IGS PGM DDP DOJ OMG FML
Saturday May 10, 2025
I have done absolutely nothing to the Astro City since the last post. It’s crazy to think I’ve had the machine for around a year. It has become an essential part of the garage, and it feels like I’ve had it forever.
The MiSTercade is great, but I hunger for more CAVE shmups. I tried some others via ShmupMAME back when I wrote an older “Recent Obsessions” post, but playing on my computer is way less enjoyable.
"I would love to own a real PCB of this game, but Cave games are crazy expensive, and I only have one cab with a vertical monitor."
- Me
Well, it turns out that those CAVE games I mentioned can be acquired for much cheaper with a bootleg IGS PGM cart. Dodonpachi DaiOuJou, Espaluda, and Ketsui were all released on PGM hardware, but they were not released as cartridges. They were regular JAMMA PCBs, and those are the ones that are crazy expensive. I saw a PGM motherboard for sale on Arcade Projects with a bootleg Dodonpachi DaiOuJou, so I snagged it.
I hooked it up and turned it on. Looking good. I went to put it on free play by pressing the “test” button on my Astro’s power supply. It took a shit instantly. Black screen, no sound. I turned the cab off and on again, but no dice. At this point, I am just laughing.
Did I break something? Maybe. I’m currently waiting on the help of internet arcade wizards. If anything is broken, it’s the bootleg cart. The motherboard boots up fine without the cart inserted. So, worst case scenario, I just paid way too much money for a PGM motherboard.