Hacking Buying a used DSi XL - which Flashcart will support latest (last?!) firmware?

[The Real Jdbye]

Oh man. That's really detailed and great advice. Thanks. I'll check the EZFlash IV since the size it's not a problem at all.
I'm now having second thoughts about buying a DSi. I was being seduced by the bigger screen.
Maybe it would be wiser to be alert on a good deal on a 3DS...right?

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Thanks man!



No, I don't have a 3DS. Could you elaborate (or link me) on the essential about that Ninjhax 2.0?

The bigger screen can be nice, but I would rather go for the 3DS XL if I were you, because there isn't much point in buying another DS now that plays more or less exactly the same games that you can already play. But by getting a 3DS you can still play DSiWare and DS games on a bigger screen, but you get access to a whole new library of games too.
Picture quality is a bit lower than on a DS/DSi because it's scaled slightly up, and that can be somewhat annoying at first, but you get used to it quickly, and you can hold start when booting up the game to disable the scaling if you really don't like it.
If you do get one, it's best to get a brand new (never opened) o3DS (or o3DS XL) for hackability. You can hack it right out of the box to install CIA files you download, no flashcart or retail game needed. It's also guaranteed to be on a hackable firmware if it's brand new. Sky is fine (more on that below) but CFW is far more capable, and easy to use once you have set it up, and best of all, it saves you about 80 bucks

It's because the Sky3DS is as close to plug and play as 3DS stuff gets and doesn't require any updates to keep working (just the template file for writing 3DS games to the microSD card), whereas the Gateway, the most discussed cart, as well as the various CFW options available, are more complex and take up a whole hell of a lot of threads. If you only want to play 3DS games, the most straightforward solution is definitely the Sky3DS. If you want to dig in and wish you had never bothered to begin with after awhile, Gateway offers more options but is limited in the firmware numbers it can run on. If you want to do CFW and try to play around with installing CIA files (basically the eshop format for installing games), ninjhax done through Cubic Ninja works, though, like Gateway, you only get the most functionality at 3DS 9.2 firmware version and below.

It requires template updates though. If Sky team disappears off the face of the planet, everyone with a Sky will be unable to play newer games. With Gateway/CFW you have firmware spoofing so that there is very rarely a need for actually updating anything.
Sky3DS is more plug and play (at least when it works), but it's not without its problems either, I see people having problems with their Sky all the time, and all of those "insert while holding button, eject, insert again, eject, insert" and so on instructions are really cryptic. At least you don't have to do that with Gateway/CFW.
Gateway seem like a better team too, they work hard to make sure users get the best experience possible on their existing flashcart without releasing revisions of it, unlike Sky3DS.

 

[Omazumba Kazumba]

The bigger screen can be nice, but I would rather go for the 3DS XL if I were you, because there isn't much point in buying another DS now that plays more or less exactly the same games that you can already play. But by getting a 3DS you can still play DSiWare and DS games on a bigger screen, but you get access to a whole new library of games too.
Picture quality is a bit lower than on a DS/DSi because it's scaled slightly up, and that can be somewhat annoying at first, but you get used to it quickly, and you can hold start when booting up the game to disable the scaling if you really don't like it.
If you do get one, it's best to get a brand new (never opened) o3DS (or o3DS XL) for hackability. You can hack it right out of the box to install CIA files you download, no flashcart or retail game needed. It's also guaranteed to be on a hackable firmware if it's brand new. Sky is fine (more on that below) but CFW is far more capable, and easy to use once you have set it up, and best of all, it saves you about 80 bucks


It requires template updates though. If Sky team disappears off the face of the planet, everyone with a Sky will be unable to play newer games. With Gateway/CFW you have firmware spoofing so that there is very rarely a need for actually updating anything.
Sky3DS is more plug and play (at least when it works), but it's not without its problems either, I see people having problems with their Sky all the time, and all of those "insert while holding button, eject, insert again, eject, insert" and so on instructions are really cryptic. At least you don't have to do that with Gateway/CFW.
Gateway seem like a better team too, they work hard to make sure users get the best experience possible on their existing flashcart without releasing revisions of it, unlike Sky3DS.

That's a good point. As I said, my previous experience was with CycloDS Evolution and those guys updated very often for every game. Do you see Gateway being able to be used (in a near future) in the New 3DS latest firmwares?

 

[Omazumba Kazumba]

The bigger screen can be nice, but I would rather go for the 3DS XL if I were you, because there isn't much point in buying another DS now that plays more or less exactly the same games that you can already play. But by getting a 3DS you can still play DSiWare and DS games on a bigger screen, but you get access to a whole new library of games too.
Picture quality is a bit lower than on a DS/DSi because it's scaled slightly up, and that can be somewhat annoying at first, but you get used to it quickly, and you can hold start when booting up the game to disable the scaling if you really don't like it.
If you do get one, it's best to get a brand new (never opened) o3DS (or o3DS XL) for hackability. You can hack it right out of the box to install CIA files you download, no flashcart or retail game needed. It's also guaranteed to be on a hackable firmware if it's brand new. Sky is fine (more on that below) but CFW is far more capable, and easy to use once you have set it up, and best of all, it saves you about 80 bucks


It requires template updates though. If Sky team disappears off the face of the planet, everyone with a Sky will be unable to play newer games. With Gateway/CFW you have firmware spoofing so that there is very rarely a need for actually updating anything.
Sky3DS is more plug and play (at least when it works), but it's not without its problems either, I see people having problems with their Sky all the time, and all of those "insert while holding button, eject, insert again, eject, insert" and so on instructions are really cryptic. At least you don't have to do that with Gateway/CFW.
Gateway seem like a better team too, they work hard to make sure users get the best experience possible on their existing flashcart without releasing revisions of it, unlike Sky3DS.

Hey @The Real Jdbye I only saw the top part of your answer now, where you say: "If you do get one, it's best to get a brand new (never opened) o3DS (or o3DS XL) for hackability. You can hack it right out of the box to install CIA files you download, no flashcart or retail game needed. It's also guaranteed to be on a hackable firmware if it's brand new. Sky is fine (more on that below) but CFW is far more capable, and easy to use once you have set it up, and best of all, it saves you about 80 bucks"
Without requiring much time for you, could you point me to a link on gbatemp or other site, that explains me this no-flashcart-or-retail-game CFW method?! A step-by-step would be awesome.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Hey @The Real Jdbye I only saw the top part of your answer now, where you say: "If you do get one, it's best to get a brand new (never opened) o3DS (or o3DS XL) for hackability. You can hack it right out of the box to install CIA files you download, no flashcart or retail game needed. It's also guaranteed to be on a hackable firmware if it's brand new. Sky is fine (more on that below) but CFW is far more capable, and easy to use once you have set it up, and best of all, it saves you about 80 bucks"
Without requiring much time for you, could you point me to a link on gbatemp or other site, that explains me this no-flashcart-or-retail-game CFW method?! A step-by-step would be awesome.

Here's one: https://gbatemp.net/threads/tutorial-installing-rxtools-custom-firmware-3ds-and-2ds.390867/