Fan Mail - How to be a Pirate on the Nintendo DS

For the latest homebrew articles for the Nintendo DS, head over to the brand new www.nineoverten.com.

I occasionally get fan-mail, mostly on Nintendo DS flashcarts such as the R4DS and what can these devices do. However, I seldom get a laundry list of questions, but since I did get an e-mail with one (list) yesterday, I thought it would be nice to share to my readers, so here goes:

Hi there- I've been surfing the web, hoping to find a straightforward answer to my questions, but with no luck. Maybe you could help me. I'm still unclear which card will work best for me and my Nintendo DS Lite. Maybe you can help me out. Here is what I want to do, in order of importance, and hopefully with as few extra gadgets as possible:

1. Not Break my Nintendo DS Lite
2. Play GBA Roms- specifically the upcoming fan translation of "Mother 3"
3. Edit my Retail cart Save Game- specifically, Pokèmon Diamond
3b. If I can't edit my save, can I at least use cheat codes?
4. Play SNES Roms
5. Play MP3s, and maybe some video
I hope you can help me figure this outt.

Here are my answers:

1. With flashcarts, you need not reach for a screwdriver or a sledgehammer as a matter a fact.
2. You'll need something like an EZ-Flash V, which I don't have. Read the review, here.
   
3. Cheat? Yup. But editing saves? I don't know.
4. Yup, just run SNemulDS, a homebrew SNES emulator
5. Yup, just run Moonshell.

To sum it up, I think you are better off getting the EZ-Flash V. For the last 2 items, check out my whole bunch of R4DS guides on my blog, over here. Nine Over Ten 9/10 shall not be responsible for loss of data or reduced user experiece that might stem from playing pirated games on the Nintendo DS. Support original games.

Alternatives to the R4DS

For the latest R4DS articles for the Nintendo DS, head over to the brand new www.nineoverten.com.

Look about the Internet and you would probably read reports/rumours that the R4DS is not readily available for sale. Now, the R4 has an unsavoury light in my books when it used to run pirated ROMs, but as a device that enables the use of homebrew on the DS, it's pretty top notch. And with the demise of the R4 forums, I probably need to go somewhere else for my homebrew fix.

All things considered, what are your alternatives for running homebrew on the DS? As far as Slot-1 solutions are concerned, there are plenty of choices.


First up you have the nearest cousin to the R4DS, the M3 DS Simply. According to one flashcart website, this is manufactured by the same factory as the R4DS and both are identical. However, do note that R4 firmware won't work on the M3 and vice versa.

Second would be the new kid on the block, the CycloDS Evolution Slot 1 Enhancer. A mouthful of a name with a feature set geared at pirated ROMs, it appears to be a good alternative to the R4 when it comes to homebrew. Amongst other things, it has support for SDHC (bigger storage space possible).

I remember reading in a forum that this particular Slot-1 solution doesn't boast a good built quality so caveat emptor.


Third up would be the G6 DS Real. This is probably for people who don't like using external media such as micro SD cards with their Slot-1 solutions. My R4 in particular is sometimes finicky and makes for an excellent SD card launcher. Talk about being as crazy as a spring. This on the other hand comes with 2 Gigabytes of internal flash memory, more than enough to store tonnes of homebrew and media files. Cool isn't it?


Last but not least in this feature is a Slot-1 solution from the very makers of Supercard themselves, the Supercard DS(One). This is probably one of the more common offerings at local game shops to "uninformed" buyers when it comes to "lowering the cost of ownership" for the Nintendo DS Lite since the R4DS is now hard to come by.

R4DS Review

For more R4DS guides for the Nintendo DS, head over to the brand new www.nineoverten.com.

I noticed that one of the more popular entries in my blog is the guide to running homebrew on the Nintendo DS with a R4 Revolution for DS (original article here). Lets face it, talk about flash carts like the R4DS will generate interest from people looking for ROMs and on the other hand, cause some people to act like presumptous righteous religious zealots asking "OMG! Why have you gone over to the dark side?"

Before kicking off with this review, I would like to take the opportunity to remind my readers that games reviewed on this site are original titles owned by me and I will not provide information regarding where to obtain ROMs (some prefer the politically correct term of backup games, but I say they are in denial) nor host them in this blog of mine. However, please feel free to peruse this review and my article regarding running homebrew games using an R4.


The R4 is basically a Slot-1 storage solution for homebrew programs on the Nintendo DS. The previous generation of Slot-2 solutions utilized the GBA slot of the DS but at the same time required a booting tool such as a Flash Me in the Slot-1 to function. On the other hand, the R4 is a complete solution out of the box and users can run homebrew programs stored inside the R4's MicroSD card without the need for additional hardware or flashing the DS.

The R4 package represents an interesting case study in value-adding for such a niche product. The package consists of R4 unit itself, lanyard, installation/manual CD, and a MicroSD card reader (MicroSD sold separately).



The overall build quality is good and the MicroSD slot in the R4 unit is spring loaded; inserting and ejecting a MicroSD card from the R4 unit is similar to inserting and ejecting a cartridge from the DS' Slot 1.

Some tips for the first time users of the R4 should the unit fail to boot on the DS:

• Read the Manual
• Make sure that you have loaded the necessary files from the supplied CD to the R4's MicroSD card, alternatively you can get these files from the R4DS website (google it)
• Check whether the connectors in the DS Slot-1 are dust free. Try blowing the empty Slot-1 before inserting the R4. Personally, I would give the R4 unit as good shake as well. Somehow this tip is starting to sound very wrong. :P
  
• Read the Manual! I can't emphasize more on this and unlike the excellent build quality of the package, the manual is somewhat sketchy but should be no problem with some trial and error.
  

So what can you do with your R4? Personally, I run homebrew games on it while my friend uses it as a test bed for Japanese DS titles (don't ask, and all I can say is that it is good that you can try out things before deciding whether to buy). Some of the homebrew games that I have are:

• DSDoom - This is a port of id Software's genre-defining game, Doom
• Tower Defence - This is a port of one of Warcraft 3's multiplayer mode, and superbly addictive.
• QuakeDS - I've not loaded this up as I'm still figuring out some stuff, but this should rock, come on....it's QUAKE

It's a paltry amount but try looking up for the list of homebrew games supported on the R4 and you will definately be a homebrew happy camper. Modojo recently did an article on popular homebrew games and you would do no wrong checking it out (here). Don't forget though that some games do need patching to run on an R4 and the patching guide can be found on this blog (here).(AY!)