Gaming Original Fat Nintendo DS (Or Big-Boned? Pleasantly Plump?)

[darkencypher]

Hello Everyone,

I bought an original fat DS in 2004, literally the day it was released. I played it maybe a total of 20 hours.

Fast forward a decade. I found my fat old DS while cleaning my office. Don't ask me why, but I want to resurrect the sucker.

And by resurrect, I mean trick it out with today's latest technology. A little googling has shown me that I can play homebrew and backups with a little gadget called a flash cart. I started searching the interwebs for the right one for me. Holy cow! I've never seen so many shady looking sites in my life!

Some of these site authors speak English about as well as I speak Chinese (which is close to not at all). I've witnessed a level of grammar and spelling ineptitude I thought only a drunk third grader capable of. And to top it off--searching reviews for some of the sites--I've found mention of fraudulent charges and second-rate equipment.

Is anyone out there able to bail me out and help me steer me clear of the riffraff? A U.S. based seller would be preferable. And it seems like the R4i-SDHC is a good cart for me, no? Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks in advance for the help.

-Darkencypher

 

[HoboKen95]

mishrack shadrack and bendego are riff raff

 

[mechagouki]

Just buy a SuperCard DSTwo and a 32gb calss 10 microSD. You'll be able to fit every good DS game and all the emulators you could ever want on there.

 

[Deleted User]

Holy shit, your post is so hard to read with words coloured like that.
Anyways, the flashcart I have is an R4i Gold 3DS, which works on a DS Lite, and since DS Lite and DS Phat use similar firmwares, I'm pretty sure it should work on the DS Phat. It should be able to run most homebrew software, and most games will run fine, too. The site I bought it from was nds-card.com. If you buy a micro SD card with it, the flashcart's firmware should be pre-installed, they also have free shipping, and if you choose that, it should come in about a month. Maybe a little more, I think.

EDIT: nds-card is also based in China.

 

[Deleted User]

Just buy a SuperCard DSTwo and a 32gb calss 10 microSD. You'll be able to fit every good DS game and all the emulators you could ever want on there.

Don't DS2's cost $50 or something like that?

 

[mechagouki]

Yes, they are expensive, but they have a built in processor which allows for much better emulation and homebrew performance, as well as acceptable video playback.

They are also super update-able, I bought mine way back when it launched and it still works just fine with my PhatDS, DSi XL and O3DS

 

[DinohScene]

Supercard DSTwo.
I say get it from NDS card.
It sponsors Temp at the same time.

 

[Deleted User]

Yes, they are expensive, but they have a built in processor which allows for much better emulation and homebrew performance, as well as acceptable video playback.

They are also super update-able, I bought mine way back when it launched and it still works just fine with my PhatDS, DSi XL and O3DS

Oh, wow. I didn't know that, actually. I guess the DS2 is a better option depending on your budget and what you want to do with a flashcart.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

www.nds-card.com/ProShow.asp?ProID=149
Reliable site, and a good cart. The DSTWO is a lot better, but good luck finding it in stock.

 

[bowser]

If you're willing to spend good money then get a Supercard DSTWO.

If you're on a budget get a R4i Gold from r4ids.cn

If you're on an extreme budget then get a Ace3DS.

I think modchipsdirect is a US based site. You should have the card in your hands within a couple of days.

 

[Monty Kensicle]

It's amazing that people keep recommending a flash card that has been out of production for months.

If you plan on only playing a few dedicated titles a simple original R4 clone and 2GB MicroSD card will be sufficient. That card can be had for less than $2.

 

[Nathan Drake]

You all really have to stop suggesting the Supercard DSTwo. It's been sold out basically everywhere for months now, and even if you can find it in stock somewhere, expect to pay closer to $100 to pick one up.

OP: Seeing as you have a fatty DS, the world is basically your oyster as far as flashcarts go. No matter which one you buy, it will work without issue. I suggest picking up one of these three carts -

1) Original R4 - these are all actually reproduction carts, but they are ridiculously cheap. I'm talking as inexpensive as $1. They all work just like the originals too, being 1:1 reproduction carts. They are fully compatible with all DS releases using the Wood firmware. The only caveat is that they don't support MicroSDHC, so you're limited to, at best, 4GB MicroSD, though those are somewhat uncommon and kinda expensive for what you get, so 2GB MicroSD is more realistic. Most DS games fall anywhere between about 16MB and 128MB with few games going beyond that, so it's up to you whether that's good enough.

