Videojuegos PAL de Nintendo SNES

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Three Things to Know About Super Nintendo PAL Video Games

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, also known as the Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit home video game console. Released throughout Europe in 1992, the Super Nintendo PAL has a library of hundreds of games, which are stored on a cartridge-based ROM. These particular games are designed for European console versions.

What is PAL?

PAL, which stands for Phase Alternating Line, is a color encoding system used for analog televisions. It also refers to the region in which the encoding system was used. Each company may have its own regional system that includes different slightly countries, but in general, the region encompasses most of Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Video game hardware manufacturers like Nintendo use this regional system to prevent their consoles from being played outside of the territory from which their hardware originated. In other words, if you bought a PAL game, then it can only be used in a system from the same region.

The Super NES console employed multiple types of regional lockout systems. First, the physical design of the cartridge is shaped differently, so it will not fit inside of a North American console without the use of an adapter (although the cart will physically fit inside of a Japanese console). Second, a regional lockout chip is incorporated into every single console. This chip prevents European games from being played on either Japanese or North American consoles.

Nintendo created a separate chip just for the United Kingdom, Italy, and Australia, known as PAL-A, whereas the rest of Europe was PAL-B. You can tell whether the game is the PAL version by the shape of the cartridge (the carts have a rounder, smoother appearance) or the art of the box. It should also mention PAL somewhere on the packaging.

Are PAL games different from other regions?

Apart from language differences, the games are mostly identical. However, the Super NES came out at a time when developers were more likely to treat each region differently, so some titles may have different content either due to censorship, bug fixes, or the addition or subtraction of certain features. Another important difference is that European games operate at 50 Hz whereas North American video games are displayed at 60 Hz. In practical terms, this results in the frame rate appearing approximately 16.7% slower.

Which games were released in the PAL region?

Most Super Nintendo games were released in the region, including such best-selling titles as "Super Mario World," "Street Fighter II: The World Warrior," "The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past," and "Contra III: The Alien Wars." In addition, several titles were exclusive to the European region, most of which were F1 racers, football/soccer titles, or video games based on a European property. These exclusive titles include:

  • "Asterix and Obelix"
  • "Cannon Fodder"
  • "Dirt Racer"
  • "F1 World Championship Edition"
  • "FIFA: Road to World Cup 98"
  • "Kickoff"
  • "Lucky Luke"
  • "Tintin in Tibet"
  • "Winter Gold"
  • "Worms"
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