Datel FreeLoader (GameCube/Wii)

Have you ever wanted to dig out your old GameCube and think to yourself about all those games you never got a chance to play? But when you look them up you find all the copies that'll play on your GameCube are really expensive? Good news! Now you can import cheap US copies and play them on your PAL region console!The FreeLoader really is a retro gamer's dream come true. PAL region GC games are expensive, and some of them are pretty rare. A copy of Twilight Princess will set you back $60-$90. Metroid Prime will cost you $30. I felt really jealous of the US when I was looking around eBay for old GC games that I never got a chance to play. See, the US has a very well established retro video games industry that does very well buying and selling old games and classic consoles, Australia, sadly, does not. And I don't imagine the UK does either. As a result older video games within PAL region countries have been mostly snatched up by collectors who aren't going to part with their near mint copy of Zelda Windwaker without getting a large sum of money in exchange. Thankfully some clever people designed and made the FreeLoader!I'm not entirely sure how it works, but I have theories, but I wont go into it here. All you need to know is this, it works easily and quickly on my GameCube, and from what I've seen it's almost completely compatible with all titles on the GC. I hear it has some problem running GC games on the Wii, but I believe that you can only play a GC title on the console itself, not a backwards compatible next gen console.If you want to get some cheap US games to play, get one of these disks! You wont regret it.

I was a little nervous when I first ordered this Freeloader incase it didn't work or it was too much hassle to use every-time I played imported games, but thankfully it works fine and is very quick.The freeloader just requires you to put it in your console for about 10-15 seconds, then you can just take it out and play any imported game you want! Note for games with updates you'll need to insert it twice.I know it might be a bit obvious, but make sure you have your TVi set to 60hz to play the games. I never thought of it when I couldn't get my game to play at first...

I like to import games as some are only aviable somewhere else than in the pal region or too expencive in it. This one fixes the problems. It does not work if you start up the Wii with it inside, so you have to turn it on, wait a while, and then put it in. It's not always it works, but then you have to turn off the Wii, take it out the disc and try again. Could've been easier to use, but I've come far in my NTSC games so I'm very happy with it.

Was very dubious but worked a treat!Very simple to use, literally put the disc in and follow the on screen diagrams which is basically just to swap the discs over! Did take a couple of attempts but game then played flawlessly (US version of Mario Party 7). Definitely worth the money and saves a fortune on games as imports are much cheaper than PAL versions.

This Product works OK for the (Pal) version for the GameCube i had a couple of problem with this product,Pro Cons+ Works Fine - Abit Expensive+ loads quick - Crashes/Freezes sometimes+ Most NTSC games work - Sometimes disc doesn't load/workI would rate this product 3/5.

I recently moved to the UK from Canada and was really missing my GameCube, so I had my Canadian (NTSC) games shipped over and went and bought a GameCube here in the UK (PAL) under the impression that this disc would allow me to play my games from back home. Not the case. The Freeloader disc loaded the games, but with flickering/green tinted video that wouldn’t quit no matter what game. I tried absolutely everything, from following the alternate setup instructions in the manual (speaking of - Datel claims that you can press the Z button on the GC controller to change the region settings, which is a load of BS. Nothing happens when you click Z), to playing with my TV settings. I contacted customer service and Datel kindly sent over two new Freeloader discs, as well as two Action Replays to try. All of which failed. I’ll give them the fact that they tried to help. I’m not sure if the specific GameCube I bought is the problem (maybe the version just doesn’t work with Freeloader) but regardless, this didn’t do what it was meant to and in the end I ended up wasting a bunch of money. I’ve since downloaded a GC emulator for my computer which is a better bet than taking a gamble on this.

Doesn't work, tried loading up Super Smash Bros Melee (NTSC) on my Gamecube (PAL) ..would not happen. I also attempted loading it up on my Wii (PAL) ..again it did not happen. A screen would appear saying that the disc could not be read and the disc would stop spinning. Not to mention in the manual there is a second alternative method stating that you can specify a region game by selecting its flag. To do this you push the Z button and simply move left and right and push A to confirm. *Pushes the Z button* ..nothing happens.. And so if it's meant to load up games from other regions and it cannot, it is basically useless.

I choose this rating because the product does exactly as it should and the photo also is the exact image of the product. Just put the disc in your Gamecube (I dont have Wii). It charges almost instantly. Then appears a message "open disc and insert one" (more or less, I say it remembering). That is it all! Of course I put the game (Usa ntsc ones) and it goes perfect. Very easy. No trouble at all.