Review cover DSTWO+ (Hardware)
Official GBAtemp Review

Product Information:

Review Approach:

Huge SuperCard fan.
Have you ever wondered what it would look like if the Supercard DSTWO and GW had a baby? Well as long as the DSTWO is the pedigree, the DSTWO+ is exactly what the baby cart would look like.

The DSTWO+ is SuperCard’s new 3DS compatible cart. While other carts are locked into the 3DS realm of gaming only, the DSTWO+ promises to allow you to launch 3DS roms as well as enjoy everything you loved about the original DSTWO, all in one cart!  

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Packaging

Basically non-existant. The cart came in a USPS envelope just like the pictures below, straight from 3DSGamerworld.com.  

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Presentation

The cart itself looks good, with a shiny sticker and gray plastic like the old DStwo. The components are visible through the front of the cart, making it look a little bit lumpy. If you had a DSTWO for you DS, GBAtemp edition or otherwise, you are familiar with what I am pointing out. Curiously, there is no screw holding the cart together, just simple interlocking nubs placed around the cart. I was able to almost pry the whole cart apart with just my fingernail. One corner was especially stubborn, so I gave up trying after a while. The Micro SD slot is spring loaded, take that however you want. I have had my fair share of both spring loaded and not spring loaded slots, and prefer the non. On three occasions of reviewing this product, my microSD cart has jammed up under the inside edge of the cart, immediately after inserting it. This double depresses the spring, basically putting the cart into catapult mode. Upon trying to remove the SD card, I am no longer able to remove the card using the push and pop method assisted by the spring. Only when I gently squeeze the cart together does the slot eject the cart across the room.

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Those little components you can see through the sticker haven’t really moved location since the old DS days. Compared to the DSTWO, the Plus has 2 times the processing power, 4 times the flash, and 32 MB of ram. The Plus will also support 3DS revisions through upgradeable firmware.

 

Set-up

Setting up the DSTWO+ is simple enough, even without instructions included. Head on over to the Supercard Downloads page and grab the two downloads at the page. In the root of your DSTWO+’s Micro SD card, drag over the _dstwoplug folder containing the 3 GW_SIMULATOR files.

All the GW_SIMULATOR plug_in does is install the DS profile exploit. I did not know this until I searched around the internet. Again, an instructional page or setup sheet would have been a great addition to any sort of packaging.

To install the DS profile exploit, simply set up as above and launch you 3DS into the DSTWO plug-in menu. Select the GW_SIMULATOR plug_in and follow the on-screen prompts. ***NOTE: The installer expects and requires your 3DS to sysNAND to be within the hackable range: 4.2 to 4.5*** After you install the exploit, you can boot your 3DS into emuNAND at any time using the same steps you would with a GW card: In sysNAND, select the settings menu. Open up Profile settings and select DS Profile. Your 3DS should freak out, show the GW logo and load up emuNAND. Pressing “Select” will bring up the 3DS multi-rom menu.

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The DSTWO setup is just as easy. Open the other folder you downloaded and drop the remaining folder (“_dstwo”) into the root of you DSTWO+. You should now be able to boot your 3DS and find you familiar “Alex Rider Stormbreaker” cart and run your plug-ins like the good old days. Any other plug-ins you wish to add, dump the 3 plug-in files into the _dstwoplug folder and run them like regular.

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Software

3DS GW Simulator Plug-in (The “+” part of this review)

 

Compatibility

Devil Survivor 2: Break Record - PASS

Devil Survivor: Overclocked - PASS

Animal Crossing: New Leaf - PASS

Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry’s Wonderland - PASS

Kid Icarus Uprising - PASS

Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D - PASS

Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time 3D - PASS
 

Everything else: DS plug-ins (The “DSTWO” part of this review)

All the rest of the DSTWO’s abilities are here in tact, if you would rather have one or both of the extra features. One, all of your DS needs are also taken care of by this cart. This eliminates the need for a second flashcart, like using your old DSTWO, R4s, or anything else that still works on a 3DS. Secondly, this is essentially a hackless GBA, SNES, and any other DSTWO compatible plugin solution that you would want to use. That’s right, any old emulator or homebrew that you used to use on your old DSTWO can be used here in DS mode.

