NDS/GBA Flashing/PassMe discussion
 

One thing that a lot of people have been getting into is playing ROMs of GBA/NDS games on the actual systems. I've done quite a bit with this, so I'll offer my advice and answer questions here.

GBA Flashcarts

There are a number of GBA Flashcarts out there. One of my personal favorites is the Flash2Advance Ultra. It comes in a variety of sizes and the battery life compared to others is fantastic.

The minimum size you should buy is 512Mbit (This is Megabit, NOT MegaByte!). 1024Mbit is pretty close in price now, so go with that. The reason I say nothing less is that there are a ton of games for the GBA that are 256Mbit, so get one of those and that'll either fill up or not load on a smaller cart. Even 2GB (2048Mbit) is getting cheap, so don't be afraid of getting too much!

You'll also need a way to flash the cart. You'll either need the USB linker that connects to your GBA/SP system, or the USB Linker (which you HAVE to have if you only have a NDS).

DO NOT get the XG cart. Horrible battery life, which results in your saves constantly going bye-bye.

Note that the filesize on your computer is MegaByte (MB). Don't confuse this with Megabit. 1MB is about 8 Mbit. You can look up the ROM's info at www.dgemu.com

A great reliable source to buy your carts (and linkers) is at www.linker4u.com

USB Link Cable (GBA/SP)
USB Writer (GBA/SP, NDS)

Good carts for GBA playing:
Flash2Advance Ultra

Bad carts for GBA playing:
XG-Flash
NeoFlash (as this is simply a relabeled XG)


Emulation on a GBA

NES Emulation: Quite decent. Due to the difference in screen size, things are a bit weird, but gameplay generally is good. However if a special soundchip is used (like the one in Castlevania III (J)), it's gonna be crap.
Emulator of choice: PocketNES

SNES: Sucks. There's very little that can be played and what can be isn't that enjoyable.
Emulator of choice: SNES Advance (but again, what's the point if "the SNES Advance will never be able to emulate sound")

GB/GBC: No personal experience.
Emulator of choice: Seems to be Goomba. Also heard about Goomba Color, which is suppose to be a GBC emulator, currently listed in alpha stages.

Sega Master System/Game Gear: No personal experience.
Emulator of choice: Dr.SMS was originally used, but has been discontinued. Heard that SMSAdvance is replacing it, but I don't know about them. Information appreciated.

PC-Engine: Again, no personal experience.
Emulator of choice: PCEAdvance

Further information and links to Emulators on GBA


Nintendo DS PassMe/FlashMe/and more

Believe it or not you can play ROMs of NDS games on the DS, but it's a lot harder and more complex.

First off, you need to know your version of firmware. It's simple to figure out.

1) Boot the NDS with a game in the NDS slot. If your system is set to autoboot, hold Select+Start.
2) Start up Pictochat, and enter Room A.
3) Pop out the NDS game. This will crash the DS.
4) Based upon what you see, you'll be able to determine your NDS version:

v1: Pictochat hangs
v2: two grayish blue screens
v3: two dark green screens
v4: two golden yellow screens
v5: two magenta screens
v6: two blue screens
DS Lite: two purple screens
iQue: two dark green screens
FlashMe: two dark green screens

If you have v4 or newer, or an iQue (likely not, unless you live in China), it's a little more strict when it comes to ROM playing.

v1-v3:
Anything and everything will work for you.

v4+:
The original PassMe, MagicKey, SuperPass, WifiMe, and PassKey WILL NOT WORK. PassMe2 and NoPass will work for you. FlashMe has been confirmed to work on a v4 & v5.


About FlashMe
FlashMe is a process that reverts the newer DSes to an older style firmware, and can remove the health warning process (if you desire, or not). It also allows booting NDS code off the GBA flashcart.

Info about it HERE


Running NDS ROMs
Depending on whether you have a NDS or NDS lite, you have a few options on what to get.

NDS "Phat"
M3 Adapter Compact Flash version w/ NDS PassCard 3
M3 Adapter MINI SD version w/ NDS PassCard 3
M3 Adapter SD version w/ NDS PassCard 3
*All these should work in a NDS lite, though the Compact Flash version will stick out A TON. It already sticks out a bunch in a NDS Phat. Even the SD version sticks out a bit on a Phat.

NDS lite
M3 Lite Micro SD Version w/ NDS PassCard 3
*Note, that this does NOT work on a NDS "Phat".

All use basically the same process to run and have a very high compatibility.

The Passcard 3 goes into the NDS slot. Since it is a NoPass device, it is sized the same as a NDS cart, and requires nothing sticking out or any real NDS game.

The M3 requires flash memory in order to store the games/homebrew. You can get these at NewEgg. NOTE WHICH VERSION YOU HAVE TO GET THE CORRECT MEMORY. Of course, you'll need a flash cart reader to load the stuff.

Firmware, instructions, and tons of other great info can be found at: M3 WIKI. This site also has a compatibility list. Read this site first for recommendations on flash cards.

To run any and all NDS games, you will need more than 128MB. Since there are 1024MBit games, they do requite 128MB space + save space, which means you'll need larger. Get as big as you can afford. Or multiple cards.



I'll add more info as I go. Ask questions if you have any.

Update 07.28.2006: Cleaned up a bit, added some links a touched up info a bit. Added Emulators on GBA section.
Update 09.19.2006: Changed NDS section to a much better device.

Why don't you take you're piracy to the high seas?

Seriously though, I own an EZFlash Advance, since it's incopatible with Macintosh, I use it rarely. How do you find this device compares to the others out there?

I'm still waiting for the next generation of NDS flash carts before picking one up, but from what I've read, the best choice right now is the M3.

I'm very interested in this, Have i got this all right though? If i get some kinda of GBA flash Cart (i'm looking at the Super Card SD as it would mean i could add larger cards at later dates) and put FlashMe on it, and then flashed it, i would be able to run commercial DS roms direct from the card, yes? I read online something about having to patch DS roms, is this still the case or has a method been created to work around this?

You still need to patch them, but doing the FlashMe just prevents needing the PassMe/PassMe2. However if there is no NDS game in the slot, the "close-the-case" sleep mode won't activate.

I haven't done FlashMe myself yet. I'm avoiding it on this NDS I have until I get it replaced for my bad pixel.

How well do DS roms even run.

I'd get a DS Lite if I could just download all the games.

Yeah I'd like to know what compatibility is like too.

I'd tell ya Acer, but I'm presently blinded by your av/sig combo.

I haven't played a whole lot yet, but here's what I've gotten to work so far:
Pac-Pix (E)
Super Mario 64 DS (U)
Lunar DS (U)
Super Princess Peach (J)
Trauma Center (U)

The following I've tried but haven't gotten to work:
Sonic Rush (J)
Phoenix Wright (U) (Sorry Tails!)


And thats about it for testing because Super Princess Peach has been way to fun to give up. ^^;;

Thanks for the reply.
Acer, you nearly gave a very drunken guy a siezure ;)
It's still not as easy as i thought, so i'll do some browsing and see what comes up :)

I'm highly interested in this. I've got a V2 DS; I did the check the two screens appeared to be of the grayish-blue color. I've only got a DS so I read that I need a USB Linker and I'd like to have a 1024Mbit card. So what exactly would be my best choices?

I had done some research on this a month ago, but in the end I finally decided to just wait for the next generation of flash carts to come out.

If you are to buy one now however, there are 3 main choices:

- Supercard
Cheapest, and uses an SD or CF card to hold the data so you can potentially hold a few gigs worth of DS roms. Problems with this one is that many GBA games don't run too well (laggy), apparently the support is a bit worst, and it's made of crappy materials. If you just want to play DS games, and money is an issue, this one could do the job.

