After Burner/After Burner II upright ROM interchangability, and cabinet questions

Cedge

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After Burner/After Burner II upright ROM interchangability, and cabinet questions

I've got a decent deal lined up on an After Burner upright, the type seen here. It's running After Burner 1, which is fine and all, but ideally, I'd certainly prefer if it was AB2. They're essentially the same game, and I know they both run on the Sega X Board hardware, so my question is basically how easy it'd be to get AB2 running on this thing, and what I would need to do. Is it a simple matter of finding and swapping in AB2 ROM chips, or is that wishful thinking?

I'm also trying to clarify my understanding regarding the upright cabinet, it's history, and it's relation to the two games. As far as I know, there was no dedicated "After Burner II"-branded upright; they all simply display "After Burner" logos (no "II"), so I presume all AB uprights running AB2 are upgrades. What I never understood, was why the AB1 upright had the throttle control. The ability to control your speed was the main gameplay feature addition in AB2, and unless I'm mistaken (which I admit is quite likely), AB1 made no use of the throttle. So, why did the AB1 cabinet have the throttle control lever there in the first place, if the original game in that cabinet didn't use it? Was it planned forward-compatibility with the sequel/upgrade that Sega was going to release just months later? Or, more likely, am I completely misunderstanding and/or forgetting something? I'm a fan of the game, clearly but not an expert. I've had trouble finding clear explanations on the web, so far.

Any assistance and clarification is much appreciated. Thanks!
 
Just a ROM swap will turn it into ABII.

Just what I was hoping to hear.

I still don't understand why AB1 has the throttle (if anyone knows, I'm still curious), but as long as it'll work with ABII, I'm happy. Thanks!
 
Just what I was hoping to hear.

I still don't understand why AB1 has the throttle (if anyone knows, I'm still curious), but as long as it'll work with ABII, I'm happy. Thanks!

AB1 and AB2 are virtually the same game. All you need to do is swap the ROMs or re-burn the ROMs with AB2 set. You do NOT need to change the MASK ROMs, only if you convert a Thunderblade to AB1 or AB2.
 
Bump...can anyone please provide a list of the specific chips I'd need to burn and swap to turn this into an ABII?
 
Hmmm I thought AB1 was only released in prototype, maybe in Japan only? It was my understanding that AB1 had no throttle as well and that even thought the art on all the US after burner cabs simply stated After Burner they were indeed Afterburner 2. Guess I was wrong if your game definitely says AB not AB 2 in the start up screen.
 
Another question, I have my upright and cannot figure out how to get the monitor out. My monitor has major burn in and I want to replace the tube, but I cannot figure out how to get to it! Do I go through the front or the back? The back has these woodscrews in it that I don't feel like they're supposed to come out...any help?

Hmmm I thought AB1 was only released in prototype, maybe in Japan only? It was my understanding that AB1 had no throttle as well and that even thought the art on all the US after burner cabs simply stated After Burner they were indeed Afterburner 2. Guess I was wrong if your game definitely says AB not AB 2 in the start up screen.

Nope, my game is an Afterburner 2 as well, it's really subtle though because the sideart only says After Burner and the "2" is made of the sprite balls under/behind the After Burner logo, almost like it's ashamed that it's a sequel and AB1 was just a quick cash in. :p
 
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