ROM Hack Can I play Japanese 3DS cartridges with English patches on a 3DS? Or patched DS cartridges?

[DragonQuesting]

I'm having trouble finding answers to these questions:

-Can I modify Japanese 3DS game cartridges with English patches, directly to the cartridge?

-Can I play the English-patched Japanese 3DS cartridges on a 3DS (either a US or Japanese system)?

-Similarly, are the above possible for original DS games?

Basically, I'm trying to create as authentic of an experience as possible, with English-translated games.

Specifically, I'm interested in playing through the following games on original hardware:
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 3 (3DS)
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 3 Professional (3DS)
Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry no Wonderland 3D (3DS)
Dragon Quest Monsters 2: Iru and Ruka (3DS)
Slime MoriMori 3 (3DS)
Theatrhythm Dragon Quest (3DS)

Itadaki Street DS (DS)
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 Professional (DS)

 

[retrofan_k]

I'm having trouble finding the answer to these questions:

-Can I modify Japanese 3DS game cartridges with English patches, directly to the cartridge?
-Can I play the English-patched Japanese 3DS cartridges on a 3DS (either a US or Japanese system)?
-Similarly, are the above possible for original DS games?

)

1) No, carts use ROM chips (Read only Memory)

2) On a B9S (Boot9Strap) modded console using Luma cfw patches for example, it will make the console region free (No such thing as user defined language patched cartridges). You'll have the option of using any region original cartridge, however, there is also LayeredFS, which allows modded games files to be used, so translation patches can be used then.

 

[DragonQuesting]

1) No, carts use ROM chips (Read only Memory)

2) On a B9S (Boot9Strap) modded console using Luma cfw patches for example, it will make the console region free (No such thing as user defined language patched cartridges). You'll have the option of using any region original cartridge, however, there is also LayeredFS, which allows modded games files to be used, so translation patches can be used then.

Thanks for your reponse!

1) I'm a little confused by this. 3DS and DS cartridges are able to hold save files though? That gets saved directly onto the cartridge? Can I only edit save files and not entire game programs?

2) So what would get me closest to the most authentic experience for playing these Japanese games? So, for example, if I owned the cartridge for Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry no Wonderland 3D (3DS) and wanted to put that into a 3DS and play an English-patched version? What's the best route to take there?

 

[retrofan_k]

Thanks for your reponse!

1) I'm a little confused by this. 3DS and DS cartridges are able to hold save files though? That gets saved directly onto the cartridge? Can I only edit save files and not entire game programs?

2) So what would get me closest to the most authentic experience for playing these Japanese games? So, for example, if I owned the cartridge for Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry no Wonderland 3D (3DS) and wanted to put that into a 3DS and play an English-patched version? What's the best route to take there?

1) Yes they do but you cannot modify anything directly on the cartridge because it's read only. You will have to dump the cart and it's saves using tools on a modded system, if you want to modify anything.

2) Again, if you want to play modified games/patched language translations, you need an exploited console running CFW to allow this using LayeredFS mods using the game(s) files and not the Cartridge.

 

[OrGoN3]

I'm having trouble finding answers to these questions:

-Can I modify Japanese 3DS game cartridges with English patches, directly to the cartridge?

-Can I play the English-patched Japanese 3DS cartridges on a 3DS (either a US or Japanese system)?

-Similarly, are the above possible for original DS games?

Basically, I'm trying to create as authentic of an experience as possible, with English-translated games.

Specifically, I'm interested in playing through the following games on original hardware:
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 3 (3DS)
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 3 Professional (3DS)
Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry no Wonderland 3D (3DS)
Dragon Quest Monsters 2: Iru and Ruka (3DS)
Slime MoriMori 3 (3DS)
Theatrhythm Dragon Quest (3DS)

Itadaki Street DS (DS)
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 Professional (DS)

Only achievable if you go the route of CFW and install the games as CIA's. Then you can use romfs/layeredfs to replace any content you wish (ie, english patches).

 

[DragonQuesting]

Okay, so when people modify the contents of Dragon Quest IX (DS), they are strictly modifying save files only? I think I understand then.

