List of Nintendo DS and 3DS flash cartridges: Difference between revisions
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== The Most popular carts == |
== The Most popular carts == |
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=== R4 DS(R4DS) Revolution === |
=== R4 DS(R4DS) Revolution === |
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During the past 3 years,R4 DS(R4DS) Revolution has |
During the past 3 years, the R4 DS (R4DS) Revolution has played the most important role in this field. A great many people know about Supercard, itouch, Cyclo DS, edge, etc. because of the R4. The R4 is the most stable flashcard in history. Timely updates and low prices make it the best cart in the world. Although the R4 does not support SDHC cards, and loading speed is slower than others (like the DSTT card), it can still meet the majority of peoples' needs. |
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Right now,R4 SDHC card and R4 Upgraded card have released which are not the product of R4 team.They intend to be known by people because they are called"R4".R4 is famous and brand in flashcard history. |
Right now,R4 SDHC card and R4 Upgraded card have released which are not the product of R4 team.They intend to be known by people because they are called"R4".R4 is famous and brand in flashcard history. |
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Revision as of 15:39, 21 September 2008
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Nintendo DS storage devices are storage devices used to store a licensed developer's work-in-progress images, homebrew video games, or downloaded commercial games, since the Nintendo DS is not sold with a rewritable storage medium. (Licensed developers can use the blue Intelligent Systems Nitro Emulator box to flash cards.) There are two main classes of storage devices: older devices that fit in SLOT-2 (the Game Boy Advance Game Pak slot) and newer devices that fit in SLOT-1 (the DS Game Card slot). SLOT-2, or 1st generation, devices have historically been cheaper due to economies of scale inherited from their use with Game Boy Advance homebrew but require a booting tool in SLOT-1 in order to use the touch screen and other DS features. Devices that only use SLOT-1, or 2nd generation, do not work with GBA homebrew, but as of 2007, they are becoming easier to use and less expensive, rivaling many SLOT-2 devices in price.
First generation devices include GBA flash cartridges, GBAMP CF, SuperCard and M3. Second generation devices include R4 Revolution, CycloDS, G6 Real, and DS-X. The storage device either contains flash memory or a slot for a memory card to store homebrew. Storage devices with a memory card slot usually have a larger storage capacity than flash memory devices. Although flash memory capacity is usually measured in megabits (Mbit), memory card capacity is usually measured in megabytes (MB). (8 Mbit = 1 MB)
Different brands of storage device differ in their support for homebrew, support for DS and Game Boy Advance ROMs, special features, such as playing media files, physical size and cost. Strictly speaking, a storage device is not necessary for DS with FlashMe installed because homebrew can be sent to the DS using WMB. However, this is not a very portable method because the DS needs to be within range of a suitable Wi-Fi card.
First generation
GBA flash cartridges
The first method of storing homebrew applications were flash Cartridges designed for the Game Boy Advance system. These were ideal for finding exploits since they are a 32 MiB block of rewritable flash memory directly accessible by both CPUs of the Nintendo DS. Many people who used a lot of GBA homebrew use these for DS homebrew as well, however their limited storage space, variety and price makes them non-ideal for new users. Since there were many types of flash cartridge, each with its own method for writing to the flash ROM, most homebrew programs only supported saving to the included 64 KiB of SRAM intended for game saves. With the creation of DLDI, this is no longer a problem, and any program from 2007 or later works with any flashcard.
GBA Movie Player
The GBA Movie Player, often called GBAMP, is a CompactFlash adapter for the Game Boy Advance which supports playing music, movies and NES and Game Boy games (under 200kb) (as well as very small Game Boy Advance games. Under 256kb) from the CF card as well as reading text files. Although its standard features are sub-par, its low price and simple design made it ideal for DS homebrew. A hacked firmware is available which adds the ability to run DS homebrew while keeping the GBA features. This is the most widely supported homebrew device; nearly every homebrew which writes to the storage medium supports it.
Users should note that there are three versions of the GBAMP; a large pass-through device (version 1), a small white and red cartridge (version 2), and a slightly smaller SD version (version 2 SD). The device that has the most support is the 2nd version.
