Change language of original Final Fantasy III cartridge

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lemonpotato
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:35 am

Change language of original Final Fantasy III cartridge

Post by lemonpotato »

Hey there,
I was wondering if it would be possible to simply take an original FF3 (NES) famicom cartridge and replace the MaskRoms with EPROMs that contain the game in English language.
Has anyone any experience with it? I noticed that the CHR has only 28 pins and is CHR-RAM - so can I simply leave it on the PCB like with UNROM repros and only replace the PRG?

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rainwarrior
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Re: Change language of original Final Fantasy III cartridge

Post by rainwarrior »

You should not have to do anything with the CHR-RAM, but be careful to choose a translation that does not require a different mapper / board / PRG-ROM size than the original game. (Often a "patch" does more than modify the ROM in place, but may try to use a larger ROM or different mapper, etc.)
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tokumaru
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Re: Change language of original Final Fantasy III cartridge

Post by tokumaru »

Yes, be sure to verify if the translated ROM is still compatible with the original board, like rainwarrior said. Also note that you'll still need to do some rewiring in order to have the EPROM replace the PRG-ROM. The CHR-RAM can be left alone.
lemonpotato
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:35 am

Re: Change language of original Final Fantasy III cartridge

Post by lemonpotato »

Since the PCB is a HVC-TNROM with Mapper 4, I can simply use the standard wiring as for NES PCBs, right?

PRG socket:
Bend up pins 1, 2, 24, 30 and 31 (or cut tracks 2, 24, 30 and 31)
Solder pin 2 to hole 24 (A16)
Solder pin 24 to GND (OE)
Solder pin 30 to hole 1 (A17)
Solder pin 31 to hole 2 (A18)
Great Hierophant
Posts: 780
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2004 9:35 pm

Re: Change language of original Final Fantasy III cartridge

Post by Great Hierophant »

This is the English translation to use, do not bother with any other translation : http://www.romhacking.net/translations/141/
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