I ordered the Supercard DSTWO on the 7th of April and finally got it, about six weeks later. It was a long wait but I think it was well worth it. I've been using an R4DS for more than a year-and-a-half and some sort of change was due. I think the R4DS was great as a basic device: it simply opened up the possibility of playing homebrew and backup content on the DS and that was all I needed. However, with recent backup content, it became essential to deal with anti-piracy measures on a file-by-file basis and that got very tedious, very quickly.
Thus, all this time I was grappling with getting a CycloDS Evolution but the price wasn't a pleasant one. The other card I was considering was a Supercard, slightly cheaper but some of the issues highlighted in reviews were a bit off-putting. So, should I have just saved money and gotten an Acekard? Maybe.
Then I saw the announcement for the Supercard DSTWO.
And so, without further ado, here are my initial impressions of the Supercard DSTWO. Note that I downloaded the latest firmware (1.01) before testing the cart.
Is there something they're not telling us?
Found it hilarious that the package was declared as a "PC Card Reader" of value US$ 5. The value was probably accurate
Noteworthy
Simple packaging containing the Supercard DSTWO, a USB MicroSD card reader, a pink faux-leather strap for the DS and a printed manual. The booklet style manual is a nice touch. Better, at any rate, than a scrap of paper saying "To download firmware, go here ".
Once you find your centre...
There's been a few worries about this and I can see why. On one hand, the card itself feels weighty with a solid centre. However when I was taking it out of the packaging, one half of cart just moved away from the seam. I was worried that if the two halves that make up the shell don't hold tightly, the thing might get jammed in my DS. Fortunately, it was possibly to get them flush again with some pressure but the fact remains that it's not well made. I don't care if you don't care, but I don't want it getting stuck in the DS. Hopefully, with care that won't be the case.
I like the spring-loaded slot for the MicroSD card which means I can keep the Supercard DSTWO in the console and just spring the memory card out. Unfortunately the kinked edge of the MicroSD card continually gets caught somewhere inside the flash cart, requiring me to push the card to its straight edge and then popping it out. Poor, will definitely get annoying and there's a chance that something - no matter how careful I am - will break at some point. Let's hope that point eludes us, eh?
Boot up!
What my DS is booting up to the original boot menu? Is the cart busted? Oh wait, look "Fish Tycoon". Is this a fake cart for "Fish Tycoon"? Is Fish Tycoon any good as a game?
Turns out it isn't because it's not a game but just some sort of loader for the Supercard DSTWO. That gave me a chuckle so extra points for that, Supercard team.
I'll be honest: I just want my flash cart to play games so I don't care about the actual look of the OS, as long as it's fast, functional and has the features I need/want. Best thing is that that was the case. The initial menu (allowing you to choose between the GBA emulator, DS "emulator", MoonShell, etc.) was smooth and once in the DS gaming bit, I appreciated the large colourful icons for the games. I'm sure this can be modified in some way, but I was a bit annoyed in not being able to see the file sizes even whilst in 'List' view. However, being able to cut, copy, paste and delete within the interface is highly appreciated it.
It took just a few moments to sort out the cheat database and files and with that done it was time to actually check it out.
What really counts
The games! I decided to run the GBA emulator first with a Final Fantasy VI Advance ROM and it loaded without a fuss, although it felt like the audio was clipping a bit. I started up a game and then saved the state, restarted the DS and tried continuing from there. It worked neatly. Just for kicks, I tested out the Slot 2 GBA loading by using my Final Fantasy VI Advance cartridge. Great success!
Okay so I know I have a fully functional GBA, but what I have in my hands is actually a DS so without further ado, I decided to check out Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks. I remember it being rather difficult to deal with on the R4 so I wanted to try out the
un-patched ROM to see how well it worked. This was the make-or-break moment for me really. If I had to go through the same trouble as with the R4, then there was no real point in getting the Supercard DSTWO.
Lo and behold! The train controls showed up perfectly, I could easily use the in-game Supercard menu to access cheats and the save state worked smoothly. Being able to name the save states (you can have up to four) is quite useful. If you're the only one playing the game, you can use it to give you an idea of where you are in the game in case you don't play it for a while. If you're playing with friends or family, three others can have their own named slots so you won't run into the trouble of overwriting someone else's save.
I wasn't able to test the 'Free cheat' feature since I honestly wasn't sure how to use it.
Provisional conclusion
I'm definitely happy with what it does so far. It may not support the purported video playback but I've already got an iPod for that so it's not a huge loss for me personally. Firstly, this saves me the money I would've spent on a Slot 2 device and the GBA emulation works for the game I currently aim to play. Most importantly, DS ROMs (so far) seem to work without needing any sort of patches so this is a relief. It's a lot simpler to just download a firmware update than having to wait for someone to create a .BAT file or having to boot up Windows to use R4CCE (or whatever it was called) to add an anti-piracy cheat. Additionally, the save states - and multiple ones at that - are a godsend when I can't save in the game itself and the in-game Supercard menu is all sorts of useful. Lastly, on top of being cheaper than the CycloDS, this card is purported to work with all currently released members of the DS family.
Of course, these impressions are purely anecdotal and not comprehensive in any sort of way. As such, there could be glitches that show up somewhere along the line but I expect the Supercard team to be on top of things. Buying the product is only one half of the experience so let's hope the developers maintain the other half.
