Japanese OOT Cartridge Discussion

[leeboiy]

Hey everyone. Long time lurker, first time poster here. I remember the days when all you guys had was a thread on SDA. Heh, how things change. Here comes an introduction, this being my first thread and all...

The same cart of Ocarina of Time has been in my possession since God knows when. Its one of the first N64 games that led me to the realization that Nintendo's analog control sticks don't hold up for shit over time. I've bought and played my share of games since then, but for the past year or so my N64 w/ OOT has been wired to the AV outlet on my TV with the Wii or 360 running via the Component and all the rest of my systems (and N64 games for that matter) stored safely away. So yeah, I've played through OOT more than the average gamer, but not near as much as you guys.

Over the past few months the Japanese versions of OOT have been calling me. The plan is to give the different versions a playthrough and see for myself how exactly they compare to the US versions. I imagine if timestamps from the cartridges' debug info match between a English and Japanese cart then you can expect to see similar 1.0, 1.1, 1.2 version characteristics between the two region types, but who knows. I'm a preferred first hand tester, myself. Plus, a few extra OOT cartridges (version 1.0 hopefully) couldn't hurt anything.

I've come across two Jap carts so far; both are 1.1. If you are looking for a Jap cart, let me know; I don't really care to hold onto multiple copies of the same region/version combination. If you have an unwanted Jap cart confirmed as version 1.0 or 1.2, let me know. We can work something out.

[mzxrules]

From what I've seen, at least in the version used for the latest TASvids record, there's a version of the game (1.0 JAP maybe?) where the enemy music will play over Ganon's organ as you ascend the tower, which is fixed in the US 1.0 version of the game.

[Blizzerk]

I am interested in a Japanese cart. any version. How much would it be? A better question is, where are you located? I am in southern Ontario, Canada.

P.S. Welcome to the team

[aleckermit]

Besides the text being ~3x faster than English (and a supposed sound glitch in Jap V1.0 where enemy music in Ganon's Tower drowns out the organ), there really is no difference between the North American and Japanese OoT cart versions.

If you looks at the OoT Verision Differences section on this site it shows all of the debug codes (including Jap and PAL codes).

From what I've seen the label version codes on all of the Jap OoT carts are the same, no matter what the actual version it is. Maxx's V1.0 Jap cart and me and Pokey's V1.1 Jap carts all have the same label code. It seems obtaining a certain version is just blind luck.

Jap OoT carts can be found on Ebay often, usually for around $20. In order to play them in a North American N64 you'll need to swap the backside of the cart with a North American cart backside, or remove the dust guard from inside the N64.

[AniMeowzerz]

In order to play them in a North American N64 you'll need to swap the backside of the cart with a North American cart backside, or remove the dust guard from inside the N64.

Or theoretically you could use a gameshark, that way you don't need to tamper with anything. I don't know if the gameshark would do a region check or not (I highly doubt it would)

[aleckermit]

Or theoretically you could use a gameshark, that way you don't need to tamper with anything. I don't know if the gameshark would do a region check or not (I highly doubt it would)

Right, I think Gamesharks have an "Play Imported Game" option.

[leeboiy]

I am interested in a Japanese cart. any version. How much would it be? A better question is, where are you located? I am in southern Ontario, Canada.

P.S. Welcome to the team

Thanks. I'm actually down in Texas. Name your city and postal code and I'll get some shipping estimates. What's the best shipper to use when shipping internationally between the US & Canada? Any preferences?

Alec, I'm already familiar with most of that, though I hadn't thought to compare the exterior labels. Did you compare the vague letter/number stamps on the back as well?

From personal experience, Gameshark Pros version 3.2 and 3.3 boot Japanese cartridges fine; they use identical keycodes and everything. I never use them for simply booting up cartridges though, as each time the LED counts down upon startup I feel like its counting down the time until the GS inevitably bricks on me. Switching out the rear cartridge casings is a breeze to do if you have the right gamebit, though.

[Blizzerk]

I pm'd you my details. I hope this can work out. Uhh, How much would this be costing me? (the cart, not the shipping). I just dont wanna pay too much

[leeboiy]

If I could get $10 in hand for the cartridge alone, that would be awesome.

I'm still looking into the shipping options. A quick estimate from ups.com said $16something, but maybe there's a better way. What a mess:
http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum22/590.htm

[Blizzerk]

Just $10? Seriously? That'd be amazing! Haha and with shipping, I have no experience for that. I'd be willing to pay for some, if not all of the shipping if the cart is just gonna be $10. I just need to get money on my paypal. easier said than done. :/

[leeboiy]

Hm. Strange how most of the Japanese carts around here are version 1.1... If I understand correctly, USA carts are mostly 1.2, with 1.1 and 1.0 being rare. The lack of Japanese v1.2 carts, and the excess (what is it, 4 out of 5?) of v1.1 Jap carts make me think that maybe there never was a Jap v1.2. Pure conjecture, though.

Blizz. You can pay more if you'd like . Honestly, I managed to snag it for $10 shipped on Ebay when nobody else was watching. I don't mind passing the deal on to ya, but I can't do $10 shipped because it looks like shipping alone is going to cost more than $10. I'll be back to you with a firm number for shipping soon.

*Post deleted*
PMed instead.

[aleckermit]

Hm. Strange how most of the Japanese carts around here are version 1.1... If I understand correctly, USA carts are mostly 1.2, with 1.1 and 1.0 being rare. The lack of Japanese v1.2 carts, and the excess (what is it, 4 out of 5?) of v1.1 Jap carts make me think that maybe there never was a Jap v1.2. Pure conjecture, though.

No, there ARE 3 Japanese versions of OoT (They called v1.1 and v1.2 "Revision A and Revision B"). It does seem from my experience that v1.1 is the most common though.

As far as the North American carts, I think v1.0 is the least common although they are no where near "rare" (there's an infinite amount of them on Ebay at all times). Almost every grey OoT cart that isn't "Player's Choice" is V1.1 so I doubt that it's rarer than gold. V1.2 is most likely the most common of the 3.

Rarest cart is the "Not for Resale" grey cart (V1.0 full-game store demo), which I own. Sorry, I love bragging about owning it .

PS: If you want, I can supply you with all 3 of the Japanese version games in rom form if you want.

[leeboiy]

Good stuff. "Rare-er" would definitely had been a better choice of words up there, speaking strictly from a version 1.0, 1.1, or 1.2 perspective. I'll let you know if I need the roms. Thanks.

So have you personally played all the way through all three japanese versions?

[aleckermit]

So have you personally played all the way through all three japanese versions?

Nope, but I did the typical tests with them using cheats to get to certain places  fast (tried steal rod tricks, checked the Fire Temple theme, check the blood color, etc). They seem to mirror the North American versions exactly.

[leeboiy]

Cool. Then I won't be totally beating a dead horse. Just partially  .