Official forum: http://forum.supercard.cn/

- M3
Also uses an SD or CF card to hold data. Runs GBA games fine. The thing is a bit bulkier than the Supercard however, but also uses less battery power. Supercard is supposedly around 2 hours of life off a full DS charge and the M3 is an hour or two more.

Official forum: http://www.m3-forum.com/

- G6
By the same guys who make the M3. It's the most expensive, but that's because its a flash cart and holds the data. People seem to consider it the best choice if you have the money. It's small too, and is like the size of a normal GBA cart.

I personally recommend the Flash2Advance Ultra. It's what I use and is a great cart.

But you'll either need the PassMe, PassMe2, or you can do FlashMe. The nice thing about FlashMe is that you don't need the bulky PassMe/PassMe2 sticking out the NDS side, just a normal game for the sleep mode to activate. And sometimes the NDS slot side is a bit sensitive to those things moving too (which kills your games).

I'm sure if buy new NDS will be new firmware.I'll buy GBA cart Flash2Advance Ultra (1028 Mbit).my questions

-I must have GBA cart like:Flash2Advance to play DS games?if that need Flash2Advance where best site to buy it (1028 Mbit)?because I have SD card 512 MB

-if buy Supercard or superpass2 or M3 I will not to need anything else if one of them?

sorry I'm so confused that why i ask my questions.

I own a M3 Perfect CF version and it is compatible with every NDS Game out currently, No patches or firmware needed when I played Metroid Prime Hunters or Tetris DS on release day. I bought m3 because supercard is sloppy with the compatiblity.

No wifi problems, no problems at all.

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...e/26bc198c.png

Why god why ;_;

There is, apparently, three Nintendo DS emulators available already. iDeas, Duelis, and some other one which barely runs at all. How exactly would you play a DS game on a PC, when you're constantly in need of a stylus to interact with the touchscreen, etc?

please,someone answer me

I don't know about the Flash2Advance, but I do know for the Supercard and M3.

For the Supercard, if you buy it with the Superpass 2, it will run with the latest DS, and you do not need anything else. However, you will have to flash the firmware (which is free but carries some risks) if you wish to play DS games without the bulky Superpass, and solely the Supercard.

For the M3, it's similar. Except instead of the Superpass 2, you need the Passkey 2. Again, it's bulky, and many people prefer to flash the firmware in order to play without it. This is for DS games, for GBA games I don't believe you need the Passkey or to flash the firmware.

I'm not 100% sure about all this as I don't have either myself (I'm patiently waiting for the next generation of flash carts), but this is what I have read from scouring their forums.

Why are you buying a F2A? Compatiblity wise it is awful compared to supercard or the M3.


If you buy a NEW NDS, You will need a PassMe-2, PassMe1's are for Silver NDS's bundled with MPHD, or my Pokémon Center Mew NDS.

thanks guy for info but I can with M3 to play NES & GBA?

M3 Supports Drag and drop NES files, and GBA Files.

You need some type of flash cart, yes. Where else are you storing your DS games? I haven't tested a SD card device, just the F2A Ultra. Whatever you use, it HAS to support SRAM (which is why I recommend the F2A Ultra).

Supercard/PassMe/Super Pass/etc is just a device that allows the DS to read the unlocking code from the DS game in it. You still need a flash cart or the equiv to store the game and saves.

Why are you giving this guy totally bogus info VG.

Supercard is not a goddamn unlocking device it’s a Hardware NDS bridge just like the M3. Do you even have any of this shit or are you just spouting random info from the internet?

SuperCard + SD Card = you can play NDS Games on Your DS. If you already flashed it with FlashME. Or using PassMe as a link
M3 + CF/SD Card = you can play NDS Games on Your DS. If you already flashed it with FlashME. Or using PassMe as a link

PassMe's are only used if you haven’t flashed the hacked Firmware onto your NDS allowing you the bypass even using the PassMe Altogether.


SuperCard and PassMe's are 2 fucking different things

PassMe/PassMe2/PassKey/MagicKey is only used for NDS Cart AUTHENTICATION, Which FlashMe Takes care of when you flash it so you can throw the PassMe away, unless you’re totally scared of bricking your NDS.

SuperCard is the Same Class as M3 Perfect, NeoFlash, G6 etcetcetc. It is a GBA “Cart” that allows the use of NDS ROMs on it for play.

Double Post:
And another + Vs. all the other NDs out currently, The M3 And SuperCard save your GameSaves Directly to the CF or SD Card you are using, No Worrying about Patching Games or Dicking around with SRAM. When your done playing the game save is made into a *.DAT file which can be traded or saved on your HD for backup.

Can you guys give me some advice?

I'm not interested in stealing DS games and playing them pirated, and I'm not all that interested in GBA games, either. I want to be able to play old SNES and NES games on my machine (since the control scheme is perfect for SNES)

How can I go about this? Unfortunately, all I've been able to find so far is how to steal GBA and DS games...but I want to mass-store SNES games, load them from a menum, and play. Is this possible?

The snes emulator for it at the moment doesn't support very many games at all. On the bright side, the supercard supports NES emulation straight out of the box without having to use anything on your DS (like passme or superpass etc).

That sucks that the SNES emus aren't so good...the DS is just perfect for navigation and playing.

Check this out, you can change the brightness in the same way as the DS Lite on a normal NDS!
This is really awesome! I wonder how long the battery can survive on the highest setting though.

http://members.home.nl/skrag/nds_bright.jpg

Taken from Dual Scene:

Hrm, does anyone know where I can find instructions for using the Superpass 2 for flashing the firmware? I only needed to use the Superpass 1 on mine, but a friend is picking up the superpass 2 soon since his DS is a lot newer..

I have Silver NDS's with firmware 6 (dark blue screens),what I need now to play homebrew on DS?
sorry I'm Noob

bump,any help?

Most homebrew is made for the GBA, so you won't actually need to flash your firmware.. Getting an M3 or a Supercard will let you run GBA homebrew right out of the box.

here are the things need it:

first you need a passkey2 or the new passcard2 that works with all the DS even the lite version, this pass is like a chip for the DS, you can buy a pass or
flash your firmware, and then you save battery time, but you still need to buy a pass for flash you DS for first time

you need a a M3 SD or CF adapter, i recommend a M3 Perfect Mini-SD adapter, and Mini SD / SD memory module where you put the games

then you need a External memory card reader / writer, like
Zonet memory card reader/writer, this one is for transfer the games to you Mini SD memory

i think that this is all the things need it, all can be buy here: http://shop.01media.com/

Also visit http://www.m3-forum.com which has tons of information about everything you need. Lot's of discussion about the latest developements including flashme, flashcarts etc :)

I have 2 DS.that mean I can buy 1 pass for 2 DS?

So let me get this straight, because this is really fucking confusing to approach.

I have a PC card reader, right. (the first one pictured.) I also have a DS Lite. From the information I gathered, if I purchase a 512mb or 1GB MiniSD Memory Card, a Super Card, and a Passcard, all I need to do is stick roms on the memory card, shove it into my Supercard, and I'm all set? (while the passme just sits in my DS slot quietly?)

This is what I currently have in mind:

http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/6...5z228xe.th.jpghttp://img216.imageshack.us/img216/2...full2ml.th.jpghttp://img216.imageshack.us/img216/7...full0ld.th.jpg

USB PC Card Reader, Passcard, Supercard, 1 GB Mini SD card. Will this work? Will it work with the DS Lite? Will the Supercard stick out like regular GBA games do with the DS Lite?

