The Very First Messiah 2 Review!

This thread is dedicated to a series of MESSIAH 2 Reviews that will be coming on over the next week or so.

The attached picture is not pretty! We ripped the Magic 2 out and put the Messiah 2 in the same place. This is the fifth exchange in that PS2 and it's beginning to show!

I'll be closing the thread to keep easy focus on review contents and look forward to discussion on the already open threads on the subject.

If you are reading this from the main page then please click the 'read more' button to view the full review.

The Messiah 2 maker kindly sent me a number of Messiah 2 modchips to test and here is my report on its functionality on US v7 GH-019 BIOS 050

PS2 SYSTEM
NTSC v7 SCPH 39001 GH-019 BIOS 050

INSTALLATION
1 hour + glue drying time + assembly/disassembly

The Messiah 2 replaced an in-situ Magic 2 V7 (RED). The following wiring differences are to be noted:

1 Messiah 2 adds a CLK (Clock) wire to draw its clock from the PS2.
2 There are 8 wires associated with the CD/DVD Controller; E is added
3 Wire W on Magic 2 has a different designation with Messiah 2
4 The BIOS has an extra wire (as per Messiah 1) - W
5 There is no Z wire required on the Messiah 2

PS2 ORIGINAL IN-REGION
OK Final Fantasy X (DVD NTSC US)
OK Metal Gear Solid 2 (DVD NTSC US)


PS2 ORIGINAL IMPORT
OK DOA2 (DVD NTSC JAP)
OK Time Splitter 2 (DVD PAL)
OK GTA 3 (DVD PAL)
OK Medal of Honour (DVD PAL)
OK Xenosaga (DVD9 NTSC JAP) - booted first time every time


PS2 BACKUP GAMES
OK Tony Hawk 3 (DVD-R PAL)
OK Wipeout Fusion (DVD-R PAL)
OK EA NBA Street (CD-R, NTSC-US)
OK Twisted Metal Black (CD-R, Kalisto Rip)


PS1 GAMES
OK FF IX (CD NTSC-JAP)
OK FF IX (CD-R NTSC US)


DVD MOVIE (Long RESET)
OK - no skipping


AR2 WITH CODES
OK GTA3 PAL Original With Codes
OK GTA3 PAL DVD-R backup With Codes


VERDICT
100%. Behaved perfectly.


ADDITIONAL NOTES

1. Messiah 2 used was the PRO version
2. Playstation2 logo properly displayed - not scambled nor in gravure
3. Perfect PS1 screen display in PAL & NTSC
4. Reliable booting from RESET or EJECT button as per standard PS2
5. DVD9 Xenosaga game booted first time every time
6. Messiah 2 turns off if RESET held till electrons swirl