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Nintendo — arcade (VS. System, PlayChoice-10, Super System)

Nintendo turned its consoles into multi-game arcade cabinets: the VS. System (1984, NES-based), the PlayChoice-10 (1986, NES, ten games on a menu, dual screen) and the Nintendo Super System (1991, Super Famicom/SNES-based). Same idea every time: a console CPU plus arcade dressing (BIOS, menu, timer, protection).

PCB Nintendo (Donkey Kong)

PCB Nintendo (Donkey Kong) — photo by Cyberjobe, domaine public (Wikimedia Commons).

Identification

Field Value
Manufacturer Nintendo
Years 1984 (VS.) · 1986 (PlayChoice-10) · 1991 (Super System)
Base NES (VS., PC-10) · SNES (NSS)
Connector type proprietary (dedicated cabinets)
Settings DIP (timer, credits)

The three platforms

System Year CPU Base MAME driver
VS. System (UniSystem / DualSystem) 1984 Ricoh RP2A03 (6502) + RP2C0x PPU NES nintendo/vsnes.cpp
PlayChoice-10 1986 RP2A03G (game) + Z80 (BIOS/menu) NES nintendo/playch10.cpp
Nintendo Super System (NSS) 1991 65C816 (game) + Z80 (BIOS/menu) SNES nintendo/nss.cpp
  • VS. System: arcade NES in one or two screens. The UniSystem is single-screen; the DualSystem stacks two boards/two screens back to back (two independent players). Cartridges are swappable and the operator can remap the DIPs.
  • PlayChoice-10: up to ten cartridges in the cabinet. Dual monitor: the top screen shows the menu/instructions, the bottom one the game. A Z80 drives the BIOS and the timer (time bought with coins, shared across the ten games). Each cartridge carries an RP5H01 (security chip) and a mapper (boards A→K).
  • Nintendo Super System: the SNES equivalent of the PC-10 (cartridges, timer, menu overlay via Z80 + M50458 OSD). Single-screen.

Notable games

  • VS. System: VS. Super Mario Bros., VS. Duck Hunt, VS. Excitebike, VS. Dr. Mario, VS. Ice Climber, VS. Castlevania, Tetris
  • PlayChoice-10: NES catalogue (Super Mario Bros., Mega Man, Metroid, Castlevania, Contra, Ninja Gaiden, Tetris…), grouped by ten.
  • Nintendo Super System: Super Mario World, F-Zero, ActRaiser, Addams Family

Security & protection

  • VS. System: protection via PPU variants (RP2C03/04/05) with scrambled palettes and some swapped registers per game — a cartridge only runs correctly with the matching PPU. Wrong colours = wrong ROM/PPU pairing.
  • PlayChoice-10: RP5H01 per cartridge (security), plus the Z80 BIOS.
  • NSS: cartridges with a game key + BIOS.

None of these protections are reproduced here (chips named factually only).

Common faults

Symptom Likely cause Lead
Wrong colours (VS.) wrong RP2C0x PPU / wrong ROM-PPU pairing Check the game's PPU variant
Frozen menu (PC-10 / NSS) Z80 BIOS / menu ROM / cart contacts BIOS diagnosis, reseat
One dead screen (DualSystem / PC-10) board or monitor of that stage Isolate the stage
Inconsistent timer mis-set DIPs Review the DIP bank
Cartridge not recognised RP5H01 (PC-10) / contacts Clean the connector
No picture PSU, RP2A03/65C816, harness Base diagnosis

Modernisation & mods

The common ground for every JAMMA board

Video, power, control panel and upscalers depend on the cabinet rather than the board: everything is centralised in Modernising a cabinet. To run the board outside a cabinet (at home, on a display): supergun.

  • Storage 🟢: a cartridge system — the modern route is a multi-game cart / flashcart rather than reprogramming, where one exists for the platform → PCB preservation hub.
  • Scan rate 📺: ~15.87 kHz / 56.7 Hz — standard resolution, a classic 15 kHz chassis is fine — the most common JAMMA case → tri-sync and upscalers. (Computed from the MAME sources — nintendo/vsnes.cpp — pixel clock ÷ htotal.)
  • FPGA / emulation: see the Emulation & FPGA section below.

