• Welcome to Smashboards, the world's largest Super Smash Brothers community! Over 250,000 Smash Bros. fans from around the world have come to discuss these great games in over 19 million posts!

    You are currently viewing our boards as a visitor. Click here to sign up right now and start on your path in the Smash community!

Japanese Brawl and Modchips

Thino

Smash Master
Joined
Apr 7, 2006
Messages
4,845
Location
Mountain View, CA
I currently dont have a Wii so I'm a bit clueless about update and stuff
I heard there are more risks of bricking with wiikey clones is this true?
when i get my wiikey installed, are there risks of bricking only with import games (PAL Wii) , or also with PAL games that are more recent than the update?
are there any risks on updating while having a wiikey? considering Brawl will be the only game ill buy in import
 

Lucina Clash

Smash Apprentice
Joined
May 9, 2007
Messages
162
If you get a chip, be very careful. When Nintendo ships an update, you're screwed. Any change could kill your console easy. Plus, do you know how hard getting a new console is now.....?

If I were you and that desperate, I'd get a Japanese Wii (given you live in NTSC regions like most).

Have fun.
 

ShortFuse

Smash Lord
Joined
May 23, 2007
Messages
1,523
Location
NJ/NYC
Really guys. Go to GBATemp.net
It's really the best place for Wii modchip discussion, plus, its members are very knowledgable on the topic. I personally recommend CycloWiz because the development team is good. They quickly released a new firmware for Mario Galaxy. Again check out gbatemp.net and browse their forums.
And modchips are not illegal in the US. Selling them for reasons of piracy are. It's kinda silly but it's true.
 

Wiwiweb

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Feb 28, 2007
Messages
309
Location
Europe
If you get a chip, be very careful. When Nintendo ships an update, you're screwed. Any change could kill your console easy. Plus, do you know how hard getting a new console is now.....?
Stop explaining things you don't even know.


I currently dont have a Wii so I'm a bit clueless about update and stuff
I heard there are more risks of bricking with wiikey clones is this true?
when i get my wiikey installed, are there risks of bricking only with import games (PAL Wii) , or also with PAL games that are more recent than the update?
are there any risks on updating while having a wiikey? considering Brawl will be the only game ill buy in import
Well... Clones chip will most of the time just be a plastic shell costing the same price as the working chip. It's not a real chip. It's a trap !

About the only way to brick your Wii with a modchip :
Some games are packed with updates for your Wii. When you start the game it will tell you "Do you want to install the needed update" and a Yes/No choice.
If you play a foreign game that comes with an update, choosing Yes will brick your Wii, choosing No will not let you play the game.
Two solutions :
1) Be sure to have the latest Wii version of your region. If you have, the game will detect that you have the latest update, and will not try to update. If you havn't, update your Wii using the normal means ("options menu -> check for updates" I think)
2) Put the iso through BrickBlocker. It's a program that delete updates from isos.

Solution 2 is the safest if you're not sure about your current Wii version. Also, there is no problems from games from your zone.


Also, in your case, I suggest you directly buy a modded Wii. Buying a Wii and then modding it is more expensive, and you have a risk to have a D2C Wii (which requires a complex chip even more expensive).
 

Thino

Smash Master
Joined
Apr 7, 2006
Messages
4,845
Location
Mountain View, CA
Stop explaining things you don't even know.




Well... Clones chip will most of the time just be a plastic shell costing the same price as the working chip. It's not a real chip. It's a trap !

About the only way to brick your Wii with a modchip :
Some games are packed with updates for your Wii. When you start the game it will tell you "Do you want to install the needed update" and a Yes/No choice.
If you play a foreign game that comes with an update, choosing Yes will brick your Wii, choosing No will not let you play the game.
Two solutions :
1) Be sure to have the latest Wii version of your region. If you have, the game will detect that you have the latest update, and will not try to update. If you havn't, update your Wii using the normal means ("options menu -> check for updates" I think)
2) Put the iso through BrickBlocker. It's a program that delete updates from isos.

Solution 2 is the safest if you're not sure about your current Wii version. Also, there is no problems from games from your zone.


Also, in your case, I suggest you directly buy a modded Wii. Buying a Wii and then modding it is more expensive, and you have a risk to have a D2C Wii (which requires a complex chip even more expensive).
thanks for the tips
 

Remco

Smash Rookie
Joined
Nov 14, 2006
Messages
21
When using a downloaded version of the japanese brawl just make sure you:

1. Have the latest firmware on your wii.
2. Use WiiBrickBlocker on your .iso (which will try to prevent updating through the game disc)
3. Use RegionFrii (which will change your game regio code, thus giving another firmware update, which not bricks your wii)

And you're free to go.
 

