The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and R4 DS, Strange Bedfellows

If you are looking to run that new Zelda game: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass on your R4, you'll need to update your R4 kernel to the latest version (currently at v1.10), otherwise you'll end up with a not so nice error screen in Japanese.

This is due to the 2 MB save file required by the game, and the previous kernel only created a 512 KB save file, triggering the problem.

The kernel update is available at the R4 website. But to save yourself from a gazillion headaches (just kidding) and do the developers some justice, purchase the original version over at Play-Asia (click here). The English version is available for pre-order as well (click here).

For more coverage of the US/English version of the Phantom Hourglass, head over to my brand new post over here.
*What do you know, this default font scheme looks nice on my blog!

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!)

Coming Attractions - Part 2

One of the games that I have high hopes for is Quake, for the Nintendo DS. Yes, you read that right, Quake. Besides having the distinction of being the first true 3D first person shooter on the PC platform (or any other platform for that matter), it brought about the 3D revolution which resulted in PC gamers everywhere having to purchase large, expensive graphics card to get their game on. Sounds more like the use of Viagra to treat impotency

Originally developed and released by id Software, the game has proven to be a phenomenal success critically, commercially as well as technologically. Since the source code was released several years ago, the game has proven to be resilient, having being ported over to quite a number of platforms including the Pocket PC and Palm-based devices. Take a look for yourself at www.itplaysquake.com.

Now DS gamers can get their game on as Quake is heading to the Nintendo DS. The nice guys at quake.drunkencoders.com are working to bring this title to the Nintendo DS homebrew scene and even though its only in prerelease, I'm pretty much stoked for the final outcome.

Stay tuned for the review of homebrew Quake DS next week, when I get my micro sd card reader back.

Running Homebrew on a Nintendo DS and a R4

You just bought a R4 Revolution for the Nintendo DS and you look forward to running homebrew applications such as DSOrganize and homebrew games such as DSDoom and Tower Defense. However you find that you are unable to run the homebrew applications after copying them into the MicroSD card of the R4.

A common solution for this is to patch the particular application's .nds file (otherwise known as the ROM file) with a DLDI patch. Don't ask me what it does but I guess it fixes something to do with the file system.

Anyways, here are the steps to patching the file:

1. Download the DLDI patch for the R4 here
2. Download the DLDI patching software here
3. Assuming that you have the ROM file in hand, unzip the DLDI patching software to somewhere that is conveniently accessible from the Command prompt.
   
4. Place the DLDI patch and the ROM file in the same location as well.
   
5. Using the command prompt, head over to the folder containing the files mentioned above.
6. Key in the following at the command prompt: dlditool r4tf.dldi filename.nds, with filename being the name of the ROM file
7. Press the enter key to begin the patching process
8. Copy the ROM file over to the MicroSD card and you should be able to run the application/game.