Hi all.

I've bought a JP SML2 cartridge in the assumption that all JP versions were 1.0, which I've obviously assumed wrong (found out the hard way after receiving it, no pipe glitch, lol).

I've noticed that GB cartridges don't have punchmarks (like sfc and n64) in the lable to point out it's version. Therefore, is there any other way to physically recognize the game's version on either the label/cartridge itself, or is it really a gamble?

The latter wouldn't be too troubling since supply is plenty and fairly cheap, but I'd love to know before I unnecessarily end up with a dozen of 1.2 cartridges. ^^;

Thanks in advance.

Hi.
I am not aware of a definitive way to identify a v1.0 cartridge by its looks. It only works the other way around: The carts with the Million-Seller seal are always v1.2 of the US release:
Carts without that seal can be both 1.0 or 1.2
That said, you mentioned punchmarks which lead me to examine my own 1.0 copy a little closer. It's a Japanese cartridge and resembles this one exactly: - with one tiny difference: on the Noko Bombette in the bottom right there's a punch mark of the number "23". In the picture above, you can see the letter "B" (might actually be "53B", hard to tell) just to the right of the Noko Bombette.
You say that you have a Japanese v1.2 cart. Can you check if there's a punch mark somewhere around that area? Maybe numbers mean v1.0 and letter codes mean 1.2? Maybe the exact placement is an indicator: on the enemy = 1.0, next to the enemy = 1.2? Maybe only v1.0 carts have a punch mark and v1.2 carts don't? I have no idea, but we may be able to figure something out here.

My v1.0 cart has a punchmark reading "09" directly above the word "JAPAN" next to the bomb guy.
Below the title it says DMG-L6J.

https://m.imgur.com/j0AXW5N
Mine's not Japanese, it was store bought in Portugal, has an evenly spaced "1 2 A" on the front.
Edit: it's v1.1

here's a pic of my 1.2 JP cart.
23 B stamped towards the bottom right.

And here's my 1.0 US cart.
Hard to make out here, but it has the number 23 stamped just below the Mario Zone statue.

Thanks for that piece of info. I had just found this post on a forum (sadly without a source) that seems to confirm this:

"The imprint will be 2 numbers, at minimum. If that's all there is, then it's a v1.0.
However, if there's a letter after it, then it'll be an alternate version. If there's an A, then it's a v1.1. B is a v1.2. C is v1.3, etc."

Edit: I just went through some of my carts and can confirm that the ones with a letter A are all rev. 1.1.
Edit 2: Found the possible source of the post I had read 1st: https://forum.speeddemosarchive.com/post/how_to_identify_your_games_version__how_to_identify_fake_gba_carts.html

Thanks all.

Like I said in my first post, I couldn't find a punchmark at first but after reading all your replies I took another look and found the punchmark. Mine was just above the Noko Bombette, through the island and the Bombette's fuse. That's tiny!

It's 32B, confirming that it's a 1.2. Definitely good to know that it's possible to identify them, hopefully sellers are willing to cooperate in this. 🙂

I have two carts, both marked DMG-MQ-USA
The 1.0 is punched 23
The 1.2 is punched 22B

Hope this helps!

I found a seller who was kind enough to check for me, today a ntsc-j 1.0 cart came in the mail. 🙂 (a "34" for anyone interested)

In the process of getting it I did end up with an additional 1.2 cart though (other than the one I already had), so if anyone is interested. 😛

Anyway, thanks for all the help y'all. o/

Nice, I didn't know GB carts have imprints.

My two SML carts are:

1) DMG-MQ-NOE with imprint "12B". It's actually very hard to deter if it is a 4 or a 1. This is my v1.2 cart.
2) DMG-MQ-USA with imprint "22". This is my v1.0 cart.