RazeveX

Smash Ace
Joined
Jul 13, 2007
Messages
727
Location
2nd cardboard box to your right
*subscribes*

apparently, there might be a shortage of brawl discs, so i might not get mine until mid feb...so...

i'm planning on downloading the game if the disc doesnt come soon after release. I mean, i don't feel guilty at all, in fact i'm buying the game twice (japan and pal), so no one can complain, can they?

also, i got a pal with a wiikey in it.
 

Senor_Sega

Smash Cadet
Joined
Oct 18, 2007
Messages
25
Location
Sammamish, WA
So I have a launch wii, a preorder of Brawl (japanese) from yesasia.com, and have ordered a cyclowiz. Is the brickblocker method only applicable to a pirated copy of brawl? if so, what would I need to do with a legit japanese copy?
 

Soushirei.

Smash Cadet
Joined
Mar 16, 2006
Messages
26
Same thing, essentially.

Regardless if the game is a backup or a legitimate NTSC-JP game, both are still considered to be a foreign 'region' to your Wii. You will still need a modchip and apply the same things discussed in this thread in order to play a legitimate copy of JP Brawl on PAL and NTSC-U consoles. The only difference here is that one would expect a legitimate copy to be more reliable and less prone to errors than a burned disc.
 

Mike Hawk

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Jun 14, 2006
Messages
231
Location
TX
well guys big news, as of this moment the brawl disc seems undumpable(not an actual word but **** you) and the game seems to contain some new code that seems to detect drive chips, its going to be a while before we can get our dirty pirate hands on the game.
 

Soushirei.

Smash Cadet
Joined
Mar 16, 2006
Messages
26
yeah but how do we use brickblocker on a real ssbb game disc???????
I can't confirm this since I haven't tried it myself, but I have read that when a disc 'requests' you to update your console, all this is merely doing is checking to see if your firmware is up to date (i.e. they look to see if your firmware is 3.0 or up).

That being said, if you update your Wii to the latest firmware prior to putting in a legitimate JP Brawl disc, they will request to install an update, but if your firmware is up to date--then nothing virtually happens (testimonials mention this is why sometimes this 'updating period' lasts no more than a second, since the firmware is already up to date).

In conclusion, brickblocker wouldn't be necessary if you have the latest firmware. But if it overly concerns anyone, the next thing you'd have to do is burn a copy of your legit Brawl disc and use Brickblocker + Regionfrii accordingly.

<.< But since it seems Brawl has some nasty obstacles tangled inside the disc, the possibility of bricking Wiis just seems to be rising.

It's precisely this reason why I've held off from modding my Wii at this point, but there are other reasons as well. One can only hope that modchip companies will correct the problem if Brawl presents another obstacle that makes all modchips at present incapable of playing it. But seeing as the makers of Wiikey are having some legal issues at the moment (and their site down due to it), their ability to quickly address this problem if it were to arise is questionable. Brawl hits NA shores about a month after it releases in JP--if Wiikey manages to create a fix in, let's say, 2 weeks time (which seems unlikely given their reputation), that pretty much means anyone in NA or Europe who modded their Wiis for Brawl would've done so for a mere 2 weeks headstart of everyone else outside Japan at the cost of their console warranty and reliability. That's a choice left up to everyone, of course.

In terms of legit copies, I'm sure lots of us are already aware of the massive supply shortages to retailers, and many people who have preordered Brawl won't be getting the game until earliest halfway through February, once again giving only 2 weeks or so advance from everyone else.

I'm totally down for importing Brawl for the sake of getting games early, but for these A-list titles, the modding business is still evidently in its infancy.

Shelling out hundreds of bucks for a JP Wii and Brawl might be not worth it for some, but it's certainly the path that will present the least problems at this point.
 

Senor_Sega

Smash Cadet
Joined
Oct 18, 2007
Messages
25
Location
Sammamish, WA
This is very discouraging news. I've been debating about modding my wii for awhile now and thought brawl would be the perfect time to do so. I wonder if i can return the cyclowiz and brawl.... ****IT! Where did this info on the brawl disc come from? Wasn't mario galaxy quickly patched for modded wiis? why not brawl?
 

Soushirei.

Smash Cadet
Joined
Mar 16, 2006
Messages
26
My only concern is that that guy didn't specify a few things, and possibly isn't aware of a few nuances with the Wiikey.

He was demoing SMG and Twilight Princess. Now I'm assuming his SMG is a burned copy since he said "See how it's able to boot SMG"--which would be redundant if his copy was original. But this also means that he'd have to be running the 1.9g firmware of Wiikey as that's the only upgrade that can play SMG.

But there are many people who have reported that after updating to 1.9g, previous backups they were able to play on their Wii before upgrading were suddenly giving DREs. In other words, there are many games that people claim were no longer able to be played (except SMG of course) on their Wii after upgrading to 1.9g.

I'd want that guy to try two different things:

a) Downgrade to 1.9b and try running Brawl again with Region Override On.
b) Burn a copy of Brawl with Brickblocker (if needed) and patched with Regionfrii and try running it while on 1.9b.

