Homebrew What exactly does hacking your 3DS allow you to do?

Nerozone · Feb 14, 2019

Hello! I've been a little out of the homebrewing scene for about 5 years now. Last time I was around, I bought a DSTWO which served its' purpose until recently, when it stopped working. Now I wanted to get a new flashcard and noticed there was a much more viable alternative: hacking the 3DS using this guide: https://3ds.hacks.guide/

I read My question is: is it basically the same as a flashcard in the sense that it'll allow me to play any roms? And if so, does it support both DS and 3DS roms or just one of them? I'm assuming that's the case, but I'm having a hard time finding an article/thread that says "yes, you can play any game".

Thank you in advance and sorry if this has been asked too many times already!

TirantRex · Feb 14, 2019

My advice is to go through with the guide, and just see what's out there. I recommend TWilightMenu++ as it essentially behaves like a DS flashcard, allowing you to load DS games from the SD card. Loading 3DS games is possible but it's a lot harder to get ahold of the roms. GodMode9, which is installed with the guide, lets you very easily rip DS games and 3DS games. I'm a new user so I can't post links yet... but do some searching!

EDIT: Ok actually ripping 3DS games to .cia is super easy with GodMode9... oops

KleinesSinchen · Feb 14, 2019

Installing CFW lets you do this:

Install 3DS games that come in CIA format (CTR Importable Archive) on the (micro)SD inside the console.
Dump games with GodMode9:
- Dump your 3DS cartridges to .3DS (for the CITRA emulator) and .CIA files.
- Dump your DS cartridges to .NDS files.
- Dump paid Eshop content to .CIA and .CXI files.
Use 3DS homebrew applications (including emulators).
Inject ROMs into the official Virtual Console emulators (including GBAFIRM - which is not an emulator but runs the GBA games native).
Backup saves with JKSM and/or Checkpoint -- this works also for games with anti-cheat/anti-save restore functions.
TWiLight Menu++ has been improved A LOT and has pretty good compatibility for playing DS-ROMs right from the micro(SD) inside the console without a flashcart. However, newer games with Anti-Piracy-"features" have to be patched before they will work on TWilight Menu ++.

Nerozone · Feb 14, 2019

KleinesSinchen said:
Installing CFW lets you do this:

Install 3DS games that come in CIA format (CTR Importable Archive) on the (micro)SD inside the console.

Dump games with GodMode9:

Dump your 3DS cartridges to .3DS (for the CITRA emulator) and .CIA files.

Dump your DS cartridges to .NDS files.

Dump paid Eshop content to .CIA and .CXI files.

Use 3DS homebrew applications (including emulators).

Inject ROMs into the official Virtual Console emulators (including GBAFIRM - which is not an emulator but runs the GBA games native).

Backup saves with JKSM and/or Checkpoint -- this works also for games with anti-cheat/anti-save restore functions.

TWiLight Menu++ has been improved A LOT and has pretty good compatibility for playing DS-ROMs right from the micro(SD) inside the console without a flashcart. However, newer games with Anti-Piracy-"features" have to be patched before they will work on TWilight Menu ++.

So it basically allows you to do everything a flashcard would and more, is that it? Meaning there's no reason to buy a flashcard if I can follow through with this method.

KleinesSinchen · Feb 14, 2019

Nerozone said:
So it basically allows you to do everything a flashcard would and more, is that it? Meaning there's no reason to buy a flashcard if I can follow through with this method.

Flashcarts for 3DS games are expensive and/or outdated and can do less than the free CFW.
Modern flashcarts for DS games are cheap and have some advantages. The best cart is the R4i Gold 3DS Plus.
- Easier to use than TWiLight Menu, just drag and drop. But honestly: TWiLight Menu is fantastic.
- Almost 100% compatibility with the DS library - commercial games as well as DS homebrew.
- No need to patch newer ROMs with AP-"features" - modern flashcarts do good without.
- Can be used to hack any 2/3DS system in seconds. (And can be used to repair the worst kind of 3DS software problems you can imagine.)
- Disadvantages: Moderate additional costs; Flashcarts drain the battery (even when only inserted but not in use).

I forgot some points... with CFW you can:

Manipulate saves.
Cheat in 3DS games ( NEVER CHEAT ONLINE - This will lead to a well-deserved ban).
(mostly new models only) Stream your gameplay to a computer.

Nutez · Feb 14, 2019

For me the best feature is CTR_Redshift so I can play comfortably in the dark. Then there is all the fun of customisation with: themes, badges, splashes, the home menu, the sleep screen and even the notification LED. And then of course: all of the excellent homebrew games, ports, romhacks and fan translations out there. Part of the fun is digging back into the forums here to find hidden gems... Halo Revamped, Aperture Science Lab, Kurok, Duke Nukem, Quake2, Doki Doki Literature Club, Return of the Hylian trilogy, Seiken Densetsu 3, Pokemon Prism, Advanced Wars mods, Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced unit reworks and so many other great indie puzzlers and platformers.

Homebrew What exactly does hacking your 3DS allow you to do?

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