Hacking About Super Mario Advance 4's release

[VinsCool]

https://mega.nz/#!JYMEFA5Y!pll1ILT7oHTv5uJCSddoa4Yl0R3P2GWRRzWtkdlYhVQ
this is the link to the .ips and .xdelta files (whichever you prefer), needs to be applied to the ROM

Super Mario Advance 4 - Super Mario Bros. 3 (Europe) (En,Fr,De,Es,It) (Rev 1)
CRC-32: 8d84acfc
MD4: 32ae0e4fbd649bf1cf118507b4eea77c
MD5: ae8af6b539d509019bdd06565c10804a
SHA-1: 2e5ce11a893464dc0cce0a6b451580ba35a7e5de

Thanks a bunch man! It's really appreciated.

 

[marc_max]

https://mega.nz/#!JYMEFA5Y!pll1ILT7oHTv5uJCSddoa4Yl0R3P2GWRRzWtkdlYhVQ
this is the link to the .ips and .xdelta files (whichever you prefer), needs to be applied to the ROM

Super Mario Advance 4 - Super Mario Bros. 3 (Europe) (En,Fr,De,Es,It) (Rev 1)
CRC-32: 8d84acfc
MD4: 32ae0e4fbd649bf1cf118507b4eea77c
MD5: ae8af6b539d509019bdd06565c10804a
SHA-1: 2e5ce11a893464dc0cce0a6b451580ba35a7e5de

EDIT: I do hope I did not underdump the ROM. I assumed the ROM would still be 8Mb in size. I gave the game a quick test on VBA and the normal game and additional levels worked just fine.

My guess is the EU ROM had enough space left without having to be increased to 16Mb (the US release was increased from 4Mb to 8Mb for the VC release to hold the additional levels.

Thank you! :-D

 

[Hiccup]

https://mega.nz/#!JYMEFA5Y!pll1ILT7oHTv5uJCSddoa4Yl0R3P2GWRRzWtkdlYhVQ
this is the link to the .ips and .xdelta files (whichever you prefer), needs to be applied to the ROM

Super Mario Advance 4 - Super Mario Bros. 3 (Europe) (En,Fr,De,Es,It) (Rev 1)
CRC-32: 8d84acfc
MD4: 32ae0e4fbd649bf1cf118507b4eea77c
MD5: ae8af6b539d509019bdd06565c10804a
SHA-1: 2e5ce11a893464dc0cce0a6b451580ba35a7e5de

EDIT: I do hope I did not underdump the ROM. I assumed the ROM would still be 8Mb in size. I gave the game a quick test on VBA and the normal game and additional levels worked just fine.

My guess is the EU ROM had enough space left without having to be increased to 16Mb (the US release was increased from 4Mb to 8Mb for the VC release to hold the additional levels.

could you post the hashes for the patched ROM, just to make sure?

 

[Localhorst86]

patched hashes:

CRC-32: d4f45b01
MD4: 10406a1dc607ad06858419ab1033a5e8
MD5: 733e976fd06d65e9f5635b836a14a81b
SHA-1: 00667ce3da4bfee3182c4445ac2f5483870be97c

 

[Knight of Time]

Okay, is there anyone here with an actual Super Mario Advance 4 GBA cartridge and some way of transferring a save off of a computer related medium (e.g. an SD card) who attempted to copy a save file from the VC version of the game to the cartridge? I tried that a few days ago and I thought I was successful when I noticed that the e-Reader data file had all 38 levels, but when I went to world e, all the levels were renamed AAAAAAAAAAAA or something like that, and were seemingly corrupted. Despite the fact that it is possible to put e-Reader levels onto a Super Mario Advance 4 save on the computer and transfer that modified save to the cartridge, I'm guessing that there is no way to get all 38 e-Reader levels successfully on a single cartridge of the game even with one of the pieces of equipment that allows save files to be transferred to the cartridges (for the record, I used my DSTwo flashcard and the GBA_Backup program for the experiment)?

 

[CheatFreak47]

Okay, is there anyone here with an actual Super Mario Advance 4 GBA cartridge and some way of transferring a save off of a computer related medium (e.g. an SD card) who attempted to copy a save file from the VC version of the game to the cartridge? I tried that a few days ago and I thought I was successful when I noticed that the e-Reader data file had all 38 levels, but when I went to world e, all the levels were renamed AAAAAAAAAAAA or something like that, and were seemingly corrupted. Despite the fact that it is possible to put e-Reader levels onto a Super Mario Advance 4 save on the computer and transfer that modified save to the cartridge, I'm guessing that there is no way to get all 38 e-Reader levels successfully on a single cartridge of the game even with one of the pieces of equipment that allows save files to be transferred to the cartridges (for the record, I used my DSTwo flashcard and the GBA_Backup program for the experiment)?

Well, it is possible to run the VC version on real hardware though with a Flashcard. Technically that'd be "on one cartridge" but no, there's not an easy way to just make it work.

In theory, it's also possible for someone to make a repro cart with the rom on it as well, but I don't think I've seen that yet.