 

Right now, the CATSFC and TempGBA do not seem to be much faster, if at all, even with the new hardware. Only time and developement will tell if the new hardware makes the emulators a viable alternative to the CFW versions. The biggest bummer about all of this is not being able to use the whole top screen of the 3DS. Your games are letterboxed because you are still emulating in DS mode. I can say that the DS game launcher, cheat windows, and in game DSTWO menus feel a bit snappier thanks to the extra hardware. I have not had a chance to thoroughly test many games, but I would assume this would lead to less game freezing while activation cheats or modifying a save state.

 

Here’s a fun little bonus for you. If you have a DS phat, lite, i, or iXL, you can use your DSTWO+ just like you would use any other DS flashcart. You obviously can’t launch 3DS roms on a DS. Be warned, I did have a little trouble getting the cart back out of the DS lite. The extra on board hardware made the 4in1 just a little too snug and required a little bit of prying to get back out again.

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Compatibility - Because the two emulators being touted here are these two, I will only be doing a quick PASS/FAIL test with these emulators. Other emulators, jEnesis, LameBoy, NesDS, all work and passed everything I threw at them. If anyone wants a specific rom tested for any DSTWO+ emulator, let me know.

TempGBA

Golden Sun - PASS

Golden Sun: The Lost Age - PASS

Metroid Fusion - PASS

Metroid Zero Mission - PASS

Megaman Zero 3 - FAIL while technically playable, MMZ 3 suffers from a lot of graphical and audio glitches

Pokemon Pinball - FAIL whitescreen after BIOS, known issue, I think the Japanese version works

Pokemon Leaf Green - PASS

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon - PASS

Sonic Advance - PASS

Sonic Advance 2 - PASS

Sonic Advance 3 - PASS

Dragon Quest Monsters 3: Caravan Heart - PASS

Final Fantasy 1 & 2 Advance - PASS

Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap - PASS

Pokemon Emerald - PASS

Super Mario Advance 3: Super Mario World - PASS

 

CATSFC

CastleVania Dracula X - PASS

Donkey Kong Country - PASS

Donkey Kong Country 2 - PASS

Donkey Kong Country 3 - PASS

Earthbound - PASS

F-Zero - PASS

Chrono Trigger - PASS

Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past - PASS

Mega Man X - PASS but start to drop frames as more objects appear on screen

Ogre Battle - PASS

Star Fox - PASS technically. Chugs like crazy, even in training mode

Super Mario RPG - FAIL? it works but very chuggyl

Super Mario All Stars + World - PASS

Yoshi’s Island - FAIL works, but basically unplayable

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The DSTWO+ is exactly what it says it is. Its not the next big 3DS flashcart, and doesn’t come with tons of new 3DS features. It simply opens the door to playing all of your favorites from the DS era as well as being able to launch 3DS games, all from one cart.


However, I do feel like the DSTWO+ is a little too late to be effective in the late 2015 3DS flashcart arena. Most users have a decent grasp on the budding 3DS scene and coders are getting better too. Custom Firmware is the biggest enemy of a cart like the DSTWO+. Emulators available for the DSTWO run in DS mode, and even right now with the advanced hardware, still only run fractionally better than they did on the DSTWO. CATSFC and TempGBA will need developers to work with the new hardware for the emulators to be viable against their CFW 3DS versions. However, if you are like me and don’t really want to put all the time and effort into installing CFW, this cart is a great all in one solution. No need to switch carts to install the DS exploit, play DS games, emulators, and 3DS game. I suggest this cart to anyone who wants a solid all in one, set it and forget it kind of experience.