SuperCard and M3 Perfect
SuperCard and M3 Perfect are two devices similar to GBA Movie Player but with more features. M3 is made by the makers of GBAMP. Both contain a CompactFlash, Secure Digital, miniSD, or Transflash slot as well as 32 MB of built-in RAM. They offer all of the GBAMP's features, plus the abilities to play all GBA games and homebrew by using the built-in RAM as a mock flash cartridge, and DS backups using sequential reading. (There have been complaints that SuperCard's built-in RAM is too slow to play some GBA games accurately.) Some DS homebrew also uses this additional RAM, though addressing issues and speed make it less useful than the DS's built in memory. These are more expensive than GBAMP, however (M3 being more expensive than SuperCard), and not as well supported by homebrew. Most homebrew has trouble writing to SD cards because the more complex and proprietary protocols used with SD were reverse engineered later than the well-known CF protocol. The SuperCard has full support for booting DS game backups, with no problems with saving or booting, aside from the slow speed, which causes games load noticeably slower, and even has a cheat system and rumble support. However, the SuperCard only has partial support for DS Download.(Most games work, but some freeze upon loading)
Other variations have been released such as SuperCard Lite and M3 Pro. These variations bring about many changes, from a smaller form factor that better fits the DS Lite, to the removal of the built-in RAM.
Max Media Dock
The Max Media Dock (not to be confused with Max Media Launcher, which is a NoPass device) is similar to the GBA Movie Player, but does not function in GBA mode.[citation needed] Although the easiest device to find - it is the only DS homebrew device sold in major retail stores such as Wal-Mart - its price, power consumption and poor homebrew support make it an unpopular choice. Its main attraction is the ability to be used to play DS game backups, although all of these devices can be used for this purpose. (The developers of the GBAMP firmware hack have made an effort to prevent this, though methods do exist.)
Second generation
Once the DS cart encryption was broken, it became possible to design cards that boot and read directly from slot 1. This meant that pass through devices or flashed firmware were no longer needed to read from an external storage device and led to a wide proliferation of various 'all-in-one' 'plug-n-play' cards.
One drawback was that the new cards had very low compatibility with the significant portion of homebrew applications that required filesystem I/O. DLDI (Dynamically Linked Device Interface for libfat) patching has since solved the problem. All 2nd generation cards that have a DLDI driver written for them are now able to run most of the homebrew that requires filesystem I/O.
Acekard 2
Acekard 2 is a new card (April 2008). It received excellent reviews by gamer, it earned the Golden Award on GBATemp.net[1]. 100% game compatibility, skinable, download-play support, micro SD/SDHC memory card support, very fast loading, Action-replay cheat support are some of its features. There was some problem with the first batch, many people reported the card was always freezing when loading games or that it show 'fat error' when reading cards. Those problem are now solved, new cards show '2.1' on their label.
Acekard R.P.G
The Acekard R.P.G is the only device on the market to feature both NAND memory, and a MicroSD slot.
The Acekard R.P.G, like most newer devices, is able to utilise the newer SDHC cards, which range from 4GB to 32GB. The Acekard R.P.G come with a Mini USB cable, to connect the card with a computer to access the 1GB of internal NAND memory. The card is currently the only card with a completely open source loader, this has led to numerous custom loaders, with a wide range of extra features, the most prominent of these features is the native support of the EZ Flash V 3 in 1 expansion pack, which enables the Acekard R.P.G to utilize the internal PSRAM for the Nintendo DS Browser, the Rumble function in games which support it, and the ability to load GameBoy Advance games to either the PSRAM or the NOR memory.
CycloDS Evolution
The CycloDS Evolution features DLDI auto patching and full DS download play support.
Like most other slot-1 devices, the CycloDS Evolution uses Transflash cards for storage and media to be played with the built in media player, it was one of the first to use SDHC cards, which range from 4GB to 32GB. The CycloDS Evolution package comes with a fast USB MicroSD reader/writer compatible with SDHC. The "Enhanced Mode" provides unique features activated through an in-game menu, like slow-motion, soft reset, a built-in cheat device, a realtime save feature, and the option to change the brightness of the DS Lite's LCD backlight in-game.
The card also acts as a pass-me and slot-2 cards like the 3-1 extension or G6 lite can be recognized as expansion packs for the CycloDS Evolution. This allow to extend memory for DSLinux, to play GBA games launched from the Slot-1 device and to use the Opera Web Browser, which normally requires a separate RAM expansion pack. A recent update allows the CycloDS Evolution to boot and patch GBA games directly from the CycloDS menu instead of using a separate homebrew program.
