Super Scope

I recently got a pretty cool present: A Nintendo Super Scope which is the official SNES light gun. The cool thing is that the Super Scope is shaped like bazooka and about 90cm long. However, getting it to work was not as easy as I thought. Most of my problems where caused by the fact that I tried to run an American Super Scope with an European SNES. Surprisingly, there are not many tutorials on this topic so I decided to write one by myself.

What are we going to need?

1. The Nintendo Super Scope (Img. 1.1)
2. A game with Super Scope support (for example Super Scope 6) (Img. 1.2)
3. The Super Scope IR Receiver (Img. 1.3)
4. Six AA batteries to power the Super Scope
5. A Super Nintendo Entertainment System
6. A SNES controller
7. A CRT TV (LCD and Plasma do not work)

Img. 1 - Super Scope Equipment

Check if the Super Scope works
At first we should make sure our Super Scope is working correctly. Therefore, we have to insert the batteries into the Super Scope an switch the power button to “On”. If you forget to switch it back to “Off” the batteries will be sucked out in a day. Point the Super Scope at some sort of camera (like your Webcam or Smartphone camera) and press the “Fire” button. You should see the IR Leds of the Super Scope flash up for a second on the camera image. If nothing happens you should check if the batteries are insert correctly and fully charged .

Check if game works
After that we should make sure the game works. In my case I wanted to run an American game on an European SNES. Luckily, I also got an adapter that allows the SNES to run games with other region codes (Img. 2). Therefore, I simply had to plug a European game into Slot A and the American game in to Slot B of the adapter and then plug the adapter into the SNES. However, there are also European versions of Super Scope games. Just plug them into the SNES and if an image appears (even if the IR Receiver is not plugged in) everything should be fine. Otherwise blow into the cartridge and clean the contacts.

Img. 2 - Adapter

Running an American Super Scope with an European SNES
Well, there is one big problem with this. A European SNES usually does not support controllers from the US or Japan. This includes the Super Scope IR Receiver. There is a way to fix this problem. However, some basic soldering skills are needed for this. At first, we have to open the SNES (Make sure no cables are connected to the TV or the power supply. Otherwise you are on the best way to kill yourself). My brother already cracked up my SNES pretty bad to “repair it”. Thereby, it is only hold together by some duct tape (Img. 3) and was very easy to open.

Img. 3 - SNES hold together by duct tape

However, there are special tools that allow you to open the SNES case. After that you have to locate the controller port (Img. 4.4) and pull it out of the SNES. The cable can easily be pulled out of the connector of the SNES (Img.4.5).

Img. 4 - Open SNES

Now we have to locate the soldering points of four diodes and shortcut them. This can be done by soldering some wires between the soldering points (Img. 5.6 to 5.8). After that put everything back together. If you did everything right your SNES does now support American controllers.

Img. 5 - SNES Controller port

Setting everything up
Put your game into the SNES. Put a regular controller into Port 1 and the IR Receiver into Port 2. Connect everything to your CRT TV. Place the IR Receiver on top of your TV and let it point into your direction. Start the SNES. Usually the game prompts you to fire at the screen. If you do so the game will show you a calibration screen. If nothing happens the SNES is not able to communicate with the IR Receiver. In this case make sure to checked all the previous steps. If you get the calibration screen you have to aim at the bullseye and fire two times (as prompted) to calibrate the Super Scope. If nothing happens here your TV may not be supported. Make sure you are using a CRT. There also seem to be some problems with 100 Hz TVs. If the calibration can be done correctly you can play the game.

Which games can I play?
There are not that many games that are supported. I own “Super Scope 6”, “Yoshi's Safari” and “Bazooka Blitzkrieg”. “Super Scope 6” is a collection of six small shooting games. “Yoshi's Safari” is a rail shooter. You are playing Mario on top of Yoshi and have to shoot everything that comes into your way. “Bazooka Blitzkrieg” is a target shooting game in which you have to fight against several moving enemies. As far as I known the following games are also supported:

Battle Clash
Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge
Operation Thunderbolt
T2: The Arcade Game
Tin Star
X-Zone

If there are any questions left or if you found an error in my little tutorial feel free to write a comment. You should also be warned that if you open your SNES you can easily destroy your SNES and/or hurt/kill yourself. You should only do this if you know what you are doing.