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Verdict

What We Liked ...
  • Does everthing a Gateway can as well as everything you loved about the DSTWO
  • GW plug-in supports Multirom, downgrading, game dumping and anything else the GW menu does.
  • Everything from the DSTWO works. DS games, skins, cheats, and old plug-ins.
  • DS based emulators now have more powerful hardware
  • All in one, no need to switch carts to re-install the DS profile or play DS games
What We Didn't Like ...
  • Fair cart construction, bendy plastic causes MicroSD card issues
  • Piggybacks on GW official software so the DSTWO+ is routinely behind in emuNAND support
  • Emulators will need developed to take advantage of the new hardware
8
out of 10

Overall

At the end of the day the DSTWO+ is simply a slightly more powerful DSTWO with Gateway capabilities. Do I recommend you buy one? Possibly, if you meet a few criteria. The first is if you don’t already own a 3DS capable flashcart, like a Gateway or a Sky3DS. The DSTWO+ can take the place of either of those if you are willing to pay the price. The second is if you are in that category of gamers who are looking for an all in one cart, or “emulating” DS games on a 3DS. The DSTWO+ is the answer to what you are are looking for, a cart that can play 3DS and DS games without needed a second cart for either.
Very nice review. Hit pretty much every nail on the head with this one. The real selling point is the simplicity of it all. This is more for people who just want plug-n-play than people who like messing with CFW (I'm the latter, but I understand the former).
 
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Now if they had chosen to emulate the SKY3DS rather than the Gateway, that would have been really interesting.
I wonder if that is even possible? That would really be something if the SuperCard team came up with Sky3DS plug-in. I dont know if that's even physical possible though.
 
I wonder if that is even possible? That would really be something if the SuperCard team came up with Sky3DS plug-in. I dont know if that's even physical possible though.
QQ3DS was a SKY3DS clone that also included a separate DS cart for DS games, I don't know if it would be possible for Supercard to put some kind of a switch on their cart to go from DS to 3DS mode :P I mean if it can spoof a 3DS game cartridge, then i suppose it could spoof the DSTWO cartridge as well.
 
Does the battery still run at full power even when the 3DS is in sleep mode? That's something the original DSTWO did, so you could not, for instance, leave the DSTWO in the card slot and play the 3DS the following day without charging it.
 
That's what I thought, but what did Bortz mean by the following statement?
Hm I didn't catch that. I think that might be a mistake, but I can't be sure. If it emulates the Gateway you'd think it can work the same way up to 9.2 (and also it should be possible to downgrade the mset).

Edit: Some time soon(ish) I should get my own copy to do a video review and I'll look into it further.
 
Hm I didn't catch that. I think that might be a mistake, but I can't be sure. If it emulates the Gateway you'd think it can work the same way up to 9.2 (and also it should be possible to downgrade the mset).

Edit: Some time soon(ish) I should get my own copy to do a video review and I'll look into it further.
I run it on my New 3DS on 9.0 with 9.5 emuNAND, and an O3DS on 4.2.
 
Hm I didn't catch that. I think that might be a mistake, but I can't be sure. If it emulates the Gateway you'd think it can work the same way up to 9.2 (and also it should be possible to downgrade the mset).

Edit: Some time soon(ish) I should get my own copy to do a video review and I'll look into it further.
The 4.x part is in regards to the DS profile exploit installer. If you want to install the DS exploit, you must be on an old hackable firmware. You can still use the browser exploit on 9.2.

I would suggest this cart, even if it is a little behind in emuNAND firmware. You can do everything a DSTWO and a GW can.
 
The 4.x part is in regards to the DS profile exploit installer. If you want to install the DS exploit, you must be on an old hackable firmware. You can still use the browser exploit on 9.2.

I would suggest this cart, even if it is a little behind in emuNAND firmware. You can do everything a DSTWO and a GW can.
Without getting screwed by Gateway?
 
Dont bother with this cart it WILL brick your 3ds. It bricked my sons 3ds XL and yes i can send proof. Buy a Gateway and be done with it.
 
The 4.x part is in regards to the DS profile exploit installer. If you want to install the DS exploit, you must be on an old hackable firmware. You can still use the browser exploit on 9.2.

I would suggest this cart, even if it is a little behind in emuNAND firmware. You can do everything a DSTWO and a GW can.
I have a N3DS on 9.0 and was able to install the profile exploit.
 
Oh, I guess I tried while I was on sysNAND 9.2. I honestly dont know anything about MSET stuff. I downgraded using the GW downgrade too (with an actual GW, mind you) and installed the DS exploit from there.
 
Did you downgrade the MSET?
Yeah, I suppose I did some time ago when I originally set up the N3DS. I forgot about that.
Oh, I guess I tried while I was on sysNAND 9.2. I honestly dont know anything about MSET stuff. I downgraded using the GW downgrade too (with an actual GW, mind you) and installed the DS exploit from there.
To use SCDS2+ with MSET, run the plugin from the DS side. It looks like it may have a special ROP chain.
 
