Gamecube Importing Questions (Console, Freeloader, etc))

[Link83]

Hi all,
Having regretably only bought PAL for the Gamecube , I have decided that now is the perfect opportunity to correct my mistake and replace my PAL collection with an NTSC one (mainly for their Progressive scan ability)

I am not very clued up as to the best way to importing for the Gamecube so would like some advice.

I have read that UK and US saves can be saved on the same memory card, but that you need a separate card for Japanese games. Also I have read that only a Japanese Gamecube can format the card correctly for Japanese save files.
So what I was wondering is, can a Japanese Gamecube also format memory cards for UK/US games? If so would it be best to get a Japanese Gamecube console for the best compatability?

Also, are there any advantages to having a US Gamecube, over a UK one? (apart from not needing anything extra to run US games)

Also, there are now so many versions of the Freeloader im not sure which ones best!

As far as I understand it, the first version was 1.6b which had a number of compatability problems.
The second version was 1.6B which works much better.
Both versions are compatable with any region Gamecube
and both these versions work fine with a US or Japanese Wii.

....But because later PAL Gamecubes had revised firmware (such as the Mario Smash Football Pearl edition) Nintendo used the same revised Gamecube firmware in the PAL Wii, meaning that none of the current freeloaders worked.

So Datel went and produced a new freeloader that worked with the PAL Wii. Now this is the bit that confuses me:-
They went and produced three separate versions, each of which will only work on a specific region console
Now why did they do this?
Also, since this new PAL version Freeloader works on the PAL Wii, does it also work on the original Gamecube AND the revised firmware Gamecubes aswell?

All this has made me think that I may be better off just getting a chip fitted, and if this is the case, what does everyone recommend; the Viper Extreme or the Qoob Pro?

Sorry for so many questions and thanks for taking the time to read all of this

[smouty]

The US and Jap GCs are basically the same. A jumper inside sets it to each region so you may see a 'switched' console for sale in the classifieds
The console in this case has had a switch fitted that allows you to change the region between US and JAP.
For all round compatability get an NTSC cube with a switch and a QOOB sx chip.
The chip will allow you to force 480p on most games. For 480p you will also need the cube to have the digital AV port and a component cable (also available from the sales forum).

[Pavey]

IMO once you have just a switched NTSC cube there really is no reason to touch PAL games again, so don't bother with a freeloader.
(unless you go to UK game shops)

Memory card wise you will need two. One for US games and saves, one for Japanese. You can format both of these on the same NTSC cube.

[charlesr]

Not all NTSC games run in prog scan but as mentioned above, a chip can sometimes force this, so if that's you main motivation, then that's your best option. Otherwise, just get a switched US or JPN cube (doesn't matter which) and replace all your games.

[Link83]

Thanks for all the replies

I was just thinking of getting a chipped NTSC cube as suggested, but then I remembered that NTSC cubes dont do RGB scart, only S-Video. Now I know this may seem irrelevent as I will mostly be playing it on an LCD using component, but ocassionally I do like to move my consoles into another room, and the TV in there only has RGB scart.

So, I was wondering, does it really matter if the chipped cube is PAL or not? (any compatability issues with games?) as it would be better to have RGB scart than S-Video for me. I know there are modified Scart cables about for NTSC cubes but I dont really fancy going down that route.

Also, is there any particular chip that is best? I remember reading somewhere that only the Qoob Pro can force Progressive scan, is that right?

Thanks again

[sj33]

Qoob is the only mod that can force 480p, but as an owner of a Qoob-modded Cube, I can really say it's not that big of a deal - for the most part, your better off sticking to NTSC games and using the games own 480p mode.
There are a handful of NTSC titles which lack 480p and can be forced (like Killer7), but also a lot of games which don't work when forced.
It's a nice feature for sure, but not *that* big a deal.
The cheaper QoobSX can also do force 480p btw, not just the Qoob Pro.

I have got absolutely no complaints with the Qoob though, very nice mod, though a Viper-modded Cube is just as good, though you don't get force 480p with a Viper.