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Console-derived boards ​

From 1994 to about 2009 many arcade boards reuse a console's CPU, GPU and sound chip. They add arcade media: ROM boards, GD-ROM, DVD or hard disk. They add a JVS I/O board and a security chip per game. A dump without the matching key or security-chip data is incomplete. MAME runs the earlier families. It runs none of the Triforce, Chihiro or System 246 entries.

BoardYearsMain CPU and clockSoundRefreshProtectionMAME statusGhidra
Sony ZN-1, ZN-2Not covered hereCXD8530CQ; CXD8661RZ80, 68000 or AT89C4051; QSound on CapcomNot covered hereCAT7023 of 116 not workingMIPS built in
Namco System 111994/1995CXD8530CQNot covered hereNot covered herePer-game key chipsIn MAMEMIPS built in
Namco System 121996 onCXD8661R or CXD8606BQ at 100 MHzNot covered hereNot covered herePer-game key chipsIn MAMEMIPS built in
Sega ST-V1995Two SH7604 at 28.6364 MHz68000 at 11.2896 MHzNot covered here315-5881 on some carts67 of 120 not workingSuperH built in
Sega NAOMI, NAOMI 21998, 2000SH-4 at 200 MHzAICANot covered here315-5881, M1 and M4 carts, DIMM DESIn MAMESuperH4 built in
Atomiswave2003Not covered hereNot covered hereNot covered here8-bit key from the cart CPLDIn MAMENot covered here
Triforce2002PowerPC 750 (MAME uses a PPC603 placeholder)Not covered hereNot covered hereKey chips, PIC16C621AAll 73 not workingPowerPC built in
Sega Chihiro2002Xbox x86Not covered hereNot covered hereDIMM board DES on GD-ROMAll 64 not workingx86 built in
Namco System 246, 256, Super 2562001 to 2010R5900 at 294 MHzSPU2Not covered hereSecurity cart per gameAll 60 not workingMIPS built in; R5900 by extension

Sony ZN-1 and ZN-2 ​

Hardware ​

ZN-1 and ZN-2 are "Arcade PlayStation Hardware" in MAME (MAME zn.cpp).

  • ZN-1 uses a CXD8530CQ CPU on a 67.7376 MHz crystal and a CXD8561Q GPU.
  • ZN-2 uses a CXD8661R on a 100 MHz crystal and a CXD8654Q GPU.
  • Sound CPUs vary by licensee: Z80, 68000 or AT89C4051. Capcom uses QSound.

Protection ​

Each board has a CAT702 protection chip. On the Capcom ZN-1 board it is labelled 'CP01', next to a Capcom BIOS (COH1000C.353).

Tools ​

Of 116 entries, 3 do not work. Ghidra's MIPS module and Unicorn's MIPS backend cover the CPU (CPU families). PlayStation tools work on the code (tools for console work).

Projects to learn from ​

None listed yet.

For an exact reimplementation ​

  • Record the licensee's sound CPU and the BIOS.
  • Keep the CAT702 data with the dump.

Namco System 11 and 12 ​

Hardware ​

System 11 (1994/1995) uses the CXD8530CQ with a Namco C76 MCU at 16.9344 MHz for I/O (MAME namcos11.cpp). System 12 (1996 onward) uses a CXD8661R or CXD8606BQ at 100 MHz and an H8/3002 sub CPU (MAME namcos12.cpp).

Protection ​

Game boards have key chips. Tekken 2 uses C406. Tekken runs on board COH-100, which has no key chip. Ehrgeiz (1998, COH-700) uses KC021.

Tools ​

As for ZN. Ghidra has no H8 module among its bundled processors.

Projects to learn from ​

None listed yet.

For an exact reimplementation ​

  • Keep the key chip data with each dump.
  • Model the C76 or H8/3002 I/O CPU as the game sees it.

Sega ST-V ​

Hardware ​

ST-V (1995) is Saturn-based. It has two SH7604 (SH-2) CPUs at 28.6364 MHz and a 68000 at 11.2896 MHz for sound (MAME stv.cpp).

Protection ​

Some cartridges use the 315-5881 chip found on NAOMI M2 carts. Tecmo World Cup '98 is one (MAME 315-5881_crypt.cpp).

Tools ​

Of 120 entries, 67 have MACHINE_NOT_WORKING. Ghidra's SuperH module covers the SH-2. Unicorn has no SH-2 backend (CPU families).

Projects to learn from ​

None listed yet.

For an exact reimplementation ​

  • Run both SH-2s interleaved.
  • Check the game's MAME flags before using it as ground truth.

Sega NAOMI, NAOMI 2 and Atomiswave ​

Hardware ​

NAOMI (1998) runs an SH-4 at 200 MHz from a 33.3333 MHz crystal. Its graphics are the "VideoLogic/NEC 'CLX2/HOLLY' chipset and PowerVR2 GPU". AICA sound runs from a 33.8688 MHz oscillator. NAOMI 2 (2000) adds a 315-6289 "VideoLogic/NEC 'ELAN' T&L coprocessor" (MAME naomi.cpp). NAOMI has 32 MB of main RAM, 16 MB for graphics and 8 MB for sound, with ROM boards and an optional GD-ROM drive (Wikipedia, List of Sega arcade system boards). The filter board outputs VGA at 15 kHz or 31.5 kHz, chosen by a DIP switch.

Protection ​

Sega made six known cart PCB types: 171-7885A, 171-7919A, 171-7930B, 171-7978B, 171-8132B and 171-8346C. Each cart has three security parts (MAME naomi.cpp).

