Loading SNES games off a Gameboy cartridge?

[Ami_]

Gameboy cartridges can be played on a SNES using the Super Gameboy, and sometimes include additional features when doing so. There has been a GB cartridge which contains an entire SNES game (Space Invaders).

My question is: could it be possible to take an existing SNES rom hack, wrap it in GB code, and load it off a GB cartridge through a Super Gameboy?

 

[KleinesSinchen]

i am more intrigued about this space invaders
anyone know how this workes through the SGB ?
as far i know the SGB is a real GB, with just audio, video and controls going to the enes

It is a full Game Boy, but the SGB also contains some SNES application, the thing that allows choosing frame, color, control... something must boot the Game Boy game.

I haven't heard of this Space Invaders thing. Highly interesting that it seemingly replaces the running SGB ROM!

Pure speculation:
My guess is that the full Space Invaders "Arcade version" (which is implemented as SNES game) is copied from GB cartridge to SNES RAM and then started. Should fit in RAM without trouble. Then the GB cartridge isn't needed anymore.
I doubt that loading data on the fly like from a real SNES cart would be possible. More likely this (impressive!) trick is limited to things that fit into RAM. Probably not going to happen that a GB flashcart will replace the SNES one (not even thinking about the missing enhancement chips like SA-1 and Super FX used in various games)

 

[cearp]

existing SNES rom hack, wrap it in GB code, and load it off a GB cartridge through a Super Gameboy?

this sounds like you actually want a snes flash cart?

gb can't emulate snes / there is no snes emulator (that I know of)
mr driller gbc lags a bit, imagine the game boy/color playing something like a link to the past / seiken densetsu 3 lol

 

[Ami_]

this sounds like you actually want a snes flash cart?

Yes, kind of. I'm asking if a GB flash cart could be used as a SNES flash cart. I'm asking this mostly out of curiosity, to know if this is theoretically possible.

gb can't emulate snes / there is no snes emulator (that I know of)

No, my question is not about emulation. I am asking about the SNES reading SNES code from the SBG, as with Space Invaders.

 

[mrgone]

i am more intrigued about this space invaders
anyone know how this workes through the SGB ?
as far i know the SGB is a real GB, with just audio, video and controls going to the enes

 

[Deleted member 194275]

your question is if it is possible to inject a snes game on a gameboy cartridge and then launch it on super gameboy?


edit: that Space Invaders for Super Game Boy is not actually the SNES version of Space Invaders, keep that in mind.

 

[Ami_]

that Space Invaders for Super Game Boy is not actually the SNES version of Space Invaders, keep that in mind.

What do you mean by that? This version does run directly on the SNES processor and not on the SGB.

It is a full Game Boy, but the SGB also contains some SNES application, the thing that allows choosing frame, color, control... something must boot the Game Boy game.

I haven't heard of this Space Invaders thing. Highly interesting that it seemingly replaces the running SGB ROM!

Pure speculation:
My guess is that the full Space Invaders "Arcade version" (which is implemented as SNES game) is copied from GB cartridge to SNES RAM and then started. Should fit in RAM without trouble. Then the GB cartridge isn't needed anymore.
I doubt that loading data on the fly like from a real SNES cart would be possible. More likely this (impressive!) trick is limited to things that fit into RAM. Probably not going to happen that a GB flashcart will replace the SNES one (not even thinking about the missing enhancement chips like SA-1 and Super FX used in various games)

To my knowledge your speculation is spot on.

I suppose there aren't any commercial SNES games that are small enough to fit in RAM, but I'm still interested in loading SNES demos this way.

 

[Deleted member 194275]

What do you mean by that? This version does run directly on the SNES processor and not on the SGB.

It runs on both, like everything on Super Game Boy. There are youtube videos trying to make a big deal of it just for views, but there is not out of ordinary on this game. It's as important as the colorization of pokemon games or the 2 player mode with 1 console that some GB games features on SGB.

