Hacking Currently Planning to get this card

[Jamio88]

So guys after doing some reading I think I am going for the Supercard DSTwo, However (as we all know) reading the info only can tell you so much, it REALLY helps to get some first hand reports, so lets hear them.

What would you guys (personally) say about the DSTwo? Here are some questions I have:

How Reliable is it?
How is the OS on it (I use to own the M3DS Real, how does it compare to the M3)
How well does it emulate GBA
What about DS Backups (Any issues at all?)

&

If it has one, how well implemented is the Action Replay (I noticed on the M3, when trying to use cheats more often then not it would freeze on me)

Thanks guys, I really do appreciate any and all input on the DSTwo

 

[Nathan Drake]

How Reliable is it?
How is the OS on it (I use to own the M3DS Real, how does it compare to the M3)
How well does it emulate GBA
What about DS Backups (Any issues at all?)

If it has one, how well implemented is the Action Replay (I noticed on the M3, when trying to use cheats more often then not it would freeze on me)

I don't own one myself, but I have more than enough experience helping people, reading compatibility lists, and the like to give you a very solid opinion of how well this cart performs.

It is one of the most reliable carts on the market. Few reports of breaking, well supported, all around a fantastic flash cart.

The OS is considered to be pretty much top of the line. There are many plug ins available to customize the menu and make it to your liking.

The GBA emulation isn't perfect, but it gets better with every new update to the emulator. Many games require turning on different options to get games running at full speed, and even then, the games may not run at full speed all of the time. It is higher up there than the SNES compatibility though by a pretty long shot.

DS games will run flawlessly. There is not a new game yet since the cart has released that it hasn't been able to play. There will never be a worry there. Whenever there is a problem with a game, it is generally not the fault of the flash cart, but rather a problem with the MicroSD card. Some older titles will sporadically have problems from firmware to firmware, but they get fixed by the next firmware update. It is never anything major either.

The cheat system on every flash cart anymore works really well. Even my Original R4 can run cheats perfectly.

 

[nl255]

DS compatibility is great. Save states will often work perfectly even on games that had problems with the CycloDS such as Final Fantasy 4 (i.e. while in battle or in a cutscene) or Revenant Wings. Just be sure you have a fast SD card as the generic anti-piracy stuff (clean mode) needs a fast read speed.

GBA compatibility is decent, though you will want to use version 1.21 of the emulator so you can use game_config.txt (1.30 broke game_config.txt reading). You will definitely want to set the CPU speed to 4 for most games and even then there is some lag.

SNES compatibility is also decent as long as no special chips are used (sorry, Mario RPG). Note that there is a bit of sound crackling on many games with the official emulator, so use BAG SFC v3 which has sound fixes as well as a 5th CPU speed. Most games need a CPU speed of 4 or 5 and a few games have problems even though they don't have extra chips (example: Final Fantasy Mystic Quest lags real bad in Forestia, the first town) but most work fine. Even many romhacks/translations work, such as Zeldaarallel Worlds or Slayers (translated).

As for homebrew, there used to be some problems but they have been fixed. In fact, the latest update (EOS 1.09) has argv support so that NitroFS based homebrew will work. Not to mention the SDK has been released and there is already a 386 emulator (386/40 speed) out for the DSTwo that is almost capable of running DOOM/DOOM2 called (surprise) DS2x86.

 

[Jamio88]

Right on Right on.

I do believe then that this will be the cart that I go for. However is ModChipStore a good reliable place to order from? It is $34.50 there and as long as they are a creditable site that won't send me a knockoff then the price is good for me.

Also does anyone know how their shipping is? I have heard some horror stories on here about places in the east and LONG shipping times (I consider up to 14 days to be reasonable, however, not trying to wait 30 - 45 days for the DSTwo)

 

[nl255]

Right on Right on.

I do believe then that this will be the cart that I go for. However is ModChipStore a good reliable place to order from? It is $34.50 there and as long as they are a creditable site that won't send me a knockoff then the price is good for me.

Also does anyone know how their shipping is? I have heard some horror stories on here about places in the east and LONG shipping times (I consider up to 14 days to be reasonable, however, not trying to wait 30 - 45 days for the DSTwo)

Since you live in the US, I would suggest realhotstuff.com assuming they are still around. They have it for $40.00 with free shipping (no free shipping on the MicroSD bundles though). They ship from New Jersey so it shouldn't take more than a few days to get it. For memory cards, I would either try to find a class 4/6/10 at a local store (check the read speed on your computer and if it is under 16-18MB/sec, return it and get a different one).

 

[Jamio88]

Right on.

Thanks again for the info, you are being most helpful on this subject. I will look into the company and see if they are still around. I will also have to check my write speed, however I plan to get a Class 6 Memory Stick and more the likely an 8gb one (it will probably be overkill on size, but its better to have too much space then not enough)

 

[jceggbert5]

I bought this a couple months ago, and it was totally worth the money. Period.

OS: Designed well, but the English isn't perfect (name an official cart OS that is), but it is very readable. Engrish if you will. The plugin screen is a bit finicky if you haven't used it before, because when you slide the stylus about 4-6 pixels, the icons slide one notch. Very easy to go too far and click the wrong plugin. Other than that, no complaints, other than I'm used to YSMenu after using it for two years and I'm still adjusting (not a con, just saying).