You also need an original DS game for the Passme to take the ID from.

HEY GUYS, has anyone bought something from linker4u.com or superufo.com? I'm interested to buy a M3 from them but I'm not sure if they're reliable. Some help?

...that's it? Of course I have legit games. I'm just not sure if this is the way to go.

I recently saw a MagicKey2. It's a device which sticks into your DS slot, which has a slot for a Mini SD card. Since the DS doesn't need to read DS games from the GBA slot (with the supercard) why can't you just load DS games onto a Mini SD card, and use the MagicKey2 with your DS? Jesus, this is all so confusing.

There's some different ways to do it. The usual way involves a GBA flash cart (M3, EZFlash...) with DS roms and a PassMe/FlashMe/WiFiMe to bypass the protection and load the roms from the flash cart.


I'm not exactly sure of how the MagicKey works, but it seems to eliminate the need for the SuperCard.

(The Passcard looks like it works on all DS's, but I'm not sure if it works with the SuperCard)

Okay, confused again. If I use a M3 Passcard, so it bypasses the DS slot so I can run DS games from the GBA slot, why can't I just put .nds roms on any GBA flash cartridge, and stick it in the GBA slot? Shouldn't the M3 Passme do it's job, bypass the DS slot and load the game from the GBA slot?

Did you use the Supercard program? You need to convert NDS files to NDS.dsq

Oh yeah that kingmax SD card is an ass, sometimes it gives me the "DS CANNOT BE READ INSERT IT AGAIN" while other SD card doesnt. =o

What supercard program? What's a dsq file?

Can you use a passcard (passme 3) to flash a DS like you could with the passme 2?

More importantly, how do I flash a DS (or DS Lite) without the use of the GBA slot?

The thing is, when i bought this at hongkong its already modified, well the guy said "ahh i need to update this one" then he put on a cartridge, after that it worked all he did was get an NDS rom conver it using supercard's program thing then transfer it onto miniSD or SD.

If you want i can probably send you the supercard program, if you wanna try it =o, i assume you already have one ofcourse.

I don't have ANYTHING, at the moment. I'm so fucking confused beyond belief that I cringe when I have my friend on msn telling me "i thought this was pretty simple to me..." making me feel like a dumbass.

I basically need to know how you can do this without flashing, because I can't import a Passme2. My options are listed above, and I can also get myself a 256mb flash cart, or a MagicKey2 and any given SD card. Those are my only options.

It's real easy.

The M3 is the STORAGE. It goes on the GBA slot. You load the DS roms on it. You don't bypass stuff with it alone. It's like a memory card with the roms, but it can come bundled with a PassMe2 if the store you bought it from has that option. Using the Supercard is the same thing, think of it as another brand of the M3.
There's two kinds of STORAGE carts.

Memory card adaptors: M3 and SuperCard. They are memory card adaptors that fit like game carts, but use the memory card's space for storing stuff. SD, CF and MiniSD models available.

Game Carts/Flash Carts: NeoFlash, G6... Those are game carts like the ones used in GBA games. They work in a similar fashion to memory card adaptors, but these have the memory built into them instead of using third party memory cards. The only changes between them are the ammount of storage and compatibility with the bypassers.



The PassKey (or PassMe or MagicKey or whatever the hell you choose) is the bypasser. You use it for the DS to go apeshit and think whatever DS roms you got on the M3 are real DS games, and thus playable.

The MagicKey2 is just another kind of PassMe, but it serves the same function. Using carts like the NeoFlash is recommended on this one.

So the setup goes like this:

M3 + SD card + PassKey = DS/GBA games
M3 + SD card = GBA games only

If you need some good help, ask pink. He knows lots about this stuff.

Oh yeah that sounds reeeeeeeeal easy, dude.

If I decide to do anything I'll probably stay legit. The person who was offering me the passcard was selling it four times the original price, when it's only apparently $25 US. So I won't even bother asking him twice what his supercard price was.

I've made a couple purchases from linker4u.com and no problems here.

Just went out and did some research. Seriously, I'd just wait for the MK4-SD version. It has a passme in it and stores games and saves on the SD card. Best of all it doesn't require a gba flash card at all.

http://img476.imageshack.us/img476/1893/mk4sd5004as.jpg

Use this whenever it comes out for DS games and use a gba flash card if you want to play GBA games.


Also I read up on the M3 and I don't think it has 2 MB of memory or something which is required by certain games like Nintendogs and Mario Kart. I have those games already but still if more games use that as standard then you're going to get fucked. I think the games might be able to be patched to play on M3 but I dunno.

I think I'll wait around for the MK4-SD version.

Hopefully this will be better than their NeoFlash kit endeavor. That thing was crap.

Yeah, this thing looks promising. If it does what it says it's supposed to do then all you need is a SD card of any size and the MK4-SD. Much less complicated than also having a GBA flash card. It's also less clunky. A great feature is it works with the DSlite. I've heard older Magic Key passme cards don't work with the DSlite.

But I've been waiting for something like this because of the possibility that there might be a game that uses the GBA slot somehow. I've never liked the idea of having to use the GBA slot for storing DS games. I want that for GBA games or DS slot 2 add-on devices.

Of course older MagicKey/PassMes don't work with the DS Lite. DS Lite would be based upon newer firmware anyways that obsoleted the original PassMe/MagicKey items about 2 versions ago.

I don't have any problem using GBA flash carts for NDS games other than having to patch everything, but I would like to see something that uses SD cards.

The one bad thing about having to use SD cards is that they're marked in MBytes while typically you see NDS games listed in MBits. Though I guess you can look at your computer and see it listed there. ^^;;

I wonder how well compatibility will be too.

The M3 supports RTC saves, and from what I gather from the M3 forums, it has a SRAM battery, as well.

LINK! http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/7674/gw5qf.gif:
http://www.m3-forum.com/viewtopic.php?t=2334
http://m3wiki.emuparadise.org/index....Save_Questions

Newbie question: Does the M3 work on GBA? I'm not sure of this

Anyone used the Extreme Flash Advance II set?
I'm curious about it, since it doesn't require one of those lame linkers to write or dump ROMs--you just copy them over onto it like a traditional flash disk. The main thing I'm concerned about is its battery--that is if it needs to be plugged into the PC to charge or if it can draw from the handheld.

Looking at grabbing it, since the 1Gb model is ~100 USD.

As a note, I do not have a GBA (just the NDS), nor am I interested in acquiring a PassMe as I do not need DS gameplay capability at the time.

I'm sure this is an intensely stupid question, but why do these things need batteries? Isn't it the same memory technology as USB pendrives? They don't seem to need batteries.

It depends on the type of flash cart, but it needs batteries to protect its volitale memory (your save data), much like the NES, SNES, etc carts do. It doesn't quite work the same was as USB drives do.

Double Post:
I found something new an interesting while checking out some DS wikis.

NoPass is a bit different than PassMe technology. It's built like a NDS cart.

http://wiki.pocketheaven.com/MK4-mini

But you'd still need a GBA cart (Like NeoFlash) for it to get DS roms from, right?

Yeah Sir VG, MK4 mini is sort of a test for MK4-SD version.

Just for anybody's curiosity who wants to test stuff:

http://www.ic2005.com/html/2005/show-49.htm - NEO MK4-Mini ($50)
http://www.divineo.com/cgi-bin/div-us/dd-ds-pssc - Passcard (NoPass system, alternate to the item above) - $25

The biggest difference between the two is that the MK4 has some RAM in it and supports brightness adjustment. But with either one, you will need a GBA flash cart.

