PSA: PAL SNES ROMs DO work on the SNES Mini

[WiiUBricker]

I'm not sure where the false information came from that said the internal emulator of the SNES mini, Canoe, doesn't support PAL ROMs. I just loaded my EU SNES Mini with untouched PAL ROMs and they do all work just fine. Of course they're running slower at 50Hz. It seems what's going on here is that the US and EU SNES minis aren't exactly identical. They run a different "OS", "kernel" or whatever you call that that make them basically behave like actual SNES consoles as far as region detecting goes. A lot of untouched SNES ROMs do have a region check built in and when you try to play one of those with an out-of-region SNES Mini, you get a "this game pak is not designed for your system" error message. But since the region of PAL ROMs and the EU SNES Mini match, they work just fine. However if you attempt to run a region protected PAL ROM on a US SNES Mini, you most likely get the error message above. Conversely, if you attempt to run an NTSC ROM on an EU SNES Mini, you won't get to play it unless it doesn't have a region check or the region check is patched out.

Edit: Ignore the strike-through part. It seems my theory about the SNES minis having region differences in their OS is false. It seems their OS is identical apart from cosmetics.

So yeah, to sum it up:

EU & US SNES Mini:

PAL ROMs (region-protected): Won't work
PAL ROMs (region-free): Work
NTSC ROMs (region-protected): Work
NTSC ROMs (region-free): Work
JP ROMs (region-protected): Won't work
JP ROMs (region-free): Work

As a bonus, here is a documentation about the SNES ROM format in case you're interested.

 

[DarthDub]

Only PAL game worth mentioning is Terranigma. I love that game so much.

 

[the_randomizer]

Only PAL game worth mentioning is Terranigma. I love that game so much.

Runs better when there's an NTSC patch.

 

[WiiUBricker]

Runs better when there's an NTSC patch.

Yeah but remember there are PAL games that have some out of sync issues when they're converted to NTSC due to the changes the developers made to the ROM when optimizing it for the PAL region.

 

[the_randomizer]

Yeah but remember there are PAL games that have some out of sync issues when they're converted to NTSC due to the changes the developers made to the ROM when optimizing it for the PAL region.

Terranigma doesn't have issues with the NTSC patch as far as I know.

 

[WiiUBricker]

Terranigma doesn't have issues with the NTSC patch as far as I know.

Actually Terranigma is specifically the game I had in mind. On some places the music runs faster than the video. It's hard to notice when you never played the original in 50Hz, though.

 

[the_randomizer]

Actually Terranigma is specifically the game I had in mind. On some places the music runs faster than the video. It's hard to notice when you never played the original in 50Hz, though.

I'm not used to 50 Hz at all, I find it to slow =/

 

[DarthDub]

Actually Terranigma is specifically the game I had in mind. On some places the music runs faster than the video. It's hard to notice when you never played the original in 50Hz, though.

Game originally came out in Japan, so 60hz is the correct speed. A lot of developers at the time didn't know how to convert properly to 50hz without it seeming slower. I also have a question, is there any other PAL games worth playing?

 

[Thoradin]

Game originally came out in Japan, so 60hz is the correct speed. A lot of developers at the time didn't know how to convert properly to 50hz without it seeming slower. I also have a question, is there any other PAL games worth playing?

The Fireman and Theme Park

-The Fireman is an Action Adventure where you play as a Firefighter and Theme Park is an Excellent Port of the PC Classic.

 

[spotanjo3]

I'm not sure where the false information came from that said the internal emulator of the SNES mini, Canoe, doesn't support PAL ROMs. I just loaded my EU SNES Mini with untouched PAL ROMs and they do all work just fine. Of course they're running slower at 50Hz. It seems what's going on here is that the US and EU SNES minis aren't exactly identical. They run a different "OS", "kernel" or whatever you call that that make them basically behave like actual SNES consoles as far as region detecting goes. A lot of untouched SNES ROMs do have a region check built in and when you try to play one of those with an out-of-region SNES Mini, you get a "this game pak is not designed for your system" error message. But since the region of PAL ROMs and the EU SNES Mini match, they work just fine. However if you attempt to run a region protected PAL ROM on a US SNES Mini, you most likely get the error message above. Conversely, if you attempt to run an NTSC ROM on an EU SNES Mini, you won't get to play it unless it doesn't have a region check or the region check is patched out.

