Upgrading Fighting Mania to Punch Mania 2?

[neo_razor]

Hi,

After many years of wanting one I've finally closed a deal to get my own Konami Fighting Mania cab. I'm well into my games and I love Hokuto no Ken so this was always going to be the dream arcade machine for me.

I've been playing it solidly since it was delivered last Thursday and although I'm nowhere near finishing it on the harder difficulties I have been looking into how easy it would be to upgrade it to the Punch Mania 2 sequel. So far all I've learn is the following:

Fighting Mania was the European and American release of the game but in Japan it was called Punch Mania: Hokuto no Ken. Japan also got a sequel/upgrade; Punch Mania Hokuto no Ken 2: Gekito Shura no Kuni Hen which had all the paths from the original game plus 6 new ones. Also, Fighting Mania runs on Konami's System 573 hardware.

Basically, I'm just trying to see if anyone can advise me on how easy it would be to upgrade my Fighting Mania cab to run Punch Mania 2.

http://img37.picoodle.com/img/img37/4/6/21/f_Setupm_b33a4a2.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/4/6/21/f_Setupm_b33a4a2.jpg&srv=img37)

I've read the very interesting thread started by Parris last year about the System 573 and have come to understand that inorder to run a game on it you need the CD, security cartridge and PCMCIA flash card.

Cart:
http://img33.picoodle.com/img/img33/4/6/21/f_Cartm_926c098.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/4/6/21/f_Cartm_926c098.jpg&srv=img33)

Card:
http://img34.picoodle.com/img/img34/4/6/21/f_Flashm_5beff7d.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/4/6/21/f_Flashm_5beff7d.jpg&srv=img34)

So I think I'm hopefully right in understanding that I already have the security cartridge and flash card needed to make Fighting Mania work. But would I need a completely different security cartridge and flash card to get Punch Mania 2 to work on my cab, even thought it's basically just an upgrade rather than a different game?

I've found someone who might be willing to sell me a genuine Punch Mania 2 CD but I don't want to buy it until I'm absolutely sure it'll be of use to me. I'm not even sure if these arcade machines are region specific like consoles?

I didn't get any manuals or instructions with this cab so I'm really in the dark as to how to upgrade it so any advice will be very much appreciated. I haven't even been able to figure out how to open the CD drive as pushing the button with the machine on doesn't seem to work, lol.

Matt

[skavenger216]

is there any kind of dipswitch settings or anything like that? see if theres a "test" or "settings" mode and maybe theres an option in there to eject the cd tray?? Im just throwing an idea out there, i dont really know too much about arcade games. sorry i couldnt be of more help :icon_bigg

[neo_razor]

Yeah, I've tried going through all the options available through the "test" and "service" buttons on the front of the cab but there wasn't anything to eject the cd tray. The four dipswitches on the main unit inside the cab didn't seem to have any effect either.

I've now also tried removing the cartridge, flash card and jamma connection hoping this might make the eject button function but to no avail. The little git just doesn't want to give up that CD!

The solution is probably staring me in the face but I just can't get the tray open. Anyone ever dealt with a System 573 before?

[Dreamcast]

I can't tell from the picture (it could be another access L.E.D.), but just to the right of the center of the CD drive, there is a hole. This is the manual ejection access. The best tool for the job is a paper clip or another strong / straight piece of wire to get in there and eject the tray. Once you have your tool of choice, push it firmly straight into the manual ejection access and the tray should eject. Be sure to do this when the unit is off.

If that is the access light, then then look by the eject button and around the front of the bezel for it. The diameter is usually only as big as a regular paper clip's is.

[neo_razor]

OMG WTF! I took your advice and got the CD tray open and there wasn’t even a disc in the drive? So does that mean all the game data is stored on the flash card maybe? I really wish I had a manual for this machine is I really don’t have a clue how it all works. Thanks for the tip though Dreamcast :-)

This still leaves me wondering if I bought the Punch Mania 2 disc whether I’d be able to use it to upgrade this machine, or if I’d need a new security cartridge as well. Has anyone ever used a System 573 to play more than just the game it came with?

[neo_razor]

Okay, I now have the Punch Mania 2 CD. I changed the dip switch to run off the CD rather than the flash card and booted it up, firstly without a security cartridge and then with the Fighting Mania cartridge.

No cartridge:
http://img28.picoodle.com/img/img28/4/6/25/f_DSC00309m_3aff389.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/4/6/25/f_DSC00309m_3aff389.jpg&srv=img28)

With Fighting Mania cartridge:
http://img26.picoodle.com/img/img26/4/6/25/f_DSC00310m_347cc7a.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/4/6/25/f_DSC00310m_347cc7a.jpg&srv=img26)

So it would seem the Fighting Mania cartridge won't cut it, I'm going to need a Punch Mania 2 cartridge for the job... :banghead:

My search for a Punch Mania 2 cartridge begins, but I am concerned about something I read in an old thread about the System 573:




The games that use the digital I/O board ( newer bemani games ) have a serial number that gets written to the security cartridge the first time you install it & you can't then install it on any other machine.

smf

If the System 16 website is correct then Fighting/Punch Mania was released on the standard System 573 Hardware and not Bemani System 573 Digital Hardware.

System 573 - http://www.system16.com/hardware.php?id=582
System 573 Digital - http://www.system16.com/hardware.php?id=823

But can anyone categorically tell me for sure, if I manage to track down a Punch Mania 2 security cartridge, whether it'll work on any System 573 cabinet or only the one it was originally installed on?

If I can just figure this last detail out then all that remains for me to do is track down a Punch Mania 2 cartridge. Then I'll finally, FINALLY be able to play it :icon_bigg

Matt

[Taucias]

I believe the cart is region coded and you'll need the Japanese cart for Punch Mania for it to work correctly.

[smf]

But can anyone categorically tell me for sure, if I manage to track down a Punch Mania 2 security cartridge, whether it'll work on any System 573 cabinet or only the one it was originally installed on?

If I can just figure this last detail out then all that remains for me to do is track down a Punch Mania 2 cartridge. Then I'll finally, FINALLY be able to play it :icon_bigg

Matt

I will have to dig out the punch mania code and see if I can get it working again, it broke a while back and never made it into a MAME release.

Off the top of my head I would say that the cartridge wasn't tied to the machine. Only the digital games were & from memory it's got it's own i/o board. High res pictures of the boards would be nice.

However I don't think a CD & cartridge will do it. I think it needs more flash cards. The game calls for more than 2 PCMCIA slots, but that might be some form of doubler.

If you install punchmania 2 then there is no going back to fighting mania without the CD & fighting mania isn't currently dumped. A copy of the flash card and the flash roms on your motherboard would be nice too.