Reliability: I have to blow in my MicroSD slot a lot. Could be because I live in a dusty area, and could be because the cart took a plunge to the dog's water. Not sure. Loading reliability: near perfect, once in a really great while, it'll freeze when loading a ROM. Could be because of the above.

GBA: Lots of frameskip and controls can sometimes lag a bit. Most games playable.

Action Replay: Awesome (once you find it). In-Game, you can turn on/off your codes! Super!

Compatibility: Perfect, as far as I can tell.

Also, I'd go with Real Hot Stuff. I ordered mine there and got it in 3 days. (I'm in Missouri, USA)

I'd say go for the DSTWO. You won't regret it.

 

[zizer]

i am agree ^
i have transcend 16Gb class2 and no lag

 

[RoMee]

So guys after doing some reading I think I am going for the Supercard DSTwo, However (as we all know) reading the info only can tell you so much, it REALLY helps to get some first hand reports, so lets hear them.

What would you guys (personally) say about the DSTwo? Here are some questions I have:

How Reliable is it?
How is the OS on it (I use to own the M3DS Real, how does it compare to the M3)
How well does it emulate GBA
What about DS Backups (Any issues at all?)

&

If it has one, how well implemented is the Action Replay (I noticed on the M3, when trying to use cheats more often then not it would freeze on me)

Thanks guys, I really do appreciate any and all input on the DSTwo

How Reliable is it? I've had it for a while and it's working fine
How is the OS on it? I can't compare it to the M3 because I've never owned a M3 but I have 8-9 other carts and the dstwo's OS is my favorite
How well does it emulate GBA? it works fine, not as good as I had hope and not as good as a slot2 like EZ 3in1, but it good enough to play most of the GBA games I like. and yes, a better GBA emulator would be nice
What about DS Backups (Any issues at all?) the best at playing backup games, if there's any issues with a game the SC team usually release an update patch the next day. but that rarely happens because the dstwo play most (if not all) games

I'm using a 16gb class 2 sandisk

 

[jlavador]

I had a DSTWO with a 8GB class 4 kingston, minor lag on some games ( a lot happening on screen), not enough to really mess up game play. Then I got a LEDSTWO and a new 16GB class 6 ridata card. the lag is virtually gone, I suppose class ten might eliminate it completely. I gave the DSTWO to my girlfriend and she is very happy with it. I also bought 2 more DSTWOs as gifts for family. Its a great card, does everything I want it to do. It has big potential. Hopefully, when the 3DS comes out, the community around the DSTWO wont give up writing apps for it.

 

[WarioMCP]

So guys after doing some reading I think I am going for the Supercard DSTwo, However (as we all know) reading the info only can tell you so much, it REALLY helps to get some first hand reports, so lets hear them.

What would you guys (personally) say about the DSTwo? Here are some questions I have:

How Reliable is it?
How is the OS on it (I use to own the M3DS Real, how does it compare to the M3)
How well does it emulate GBA
What about DS Backups (Any issues at all?)

&

If it has one, how well implemented is the Action Replay (I noticed on the M3, when trying to use cheats more often then not it would freeze on me)

Thanks guys, I really do appreciate any and all input on the DSTwo

Coming from someone who used to own an M3DS Real and switched to a SCDS2, the DSTwo was a breath of fresh air. With M3 you had to have multiboots to load various firmwares to play games, relying on freelance coders to do the M3 Team's job since their updates are too slow. Compatibility on the SCDS2 is stellar. Most games will run (even ones with AP) without need to wait for a firmware update (and those that do require an update are quickly patched. These patches usually only require overwriting one or two files in the system directory, rather than updating the entire cart as well). The menu is responsive and fast (doesn't take 10-20 seconds to load the main menu like on the Real) and functions like the DSi menu.

The GBA emulator is a step back from the M3DS Real's Perfect Bundle (with the GBA slot-2 RAM), but it's still functional with most games (albiet with frameskipping on some games). However, if you're using a DSLite the M3's Slot 2 expansion can be used with the SCDS2 with the aid of the homebrew GBA ExpLoader and functions the same way (though loadup is a little slower for GBA games since it has to manually load the rom data into the slot 2).

I strongly suggest you upgrade.

EDIT: The only problem with the SCDS2 is that large MicroSDHC cards are sometimes too slow and crash when playing certain games. I used a 4gb Kingston and I have no problems though. When purchasing a large (8gig or larger) MicroSDHC card make sure it is a fast one.

 

[zizer]

Coming from someone who used to own an M3DS Real and switched to a SCDS2, the DSTwo was a breath of fresh air.

yeees ( i had m3izero )

 

[lordgoober]

I just upgraded from an m3izero myself and boy is this thing great. That being said, I will continue using my m3 card for my GBA and GB playing. My supercard will be playing the rest of the stuff.