Okay, looks like I have a lot of research to do then. It looks like there's an overwhelming amount of variation and methods on how to install Boot9Strap on 2DSs or 3DSs and paying attention to firmware versions, etc. Yikes.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Okay, so when people modify the contents of Dragon Quest IX (DS), they are strictly modifying save files only? I think I understand then.

Okay, looks like I have a lot of research to do then. It looks like there's an overwhelming amount of variation and methods on how to install Boot9Strap on 2DSs or 3DSs and paying attention to firmware versions, etc. Yikes.

Or patching the ROM file and playing it on a flashcart.
The save is normally stored on a separate chip, which is writable.
Card2 games on 3DS are the exception, where the ROM and save are both contained on one big flash chip. In theory these are rewritable. However, there are still signature checks in place that you could only bypass with CFW, and if you have CFW, it's much easier to just use a .cia version of the game.

 

[DragonQuesting]

The save is normally stored on a separate chip, which is writable.
Card2 games on 3DS are the exception, where the ROM and save are both contained on one big flash chip. In theory these are rewritable. However, there are still signature checks in place that you could only bypass with CFW, and if you have CFW, it's much easier to just use a .cia version of the game.

Oh, that's interesting! Thanks for the info. I was definitely wondering how that worked. It's too bad the Dragon Quest games don't appear to be the Card2 type (from my brief research).

Or patching the ROM file and playing it on a flashcart.

Oh, I read this and it sounded like a really simple idea: just put the files on the flash card and put the card in the 3DS and play. But researching this links back to various GBATemp.net forum posts and so many people offer differing advice. And do I still have to worry about 3DS firmware versions? And is using a DS flash card on a 3DS a different beast altogether? There's no one simple flash card solution to play DS or 3DS games? I don't mind spending $100 or whatever that might cost.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Oh, that's interesting! Thanks for the info. I was definitely wondering how that worked. It's too bad the Dragon Quest games don't appear to be the Card2 type (from my brief research).

Oh, I read this and it sounded like a really simple idea: just put the files on the flash card and put the card in the 3DS and play. But researching this links back to various GBATemp.net forum posts and so many people offer differing advice. And do I still have to worry about 3DS firmware versions? And is using a DS flash card on a 3DS a different beast altogether? There's no one simple flash card solution to play DS or 3DS games? I don't mind spending $100 or whatever that might cost.

Nintendo haven't been blocking DS flashcarts since 7.x or so, anything you buy these days will work. But a lot of DS flashcarts have timebombs (the kernel stops working after a certain date requiring to set the date back which can mess with other things, namely online play), so it's best not to go for the cheapest. I can recommend the R4i Gold 3DS Plus: https://www.nds-card.com/ProShow.asp?ProID=575 (that shop seems to be down right now though)

 

[DragonQuesting]

Nintendo haven't been blocking DS flashcarts since 7.x or so, anything you buy these days will work. But a lot of DS flashcarts have timebombs (the kernel stops working after a certain date requiring to set the date back which can mess with other things, namely online play), so it's best not to go for the cheapest. I can recommend the R4i Gold 3DS Plus: LINK REMOVED (that shop seems to be down right now though)

I tried that link from another post a few hours ago, and the store was indeed down.
But I imagine this is the product? (Dang, I can't post hyperlinks as a new member. I was linking to the r43ds org site product page).
$19.95 seems fairly cheap. That plays 3DS files as well as DS files? I thought I might need to spend $70 or whatever on a Sky3DS+ card.

 

[wormdood]

That plays 3DS files as well as DS files?

no there are few solutions for ds and 3ds rom support . . . stargate gateway and scds2+ but they are all pointless . . .

I thought I might need to spend $70 or whatever on a Sky3DS+ card.

but why your goal is to play 3ds and ds english patched games correct . . . well in the case of ds games its as simple as patching a game before putting it on a flashcard (which is not necessarily needed as ndsbootstrap allows ds roms to be ran directly from the consoles sd card)
and as far as 3ds games games are translated using homebrew (on the fly) layeredfs regardless of there format (.3ds/.3dz, or .cia) . . . and what @The Real Jdbye mentioned is theory no such patches/nor patched game exists in that format so planing to get a $60+ usd flashcard makes no sense

your plan should be to get cfw running

 

[DragonQuesting]

Ha. I'm getting more confused as time goes on.

no there are few solutions for ds and 3ds rom support . . . stargate gateway and scds2+ but they are all pointless . . .

