More Shit I Don't Understand

Super Nintendo / Super Famicom Action Replay code conversion
The Game Genie codes featured on this site must be converted to (Pro) Action Replay format for use with import systems. The Action Replay uses a AAAAAADD code format, where "A" indicates a SNES memory address and "D" indicates a data value. One recommended way to perform this conversion is through the freeware MS-DOS GG2PAR utility written by Lord Esnes. It is provided below as a single zip file which contains the GG.exe program and a small documentation file. A program such as PKUnzip is required to restore the files prior to use.

GG2PAR runs from the MS-DOS command line. For example, the code to obtain ten lives in Final Fight 2 is DBCF-C7D6.

C:\> gg dbcf-c7d6

GG ; Game Genie Codes to Pro Action Replay Codes.
By Lord Esnes ; 1997 (c)

dbcf-c7d6 -> 82a21c09

Thus, the equivalent Action Replay code to accomplish the same effect in the game is 82A21C09.

Please note: There is no absolute guarantee that a converted code will work. Since Game Genie codes are derived primarily from the North American versions of cartridge, a converted code should work with that version of the game. However, if a game was modified for European or Japanese release, it's possible that the code addressing was altered, making it unlikely the code will work.

What the hell does any of that mean? Does it mean if I buy a SNES I can't use codes for it?

If your using a Super Nintedno or Super Famicom and the North American version on the game, the codes will work perfectly or should. This is because the codes were based on the North American version(someone figured it out for the NA games), but if your playing the PAL version (Euorpean) or the Japanese version, the codes may not work because they could be different for that version. ITs mixing two things that shouldn't be mixed lets say.

SNES/Super Famicom + North American game + Codes = Works
SNES/Super Famicom + PAL or Japanese Game + codes = chance codes will not work

That is pretty much all you need to know.So you can use a SNES, but importing a game from Over seas may not work with your codes. So if you get the PAL or Japanese version, just get the codes for those versions.

Necro, just buy the Game Genie. I told you that the PAR was an import, but I didn't know that the code system would be so screwy.

Necro, just buy the Game Genie.

From where? That site you sent me a link to the other day?

The code system isn't screwy at all. It's more modern than the game genie. I frankly have absolutely no idea how game genie codes are made, but PAR codes are easy to make. If you make your own codes with an emulator such as ZSNES, then you are making PAR codes. PAR codes can do more than Game Genie codes can. Since PAR codes edit values of memory addresses, they can change ANYTHING in the game that you want. Game Genie codes are limited somehow, I don't know how, but they are limited.

Pretty much, PAR codes consist of an address and a value. The address is the first 6 digits of the code. An address is where information is stored for something in the game. For example, let's say you've got 6 lives. There's an address somewhere in the game's memory which has that value in it, let's say it would look like this.

AAAAAA06

The AAAAAA is the address and the 06 is the value. The value is in hex form, 00-FF(00 being 0 and FF being 255). This is nifty, because you could use a program to search through the game's memory and find a certain value. You can't do this with a game genie because it uses something completely different where the value isn't even visible in the code(as far as I know).

PAR can search for different bit values as well. 1-bit values would be 00-FF, or 0-255. 2-bit values would be 00 00-FF FF or 0-65535. It keeps going to even larger numbers, meaning that not only can you hack small numbers, like number of lives, but you can also hack large numbers, like how much money you have. For 2-bit or higher codes you have 2 or more lines of codes. For example:

AAAAAA06
AAAAAA06

The 2nd address would just be the address after the first address in the game's memory.

Since with the PAR you can search through the memory for a certain value, edit any address in the game's memory you want, and easily create codes, my personal opinion is the PAR is superior to the Game Genie.

How long would adding all this take? if I found a site with actual Game Genie & Pro-Action Replay codes. I can just use those, but you're saying I can create my own? That's pretty sweet. But how do you know the addresses and how does FF-255?

Screw it. I'm getting me a Genie.

Adding it would take just as long as game genie codes, I'm not sure if you can create your own cheats with the console PAR, you know the addresses by using a program to search for certain values.

Let's say I've got 10 lives. I tell the program to do a 1-bit search for 10. It finds however many addresses. Now I die to change my lives to 9. Then I tell the program to search through the previously found addresses for the value 9. I just keep doing this until I've got 1 value left, change the value to 255(FF) and presto.

To find out why FF=255 just read up on hexadecimal.