Japanese OOT Cartridge Discussion

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.

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.

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 ;)

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.

aleckermit wrote

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)

AniMeowzerz wrote

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.

Blizzerk wrote

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.

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 :(

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

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. :/

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 :D. 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.

leeboiy wrote

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 :P.

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

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?

leeboiy wrote

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.

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

Yeah like alec already said I have a 1.0 Jap cart.  I can give you any info you want, but it's pretty much the same as the US version.  I actually never tested that enemy music thing so maybe I should.

I also have a USA gold v1.1 which I've never even heard of before, not that it's cool or anything.

If you don't test the enemy music then I will as soon as I get my hands on a v1.0J cart. No biggie, there.

What three unit letter/number combination is vaguely stamped on the back of your Jap v1.0 cart, by the way?

i have the US grey v1.0 OoT cart.

i hope that thing is worth some serious cash someday. not like i would actually sell it since the gold cart i have rarely boots up and i wouldn't want to lose the very first copy i got.

about the cart backside swap, imo, that's the best method to play imports since you need to use the GS every time you want to play but you only do the backside swap once. that's how i did with my JP version of F-Zero X to play the Expansion Kit on an US N64 (64DDs work on both regions' machines)

What's the best way you guys know of to crash the game and get to the debug screen? I already know of the crooked cartridge "trick" (never liked yanking cartridges out of my powered on n64, sorry). The Nayru's Love crash is fairly quick, but it requires a savefile that has nearly beat the game and let's face it... Sometimes you get a cartridge where the best savefile has 25 deaths and hasn't completed the fire temple yet  ::).

Know that that file wasn't mine, blizz.

leeboiy wrote

What's the best way you guys know of to crash the game and get to the debug screen? I already know of the crooked cartridge "trick" (never liked yanking cartridges out of my powered on n64, sorry). The Nayru's Love crash is fairly quick, but it requires a savefile that has nearly beat the game and let's face it... Sometimes you get a cartridge where the best savefile has 25 deaths and hasn't completed the fire temple yet  ::).

Know that that file wasn't mine, blizz.

Well, besides CC you can do a chu hover in a void to crash the game. The easiest way to see if your cart is v1.0 or not is to go to the fishing hole (adult or child) and try to cast the rod near the door, if you can then you have v1.0, if you can't then it's v1.1 or v1.2.

Also here's a whole page on the differences between the versions: http://www.platypuscomix.net/interactive2/ocarinaphotos.html

What's the quickest way to get early chus from a fresh savefile?

I'm surprised nobody has come across a crash in kokiri forrest with only the sword and shield acquired. There's certainly been enough testing that has been done in order to figure out how to get out of there early..

I've glanced over that link before. They got the hippy "Well Come" info wrong. He says that in english v1.2, too. Damn hippie =].

leeboiy wrote

What's the quickest way to get early chus from a fresh savefile?

Bottom of the Well chus are quickest. If that's too hard for you do Spirit Chus. I dunno any fast OOB spots that don't require a good bit of explosives though... someone else might know of a good place.

aleckermit wrote

Bottom of the Well chus are quickest. If that's too hard for you do Spirit Chus. I dunno any fast OOB spots that don't require a good bit of explosives though... someone else might know of a good place.

"OOB"? Wish there was a Zelda speedrunning dictionary, heh.

God, I love ZSR

Getting into the well shouldn't be a problem. I've grabbed a cucko through the graveyard entrance arch and flown the old fashion way down to the Well entrance before. Will have to practice with the later parts, though.

where did the names 1.0, 1.1, and 1.2 come from (as well as "Revision A" and "Revision B" in japan)? Were they just fan-made names, or did Nintendo really call them that publicly?

Good question... Can't comment on the "Revision A & B" identifiers, because aleckermit's post was the first I had heard of them. As for English carts, the only time I've personally seen the 1.0, 1.1, 1.2 identifiers outside of a fan-based context is in Gameshark Pro menus. I'm not sure if Nintendo coined those identifiers prior to that, or not.

leeboiy wrote

Good question... Can't comment on the "Revision A & B" identifiers, because aleckermit's post was the first I had heard of them. As for English carts, the only time I've personally seen the 1.0, 1.1, 1.2 identifiers outside of a fan-based context is in Gameshark Pro menus. I'm not sure if Nintendo coined those identifiers prior to that, or not.

Yeah I think it was originated through Gameshark's code lists.

Alright well I just paid Leeboiy so I'll get my cart and gamebits soon :D

They're coming, Blizz.

aleckermit wrote

Bottom of the Well chus are quickest. If that's too hard for you do Spirit Chus. I dunno any fast OOB spots that don't require a good bit of explosives though... someone else might know of a good place.

The quickest OOB crash spot I've found: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/7139976

Edit: Above works best for child link. For adult link, the graveyard entrance arches are much easier to wall clip.

Friendly reminder to all: Do not ask for ROMs on the ZSR forums. Thank you.