Hacking Gameboy Micro Flash Cart choice

[Caligula]

I recently came into possession of a GBM and am wondering what Flash Cart to get. I've looked at past topics on this, but the suggestions are from '07 and I had other questions to ask besides. From what I read, most readers are meant for the DS Phat and Lite but are compatible with GBA, SP, & GBM, is this so? I don't want to buy a flash cart and find out, 'oops, its for a DS'. Does it fit awkwardly into the GBM(like a glove) or the alternative?
Also, I want to be able to play video and mp3s on my micro, is the quality bad so that I shouldn't bother? I live in the US, what's the best site to get the flash cart suggested for micro?

FYI, I'm new to this whole thing, so if I ask something stupid, don't mind, and go ahead and pretend I'm stupid

I've used emulators on my comp, but I've never tried to do anything with hardware before, so any helpful advice would be.. well helpful. Thanks in advance.

 

[lewjay]

GBA sized carts fit on the micro and DS phat.

That being said I use m3 minisd which is a little big longer than standard gba cart and sticks out a little bit on the micro. Not much of a big deal. As for what to get now? I'm not sure, depends on availability, since most places have moved on from GBA products. If you're not in a hurry due to slow shipping, you can check this cart out. http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11179 Here is GBAtemp's review http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=32250

 

[Jack-Of-Trades]

I also Have the EZ4 flash card and bought it from that exact site


And as for video it is a pain in the ass to convert it to play on ez4
Sound is easier and sounds decent but need to use something like wavpad to convert it to a 16 bit Mono wav or gsm file (and while your at it ramp up the volume on the file)

But for rom's other than having to use software to transfer the files it works perfectly
No slowdowns at all that i noticed other than slowdowns that would happen with a real gba cart
such as astro boy when you kick a lot of people up into the air


And "fitting" it fit's perfectly flush with my GBA SP but for micro it will stick out like 1mm


And a little FYI GBM Won't do GB/GBC so a flash cart is only way to play those games on a GBM

 

[Gman 101]

You should get an M3 Perfect Lite. It's got Real Time Save, video playback (you still have to convert...), a Real Time Clock (for Pokemon games) and a microSD slot. It comes with a GBA shell and other DS Lite shells. One catch: the price is a lot. Check www.gameyeeeah.com or www.bamboogaming.com for it.

 

[jalaneme]

G6 lite, no fault with it, in built memory about 500MB, no need to buy a extra micro SD, i've had mine for a good 2 years or so now, fit's in both the gba sp and DS lite with diffrent cases supplied.

 

[lenselijer]

get the m3 minisd with black casing, this one doesnt stick out.

the problem with g6 lite is that i kept loosing savegames because the card would corrupt from time to time.

 

[moozxy]

I just bought a GB Micro aswell but it hasn't arrived yet, so anticipating the long delivery time from DX I ordered the EFA Linker hearing it was good and since it was cheap.
Was that an ok choice?
I'll post pics for OP, if he wants, when it arrives.

 

[jalaneme]

the problem with g6 lite is that i kept loosing savegames because the card would corrupt from time to time.

like i said before, i've had my g6 lite for a good 2 years and not once has it corrupted, failed or broken down on me, still going strong, i really don't like the looks of the m3 stuff anyway, it looks "tacky" even the in game menu loosk tacky imo.

 

[DanTheManMS]

Video playback: for the M3 series, use the M3 converter, as it handles long video files for you I believe. For any other cart, you're stuck with Meteo, which can take 5-25 minutes of video depending on the quality level you choose (the real limit is 32 MB per converted video files), but it's not really all that good. You can find usage guides for an older 1.3.1 version on the net easily, and I recommend you use it a few times to get a feel for what the options do, but then you should find the updated 1.4.0 version and use that instead, as it has higher compatibility for input video files and lets you increase the brightness of the converted file too. I simply recommend using the older version first because 1.4.0 is not translated as fully as 1.3.1 so you need to be able to navigate around the player without having to guess what each option does.

mp3 playback: The GBA is not powerful enough to decode mp3 files in real time, so I'd suggest GBA GSM Player by Tepples. Open up your files in Wavepad to save them as WAVE files (unlike the previous poster I recommend using "CD quality" at this stage so you don't lose any quality before you have to, plus when Wavepad save as mono it removes a channel entirely rather than mixing the two). Put the wave files in the "wavs" directory and run "go.bat" which will convert your audio files to GSM and compile them into a "gsm.gba" file. Delete the wave files and put the GSM files aside for later usage so you don't have to reconvert them.

 

[jesterscourt]

EZFlashIV+2 gig MiniSD = win.

 

[Caligula]

Well I looked over some things, and the EZ Flash IV is probably what I'm going with. I base my answer on this due mainly to price, the M3 would cost more than the GBM, and it'd mostly be best if I ever wanted to upgrade to DS(which who knows when I'd do that, I'm not exactly rolling in it now

)

Thanks for the advice though, it eases my mind as I go to order it. I already ordered my miniSD card, 2GB pQi for $8, great deal!

 

[kingeightsix]

m3 lite + gba shell & 2 gb micro sd

 

[JPH]

m3 lite + gba shell & 2 gb micro sd

I second that.
M3 is known for their outstanding compatibility with GBA ROMs. Though their price is a bit expensive, they're worth it and will save you money in the long run.

 

[Jack-Of-Trades]

I second that.
M3 is known for their outstanding compatibility with GBA ROMs. Though their price is a bit expensive, they're worth it and will save you money in the long run.

How is the extra $40+ gonna save more money over the ez4 + 2GB Micro with adapter?
i will not pay a extra 40 for a Real time clock...

I would just get a ez4 then buy a EZ3 if i had to had a real time clock...


And name one rom the m3 can run that ez4 can't run?

QUOTEand it'd mostly be best if I ever wanted to upgrade to DS(which who knows when I'd do that, I'm not exactly rolling in it now happy.gif )

The EZ4 can also be used for DS as well (but for DS all slot 2 cards need a passcard or a slot1 card with a passme feature)

 

[Caligula]

Just an update, last week ordered the ez4 and now I'm just waiting for it to come in the mail.