Hacking Is R4 still worth buying?

[m12]

There's been quite a few new flash carts released after the R4. Since my old supercard SD broke, i'm wondering if anyone of you would still recommend the R4. Please list any reasons i should and shouldn't buy R4. Also one more thin, how good is the game compatiblity for the R4? Thanks!

 

[DeMoN]

No, do not buy the R4 anymore. Much better cards out there for the same price or cheaper.

 

[Kazumastars]

Get a DSTT or AceKard 2 if you want a cheap cart than can do anything an R4 can do + more for about the same price.

 

[m12]

I'm thinking about getting the acekard 2. Any reason why i should chose it over R4? The most important thing i want to know is how good the compatibility for the R4 is right now.

 

[War]

No, no way. There are WAY better cards out there at the moment... I regret buying mine actually. :/

 

[Ferrariman]

Acekard 2 has a better GUI and supports SDHC and has better support

 

[ojsinnerz.]

CycloDS> SCDS1 > Acekard RPG > Acekard 2 > M3 Real > EDGE > DSTT > R4

Still want the R4? I recommend getting an Acekard 2 for the cheap price, while having some good features, like multisave, and an excellent GUI. It also gets support, which the R4 isn't getting.

 

[cory1492]

You know, on my shelf in front of me I have a TTDS, EZ5 (now EZ5+), M3Real, R6 Gold (interesting what they are doing with the motion stuff), MK5(Ncard), X9TF, DS Link, M3 perfect, supercard SD and only lord knows what else - but the R4 isn't anywhere on this shelf. Because it's in the DS (along with my EZ4 deluxe.) I get why people are bashing the R4 lately, the funny thing being it's generally the same who were praising it not that long ago and for the same reasons (a cheesy feature no one uses much more often than not) - I still love the thing because it's bloody simple and fast to use, even if the current firmware has a couple games cropping up lately as unusable without work (like an arm7 replacement -omg the horrorz-)

Reasons NOT to get an R4:
- lately manufacturer support has been questionable (doesn't mean they don't have something in store for us R4 owners still though) and compatibility updates have been missed for quite a while now (though even with a big gap it's still not many games that need fixing.) The last I have heard about R4 saying anything was some badly translated warning about bricking DSs due to clones. Which brings me to...
- there are too many bloody clones that don't live up to the R4 label, beware.
- seems to be the ONLY target of an anti-piracy campaign (good reason for the coders/creators to keep their heads down, no?)
- it doesn't really offer anything that can't be gotten from those that came after, aside from the fact they did a lot of this stuff first and set a precedent.
- doesn't support SDHC (cards over 2G)
- flimsy spring loaded SD slot (not sure if the current ones still have springs)
- lacking touch screen controls for most things, you gotta use buttons
- doesn't support lining pokemon DS to pokemon wii (or something along those lines, all I know for sure is I don't have a wii and don't like the games for the DS that use this feature)
- most everyone around here will ridicule you if you even think of getting one, as they have been so far instead of answering your question in a manner appropriate to the actual question.

Reasons TO get an R4:
- given the current choices and prices, I'm forced to say -none- but I'll give my "why I like it" anyway in case there is something that interests you
- menu is simple, to the point, and fast
- compatibility is very good, considering it's been a while (the above touted TTDS has had a bi-weekly update seemingly for compatibility alone, while R4 is sitting at only a small handful that currently need attention)
- with yasu's patch, there is little that can be faulted about the cheat engine (even the menu for it is more readable than most)
- nds files start nice and fast
- everything they have put into it's firmware works as expected, with a tiny footprint on your SD card
- you can get 2G micro SD cards for it for around $10USD now; instead of worrying about getting a non-fake class x made in somecountry certain brand $80 8G card, you can get 4 disparately sourced $10 ones.

