Hacking New region protection?

[TheShadowRunner]

Hey all,
I'm trying to run "Final Fantasy IV The After Years" JAPANESE version on my US Wii.
So I patch with freethewads as usual, but after the health screen, it freezes on a white screen.
I tried installing with both Wad Manager 1.4 & 1.5, no difference.
First game that ever does that here..
Could they have implemented a new region protection?
Later,

TSR

 

[FenrirWolf]

Maybe the game does an IOS reload.

 

[TheShadowRunner]

Thanks for your answer.
Is there a known way around that? (or to make it work at all ^^)

 

[OSW]

Free the wads is pretty old and doesn't always work.

Try unpacking and repacking the wad using wwpacker (drag onto __wwunpacker.bat and then the extracted wad folder onto _wwpacker-RegionFree.bat).

Download it here http://www.gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=95479

No guarantees that it'll work though

, but It usually works for me.

 

[carbonyle]

I bet on Gecko OS 1.9.2 for this

I never used freethewad (I prefer use systemmenu patches)
But try to load this with Gecko OS (It used to work for the NTSC version of Final Fantasy IV The After Years on my PAL Wii)

PS: systemmenu patches works too for this

 

[fiddlefaddle22]

Ive managed to get the game working with the method OSW suggested but using wwpacker16 and GenericWiiPatcher 1.2.I have a 4.1E Wii though.

 

[OSW]

I bet on Gecko OS 1.9.2 for this

I never used freethewad (I prefer use systemmenu patches)
But try to load this with Gecko OS (It used to work for the NTSC version of Final Fantasy IV The After Years on my PAL Wii)

PS: systemmenu patches works too for this

Oh yes, I forgot to mention system menu patches (via preloader, startpatch, banana patcher etc).
They work pretty well but occasionally you still need to patch the wad aswell.

 

[TheShadowRunner]

Thanks for all your answers guys!
I tried the method by OSW:
- drag onto __wwunpacker.bat
- then drag extracted wad folder onto _wwpacker-RegionFree.bat

But it gives the same white screen/freeze after health menu. :/

Ive managed to get the game working with the method OSW suggested but using wwpacker16 and GenericWiiPatcher 1.2.I have a 4.1E Wii though.

Is that with the Japanese version of the game?
I have 4.1 too..
See you,

TSR

 

[antonkan]

Try using StartPatch instead of Freethewads. StartPatch allows to patch region free channels (including WiiWare/VC) and region free Wii game discs. Click here!

 

[TheShadowRunner]

Thanks but no, I'd rather patch the WAD manually than alter the system menu IOS...

fiddlefaddle22, I've grabbed wwpacker16 and GenericWiiPatcher 1.2, can you teach the procedure you used to make it work?

 

[DjoeN]

Any reason why using the Japanese version over the US one on your US wii?

 

[TheShadowRunner]

Yes, I'd rather play it in Japanese if you want to know ^^;

 

[TheShadowRunner]

Ok, I tried StartPatch on my 4.1U USA Wii. I enabled all 3 "Region Free Channels" hacks.

But the same issue occurs; game freezes on white screen after health warning.

I'm guessing fiddlefaddle22 was talking about patching the USA version of the game for his PAL Wi, so completely off topic.

So my question still stands, is there any way to run "Final.Fantasy.4.The.After.Years.WiiWare.JPN.Wii-PLAY-SKiLL" on a US Wii ?

Are there other wiiware japanese games that fail to work on US Wiis or is this a first ?

Thanks, again, for any help.
Later,

TSR

What I've tried so far:
- patch clean rom with freethewads.
- use OSW method on a clean rom
- tried booting clean rom after installing Startpatch.

Same freeze for every method :/

 

[stev418]

some JPN vc/ww require the wii language to be set to Japenese, iirc correctly Square games tend to need it set.

Use anyregion changer to change to Japanese and the game will load

 

[TheShadowRunner]

Ouch, that sounds scarry, especially on my LU65. ^^;
Damn, I guess i'll play the US version of the game after all :/

If someone manages to somehow hack it (the JPN version), to make it work on US Wii, by all means let me know how you did!

Thanks for your answer in any case stev.

 

[TheShadowRunner]

Ok, I tried launching the clean ROM via the Gecko OS 1.9.2 method.
Forced the language to "Japanese", same exact freeze again, I don't get it :/

This ROM isn't nuked so maybe it hasn't been tested by anyone else but me yet heh ^^;

Could I ask Wii gurus with a little time on their hands to try this rom on their system?

I now wonder if it works at all for anyone out there.

I can provide the clean ROM via PM if necessary.

Thanks a bunch,

TSR

 

[fiddlefaddle22]

Ive managed to get the game working with the method OSW suggested but using wwpacker16 and GenericWiiPatcher 1.2.I have a 4.1E Wii though.

Is that with the Japanese version of the game?
I have 4.1 too..
See you,

TSR

I did test it with this Japanese version, Final.Fantasy.4.The.After.Years.WiiWare.JPN.Wii-PLAY-SKiLL

 

[TheShadowRunner]

wow
Apologies then, could you teach the complete method you used to make it work, starting from the unpatched wad?
Thank you.

 

[fiddlefaddle22]

wow
Apologies then, could you teach the complete method you used to make it work, starting from the unpatched wad?
Thank you.

I followed the tutorial on this thread but i used Generic Wii Patcher 1.2 to remove 002 error
http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=108300

Tools needed:
wwpacker 1.6
common-key.bin (Google iz yur frend biggrin.gif )
Generic Wii Patcher
WiiWare wad you want to patch (for this example a Japanese one)

Before you begin:
-Unzip wwpacker to C:\ or whatever letter your root hard drive is (to reduce the possibility of errors)
-Place common-key.bin in the wwpacker folder
-Unzip GenericWiiPatcher and paste a copy to the wwpacker folder
-Place an unzipped copy of your wad into the wwpacker folder

How to crack:
1. Drag the wad to the file named _wwunpacker.bat. When the program is finished, press any key to close the window.
2. Drag the whole folder the program produced to the file named _wwpacker-IOS35-Plus.bat.
3. When asked to patch the .dol file, press 0. After it finishes, press any key.
4. For the next option (Video Mode Changer), press A then enter. If converting to PAL, choose option 1, if not, choose 2, then press enter. Press any key to continue.
5. Now it should have the option to patch the .dol file with Generic Wii Patcher. Leaving the DOS window open, go to your wwpacker folder and open GenericWiiPatcher.exe.
*5a. Under GWP, press open and go to your wwpacker folder. The folder of the unpacked wad should be the only one to select if you didn't unpack any other wads there. Open it, select the .dol file, and press open.
*5b. The only options you need to use with this are the Error001-Fix and the Country Strings. DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING ELSE!
*5c. Under Error001-Fix, press Search, then Press Remove 001. Under Country Strings, select the country of your choice, then press Patch Strings. Press Save. Close Generic Wii Patcher.
6. Press the DOS window so it has the focus again. Press any key to repack the wad. Press any key again to close the window.
7. Rename your new wad whatever you want, use Wad Installer/Manager to install on your Wii, and enjoy your new game biggrin.gif

Note that this is explaining how to crack a Japanese game. You will have to use a different setting for step 3 if you're using a game from another region. It should all work the same

 

[TheShadowRunner]

F*ck yes, it did work !
Thank you so much fiddlefaddle22 !

I had no idea freethewads wasn't the ultimate solution as it worked fine with 100% of the games I threw at it up to today.

It's interesting also that using wwpacker 1.6 instead of wwpacker 1.84 made a difference..

So many Wii mysteries for me still haha;

Thanks a bunch again fiddle ;D