I emphasize 1.9b because 1.9g is a beta that has been attested to create a lot of problems (mostly DREs with backups that *used* to work). If that guy still finds no success with either methods a) or b), then I'd say it's confirmed that there is no current firmware available on the Wiikey that allows you to run SSBB.
 

Ares And Enyo

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Nov 14, 2007
Messages
161
Location
Tejas
Not that I'm saying you shouldn't mod you wii as I am still going to - a solution will be here soon, but from what I can gather the problem lies in the dual layered format of the wii disk. LG drives can't dump it and it tricks the modded wiis into not loading like shown. So we can't get a copy of brawl with brick blocker but that won't really work because the update is required to play brawl (most likely) as the update contains data to properly read the dual layered disc (from my understanding) - so we are stuck in circular loop until wiikey or whoever makes sd dump work with dual layered disks on wii
 

Soushirei.

Smash Cadet
Joined
Mar 16, 2006
Messages
26
So the wiikey is confirmed to not work? Any word on cyclowiz? I'm REALLY hoping I didn't waste my money...
Although I don't particularly trust the hardware Cyclo uses, they're probably the most likely to solve this Brawl problem the quickest, as they did with SMG a mere few hours after the problem was discovered.

With the Wiikey site down and just by their reputation, it seems unlikely that if Brawl does have a copy protection, an update to the Wiikey firmware to fix this problem might not happen as quickly as some people may want it. Cyclo on the other hand might be able to pull it off, but like I said, I've heard some strange things about their hardware, but hey, with their good/quick customer support, I suppose that might not matter much if they can address the problems quickly.

For sure, it's looking bad for the Wiikey. Just need to hear word from anyone running D2Ckey or anyone who's tried running it on 1.9b
 

dmcmaster41

Smash Cadet
Joined
Jan 19, 2008
Messages
51
I think the guy needs to try more methods with the disc speed and downgrading his firmware etc....
 

emb1234

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Mar 8, 2007
Messages
184
Location
Asheboro, NC
Is it just me or are cyclowiz chips impossible to find?

Any how, they seem reliable, relativley. Let me just get it straight. Cyclowiz chips, the latest whatever, is confirmed to, after installed, work fine with a North American launch Wii and play a legit imported copy of Brawl without problem? If I can't find a Cyclowiz, are there any other decently trustworthy options I can go with?
 

Soushirei.

Smash Cadet
Joined
Mar 16, 2006
Messages
26
Is it just me or are cyclowiz chips impossible to find?

Any how, they seem reliable, relativley. Let me just get it straight. Cyclowiz chips, the latest whatever, is confirmed to, after installed, work fine with a North American launch Wii and play a legit imported copy of Brawl without problem? If I can't find a Cyclowiz, are there any other decently trustworthy options I can go with?
Yeah, if you have a NA *launch* Wii (i.e. is using the D2A chip most likely) unfortunately the only modchip that can you can get to play Brawl right now is Cyclowiz. The Wiikey team has notified the public that they're aware that their chip can't play Brawl at the moment and are currently working on an update to fix this.

There have been some reports of people saying they've gotten Brawl to work on Wiinja modchips, however these chips aren't firmware upgradeable if I'm not mistaken.
 

Kazuya

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Dec 13, 2006
Messages
257
To be completely honest with you, if I was American, I wouldn't go through the hassle of modding my Wii or even gettin a Japanese Wii, the games out in less than a month - it wouldn't be worth paying all that money and risking your Wii just to play Brawl slightly early. Remember, its in Japanese, so your going to miss a lot of good parts like whats going on in SSE and etc.

European gamers may want to look into importing an American version of Brawl when it comes out though, since they'll be waiting quite some time for it.
 

emb1234

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Mar 8, 2007
Messages
184
Location
Asheboro, NC
Yeah, if you have a NA *launch* Wii (i.e. is using the D2A chip most likely) unfortunately the only modchip that can you can get to play Brawl right now is Cyclowiz. The Wiikey team has notified the public that they're aware that their chip can't play Brawl at the moment and are currently working on an update to fix this.

There have been some reports of people saying they've gotten Brawl to work on Wiinja modchips, however these chips aren't firmware upgradeable if I'm not mistaken.
Based on what I've seen it doesn't seem like Wiinja is gonna do it, since from what I've seen, it takes some risk work around. I guess I'm gonna have to seek out a Cyclowiz, as annoying as that will be to do. Waiting for a Wiikey seems counter-productive, since the point is to avoid waiting. I could wait for release if I wanted to wait. But on the other hand, it would also ruin it to destroy teh Wii....
 

LunaEqualsLuna

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Jan 26, 2008
Messages
97
Location
London, England
**** and to think i almost ordered a chipped NTSC wii to play the game... good thing i abandoned that idea and went for an unchipped Japanese wii. I hope you guys get it working though, more sucks to see people shafted like this... good luck.
 
Top Bottom