So yeah, to sum it up:

EU SNES Mini:

PAL ROMs (region-protected): Work
PAL ROMs (region-free): Work
NTSC ROMs (region-protected): Won't work
NTSC ROMs (region-free): Work

US SNES Mini:

PAL ROMs (region-protected): Won't work
PAL ROMs (region-free): Work
NTSC ROMs (region-protected): Work
NTSC ROMs (region-free): Work


As a bonus, here is a documentation about the SNES ROM format in case you're interested.

Thank you very much. We are glad to hear that.. We will be adding only EUROPE games when our EU SNES Mini arrive this Friday. Thanks so much. :

By the way, what games are NTSC ROMs (region-protected): Won't work ?? (Curiosity)

I'm not used to 50 Hz at all, I find it to slow =/

I grew up with SNES version of 60 Hz in America but 50 Hz doesnt bother me at all.

 

[Mr.Faq2015]

I believe it was because the games that come on snes mini are the NTSC releases for all models but japanese ones, as well as this being the case of SNES vc on new3ds, so people may think that PAL roms may not work for some reason. Someone correct me if I'm wrong and roms actually have the proper region set though

Sent from my 1DS with B9S using Discord Nitro

 

[RetroVortex]

I've only ever added U roms to my Snes classic and its a PAL one.
Never come across this issue.

 

[spotanjo3]

I've only ever added U roms to my Snes classic and its a PAL one.
Never come across this issue.

Thats good news. I can't wait for SNES Classic MINI EUROPE to arrive this Friday.

 

[AlessioM88]

HI! I had the same problem, but only with hakchi2 2.21b. When I played hakchi previous version (2.20) I haven't that problem! Why?
For example: Goof Troop (E) didn't work on hakchi 2.20 but it works now with 2.21b
but games like Pinocchio, Sparkster and Donkey Kong Country 2 & 3 worked before but DID NOT WORK ANYMORE! Why? This version should be better and more compatible, shouldn't it?
How can I fix that problem? Because before v.2.21 that games work!
I can even use ntsc roms but some (very rare) PAL roms are in my language ITALIAN! Or other are translated by fans in IT. Please help me!
I Have also retroarch but never used (I don't know exactly how to do but i installed these modules: "retroarch" and "snes9x 2100". I know i have to write a line for expert users (with " ..retroarch" at the end). But i want to fix with original snes emulator first! Help me! Thank you!

 

[Localhorst86]

As far as I know hakchi2 patches PAL Roms automatically. Maybe thats why they are working....

 

[AlessioM88]

As far as I know hakchi2 patches PAL Roms automatically. Maybe thats why they are working....

Thanks for your answer. However that version worked before with hakchi 2.20. It don't work with hakchi 2.21b. Some person said me to try hakchi 2.21c that not patches automatically pal roms in ntsc. Before that, can you kindly try to launch Pinocchio (E) or Sparkster (E) , Donkey Kong Contry 2 (E), Donkey Kong Country 3 (E), Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World (E) with hakchi 2.21 and tell me if they give you the same problem? thank you!

 

[WiiUBricker]

As far as I know hakchi2 patches PAL Roms automatically. Maybe thats why they are working....

Afaik hakchi does not patch PAL ROMs to NTSC. It does convert them to the WiiU VC format.

 

[AlessioM88]

Afaik hakchi does not patch PAL ROMs to NTSC. It does convert them to the WiiU VC format.

Can you help me to find out why some PAL roms like Pinocchio, DOnkey Kong. etc. worked fine on hakchi 2.20 but not with hakchi 2.21b ? Can you try that for me if you have that version? There's a new hakchi version now, 2.1c, maybe it can solve this?

 

[Dan-the-Rebirth]

What's the best way to patch a pal Rom to 60hz if I want to play them in German? Or is it easyer to put the German localization into the US Rom?

 

[AlessioM88]

Can you help me to find out why some PAL roms like Pinocchio, DOnkey Kong. etc. worked fine on hakchi 2.20 but not with hakchi 2.21b ? Can you try that for me if you have that version? There's a new hakchi version now, 2.1c, maybe it can solve this?

Ok! I fix the problem! I used the new version hakchi 2.21c and fixes pal protection of these games
Now the compatibility is very huge, but for some game that doesn't work , please use the line " --retroarch" in game settings of hakchi to play that game using retroarch! You have to install retroarch modules first! In this way you can play ALL, NTSC PAL and Hacked roms!