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Taito F3 converts

The Taito F3 is a cartridge system (common motherboard + game cartridge, Neo-Geo / CPS-2 style): it's the convertible Taito. No suicide encryption on the base hardware — conversion = reprogram the EPROMs, and handle the region lock (physical and software).

Field Value
Platform Taito F3 System (1994)
Type cartridge EPROM reprogram (or single-board → cartridge)
Difficulty 🟡 (EPROM + region keying)
Suicide? No (no battery-backed key on the base hardware)

Architecture (common motherboard)

Block Chip Role
CPU MC68EC020 game logic
Sound (CPU) MC68000 drives the sound
Sound Ensoniq ES5505 (samples) + ES5510 (DSP, reverb)
Video Taito customs (sprites/tilemaps, 2D) 15 kHz, JAMMA

⚠️ Some databases show a "PowerVR2" for the F3: that's an infobox error — the F3 is a 2D sprite system (Taito customs), not PowerVR 3D.

The board's potentiometer is NOT the volume

On the F3 board, the potentiometer trims internal IC voltages — not the sound. Turning it at random can destroy the motherboard. Don't touch it.

The cartridge system

  • Most F3 kits = motherboard + pluggable game cartridge, "very close to Neo-Geo or CPS-2".
  • Some early games shipped as a single board — hence the interest of single-board → cartridge conversions (or to another game).

The region lock (dual: physical + software)

Motherboard AND cartridge are region-locked and don't interoperate. Two mechanisms stack:

  1. Physical keying: stoppers on the motherboard match holes positioned by region on the cartridge → prevent cross-region insertion.
  2. Software region byte: in the program.

Changing the region (the exact move)

  • Physical: remove/modify the connector keys (stoppers).
  • Software: change the last byte of the last program EPROM (the rightmost):
  • 01 = Japan
  • 02 = USA
  • 03 = Europe

Making a dual-region cartridge (worked example)

On Puzzle Bobble 2 (original EPROM 27C020-12):

  1. Double the size: reprogram into a 27C040-12 (2× capacity), with both region versions copied/edited.
  2. Fit an SPDT switch on the cartridge lid: one outer contact to +5 V, the other to ground.
  3. On the 27C040 EPROM, the top address line is pin 31: bend pin 31 out of the body, trim the thin part of the leg, and solder a wire from pin 31 to the switch's centre contact.
  4. The switch flips between the two halves of the EPROM → two regions on demand.

EPROM sizes (memo)

ROM image EPROM
2 MB 27C160
512 KB 27C040
256 KB 27C020

Program EPROM, game by game

The F3 is 32-bit (68EC020) → the program always sits on 4 EPROMs (one per byte lane). Density per game: early = 27C010/020, late = 27C040. The region byte is in the last program EPROM (see the region lock). (Source: MAME taito/taito_f3.cpp. Board view: Taito F3 PCB.)

Game Program (×4) Game Program (×4)
Riding Fight 4× 27C020 Bubble Memories 4× 27C040
Arabian Magic 4× 27C020 Puzzle Bobble 2 4× 27C020
Ring Rage 4× 27C020 Puzzle Bobble 3 4× 27C040
Grid Seeker 4× 27C020 Puzzle Bobble 4 4× 27C040
Gunlock / Rayforce 4× 27C020 Pop'n Pop 4× 27C040
Cup Finals 4× 27C010 Elevator Action Returns 4× 27C040
Space Invaders DX 4× 27C010 Cleopatra Fortune 4× 27C040
Kaiser Knuckle 4× 27C040 Puchi Carat 4× 27C040
Darius Gaiden 4× 27C040 Kyukyoku Tiger II 4× 27C020
Bubble Bobble II 4× 27C020 Land Maker 4× 27C040

F3 conversion = very doable (no suicide)

The F3 has no battery: reburn the 4 EPROMs of the target game onto the cartridge (same density) and handle the physical key + region byte. Bi-region trick: see the dedicated section above.

Converting to another game (summary)

  1. Gather the target game's ROMs (your dumps): program + graphics + sound.
  2. Burn the EPROMs at the right sizes.
  3. Set the region byte (last program EPROM) + handle the keying.
  4. For a single-board → cartridge (or the reverse), follow the full conversion guide (Arcade-Projects).
  5. Test image, sprites, sound (ES5505/5510).

Before / after

  • EPROM reprogram: the F3 cartridge/board becomes the target game.
  • Dual-region: a single cartridge playable in JP/US/EU via the switch.

Where to read more

Sources & attribution

Review & corrections

How this space is used

Spotted a wrong value, an outdated procedure, a chip reference that does not match your board? Say so here, with what you observed (model, board revision, serial number, measurement). Every report is cross-checked against a source before anything changes — an unverifiable correction is published as “reported by …, not cross-checked” rather than silently applied.

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