Pointless because they don't work well, or because they don't accomplish what I want them to do?

but why your goal is to play 3ds and ds english patched games correct . . . well in the case of ds games its as simple as patching a game before putting it on a flashcard (which is not necessarily needed as ndsbootstrap allows ds roms to be ran directly from the consoles sd card)
and as far as 3ds games games are translated using homebrew (on the fly) layeredfs regardless of there format (.3ds/.3dz, or .cia) . . . and what @The Real Jdbye mentioned is theory no such patches/nor patched game exists in that format so planing to get a $60+ usd flashcard makes no sense

your plan should be to get cfw running

So running English-patched DS games from a flash card would work fine? But running English-patched 3DS games from a flash card would not work?

 

[wormdood]

Ha. I'm getting more confused as time goes on.
Pointless because they don't work well, or because they don't accomplish what I want them to do?

its a combination of things gateway is pointless because it has been abandoned by its devs and can no keep up with nintedo's (stability) updates (although the ds mode card included still works fine). scds2+ was a scds2 with gateway emulation (gateway emulation caused bricks and so the product was abandoned . . . although ds mode still works fine). stargate is basically a sky3ds+ and a generic ds flashcard built in . . . and it functions as it should
but possibly more important they (with the exception of ds mode rom translations) they will not directly allow you to run any translations as a community the only way we can translate 3ds games is via homebrew (or if the game naively has translations) there were two homebrew programs that accomplished this goal hans and layeredfs now . . . cfw is not needed for homebrew but i recommend it because . . . first you save 60+usd second you can run ds roms without a flashcard (its possible although i dont know how probable to play your ds games for free) the project that does this is ndsbootstrap (now called TWiLight Menu++)
and as far as 3ds roms you (using cfw) can install 3ds .cia files (.cia is basically a 3ds format install-able file . . . that can be several things from firmware to games to themes to homebrew)

So running English-patched DS games from a flash card would work fine? But running English-patched 3DS games from a flash card would not work?

more like there are no 3ds english patched roms . . . but there are translations written to take advantage of homebrew to patch the game on the fly . . . otherwise correct

 

[The Real Jdbye]

I tried that link from another post a few hours ago, and the store was indeed down.
But I imagine this is the product? (Dang, I can't post hyperlinks as a new member. I was linking to the r43ds org site product page).
$19.95 seems fairly cheap. That plays 3DS files as well as DS files? I thought I might need to spend $70 or whatever on a Sky3DS+ card.

It only plays DS games directly, but you can install ntrboot on it in order to hack 3DS mode and get CFW (you don't strictly need ntrboot to get CFW though, it's just an easier way of doing it)
Sky3DS, Stargate etc. are rather pointless, mainly because they're costly, and don't do anything you can't do with free CFW (in fact they do far less, for example, no eShop games, no free DLC, no homebrew, no mods/patches/fan translations)

 

[DragonQuesting]

Alright, sounds like I need to go the route of installing CFW on the 3DS. Now, again, I'm still pretty confused looking at various forum posts and guides on the topic. It seems like information and products and names and preferences have changed a lot over the last several years.

So, I guess in order to do away with trying for several more hours to parse what is going on, can you suggest to me what exact setup and method would be best to play patched DS and 3DS games? Preferably I'd be playing on a New Nintendo 3DS XL. And cost doesn't really matter to me (if I need to buy an R4i Gold 3DS Plus or what have you).

System: New Nintendo 3DS XL

CFW: (e,g, Boot9Strap, etc.)

Method of CFW installation: (e.g. Install via R4i Gold 3DS Plus, etc.)

Other important installations: (additional installations to get DS games or fan translations running? e.g. ndsbootstrap/TWiLight Menu++?)

Is the starting New Nintendo 3DS XL firmware version a concern?:

Can New Nintendo 3DS XL firmware continue to be updated via Nintendo after CFW is installed?:

Does playing/installing CFW on a New Nintendo 3DS XL specifically add any concerns? (as opposed to a New Nintendo 2DS XL or regular Nintendo 3DS):

Additional note: I do have an Action Replay for DS (Action Replay DSi) and also one for 3DS (Action Replay Power Saves Pro), in case those help in any way.