Repair (technician)

  • VS. System: a variant PPU (RP2C03/04/05) + per-game palette/protection — wrong colours can come from the wrong PPU (swapped between variants).
  • 6502/2A03 base (Famicom/NES-derived): NES-type diagnosis (PPU, RAM, cartridge contacts on PlayChoice/VS).
  • Sound: 2A03 (APU) — diagnose the sound stage.
  • Capacitors: recap. Sockets / contacts: clean.

Methods: PCB fault-finding · Recap · EPROM · Traces & vias

Archived original schematics ✅

Manufacturer schematics for games in this family, archived locally (so they do not depend on a third-party site staying up). They give the board's real functional breakdown: clock tree, address decoding, video stage, sound stage, power supply — exactly what you need to trace a missing signal back to its source.

Scope and limits

A schematic applies to the game and revision named. Within one family the general breakdown (buses, decoding, sound/video stages) carries over from board to board, but component references and custom chip pinouts do not transpose between titles. Use it as a map of the logic, not as a cross-reference table.

Source: the Arcade Game Manuals collection on the Internet Archive. Manufacturer documents with no explicit licence, kept here for preservation (machines out of service for over 25 years).

Manufacturer service bulletins ✅

Fixes the manufacturer issued to its network: they document a factory-acknowledged fault, its symptom and the modification to apply.

  • Donkey Kong service bulletin (11 Dec 1981)PDF

→ Full catalogue: service manuals & wiring diagrams

Original manuals for games on this platform ✅

Manufacturer manuals for games running on this board. Beyond the instructions, they very often carry the full DIP settings, the connector pinout, the test procedure, the parts list and the expected voltages.

→ Full catalogue: service manuals, wiring & game manuals

DIP settings ✅

35 games on this platform, settings extracted from the MAME sources (INPUT_PORTS_START blocks). The Position column gives the switch's physical reference on the board (SW2:!3,!4 = bank SW2, levers 3 and 4) — which is what lets you set it up without the paper manual. Games are sorted by MAME set name.

