Hacking Buying a GBA Flash Cart

[goemon_guy]

I'm looking into two different GBA flash carts, mainly because they've popped up in my local Kijiji.

One of them is the EZ Flash IV with a 2GB Micro SD with a Mini SD adapter or something.
At any rate, it comes with everything to make it work from what I can tell. (Unless there're some cords or something that I am unaware of.)
It costs $50.

The other is the Flash2Advance.
This one costs $30, but also comes with a copy of Mario Kart Advance, a GBA and a GCN Link Cable.

I have a GBA, however, so the added bonus isn't exactly all that tempting.

Given the price, which one would get me the 'biggest bang for my buck?'

I'd be looking for ease of use and compatibility with most RPGs.
I'm leaning moreso toward the Flash2Advance, mainly to save a bit of money.
However, if the F2A is garbage, I'd prefer to know beforehand.

Any advice would be appreciated.

TL;DR, Flash2Advance ($30) w/GBA and game or EZ Flash IV ($50) w/Mini SD converter.

 

[FAST6191]

Both are reasonably nice cards. $50 does seem a bit steep but is nothing outrageous.

However the F2A will most likely be 32 megabytes (GBA ROMs can be up to 32 but rarely go above 16) and is unlikely to be more than 128 and are the not the easiest to use (will require XP, has a whole bunch of quirks).

The EZ4 is well 2 gigabytes and as many miniSD cards are you can buy (we do suggest miniSD over microSD adapters but if the seller has it all working then carry on). No GBA cart is quite at the drag and drop level but the EZ4 is not hard to use at all- it has a small program to help with the GBA ROMs that works on just about everything.

I would buy either but if it is your first GBA cart and especially if you are coming from a heavily hacked console like the DS and Wii then definitely the EZ4. The F2A is more of a cart for those that know why they want a F2A.

 

[goemon_guy]

I wouldn't mind having to learn a little to use the F2A, but if the EZ Flash IV is going to give me less headaches in the long run, (I've heard some good things about it nevertheless,) then I'll probably get it just for the sake of simplicity.

In terms of getting it set-up, will I need any drivers or anything to make it work, any cords I should be requesting with the device, etc.

 

[Harsky]

As the owner of both a F2A and EZF IV, I definately recommend the EZF IV. I bought one with a 1GB Mini SD and I've loaded all the games I wanted to play and it still only filled about half the capacity. The only downside I can think of is the fact that when you turn on the GBA, you'll have to sit through the EZF IV writing your last save before you can choose another game.

 

[Jayro]

My EZF III 32MB dev kit does the same thing when it saves. I had to change the header title of every goomba color rom i had on it, just so they would stop over-writing eachother's saves.

 

[FAST6191]

No cords- all you need is a method to write to the SD card you end up using (this should not mean downloading drivers- if it does then upgrade your OS to something newer or more complete) and a copy of EZ4Client ( http://filetrip.net/nds-downloads/flashcart-files/download-ez4-client-2009-04-03-f31119.html ) though I do suggest you have a copy of GBATA ( http://www.no-intro.org/tools.htm ) as well.

 

[goemon_guy]

Thanks for all advice, guys.

It helped me come to the conclusion that I will be picking up the EZ Flash IV.

[...] The only downside I can think of is the fact that when you turn on the GBA, you'll have to sit through the EZF IV writing your last save before you can choose another game.

Just out of curiosity, does this procedure tend to take long?

 

[Harsky]

Thanks for all advice, guys.

It helped me come to the conclusion that I will be picking up the EZ Flash IV.



Just out of curiosity, does this procedure tend to take long?

I timed one. On a Fire Emblem GBA game, I played the game, saved it and turned it off. When I turned it back on, the saving screen shows up and it took between 25-30 seconds to complete the save. Not long but then again, if you're trying to play through a list of GBA games then it can get annoying.

 

[goemon_guy]

Meh, I'm sure I'll be able to handle it.
It's a good heads-up, though.

 

[Achilles]

Meh, I'm sure I'll be able to handle it.
It's a good heads-up, though.

Depending on the size, I'd take that Flash2Advance off your hands if you want to pick it up too. (As long as it includes the link cable) Dunno if you'd want to ship it to the states.

 

[rdurbin]

if the flash2advance is not the ultra one and the original one, you may want to pick up a gameboy bridge as well (this will allow you you to play gameboy color and gameboy classic games), also the non ultra one is nice for games like pokemon, since its read like a real cart, you can use the cart to transfer your pokemon gamecube games, but the non ultra version does really have save managment, so if you swap your games around alot, you will need to remember to backup the save data to your computer, the ultra does have save managment, that pretty much functions like how the ds carts works now

 

[goemon_guy]

So, I just got the EZ Flash today.

The provided Micro SD, (2GB) does not allow me to write to it.
I can't format it with Windows, Command Prompt, Easeus or anything.
Windows tells me that it "could not complete the format," Command Prompt tells me that it was successful, but it doesn't change anything.

Has anyone else had a similar issue? I dunno where I'd even get another 2GB Micro SD.

 

[Achilles]

So, I just got the EZ Flash today.

The provided Micro SD, (2GB) does not allow me to write to it.
I can't format it with Windows, Command Prompt, Easeus or anything.
Windows tells me that it "could not complete the format," Command Prompt tells me that it was successful, but it doesn't change anything.

Has anyone else had a similar issue? I dunno where I'd even get another 2GB Micro SD.

I'm guessing you mean MiniSD? If so, I ordered two 2GB MiniSD cards from Aliexpress from a different seller and one of them worked fine (although slowly) and the other one is totally screwed up like the one you're talking about. Window's can't format it and nothing else will. Of course this leads me to believe that the one that works is only going to work for a little while and then totally crap out too, so I'm going to get a name-brand one off Amazon or eBay here pretty soon. I suggest you do the same.

 

[goemon_guy]

Nah, it's a Micro SD card. (with a Mini SD card adapter for the flash cart).

Strangely enough, the games that were on the SD card from the previous owner will still save to the card, though. It doesn't help me, though that I can't remove or put anything onto the card.

 

[Achilles]

Sounds like a shitty knockoff SD card then. 2GB MicroSD cards can be purchased for just a few dollars from just about anywhere.

 

[goemon_guy]

Would a MicroSDHC (still 2GB) work for this purpose?

I thought SDHC meant above 4GB, so I just want to know before I buy one of them. :/

 

[Achilles]

I didn't know there were 2GB SDHC cards, but I doubt it'll work.

 

[goemon_guy]

http://www.staples.ca/en/Staples-Re...th-Adapter-2-Pack/product_445171_2-CA_1_20001

^ proof.
I'm not looking for anything high quality.
I'm just looking for something that'll get the job done, and preferably be within local reach.

 

[Joe88]

I suggest not using a microsd card in an adapter as they are the source of many problems when using this cart
I posted here where to get a 2GB minisd
http://gbatemp.net/threads/ez-flash-iv-is-being-discontinued.339309/page-4#post-4587079

 

[goemon_guy]

I've heard that, but the micro SD solution already works for me, it's just the issue of getting a working micro SD for it.

It'd also be nice if I could get this locally, rather than ordering.
I'll give the micro SD card a whirl, and then, if it doesn't work, I'll just resort to a miniSD card at some point.

EDIT:
Got another MicroSD card that works flawlessly with it.