  • A 315-5881, "usually different per game", with a 317-xxxx key number. Crazy Taxi, for example, is 840-0002C with key 317-0248-COM. In the key suffix, "-JPN means it requires Japanese BIOS, -COM will run with any BIOS".
  • An X76F100 secure serial flash.
  • A 315-6213 Xilinx XC9536 CPLD.

M4 carts decrypt with a Xilinx Spartan XC3S50 FPGA and a PIC16C621A holding a 32-bit key. The cipher is a stream cipher on a 16-bit, 2-round SP-network with four 4-to-4 S-boxes. Its feed value resets every 16 blocks of 32 bytes (MAME naomim4.cpp). M1 carts are identified by an Actel ID. They take a key as a parameter (MAME naomim1.cpp).

GD-ROM games load through the DIMM board. Its 315-6322 chip handles "DIMM SDRAM controller, DES decryption, host system communication" for NAOMI, Triforce and Chihiro. The option board has a PIC16 (MAME naomigd.cpp).

Atomiswave (2003) ROM boards decrypt with an 8-bit key derived from the cartridge CPLD. MAME computes that key from the decrypted code (MAME awboard.cpp).

Tools ​

  • Flycast, derived from reicast, emulates the Dreamcast, NAOMI, NAOMI 2 and Atomiswave (Flycast README).
  • Ghidra's SuperH4 module covers the SH-4. Unicorn has no SH-4 backend.
  • A GD-ROM is stored as a CHD. Extract its files with chdman first (practices).

Projects to learn from ​

None listed yet.

For an exact reimplementation ​

  • Record the BIOS region with each test. A -JPN key needs the Japanese BIOS.
  • MAME's default NVRAM applies "usability defaults". It can differ from a factory board (practices).
  • Record the 15 kHz or 31.5 kHz DIP setting.
  • Keep the 317-xxxx key with the dump.

Triforce ​

Hardware ​

Triforce (2002) is GameCube-based, from Sega, Namco and Nintendo. MAME says the "Correct CPU is a PowerPC 750 (what Apple called "G3") with paired-single vector instructions added". Its driver uses a PPC603 placeholder at 64 MHz (MAME triforce.cpp).

Protection ​

Sega titles come on GD-ROM. They load through the DIMM board and use key chips. Virtua Striker 2002 is GDT-0001 with 317-0337-JPN. F-Zero AX is GDT-0004 with 317-0362-COM. Some also have a PIC16C621A. Namco titles use ROM carts.

Tools ​

  • All 73 Triforce entries in MAME have MACHINE_NOT_WORKING.
  • Mainline Dolphin removed Triforce support (the AM-Baseboard) in 2016 for lack of a maintainer (Dolphin Progress Report, August 2016).
  • Reports say it returned to mainline Dolphin in February 2026 (secondary source) (Time Extension; RetroHandhelds).
  • Ghidra's PowerPC module and Unicorn's PPC backend cover the CPU. Check how each tool handles the paired-single instructions (CPU families).

Projects to learn from ​

None listed yet.

For an exact reimplementation ​

  • Do not use MAME as ground truth for any Triforce game. Take ground truth from Dolphin or from owned hardware.

Sega Chihiro ​

Hardware ​

Chihiro (2002) is Xbox-based (MAME chihiro.cpp).

  • Its bottom board is close to the V1 retail Xbox board, with 128 MB of RAM.
  • It has an nVidia MCPX X2 where retail uses the MCPX X3.
  • A Sega base board handles JVS and video output.
  • A media board with a TSOP48 flash holds an .xbe loader and reads DVD-ROM or GD-ROM.

Wikipedia names The House of the Dead III (2002) as the first game (Wikipedia, List of Sega arcade system boards).

Protection ​

GD-ROM games load through the DIMM board, which does DES decryption.

Tools ​

All 64 MAME entries have MACHINE_NOT_WORKING. Ghidra and Unicorn cover x86.

Projects to learn from ​

None listed yet.

For an exact reimplementation ​

  • Do not use MAME as ground truth for any Chihiro game.
  • The media board holds an .xbe loader. Ghidra and Unicorn cover the x86 code once the files are decrypted (re-ghidra).

Namco System 246, 256 and Super 256 ​

Hardware ​

These boards (2001 to 2010) are PS2-based. They have the R5900 "Emotion Engine", an R3000 IOP, VU0, VU1, the GS and the SPU2. MAME uses an R5000LE placeholder, "actually R5900 @ 294 MHz" (MAME namcops2.cpp).

Protection ​

Games ship on CD, DVD or a 20 to 80 GB hard disk, each with a security cart (NMxxxxx). Battle Gear 3 (Taito, 2002) uses a 20 GB disk with cart NM00010. The "Dongle selects region (J/O) using same HDDs".

Tools ​

  • All 60 MAME entries have MACHINE_NOT_WORKING.
  • The Play! PS2 emulator has a "Namco System 2x6 Arcade Support" section. Arcade files go in an arcaderoms folder. They boot with --arcade "arcade id" (Play! README).
  • Ghidra's MIPS module needs an extension for the R5900. Unicorn's MIPS backend has no R5900.

Projects to learn from ​

None listed yet.

For an exact reimplementation ​

  • Record the security cart with each test. It selects the region.

Konami Bemani boards ​

Hardware ​

Konami's Bemani games first ran on console-based boards. Later versions ran on PCs.

Protection ​

Konami's security plugs are not covered here.

Tools ​

For the PlayStation-based boards, use MIPS tools. For the PC-based boards, follow the PE path (PC-based boards).

Projects to learn from ​

None listed yet.

For an exact reimplementation ​

  • Record which hardware generation each version of a game ran on.

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