Hacking GBA Flash cards

[Psyxe03]

I've been looking around, and they seem hard to find. i was wanting to make a present for someone in which i put a specific pokemon hack on a card for them. im really not looking for putting more then one game on, and i would prefer to keep it as cheap as possible...


is there anywhere i can get a flash card for GBA games that is cheap, possibly made for only one game to fit, and (if possible) is similar size and shape as a normal one so i can do a special paintjob and make it look like a legit cartridge?

 

[Cartmanuk]

There are hack Pokemon game carts available for less than the price of a flash cart.

 

[Psyxe03]

There are hack Pokemon game carts available for less than the price of a flash cart.

i would love to own a few physical hacks, but i cant ever find good ones; for this specific project though, im wanting to put a hack i made on one.. (good point though, regardless. i know it will cost more to do what i want to)


on a side note though, where (and how cheap) could i get ones like that?

 

[how_do_i_do_that]

You can probably find them at the flea market or on ebay.

 

[Psyxe03]

so, beyond that, are there any cheaper flash cards lying around on the internet?

 

[how_do_i_do_that]

Your definition of "cheaper" will have to have a price range, price is relative.

As to GBA flashcarts remaining:

A. black EZ-Flash IV (PHAT, microSDHC) average price is $45
B. 3in1 (lite, internal storage) average price is $20
C. Supercard mini/SD (purple, PHAT, some places sell fake ones) average price is $35
D. M3 GBA Expansion Pack (lite, works in a DSL only) average price is $20

 

[Psyxe03]

great, that gives me the basics i need to look up. kinda disapointed that the cheapest (and more popular) require a DS, but.... eh, it still works.


thanks a lot

 

[zfreeman]

http://www.yeahgeek.com/supercard-mini-sd-for-gba-sp-gbm-ids-nds-nds-lite-p-805.html

 

[how_do_i_do_that]

You should not try and buy anything from Chinese vendors until the Chinese new year is over. Chinese vendor sites will be back on monday when the new year is over.

 

[Psyxe03]

You should not try and buy anything from Chinese vendors until the Chinese new year is over. Chinese vendor sites will be back on monday when the new year is over.

alright, i really appreciate all the help! $20 isnt too bad, even if i decide to do this a few times; and of course they are reusable/updatable so i can use one as a WIP version....

i know i could just play my hack on the computer, but it would be a really cool gift too

 

[how_do_i_do_that]

GBA flashcarts have a size restriction. 32MB is the largest rom you can run on a GBA flashcart, if your hacked pokemon game is larger than 32MB your going to be stuck on playing it on the computer.

To play games larger than 32MB require a GBA flashcart with a very large internal NAND or NOR (that is memory chips on the board, not removeable media like a microSD).
This type of flashcart can no longer be found from online flashcart vendors, that is why it is not listed above.


Lite means you need a slot1 flashcart to put games the carts. D's requirement for a slot1 flashcart is mandatory, same for B. If you don't have a slot1 flashcart, you will need to get one as well.

 

[billzo]

This type of flashcart can no longer be found from online flashcart vendors, that is why it is not listed above

This really bums me out I'm looking to get a small collection of flashable GBA carts for development at a volunteer thing. We're teaching people (teens mostly) about how to develop on embedded hardware, and having like a dozen or so carts would be cool to actually put the finished game on a physical cart... I have a linker and 3 of the 128 Mbit cartridges, but that's a little limiting...

I guess after I hang out a while here, I'll ask on the trading section XD

 

[FAST6191]

GBA flashcarts have a size restriction. 32MB is the largest rom you can run on a GBA flashcart, if your hacked pokemon game is larger than 32MB your going to be stuck on playing it on the computer.

Have there been any hacks to break the 32 meg barrier? Are there even emulators that support it?

 

[how_do_i_do_that]

didn't someone say they can run an oversized mother 3 from NOR on the ez-flash iv deluxe? or was I wrong about that.

 

[billzo]

Hey Psyxe03, I just found (and bought) a 512Mbit GBA flash cart on ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/F2A-Ultra-5...689?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a4c632631

In case you (or anyone else) would be still interested...

Edit: You'd need a linker cable though!

 

[KidIce]

didn't someone say they can run an oversized mother 3 from NOR on the ez-flash iv deluxe? or was I wrong about that.

I think I did at some point. One of the pre-patched versions I had (possibly still do, I'm not at home to check) was just a hair over 256Mb... Enough that most people can't burn it to their NOR of EZ4's/3-in1's/etc, but not enough to stop it from working on a EZ4DX's NOR. I never played it to the end, so I don't know if it ever caused problems later, and it was so long ago I don't even recall what the patch did.

Also, I think slapping a trainer on it may have pushed Riviera just over the 256Mb mark as well... Again, I'd have to look when I get home.

 

[how_do_i_do_that]

It was probably 5+ years ago when you likely said it. Around the time of the 1.0 version of the mother 3 english patch I believe.

Even if you can or can't run oversized 32MB roms, it is not going to be important for anyone getting into GBA flashcarts for the first time within the last 4 years. There is nearly no place left that sells pure NOR flashcarts anyways.

 

[Testo90]

Someone got an idea where to buy a gba flash card from germany? im interested in supercard micro sd, but don't know where to buy. Is yeahgeek a good site to buy?

 

[FAST6191]

Someone got an idea where to buy a gba flash card from germany? im interested in supercard micro sd, but don't know where to buy. Is yeahgeek a good site to buy?

http://www.flashlinker-shop.com/nin...dhc-slot-2-gba-gbm-sp-nds-nds-lite-p-861.html is a Germany based site, they have been around for years and few have anything bad to say about them.

 

[Testo90]

http://www.flashlinker-shop.com/nin...dhc-slot-2-gba-gbm-sp-nds-nds-lite-p-861.html is a Germany based site, they have been around for years and few have anything bad to say about them.

Thanks just ordered one