So I've worked out how to flash a DS Lite off by heart. It's really simple when you know how.

Put the supercard and passcard/superkey/whatever in your DS. Take battery cover off, give your DS power from your charger. Turn on your DS. Run flashme.nds, press XBXB, stick a flathead/cigarette-style tinfoil into the gap to bridge SL1 to SL2. Wait about a minute. When it's at 100%, you're done. Take everything out and enjoy not needing a pass-anything/key-anything in your DS slot.

But the Superkey which has been released on the 15th of June bypasses the flashing process entirely, so it's not like you're obligated to do it. Then, patch a .nds rom with the Supercard software client, export it to your desktop (it'll create two files), stick them on an SD card, stick that into your Supercard, and run it on your DS.

That's basically it, from what I can understand. I might be importing (from america) a Superkey and mini SD Supercard. I'll worry about getting a mini SD card itself once these have arrived. Then I can either 1) Flash my DS Lite, which means it can't be bricked in the future (redeemed useless) or 2) Keep my DS Lite unflashed, and play titles with the use of the Superkey.

This is not without it's high price tag, though. Especially for importers (which is most people, since this isn't stuff play-asia or lik-sang sell) but I can't wait to play Zoo Keeper on my DS. I mean, $33 for a used DS title which I can play in gf's arcade? No thanks.

Thanks to dgemu, I'm not going to be short of games to try out. I already have my future play-asia purchases lined up.

Nobody answered my question :(

Does the M3 work on a GBA?

yes, it works on everything except pre-gba

Sifting through all the techno babble that I don't understand... when playing these roms, is it still possible to play online?

I have a DS lite, I'm assuming there are less options available for that right now.

While I've personally haven't tested anything online based, I see no reason why it shouldn't, unless you are using old versions of FlashMe (FlashMe writes to the BIOS of the DS, as does something related to online functions, and older versions of FlashMe clashed with this). As long as you don't reflash your cart or change your DS, your friend code remains the same as well.

Granted this is all speculation.

From what I gather, using the PassCard or the SuperKey allows you to play online, because those don't change anything of the DS kernel. PassKey 1 and 2 do, though, so you won't be able to play online.

Not sure if multiplayer works anyway.

I just got my M3 CF + PassKey 2 for my DS Lite. However I am having issues with the M3's built-in emulation. All of the DS roms I converted to my CF card run perfectly fine but I can't get anything else running - GBA/GBC/GB roms do not work at all, and I've tried a handful of Japanese PC-Engine roms to no avail. Is there something I'm missing or probably doing wrong?

You need to patch the GBA roms to cooperate with the supercard, apparently.

OK I'm a fool. GBA roms + anything else that's not a DS rom must be run in GBA mode (press start at the main menu if you're in DS mode).

I know that to even get emulators running on a portable system is an amazing feat in and of itself, but as far as playablility goes, the PC-Engine emulator runs slow as hell, if it will run the roms at all. I'm also disappointed that GBC roms are not supported (if I'm not mistaken?), only GB mono/GBA roms will run.

Edit: Upon further review I've found that playing with the Passkey2 inserted is a huge pain in the ass, almost to the point where it's unplayable. The thing is just very poorly designed, with the DS card exposed and hanging at a slight angle underneath the system. It makes the DS Lite much heavier and is prone to popping out from the DS slot entirely, freezing your game and forcing you to reinsert it and restart.

I am definitely going to run Flashme and be rid of this monstrosity.

Shaolin, you can also use a NoPass device (as mentioned earlier in the thread). It's the same size as a NDS cart but works like a PassMe. I haven't tested either one, but they look really cool.

I'm thinking of getting one myself because I agree, using a PassMe/PassMe2 is a pain in the ass. It's just an alternative if you don't want to flash your system.

Bump.

So is the MaxMedia dock basically a Flash Cart?

Uh, I'm not sure but I don't think so. I wouldn't get one because they only fit the original DS so you'll never be able to get yourself a DS Lite if you wanted to, you know, in the future.

I have a supercard at the moment, and while it sticks out I don't really care. It isn't that much of a problem, and since I'll be buying any games which I really enjoy, it's a good investment.

Sorry, prepare yourself for a n00btacular post...(I can't help but be a n00b here, I'm so confused)

I want to play DS ROMS on my DS (Version 2), and I don't want this passkey or whatever thing sticking obtrusively out of my DS all the time, which means I want to flash the firmware..?

Basically, what are all the names of the equipment I'll need to flash and them play ROMS on my DS? I'm looking for the most compatible, big card by the way. Oh, and how do you transfer the ROMS from your computer to the DS?

/n00bness

You'll still need some type of PassMe device initially to flash your DS.

As for what's compatible, I don't have the "absolute" best DS cart though. I'll leave that to somebody else. As for how you transfer, it depends on what you get. Either you'll have some device to plug your GBA cart into via USB, or a flash cart device.

Use a PassCard, it has the same size as a DS card and it's compatible with all DS models.

That, or a SuperKey. Haven't tested either yet (mainly because of a fun lack of DS hardware to try them out with) but I've heard good things about 'em.

Supercard mini SD
mini SD card
mini SD adaptor
mini SD reader
Superkey/Passcard
Software program

As for names, that's basically what you need.

I ordered my PassCard 3 and G6 Lite today. Cost me a grand total of £80.

This had better be worth it.

Any reports on the PassCard 3?

Krelian, on average, how many NDS games would you say you can fit on the G6?

Another n00b question: can you remove games that you put on the M3/Supercard and then add another? I assume that's how it works, otherwise...

Yes and yes. (N00b question and of course you can remove and add. That's the purpose of flashable memory.)

I believe DS games can go up to one gigabit (125 megabytes), and the G6 Lite is a 4gbit flashcart, so that'd make four large games. I believe most games are more in the region of 64 megs though... Soooo, maybe eight maximum?

Wow, if that's the case, the G6 Lite is fucking small. My 1GB mini SD card can fit roughly around 35 DS titles on it, depending on their size. The largest I've come across was 91 mb, and what a waste of a download that was.

It's rare that you'll see a DS title over 50 mb.

Hardly. I've got 33 on my comp and one more to download.

34/510 or whatever we're on right now is a fairly good margin.

And granted these are zipped up too. There's another 33 that are in the 40MB range zipped.

And for the record, the largest DS game to date is: 0276 - BioHazard - Deadly Silence (J)(WRG).zip
Followed by the (E) and (U) versions at a whopping 107MB a piece.

What did they include both English and Japanese audio for the Japanese release or something?

I was referring to zipped archives, and out of the 510, there isn't even 30. You could count the same game twice since it's released in english as well, but nobody's going to download a game in japanese if it's available in english.

I believe it has FMV video as well. Bleach DS is 90 mb and the opening is about five minutes of anime, complete with japanese screaming music.

All my DS ROMs are zipped too sir. 34/511 are 50MB+ 15 of those I think are Spiderman 2 games. *laughs*

If you're going to be playing DS/GBA roms, be sure your CF or SD card is AT LEAST 1 GB. It will get filled up fast, trust me.

Ey dudes, check this out:
http://www3.emu-zone.org/host/ediy/e...P1010016_1.jpg.http://www3.emu-zone.org/host/ediy/e...P2010001_1.jpg

This is fucking awesome! They finally managed to make something DS sized which means you can finally use the link option for many games eg. Battle Network 5 DS + GBA Battle Network games = unlock goodness :)
I just hope this device will be cheaper then their GBA counterparts. It will be perfect for DS Lites but you also have GBA carts for that. The only thing I dislike is the need of FlashMe but if it's possible to revert to or reflash the original firmware, then i'm in. Haven't looked to much in the FlashMe scene though, anyone that can answer my doubts? :p

EDIT: Seems there still some fuss about the product, read more about it here

You can revert FlashMe back to the original firmware.

