t-dollaz/konamigv_mister

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

★ 4VHDLAudience · generalComplexity · 5/5Setup · hard

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((KonamiGV_MiSTer))
    What it does
      Arcade board recreation
      Runs on MiSTer FPGA
      Simpsons Bowling tested
    Tech stack
      VHDL
      FPGA
      Quartus
    Use cases
      Play arcade game
      Study hardware emulation
      Build from source
    Audience
      Retro gaming enthusiasts
      FPGA hobbyists
    Risks
      EEPROM wipe warning
      Untested titles
      Read-only flash limitation

mindmap root((KonamiGV_MiSTer)) What it does Arcade board recreation Runs on MiSTer FPGA Simpsons Bowling tested Tech stack VHDL FPGA Quartus Use cases Play arcade game Study hardware emulation Build from source Audience Retro gaming enthusiasts FPGA hobbyists Risks EEPROM wipe warning Untested titles Read-only flash limitation

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Run the arcade game Simpsons Bowling on a MiSTer FPGA device using your own legally dumped game files.

USE CASE 2

Study how a real arcade board's hardware, like SCSI, flash memory, and EEPROM, can be recreated in FPGA logic.

USE CASE 3

Learn from the bring-up notes how the project's behavior was matched against another emulator's reference code.

USE CASE 4

Build the core from source using Quartus Prime Lite for a Cyclone V FPGA.

What is it built with?

VHDLQuartus PrimeFPGA

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · hard Time to first run · 1day+

Requires your own legally obtained BIOS, flash, EEPROM, and disc dumps, plus a MiSTer FPGA device.

No license information was found in the project.

In plain English

This project recreates a specific Konami arcade circuit board, known as the GV or Baby Phoenix system, so that it can run on MiSTer, a hardware platform that reimplements classic gaming systems in reprogrammable chips called FPGAs. It is built as a fork of an existing PlayStation core, since the GV board is really a PlayStation console with a few extra Konami parts added on. The only game it has actually been tested with so far is Simpsons Bowling, an arcade bowling game, which the author reports boots up, passes its internal security check, and plays correctly on real hardware. The author is upfront that this is an experimental, unofficial project built with the single goal of getting that one game working, and it may not be wired up correctly for every part of the GV system. It should not be confused with a different, later Konami arcade board that looks similar in name. To use it, you need your own legally obtained copies of the game's BIOS file, memory chip dumps, a security chip image, and a disc image, none of which are included with the project. A helper script combines the separate memory dumps into the single file format the core expects. There is a clear warning in the documentation: turning on a test mode switch without first backing up a particular save file can permanently wipe out the game's security code, requiring you to restore from that backup to recover. A table in the documentation tracks, part by part, which pieces of the original hardware have been tested and confirmed working on real hardware, which are still in progress, and which have not been implemented at all. Building the project from source requires a specific version of Intel's Quartus Prime Lite software.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

Walk me through preparing my game files to run Simpsons Bowling on this MiSTer core.

Prompt 2

Explain why turning on Service Mode without a backup can break my save file.

Prompt 3

Help me understand the memory map described in this project's architecture diagram.

Prompt 4

What does the build status table tell me about which hardware features are tested versus untested?

Frequently asked questions

What is konamigv_mister?

An unofficial FPGA recreation of a Konami PlayStation-based arcade board for MiSTer, currently tested only with the game Simpsons Bowling.

What language is konamigv_mister written in?

Mainly VHDL. The stack also includes VHDL, Quartus Prime, FPGA.

What license does konamigv_mister use?

No license information was found in the project.

How hard is konamigv_mister to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated hard, with roughly 1day+ to a first successful run.

Who is konamigv_mister for?

Mainly general.

Open on GitHub → Explain another repo

This repo across BitVibe Labs

Verify against the repo before relying on details.