DIP settings — MAME set balonfgt
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Coinage SW1:!1,!2,!3 4C 1C · 3C 1C · 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C · 1C 3C · 1C 4C · Free Play
Lives SW2:!1,!2 3 · 4 · 5 · 6
Difficulty SW2:!3,!4 Easy · Normal · Medium · Hard
Enemy Regeneration SW2:!5 Low · High
Bonus Life SW2:!6,!7 10,000 Pts · 20,000 Pts · 40,000 Pts · None
DIP settings — MAME set bnglngby
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Coinage SW1:!1,!2,!3 4C 1C · 3C 1C · 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C · 1C 3C · 1C 4C · Free Play
Lives SW1:!4 3 · 4
Difficulty SW1:!6,!7 Easy · Normal · Medium · Hard
DIP settings — MAME set btlecity
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Credits for 2 Players SW1:!1 1 · 2
Lives SW1:!2 3 · 5
Demo Sounds SW1:!3 Off · On
PPU Type SW1:!7,!8 RP2C04-0001 · RP2C04-0002 · RP2C04-0003 · RP2C04-0004
DIP settings — MAME set cluclu
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Coinage SW1:!1,!2,!3 4C 1C · 3C 1C · 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C · 1C 3C · 1C 4C · Free Play
Credits for 2 Players SW1:!5 1 · 2
Lives SW1:!6,!7 2 · 3 · 4 · 5
DIP settings — MAME set cstlevna
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Coinage SW1:!1,!2,!3 5C 1C · 4C 1C · 3C 1C · 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C · 1C 3C · Free Play
Lives SW1:!4 2 · 3
Bonus points SW1:!5,!6 Timer x 4, Hearts x 40 · Timer x 6, Hearts x 60 · Timer x 8, Hearts x 80 · Timer x 9, Hearts x 90
Difficulty SW1:!7 Easy · Hard
DIP settings — MAME set drmario
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Drop Rate Increases After SW1:!1,!2 7 Pills · 8 Pills · 9 Pills · 10 Pills
Virus Level SW1:!3,!4 1 · 3 · 5 · 7
Drop Speed Up SW1:!5,!6 Slow · Medium · Fast · Fastest
Free Play SW1:!7 Off · On
Demo Sounds SW1:!8 Off · On
DIP settings — MAME set duckhunt
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Coinage SW1:!1,!2,!3 5C 1C · 4C 1C · 3C 1C · 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C · 1C 3C · Free Play
Difficulty SW1:!4,!5 Easy · Normal · Medium · Hard
Misses per game SW1:!6 3 · 5
Bonus Life SW1:!7,!8 30000 · 50000 · 80000 · 100000
DIP settings — MAME set excitebk
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Coinage SW1:!1,!2,!3 4C 1C · 3C 1C · 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C · 1C 3C · 1C 4C · Free Play
Bonus Bike SW1:!4,!5 100k and Every 50k · Every 100k · 100k Only · None
1st Half Qualifying Time SW1:!6 Easy · Hard
2nd Half Qualifying Time SW1:!7 Easy · Hard
DIP settings — MAME set golfj
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Starting Points SW1:!6,7 300 · 400 · 500 · 600
DIP settings — MAME set goonies
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Coinage SW1:!1,!2,!3 5C 1C · 4C 1C · 3C 1C · 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C · 1C 3C · Free Play
Lives SW1:!4 4 · 3
Bonus Life SW1:!5,!6 40000 · 50000 · 60000 · 70000
Timer SW1:!7 Slow · Fast
Demo Sounds SW1:!8 Off · On
DIP settings — MAME set hogalley
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Coinage SW1:!1,!2,!3 5C 1C · 4C 1C · 3C 1C · 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C · 1C 3C · Free Play
Difficulty SW1:!4,!5 Easy · Normal · Medium · Hard
Misses per game SW1:!6 3 · 5
Bonus Life SW1:!7,!8 30000 · 50000 · 80000 · 100000
DIP settings — MAME set iceclimb
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Coinage SW1:!1,!2,!3 4C 1C · 3C 1C · 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C · 1C 3C · 1C 4C · Free Play
Lives SW1:!4,!5 3 · 4 · 5 · 7
Difficulty SW1:!6 Easy · Hard
Time before bear appears SW1:!7 Long · Short
DIP settings — MAME set iceclmrj
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Coinage (Left Side) SW1:!1,!2,!3 4C 1C · 3C 1C · 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C · 1C 3C · 1C 4C · Free Play
Lives (Left Side) SW1:!4,!5 3 · 4 · 5 · 7
Service Mode (Left Side) SW1:!8 Off · On
Coinage (Right Side) SW2:!1,!2,!3 4C 1C · 3C 1C · 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C · 1C 3C · 1C 4C · Free Play
Lives (Right Side) SW2:!4,!5 3 · 4 · 5 · 7
Service Mode (Right Side) SW2:!8 Off · On
DIP settings — MAME set jajamaru
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Coinage SW1:!1,!2,!3 4C 1C · 3C 1C · 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C · 1C 3C · 1C 4C · Free Play