As for that product, what does it exactly do? Your website is sooooo informative. Doesn't even show a sample product in action picture, it's just 15 million pictures of a white DS cart with silly labels on it.

I linked to it in my edit, maybe you overlooked. Read here for more info. The guys at Dual Scene tested it but it lacks detail... I guess we'll have to wait a few days to see how it develops.

Ooh! That looks very interesting and something I'd hop on if it works really well.

The NeoFlash guys are working on something similar as well, it's called the MK4 Mini. I never liked their products though. They are always way overpriced and lacking compatibility in several important areas in comparison to their competitors. Guess it'll change since they need to keep up with M3 :p

Err...is this legit and all? It looks awesome except for the size...(512 MB).

Yeah it is. For more information look here (go to the bottom): http://dualscene.net/news.php

Personally I don't like having 512mb stuck like that. That's way too small.

Found some interesting products. I don't know how new they are though. But point advantage is they don't seem to require a passme or the gba slot which is what I want.

512 Mbits flashpass:
http://ndsgba.net/
http://203.218.176.30:2888/ndsgba/pr..._flashpass.htm

4 Gbits (512 Mbytes) with direct usb port with easy drag and drop capability. =)
http://www.ds-x.com/
http://www.divineo.com/cgi-bin/div-us/dd-ds-dsxt4.html

Yeah so those seem interesting. No new word from NeoFlash on their MK4 Mini. I really wish they'd just get around to working on that and releasing it. That's what everyone wants from them anyway.

Really, what we all want is a regular sized DS cart that takes micro SD and has high if not total compatibility and interfaces with the micro SD for save data that doesn't require a passme since I guess that'd be built in or something. Am I right?

Or you could just buy the new Supercard Lite, and have a pass device in the DS slot.

My supercard sticks out, but they're apparently released one which fits the Lite perfectly. I don't think having a DS sized cartridge which also accepts mini/micro SD cards is even possible. Oh, and there still isn't a way to read a ___ SD/CF card adapter (such as supercard, G6, M3, etc) from the GBA slot without either flashing or using a pass device. It sucks, since you basically fork out for something you're only going to do once or twice.

You could just send me your DS and I'd flash it for free. Then all you need is a micro/mini SD + supercard/supercard lite.

Elixir, I'd rather not flash my DS. I'm not sure how much support there is but I'd also like to be able to do download play with other non-flashed DSs (the majority of users - duh) and wifi play with it.

http://forums.maxconsole.net/showthread.php?t=26791

They have some nice discussion on other flash carts and DS stuff there as well. It's a nice read.

Well, my DS runs wifi and download play just fine.

I don't know what the other different adapters use but I really can't comment on them since I've never tried them before. There's also the option of unflashing your DS (or "unpatching" it) as well. This is quite handy since if you encounter a dead pixel or problem with your DS you can unflash and return it to whereever you purchased it from/Nintendo.

Then again, if you unflash your DS and don't have a passthrough device to flash it with again, you're screwed.

I heard somewhere if you flash your DS then you can't do Nintendo Wifi Connection or do multiplayer with unflashed DS's.

I don't know about multiplayer with unflashed DS units, but I've read up on the supercard forum and everything seems to work fine in regards to wifi. There hasn't been any complaints, just mainly rumours and idiots thinking that they've been caught.

Apparently you can reset your friend code as well, so it's not like there's a chance of being locked out of wifi or anything. Whatever, my goal here wasn't to become an absolute pirate, just to trial games and see what they're like.

On older versions of FlashMe (v3 and earlier I believe) it DID screw up WiFi connecting, but that was fixed.

My Flashmev7 DS plays Wi-Fi perfectly fine with non-flashed DSes.

The issue was not connecting, but actually semi-bricking the DS. The older FlashMes wrote to a portion of the BIOS that would later be used by the DS to store WIFI settings and such. Thus it "semi-bricked" the DS. However since the first part of the FlashMe code was intact, it could be fixed by reflashing.

I got my new Passcard and M3 combo today, and I am SOOO lovin this.

No more PassMe2 sticking out of my NDS, and I've been able to play Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow and Sonic Rush w/o any problems (except DOS's intro being a bit choppy, but this is due to my flash card, which was just something I had lying around). Sonic Rush didn't work at all in my F2A Ultra and DOS would crash if I let it play the intro in full (but the game itself worked).

And the program to patch and upload NDS games is fairly simple to use.

Now to try NSMB...

M'kay, I've ordered everything except a superkey (which is what I want, no passcards etc). The problem is, I don't know of a site (disregarding eBay) that sells the item by itself and also ships it worldwide. Can anyone suggest a good site?

I ordered my stuff from bamboogaming.com, an australian site.

It might be useful since you're in australia yourself. The last time I checked, they sold superkeys/passcards seperately.

Wow, that's extremely convinient, thanks! If only I knew at the start I would have bought more things from this site!

Oh, and yeah they do sell the superkeys/passcards seperately...at very reasonable prices! Thanks for the site.

Yes, the M3 works on both GBA or NDS :)
The MK4 looks quite odd though but I guess it would look nice in a normal NDS. Would probably stick out in a Lite.

Hey guys, i just bought a DS and i'm new to DS homebrew and all
this other good stuff ^_^

@ Best Buy i saw the Max Media Player and it said it can run homebrew,
but there seems to be limiations?

There's also the Max Media Launcher? What does this product exactly
do? I read that it's some sort of NoPass device?

Can anyone shed some light on this product, as i've looked around
the internet but only came upon a lot of DS hacking that i don't
really understand at the moment.

I've read the past posts about the flash carts for GBA and stuff but now I'm bloody confused. So I've decided to post.

I recently got a GBA Micro as a present so I'm going to try to use it to its fullest extent. I am going to get something which allows me to play GBA roms I dl from the net and I want it to have good internal battery life and good memory so I can store a few games in.

What should I get?

(Also from what I've read so far (and been able to conclude in this small brain of mine), theres a cart which allows memory cards (SD etc.) to expand on the memory. Is this correct?)

chaofan, for GBA playing, there's two good choices:

Flash2Advance Ultra
M3

The advantage of the M3 over the F2AU is that you can use Flash Carts which are cheaper and expandable. Plus it is easier to change games and backup saves. And if you go with the M3 you're able to use NDS ROMs (if you get a Passcard). I haven't see the M3 by itself though, just the M3 lite. Look through the newly added links on the first post.

I haven't done much testing with emulators on GBA with the M3 though.

I've been seriously looking at purchasing a Flash2Advance Ultra setup to plug into my DS and be able to play whatever GBA/GB/GBC game I want, but I have a few questions.

- Does the thing actually work in the DS, and provided I wanted to put something like Goomba Color on it to do GB/GBC emulation, would the emulator run fine even though it's on a DS?

- Is there a place that sells the 1G or 2G F2U that has a reputation of actually completing their orders and not giving you the runaround?

All in all I'd like to turn my DS into an emulation monster if I can sometime in the future, because due to certain things happening I'm gonna be using my DS a whole lot more in the future and really don't want to have to spend a ton for a decent portable library.

Is there any specific cart type that'll give me access to GB/GBC emulation (and possibly others in the future) as well as GBA/NDS emulation? The stuff I've read so far seems pretty vague.