2) Acekard 2i - the go to flash cart until the DSTwo arrived, this was and still is a reliable flash cart. Using the AKAIO firmware, once again, you get top notch compatibility. The major difference here from the original R4 is that you have SDHC support. Otherwise the carts are basically the same thing. There used to be a moderate risk of receiving a clone cart when ordering one of these, but in 2015, I doubt that's much of an issue anymore.

3) R4i Gold - this is a good one to pick up if you plan on eventually buying a 3DS. It is otherwise exactly the same as the previous two carts in terms of what you get. Make sure it's the product that you can find on r4ids.cn, as any other version is not the same cart.

With that said, if you also want to reap the benefits of GBA, you can pick up a GBA cart sized EZ Flash 3in1. This works in conjunction with any of those slot 1 DS carts like what I have listed above to give excellent GBA game compatibility. It's a great investment if you haven't really explored the GBA library.

 

[Deleted User]

With that said, if you also want to reap the benefits of GBA, you can pick up a GBA cart sized EZ Flash 3in1. This works in conjunction with any of those slot 1 DS carts like what I have listed above to give excellent GBA game compatibility. It's a great investment if you haven't really explored the GBA library.

How much does an EZ Flash 3in1 usually cost? I've heard that some GBA flashcarts can be pretty expensive.

 

[pdensco]

why do you want to play that old stuff buy a new 3dsxl with that you can use homebrew and you can play 3ds roms through gateway 3ds and you can play snes games through blargsnes emulator and you can play ds games through Supercard DSTwo lol and you can enjoy playing with 3ds

 

[Nathan Drake]

How much does an EZ Flash 3in1 usually cost? I've heard that some GBA flashcarts can be pretty expensive.

Last I knew, a 3in1 still ran for around $25 USD, sometimes a little lower, sometimes a little more depending on the vendor. They've never been as expensive as other GBA carts because the 3in1 isn't a standalone cart. It needs a slot 1 DS cart to really be useful.

 

[mechagouki]

You all really have to stop suggesting the Supercard DSTwo. It's been sold out basically everywhere for months now, and even if you can find it in stock somewhere, expect to pay closer to $100 to pick one up.

Hey, if someone want's to give me $100 for my DSTwo just fire me a PM, I'll even throw in the Sandisk 16GB Ultra card.

 

[3DSXLGamer]

Just missed this https://gbatemp.net/threads/sky3ds-blue-button-dstwo-with-memory-cards.388929/

 

[Nathan Drake]

Just missed this https://gbatemp.net/threads/sky3ds-blue-button-dstwo-with-memory-cards.388929/

That doesn't even remotely help the OP, so I don't know why you bothered bringing it up.

1) The item was already sold, so what does essentially saying "too bad so sad" accomplish?
2) A user needs 100 posts to even see the trading section. The thread could have been posted 1 second after OP saw the responses in this thread, and it wouldn't make a lick of difference as they would never be able to see it.

 

[3DSXLGamer]

On a 9 hour break at school = bored out of my mind and logged in just to link that, my effort was not going to waste.
Gives him a varied price range versus $50-$100 given in this thread and when there's a motive, barriers like 100 posts don't matter.
If my thought process was fully functioning it would've also typed $32 but that's giving me to much credit. Time to sleep head down on a desk in the library, g'night folks!

 

[darkencypher]

mishrack shadrack and bendego are riff raff

Thanks, I'll make sure not to go there.

Holy shit, your post is so hard to read with words coloured like that...

EDIT: nds-card is also based in China.

I'm trying to avoid China if I can. Thanks for the information. Sorry about the color. What can I say, I'm a flashy guy.

I think modchipsdirect is a US based site. You should have the card in your hands within a couple of days.

Thanks for the info. Looks like they have a R4i SDHC, any thoughts on this? http://www.modchipsdirect.com/r4i-3ds-r4ds-wood.html Buying from U.S. is worth an extra 5 to 10 bucks for me.

Seeing as you have a fatty DS, the world is basically your oyster as far as flashcarts go. No matter which one you buy, it will work without issue.

Thanks for all the information you've posted.

why do you want to play that old stuff...

I still play poker, and it's been around for nearly two centuries. Age is but a number, my friend.

Thanks for all the information everyone!