Hacking Looking for the best 3DS solution. Help appreciated.

[Metalman]

Hello everyone, new member here!

So lately I ve been having a huge Nintendo nostalgia going on from my teen years and decided to make up for all awesome games I haven't played over the years. Am a huge zelda fan and I havent played anything since OoT with the exception of Phantom Hourglass. The last 2 consoles I ve owned were N64 and Gameboy Colour so as you can imagine I ve missed a lot.

I did my studying to find the best possible option to get back into nintendo and I currently have my eyes on the N3DS XL although there are a lot of things I can't figure out since everything is quite confusing.

So the N3DS XL here costs 200EU/220USD without and games or the charger. From doing my homework I figured out the my options for playing roms are: Gateway 3DS if am lucky enough to get a system below 9.2 and Sky3DS if am above 9.2. Is this correct?
Also, even if am below 9.2 as described here: http://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/Gateway_3DS#New_3DS_Support I have to own a save dongle and pay another 60EUROS for the original OoT? Thats a bummer since its way more than what am willing to pay for a handheld console since the cartrige also costs a lot(especially the Sky3DS).
Also whats the difference between the red and blue gateway?

What would you guys do in my situation? Is such an investment worth it? Maybe get the old 3DS? Maybe a Wii U?

Any help would be incredibly appreciated!

 

[SonicRegret]

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[Ante0]

I guess you could use ThemeHax, then use CFW to downgrade MSET and then install the blue cards exploit so you can launch gateway directly from the DS Profile.
That way you'd only need the N3ds and GW.
And it should work on any version between 9.0 - 10.1.0-x.

The red gateway is for 3ds roms, the blue gateway is for ds roms/mset exploit

Edit: SonicRegret's way is cheaper

 

[SonicRegret]

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[Metalman]

Ok I have to be honest here. Am really lost here all the terms you ve mentioned are kinda unknown to me.

Just to make everything clear I DONT have a N3DS yet. The whole point of the thread is to aid me in deciding if its a good choice.
So if I get a N3DS XL it should be <=9.2 or else its not worth it? If its <=9.2 I can install CFW and play roms without even needing a flashcard? Do I need Cubic Ninja for that?

 

[SonicRegret]

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[Metalman]

So all I have to do now is find a New 3DS XL that is guranteed to be <= 9.2 and am all set hardware wise(already have a microSD)?
Is there a place online I can buy a guranteed <=9.2 one even if it means am gonna spend a few extra cash?

Thanks a lot for your reaplies, really appreciate it!!

 

[Quantumcat]

Search on ebay and ask the sellers to check the firmware, give them instructions (e.g. "displayed bottom right of top screen when in settings"). Be prepared to send loads of messages, there won't be many out there. Familiarise yourself with which games contain updates of greater than 9.2, as if you see a bundle including one of those games you can save yourself the hassle of asking the seller since that game will have forced an update.

Alternately search ebay in description for the word firmware or settings or version, but be prepared to pay extra.

 

[Metalman]

Thanks a lot for the tip, already found 2 and both already have 200euro bids so am guessing they ll go way higher.

I also found this website in a thread in here I cant remember right now. https://www.nippon-yasan.com/ninten.../8934-new-nintendo-3ds-ll-metallic-black.html
Any idea if this is legit?

 

[Aroth]

What would you guys do in my situation? Is such an investment worth it? Maybe get the old 3DS? Maybe a Wii U?

Any help would be incredibly appreciated!

It depends entirely on WHAT you plan to do with your 3DS. At the very least, if you want to play DS(i) games you will need a DSi or 3DS and a NDS flashcart as no way exists yet to play .nds files without one.

If you are just wanting to play older GBA/GBC games, I strongly suggest you look into emulation and a program called VBA for your pc/laptop. For N64 you would want to look into a program called Project64; for SNES look into Snes9x.

If you want/plan to play newer 3DS games like the 3DS remakes of Ocarina of Time (not recommended tbh) or Majora's Mask (highly recommended, especially if you haven't played the original) or A Link Between Worlds, you should go ahead and invest in a 3DS. If you plan to go this route, the fact you have never owned one before means I would suggest you look for an exploitable (9.2 or lower) N3DS. From what you have said, there is nothing an O3DS can do that a N3DS can't that you would be missing out on (its mostly developer or hacking tools and most work on the N3DS now, just easier to use on the old one)

Cost wise, its kinda up in the air what will be cheaper, an exploitable O3DS or an exploitable N3DS. Supposedly any O3DS systems, even the new ones from this year, are all below 9.0 if bought new in box. So you could go into your local game store and buy, say, the Retro NES model new and be fine. Not sure how accurate this info is though. More than likely you can expect to pay at least $200 for a used exploitable system, unless you get REALLY lucky. I have no idea how much a plain NDS flashcart runs, but you will need one if you want to play DS or DSi games.

