Bubble Bobble Bootleg info

[leonardoliveira]

A bit off topic: I have an original Tokio PCB, would it be possible to convert it to Bubble Bobble? same hardware as Bubble Bobble, the western version of Tokio a.k.a. : "Scramble Formation" doesn't have the Z80, but Tokio has it.

Uh, Scramble Formation and Tokio are the exact SAME game. Flipping a dip switch causes it to change the title (and place names change from english to japanese or the inverse).

The board has Two Z80Bs (next to each other) one Z80A (at the opposite side as the other two Z80s) and a protection MCU (the MCU is at about the middle of the board).

The sound hardware is very different (Scramble Formation/Tokio lacks the YM3526) from bubble bobble and that would be a bit of a challenge for the conversion.

And... Scramble Formation is actually the Japanese name for that game. Tokio is the "overseas" name. (Trivia: Tokio is an alternative spelling for Tokyo and also how the city name is written in Portuguese)

[copados33]

I see, I'll try to fix to fix my bb pcb instead then

[ramparts]

Issue solved bad conection on rom socket :/

Is there a way to get the original bubble bobble on 11 rom set?

Best REgards

JOSÉ

[ramparts]

Can anyone post a link to the original bubble bobble bootleg us version of chips 3 ,4 and 5 with 32k ?

I burn one but seems japan and menu is garbled ....

Regards

JOSÉ

[frsj8112]

Ramparts, post a pic so we can see

Also, flick the switch 8 on the second dipswitch, then i think the region changes to english

[ramparts]

Hi

Yes on my pcb is switch 1 that changes the region although,i burn the boblbobl.zip file and get what is expected Bobble bobble bug menu and not Bubble bobble ,and stuck on 1p 2p menu when we lost,i would like the bubble bobble menu and patched 3 32k files for bb3,bb4,bb5 menu that entered in Demo mode when we lost.

Pcb:

20151107_224018[1].jpg

And Menu:

20151107_224118[1].jpg

Best Regards

JOSÉ

[ramparts]

O level 10 i have glitches on screen when white ghosts appear ,does anyone has the same issues?

Best REgards

JOSÉ

[KaterKarli]

hello folks,
I´m very new here.
I want ask for help with this Bubble Bobble PCB.
There is an ic missing in the right upper corner.
What eprom should I plug in this socket ?
Does someone know which binfile should be burned here ?

[leonardoliveira]

Looks like that spot is for the protection MCU, not for a normal EPROM.

[KaterKarli]

Thank you very much Leonardo ,
A MCU ? Where can I buy this mcu for this bootleg ?
I didn´t know that a bootleg need for an Security mcu .....
*confuzed*

Kater

[Asayuki]

Where can I buy this mcu for this bootleg ?

If it's really a protection MCU then nowhere, I'm afraid. Even if you'd know which part it is and could get one, God knows what code would need to be inside.

I didn´t know that a bootleg need for an Security mcu .....

It wasn't that common but yes, funny enough bootleggers sometimes reprotected their cracks to keep other bootleggers from stealing the market they themselves had stolen. Definitely sick but sadly commercially meaningful.

EDIT: Also, the quartz crystal is missing... I hope you didn't pay much to get this board.

[leonardoliveira]

Actually, the board could be running code that do not require the MCU even though it has the MCU place...

Regardless, it could be modified to run this redux version and I believe it removes the need of a MCU.

[Asayuki]

Totally true; dumping and reprogramming those EPROMs is just too easy not to try it. The missing crystal makes me wonder though if the board might have suffered from a failed repair attempt already.

[KaterKarli]

I get the board as it is from a junkbox of pcbs
I didn´t know that the quarz should be soldered in here ...
At the back I allready got an 24 Mhz crystal on board .

But this is maybe the reason while the pcb is not working .....
hmm,

Does anyone of you has an similar Super Boblbobl board picture where I can see
what all should be soldered in ?

cheers

[KaterKarli]

Got It! Don´t need this crystal.
because no PS4 ic inserted.
This clocks only the taito ic.

the main 24 mhz clock come from the video pcb to the CPU(s)

[Asayuki]

That's good news. Did you turn it on already? What is the defect this board shows?

[KaterKarli]

as always the watchdogs (3) are reseting the board.
every second.

The picture is frozen garbage (random characters on screen)
before the memory is checked, the board resets...

have to check every ic on the pcb

[Asayuki]

You could start from the usual things around the CPUs: clock, reset, irq, nmi.
Schematics are available around the net; be aware that the main cpu controls the reset line of the sub cpu through a latch, and then needs to communicate with it.
EPROMs or RAMs could be faulty, and as Leonard already suggested you can try the latest Redux romset (after of course having dumped and verified yours).
From your description I am keen on thinking that the cpu(s) either do not run at all or crash almost immediately. I hope this helps.

[KaterKarli]

thank you. This helps!
I will check this !
the latch is indeed damaged. the Reset will not pass through to the sub cpu ....

[KaterKarli]

I did replace the 273 latch and the main processor is doing something , I got bus activity.
but after 1 second it resets the sound cpu.

The Sub cpu is ALWAYS Reset LOW
Never high ...
Seems very strange to me.

On Main CPU Schematic:
The 244 and 245 driver are all replaced -> no change
the pal has on the Dir Pin of the 245 activity but on the OE of 245 dead silence ....
what does this mean ?


What can I do now ?