Hacking Looking to play GBA games. What do I need?

[DMPugh]

I own a CycloDS Evolution, and I am looking to play some GBA games on my DS. Previously I had owned an EZFlash 3 8Gb cart, which was amazing, but I didn't like how much it stuck out of my Lite. That's not the reason I got rid of it (needed money at the time), but it was still an annoyance.

Are GBA games able to run right off the CycloDS? If not, what do I need to play GBA games? Please be as thorough as you can with your response, as I have been out of the GBA loop for quite some time.

 

[uberusmaximus]

hardware: ezflash 3-in-1 slot 2 expansion
sorftware: exploader

 

[Seven]

Up to now, there's software integration with the 3-in-1, so you don't really need exploader (unless, of course, you want multiple saves).

Also, there are more GBA carts other than the EZFlash V 3-in-1 expansion. There's the G6 Lite, M3, etc.

 

[Sumea]

Bottomline: you own Cyclo DS evolution.

Ez flash 3in1 is cheap, most functional (considering the price) GBA playback tool.

Also, now they have loader in cyclo, makes things easy and convinient.

 

[DMPugh]

Cheap place to buy this thing in Canada?

 

[Sumea]

I am not good to help in that, i live in finland and my 3in1 came from finnish store...
I think any recommended worldwide store, if you are fine with waiting one would be dealextreme... (shipped to finland just fine)

 

[DMPugh]

Actually, if anyone knows of anywhere in Toronto where I can buy one and save on shipping, that would be perfect.

 

[DMPugh]

Oh, another question: do GBA roms need to be patched to work?

 

[Vincent T]

i think it does. do you have gba exp loader. and the ez flash. and enable the thing on the settings of the cyclo ds.

 

[tomqman]

Oh, another question: do GBA roms need to be patched to work?

nope. but when playing pokemon games or games with a 1mb save it will give you a warning saying that they need to be patched. in pokemon all you need to do is save twice and when you start up it will say save data corrpt loading last save, and work fine.

 

[DMPugh]

Alright, the 3-in-1 is apparently at my post office, so all I have to do is pick it up.

Is there a guide out there I can read to let me know how to use this thing with the CycloDS? I'm just a bit confused how it all works, especially regarding saving. Is there something special I have to do to ensure my games get saved? How do the games transfer to the 3-in-1's memory? Anything important I should know about the process?

I'm running the latest firmware (non-beta), so I understand I don't need to download software to get the games running?

Any info is appreciated!

 

[Chrono_Tata]

Most important thing to remember is, after you turn off your DS after saving a GBA game, do NOT remove the 3-in-1 from the DS, or the game will not save. Turn on your DS again and load up the CycloDS, then the save file will have been written your MicroSD.

Same principle goes with gbaexploder. If you launch a game from the programme, don't remove your 3-in-1 until you've booted gbaexploader again.

You only need the gbaexploader programme if you want to play a game with 1Mb save. Most games will run fine from the Cyclo firmware.

gbaexploder is really simple. You'd figure it out in no time.

 

[DMPugh]

Alright, so I enabled GBA support and then started booting games, shutting off the system to test the save, etc. Everything seems great. Super Mario Bros. 3 apparently has a 1Mb save though. So I need to run gbaexploder to play it? Is this something that could be fixed in the future?

 

[Chrono_Tata]

The GBA support is still in the beta stage, so when it's finished it will most likely support 1Mb saves. Give Team Cyclops a month or two, I'd say.

And, yeah, you'll need exploader if you want to play that.