I've pre-ordered the DS-X (which is supposed to be an all-in-one cart).
It's supposed to be released sometime in the next 2 weeks!
Hopefully it's as good as it is promised to be and i'll write a review on it.

Good timing. I lost my case with half of my DS games!!!!! ;___;

Now the problem is where to get those elusive NDS roms....?

I haven't done too much with emulation, though Goomba color did work for me on the M3. You can run the M3 or F2A in GBA mode on a NDS. Or if you get a NDS format emulator, the M3 works great for that.

www.linker4u.com I have used several times in the past and haven't had a single problem.

If you want to do NDS games or NDS-format emulators, get the M3 over the F2A Ultra. Though the more I'm using it the more I'm going full for it over the F2AU given the time it takes to load up ROMs and get into playing is much faster. Though the F2AU is faster at loading GBA games in the system itself. However there's an interesting tweak for GBA game playing M3 users at m3wiki.com that creates a border around GBA games if you load the system in NDS mode.

www.dgemu.com (registation required, though the points might be too much for most games w/o donating)
www.mininova.org (i saw some torrents here)
www.demonoid.com (registration required, go sometime on a Friday to be able to register)

I highly recommend http://www.bitgamer.com and http://underground-gamer.com/. They are both private torrent trackers. BitGamer focuses on newer games after 1999 so if you want NDS go here. Underground-Gamer focuses on games before 1999, ideally for NES/SNES and whatever other console is emulated on the DS :)
If you want to dl a whole rom collection in one go these are the places to search.

I've searched this thread and I'm suprised that nobody has mentioned the G6 Lite. I recently purchased one to play DS and GBA roms and it's awesome. It's a slightly greater drain on battery life than playing games normally, but other than that, it's been awesome. The only other drawback compared to other cards like the Supercard is that it only holds 512MB. Still, I can't think of a time when I'd want to play more than 12 DS games anyways as I'm more of a casual gamer anyways. Here's a review of the G6 from GBAtemp which is an excellent resource for all things GBA and DS.

http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=34239

That's probably because it's the most expensive one available.

You might as well just stick to legit games if you're going to cough out that amount for an illegal tool.

I got mine on sale for 100 bucks including shipping. A small price to pay for every DS and GBA game.

I did a lot of reading but I really but I still got a question: what type of patching should I use for DS roms?

Also (m3wiki.com, compatibility list):
[QUOTE]Note what modes the ROM was tested in (excluding Normal, Direct Copy, and 1xDMA, which will be assumed working)
If there is a special case where it only works in 1xDMA or 4xDMA, make a note!
ONLY add Safe Mode if both 1xDMA and 4xDMA aren't working.{/QUOTE]

What's all this about?

It's about how fast the DS can read the game from the flash cart. The fastest is 4xDMA, then 1xDMA, followed by the others. Depending on the SD card that you have, and on the ROM, some games won't work with DMA modes, so you can't enable them. Read the compatibility notes when patching your ROM to find out what settings worked for other users. Only use the M3Manager to add games.

Jesus christ that G6 Flash looks attractive as hell, I might have to consider getting it. Are there any major drawbacks that more people have experienced with it? It looks like it's fairly well supported and updated.

Well I have an M3 which is essentially the same basic hardware as the G6. The main difference is that the M3 takes a standard SD Card (or CF) and the G6 has internal memory. That much you already know

The only disadvantage that I see is that the internal memory is not upgradable, and that it's not so easy to copy ROMs and saves to and from the device. There are no other hidden disadvantages I see to either the M3 or the G6, other than their addictive nature. ^_^

The memory is not upgradable. You're stuck at 512MB. But copying roms and saves couldn't be more simple as all you do is plug into USB with the connector. Another cool advantage to the G6 is that its menu utilizes the touch screen. G6 also has some of the best GBA support. I've read multiple reviews where people have recommended it over the Supercard's GBA support. The G6 Lite is also good bang for your buck as a package deal from realhotstuff.com gives you everything you need for $109.99. With the M3 you have to purchase the M3 itself, a passcard, microSD memory, and a USB SD card reader if you don't already have one. The package deals including the memory and the card reader are upwards of $140 depending on the brand of SD memory you get.

The M3 is only just OK for GBA, I admit. It depends to an enormous extent on what type of card you are using. I went through three SD cards before I found one that could support GBA mode. Even then, the fourth card was one that I just happened to find left over from an old camera, and it was only 128MB.

I'm looking for another SD card to use with the M3 right now, actually. If anyone knows what I should be looking for, that would help me a lot. I'd prefer if it was one I can pick up on the high street, if possible.

Really, they just need to make a DS-X card that accepts micro-SD cards and we'd have a winner. Get a real GBA flash card if you still want to play GBA games. DS flash cards should be for DS games, homebrew, and media.

Weird, I have had zero problems so far with GBA on my M3. And I nailed it on the first card I tried. There is a media card compatibility list at M3Wiki.com which does list some cards to avoid for GBA stuff. I don't understand why it doesn't work though, but my card works fine (and I already had it before looking at the list as I got it with an old digital camera).

Even GBA cards can be flakey. One of their big problems is usually their battery life, as DS flash cards put their memory onto the flash card (which also makes it easier to backup). I've also had a little problem with my F2A Ultra getting a particular game to flash on it. Not sure the cause though, since other stuff works fine. I'm still investigating it.

Oh please. C'mon dude, this is 2006. I should have a flash card that plays DS, GBA, SNES, N64, and every other video game ever made. I also want it to be a cell phone, scanner, fax, copier, george foreman grill, and I want unlimited texting.

What's wrong with making a flash card that also supports GBA as well as other emulation?

I'm talking about Slot 1 flash cards for running DS games. It hasn't been developed to run GBA games through Slot 1. If they do then fine but the option isn't available as of now. What's so bad about having a separate flash card for your gba games anyway? I'd rather have them separate.

As for emulation of GBA through DS hardware, they're having a tough enough time making it emulate the SNES if that gives you a good idea.

Sure, once I checked that list I found the one card I do own that works with it. It works extremely well, but 128MB isn't really enough to keep NDS games on it as well. basically, I need to keep two cards for two different purposes.

I have no idea what makes one card work and another not work either, but I just bought a Sandisk Ultra II 2GB card, and I'm hoping that will work. I can't try it just yet, since I'm on vacation, but the 1GB card from the same range is listed as being compatible with GBA mode, so I have high hopes. It's a high quality card, and I got it for a good price.

Ah, I get where your coming from as far as slot one goes. Still if I can get a slot 2 that works fine and supports GBA, I'd rather get that, than buying a seperate card just for GBA.

I'd just rather have Slot 2 open in the off chance that they start using it in future games for god knows what. Maybe memory expansion or something. Who knows.

Hi there

I badly need help with this supercard/passcard thing!

We've just had a stopover in Hong Kong and planned on buying a PSP for my daughter. However, this truly awesome salesman (or bloody good conman, not sure which yet!) sold us instead a Nintendo DS lite, a Supercard SD, San Disk Mini SD with usb reader/writer adapter and a passcard for DS lite & NDS. He said the mini sd would hold up to 60 games and actually downloaded a game while we watched and played it on his ds lite; told us we didn't need to do anything to the console itself, we just needed to download the games from the net and load them onto the mini sd, also making sure the files ended in .nds

However, my daughter didn't take a note of the website and I don't know where to go to get the games. When I do a yahoo search for NDEssy (sorry, couldn't resist, that's what the guy actually said!) it brings up millions of results which all seem to go on about torrents and seeding and stuff I've never heard of. The site this guy went on had an search engine and alpha and genre lists and was in Japanese/Chinese and english. He just clicked a download now button and away it went.