In all fairness if you are not computer savvy and willing to spend the better part of a day setting up your system, plus the install time required for .cia files, I would honestly suggest you spend the ~$80 for a Gateway flashcart, since it comes with both a 3DS one and a NDS one, and it doesn't get any simpler than dragging and dropping a file on a flashcart.

Dont use gateway, use cfw instead. It's much more convenient. Emunand can go to latest fw, and you can go online with no bans. which gateway cannot do

Um, no and no. N3DS is capped at 9.5 for EmuNAND. No CFW allows you to install 9.6+, they ALL get a blackscreen on boot.

Also you can too go online with gateway. Simply make damn you you are using a private header and that the files are named .3dz instead of .3ds, and use freemultipatcher to spoof firmware version to go online. Or just use .cias and use freemultipatcher to spoof firmware for online access.

I guess you could use ThemeHax, then use CFW to downgrade MSET and then install the blue cards exploit so you can launch gateway directly from the DS Profile.
That way you'd only need the N3ds and GW.
And it should work on any version between 9.0 - 10.1.0-x.

The red gateway is for 3ds roms, the blue gateway is for ds roms/mset exploit

Edit: SonicRegret's way is cheaper

Themehax 2.5 (or any *hax 2.5) do work up to 10.1, but everything else you said is limited to 9.2 or lower. Unless you meant to refer to EmuNAND, in which case you are still wrong as you are talking about a N3DS which cannot update EmuNAND past 9.5.

 

[Metalman]

It depends entirely on WHAT you plan to do with your 3DS. At the very least, if you want to play DS(i) games you will need a DSi or 3DS and a NDS flashcart as no way exists yet to play .nds files without one.

If you are just wanting to play older GBA/GBC games, I strongly suggest you look into emulation and a program called VBA for your pc/laptop. For N64 you would want to look into a program called Project64; for SNES look into Snes9x.

If you want/plan to play newer 3DS games like the 3DS remakes of Ocarina of Time (not recommended tbh) or Majora's Mask (highly recommended, especially if you haven't played the original) or A Link Between Worlds, you should go ahead and invest in a 3DS. If you plan to go this route, the fact you have never owned one before means I would suggest you look for an exploitable (9.2 or lower) N3DS. From what you have said, there is nothing an O3DS can do that a N3DS can't that you would be missing out on (its mostly developer or hacking tools and most work on the N3DS now, just easier to use on the old one)

Cost wise, its kinda up in the air what will be cheaper, an exploitable O3DS or an exploitable N3DS. Supposedly any O3DS systems, even the new ones from this year, are all below 9.0 if bought new in box. So you could go into your local game store and buy, say, the Retro NES model new and be fine. Not sure how accurate this info is though. More than likely you can expect to pay at least $200 for a used exploitable system, unless you get REALLY lucky. I have no idea how much a plain NDS flashcart runs, but you will need one if you want to play DS or DSi games.

In all fairness if you are not computer savvy and willing to spend the better part of a day setting up your system, plus the install time required for .cia files, I would honestly suggest you spend the ~$80 for a Gateway flashcart, since it comes with both a 3DS one and a NDS one, and it doesn't get any simpler than dragging and dropping a file on a flashcart.



Um, no and no. N3DS is capped at 9.5 for EmuNAND. No CFW allows you to install 9.6+, they ALL get a blackscreen on boot.

Also you can too go online with gateway. Simply make damn you you are using a private header and that the files are named .3dz instead of .3ds, and use freemultipatcher to spoof firmware version to go online. Or just use .cias and use freemultipatcher to spoof firmware for online access.



Themehax 2.5 (or any *hax 2.5) do work up to 10.1, but everything else you said is limited to 9.2 or lower. Unless you meant to refer to EmuNAND, in which case you are still wrong as you are talking about a N3DS which cannot update EmuNAND past 9.5.

Awesome. This is the kind of post I was looking for!

Am looking to play the newer games not the retro ones, I have thought of emulators but I dont think they are gonna cut it for me. My sister owned a DS so I have an R4 card available for DS games I ve missed thanks a lot for clearing this one up!

Now between O3DS and N3DS they only have a 20euro difference locally so I dont see a reason to get the old one. Unless I am looking at a bigger difference somewhere online?

I guess am pretty ok with installing cfw since I ve done it already on some ps3s and psps and really love the idea of cfw/homebrew on my console so I d rather do that than dish out another 80usd for a flashcart!

