Difficulties with an old Dragon Quest Plug and Play

[hardcoretyphoon hardcoretyphoon]

So I recently bought this obscure Dragon Quest plug and play because the motion controls piqued my interest. It was a bit of trouble finding the proper cables to use it but i've managed to power it on. Unfortunately when I turn it on the picture is just "snow". some sort of interference or noise or whatever. The audio works but is almost impossible to hear over the loud 60hz buzz.

I'm not super proficient with electrical maintenance but i'm wondering if any of these symptoms sound familiar to someone with more know how than me.

 

[NeonKnights]

Kenshin Dragon Quest: Yomigaerishi Densetsu no Ken, cool.
I have checked some pages showing the disassembly of the unit, and from what I have seen there is no cable hardwired to the console. This implies there is a composite port that you need to plug into. I couldn't find any pictures showing this so I'm just going off of logical guesses. My first recommendation is to either disassemble the unit and clean the port that way, or put some 91% ISO on the jack plug and plug it in quite a few times, wiping the jack and doing this several times. That is assuming the best case in which the plug is dirty. Otherwise you probably have some failed capacitors, and I would recommend, taking apart the console and testing the video circuit with a multimeter, and probably recapping the console. As an aside I will mention the issue could be with the cable, and if the unit has a standard RCA jack you could try other cables, I'd check the cable for continuity regardless.
I have heard some composite only plug and play units only work with CRT, I can't confirm this though. I wish you the best of luck in any case.

 

[MDGeistsfavMC5song]

Whoa! that thing is awesome!.. no sorry, Im not much of an electronics expert.. just came to marvel at it....

 

[retroboogie64]

So I recently bought this obscure Dragon Quest plug and play because the motion controls piqued my interest. It was a bit of trouble finding the proper cables to use it but i've managed to power it on. Unfortunately when I turn it on the picture is just "snow". some sort of interference or noise or whatever. The audio works but is almost impossible to hear over the loud 60hz buzz.

I'm not super proficient with electrical maintenance but i'm wondering if any of these symptoms sound familiar to someone with more know how than me.

View attachment 182210

This is super cool!

If I had to guess what was wrong, it would be the AV cables you are using. I noticed it uses an 'audio' jack type plug for the AV out. I bet you have a cable that's not quite compatible and its putting the video signal down the left or right audio cable (this is why you hear a loud 60hz buzz). Try not matching the Red, Yellow, and White plugs. Swap them around and see if you get a picture. Like put the Red or Yellow plug in the White port of the TV.

LMK, this thing looks cool as hell.

 

[MDGeistsfavMC5song]

This is super cool!

If I had to guess what was wrong, it would be the AV cables you are using. I noticed it uses an 'audio' jack type plug for the AV out. I bet you have a cable that's not quite compatible and its putting the video signal down the left or right audio cable (this is why you hear a loud 60hz buzz). Try not matching the Red, Yellow, and White plugs. Swap them around and see if you get a picture. Like put the Red or Yellow plug in the White port of the TV.

LMK, this thing looks cool as hell.

right? I didnt even know these things existed..

 

[nobitakun]

Where are you from? did you get a step down electric converter for your country? even if your country uses 110-120V, the device is probably rated for 100V, which is the standard in Japan. That is one reason for the noise. Also, check the TV inputs. I believe you are connecting yellow -> yellow and the other two can be swapped, it does not matter, but as long as the TV understands composite image it shouldn't be a problem.

If you have connected other AV devices to the same TV and they worked, it also might be the cable might be the problem or the hardware internals of the device.

I don't know how much you payed for it but I would feel sorry you were scammed for a device that does not work. In Japan I can find them pretty easy for 10-15€ second hand complete & boxed.