What you tried to do is just silly, we already knew the game didn't store level data on the save anymore in the VC, it's all stored in the rom now- which is why the rom is double the size of the original retail release.

 

[Sonic Angel Knight]

Okay, is there anyone here with an actual Super Mario Advance 4 GBA cartridge and some way of transferring a save off of a computer related medium (e.g. an SD card) who attempted to copy a save file from the VC version of the game to the cartridge? I tried that a few days ago and I thought I was successful when I noticed that the e-Reader data file had all 38 levels, but when I went to world e, all the levels were renamed AAAAAAAAAAAA or something like that, and were seemingly corrupted. Despite the fact that it is possible to put e-Reader levels onto a Super Mario Advance 4 save on the computer and transfer that modified save to the cartridge, I'm guessing that there is no way to get all 38 e-Reader levels successfully on a single cartridge of the game even with one of the pieces of equipment that allows save files to be transferred to the cartridges (for the record, I used my DSTwo flashcard and the GBA_Backup program for the experiment)?

Well can't NDS homebrew on DSlite transfer save data? Also, there is a problem with that. The VC game has the levels injected into the rom itself, weather or not the save data acts different to compensate is a matter of finding it out. Original Rom is 4MB the VC rom is 8MB and has the data for the levels in the larger file size. Unless you use a flashcart to play the game, save data injection on legit game roms is probably not possible. Also i think there was added new levels that was planned but not released so it also could be a additional problem.

 

[Litle_Bird]

Well can't NDS homebrew on DSlite transfer save data? Also, there is a problem with that. The VC game has the levels injected into the rom itself, weather or not the save data acts different to compensate is a matter of finding it out. Original Rom is 4MB the VC rom is 8MB and has the data for the levels in the larger file size. Unless you use a flashcart to play the game, save data injection on legit game roms is probably not possible. Also i think there was added new levels that was planned but not released so it also could be a additional problem.

I Might have understood it wrong, but the case discoused is Writing a save to an original cartridge? If so then it's possible to use Fix94s GBA-Cable-Link dumper which is a Wii Homebrew, which requires a GBA, Aswell as an GBA-GC-Cable. With that homebrew it's fully possible to backup and write new saves to the Cartridge.

Spoiler: GBA-link-Cable dumper

https://github.com/FIX94/gba-link-cable-dumper/releases

 

[Knight of Time]

Yeah, it is about writing a save to an original cartridge. Like I mentioned earlier today, I used my DSTwo and the GBA_Backup program, unfortunately, it doesn't work on a 3DS or 2DS due to the lack of a GBA cartridge slot on both of those consoles (the DSTwo is compatible with a 3DS though; I dunno if it works with a 2DS due to the fact I don't have one, but I suppose it is possible to use a DSTwo on a 2DS).

But nonetheless, thanks for the input guys. I guess I'll have to put the overwritten save file back onto my Super Mario Advance 4 cartridge (luckily, I do have a spare of it on the computer with 32 e-Reader levels on it). If anyone's wondering, prior to the VC release of Super Mario Advance 4 there was a program created that allowed you to inject e-Reader levels into a Super Mario Advance 4 save if you were playing the game on an emulator on the computer, and it was that modified save I was able to get on the cartridge a while ago.

 

[SAIYAN48]

I dumped my cartridge and save.

 

[Sonic Angel Knight]

I dumped my cartridge and save.

Hello, yeah hi! Saitama says "OKAY!"

Spoiler: soooo.......

 

[SAIYAN48]

I also hacked in more e-Coins. Nothing happens when 24 are collected and the castle is filled.

 

[lordelan]

https://mega.nz/#!JYMEFA5Y!pll1ILT7oHTv5uJCSddoa4Yl0R3P2GWRRzWtkdlYhVQ
this is the link to the .ips and .xdelta files (whichever you prefer), needs to be applied to the ROM

Super Mario Advance 4 - Super Mario Bros. 3 (Europe) (En,Fr,De,Es,It) (Rev 1)
CRC-32: 8d84acfc
MD4: 32ae0e4fbd649bf1cf118507b4eea77c
MD5: ae8af6b539d509019bdd06565c10804a
SHA-1: 2e5ce11a893464dc0cce0a6b451580ba35a7e5de

EDIT: I do hope I did not underdump the ROM. I assumed the ROM would still be 8Mb in size. I gave the game a quick test on VBA and the normal game and additional levels worked just fine.

My guess is the EU ROM had enough space left without having to be increased to 16Mb (the US release was increased from 4Mb to 8Mb for the VC release to hold the additional levels.

EDIT: here are the hashes for the patched ROM/VC Release:

CRC-32: d4f45b01
MD4: 10406a1dc607ad06858419ab1033a5e8
MD5: 733e976fd06d65e9f5635b836a14a81b
SHA-1: 00667ce3da4bfee3182c4445ac2f5483870be97c

Thank you so much, sir!
I've got it working and using it on RetroArch (Wii U) right now.
Although I have Super Mario Maker it's really fun to see how Ninty did those levels from older games for SMB3.

