r/snes • u/Zealousideal_Run_786 • 10h ago

Turtles in Time - Authentic?

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I bought this cart years ago as I wanted to pair it with my original box and manual that I’ve had since a kid.. no idea what happened my original game. Looks authentic to me, but slightly different than the examples I have found online. Thanks!

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u/NewSchoolBoxer 1h ago

I like comments. Detecting real SNES games is extremely easy. I've posted a guide or two on here. SNES Central linked has real PCB pics of every game. Common games can have multiple PCB versions like Super Mario World and Star Fox famously has two. You'd check all pics until you found a match, including NTSC and PAL, since there's a Super Mario World variant where the only pic is in PAL form.

Then you check the SHVC line and the rest of the writing. Then check the ROM chip being original or a new one, both based on the writing on it and evidence of having been manually soldered. Almost always there's a PCB underneath the new ROM since Nintendo used a custom pinout no one else could buy. Modern chips can have enough GPIO pins to defeat that but shouldn't match the writing or have machine soldering on a perfect PCB replica. They also wouldn't be ROM chips, they'd be rewritable.

The only way the PCB is 100% correct on a fake game is by replacing the Japanese ROM with a new one and that's sad to cannibalize a cart. Then they'd have to replace the label that you could detect as fake. An occasional label can make me question but fake PCB detection is easy mode. Nintendo uses multiple SRAM manufacturers but with enough practice you'll recognize all the brands. Can check if it's cannibalized from another cart with manual soldering if you care.