There are some clones of this card, the best known being the EDGE DS, which is a cut-down version which does not offer all of the CycloDS features.
Datel Games n' Music
The Games n' Music is a slot-1 device made by Datel. It uses microSD cards for storage, like many other slot-1 devices. It uses a similar firmware to the Max Media Dock, but accesses data from the microSD rather than the slot-2 CF device. This device was considered a poor choice for homebrew by many, because it did not have a DLDI and could not run many applications, but it has since been hacked and a DLDI driver has been written.[1] The Games n' Music is one of the few homebrew devices to make it into stores, along with Datel's other device, the Max Media Dock. There have been some issues, however, with compatibility with certain microSD cards not working, MP3's not playing, and the device crashing or freezing the DS.
DS Link
The DS Link was one of the earliest slot-1 devices, and like most other cards, it uses MicroSD cards for storage. The DS Link wasn't as popular as its competitors because unlike all other cards, it does not contain a No-Pass, which means you must use a Mk-4 Mini to boot it, or flash your DS with FlashMe. The loader was recently updated to support the newer SDHC cards.
DS-Xtreme
The DS-Xtreme flash card is a one-card solution contains 4 Gbit (512 MiB) (or a newer 16 Gbit model (2 GiB) of internal flash memory, with no option to add external memory on top). The DS-Xtreme hardware supports the generic USB Mass Storage specification, and therefore functions as a drag & drop USB drive, with no additional drivers needed. After connecting the DS-Xtreme to a PC via an included USB cable, files can be transferred to the DS-Xtreme memory and be used on the DS immediately thereafter. Although 100% of the games boot, some of them have glitches, some have freezes, and some don't save.
EZFlash V
The EZFlash V uses Transflash for storage. The newer EZFlash V Plus supports Micro SD cards over 2GB while the original model does not. Also available is the 3in1 Expansion Pack which supports rumble, cache, and GBA ROM.
G6DS Real
The G6DS Real comes with a built in 2Gbit, 4Gbit or 8Gbit (expandable) of NAND memory and offers a simple drag and drop interface via its USB linker with high speed USB 2.0 write speeds as his predecessors.
It supports Action Replay Max and 1:1 gameplay, offering ROM backup compatibility and playback for commercial DS cartridge. It offers everything that its competitors do, such as skinning, soft-reset and DLDI auto-patcher. One feature unique to the G6DS Real is that it allows the user to select whether or not the card bypasses the Nintendo DS' main menu, and go straight to the G6 Real's loader.
M3DS Real And Itouch Ds
The M3DS Real is similar to the R4DS, it uses MicroSD cards for storage. Like most other cards, it supports the newer SDHC cards, although some users have been reporting issues with 6GB MicroSD cards.
The Itouch Ds is similar to the M3DS Real in most respects. Like most other cards, it supports the newer SDHC cards. It is also made by the M3 team and is marketed as a budget flashcart. Unlike most storage devices that use MicroSD cards for storage, the M3DS and Itouch Ds have a spring loaded Micro SD slot. The Itouch Ds has a feature to make shortcuts to access games and apps to a windows desktop.
Both come with a standard micro SD-reader/writer but the M3DS also has a addon rumble/expansion pak and other accessories in a value pack.
N-Card (NAND Card)
During its lifetime, N-Card where available in 128MB, 512MB, 1GB and 2GB. Today there are two versions of N-Card, 1GB and 2GB, smaller cards are discontinued. N-Card doesn't requires FlashMe, PassMe or any other device or modification. It is compatible with all commercial games without have to patch them. No additional software is required to transfer games from PC to the card, you just hook it up and transfer your games exactly like with an USB Jump Drive. At first N-Card didn't support download-play, but this has been solved in firmware 1.45 (released in august 2007), Wi-fi play was always supported.
Because this card uses its own internal memory, just like original DS cartridge, read speed is really fast, faster than microSd card, so there is absolutely no slow-down during gameplay and loading games takes about 1 second only.
In order to read the card on the computer to add or remove files, there is a special adapter and an USB cable that comes with the N-Card.
It is the most cloned card on the market with about 6 different clones : DS Fire Card, K6, MK5, Ultra N-Card, DS Linker, F-Card, and many more. All clones can run the original N-Card firmware.