The thing is that where I live my options are very very limited. No stores to walk in and check the serial number.
I ve already started searching on ebay but it seems prices for europe are sky high.
What would you think of the idea of getting a japanese one from nippon-japan? As I ve read they are almost guranteec to be 9.2 or lower and they are pretty cheap too. Any drawbacks on getting a japanese version? Any other guranteed places to buy online?

Thanks a lot againñ

 

[Aroth]

Awesome. This is the kind of post (I t I was looking for!

Am looking to play the newer games not the retro ones, I have thought of emulators but I dont think they are gonna cut it for me. My sister owned a DS so I have an R4 card available for DS games I ve missed thanks a lot for clearing this one up!

Now between O3DS and N3DS they only have a 20euro difference locally so I dont see a reason to get the old one. Unless I am looking at a bigger difference somewhere online?

I guess am pretty ok with installing cfw since I ve done it already on some ps3s and psps and really love the idea of cfw/homebrew on my console so I d rather do that than dish out another 80usd for a flashcart!

The thing is that where I live my options are very very limited. No stores to walk in and check the serial number.
I ve already started searching on ebay but it seems prices for europe are sky high.
What would you think of the idea of getting a japanese one from nippon-japan? As I ve read they are almost guranteec to be 9.2 or lower and they are pretty cheap too. Any drawbacks on getting a japanese version? Any other guranteed places to buy online?

Thanks a lot againñ

If you already have a NDS flashcart then I would suggest you just go CFW. Its a bit more complicated to set up than PSP or PS3 were, but not overly so. As for whether to get a JAP console instead of EUR, it depends. There are a lot of tools now for playing region free stuff, so your biggest issue will be with language. I have no idea if you can set the system to use English for JAP consoles, or any other language for that matter. I do know there are a few guides on converting a JAP console to USA, so I assume converting one to EUR is possible as well. Cost wise I have no idea, but don't forget to consider shipping costs when you look at prices.

 

[Metalman]

Nice, so a guaranteed Japanese version is a legit option now. Even with the shipping costs they come out 20usd cheaper than local prices so thats ok also.

Also, noobish question about the Wii U. Is playing game roms like on the ds possible as of now or we arent there yet? Seeing as its the same price as an N3DS right here.

 

[tony_2018]

Do not downgrade n3ds. to get the mset exploit on n3ds, you have to get cfw (recommend rxtools) and get fbi (cia/3ds app installer) and replace the system settings app with the 4.5 one to use mset. look up a tutorial for more info. Cfw only works on 9.2 and below.

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And it should work on any version between 9.0 - 10.1.0-x.

you mean the emunand?

To further expand on this the downgrading statement, THERE IS NO DOWNGRADE FEATURE FOR THE N3DS.

Just making sure that was clear.

 

[Aroth]

To further expand on this the downgrading statement, THERE IS NO DOWNGRADE FEATURE FOR THE N3DS.

Just making sure that was clear.

It is very important to understand that the O3DS and N3DS actually run different firmware. The files your N3DS downloads when it updates are NOT the same files your friend's O3DS downloads. This is why you cannot downgrade a N3DS below 8.1 for JPN systems and 9.0 for USA (and EUR?) ones, because no system firmware exists for the N3DS before those.

 

[Ericzander]

@Aroth is right on the money. Listen to him and disregard anything that contradicts what he said.

Let me repeat one thing though... If you get custom firmware on a N3ds DO. NOT. UPDATE your emuNAND past 9.5. Hell, if you don't know what you're doing I wouldn't update emuNAND at all since I don't think there's a benefit to having 9.5 over 9.2 on emuNAND.

 

[DaFixer]

Is there possible to find a 9.2 N3DS XL in shops?

 

[tony_2018]

Is there possible to find a 9.2 N3DS XL in shops?

Thats a tough one...since release date for any region the 9.2 and below systems are probably dry. You'll likely get one with 9.4+.

 

[DaFixer]

Thank you,for your info.

 

[Aroth]

Nice, so a guaranteed Japanese version is a legit option now. Even with the shipping costs they come out 20usd cheaper than local prices so thats ok also.

Also, noobish question about the Wii U. Is playing game roms like on the ds possible as of now or we arent there yet? Seeing as its the same price as an N3DS right here.

Hacking in regards to the Wii U is weird because of the dual nature of the device. The Wii U itself does have a kernel exploit that has been taken advantage of provided you are on the right firmware. Doing so requires a specific game (smash bros?) and you can even load backups via some weird crap that is overly complicated to me. No idea if things like VC injection or homebrew emulators are a thing yet.

That said, it IS a dual mode device and the Wii-Mode is completely hackable to the same degree as the original Wii. You can load Wii backups, play emulators for everything N64 and earlier (barring PS1 I think), install WiiWare and VC titles, the whole gamut.