Hacking 10.3.0-28 N3DSXL and DSTwo+, What Are My Options?

[Paul Kujawa]

Hello All,
I got a New 3DS XL for Christmas along with a DSTwo+ with the hopes of having all of my games in one convenient place. However the system is running 10.3.0-28, which means that the DSTwo+ cannot run my 3DS games in the stock configuration. This leaves me wondering what my options are now, if any, with the equipment I have. This is what I've gathered so far:

Downgrade: Impossible
Update GW Ultra Plugin: Would probably brick the console
Buy Sky3DS+: Expensive
Install CFW: Doesn't support 10.3?
Use EmuNAND: Somehow? Still unclear on this one
Manually flash NAND: Risky/impossible?
Wait for DSTwo+ to Support 10.3: Won't happen

Please let me know if any of these are incorrect or if I missed anything. If the DSTwo plus won't ever support 10.3+, I might as well return it because I already have a DSTwo.

 

[MichiS97]

Your only option to play ROMs is Sky3DS.

Downgrade: Impossible Right
Update GW Ultra Plugin: Would probably brick the console Impossible, the plugin can't be used on firmwares >9.2
Buy Sky3DS+: Expensive Like I said, your only option
Install CFW: Doesn't support 10.3? Correct
Use EmuNAND: Somehow? Still unclear on this one Impossible, because of the firmware
Manually flash NAND: Risky/impossible? Impossible
Wait for DSTwo+ to Support 10.3: Won't happen May or may not happen eventually

 

[azublazer]

Sky3ds user here. I love it. Free games, plus my firmware is up to date. Got me a private header on my roms and I can play online without ban. Just spend the money, it's worth it for the amount of free games.

 

[MichiS97]

Sky3ds user here. I love it. Free games, plus my firmware is up to date. Got me a private header on my roms and I can play online without ban. Just spend the money, it's worth it for the amount of free games.

The newest version really is a good flashcard if you're really only getting one because of the free games.

 

[azublazer]

The newest version really is a good flashcard if you're really only getting one because of the free games.

I have the blue button which IMO is good enough for me. How many games even have the AP implemented? Two? I'll live without playing those few games.

 

[wurstpistole]

I have the blue button which IMO is good enough for me. How many games even have the AP implemented? Two? I'll live without playing those few games.

A handful. Fire emblem if comes to mind, Stella glow, paper jam bros, shovel Knight, there are more. Basically every major game in the last weeks already has it and probably every noteworthy upcoming game will have it too.

 

[azublazer]

A handful. Fire emblem if comes to mind, Stella glow, paper jam bros, shovel Knight, there are more. Basically every major game in the last weeks already has it and probably every noteworthy upcoming game will have it too.

All those games sound awful to me. I have a backlog of games I'm playing through at the moment. And I'm sure this will be like the old DS AP games where only some of the AAA games will have it, like Pokemon and the Kingdom Hearts game for the DS. I'll live without the new Pokemon games and Fire Emblem.

 

[wurstpistole]

Well you can always tell yourself your old sky blue is okay but really, sky orange is the better option here.

 

[GaaraPrime]

Sky3DS+ is the OBVIOUS AND THE ONLY CHOICE HERE. I would recommend getting the Sky3DS+ and sell off your DSTWO+ to recover the cost

 

[Deleted-236924]

All those games sound awful to me. I have a backlog of games I'm playing through at the moment. And I'm sure this will be like the old DS AP games where only some of the AAA games will have it, like Pokemon and the Kingdom Hearts game for the DS. I'll live without the new Pokemon games and Fire Emblem.

Thing is it isn't only the big titles that have it. It's been pretty much every recent game that came out.



Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros.
Monster Hunter X
Chibi Robo! Zip Lash
New Style Boutique 2: Fashion Forward (note: JPN version works)
Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon
Stella Glow (note: JPN version works, english translation available through HANS)
Horse Life 4
Hello Kitty And The Apron Of Magic: Rhythm Cooking
Barbie And Her Sisters: Puppy Rescue
Shovel Knight
Thomas And Friends: Steaming Around Sodor
The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
7th Dragon III Code: VFD
Goosebumps: The Game
Picross 3D 2
Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer
Fire Emblem If - Special Edition
Fire Emblem If - Anya Oukoku
Fire Emblem If - Byakuya Oukoku

All of those have AP. Likely Nintendo is getting developers to switch to a new sdk or something for creating games that includes the AP, and I think the AP is partly hardware-based as well? So they are probably phasing out the old ones in favor of the new ones and every game will have that AP.