 

[KidIce]

How Reliable is it? SD slot can be a bit iffy if your are ejecting the SD and reinserting it a lot. I only noticed this while populating an SD and testing every US/English ROM for MAME. Lot's of downloading, writing to the SD, deleting, etc. Beyond that it's been completely reliable so far.

How is the OS on it? I'm not a fan. Let's be honest, the bulk of what you are going to be doing w/ a DS flash cart is playing DS games. I want my flash cart to go straight to the menu from which I select DS games; homebrew or other wise. I do not want a menu in front of it that allows me to select things, like media playback and other shit that I rarely do on my DS. I'd really rather the plug in menu be something I access from the DS game selection menu, not the other way around. Making things you play frequently a "plug in" isn't really a good option, IMO, as the plug in menu isn't designed well for that... Even w/ the switch I made to iMenu, I still don't see that as a good option.

This, IMO, is actually the biggest failing of the DS2 and why my EZ5i still spends more time in my DSi than my SCDS2. The R4 put that stupid menu in the way and almost every flash cart manufacturer has adopted it. It's patently dumb for any flash cart that is designed to play "backups".

Dear Super Card team: I would like small icon mode, and I would like the SCDS2 to remember the last game I played and start EOS w/ that game selected. Make the shoulder buttons page down/up the list of games. I do not need a second back button, the B button is just fine. See above for what I think of the plug in menu. And I loath the way the save files and such are left out in the root of the SD.

How well does it emulate GBA? Works about the same as GBA on a PSP. Some things work great "out of the box", other things need messing w/. Some things will never work no matter what you do. I have a DS lite (and a slot 2 device) and a PSP. I do not use my SCDS2 or PSP for GBA. It's usable on the SCDS2, but it is not the "real thing". I also do not use my SCDS2 for SNES, my PSP is better at it.

What about DS Backups (Any issues at all?) Damn near flawless. I haven't found anything that doesn't work on it... But then I don't test every scene release either.

I use my SCD2 over my EZ5i in three situations:

1) Software that uses the SCDS2's CPU
2) I want to use free cheat
3) Something doesn't work on my EZ5i


1) Duh.
2) Who else offers this?
3) Kinda answers the question about playing your pirated DS games, huh?

It's a great cart. It really is... But it didn't stop me from leaving my DS lite in my back pack for GBA (my DSi is almost always in one of my pockets unless in use, but my DSlite and PSP live in my bag). It didn't replace my PSP for portable emulation of other devices (SNES,etc). The few things that are broken on the EZ5i that work on the SCDS2 are pretty much all things I don't give a crap about. And I hate the SCDS2 interface, but I suspect if you are upgrading from any other R4-style-start-menu-having cart, you won't notice how annoying it is.

Edit: Want to add DSX86 is awesome. I'm insanely excited about the SCD2 version and what it might shape up to be. There isn't a better replacement on any handheld I own. If it evolves to do 386 emulation as well as DSX86 does 286 emulation than that alone will probably make the SCDS2 my "most used" cart.

 

[R4Liam]

The main problem with the hardware reliability is the spring for the sd card. My spring broke on first use howevr the sd card is still read perfectly without spring function, in fact i prefer it however it is still bad that the psring is so unstable. As far as software/firmware reliability goes, it is unmatched imo every game i have played has run perfectly.

the gba emulation is very good and near perfect. The games mostly run smoothly with a few tweaks in the options.

the os is very good, the only os i think is better is the moonshell 2 os.

hope this helped.

my vote is buy it.

 

[EJames2100]

Reliability is brilliant, bit chunky in the DSL but otherwise fine.

The OS is so so, nothing to look it, simple to use however and I think there's an alternate if your interested(iMenu I think).

Most GBA games run without a hitch, FF6, Fire Emblem, Pokémon(With RTS), Golden sun lags a bit in battle and GS2 doesn't work well tbh :/

The only problem I've ever had was with Golden Sun 3, and then I only had to change it to clean mode in the options and ran fine(Clean mode is where you can't do anything in Real-Time and it works just like a normal Flashcart).

I've had an R4(Before Wood

) and an Acekard 2i.
R4 is a good option, however no SDHC support, R41i Gold is good, just no fancy features and needs updates, same with Acekard except even longer waits between firmwares.

I'd say definitely grab one

 

[R4Liam]

my thoughts on buying a flashcard is:

if you don't want to splash out on the best and just want the basic flashcard just to play all ds games with extras R4 is the best option.

if you want the best flashcard with the best feautures and support go for the supercard dstwo (or acekard2i) but gba emulation etc. makes dstwo the best choice out of those two card sin my opinion.

don't bother with any other flashcards on the market, these are the best ones.

 

[Net_Bastard]

It's pretty reliable, but I noticed that some of the guts are only covered by the front label, so try to not put much force on that part.


The OS is great on it. It's smooth and straightforward.


The GBA emulation is okay. There are some speed problems, but for the most part it's fine.


It plays DS Backups nicely. I only had problems with about 3 games (Speed issues on Tony Hawk's Proving Ground (which was probably my SD card's fault), AP issues on NiNoKuni, Golden Sun Dark Dawn wouldn't work in patch mode.)


It does have AR cheats. Didn't test them yet, though.


I recommend you get it from RealHotStuff.