NinjaMod Final -Review-

By Brakken, May 2005

Welcome to another fantastic review by your one and only conqueror of the GameCube review scene! This time around I have finally figured out what I was doing wrong when trying to install the controversial NinjaMod modchip. Due to the lack of documentation I was making an error so sit back, relax and make sure to grind my helpful hints into your head to make sure you don't suffer the same fate I did at first.

The NinjaMod itself takes its design from TMBINC's free schematics without direct permission and/or compensation and uses a modified version of the GCOS BIOS coded specifically by the GCOS team for the NinjaMod respect ivy named NinjaShell.

Hardware Specifications

Only 7 wires to solder
Supports all Versions PAL/JAP/USA
Supports Compatible Open Source systems
16Megabit Flashrom
Includes 2 Different Bios Banks
Bios Bank 1 Includes Ninja Shell Preflashed (Can be modified for Resellers)
Bios Bank 2 ready to flash your preferred shell

BIOS Specifications

Direct No-Swap Boot of All Media
PAL/NTSC games Auto Detection
Allows Backup via BBA
Allows to Boot the Original GAMECUBE BIOS
Mini/DVD-R/+R Compatible
Supports BIOS Updates via DVD or BBA
Supports High-Speed DOL/ELF Uploads by BBA
Real Time Video Mode and Networking Configuration
DRE Fixes

Content of the Package

The chip I received came packed in an anti-static bag and that was it. Because of the low price of the chip and the way it is installed it doesn't come with any installation wire or require the use of a DVD Lid Sensor connection like other solutions do.

Installation

The chip itself was simple enough to install and has been made even easier by using the alternative install diagrams which can be found in my Mod That Cube FAQ. Installing the chip does require you to flip over the motherboard and solder a few wires on the bottom, but this is nothing new for the XBOX and PS2 modders out there as the Cube is by far the easiest to mod and resilient console I've ever worked with.

One must make sure to use very short wires and to use a good sized wire. My first attempts to install the chip I used too much wire and a small 30 gauge and it failed to boot, but after shortening the wires and using a higher gauge everything worked out fine.

If you're unsure on your ability to lift the BIOS leg (which in my opinion is harder then actually soldering the wire onto it) you will be not able to save the video mode and/or network configuration, but the chip will still work just fine. Additionally if you don't plan on booting your original BIOS and you don't mind not having the two features I just mentioned you can skip soldering point F all together.

After looking closely at the NinjaMod I came to see that a lot of the integrated circuit legs had been soldered (shorted) together, but NinjaMod himself insured my this was part of the design.

The NinjaShell BIOS

The BIOS itself is straight forward, but defaults in PAL mode and because I had an NTSC television I had to follow these instructions: Press D-PAD Down 5 times, A, D-PAD Down 3 and then A and the BIOS will change to PAL and then you can save this setting in the BIOS if you lifted the BIOS leg.

Using the main menu you can direct boot the disc, boot the main BIOS, boot the secondary BIOS, backup an image or configure your video mode and IP address. You can also stream a DOL/ELF to the BIOS at any time.

I tried loading s3-gcsim to stream a game and it worked out just great and also tried some other third party DOL files which do not work on the Cobra BIOS and they all ran just fine including SNES9XGC.

Next I backed up a game and it got the same speed as GCOS did and the image turned out fine with a correct checksum, but I'm sure due to the fact that TMBINC's backup function is faulty you should use SoftDev's backup tool instead which of course is completely compatible with the NinjaMod.

Conclusion

If it wasn't for the price I would recommend not purchasing this chip, but because it is half the price of other chips and does indeed direct boot games I would recommend it to any of you that don't really want all the special jazz and would just like to boot your backups and homebrew and of course the proper DOL loading and networking support is a plus.

All in all I say you get about 80% of the features you get with competitors chips for half the price which sounds like a bargain to me, but make sure to follow the hints I gave you for installing the chip otherwise you might run into a snag.

NinjaMod promises more BIOS updates so check their page often!

Links

www.ninjamod.com
- NinjaMod's Homepage

modthatcube.pxn-os.com
- The Mod That Cube Online -FAQ-

-=[NinjaMod Review Discussion Thread]=-

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