Card Games
SD Gundam: Gundam Wars (SDガンダム GUNDAM WARS) is the third game for the Bandai Datach. I bought it about four years ago and finally managed to sort and scan all the cards for the use in MAME.
This time, I also scanned the artwork, manual and a special card that wasn’t part of the original set. I’ll try to complete the previously released sets in the future as well:
Ultraman Club: Spokon Fight!!
Dragon Ball Z: Gekitō Tenkaichi Budokai
Five years ago, I bought my second game for the Bandai Datach: Ultraman Club: Spokon Fight!! (ウルトラマン倶楽部 スポ根ファイト!!). Also five years ago, it became possible to play the Bandai Datach games in MESS and make use of scanned barcodes.
In the meantime, MESS became MAME, and it is still possible to play these games (for instructions see below). It’s time for another batch of scanned cards.
Continue reading Bandai Datach Ultraman Club: Spokon Fight!! Barcodes for MAMEThe Bandai Datach Joint ROM System is now emulated in MESS SVN and accepts scanned barcodes. Details can be found on etabeta’s playground.
These are the 40 cards (unsorted) for the first Datach game, Dragon Ball Z: Gekitō Tenkaichi Budokai. The barcodes (EAN-13) were read with Bytescout BarCode Reader and can be used with the MESS emulator. I haven’t verified the codes yet. If you find any errors then please let me know.
Continue reading Bandai Datach Barcodes for MESSToday the second game for the Datach Joint ROM System was waiting for me at the post office. I’m glad to have found it for a decent price as these mini cartridges and barcode cards are quite rare and/or pricey.
Ultraman Club: Spokon Fight!! (ウルトラマン倶楽部 スポ根ファイト!!) is a track and field / Olympics game with characters from the Ultraman universe. It contains a Datach mini cartridge and 40 barcode cards (including two blanks).
Today I got two additions for my Nintendo e-Reader collection:
The first one is a small piece of plastic, known as AGB-016 or 6PIN Protection Cover. It is still being sold in the Nintendo Online Shop Update: It was sold in the Nintendo Online Shop until 2014. The page can still be accessed with the WayBack Machine.
It protects the Game Boy Advance SP screen when an e-Reader+ or an e-Reader with a link cable port is plugged in. Actually, it is a very useful little accessory with the only drawback that it has to be fixed permanently on the e-Reader. The e-Reader then won’t fit anymore in the original Game Boy Advance.
Recently I acquired an interesting pirate 2 in 1 Famicom cartridge:
On the title screen, you can select two games:
The Bandai Datach Joint ROM System is an add-on for the Nintendo Famicom. It plugs right into the cartridge slot and comes with its own small cartridges. The games are enhanced with barcode cards, similar to the Mattel HyperScan.
The retail package with one included game, Dragon Ball Z: Gekitō Tenkaichi Budokai, is rather easy and cheap to obtain.
Additional games are very rare and even rarer and pricier when the corresponding barcode cards are included. I’ve seen some bootlegs of those games on regular Famicom carts but never tried them so far. Update: Pirate Dragon Ball Z Famicom Cartridge.
These were in the mail today: Two games that make use of some special peripherals. No, not the Power Glove, but the ASCII Turbo File and the Epoch BBII Interface. More about them later.
The Mattel HyperScan was a short-lived console in 2006. It had an interesting concept though, to enhance classic video games with collectible RFID cards. This concept was later picked up in a similar form by the Skylanders games and Nintendo’s Amiibo.
Playing the games (and scanning cards) can be described as more interesting than fun. The games seem unfinished and buggy. And then there are the long loading times, a problem that already the NeoGeo CD suffered from back in the days.
There were even some first steps with homebrew programs here and here.
