Hello everyone and welcome to my review of the R4i Gold! I would like to especially thank Lightake for sending me this review item!
Introduction
So when I first got the R4i Gold from Lightake, I thought it would just be another R4 knock off, but with the release of Wood for R4i, I was very excited about receiving it. I tested it out, and it was absolutely perfect.
Packaging
The packaging, when I got it, was nice and compact, like all flashcart boxes nowadays, but it was very eye appealing, to say the least.
I was happy that the packaging was hardly damaged during the ride, it always reassures me that nothing in the box should be damaged.
The contents of the box inculded:
1x MicroSD to USB reader
1x R4i Gold
1x Blue wrist strap
1x Carrying case, which the R4i was held in
I give the packaging a solid 10/10. It was in perfect condition when arriving at my destination, it had a good strong plastic layer which held everything in it, and as a bonus, it came with a strap and carrying case.
Software
The R4i Gold has two different types of software; The original R4i Kernel, and the Wood R4 kernel. They implemented the Wood R4 kernel into the old one so you can boot into the Wood menu, but the game compatibility is the same between the two kernels.
Game Compatibility
I tested some games on the regular R4i Gold, and Wood kernel, and they worked on every game I threw at the software.
Mario vs Donkey Kong: Miniland Mayhem works
MapleStory DS works
Tetris Party Deluxe works
Tales of Innocence works
Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow works
Golden Sun Dark Dawn works
I give the game compatibility a 10/10. It worked with everything I threw at it, and it didn't even falter in any parts of the game I tested it in, it is perfect.
Homebrew Compatibility
I did not get the chance to try much homebrew, but the usual SNES emulator, SnemulDS seemed to work, as did GBAExpLoader, and CLIRC.
SneMul DS works
Lameboy works
CLIRC Works
NesDS Works
So far I give the Homebrew Compatibility a 10/10. The usual stuff I test works just perfectly, and I have had no errors.
The software for the most part is good, the R4i Gold even supports SDHC. I tried using my Lexar 4GB SDHC card and it loaded the menus just fine, including the Wood menu. I tried loading endless games, but no games would load for me, but when I used my 2GB SD cards, it worked just fine.
I give the software in total a 9/10. Even though the compatibility worked one hundred percent, the SDHC compatibility was a bit of a downside for me because the R4i gold wouldn't load any games using my SDHC card.
Hardware
The hardware of the R4i Gold is similar to the R4 gold, but has a few differences. One being the color of the sticker, and the other is the red PCB of the cartridge.
The R4i Gold is very sturdy and holds out very well. The cart does not feel like it has been made cheap, it is very durable. The best part of the hardware is that, unlike the one to one clone of the R4, the R4i Gold does not tend to stick inside the DS slot, unlike the R4 does. Another positive of the R4 is that the micro sd slot is not spring loaded, so there is no problem of the micro sd card flying out after pressing down and flying across the room.
I give the hardware a 10/10. Nothing went wrong when using it, or even tossing it around and dropping it on a hard surface or ground. It is the ideal cart to get if you tend to be a bit clumsy, or let little kids play with the cartridge itself.
Conclusion
The R4i Gold is probably the best DS cartridge to buy because it is inexpensive, really good build quality, and it supports Wood. It is such an amazing cartridge, I could probably compare it to the Supercard DSONE, minus a few features, like a real time menu. It is a great flash cart for a person who is new to to DS flashcarts.
Pros
Software: 9/10
Hardware: 10/10
Total: 9.7/10
Once again I would like to thank Lightake for providing me with this review sample!
Introduction
So when I first got the R4i Gold from Lightake, I thought it would just be another R4 knock off, but with the release of Wood for R4i, I was very excited about receiving it. I tested it out, and it was absolutely perfect.
Packaging
The packaging, when I got it, was nice and compact, like all flashcart boxes nowadays, but it was very eye appealing, to say the least.
I was happy that the packaging was hardly damaged during the ride, it always reassures me that nothing in the box should be damaged.
The contents of the box inculded:
1x MicroSD to USB reader
1x R4i Gold
1x Blue wrist strap
1x Carrying case, which the R4i was held in
I give the packaging a solid 10/10. It was in perfect condition when arriving at my destination, it had a good strong plastic layer which held everything in it, and as a bonus, it came with a strap and carrying case.
Software
The R4i Gold has two different types of software; The original R4i Kernel, and the Wood R4 kernel. They implemented the Wood R4 kernel into the old one so you can boot into the Wood menu, but the game compatibility is the same between the two kernels.
Game Compatibility
I tested some games on the regular R4i Gold, and Wood kernel, and they worked on every game I threw at the software.
Mario vs Donkey Kong: Miniland Mayhem works
MapleStory DS works
Tetris Party Deluxe works
Tales of Innocence works
Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow works
Golden Sun Dark Dawn works
I give the game compatibility a 10/10. It worked with everything I threw at it, and it didn't even falter in any parts of the game I tested it in, it is perfect.
Homebrew Compatibility
I did not get the chance to try much homebrew, but the usual SNES emulator, SnemulDS seemed to work, as did GBAExpLoader, and CLIRC.
SneMul DS works
Lameboy works
CLIRC Works
NesDS Works
So far I give the Homebrew Compatibility a 10/10. The usual stuff I test works just perfectly, and I have had no errors.
The software for the most part is good, the R4i Gold even supports SDHC. I tried using my Lexar 4GB SDHC card and it loaded the menus just fine, including the Wood menu. I tried loading endless games, but no games would load for me, but when I used my 2GB SD cards, it worked just fine.
I give the software in total a 9/10. Even though the compatibility worked one hundred percent, the SDHC compatibility was a bit of a downside for me because the R4i gold wouldn't load any games using my SDHC card.
Hardware
The hardware of the R4i Gold is similar to the R4 gold, but has a few differences. One being the color of the sticker, and the other is the red PCB of the cartridge.
[title
ictures of the R4i Gold]
ictures of the R4i Gold]
The R4i Gold is very sturdy and holds out very well. The cart does not feel like it has been made cheap, it is very durable. The best part of the hardware is that, unlike the one to one clone of the R4, the R4i Gold does not tend to stick inside the DS slot, unlike the R4 does. Another positive of the R4 is that the micro sd slot is not spring loaded, so there is no problem of the micro sd card flying out after pressing down and flying across the room.
I give the hardware a 10/10. Nothing went wrong when using it, or even tossing it around and dropping it on a hard surface or ground. It is the ideal cart to get if you tend to be a bit clumsy, or let little kids play with the cartridge itself.
Conclusion
The R4i Gold is probably the best DS cartridge to buy because it is inexpensive, really good build quality, and it supports Wood. It is such an amazing cartridge, I could probably compare it to the Supercard DSONE, minus a few features, like a real time menu. It is a great flash cart for a person who is new to to DS flashcarts.
Pros
- Works on DSi V1.4.1
- Cost efficient
- SDHC Compatible
- Wood R4 Supported
- Does not seem to work with my SDHC
Software: 9/10
Hardware: 10/10
Total: 9.7/10
Once again I would like to thank Lightake for providing me with this review sample!