Yeah, I suppose I did some time ago when I originally set up the N3DS. I forgot about that.

To use SCDS2+ with MSET, run the plugin from the DS side. It looks like it may have a special ROP chain.
You would think that as a staff member of a modding site I would know what more than 50% of what you said means, but I dont. :bortz2: Hence why uh... this is the perfect cart for those who know dick about 3DS hacking haha.
 
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You would think that as a staff member of a modding site I would know what more than 50% of what you said means, but I dont. :bortz2: Hence why uh... this is the perfect cart for those who know dick about 3DS hacking haha.
LOL
OK lamens terms. Supercard uses a modified version of Gateway's profile exploit. Run the plugin from Supercards DS side to install it.

Side note: I am not sure if it requires MSET to be downgraded in order to be able to install SCDS2+'s ROP chain.
 
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LOL
OK lamens terms. Supercard uses a modified version of Gateway's profile exploit. Run the plugin from Supercards DS side to install it.

Side note: I am not sure if it requires MSET to be downgraded in order to be able to install SCDS2+'s ROP chain.
Interesting. So they did modify something. I guess I was under the impression that it just ran the plug-in at the convenience of the user in DS mode like normal.
 
It's really a guess as I ran into the same problem with DS profile not working. When I ran the plugin, it installed similar to Gateway's profile exploit installer. I then decided to try the profile exploit and BINGO! Another nice note is you do not have to reinstall the exploit when you run the DS side of the SCDS2+.
 
Does the battery still run at full power even when the 3DS is in sleep mode? That's something the original DSTWO did, so you could not, for instance, leave the DSTWO in the card slot and play the 3DS the following day without charging it.
Still waiting for confirmation on this
 
Still waiting for confirmation on this
You will have to do some waiting before we find out. I know my Gateway/3DSLL drains the battery in just about 20 hours in standby mode. I dont know how to test my O3DS the same way because I have an extended battery... Which lasts like a week in standby mode. I am not sure where my O3DS battery is... I might have to do some digging.
 
Does the battery still run at full power even when the 3DS is in sleep mode? That's something the original DSTWO did, so you could not, for instance, leave the DSTWO in the card slot and play the 3DS the following day without charging it.
I don't think I've ever heard of this. I have an original DSTWO, which I use in my DSi XL. Does it drain the battery in any system or just in 3DS's? And why?
 
I honestly dont remember my DSTWO draining the battery of DSlite all that badly, but then again, I shut my DS completely off when I was done with it.
 
Nice review @Bortz ! I'm still waiting for my DSTWO+ tester card from 3dscarduk for my review!. They say they have sent it but that was now over 4 weeks ago so I presume its just a fob off job now! Stinks really, they should not promise in many emails what they cannot do as far as I am concerned guys, if your going to buy one of these do not purchase from 3dscarduk :angry:
 
Still waiting for confirmation on this
From the SuperCard forums:

The cpu is always active because the 3ds is always scanning the title inserted.
because of ds2's antipiracy and cart emulation it will always consume battery power even in sleep mode.
You should turn it off or take the cart out (imo).
ofcourse you would miss out on streetpass but there are solutions like homepass (using a router) and even using homebrew to get 100 coins in a day instead of 10 :)
 
it's clone gateway ... it's like pirate of a pirate thing? hahah
well is very interesting actually :v
 
J
No, you cannot select/play ROMs from the menu anymore or any of the new options. It is pretty useless like this
 
What an informative message lol:

Scam


THIS SOFTWARE MUST NOT BE USED WITH ANY UNOFFICIAL HARDWARE . IF YOU RECEIVED THIS MESSAGE BECAUSE YOU USED A NON-GATEWAY PRODUCT YOU HAVE BEEN SCAMMED AND SHOULD DEMAND YOUR MONEY BACK IMMEDIATELY.
 
How much does a DStwo+ go for?

My OG DStwo in my DSi XL is getting increasingly finicky, and I would really hate to see it bite the digital dust without a way to replace it.
 
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