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January DS Homebrew Overview

Posted by Zonk on from the non-standard-dual-screen-devices dept.

marcellizot writes "Handheld site Pocket Gamer has a new monthly DS homebrew review roundup, which kicks off today with an update on slot-1 hardware methods, plus a look at DS Motion, Lemmings on DS, Flashback DS, Tetris Attack DS and more. From the article: 'The latest hardware is the slot-1 type, which is a DS-sized card and requires no additional hardware or modifications to the DS. These are much simpler to use than slot-2 devices, but as the majority of homebrew was designed for the slot-2 hardware and it's ability to boot GBA software, there are some compatibility issues. They are thankfully being ironed out, and as slot-1 devices become the standard we fully expect that all new homebrew will be designed with them in mind.'"

2 of 54 comments (clear)

  1. some info on homebrew by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    I did some research into "homebrew" this week and ordered a M3 Perfect Simply for $45 (came to about $62 with shipping). It's a slot-1 cartridge (same slot that uses DS games). You insert a Micro SD flash card into the cartridge and off you go. It plays ROMs perfectly, without any need for conversion. Savegames are saved to the flash card. Its only downside is that it doesn't play GBA ROMs, which I didn't really care about.

    My second choice was the R4, which is basically the same thing - slot-1 cartridge with flash card - but didn't look like as good for some reason (it might be, for all I know).

    If you want GBA ROM support, you're looking at a slot-2 cartridge. They're generally more expensive and many (all?) need a booting card in slot-1. Bundles are available.

    As far as homebrew goes, the M3 Simply plays videos and mp3s straight out of the box. It has a skinnable shell. There are applications that will turn your DS into a PDA or telephone, but I'm not sure if they work with the M3 - maybe someone here knows more on this subject.

    Try to avoid homebrew solutions that require you to flash your DS bios. It voids your warranty.

    Some links:

    M3 website: http://www.m3adapter.com/
    R4DS website: http://r4ds.net/
    Review of some common methods for homebrew: http://www.metku.net/index.html?path=articles/nds/ index_eng
    Store: http://bamboogaming.com/
    Store: http://divineo.com/

  2. Yarr? by tepples · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Another disadvantage of the M3 simply, and many (all?) slot one cards is that download play (when you play locally against someone who doesn't have the game) does not work for many Nintendo games, including Mario Kart.

    Yes it does. All you have to do is turn off the DS, push on the M3 DS Simply card to eject it from SLOT-1, insert an authentic Mario Kart DS Game Card into SLOT-1, and turn on the DS. Homebrew isn't backups of commercial games.