 

[hardcoretyphoon hardcoretyphoon]

hm.. good info ill try these things. it may or may not be a good idea to buy the original AC adaptor and use a step down. ill try fucking with the cables and checking the caps and whatnot. this may be a project ;~;

 

[retroboogie64]

hm.. good info ill try these things. it may or may not be a good idea to buy the original AC adaptor and use a step down. ill try fucking with the cables and checking the caps and whatnot. this may be a project ;~;

The official power supply is designed for 100-120v and converters it to 6 volt 1 amp DC. i wouldn't worry about a step down unless ur located in the UK. I personally think running on batteries is ideal anyway.

based on what you described i have a feeling its something simple, i highly doubt capacitors are faulty. i hope you report back telling us how fun it is to play. Im on the look out for one now lol.

 

[hardcoretyphoon hardcoretyphoon]

The official power supply is designed for 100-120v and converters it to 6 volt 1 amp DC. i wouldn't worry about a step down unless ur located in the UK. I personally think running on batteries is ideal anyway.

based on what you described i have a feeling its something simple, i highly doubt capacitors are faulty. i hope you report back telling us how fun it is to play. Im on the look out for one now lol.

so i used a generic 6v 1A AC adaptor. do you think thats the problem? like would my generic american adaptor require a stepdown and the official one wouldnt?

Post automatically merged: May 12, 2026

and yes. i will talk many about how fun it is. i wanna make a lets play if its entertaining

 

[retroboogie64]

so i used a generic 6v 1A AC adaptor. do you think thats the problem? like would my generic american adaptor require a stepdown and the official one wouldnt?

Post automatically merged: May 12, 2026

and yes. i will talk many about how fun it is. i wanna make a lets play if its entertaining

If the voltage is correct and the amps are 1 or higher, i don't see how ur adapter would be the cause. Out of curiosity where did you find a barrel jack type power supply that's 6v 1a? The barrel needs to be center pin positive.

You could bypass the adapter and simply run it off 4 AA batteries.

And in this case a stepdown would not be needed for either a US or original adapter, both can convert 120AC to 6v DC.

 

[hardcoretyphoon hardcoretyphoon]

If the voltage is correct and the amps are 1 or higher, i don't see how ur adapter would be the cause. Out of curiosity where did you find a barrel jack type power supply that's 6v 1a? The barrel needs to be center pin positive.

You could bypass the adapter and simply run it off 4 AA batteries.

And in this case a stepdown would not be needed for either a US or original adapter, both can convert 120AC to 6v DC.

i ordered one from walmart, its a multi purpose one https://www.walmart.com/ip/30W-Univ...V-AC-to-DC-3V-12V-0-5A-1A-1-5A-2A/18481302490

i could try batteries but it didnt work last time cuz the terminal is absolutely fucked with corrosion

 

[retroboogie64]

I assume, based on the 30w description, at 6v it'll supply up to 5 amps, so that should be perfectly fine.

Yeah, i should have guessed the battery compartment would be corroded, so that might not be an option. Id just stick with the power adapter for now.

i think your fine, just try swapping around the cable inputs and report back.

 

[hardcoretyphoon hardcoretyphoon]

Making some progress. i wonder if the 3.5mm AV adaptor is funky. wiggling the adaptor makes the picture come on but its pretty fucked up

 

[SoThankful]

 

[hardcoretyphoon hardcoretyphoon]

ah man. the av cables i ordered got lost in transit. will update when i can get my hands on new ones

 

[MDGeistsfavMC5song]

ah man. the av cables i ordered got lost in transit. will update when i can get my hands on new ones

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?... I need to see this work.. sorry

 

[retroboogie64]

Making some progress. i wonder if the 3.5mm AV adaptor is funky. wiggling the adaptor makes the picture come on but its pretty fucked up

This looks like crosstalk, seems like ur still getting some audio mixed in the video signal. If the 3.5mm Jack isn't sectioned correctly this is the result you'll see. Getting a different AV cable is the best solution. Hopefully the new one is different and not made the same as ur current one.

Its possible the port on the console is flakey, but I wouldnt address that till we know we have a compatible av cable.

 

[hardcoretyphoon hardcoretyphoon]

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?... I need to see this work.. sorry

me too me too.. but im gettin fucked financially. you know how it is. just got paid today though. I will get a new one as soon as i can