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Hacking DSTWO

[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 FlashX007
Start date Jun 3, 2010
Views 1,403
Replies 4

FlashX007

Well-Known Member

Member

Level 3

Jun 3, 2010

I got my DSTWO today. Can you teach me the basics or tell me what to do? I got the latest firmware but I am hoping to find out on using it because I wish to use it's cheat features and DS/GBA features. I do not know what I am doing so I have not done much for now. I am thinking if the GBA cheats are not available on cheats.gbatemp.net/temp then I will just play GBA games without cheats. For me cheats make it more fun though...

Overlord Nadrian

Banned!

Banned

Level 2

Jun 3, 2010

Ask those questions here.

Sorry if I sound like a dick, but the sticky is there for a reason...

FlashX007

Well-Known Member

Member

Level 3

Jun 4, 2010

Oh sorry I was excited and confused on what to do thanks for pointing me out.

Overlord Nadrian

Banned!

Banned

Level 2

Jun 4, 2010

No problem, just make sure not to do it again in the future, unless you're given permission

FlashX007

Well-Known Member

Member

Level 3

Jun 4, 2010

I asked on the thread. I am going to try to make a video tonight but it is late and overall there is too much to cover over DSTWO that I am just not fully experienced with yet.