Mary-Kate and Ashley: Pocket Planner

Mary-Kate and Ashley: Pocket Planner
Developer: Powerhead Games Publisher: Club Acclaim Platform: Game Boy Color Released in US: November 29, 2000 Released in EU: March 2, 2001 This game has hidden developer credits.

If you can't find yourPIN#,

please call Acclaim Customer

Service: 516-759-7800.

Hidden Developer Credits

Present at 0x13A22.

Music Player Copyright VISUAL IMPACT BVBA 1996-2000

Save File PIN location

This cart can have a PIN set, and if you don't know it, and it isn't the past when Acclaim was around to call, the cart is pretty useless. Of course you could disconnect and resolder the battery, and lose everything, but if possible, here's a better method.

If the PIN is set but unknown, while the recovery method originally used isn't fully understood, if the save file can be extracted, it can be located using a hex viewer. Within the save file, there are two bytes starting at 0xCE which represent the PIN. The bytes are in reverse order due to being little-endian, so swap them, then convert to decimal, as one 4-digit hex number (not two 2-digit ones). For example, if the hex located there is 73 1D, swap it to 1D73, then convert to decimal, and the PIN would be 7539.

If the PIN is less than 4 digits, add leading zeros as it will only accept 4 digit PINs.

Now we can see what those kids were planning in 2000! That is, if the RTC in these didn't drain the battery. As of January 2024, out of 9 carts tested, only 1 had a working battery.

PIN Recovery

The method for fully recovering a lost PIN (as Acclaim Support would have, without the save file) is currently unknown. However, if an incorrect PIN is entered, you're instructed to call Acclaim and are provided with a code. While there are 10,000 possible PINs, there are only 40 codes. The codes start with PINs 0000 through 0039. PIN 0040 will show the same code as PIN 0000, and so on, repeating the list with the same code being used for every 40 possible PIN numbers.

It still needs to be determined how to find which of the 250 possibilities per code is the proper PIN. It is likely that Acclaim support would have you either enter a special code, or hold down a button combo on the PIN screen or while rebooting to get an extra piece of information. This may have been straightforward, or could have required knowing some info saved on your profile as an added layer of security to keep someone from stealing your cart and calling to unlock it. However, on setup most things can be skipped other than name, and name is shown on the screen before the PIN, so the security may have not been that tight (though Acclaim has never been sued over revealing someone's crush as far as we know).

Listed here are the 40 possible codes and the first 40 PINs they will be shown for, after which the codes repeat.

Codes start at 0xC9F8B - each entry in the list is separated by three bytes, which vary in content. Only the codes are listed in the ROM, not the numbers they correspond to.

CODE   - PIN
dpjqbc - 0000
lnmnxp - 0001
dxjxrj - 0002
gmvtrd - 0003
rfftbw - 0004
wlqjrw - 0005
tktztm - 0006
qmvdtm - 0007
xfgdvg - 0008
bshsds - 0009
wgktsj - 0010
dngnns - 0011
zvwmsz - 0012
zxgzcs - 0013
dmzngr - 0014
tmqnwp - 0015
hgwhgd - 0016
rlxpfz - 0017
lwwgnm - 0018
smknwx - 0019
znvfmv - 0020
bptdpk - 0021
cwrwkr - 0022
rtzvrf - 0023
mjhlzn - 0024
qzzwjc - 0025
dfsjtl - 0026
wnmbhb - 0027
zdnpdh - 0028
knlmgg - 0029
pfkvxn - 0030
xkfcpr - 0031
gmclww - 0032
cfkgpt - 0033
hnlfhr - 0034
ctjmkj - 0035
mfqxcl - 0036
nktwbf - 0037
gvsjdb - 0038
dbxfck - 0039

This does give us enough info to determine the code if you know your PIN. If it is above 0039, divide by 40. Take the remainder and it should match the list, for example if the remainder is 24 your code should be mjhlzn (the code for 0024). However since the software tells us our code this is of little use!

BTW, don't try to call Acclaim, they are out of business and that will go to the NY Martial Arts Academy of Long Island now. They don't have your PIN (trust me).

Display Oddities

While a PIN can include leading zeros, which must be present when entering the PIN, these are omitted when it is displayed. When viewing or editing your PIN, the leading zero(s) will not be shown, making it appear that you have a shorter PIN and leaving out part of it. This includes the confirmation screen after entering your PIN, telling you to write it down. The PIN entry will refuse less than 4 digits however. If your PIN is 0000, it will show a single 0. The only places leading zeros are shown is after typing them yourself on the PIN create/edit/entry screens.

This also leads to the oddity that if your PIN has leading zeros and you edit it, and make no changes, you won't be able to save due to it being too short, and must backspace then re-enter the PIN to keep it the same.

Note as well that while setting a PIN is optional, once one has been set, it can only be changed, but you cannot disable the PIN and go back to having no PIN.