Hacking Been researching for a few days, still not sure..

[AlmostCrimes]

I recently bought a DS Lite, and came across a review for the G6. I thought it was cool to be able to store all the games on a flash card so you don't have to constantly carry and switch out games (which sorta ruins the portability of portable consoles).

Anyways, I want a reader that can play DS and GBA games primarily, with very high compatibility. I also want very good SNES and NES emulation. It needs WiFi support.

I think the M3 is the best for me. However, I think there's more than one version... M3 Simply, M3 Perfect?

There's also the issue of a compatible flash card, and then trying to find the cheapest price online...

I really didn't want to ask for help, but I just need some back up from someone who's experienced so I don't waste a lot of money on something that I'll be unhappy with.

Thanks

 

[AlmostCrimes]

Well I think I want to go with the M3, but trying to find the right thing for sale is the problem I'm having...

So far I've seen M3 Lite, M3 Lite Professional, M3 Lite Perfect, M3 Simply, M3 Perfect Simply, M3 Real, M3 Lite + R4 (why would you need both?) and most of these come with a flash card, when all I want is the reader (I intend on buying the Sandisk 2GB card from Amazon)

What the heck is the difference between all these and what do I need?

 

[ZeWarriorReturnz]

M3 Slot - 1's cannot play GBA games. Slot 2 can play GBA games. And there's no such thing as a Perfect Simply. It's just M3 DS Simply. M3 Lite = M3 Lite Perfect, M3 Lite Professional is a slot 2 than can only play DS games and is alot cheaper than the perfect but the perfect had RAM which if necessary for the Opera Browser. Also all Slot-2's except the Pro Series are the same.

 

[HipN]

I don't think SNES/NES emulation is perfect yet. I would go with an R4 or M3 Simply with a slot-2 cart for GBA games.

 

[Maikel Steneker]

Well I think I want to go with the M3, but trying to find the right thing for sale is the problem I'm having...

So far I've seen M3 Lite, M3 Lite Professional, M3 Lite Perfect, M3 Simply, M3 Perfect Simply, M3 Real, M3 Lite + R4 (why would you need both?) and most of these come with a flash card, when all I want is the reader (I intend on buying the Sandisk 2GB card from Amazon)

What the heck is the difference between all these and what do I need?

I'll explain the ones that you mention:

M3 Lite: Slot 2 (GBA slot) cartridge. Uses MicroSD. There are to versions: Pro and Perfect
M3 Lite Professional: M3 Lite version designed to be cheap. It lacks GBA-support but can play DS-games.
M3 Lite Perfect: M3 Lite version with RAM. Thanks to this it can run both DS- and GBA-games. It can be used as RAM-pak if you use a Slot1 card.
M3 Perfect Simply: hmm? doesn't exist. I think you mean the M3 Simply. This is a Slot 1 card. Uses MicroSD too. You can run DS games really easy (drag and drop) but there is no GBA support.
M3 Real: isn't confirmed. It should be a Slot 1 card with RAM or something...
R4: same as M3 Simply.

There are good NES-emulators for GBA, and good SNES-emulators for DS.


So: you need a Slot2-card, as you want GBA- and NES-games.
Now you have to choices:
- Buy a passcard to boot the Slot 2-card in DS-mode (for DS-games and SNES-emulators)
- Buy a M3 Simply or R4, and play DS games on it. It has great cheat support and can boot to slot 2 if you want. It can run a hacked browser.

Passcards are about 20 euros. If you search well you can find an R4 for 35 euros.

I would go for the R4 instead of the passcard. It isn't much more expansive, but much easier to use. I have the same combi: M3 Simply and M3 Lite Perfect.

Edit: with the M3 Simply / R4 you get a MicroSD-card reader. You don't get it with only a M3 Lite.

 

[4saken]

The M3 Real is meant to be identical to the G6 Real, except that it uses external memory. A 3in1 pack is currently being developed for the M3/G6 Real, and this may also be compatible with other slot1 cards (similar to how the ez expansion is being utilised)

 

[AlmostCrimes]

So maybe my best bet is something like the R4 for a slot 1 and the M3 Lite for a slot 2? I wanted to get just one reader to cut down on cost, but I also want as much support and functions as I can get..

Also the M3 Lite says it supports NDS-GBA linking which I assume is like what Pokemon uses, which I would like.

Is there a better way to get high NDS/GBA/Homebrew + older console emulation?

 

[xcalibur]

Yea, if you want to cut costs you could use a EZ Flash IV lite deluxe
it approx half the price of M3 lite and its got everything you need except a RTC
Pokemon only uses that though, and you can just patch it

rtc = real time clock (only applies to gba)

R4 has great homebrew support since the later firmwareupdates have added auto DLDI patching

 

[AlmostCrimes]

What do you mean by "you can just patch it"? How do you get around games like Pokemon not being able to use the RTC?

Also, I read that CycloDS Evolution is the only Slot 1 reader that support Download Play... but what exactly is Download Play?

 

[4saken]

Other cards support it, but they don't support as many titles (cycloDS is 100% at the moment, others are somewhere near 60%).

Patching an RTC based game allows you to set a permanent time.

 

[HBK]

Yes, CycloDS has 100% DP, followed by the DS-X, with around 80%.