Swiss/Forced Progressive Compatibility List

This is a compatibility list for the Swiss feature which forces games to use a different video mode than their defaults: specifically, for forcing the progressive video modes 480p and 576p. While the GameCube (and Wii) are capable of displaying these resolutions, official titles booted in the interlaced 480i (all NTSC, some PAL) or 576i (most PAL) modes. Many NTSC games are already capable of running in 480p simply by holding the B button on startup, but this feature was removed from PAL games. Thus, video mode forcing is useful for NTSC games which lack native 480p, and all of the PAL game library. 576p was not officially supported in any games: forcing this mode is the only way to enable it, and it allows many games to be played in a higher resolution than originally intended.

These video modes require either an original model GameCube with digital AV-out port (DOL-001) or a standard model Wii (not a "Family Edition" console, which lacks GameCube support) and a suitable component cable—not the composite cable bundled with both consoles. It is also necessary to have a TV with component inputs which is capable of displaying these resolutions—480p has been a worldwide standard on most sets produced this century, while 576p support is most common in TVs produced for PAL regions. Still, many televisions outside these regions are able to accept a 576p signal, even if they aren't specifically marked as such.

Potential issues and recommendations

Forcing 480p in PAL Super Smash Bros. Melee's 50Hz mode (the second shot) causes the bottom of the screen to be lost (see "Potential issues and recommendations").

• If a game already supports 480p output natively, there's little reason to force the 480p video mode on it. In the best case scenario, nothing will go wrong, and this is probably the most likely result, but as long as you're forcing a game into behaving otherwise than intended, there's a possibility for error. Where available, native 480p is obviously less likely to cause any issues.

• 480p and 576p are different in more than just resolution: 480p is 640✕480 (4:3) pixels running at a 60Hz refresh rate, while 576p is 640✕576 (10:9) pixels running at a 50Hz refresh rate. Forcing a game to use the "opposite" video mode (480i to 576p/576i to 480p) can thus cause a variety of issues related to these differences, including incorrect playback speed, screen cutoffs, letterboxing, incorrect aspect ratios, etc. Many PAL games feature a Hz selection screen when holding B on startup—the Hz which matches the forced video mode should almost always be chosen in order to avoid issues: 60Hz for forced 480p, 50Hz for forced 576p.

• Games which change their video mode much later than the initial boot will bypass the video mode forcing—e.g., Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time includes the original game as a bonus, and the display switches to 480i when launching it. Similarly, the PAL versions of the Zelda compilation discs switch to 480i when launching their subgames. In this case, only the game menu will run in 480p.

NTSC games

The original model GameCube (DOL-001) as well as the Wii are already capable of supporting 480p for many NTSC games. On the GameCube, the progressive menu is summoned in compatible games by holding B as a game is started, while the Wii System Menu will ask automatically if it's set up for progressive display (NB: When running Swiss on a Wii, it is necessary to summon the menu manually). These games can be entered into the list as "Native"; info on forcing them anyway may be included in the notes.

Forcing 576p on NTSC games will in many cases not offer any resolution improvements, and could even result in a squished, letterboxed image, depending on the TV used. NTSC titles are generally hardcoded to a 480 line resolution, and will simply output a 480 line picture in the middle of a 576 line frame. Some TVs will crop off the empty lines, resulting in essentially the same picture as in 480p, but running at a lower 50Hz. Other TVs will display the empty lines, leaving a squished image in the middle of the screen. Unless the game actually renders to the full 576 lines, using 480p will offer a better display.

NTSC game list

Game	Swiss rev.	480p	576p

PAL games

While the PAL GameCube supported 480p just fine in hardware (in the DOL-001 revision with Digital AV Out port), for whatever reason, the feature was removed for all PAL game releases. Where holding B on a compatible NTSC game enabled progressive output selection, for PAL this is just a 60Hz (480i) or 50Hz (576i) switch: offering players a tradeoff between framerate and resolution.

When forcing progressive video modes, the Hz switch can be a valuable tool to use in trying to achieve the best display, by offering a method of matching the game's internal mode to the forced video mode. For greatest compatibility, switch to 60Hz when forcing 480p, and 50Hz when forcing 576p. Very few games will work better when mismatched, and in cases where the game appears to work the same on either Hz mode, it's best to choose the matching Hz just in case.

PAL game list

Game	60Hz	Swiss rev.	480p	576p
Animal Crossing (Australia)	✘	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean	✘	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Battalion Wars	✔	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Bloody Roar: Primal Fury	✔	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
F-Zero GX	✔	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles	✘	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance	✔	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Ikaruga	✘	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Legend of Zelda, The: Collector's Edition	✔^	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Legend of Zelda, The: Ocarina of Time/Master Quest	✔^	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Legend of Zelda, The: Wind Waker, The	✔	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Lego Star Wars: The Video Game	✘	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy	✔	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Lost Kingdoms	✔	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Luigi's Mansion	✘	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Mario Kart: Double Dash	✔	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Metroid Prime	✔	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes	✔^	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door	✔	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Pikmin	✘	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, The	✘	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Prince of Persia: Two Thrones, The	✘	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Prince of Persia: Warrior Within	✘	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Resident Evil	✔	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Skies of Arcadia Legends	✘	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Sonic Mega Collection	✔	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
SoulCalibur II	✔	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Spider-Man	✔	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Spider-Man 2	✘	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Spy Hunter	✘	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Star Fox Adventures	✔	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Star Wars: Bounty Hunter	✘	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader	✔	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike	✔	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Super Mario Sunshine	✔	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Super Smash Bros. Melee	✔	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Tales of Symphonia	✘	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Viewtiful Joe	✔	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}
Viewtiful Joe 2	✔	{{{ir}}}	{{{er}}}	r136	{{{status1}}}	{{{status2}}}

• ^ 60Hz-only game

Special cases

• Metroid Prime PAL is a 50/60Hz game, however when forced to 480p, it will crash when attempting to run using the game's 60Hz mode. It will run fine in "50Hz mode" (and it will still be running at 60Hz), but since the game expects to be running at 576i50, it will render using a field of view (FOV) appropriate for that resolution. Since 576 is 96 pixels more than 480, the 50Hz mode FOV makes the image's aspect ratio 20% taller/skinnier than its 60Hz equivalent. This means that if you're using a widescreen-capable TV, you may wish to stretch the picture horizontally in order to correct the aspect. The ideal ratio is 8:5 (16:10), however most TVs will only offer 16:9, which is at least pretty close. Ultimately, all any of this means is that you can play Metroid Prime in widescreen 480p.