Can someone please help an absolute computer idiot work out how to do this, preferably with step by mini step instructions? I really don't want to do anything to the ds lite itself as I'd end up buggering it totally.

Any help would be much appreciated

You can find most NDS releases on Frozen Roms, if you don't know how to use torrents. The site is in English or German, so that should be easier for you to understand.

Once you get the files downloaded, just extract the archive, and put your .nds file on the Supercard. I use the M3 so I'm not sure of all the details about the Supercard, but you may need to patch the ROM files before you can use them. If you do, that software should have come with your Supercard.

You might find what you want here. It's a directdownload site and has a large collection of roms. Just click what you'd like and you get transferred to another site. Here you usually have to wait a xx amount of seconds or click a button to request your download. Confirm the download request and point it to your desktop.

The roms you download are compressed, usually in .zip or .rar format and a file archiver is required to open these files in order to read/extract their contents. I highly recommend 7-Zip. Download 7-Zip to your desktop, execute it by double-clicking and follow the installation instructions and it should be installed in no time. After that you should go to the downloaded nds rom and double-click it, and it should open with 7-Zip. Highlight the .nds file and click extract, point to a location like your desktop and click OK.

Now with the .nds file we need to transfer it to the San Disk Mini SD. Right-click the .nds file and choose "cut" in the menu. Open "My Computer" and insert the usb reader/writer. You should notice a new drive pop out of nowhere which is our Mini SD, the target location. Double-clicking on it will change our location to the usb reader/writer. You can confirm this if you notice the name of your usb reader/writer in the address bar. Right-click in the empty space and choose "paste" in the menu. The .nds file should be transferred and we're almost set. Eject the Mini-SD from the usb reader/writer and plug it in your Supercard SD. Boot the NDS with your passcard and select the rom in the menu.

Enjoy :)

EDIT: Seems mr. Soluzar was quicker to mention Frozen Roms then me. Well if you need more detailed instructions you can always try mine.

Hi guys

Thanks for the instructions, much appreciated :)

I tried downloading 3 different games and managed to unzip them and save the .nds file on the minisd. However, when I start the ds and select any of them from the list - it shows the game loading ( .....k/08192k) - but when it finishes I just end up with 2 blank white screens.

Do you know what I'm doing wrong or what I'm missing?

Many TIA

I would assume you need to patch the rom, which means to alter it in some way for use with the supercard. My M3 came with software to patch games, and the Supercard should come with something similar. You can download it from the net, and there's some information about how to use the software, and where o find it in this thread on MaxConsole forums.

Hi thanks for the link.

Just downloaded and setup. tried a game I'd already saved and it played - yay!

I still don't know what I'm doing, just crossed my fingers and closed my eyes, but at least I don't feel like I wasted my money any more which has got to be a good thing aye! More daughter's going to be over the money when she gets home today so many, many thanks.

I'll try a couple more and if they work maybe have a go at a gba game as I know pokemon are the ones she wants.

I'm glad it works for you. All that it amounts to is that those games are in a standard format. Because a flash cartridge loads a game in a different way than the real DS, they need to be altered to work with the limitations and extra features of whatever flash cartridge you have.

There are probably a lot of options in the game manager for the Supercard, just like there are in the M3 game manager. There's a lot of information available about the M3, but I can't find much information about the Supercard. Someone who actually owns that type of cartridge will probably be able to give you more detailed info about patching games. I could tell you what you need to know if it was the M3, but I just don't know anything much about the Supercard.

Unfortunately I don't know anybody who does this sort of thing. Maybe if I had lads instead of girls some of their mates would be doing it. But I've kept the link to the you posted for the maxconsole as there seems to be a lot of info on there. I'll sit and read through it all sometime tonight. You're proving to be really helpful for me today - much appreciated thanks :)

So now I'm really considering getting into this M3 and etc. scene, but having no prior experience with SD/CF/whathaveyou, I'm completely baffled by what's needed. Here's what I'm looking at:

Sandisk 2GB SD Card
M3 Lite Micro <- I'm under the assumption that does not come with a flash card.

What I'm most concerned about is if that's the right type of flash card, and all of the talk on the M3wiki about firmware compatibility. I assume that refers to the M3's firmware, so should I not worry about that until I actually receive the product?

1) You will need a MicroSD card to go with that type of M3. It is much smaller than regular SD cards.

2) It probably refers to the M3 firmware, which you can easily upgrade to the latest version as soon as you obtain one. The Passcard 3 is compatible with all known DS and DS Lite firmware versions, so don't even give that a thought. It just works.

One more question and I think I'll be set.

Does a DS Lite need to go through the "FlashMe" process to play NDS ROMs? If so, will I need to get one of those chips that you attach a normal game to in order to perform the flash?

The FlashMe process is required if you do not get a PassMe2 or NoPass device. Granted I've never honestly booted a NDS ROM from the GBA slot, but apparantly it's possible from what I hear.

However I hear FlashMe with the DSLite is not the best move at this point in time, because it can't be reversed. So only do it if your warranty is null.

Damnit. My new SD Card (Sandisk Ultra II 2GB) doesn't work with GBA mode. :(

Unless there are hidden ninja techniques to make it work...?

EDIT: Seems there are "hidden ninja techniques". Which are otherwise known as formatting the card using FAT32 instead of FAT. So yeah, the card does work with GBA mode after all. Lucky me! ^___^

I thought I had this supercard thing sussed but I think I need some more help.

Most of the games I've loaded and tried play fine but I seem to have trouble saving them. They either won't save at all 'in game' or say they've saved but when I reload there's is no saved game file. I've tried the L, R, A + Select save and it brings the menu up but again, when I reload there's nothing.

Am I missing something really simple, doing it wrong or is there something else I need to format?

Any suggestions greatly appreciated :)

Hey, just wanted to say that the DS-X is now out and reviews thus far have been very positive. Almost 100% DS ROM compatibility (Pokémon Diamond = white screen o' doom, boo fucking-hoo it's Pokémon, shrugs). Plays almost all homebrew software as well. It has a neat LED seizure dance mode to sync with your iPod music list funkytron.

Really the only repeated negative is that they wished it had more space than 512 MB. I'd totally buy this in a heartbeat if it had a slot for micro-SD cards. Other than that it's a fast little hummer that will do all your DS needs with the amount of space that it does give you which since it's really great plug'n'play is practical for most everyone.


Here, read some reviews yourself:

http://www.mobilemag.com/content/100/335/C10069/
http://www.eurasia.nu/modules.php?na...ticle&sid=1769
http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=38174


Oh btw, all multiplayer modes work on flashed and unflashed DSs. Noone has said if nintendo wifi works yet or not. I hope it does.

DjMeas, you said earlier that you have ordered a DS-X. If it's arrived I really would appreciate it if you could give us your thoughts.


Also, here's a bunch of youtube vids for you guys:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzArPAgQiqw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLa_5N_HwW4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnT3obt1XTA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWDxRuLqKEY (dancing leds)

Still waiting on mine to ship as i said in my PM to you Acer ^_^

But from what i read around~ The only downside to Micro-SD is that
there is lag when playing certain games since it has to read from the
SD card (I remember reading an article comparing all the mSD cards to
one another on how well it held up while playing a graphic heavy game).