 

[ThisIsJohn]

Yeah, it is about writing a save to an original cartridge. Like I mentioned earlier today, I used my DSTwo and the GBA_Backup program, unfortunately, it doesn't work on a 3DS or 2DS due to the lack of a GBA cartridge slot on both of those consoles (the DSTwo is compatible with a 3DS though; I dunno if it works with a 2DS due to the fact I don't have one, but I suppose it is possible to use a DSTwo on a 2DS).

But nonetheless, thanks for the input guys. I guess I'll have to put the overwritten save file back onto my Super Mario Advance 4 cartridge (luckily, I do have a spare of it on the computer with 32 e-Reader levels on it). If anyone's wondering, prior to the VC release of Super Mario Advance 4 there was a program created that allowed you to inject e-Reader levels into a Super Mario Advance 4 save if you were playing the game on an emulator on the computer, and it was that modified save I was able to get on the cartridge a while ago.

Do you have a link to that program? And were there any issues when you put the save with e-Reader levels onto the cart (like the "AAAAAAAAA" names), or did everything work fine?

 

[Knight of Time]

The program I used is right here.

Yeah, when I put the save with all the e-Reader levels onto my Super Mario Advance 4 cartridge, the levels did all have the "AAAAAAAAA" name, and they were unplayable. Luckily, I had another save file of the game with most of the e-Reader levels (32 of them to be exact) that I was able to get onto the cartridge...it's a shame my experiment didn't work, but oh well.

 

[ThisIsJohn]

The program I used is right here.

Yeah, when I put the save with all the e-Reader levels onto my Super Mario Advance 4 cartridge, the levels did all have the "AAAAAAAAA" name, and they were unplayable. Luckily, I had another save file of the game with most of the e-Reader levels (32 of them to be exact) that I was able to get onto the cartridge...it's a shame my experiment didn't work, but oh well.

I meant how did you get that original save with the 32 levels? I know how to get the save file to a cartridge, but I want to know how you got those levels in the first place? Did you actually use the e-Reader in person or did you use some program/injector?

 

[Knight of Time]

I meant how did you get that original save with the 32 levels? I know how to get the save file to a cartridge, but I want to know how you got those levels in the first place? Did you actually use the e-Reader in person or did you use some program/injector?

While I do have an e-Reader, I didn't have a way to scan in all those levels with it (one method I was tempted to try was one where you had to print the level data onto a specific type of paper and use those with the e-Reader; it was on this website that is gone now). But instead, I found another method that did work for me; I used this injector for injecting whatever levels were desired into a Super Mario Advance 4 rom's save file, and I successfully got those 32 levels into the rom's save file, then I used my DSTwo and my Nintendo DS Lite (with Super Mario Advance 4 in the GBA slot) to put that edited save onto the cartridge.

If you have a DSTwo, a DS (one with a GBA slot), and a copy of Super Mario Advance 4, you can do what I did. However, finding the files is a bit more difficult now (but you can go here, and you can go here to download the injection program and the e-Reader levels, respectively).

If you're stuck, here's one more link that may help.

 

[ShadowOne333]

But why would you want to go for the old SAV file method while you have a full ROM with the complete 38 levels already unlocked from the get go without the hassle of the SAV file?

 

[Knight of Time]

But why would you want to go for the old SAV file method while you have a full ROM with the complete 38 levels already unlocked from the get go without the hassle of the SAV file?

While it is awesome that there is a rom of Super Mario Advance 4 with all 38 e-Reader levels, 32 is the most levels that can be put onto an actual Super Mario Advance 4 cartridge. Besides, if you looked at the previous posts on this page, they explain the reason why I wasn't successful in getting all 38 levels onto the cartridge (the original rom's size is 4 MB, and the size of the VC rom is 8 MB). Since I wanted as many of the e-Reader levels as possible on my Super Mario Advance 4 cartridge, I was content with having 32 of them (which was all of them except for the remakes of levels from Super Mario Bros.).

Just for the record, I did that save file injection a few years ago, before I purchased and received my DSTwo.

 

[ThisIsJohn]

While I do have an e-Reader, I didn't have a way to scan in all those levels with it (one method I was tempted to try was one where you had to print the level data onto a specific type of paper and use those with the e-Reader; it was on this website that is gone now). But instead, I found another method that did work for me; I used this injector for injecting whatever levels were desired into a Super Mario Advance 4 rom's save file, and I successfully got those 32 levels into the rom's save file, then I used my DSTwo and my Nintendo DS Lite (with Super Mario Advance 4 in the GBA slot) to put that edited save onto the cartridge.

If you have a DSTwo, a DS (one with a GBA slot), and a copy of Super Mario Advance 4, you can do what I did. However, finding the files is a bit more difficult now (but you can go here, and you can go here to download the injection program and the e-Reader levels, respectively).

If you're stuck, here's one more link that may help.

Awesome, I'll try it out. Thanks!

But why would you want to go for the old SAV file method while you have a full ROM with the complete 38 levels already unlocked from the get go without the hassle of the SAV file?

I have SMA4 with all 38 Levels on my Wii U; I'd just like to play those levels (or as many as them as possible) with an original cart on an actual GBA now and then.