Panzer Dragoon Saga (USA) GameShark Issues

[paynterdragoon]

Hi all. Thanks for reading. As far as I can tell, this hasn't specifically been discussed before. Done a pretty extensive deep dive of it on the internet and can't find any real discussion or a solve (reddit, GameHacking, and here). It pertains to the PDS "Please Remove Cartridge" debacle. I'm running a real copy of the game on a real Saturn with a physical GameShark, that works with countless other Saturn games I own.

There are some PDS codes floating out there, the most notable of which were posted by a guy name "Helder" here.

Master Code seems to be fine. What's interesting is that his bypass code doesn't work on my GameShark, however another found online that changes the first frame to a 0 (instead of 1) works?

16002EB0 0009 (does NOT work)
06002EB0 0009 (works)

My understanding is limited, but all that digit changes is that the code is only applied once versus over and over, is that right?

These codes do not work/trigger the "Please Remove Cartridge" screen.​

​

"Max Dyne"​

1604A6F4 0098+1604A6F6 967F​

​

"Max EXP"​

1604A6DC 0098+1604A6DE 967F​

​

"Infinite BP"​

1604A6D0 270F​

​

"Infinite HP"​

1604A6CC 270F​

So anyway. I can't get any of his other codes to work. It seems the "1" in the first frame of these codes triggers the "Please Remove Cartridge" message no matter what. But if you turn other codes off, and only run the *corrected* bypass code above, it works again. Based on some GameHacking forums chatter from 2016 or so, someone else brought the same thing to Helder's attention, but it just sort of fell off. Doesn't seem like a work-around or solution was determined (namely for retail copy/real hardware users)! Wondering if anyone smarter than me knows how to get these to work.

 

[paynterdragoon]

Following up on this:

Here's a solve that is working for me. Note this different Master Code only turns the cheats on for 3 seconds, so the only one that stays active is the Dyne, which might be worth it. You tap the reset button to make them activate. It will occasionally freeze the game. Maybe someone smarter than me can figure out a Master Code that applies these permanently, and/or more effectively.

Master Code:

(Tap Reset Button to Activate Cheats)

• F6000914 230B
• B6002800 0000

Boot Code (NTSC-U/PAL):

• 06002EB0 0009

Infinite BP:

• 1604A6D0 270F

Infinite HP:

• 1604A6CC 270F

Max Dyne:

• 1604A6F4 0098
• 1604A6F6 967F

Max EXP:

• 1604A6DC 0098
• 1604A6DE 967F

The Max EXP cheat sadly doesn't allow for you to level up.

 

[privateye]

Master Code that allows usage of always-on cheats in Panzer Dragoon Saga :
F6000914 C30B
B6000B00 0000

Master codes ending in C305 don't work because the game checks if the following interrupt handlers in High Work RAM have been patched to this value and, if so, the "PLEASE REMOVE THE CARTRIDGE" error is displayed after the "Team Andromeda Presents" logo.

• 0x00914
• 0x00924
• 0x0093C

If cheat codes starting with one and zero are used simultaneously on Action Replay / Gameshark, only the latter type is activated so instead of bypassing the cartridge lockout with 06002EB0 0009, patch the game with Sega Saturn Patcher :

1. Click "Select Saturn Game" -> "CD Image"
2. Load the image file for Panzer Dragoon Saga disc one.
3. Tick the "Cheat Detection" box on the left.
4. Tick the "Separate Tracks" button on the bottom-right.
5. Select the "Build Image" button on the bottom-right.
6. Save the new disc image as CUE/BIN.
7. Repeat this process for the remaining three discs.

Notes regarding the cartridge lockout bypass codes :

• 06002EB0 0009 works with master code ending in C305 because codes starting with a zero are written at game startup which doesn't require an interrupt handler to be patched.
• 16002EB0 0009 with fixed master code ending in C30B still results in the "PLEASE REMOVE THE CARTRIDGE" error at game startup (before the "Team Andromeda Presents" logo), probably because the Action Replay handler isn't writing the value to memory quick enough.