I'm still very new to DS carts/homebrew, but the DSX seems like the
right choice since it's very simple to use. I know the 512mb isn't
all that great, but i don't really plan on holding any mp3s with me
and just a few DS games that i'll actually plan on playing ^_^ haha

You should give some of the homebrew stuff a shot too if you got the time. Some of it is really interesting stuff. =)

Also, about micro-SD, I've heard that it's only the cheap ones that are slower. The best ones are excellent and the micro-SD flash cards have the best access time out of the SD bunch. In fact I bet if they were able to get a micro-SD card in a slot 1 configuration it would be much faster in accessing than through slot 2. I've got no proof for that but Castlevania's animated intro runs flawlessly on DS-X and I've heard that always gives Slot 2 cards trouble.

Yea, i read about the Castlevania intro as well~ So how does
it look from a slot 2 alternative? Choppy? Or does it not play at all?

So far, the buzz on the DSX is that it runs games perfectly (except
Pokemon), but the OS itself is rather sluggish when it comes to
navigating and playing mp3s.

Oh, and i'll definitely check out some homebrew once i get it~
Have any suggestions or reccomendations?

DoomDS, any SNES and NES emu, nitrotracker, moonshell, ds organize, scummvm ds, and just about any fun thing you can think of.

Slot 2 Castlevania is supposed to be sluggish from what I remember reading. Since it's skippable it doesn't really matter but it's just showing one way how slot 1 is better.

Yeah, I've heard OS response is a bit slower than expected but from the videos I've seen it doesn't seem that bad.

Got the DSX, and everything is running great!

Yes, the OS is a little sluggish and the mp3 playback is a little
glitchy (i don't think it can handle 320kbps). It actually froze on me
3 times when i tried to play them back.

I've tested out Jump Super Stars and the anime intro runs fine
without any skipping. I also tried out Kirby's Canvas Curse and that
ran perfectly as well.

There is one thing i don't like about the DSX though... It feels
so CHEAP! Like it's about to break on me or something.
Putting in the USB cable into the DSX and pulling it out
worried me because it feels like it's going to yank out
the port on the DSX itself. I wish it felt a little more sturdy.
Plugging the DSX into the NDS also feels a little wierd.
It doesn't go in perfectly smooth (though it does fit fine),
it kind of scratches its way in. I guess it's not a big deal though.

Though it might not have much space compared to other products,
and feels a little flimsy i'd say this is a great buy for a NDS newbie like myself.

-update-

Just tried out Mario Kart playing WiFi~ Works GREAT!

Some stuff.

I found a nice site that has lots of news in Chinese about the DS scene and also it has a really cool forum that has info, coverart, and ftp hosted clean nds roms. Pretty slow though but if you have patience it's worth it.

http://bbs.yyjoy.com/forum-15-1.html

Enjoy!


Also, new Slot-1 devices are in the works from SuperCard, G6, and EWIN. Most will be using micro-SD cards and apparantly the SuperCard has been in the works for a while now and will be something extra special that'll definitely put some pressure on competitors.

http://forums.maxconsole.net/showthread.php?t=33349

Hey you guys should really really really check out the DS-Xtreme! Its easy, works with wifi, you dont have to flash your ds, it just takes up slot-2 so the gba slot is free for the opera memory cart or rumble pak or whatever, 98% compatibility (gets improved when the firmware gets updated, a new firmware is just around the corner, it fixes the mp3player++) and just look in ds-x's forums, the stab is really helpful to people with questions and issues; forums.ds-x.com

Yeah, we were kind of just talking about it on the last page. =/

i know, im just saying that its a device that should be checked out=)

That's nice. Do you have one?

The DS-X is interesting but currently the 512mb is quite a limitation for me. My NDS is used for a lot of things like watching movies, listening music and gaming ofcourse. I would definitly buy it if they plugged in 2048mb or more... that would be perfect for anyone, but I bet their next product will add support for removable storage media.

Since I haven't seen anything on this thread for a review.

~~~~ Saw AcerBandit's post. :p

Pokemon Diamond/Pearl and Mario and Luigi Partners in Time were the only things that were tested that I've seen and didn't work, some problem with the EEPROM, they claim it can be fixed in a new Firmware update for it, hopefully they can also fix the problem with Snezzi DS.

I have yet to try any new Firmware Updates since I lack the unit. I'm getting Modchipman.com's first batch next week.

GBATemp SLOT-1 Flash Carts Comparison Chart

The AceKard is probably perfect if you have an SD Micro Card. The only thing that worries me about the DS-X is the Mini-B Connecter on the unit possibly breaking off. The size I couldn't worry about, although it would be nice to little more space than just 512 MB. I already own a EZ-Flash II for a GBA Flash Cart so that takes care of the GBA side of things for bonuses out of the second Slot.

I just wish the DS-Xtreme would hurry up and arrive here already, I already a bought a Enamel Navy DS Lite just so I could get a new expereince on the DS side of Flash Carts. :S

That's lame. Works great on the M3. Haven't tested Pokemon, though it is said to work on the M3.

yup. had it for a week=)
the 512mb memory is really one of the few things you can put your finger on.

What do you mean by that? Not enough space for you? That's the biggest complaint I hear besides slow menus.

Since i already have a PSP for movies, and my phone plays Mp3s,
i really do use my DS only for pure gaming and challenging my
buddies LAN and WiFi battle ^_^ 512mb is fine with me!

As for Mario and Luigi, yea i tried it out too, doesn't work *_*~~

Actually i think the space isnt that bad, i think people need to consider that you got it all in that one cart. I beleive that the slow menus will be fixed in newer firmwares.

Yeah, I figure that the firmware updates would maybe fix that but really I'm worried about the space not so much for games since you can just adjust that on the fly via usb but more for homebrew. I'd like to play ScummVM and I'm sure those games take up a lot of space.

I always knew the DS' speakers weren't the loudest or the best,
and i knew that music/sounds from the games were not crystal clear...
But i didn't realize that when i listened to an mp3 via headphones,
it'll still sound like a low bitrate encoding >,<''

Is there any way to fix that? Or is it due to the hardware itself?

It's probably because of the DS hardware. Even with the GBA it sounded better with the headphones, and likely between the two systems it's the choice in speakers. I'm not positive though.


I successfully did FlashMe yesterday and it turns out to be a very easy process. Only took a couple minutes and since I didn't use the Stealth version, my M3's boot time is cut by a ton. No more Passcard for me! ^^

I try to buy DS-Xtreme from www.modchipstore.com but show error when I try to order it.I don't know why??

Since you can barely speak english, I don't know how you're going to understand DS homebrew.

Hell, even the majority of gamingforce can't get their head around it. Just order from bamboogaming.com, they're reliable.

thx,I'll try it but I not good for writing English only .so why show my language is not good.but i'll try my best.

Double Post:
I can't find DS-Xtreme on bamboogaming.com

guys,someone give site to buy DS-Xtreme,all sites are pre-order or not on stock ?I'm waited like 1 month to get it

You've probably missed this batch of shipments. Try again later is all I can
say buddy~ Hope you find one soon because it ROCKS!

Quick question, the DSX is fully compatible with FlashMe right?

The DSX sounds like a really good solution for more casual DS owners. Really easy to use right out of the box, not much need to tinker around. But I find the 512mb limit to be too, well...limiting. Also, the lack of .gba support really sucks. I had a hard time getting everything I wanted to fit on my 1 gig M3 CF. This was almost all GBA / DS roms mind you, I wasn't trying to fit full length movies or hundreds of MP3s on it or anything.

I think I'll be grabbing an M3 Lite Perfect + 2 gig micro SD card soon.

but what i know DSX not need Flash or pass (all on 1) right?