Nintendo DS ROM/Flashcart peoples, help me out!

[archibaldcrane]

So, my girlfriend mentioned that she thought her nieces' DSs looked really fun when she saw it last month. I'm thinking about getting her one for Christmas - but I'd like to set it up with an R4 flashcart or whatever the best method is currently for loading up a machine with ROMs.

What's the consensus for the best DS model, best flashcart, best...shit, I dunno - firmware version or whatever - links to good walkthroughs and guides are great, personal experience is even better.

Also, any good deals, black friday or otherwise, would be cool too - I know WalMart is doing an $89 DSLite black friday sale which sounds pretty good, but I don't know shit about whether the DSLite is the best model or what.

Also, good game suggestions to download for a not-video-game-savvy girl would be cool too.

Help me out, I've seriously never touched a DS in my life.

[bebeci]

I got an Acekard.
Slap on firmware once, and you're good to go
Clean and easy interface. Loads quick.

http://blog.ishopvideogame.com/wp-co...-review-07.jpg

[Atreides]

R4s manufacturer has been out of business for like a year now, hasnt it?

CycloDS Evolution is pretty amazing, but I think they tend to be pricier than the others.

[Emirii]

I've had every version of the DS, my favorite so far is the DSiXL, mostly because the large screen and I can see despite my bad eyes. I have the R4 DSi GOLD flash-cart that works on the DSi's firmware, and I have a 4GB microSD card that works well in it. It was dumb easy setting it up... I actually over complicated it. The DSi has many features that the DS lite doesnt have, such as the camera, SD card storage for mp3 player or images, you can download little apps like the Wii onto it from the shop, a cute little voice changer and a flip animation studio thingy. The downside is I was hoping you would be able to play GBA games on it also but you cant. Any flash-cart that works with the DSi's firmware is probably a good choice. Ackard was my 2nd purchase choice if the R4 Gold didnt work out.

Games I recommended:
Harvest Moon grand bazaar
mario and luigi: bowsers inside story
kingdom hearts: 365/2 days
zelda
Chocobo tails
lux-pain

[Cheerios]

R4 is a good flash card, but there's a lot of clones of it and it's hard to find a trusted seller that isn't gonna rip you off with a counterfeit. It's not officially supported anymore, so you'll need to update it with WoodR4.

I've used both an R4 and an Acekard, and I'd recommend the Acekard. I've purchased mine at http://www.4coolday.com, and I don't recall where I got my original R4. I can confirm the Acekard from 4coolday is legitimate, but I can't vouch for the R4 models.

http://www.wiiso.com is where I find most of my games. Just register and go to the DS section. Torrent sites will also have the games you would need, and they should say in the description if they're patched or not.

The flash cards will run anywhere from $5-$15 for a DS lite. I believe they only support up to 4 gb MicroSD.

As for tutorials, it's really just dragging and dropping files. You can follow this pretty lengthy tutorial at http://gbatemp.net/t218103-updated-n...p-your-acekard , but most of it is unnecessary and is mostly meant for a DSi using Acekard 2i. A word of caution though is to back up your save game files if you ever decide to use cheat codes. I tried using cheats just for shits after I finished Ecclesia and it corrupted one of my saves.

As for just a few games:

Castlevania (Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin, Order of Ecclesia)
Professor Layton (Curious Village, Diabolical Box, Unwound Future)
Tetris
Mario Kart
Mario & Luigi
New Super Mario Bros
Super Scribblenauts

If she's into RPG's, there's a decent amount of those too.

[sruon]

I bought a M3i for my sister's DSi and I have to say aside from the cartridge poor build quality (no screw... it's just clipsed sorta) it works fine and easily : Download game, drag and drop on the SD card, enjoy

Most names quoted so far are stuff I'd recommand, the biggest issue when it comes to Flash cards is finding a trusted seller because the market is plagued with clones.

[Julian]

Acekard 2i, definitely the best card on the market. And I've gone through a fair bit. (R4, Supercard, recommended an M3 to a friend, etc. I've never owned a Cyclo, and from what I hear their development is pretty solid, so that would also be a good choice. I still must suggest the Acekard, because the guy who works on the firmwares is this one crazy motherfucker who cracks new games antipiracy stuff super fast and releases updates)

There is no reason to get a DSi, go for a DS Lite, or the XL one. The XL one is bigger and heavier (obviously) but has a bigger screen, which usually ends up just making stuff look pixelated, but it's not THAT bad, and really boils down to preference. I still prefer a DS Lite.

For flashcards, I've been using realhotstuff.com for years, I trust it, and it's cheap. $18 + free shipping on Acekard 2i (http://realhotstuff.com/acekard-free...ing-p-321.html)

Might be cheaper on other sites, so definitely do some research. Dunno how much you can trust other sites, though.

[Buttons]

Even though I buy my DS games for my collection, I own a flash cart to test games and to play english patches of JP games.

I bought the M3i zero card and am really happy with it.
http://www.m3adapter.com/SLOT-1_Series_M3i-Zero.htm

As for what DS is nice, I own a DSLite and a DSiXL.

I recently bought the XL and I must say it's the best decision ever. The screen is 90% larger than that of the DSLite and it's just tons of fun to play my DS collection on a bigger screen.

It depends on what you want to do with your DS. If you think your girlfriend will probably only play at home on the couch anyway you might as well get the DSiXL. But in the end you can't really go wrong with either a normal DSi or DSiXL.

