I live in the US I just got a copy of Vampire Killers off ebay it is the japanese version do I need a msx from japan to play it and some type of step down converter for the power

If you can get your hands on a Japanese MSX2 (essential! Vampire Killer is an MSX2 game) you won't need a step down converter, the Japanese use 100/110 VAC as mains power. And also the NTSC tv standard, so as an American living in the North American continent, you're probably the best off with a Japanese MSX2 machine, since European machines use PAL and 220/230 VAC...

Japanese ROM cartridge games are just the same as the European ones.
You can use it on a European PAL and on a Japanese NTSC MSX computer, no problem.
(Same for the FDD games)

MSX was a standard !

Kris
http://www.msx.be.tf

[quote]Japanese ROM cartridge games are just the same as the European ones.
You can use it on a European PAL and on a Japanese NTSC MSX computer, no problem.
(Same for the FDD games)

MSX was a standard !

Kris
]http://www.msx.be.tf</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

Completely true, but finding a monitor that supports PAL(and/or SCART connectors...) in the U.S.A. may be a bit difficult. The same goes for a step-up transformer to convert 100/110 VAC to 220/230 VAC...
Hence my suggesting topicstarter could best try to find a Japanese MSX2 machine. Saves him from some hassle.

Ah k, I already found your answer very strange I misread the question
Great

Well, yes then, if he uses a European MSX, he will need a power converter.
Probably not when he uses a 110V NTSC Japanese computer
If he's from US, then yes, he should try to get a Japanese MSX

Kris.

Quote:

Japanese ROM cartridge games are just the same as the European ones.

That is not always true. Some ROMs are different, like Metal Gear.

Are they? I thought they're all the same. Yes, on a Japanese MSX, it starts using Japanese texts, but when booting it on a European MSX2, it uses Latin characters.....

Some are indeed different, but Vampire Killer is the same. You can find out easily by running a ROM image in an emulator with either European or Japanese ROMs. If Oneinchbiceps finds a Japanese MSX computer, the title screen of Vampire Killer will show in Japanese. On a European computer, it will be in English.

Quote:

Are they? I thought they're all the same. Yes, on a Japanese MSX, it starts using Japanese texts, but when booting it on a European MSX2, it uses Latin characters.....

Yes, they are

Most of the times, Konami ROMs checks computer ID to check if it is a japanese computer or not. Then they change texts, intros, etc... But in Metal Gear they used different ROMs.

thanks everone I be looking for an msx from japan on ebay

Quote:

thanks everone I be looking for an msx from japan on ebay

Well, in that case... get a Turbo-R! Panasonic FS-A1ST or FS-A1GT. Unless an MSX2 is much cheaper, of course... and don't forget that Vampire Killer won't run on an MSX1, but only MSX2 and upwards.

It's cheaper to get a MSX2 or MSX2+ with diskdrive. IMO there's not enough software for turboR to justify the purchase for a normal user.

agreed. turboR's are suitable for active developers and massive users only

Quote:

>>Are they? I thought they're all the same. Yes, on a Japanese MSX, it starts using Japanese texts, but when booting it on a European MSX2, it uses Latin characters.....<< Yes, they are Most of the times, Konami ROMs checks computer ID to check if it is a japanese computer or not. Then they change texts, intros, etc... But in Metal Gear they used different ROMs.

Metal Gear is not the same. The European vesrion is translated to English and runs on all MSX2 (and up) machines, while the original Japanese game is in Japanese and only runs on Japanese MSX2 (and up) machines. The code explicitly checks if the machine is Japanese. If it is not, it just resets the computer.

Me and Bifi found out about this when we tested Metal Gear JP in openMSX on a European machine.

Quote:

That is not always true. Some ROMs are different, like Metal Gear.

You know what I meant, don't try to screw up my answer.
I know perfectly well that the rom data is not always the same.

A.