Lives SW1:!4,!5 3 · 4 · 5 · 6
Demo Sounds SW1:!8 Off · On
DIP settings — MAME set machridj
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Coinage SW1:!1,!2,!3 4C 1C · 3C 1C · 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C · 1C 3C · 1C 4C · Free Play
Max Lives After Level 1 SW1:!4,!5 3 · 4 · 5 · 6
Enemies SW1:!7 More · Less
DIP settings — MAME set machridr
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Coinage SW1:!1,!2,!3 4C 1C · 3C 1C · 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C · 1C 3C · 1C 4C · Free Play
Time SW1:!4,!5 280 (Easy) · 250 · 220 · 200 (Hard)
Enemies SW1:!7 More · Less
DIP settings — MAME set mightybj
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Coinage SW1:!1,!2,!3 5C 1C · 4C 1C · 3C 1C · 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C · 1C 3C · 1C 4C
Lives SW1:!4,!5 2 · 3 · 4 · 5
DIP settings — MAME set rbibb
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Coinage SW1:!1,!2 3C 1C · 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C
1p/inn, 2p/inn, Time/Min SW1:!3,!4 2, 1, 3 · 2, 2, 4 · 3, 2, 6 · 4, 3, 7
Demo Sounds SW1:!5 Off · On
PPU Type SW1:!6,!7,!8 RP2C04-0001 · RP2C03 · RP2C04-0002 · RP2C04-0003 · RP2C04-0004
DIP settings — MAME set starlstr
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Coinage SW1:!1,!2 3C 1C · 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C
PPU Type SW1:!6,!7,!8 RP2C03 · RP2C04-0001 · RP2C04-0002 · RP2C04-0003 · RP2C04-0004
DIP settings — MAME set suprmrio
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Coinage SW1:!1,!2,!3 3C 1C · 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C · 1C 3C · 1C 4C · 1C 5C · Free Play
Lives SW1:!4 2 · 3
Bonus Life SW1:!5,!6 100 Coins · 150 Coins · 200 Coins · 250 Coins
Timer SW1:!7 Slow · Fast
Continue Lives SW1:!8 3 · 4
DIP settings — MAME set supxevs
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Bonus Life SW1:!1 50k, 150k, every 150k · 70k, 200k, every 200k
Lives SW1:!2 3 · 5
Hidden Password Screen SW1:!4 Yes · No
Coinage SW1:!5,!6 3C 1C · 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C
PPU Type SW1:!7,!8 RP2C04-0001 · RP2C04-0002 · RP2C04-0003 · RP2C04-0004
DIP settings — MAME set tkoboxng
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Coinage SW1:!1,!2 3C 1C · 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C
Difficulty SW1:!3,!4 Easy · Normal · Hard · Very Hard
PPU Type SW1:!6,!7,!8 RP2C04-0003 · RP2C03
DIP settings — MAME set vsbball
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Player Defense Strength SW1:!1,!2 Weak · Normal · Medium · Strong
Player Offense Strength SW1:!3,!4 Weak · Normal · Medium · Strong
Computer Defense Strength SW1:!5,!6 Weak · Normal · Medium · Strong
Computer Offense Strength SW1:!7,!8 Weak · Normal · Medium · Strong
Coinage SW2:!2,!3 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C · Free Play
Starting Points SW2:!4,!5,!6 80 Pts · 100 Pts · 150 Pts · 200 Pts · 250 Pts · 300 Pts · 350 Pts · 400 Pts
Bonus Play SW2:!7 Off · On
Demo Sounds SW2:!8 Off · On
DIP settings — MAME set vsfdf
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Coinage SW1:!1,!2,!3 5C 1C · 4C 1C · 3C 1C · 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C · 1C 3C · Free Play
Health Awarded At SW1:!4,!5 20k/60k · 20k/60k/Every 60k · 10k/50k · 10k/50k/Every 50k
Difficulty (Damage) SW1:!6,!7 Easy · Normal · Hard · Hardest
Difficulty (Enemy) SW1:!8 Normal · Hard
DIP settings — MAME set vsgradus
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Coinage SW1:!1,!2,!3 5C 1C · 4C 1C · 3C 1C · 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C · 1C 3C · Free Play
Lives SW1:!4 3 · 4
Bonus SW1:!5,!6 100k · 200k · 300k · 400k
Difficulty SW1:!7 Easy · Hard
Demo Sounds SW1:!8 Off · On
DIP settings — MAME set vsgshoe
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Coinage SW1:!1,!2,!3 5C 1C · 4C 1C · 3C 1C · 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C · 1C 3C · Free Play
Difficulty SW1:!4,!5 Easy · Normal · Hard · Hardest
Lives SW1:!6 3 · 5
Bullets per Balloon SW1:!7 3 · 2
Bonus Man Awarded SW1:!8 At 50000 · None
DIP settings — MAME set vsmahjng
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Rules SW1:!1 Kansai · Kantou
Difficulty SW1:!2,!3 Easy · Normal · Hard · Hardest
Timer SW1:!4 Off · On
Initial Time SW1:!5,!6 30 · 45 · 60 · 90
Additional Time SW1:!7,!8 8 · 12 · 15 · 20