Love my DSLite to bits but if you are in the market for a new DS you might as well get one of the newer models. (Unless you get a really good deal on a new DSLite like the one you mentioned)

[Franzer]

When people say "they've been through" a few cards, why is that? have they broken down? I've been using the same R4 card with updated firmware for 2 1/2 years and never had any problems. Just curious

[Julian]

DSI is pointless, DS lite is still a superior model, AND is cheaper. There's also the newer DS Lite models with the black bottom and crimson red or blue tops, which are nice.

As for having gone through quite a few cards:

My first one was a supercard, which was a slot2 device (gba slot), worked great at the time, but eventually support for it died out, and everyone moved on to superior slot 1 devices. So I got an R4, support for it died out. I got pissed with having to wait forever to be able to play new games cause no one gave a shit about the r4, and Acekard was only like $15, so I just said fuck it and went for it, and haven't looked back yet.

[Sqwunk]

I've only ever owned an Acekard2i. I have an original big blue DS, it's compatible with the DSi also.

Only thing I didn't like was when I had to switch firmwares because of the security on M&L:bowser and Kingdom Hearts, which made any save files I had on other games not work anymore, however, this new firmware is great because they actively update it everytime a new game comes out and has a lot of security on it. The website that I bought it from no longer exists though but I paid like 50$ for the Acekard and it came with an 8gb micro sd, with the original firmware already installed on it for me.

Also for games, I think everyone will agree this is always a good place to go to.

http://vsrecommendedgames.wikia.com/...ded_Games_Wiki

[Xerlic]

Is there a way to play SNES ROMs on a DS? I've been playing a lot of Super Metroid hacks recently and it'd be nice being able to play them on DS rather than emulator on my computer.

[orinthia]

The Supercard DSTWO looks like an interesting cart: allows DSi/XL to play GBA games on it. I own a cyclo ds however, and while it still works after a couple years, I have to jam a slip of paper in between the cart and ds wall inside to get the ds to recognize it now. Kinda sucks, but I guess not a high quality batch (happens to other cards as well if unlucky).

There's also the price to consider. Cyclo ds sells for around $50, R4 clones sell for $5-10, acekard2i around $15-20, DSTWO around $35. Feature wise, DSTWO has everything beat since it actually has an extra cpu just to play gba games on DSi (I've heard 90-95% compatibility rate with gba games). Cyclo use to have some exclusive features among ds flashcarts, like realtime save states, but I think the acekard2i has similar features (and works with DSi, whereas the cyclo does not).

If I were a new owner, I'd probably get the acekard2i. It's got a good price, is being updated in good time, and has a good feature set. Read up on it and others to see any real differences.

The one ds game I've probably spent more time in is Tetris DS. I don't know why, but I love the game mode where you can drag the tetris blocks around with the stylus to form lines. I could play that all day...

add:

Is there a way to play SNES ROMs on a DS? I've been playing a lot of Super Metroid hacks recently and it'd be nice being able to play them on DS rather than emulator on my computer.

Yes, there is a homebrew snes emu on ds and it can play a fair amount of games (namely, earthbound) but I haven't tried super metroid on it yet let alone the rom hack version (some of those are really freaking hard lol). It will not handle many games that used custom chips in their carts, like star fox, or other odd games like the dq3 remake.

add2:
Tried out some snes roms, normal super metroid and a couple hacks (dependance, legacy) and they work but with some minor graphical and sound glitches (graphical in that some things overlap incorrectly). Also tried the zelda parallel worlds hack and it seems to play with fewer minor graphical glitches.

[Julian]

GBA, snes, etc emulation is so easy, I would just leave that for a different device. Personally, I prefer to emulate on my phone now, because I'm always carrying my phone with me. DS is a bit too large to always have in my pocket and stuff.

If you really want to play GBA games on your DS, I suggest picking up an EZ 3-in-1. The Acekard OS has full integration with it, and will even let you load GBA saves into DS games. (For Pokemon and stuff) It's a bit pricey at $22, though.

For the person who mentioned the DSTwo, does it have that kind of gba-linkage integration? (just curious)

[orinthia]

It does not use a slot2 cart, as the dsi lacks that slot entirely, so it contains its own processor specifically to let you play gba games on dsi. I haven't read up on it a whole lot so I'm unsure if it works the exact same way on normal ds or if it can interact with a slot2 device (since the whole point was to not need one at all for gba). Snooping around the gbatemp.net forums could find some answers.

[Xerlic]

Thanks for the advice. I actually bought an EZ Flash IV (slot 2 device) to play Mother 3 back when they finished the translation patch. I completely forgot about it until Julian mentioned the EZ 3-in-1. Would that be able to run an emulator?

EDIT: Quick google search says that there are 2 SNES Emulators that work with GBA - SNES Advance and Snezziboy.

[chiyio]

I have an old r4, but it's kind of a pain to work with these days. for my DSiXL I use this http://eng.supercard.sc/manual/dstwo/

I love it. works great, has snes and gba emulation as well. Pretty sure that's the best card on the market.

[Saga]

I have an R4 I maybe used once and never again, if you're looking to buy one just let me know. Sold my DS over a year ago so I have no reason to have this thing any more.

[archibaldcrane]

Ok, bought a Crimson DS Lite, Acekard 2 from 4coolday.com, 4GB micro SD card and card reader.

[Julian]

First things first:

http://www.akaio.net/forum/viewtopic...2dd7a5981fa070

Download the rar, extract into the root of the sd card.