 

[Ami_]

It runs on both, like everything on Super Game Boy. There are youtube videos trying to make a big deal of it just for views, but there is not out of ordinary on this game. It's as important as the colorization of pokemon games or the 2 player mode with 1 console that some GB games features on SGB.

See here:
"it is possible to write program code or data into SNES memory, and to execute such program code by using the SNES CPU."

 

[JaapDaniels]

so, to be clear, in fact you play your gameboy games on S(uper)G(ame)B(oy), playing a game on a super gameboy bypasses almost the whole snes system, there's an entire gameboy inside, a color bank and by GameID it pics a border from the memmory inside.
the gameboy does the whole system reading and parsing it almost directly unmodified to the video out, only the GPU is called on the snes and alright the system menu is using a bit of the CPU.
The snes isn't capable of doing gameboy emulation except with a FXpak pro or SD2SNES pro (wich is the same product.
the gameboy running snes code, not possible... not even with a high end flashcart. spaceinvaders gb has a snes track of music on it, but it's a complete rewritten engine.

 

[Deleted member 194275]

See here:
"it is possible to write program code or data into SNES memory, and to execute such program code by using the SNES CPU."

And so what?

 

[Ami_]

And so what?

So this version of Space Invaders is 16-bit SNES code running on a SNES CPU.

 

[PhyChris]

And so what?

You could use it to write custom software!

 

[Deleted member 194275]

So this version of Space Invaders is 16-bit SNES code running on a SNES CPU.

Like every other super game boy enhanced title... But if you make a video yelling that it's something unique to a single game, and fill the thumbnail with red arrows, it will get lots of clicks.

Nobody cared about this for decades for the simple reason that is the same as other games, it's nice is there, but it's common.

And again, it's not the snes rom for space invaders, that exists and is a commercial super Nintendo release.

 

[cearp]

No, my question is not about emulation. I am asking about the SNES reading SNES code from the SBG, as with Space Invaders.

I see what you meant now. I guess it depends on how the snes rom / how similar to a regular snes rom the game is.
Now I'm interested!

 

[Ami_]

Like every other super game boy enhanced title... But if you make a video yelling that it's something unique to a single game, and fill the thumbnail with red arrows, it will get lots of clicks.

Nobody cared about this for decades for the simple reason that is the same as other games, it's nice is there, but it's common.

And again, it's not the snes rom for space invaders, that exists and is a commercial super Nintendo release.

I disagree. Most SGB games run GB code on the SGB processor with some enhancements that use SNES hardware. Space Invaders happens to be the only Gameboy game that contains a game mode entirely programmed for the SNES. It may not be "the" SNES ROM for Space Invaders but it is a SNES ROM for Space Invaders. Anyway this thread is not about whether or not Space Invaders is unique.

 

[Kwyjor]

My question is: could it be possible to take an existing SNES rom hack, wrap it in GB code, and load it off a GB cartridge through a Super Gameboy?

There's evidently no reason you couldn't? If I'm not mistaken, I think the biggest problem would be that the game would have to fit entirely within the SNES RAM, which is 128 kb. Wikipedia suggests the smallest SNES game (aside from Space Invaders) was twice that size. (Mr. Do is that size; I'm not sure what other games are that small. Even Frogger is 512 kb.)

ETA: http://rvgfanatic.com/wordpress/index.php/sanrio-world-smash-ball/ says that Sanrio World Smash Ball is also tied for smallest.

 

[PhyChris]

I looked into this before and besides writing custom code, every game would have to be ported.

 

[Kwyjor]

besides writing custom code, every game would have to be ported.

That's rather ambiguous. Isn't everything "custom code"?

What exactly would be the obstacle in overwriting the SNES code in the Space Invaders ROM with some arbitrary homebrew? Presumably there's some checksum somewhere, but aside from that?

 

[Kwyjor]

All games running on SGB fo use both CPUs, including the space invaders mode you love so much.

The game in SNES mode uses a resolution and transparencies that the Game Boy is fundamentally incapable of. It's hardly a matter of "red arrows and clicks".
https://blog.loveconquersallgames.com/post/2424872085/fuck-the-super-game-boy-now-youre-playing-with