on the European release.
Region-free BIOS patches have been around for a while. The Japanese and Korean ModBIOS versions are supported by MAME, and there’s a full set of patched BIOS images and cartridge patches from Darksoft, shared by Tailsnic Retroworks.
My main goal was to make cold boots quicker and easier on a board with a dead or removed battery. Here’s what this mod does:
I tested it with Cyvern and Sengeki Striker in MAME and confirmed it works on my Japanese PCB. All five motherboard profiles were tested in emulation. If you try it on another region’s board, I’d be interested to hear how it goes.
Sengeki Striker note
The game has its own region check after the BIOS hands over. To run it on a motherboard that its original program ROMs don’t support, use the Sengeki Striker cartridge patch as well.
I recently worked on a Kaneko Super Nova System and took the opportunity to make a Quick Boot BIOS based on the European release.
Region-free BIOS patches have been around for a while. The Japanese and Korean ModBIOS versions are supported by MAME, and there’s a full set of patched BIOS images and cartridge patches from Darksoft, shared by Tailsnic Retroworks.
My main goal was to make cold boots quicker and easier on a board with a dead or removed battery. Here’s what this mod does:
- Uses a single BIOS image for all five motherboard regions. At boot, it checks which unlock value the motherboard’s HIT chip accepts.
- Resets the RTC to January 1, 2000 at 00:00 if the clock is stopped or its settings are invalid. It keeps the existing time if the RTC is working.
- Lets the game recreate its own settings when backup RAM is empty. Of course on a batteryless board, those settings will still be lost when you power off.
- Runs the boot checks, skips the BIOS logos and region warning, and hands off to the game in about three seconds.
I tested it with Cyvern and Sengeki Striker in MAME and confirmed it works on my Japanese PCB. All five motherboard profiles were tested in emulation. If you try it on another region’s board, I’d be interested to hear how it goes.
Sengeki Striker note
The game has its own region check after the BIOS hands over. To run it on a motherboard that its original program ROMs don’t support, use the Sengeki Striker cartridge patch as well.