Interesting. Yeah, it seems like it would be a prototype board. Much like the carts they would ship back and forth between studios when they were developing games for console. Then you'd just have to plug one board in instead of dealing with dozens of chips. Maybe Ray Gay, Paulo or one of the devs can give you some answers if they're still active on Twitter. Come to think of it, it's pretty incredible that we didn't see more MK2 bootlegs, MK1 sure had plenty. An MK3 bootleg still makes sense, but the arcades took a huge hit in most areas by UMK3. Either way, good find & thanks for sharing.

@YourMKArcadeSource

7 күн бұрын

Yeah. I’m much more of the mindset that this is a prototype of some kind but I was told otherwise by people who I assume would know.

More love went into making bootlegs back in the day, than what goes into most modern AAA games.

You're so good at keeping your hands still that I kept thinking my video froze.

Arcade history is so fascinating. Wonder where it even came from.

Outstanding! And that’s why people gift you these oddballs. Congrats.🎉

Awesome, i tested 1.0 of MK3 and the audio is the same as your video-i guess rev 1 had a diff sound adjustment!

@UFighterX

5 күн бұрын

lots on differences I remember owning a 1.0 lots of moves and fatalities are different button combos

Outstanding!

Wow this is just BIZARRE!!! Thanks for sharing as always!! :)

That is awesome! I've seen all sorts of bootlegs PCBs but nothing close to this. Your approach to fixing it is just brilliant! Way to go!

@YourMKArcadeSource

6 күн бұрын

Thanks!

Smeggin awesome documentation Mike ! I've got a heavily corroded and non working umk3 bootleg but never even heard of a mk3 bootleg.

Very Kool!

That's an interesting gift! I'd keep it! Great video!

This one is weird. Most bootleg arcade games not only bootleg the roms, but the board as well. Not sure why someone who (presumably) paid money to get the real board would then need to bootleg the roms...especially to this degree.

@YourMKArcadeSource

6 күн бұрын

Me either, which makes me think it’s something official, and not a bootleg. But I was told otherwise by someone who I assume would know.

Mann thats interesting awesome find

A long time ago there were modified Sega System-C boards in circulation, which had a hacked Mega Drive rom of MK3.

Can you share the two program roms so we can see if there is actual different game code in this please? I've done a lot of work on the Midway source code and would love to see if these program roms are different. Perhaps your Mame dev already looked at the program rom content? But still.. this could be a prototype bootleg. I.e. bootleggers were thinking to make a cheaper version and a bootleg-dev came up with this solution using cheaper 27C040. The BOM could have been insane, even for bootleggers back then, and they abandoned it at this stage, perhaps of the security chip. Then they later sold this frankenstein thing to recoup some of the initial research cost. I've got no explanation as to how else this exist..

The damaged chip can be dumped by micro probing. Keep it safe somewhere and away from UV light so it can be attempted in the future by someone. Try to dump all the ROM's as well since that might reveal some names or copyrights to hint whether it's actually a bootleg or not or some sort of internal early test board at Midway.

@YourMKArcadeSource

6 күн бұрын

Interesting. All the roms are soldered in, so the effort it would take to do that would be enormous.

What's changed?

I mean it probably is an official bootleg to catch robbers and a cheap way to help out the arcade owner with getting a back up board that isn't a bootleg maybe ? because the mk2 boards were constantly getting stolen so maybe if the board stops working & they try to repair it it would be a pain to fix & professionals would identify that it's a bootleg but it could definitely be a official prototype

@YourMKArcadeSource

6 күн бұрын

Agreed.

Wow. How on earth?? The U45 chip is legendary for being dump proof. Can you dump the bootleg version of it? It would save hundreds of "playing blind" wolf boards. These bootleggers are incredibly smart. Edit ah I commented too early. So it's the rom board is the bootleg not the main board.

Can you make a 3 from a two

@YourMKArcadeSource

7 күн бұрын

Negative

I wonder if this is some sort of beta board instead of a bootleg?

@YourMKArcadeSource

6 күн бұрын

I’m under the same impression, but I was told otherwise. Still skeptical.

@itsdarkout10

6 күн бұрын

@@YourMKArcadeSource I'd agree. I mean you've seen bootleg MK boards. This looks like a real Wolf Unit that's been modified. Like you said 8 meg roms were not hard to get back then. If I had to bet, it's some prototype board.

@itsdarkout10

6 күн бұрын

@@YourMKArcadeSource I sent a message to Ed Boon. Let's see what he says.