Problems, questions, & things I found out about the PAR2 for SNES

[BigBossman]

I got the PAR2 yesterday & from what I gather it works very similar to the PAR2 for the Genesis.

I did test it for the Retron 3. In order to hack, you can't push the reset button. Otherwise, it'll reset the game & not come back to the trainer menu. If you turn the power off & turn the power on quickly, the trainer menu will pop up. The catch is you have time it right. If you don't you'll lose the data you hacked.

One of the problems I am having is that some of the games don't seem to be compatible. So far I have tested:
Saturday Night Slam Masters
Chavez
Riddick Bowe Boxing
Street Fighter 2
Final Fight
WWF Royal Rumble
Super Mario All-Stars

These games will not load up. They seem to freeze up at the copyright screen or just after.

Other games like:
Hammerlock Wrestling
Tuff E Nuff
TKO Super Championship Boxing

These seem to glitch up badly. Especially Hammerlock Wrestling. The screen will change a variety of colors & when you get to the character select screen it scrolls automatically.

I've tried a handful of games that do work:
The Combatribes
Bill Laimbeer's Combat Basketball
Super Punch-Out
Boxing Legends of the Ring
Chavez 2

My questions:

1. Am I doing something wrong?

2. Is there supposed to be a master code for any of these games?

3. If not, is there a way to fix this?

4. What is the slot on the back of the PAR2 supposed to be used for?

I also noticed that this device also has a PAL / NTSC selector. I tried playing the Jaleco games (Hammerlock Wrestling & Tuff E Nuff). When you select PAL, you get a message that says that the game isn't design for play on the SNES or Super Famicom system.

I know that this has to be the regional lockout device. Are there regional codes for these games like with the Genesis?

[Lazy Bastard]

Hmm...assuming you're not doing anything wrong, it wouldn't be a bad idea to make a compatibility list, and put it in the wiki somewhere.

[Helder]

I have one of these too, the slot in the back is for a same region game where you would put an import in the top slot and allow the system to play it. I'm almost 100% sure its that as mine did come with original box and booklet its just in a box somewhere.

[BigBossman]

I did mess around with some of the games I mentioned & was able to have some luck. What I have to do is keep the switch in the middle position when I load the game. I can still hack while its in the middle position. The problem is when I flip the switch into the upper position it'll either glitch or lock up.

With WWF Royal Rumble, I have better luck if I flip the switch just as the match starts. I'd still love to hack Hammerlock Wrestling & Natsume Championship Wrestling. I've been dying to find something for those games.

[BigBossman]

I managed to make an important discovery:

I found out that if you put the GG in the system, the PAR in the GG, & the game in the PAR, you can play most of the games that don't seem to be compatible. I still can't get Natsume Championship Wrestling to work even when using that method. There are some drawbacks:

1. Hitting reset on the Retron 3 will take you to the GG screen, but when you hit start from there, it will take you directly from the GG to the game instead of going to the PAR screen.

2. Using the trainer is impossible. Even when quickly turning the power on & off, my search results always come back negative.

This does however, allow you to put code in the PAR & play the game without having to worry about the game locking up or glitching real bad.

[JLukas]

For the games listed that don't work, it sounds like it could be dirty cart contacts. Those are standard games that don't use special chips; there shouldn't be any reason they don't work.

As for the reset issue, at least on an official SNES console, how long you press the reset button can determine what happens. If you quickly tap reset, it will reset just the game, but if you hold the reset button down for a second or two, it will go back to the PAR2 menu.

BTW, when you power on the PAR2, what version does it list on the title screen (ex: 1.0, 1.1) and is the background grey or blue?

[BigBossman]

For the games listed that don't work, it sounds like it could be dirty cart contacts. Those are standard games that don't use special chips; there shouldn't be any reason they don't work.

As for the reset issue, at least on an official SNES console, how long you press the reset button can determine what happens. If you quickly tap reset, it will reset just the game, but if you hold the reset button down for a second or two, it will go back to the PAR2 menu.

BTW, when you power on the PAR2, what version does it list on the title screen (ex: 1.0, 1.1) and is the background grey or blue?

Sorry that it took so long to respond.

When I load that PAR up it says Version 2.P? That can't be right can it? The background is a dark (navy) blue.

I know that the games don't have any special chips in them like with Star Fox, but I've tested the PAR with other games & it works just fine on most others. On some of them, when the switch is filpped in the "on" position, it'll glitch (like with Tuff E Nuff & Hammerlock Wrestling), but work just fine when the switch is "off". Then there are others that just won't work at all. Natsume Championship Wrestling works perfectly by itself, works well in the Game Genie, but doesn't work at all in the PAR regardless of what position the switch is in.