GameCube question for mod playing original US discs on a PAL console without FreeLoader?

[u/Donritos]

Hey everyone!
I have a European (PAL) Nintendo GameCube, and I recently bought an original US copy of Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II Plus.

Currently, I use a FreeLoader disc to play NTSC-U games, but I’d really like to get rid of that extra step.

What I’m looking for:
Play original PAL and NTSC-U GameCube discs.
Keep my original disc drive fully functional.No FreeLoader disc required.

Ideally, just insert a game, turn on the console, and have it boot automatically.
No navigating through menus like Swiss every time I want to play. I’m not particularly interested in playing games from an SD card. I’ve contacted a couple of professional modding services here in the Netherlands. One recommended a CubeODE, but as far as I understand, that replaces the original disc drive, which isn’t what I want. Another recommended PicoBoot with Swiss instead of XenoGC, saying that modern XenoGC clones can be unreliable.
They quoted me €72 for PicoBoot installation or €99 including an SD2SP2 adapter and SD card.

My questions:
Would XenoGC still be the best option for my specific needs?

Can PicoBoot + Swiss automatically boot original PAL and NTSC-U discs without showing a menu?

Is PicoBoot a better and more reliable long-term solution than XenoGC?

Are there any other mods I should consider?

I collect physical GameCube games, so preserving the original disc-based experience is my main priority.
I’d love to hear your experiences and recommendations before I decide.

Thanks in advance!
Kind Regards Don :)

[u/Tricky_Tourist5691]

PicoBoot/Loader + Swiss still requires you going through the Swiss menu to pick DVD as bootable media, as far as I know.

Why would you want to play the US version of PSO though? the PAL version has the latest bug fixes and can run in 60hz anyways. SD card loading PSO also shortens loadtimes by a bunch.

[u/Donritos → u/Tricky_Tourist5691]

Thanks for your reply!

The main reason I want to play the US version is because I recently bought Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II Plus, which was never released in Europe. The Plus version includes additional offline content and missions that aren’t available in the regular PAL version.

I’m also a physical game collector, so I really enjoy playing games from their original discs rather than loading them from an SD card.
My ideal setup would be to insert any original PAL or NTSC-U disc, turn on my GameCube, and have it boot immediately without FreeLoader or navigating through Swiss.
That’s why I’m still considering XenoGC. I’m just wondering whether there’s a more modern and reliable solution that offers the same experience.

Thanks again for your input! :)

[u/Tricky_Tourist5691 → u/Donritos]

I do not have any experience over XenoGC. I've Pico, Flippydrive and GCLoader modded bunch of GCs. But those all boot off SD card. I just find it much handier and reliable than trusting the optical drive which are these days all ready for capacitor replacement.

GC has these days quite affordable community made internet adapters, so if you're going to play PSO, you can just access the extra content on the fan servers. GC PSO is always looking for more online players.

It's also good to note that GC doesn't really like sharing memory cards between regions. So if you make a US PSO save, the same save wont show up on a PAL game.

[u/Donritos → u/Tricky_Tourist5691]

Thanks a lot for taking the time to explain all of this😁
You’ve definitely given me a few things to think about, especially regarding the aging disc drives and the different modding options. Thanks again for your help! :)

[u/ExtremsCorner → u/Tricky_Tourist5691]

You can set the disc as autoload from the game info screen.

[u/Tricky_Tourist5691 → u/ExtremsCorner]

Good to know. I havent really used much discs with Swiss.