OK, so it doesn't have real time save or in game menus (most don't anyway) and there are bugs in the cheat engine that require a special fix from a 3rd party (Yasu, but they are fixed that way) - but I still fail to see why everyone has been down on it lately, it made it's mark by setting a standard that others have had to follow (both price and compatibilty) and even lacking updates still functions quite well: it should be honored for improving the competition if nothing else, certainly not hated on or bashed because they didn't feel up to combating negative piracy related press as well as providing xx feature for previously dedicated fans.

edit:/ btw, R4 can do multisave (IIRC it's set up for 2 files per title, never used it as I am the only one who uses this DS), and when people refer to support: my barn has great support, it's called cement - it works well as is and I haven't heard of anything outlasting what works well already. As for a better GUI, if you like having tonnes of options to mess with before you can play a game I recommend SCDSone - I like to just click on it and use it.

 

[Dark^'^Knigh]

No current R4 owner in their right mind would recommend anyone to buy one these days. I should say, however, my kids both have an R4 (which I bought about 12-18 months ago to upgrade from SC SD) and they/I have no reason to change - they have worked withot any problems (except me needing to patch some roms to work). That said, the reasons listed below will certainly ensure my next upgrade is not an R4, unless major changes from the R4 occur (ie. support, software, hardware improvements).

Reasons:
1. No firmware update from R4 Team now for about 2-3 months;
2. Game combatibility is not 100% (due to lack of firmware upgrades)
3. Absolutely no guarantee R4 support is ongoing
4. Current risk of future upgrades bricking your DS
5. Cart only supports maximum MicroSD capacity of 2GB
6. Is not capable of taking MicroSD SDHC memory cards
7. No Wii connectivity
8. No one will ever respect you if you bought one

Other advanced features not avail on R4, but avail on more expensive carts:
Real time save
In-game text (for walkthroughs)

 

[Joe88]

No current R4 owner in their right mind would recommend anyone to buy one these days.

well the fanboys would anyway
but who cares about them?


anyway as you can see from this thread, no one recommends it
DO NOT BUY AN R4
you will regret it

 

[porchemasi]

mide aswell buy a cheaper flash card ... that supports SDHC and Wii ... my R4 is outdated but works enough so i dont need to buy another... dont make a mistake and buy an old, obsolete product

 

[ojsinnerz.]

You know, on my shelf in front of me I have a TTDS, EZ5 (now EZ5+), M3Real, R6 Gold (interesting what they are doing with the motion stuff), MK5(Ncard), X9TF, DS Link, M3 perfect, supercard SD and only lord knows what else - but the R4 isn't anywhere on this shelf. Because it's in the DS (along with my EZ4 deluxe.) I get why people are bashing the R4 lately, the funny thing being it's generally the same who were praising it not that long ago and for the same reasons (a cheesy feature no one uses much more often than not) - I still love the thing because it's bloody simple and fast to use, even if the current firmware has a couple games cropping up lately as unusable without work (like an arm7 replacement -omg the horrorz-)

Reasons NOT to get an R4:
- lately manufacturer support has been questionable (doesn't mean they don't have something in store for us R4 owners still though) and compatibility updates have been missed for quite a while now (though even with a big gap it's still not many games that need fixing.) The last I have heard about R4 saying anything was some badly translated warning about bricking DSs due to clones.
- seems to be the ONLY target of an anti-piracy campaign (good reason for the coders/creators to keep their heads down, no?)
- it doesn't really offer anything that can't be gotten from those that came after, aside from the fact they did a lot of this stuff first and set a precedent.
- doesn't support SDHC (cards over 2G)
- flimsy spring loaded SD slot (not sure if the current ones still have springs)
- lacking touch screen controls for most things, you gotta use buttons
- most everyone around here will ridicule you if you even think of getting one, as they have been so far instead of answering your question in a manner appropriate to the actual question.

Reasons TO get an R4:
- given the current choices and prices, I'm forced to say -none- but I'll give my "why I like it" anyway
- menu is simple, to the point, and fast
- compatibility is very good, considering it's been a while
- with yasu's patch, there is little that can be faulted about the cheat engine (even the menu for it is more readable than most)
- nds files start nice and fast
- everything they have put into it's firmware works as expected, with a tiny footprint on your SD card
- you can get 2G micro SD cards for it for around $10USD now; instead of worrying about getting a non-fake class x made in somecountry certain brand $80 8G card, you can get 4 disparately sourced $10 ones.