 

[TheHunted1]

Sky3ds user here. I love it. Free games, plus my firmware is up to date. Got me a private header on my roms and I can play online without ban. Just spend the money, it's worth it for the amount of free games.

I am also planning on buying a N3DS xl and a sky3ds+ flashcard. But was I thinking about downloading game updates and dlc. Is this possible with the sky3ds?

 

[kennyhi123]

I am also planning on buying a N3DS xl and a sky3ds+ flashcard. But was I thinking about downloading game updates and dlc. Is this possible with the sky3ds?

DLC : no
Game update : yes

 

[wurstpistole]

Well of course you can use dlc with sky but you'd need to buy it.

 

[Paul Kujawa]

Thanks for your help, everyone! You've successfully convinced my to buy a Sky3DS. The question now is which one and should I get rid of my DSTwo+? I read something about the S3DS+ not saving games automatically? There doesn't seem to be a good comparison online between the S3DS and the S3DS+.

As for the DSTwo+, Supercard says that it has more memory and a faster processor than the DSTwo vanilla. Since I want to use it for emulating SNES, GBA, 2600, etc., I'm hesitant to return it immediately because the higher specs should translate to better emulation. Has anyone used both cards enough to see whether there's an appreciable difference?

 

[Deleted-236924]

DSTwo+ not saving games automatically only applies to 3DS games. More specifically, Card1 type 3DS games. Not something you really have to worry about. DS games will still save automatically just like on the original DSTwo.
I'd recommend just keeping the DSTwo+ and selling off the regular one. It's gonna be an upgrade over the original in every way anyway. I haven't personally tried it to see how much better GBA/SNES emulation was compared to the original so I can't really help you there.

 

[Paul Kujawa]

If the 3DS games don't save automatically, how exactly are they saved? Is it very bothersome? Does the Sky3DS have the same issue? Also, what do you mean by Card1? That's what I was thinking regarding which one to keep, but I don't know if the money I'll lose selling the DSTwo rather than returning the DSTwo+ is worth the performance increase. Counting eventual 3DS support isn't really fair because I'll have a Sky3DS by then.

 

[Xinaman]

Downgrade: Impossible

Wrong.
https://gbatemp.net/threads/wip-memchunkhax-2.407006/page-24

 

[Xenon Hacks]

Wrong.
https://gbatemp.net/threads/wip-memchunkhax-2.407006/page-24

MichiS97,Saturday at 11:19 AM

 

[Deleted-236924]

3DS games on -any- 3DS flashcard save to a save chip directly on the flashcard, and when you close the game it copies the save file from the save chip back to the microSD card.
This applies to all Card1-type games, regardless of Gateway, DSTwo+, or Sky

Card2-type games save directly to the rom automatically.

Basically Card1-type games are games that have one chip for the actual game rom, and another chip for save data (eeprom/flash)
Card2-type games only have one nand chip, which contains both the rom and, at the end of the nand chip, there is a small area that is not write protected. Whenever you save, it saves directly to that last part, on the same chip as the rom.

If you were to dump a Card2-type game, it would dump the save file along with the game rom, the save file being appended to the end of the rom. When you save in a Card-2 type game on a flashcard, it will just modify the rom directly and instantly as you save in-game so there is very little risk of save files being lost if your 3DS crashed or something.
While with Card-1 type games, they save to a save chip on the flashcard and then the save data is copied to the microSD card. If you were to turn off your 3DS without properly exiting a game you may lose your progress since the last save, or if your 3DS crashed for whatever reason before you could exit the game.

With the GW and the DSTwo+ it is possible to convert Card1-type games to Card2-type games so that all your games save directly to the rom and makes it a lot safer, helps prevent save file loss. That's not possible on the Sky3DS though, so make sure whenever you are done playing a game, that you close it properly by returning to the home menu, and press a button on the Sky to switch to the next game so you know it'll have properly backed up the save file.

 

[YourHero]

The major downfall of Sky3DS is other regions. I got my GW to play Japanese games too. Can Sky? Yea if RegionThree or whatever still works. But that's so much hassle when I can just launch the game on my GW normally.