A lot of people aren't happy with the GUI of the DSTT menu, even when using YSMenu.
There are alternatives, like Moonshell2 (latest edition).
However, a lot of people have had difficulty trying to load roms with it - you can do that by using this guide?.
The best by far though are the alternative loaders made by Spinal.
1. DSCovered
*NOTE: Also referred to as DSision3.
In as few words as possible: CoverFlow on DS.
If you are not familiar with CoverFlow, it is a popular interface used on Apple products (specifically iPods/ iPhones and even iTunes) where the album "covers" simply "flow" (hence the name).
This basically replicates that interface on your DS, with game "covers" instead of music.
Download the latest version: DSCovered (28/04/2010)
Advantages:
- Looks amazing (if you can get it to work)
- Now comes with DSCovery, which downloads the correct game cover for your roms and displays them in DSCovered.
- Works on ANY flash cart (although I've posted this in the DSTT section)
- Comes with various skins so you can hope to find a look that you're happy with. If not, they're easily modifiable.
Disadvantages:
- When I said "if you can get it to work", I mean that the DS basically isn't good enough to render this properly. Although this may be different on the DS Lite/DSi (I tested it on DS Phat), the menu is actually quite slow and 'pixely'. But if you're using a better DS, I would highly recommend you test this out. If not, there's another option for you below.
- Extra functionality, such as soft-reset is only available on certain slot-2 cards through a secondary loader. These secondary loaders and not available from here, however there are full instructions included in the download.
All-in-all, it's an amazing concept that, if you can get working properly, is probably the best menu out there for your DS.
2. DSision2
If DSCovered isn't for you, DSision2 is a must. It is similar to DSCovered, but instead of CoverFlow, your game icons simply slide across the screen. It is designed to replicate the menu of a DSi.
Download the latest version: DSision2 (26/04/2009)
Advantages:
- Will almost definitely work on your DSTT - with no bugs or any of the issues you might get using DSCovered.
- A variety of nice skins available.
- Utilises YSMenu, so your games are almost definitely going to work if you update your DSTT infolib etc/kernel.
- Sliding is very smooth, and you can use both the stylus and the D-pad to slide.
Disadvantages:
- Call me pedantic, but I wasn't satisfied with the DSi skin in DSision2, so I made my own - download it here.
- DOES NOT WORK ON SDHC MEMORY CARDS! So if you have a microSD that is bigger than 2GB, DSision2 simply won't work! This is only major disadvantage that stops this menu from being amazing. It is unlikely that this will be fixed as well.
- No integrated game cover (like DSCovered), but at least DSision2 can display them. You'll have to copy and paste them into a folder of your skin, and rename it to the name of your game (there are already examples made for popular homebrew).
Overall, this is the one that I use because it actually works properly (still, that's because I use a DS Phat). But if you have an SDHC microSD... you're screwed.
3. Moonshell2
This is only an alternative if the other two don't work for you, or if you simply prefer Moonshell2!
Download the latest version: Moonshell2.10 Stable (Child Zwai Edition)
To set Moonshell2 as your default loader:
DSTT Unofficial Kernel (3 Versions) v1.17a12 If you download this, you will need the latest version of Moonshell2, the latest DSTT kernel and the latest infolibs.
I'm not actually sure how to do this myself, I'm sure if you search, you'll find a tutorial. Still, I just downloaded this and upgraded everything to the latest version.
To allow Moonshell2 to run roms commercially:
Commercial ROM Loading Guide with MoonShell 2 & YSMenu (by rtnario/Blackiris/XX256)
... or use the link above - it's already done for you (but remember to upgrade).
Best skins for Moonshell2:
In my opinion, env makes the best skins. My favourites are: MARX and DarkSakura.
Still, you can find a whole host of them from here and here.
THE END. Sorry it's so long, but thanks for reading
There are alternatives, like Moonshell2 (latest edition).
However, a lot of people have had difficulty trying to load roms with it - you can do that by using this guide?.
The best by far though are the alternative loaders made by Spinal.
1. DSCovered
*NOTE: Also referred to as DSision3.
In as few words as possible: CoverFlow on DS.
If you are not familiar with CoverFlow, it is a popular interface used on Apple products (specifically iPods/ iPhones and even iTunes) where the album "covers" simply "flow" (hence the name).
This basically replicates that interface on your DS, with game "covers" instead of music.
Download the latest version: DSCovered (28/04/2010)
Advantages:
- Looks amazing (if you can get it to work)
- Now comes with DSCovery, which downloads the correct game cover for your roms and displays them in DSCovered.
- Works on ANY flash cart (although I've posted this in the DSTT section)
- Comes with various skins so you can hope to find a look that you're happy with. If not, they're easily modifiable.
Disadvantages:
- When I said "if you can get it to work", I mean that the DS basically isn't good enough to render this properly. Although this may be different on the DS Lite/DSi (I tested it on DS Phat), the menu is actually quite slow and 'pixely'. But if you're using a better DS, I would highly recommend you test this out. If not, there's another option for you below.
- Extra functionality, such as soft-reset is only available on certain slot-2 cards through a secondary loader. These secondary loaders and not available from here, however there are full instructions included in the download.
All-in-all, it's an amazing concept that, if you can get working properly, is probably the best menu out there for your DS.
2. DSision2
If DSCovered isn't for you, DSision2 is a must. It is similar to DSCovered, but instead of CoverFlow, your game icons simply slide across the screen. It is designed to replicate the menu of a DSi.
Download the latest version: DSision2 (26/04/2009)
Advantages:
- Will almost definitely work on your DSTT - with no bugs or any of the issues you might get using DSCovered.
- A variety of nice skins available.
- Utilises YSMenu, so your games are almost definitely going to work if you update your DSTT infolib etc/kernel.
- Sliding is very smooth, and you can use both the stylus and the D-pad to slide.
Disadvantages:
- Call me pedantic, but I wasn't satisfied with the DSi skin in DSision2, so I made my own - download it here.
- DOES NOT WORK ON SDHC MEMORY CARDS! So if you have a microSD that is bigger than 2GB, DSision2 simply won't work! This is only major disadvantage that stops this menu from being amazing. It is unlikely that this will be fixed as well.
- No integrated game cover (like DSCovered), but at least DSision2 can display them. You'll have to copy and paste them into a folder of your skin, and rename it to the name of your game (there are already examples made for popular homebrew).
Overall, this is the one that I use because it actually works properly (still, that's because I use a DS Phat). But if you have an SDHC microSD... you're screwed.
3. Moonshell2
This is only an alternative if the other two don't work for you, or if you simply prefer Moonshell2!
Download the latest version: Moonshell2.10 Stable (Child Zwai Edition)
To set Moonshell2 as your default loader:
DSTT Unofficial Kernel (3 Versions) v1.17a12 If you download this, you will need the latest version of Moonshell2, the latest DSTT kernel and the latest infolibs.
I'm not actually sure how to do this myself, I'm sure if you search, you'll find a tutorial. Still, I just downloaded this and upgraded everything to the latest version.
To allow Moonshell2 to run roms commercially:
Commercial ROM Loading Guide with MoonShell 2 & YSMenu (by rtnario/Blackiris/XX256)
... or use the link above - it's already done for you (but remember to upgrade).
Best skins for Moonshell2:
In my opinion, env makes the best skins. My favourites are: MARX and DarkSakura.
Still, you can find a whole host of them from here and here.
THE END. Sorry it's so long, but thanks for reading