NinjaPass
NinjaPass is a one-card solution that uses Transflash cards for storage. A few games still don't work. Compatibility is highly dependent on the MicroSD card brand and model. The card works with most homebrew including but not limited to DSAIM, DSLinux, MoonShell, NesDS, LemmingsDS, and DSOrganize. It is compatible with microSD cards of up to 4 GB and works with cards of all speeds provided that the speed is adjusted for on the main boot menu before loading any applications. The product website provides users with all of the necessary startup software for download.
YushenDS Card, R4DS, M3 DS Simply, and their clones
R4DS (Revolution for DS), YushenDS Card (YDC) and M3DS Simply are essentially the same hardware product. The same method is used to distinguish between Chinese, English and Japanese (and German for the YDC) versions of the cards. The firmware for the various brand and language versions can be readily patched to work on other language or brand versions of the hardware.
Further confusion has been added by the arrival of poor-quality clones of the YDC(R4,M3) hardware - selling under the n5 and e7 brands, although the same hardware has been seen labeled both "R4DS Upgrade-II" and as a clearly counterfeit R6. The firmware for genuine YDC(R4) cards is encrypted, although the encryption scheme was broken in 2007 and several utilities exist for encrypting, modifying and decrypting YDC(R4) firmware. The n5 and other clones use an unencrypted version of the firmware; decrypted YDC(R4) firmware can be used on the n5 cards, and encrypted clone firmware can be used on the R4. The clones are reported to have a significant failure rate, and anecdotal evidence suggests that they have been responsible for damaging Nintendo DS consoles.
All of these are one-card solutions that use Transflash cards for storage, and current firmware versions of all of them include action replay cheat support. They all support Nintendo Wi-Fi connection Download Play.
The R4, YushenDS, M3 Simply and clones come with a hardware-specific version of the Moonshell media player, selection of which is nicely integrated with the main menu.
The R4DS, YushenDS, M3 Simply and clones allow for organisation and selection of software from folders.
Recent versions of R4/M3/YDC Clone firmware support auto-DLDI patching. R4DS and M3DS Simply can't read SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) cards due to hardware limitations, this makes them look obsolete compared to other card such as Acekard 2.
Around August 2007, the R4 team revised the hardware to use a springless memory slot as there had been significant complaints about the failure of the slot.
A few games still don't work, but most games run ok.
SuperCard DS ONE
SuperCard DS is a Slot-1 solution that uses Transflash cards for storage, made by the SuperCard Team.
However, SuperCard DS demands an extremely High-Speed microSD to fully utilize its gameplay function. Most of the games could not be played with other MicroSD cards, where they hung with a white screen after starting the game. Only a few High-Speed Micro SD cards are available in the market. Even when using High-Speed MicroSD cards, games will sometimes lag and freeze. Updates are maintained at sporadic rather than regular intervals. Such users should take care not to move the white sticker cover on the front facade as this would have dislocated the exposed chip out, and hence spoiling the product.
With the newer SDHC compatible models, games are playable with lower speed SD cards, nullifying the most significant problem with the original. The latest Firmware allows functions like Real-Time save, Real-Time Game Guides and Multi-Save
The Most popular carts
R4 DS(R4DS) Revolution
During the past 3 years, the R4 DS (R4DS) Revolution has played the most important role in this field. A great many people know about Supercard, itouch, Cyclo DS, edge, etc. because of the R4. The R4 is the most stable flashcard in history. Timely updates and low prices make it the best cart in the world. Although the R4 does not support SDHC cards, and loading speed is slower than others (like the DSTT card), it can still meet the majority of peoples' needs.
Right now,R4 SDHC card and R4 Upgraded card have released which are not the product of R4 team.They intend to be known by people because they are called"R4".R4 is famous and brand in flashcard history.
TopToy DS DSTT
The second largest brand behind the R4.DSTT is the first card that support SDHC and has very high speed loading speed.Perfect for homebrew and moonshell.So they are being caught by some manufaurers which made it all fake around.Latest,DSTT officially release the anti-fake instructions and claim to help customer to distinguish.With the new package also released,DSTT is on the way to catch more player's eyes.
DSTT now is most popular in Japan,but it will soon be accept by Euro and U.S players.
References