OK, so it doesn't have real time save or in game menus (most don't anyway) and there are bugs in the cheat engine that require a special fix from a 3rd party (Yasu, but they are fixed that way) - but I still fail to see why everyone has been down on it lately, it made it's mark by setting a standard that others have had to follow (both price and compatibilty) and even lacking updates still functions quite well: it should be honored for improving the competition if nothing else, certainly not hated on or bashed because they didn't feel up to combating negative piracy related press as well as providing xx feature for previously dedicated fans.

edit:/ btw, R4 can do multisave (IIRC it's set up for 2 files per title), and when people refer to support: my barn has great support, it's called cement - it works well as is and I haven't heard of anything outlasting what works well already.

I respect your opinion toward the subject, but really, you can get a 8 gig for 40 dollars now. What's the point of buying 4 2 gigs for 10 each, when you can get just 1 8 gig for the same price?

Also, it can't play a few of the newer games, like the Hulk, Daigasso, and a few others. It's only a few games, but the R4 team has made an announcement that they're releasing a new firmware in September (Pretty far away), which will brick any DSs, if they're using a fake R4. Personally, I see it as a stupid move, and I'm pretty sure a lot of others will think so as well. Some people don't buy fakes on purpose. They just think it's the one they want, but it's not.

And true, no one really need RealTime save, or anything of the sort, but it's more useful than many thinks. I used to think it was rather a stupid feature. We're not playing the game we're supposed to. But after playing some games, there were games that were seriously lacking save points. Some, where if I die, I have to go back FAR away, etc.

It's outdated, and there are cheaper alternatives available. Would you spend 10 more dollars on an outdated cart, which is actually inferior, compared to the newer carts? Honestly, we're just recommended what's better. True, it was once the best cart available, but currently, it's not. Acekard 2 is better than the R4, and we're recommending that.

 

[Raestloz]

It is still worth buying, why? Because you actually can play games with it, and that's good, erm.... no, make it very nice. No matter how you complain about it, you can't deny the fact that you've saved alot of money than if you buy the retail carts. There's no new firmware for a few months, and no SDHC support, but that's besides the point. The compatibility is still good, around 99%. Some new games (and most people claim them as "good") is not playable as clean ROM anymore, you have to fix the arm7.bin file, and that is easy should you try it out, there's about 2 new games and a few old card games. 2 new games includes incredible Hulk and another one (apparently, I forgot).

Some people reported that Metal Slug 7 is not playable, while some others claim it works perfectly, and both sides used the same kernel, 1.18 and that's odd o.O

 

[ojsinnerz.]

It is still worth buying, why? Because you actually can play games with it, and that's good, erm.... no, make it very nice. No matter how you complain about it, you can't deny the fact that you've saved alot of money than if you buy the retail carts. There's no new firmware for a few months, and no SDHC support, but that's besides the point. The compatibility is still good, around 99%. Some new games (and most people claim them as "good") is not playable as clean ROM anymore, you have to fix the arm7.bin file, and that is easy should you try it out, there's about 2 new games and a few old card games. 2 new games includes incredible Hulk and another one (apparently, I forgot).

Some people reported that Metal Slug 7 is not playable, while some others claim it works perfectly, and both sides used the same kernel, 1.18 and that's odd o.O

So, you're gonna buy a more expensive product, with less features, just because it's been around for a longer time? Why not spend less money, while having fewer problems with games?

 

[GX255]

A lot of the current R4 in the market now are from sources I woudln't count on. Meaing sure you may buy it from a reputable seller like DealExtreme or RealHotstuff, but where do they get it from and is the original R4 team still manufacturing it. Cause lately theres been lots of R4 version III or higher or was it N5 that seems to be all clones of R4 that causes DS Bricking.
To some census like RealHotStuff and my local chinatown R4 is still a big hit. But online wise and present up to date I would settle for CycloDS or SuperCard DS One. I went with SuperCard DS one for the cheap price.

