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Hacking Best firmware?

[WIP/Release] ds_mangaman - Turning the Nintendo DS into the Ultimate Vertical Book-Style Manga Reader!

Hwongfish · 2026-06-09T00:33:11+00:00

Hi everyone! I’ve always felt that the Nintendo DS is criminally underrated when it comes to being a dedicated manga-reader. Think about it: it has two screens built right into the form factor, one of them has a precise (not quite most of the time though) touchscreen, and when you rotate the console 90 degrees counter-clockwise, it perfectly mimics the ergonomics of holding a real physical tankobon (manga volume). When held vertically, the D-pad sits perfectly on the bottom, and the shoulder keys (L/R) are in the ideal position for switching chapters. Plus, the touchscreen can be used to magnify for reading the text or inspecting details. Such interactions are the ultimate form factors that modern smartphones just can't match. To prove this, I built ds_mangaman — an open-source, highly optimized homebrew manga viewer for the NDS/NDSL. Download and learn how to build in Github release: :teach::teach::teach: GitHub Repository: https://github.com/hwfish-error408/ds-mangaman :grog::grog::grog: Looking for Contributors! The compiler engine and core state machine are now fully functional and running smoothly on real hardware and emulators (like melonDS). However, I want to take this project further and could really use the community's help! I’m looking for developers, testers, and retro-enthusiasts to help with: A, Implementing a cleaner UI/Main Menu. B, Adding Bookmark support (saving states to SRAM/FAT .sav). C, Further optimizing the DMA memory copy speeds during page and chapter transitions. Feel free to download the source, check out the build pipeline, test it on your flashcarts, and open Issues or Pull Requests on the GitHub repo! Let's make the NDS the ultimate retro manga machine.

Thread starter Orel
Start date Jul 10, 2010
Views 1,539
Replies 7

Orel

Well-Known Member

Newcomer

Level 1

Jul 10, 2010

Hi, my friend is planning on an AK2 soon and I would like to know what was the best firmware at the moment, I know there are AKAIO and the official etc.. so.. which?

Depravo

KALSARIKÄNNIT

Former Staff

Level 14

Jul 10, 2010

AKAIO. That is all.

CamulaHikari

Kami Kurai

Member

Level 4

Jul 10, 2010

Depravo said:
AKAIO. That is all.

^THIS, but make sure your friend has the latest version of AKAIO~!

Infinite Zero

Almost!

Member

Level 2

Jul 10, 2010

AKAIO 1.7?
There is really nothing else

RupeeClock

Colors 3D Snivy!

Member

Level 13

Jul 10, 2010

AKAIO, no question.
If AKAIO didn't exist, I don't think anybody would even buy the Acekard, the official firmware is nothing great.

The Pi

Lurker

Member

Level 4

Jul 10, 2010

Use akaio
If akaio didn't exist more people would be using dsone's

tk_saturn

Well-Known Member

Member

Level 1

Jul 10, 2010

There is no reason at all to use official, it hasn't been updated in a long time. Everyone uses AKAIO for a reason...

Bri

Well-Known Member

Member

Level 2

Jul 10, 2010

Infinite Zero said:
AKAIO 1.7?
There is really nothing else

At one time there were at least 6 menu systems that could run on the AK2.

However, most of them are now outdated and AKAIO is by far the best (which might be what you meant).

-Bri