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Hacking R4 and PKM Black

[WIP/Release] ds_mangaman - Turning the Nintendo DS into the Ultimate Vertical Book-Style Manga Reader!

Hwongfish · 2026-06-09T00:33:11+00:00

Hi everyone! I’ve always felt that the Nintendo DS is criminally underrated when it comes to being a dedicated manga-reader. Think about it: it has two screens built right into the form factor, one of them has a precise (not quite most of the time though) touchscreen, and when you rotate the console 90 degrees counter-clockwise, it perfectly mimics the ergonomics of holding a real physical tankobon (manga volume). When held vertically, the D-pad sits perfectly on the bottom, and the shoulder keys (L/R) are in the ideal position for switching chapters. Plus, the touchscreen can be used to magnify for reading the text or inspecting details. Such interactions are the ultimate form factors that modern smartphones just can't match. To prove this, I built ds_mangaman — an open-source, highly optimized homebrew manga viewer for the NDS/NDSL. Download and learn how to build in Github release: :teach::teach::teach: GitHub Repository: https://github.com/hwfish-error408/ds-mangaman :grog::grog::grog: Looking for Contributors! The compiler engine and core state machine are now fully functional and running smoothly on real hardware and emulators (like melonDS). However, I want to take this project further and could really use the community's help! I’m looking for developers, testers, and retro-enthusiasts to help with: A, Implementing a cleaner UI/Main Menu. B, Adding Bookmark support (saving states to SRAM/FAT .sav). C, Further optimizing the DMA memory copy speeds during page and chapter transitions. Feel free to download the source, check out the build pipeline, test it on your flashcarts, and open Issues or Pull Requests on the GitHub repo! Let's make the NDS the ultimate retro manga machine.

Thread starter bebo1120
Start date Sep 19, 2010
Views 1,315
Replies 4

Status: Not open for further replies.

bebo1120

Active Member

Newcomer

Level 1

Sep 19, 2010

I download the pokemon black rom but when i load it i just get a white screen i even have tried woods but it dint work still get white screen and i change the chets and soft reset to off but nothing just white screen when i load it can someon help me please im using R4 III upgrade revolution.

BloodyFlame

Well-Known Member

Member

Level 2

Sep 19, 2010

Your R4 clone is not compatible with Wood or Pokemon Black.

bebo1120

Active Member

Newcomer

Level 1

Sep 19, 2010

does anyone know how to play PKM black in the R4 III upgrade

bebo1120

Active Member

Newcomer

Level 1

Sep 19, 2010

BloodyFlame said:
Your R4 clone is not compatible with Wood or Pokemon Black.

do you know a way to play PKM black in my R4

Vulpes Abnocto

Not Dead Yet

Former Staff

Level 14

Sep 19, 2010

Discussion about how to make Pokemon B/W work on various flavors of the R4 and R4i has been going on for days in the Official ‘Pokémon Black’ and ‘White’ Thread

This makes the tenth "make pokemon work on my R4" thread I've closed.