 

[Raestloz]

It is still worth buying, why? Because you actually can play games with it, and that's good, erm.... no, make it very nice. No matter how you complain about it, you can't deny the fact that you've saved alot of money than if you buy the retail carts. There's no new firmware for a few months, and no SDHC support, but that's besides the point. The compatibility is still good, around 99%. Some new games (and most people claim them as "good") is not playable as clean ROM anymore, you have to fix the arm7.bin file, and that is easy should you try it out, there's about 2 new games and a few old card games. 2 new games includes incredible Hulk and another one (apparently, I forgot).

Some people reported that Metal Slug 7 is not playable, while some others claim it works perfectly, and both sides used the same kernel, 1.18 and that's odd o.O

So, you're gonna buy a more expensive product, with less features, just because it's been around for a longer time? Why not spend less money, while having fewer problems with games?

Like I said, no matter how you complain, you can play games and still save a lot of money, the fact that I never said something about it's been around longer should be considered too. Like cory said, most people now bashed R4, and oddly, most of them are those who praised it when it was the best. I never said I'm a hardcore-R4fanboy. I'm just saying the facts, you can play games with it, and you can't really complain about it, can you? Not all people like Incredible Hulk and want to play it, Daigasso (as I heard) has a problem with save filesize, and Yasu's r4custom can fix it, so you can't really use "incompatibility" as something to offend R4. Some people (if not most) said the older card games (which didn't work) weren't popular anyway. Sure, there are many cards out there that's better, but the thread starter asked us: Is R4 still worth buying? And I answered to that question, and you can't really complain about my first post here.

Like I said, I'm not R4's lawyer, I'm a neutral party, and I'm stating the facts. Nobody should bash R4 because it was the best, it created a standard, a pioneer, and shouldn't be bashed when it's shine has dimmed. I'm sure nobody here befriend someone when he has lots of money and leave him when he's in debt and crushed

 

[Dark^'^Knigh]

I bet M12 is happy he/she asked this question....then again, maybe that was his/her intention

Nevertheless, I'm sure the point has been well made and any prospective slot-1 buyer has no doubt as to which cart to avoid.

 

[Eternal Myst]

Doesn't matter about the price.Go for the Cyclo DS/Acekard RPG.

I have played, and completed 60 Nintendo DS games.
Thats 900$.

I personally prefer the CycloDS.

I don't like the R4, because I always here members saying "Does this work on R4!!!"......

I have never had a problem with my CycloDS....never.

CycloDS+Transcend micro SDHC 6, 4 GB=Nice Setup.

Also the CycloDS has a better interface.

 

[hdofu]

Doesn't matter about the price.Go for the Cyclo DS/Acekard RPG.

Oh but it does, not everyone has 50 plus shipping to throw down for a card not counting a micro sd card.


I have played, and completed 60 Nintendo DS games.
Thats 900$.

I wouldn't figure those numbers out loud


I personally prefer the CycloDS.

which is obvious by this post


I don't like the R4, because I always here members saying "Does this work on R4!!!"......

people will ask the same question about if it works on cyclos, yes cyclos has better homebrew support,

have never had a problem with my CycloDS....never. I've heard good things from the fans, but the only oppinion I'd say was from an unbiased third party was that it was "different"

CycloDS+Transcend micro SDHC 6, 4 GB=Nice Setup. =expensive setup

QUOTE

Also the CycloDS has a better interface.

Sakura has great interface but interface is just for show

The cyclos also has a much higher price tag. For it's price the r4 had decent compatibiliy even in homebrew, curently I'd say it's showing it's age, but if you can find a good deal on it it's not a bad card. Yest their are better cards and better cheaper cards too.

Cyclos has its good points, but it's not the only card out there, the lack of hc is a factor these days but not everyone needs more then 2 gb for their games anyway

 

[Eternal Myst]

Who the fuck cares if it's a expensive?

This has been said 1,000,000 times.

Who the fuck cares about the price for flashcarts.When you can play 1000$ dollars of games for free.