And thanks again for offering your time to help me.

 

[Pokem]

if you're getting a flashcart, might as well get one to hack your 3DS.
ntrboot (a cfw exploit that requires a flashcart) and it works even on the LATEST version as of now (11.8) and most likely (according to what I'm told) unpatchable in the future.
Here's the list of compatible flashcarts for this hack:
https://3ds.hacks.guide/ntrboot.html

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Alright, sounds like I need to go the route of installing CFW on the 3DS. Now, again, I'm still pretty confused looking at various forum posts and guides on the topic. It seems like information and products and names and preferences have changed a lot over the last several years.

So, I guess in order to do away with trying for several more hours to parse what is going on, can you suggest to me what exact setup and method would be best to play patched DS and 3DS games? Preferably I'd be playing on a New Nintendo 3DS XL. And cost doesn't really matter to me (if I need to buy an R4i Gold 3DS Plus or what have you).

System: New Nintendo 3DS XL

CFW: (e,g, Boot9Strap, etc.)

Method of CFW installation: (e.g. Install via R4i Gold 3DS Plus, etc.)

Other important installations: (additional installations to get DS games or fan translations running? e.g. ndsbootstrap/TWiLight Menu++?)

Is the starting New Nintendo 3DS XL firmware version a concern?:

Can New Nintendo 3DS XL firmware continue to be updated via Nintendo after CFW is installed?:

Does playing/installing CFW on a New Nintendo 3DS XL specifically add any concerns? (as opposed to a New Nintendo 2DS XL or regular Nintendo 3DS):

Additional note: I do have an Action Replay for DS (Action Replay DSi) and also one for 3DS (Action Replay Power Saves Pro), in case those help in any way.

And thanks again for offering your time to help me.

1. no, if you have a flashcart capable of ntrboot.
2. yes, updating is fine, but is recommended to not do so immediately.
3. Aside from a possible ban from their services (only if you cheat online, or play unreleased games early ONLINE.) you're fine if you just play games normally. Just disable showing friends what you're playing in friend list.

 

[NumberXIIIEdwin]

Alright, sounds like I need to go the route of installing CFW on the 3DS. Now, again, I'm still pretty confused looking at various forum posts and guides on the topic. It seems like information and products and names and preferences have changed a lot over the last several years.

So, I guess in order to do away with trying for several more hours to parse what is going on, can you suggest to me what exact setup and method would be best to play patched DS and 3DS games? Preferably I'd be playing on a New Nintendo 3DS XL. And cost doesn't really matter to me (if I need to buy an R4i Gold 3DS Plus or what have you).

System: New Nintendo 3DS XL

CFW: (e,g, Boot9Strap, etc.)

Method of CFW installation: (e.g. Install via R4i Gold 3DS Plus, etc.)

Other important installations: (additional installations to get DS games or fan translations running? e.g. ndsbootstrap/TWiLight Menu++?)

Is the starting New Nintendo 3DS XL firmware version a concern?:

Can New Nintendo 3DS XL firmware continue to be updated via Nintendo after CFW is installed?:

Does playing/installing CFW on a New Nintendo 3DS XL specifically add any concerns? (as opposed to a New Nintendo 2DS XL or regular Nintendo 3DS):

Additional note: I do have an Action Replay for DS (Action Replay DSi) and also one for 3DS (Action Replay Power Saves Pro), in case those help in any way.

And thanks again for offering your time to help me.

1. Once you get your flashcard, 3ds.hacks.guide will provide all the steps and files you need to install CFW to your 3DS.
2. For DS games, once you patch the ROM files, all you have to do is pop them onto your flash card and then just boot it up and play, no extra installs necessary.
3. Since you're getting the R4i 3DS Gold Plus, no, what firmware you're currently at doesn't really matter since that method works regardless of firmware version.
4. Yes, you can update through the official System Update in Settings normally. Just be sure to check on here whenever a new update is released just in case it breaks compatibility with CFW and it needs to be updated.
5. Installing CFW on a "New" system lets you overclock your system and use the extra juice in games not originally designed to support the extra power, which can otherwise marginally increase framerates and/or loading times in some games, but otherwise its the same as installing CFW on a regular 3DS.