Coinage SW2:!2,!3 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C · Free Play
Mawashi SW2:!4 Tonnan · Tonton
Dora SW2:!5 Genbutsu · Next
Starting Points SW2:!6,!7 15000 · 20000 · 25000 · 30000
Demo Sounds SW2:!8 Off · On
DIP settings — MAME set vspinbal
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Coinage 4C 1C · 3C 1C · 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C · 1C 3C · 1C 4C · Free Play
Side Drain Walls SW1:!4 High · Low
Bonus Life SW1:!5 50000 · 70000
Balls SW1:!6,!7 2 · 3 · 4 · 5
Ball speed SW1:!8 Slow · Fast
DIP settings — MAME set vsskykid
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Difficulty SW1:!1,!2 Easy · Normal · Medium · Hard
Lives SW1:!3 2 · 3
Coinage SW1:!4,!5 3C 1C · 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C
PPU Type SW1:!6,!7,!8 RP2C04-0001 · RP2C03 · RP2C04-0002 · RP2C04-0003 · RP2C04-0004
DIP settings — MAME set vsslalom
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Coinage SW1:!1,!2,!3 5C 1C · 4C 1C · 3C 1C · 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C · 1C 3C · Free Play
Freestyle Points SW1:!4 Left / Right · Hold Time
Difficulty SW1:!5,!6 Easy · Normal · Medium · Hard
Allow Continue SW1:!7 No · Yes
Inverted input SW1:!8 Off · On
DIP settings — MAME set vssoccer
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Coinage SW1:!1,!2,!3 4C 1C · 3C 1C · 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C · 1C 3C · 1C 4C · Free Play
Points Timer SW1:!4,!5 1000 Pts · 1500 Pts · 2000 Pts · 600 Pts
Difficulty SW1:!6,!7 Easy · Normal · Medium · Hard
DIP settings — MAME set vssoccera
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Points Timer SW1:!4,!5 600 Pts · 800 Pts · 1000 Pts · 1200 Pts
DIP settings — MAME set vstennis
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Difficulty Vs. Computer SW1:!1,!2 Easy · Normal · Medium · Hard
Difficulty Vs. Player SW1:!3,!4 Easy · Normal · Medium · Hard
Raquet Size SW1:!5 Large · Small
Extra Score SW1:!6 1 Set · 1 Game
Court Color SW1:!7 Green · Blue
Copyright SW1:!8 Japan · USA
Coinage SW2:!2,!3 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C · Free Play
Game Mode - Credits: 1VsC/2VsC/1Vs1/2Vs2 SW2:!4,!5 A - 1/1/2/2 · B - 1/2/2/2 · C - 1/1/2/4 · D - 1/2/2/4
Rackets Per Game SW2:!6,!7 2 · 3 · 4 · 5
Demo Sounds SW2:!8 Off · On
DIP settings — MAME set vstetris
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Difficulty SW1:!3,!4 Easy · Normal · Medium · Hard
PPU Type SW1:!6,!7,!8 RP2C04-0001 · RP2C03 · RP2C04-0002 · RP2C04-0003 · RP2C04-0004
DIP settings — MAME set wrecking
Setting Position Options (default in bold)
Lives SW1:!1,!2 3 · 4 · 5 · 6
1st Bonus Life SW1:!3,!4,!5, 20,000 Pts · 30,000 Pts · 40,000 Pts · 50,000 Pts · 70,000 Pts · 80,000 Pts · 100,000 Pts · None
Additional Bonus Lives SW1:!6,!7,!8 20,000 Pts · 30,000 Pts · 40,000 Pts · 50,000 Pts · 70,000 Pts · 80,000 Pts · 100,000 Pts · None
Coinage SW2:!1,!2,!3 4C 1C · 3C 1C · 2C 1C · 1C 1C · 1C 2C · 1C 3C · 1C 4C · Free Play
Difficulty SW2:!4,!5 Easy · Normal · Medium · Hard
Copyright SW2:!6 Japan · USA

Check against your own board

These settings apply to the game and revision described by MAME. One title may have several DIP sets depending on region or revision, and some systems use soft-dips (settings in memory, via the test menu) rather than physical switches. In case of a discrepancy, the board's silkscreen and the test menu are authoritative.

See also: DIP reference · game manuals

Emulation & FPGA

  • Emulation: MAME emulates VS. System (nintendo/vsnes.cpp), PlayChoice-10 (nintendo/playch10.cpp) and NSS (nintendo/nss.cpp), including VS. palettes and BIOS.
  • FPGA / MiSTer: no verified dedicated arcade core for these wrappers; the MiSTer NES and SNES cores reproduce the console base but not the arcade BIOS/menu/timer.

Lineage

These cabinets recycle NES (1983) then Super Famicom/SNES (1990) hardware in arcade form. The "console + arcade dressing" pattern later appears elsewhere (Sega Mega-Tech/Mega-Play, Mega Drive-based).

Photos / assets

(To add: VS. UniSystem board, dual-screen PlayChoice-10 cabinet, NSS board.)

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.

Reading is open to everyone; posting requires signing in with Discord. Reports from the wiki's declared reviewers are handled first; anyone else's are read too, but go through a human before anything is changed.