Hacking Should I get an EZF4?

[devixluvic]

Hi guys,
I have a DS and a flashcart, and lately have been wanting to try out Mother 3 (not on a emu). Should I get a EZFlash4? I want to be able to play games on my DS (Phat) and GBASP
Thanks!
Devix

 

[Deleted-236924]

Yes, get one.
They're pretty great.

 

[devixluvic]

Are there any other flashcarts that are still sold that moight be any better?

 

[KidIce]

No. I've sourced some other slot-2 DS carts (Neo carts for example), but it's my understanding they're all pretty poor GBA carts. The EZ4 is a great GBA cart as long as you understand that it is lacking an RTC. For the most part it will run anything you throw at it that doesn't require that or other special hardware. And even most the games that do require special hardware can be patched to work.

Some may suggest a 3-in-1 or similar. That's a decent choice if you only plan to use it in your DS, but if you plan on putting any serious time w/ it in your GBA you're going to find the 3-in-1 a very annoying option.

The only thing that would put me off a GBA sized EZ4 is finding a miniSD for it is damn near impossible. Adapters can be used, but tend to be poorly built and cause problems. I've got dozens of adapters for microSD to miniSD/full size SD/Memory Stick that I've received w/ the microSD or purchased seperately, only a few of those are reliable (the Photofasts in my PSP's and the set I got w/ my 16GB AData being some of the reliable ones).

 

[devixluvic]

Excuse me for being a noob, but what does RTC mean? Is it crucial? I mainly want to play Mother 3 English, and maybe Mother 1+2.... most other GBA games I have already bought or play a DS port of...
Thanks a lot though! If RTC is a minor thing, I will definitely get one of these. Best bet to buy from a ShopTemp seller?

 

[serpenter]

If I remember right, RTC is Real Time Clock. For use with pokemon... Maybe Boktai?
I doubt its used in mother.

Not 100% certain though.

 

[how_do_i_do_that]

For Mother 3, it doesn't use RTC but you will still have to patch it since it uses the save type Flash 512 which isn't by default supported by the EZ-Flash IV.

 

[Schizoanalysis]

+1 for yes

 

[Schizoanalysis]

Bah. I only clicked it once.

 

[devixluvic]

Ok I will probably get one. Any ideas on how to patch Mother3 to work on it? Does Mother 1+2 have any problems with that either?
The games I will want to be playing are Pokemon Ruby, the Mothers and maybe Driver 3 (I do own all of those exept the mothers, I don't like having to swap cards)
Thanks again for all your help! I will prob. use ShopTemp (seller: priceangels) to buy it, anybody have any experience from them?
Devix

 

[Coto]

Ok I will probably get one. Any ideas on how to patch Mother3 to work on it? Does Mother 1+2 have any problems with that either?
The games I will want to be playing are Pokemon Ruby, the Mothers and maybe Driver 3 (I do own all of those exept the mothers, I don't like having to swap cards)
Thanks again for all your help! I will prob. use ShopTemp (seller: priceangels) to buy it, anybody have any experience from them?
Devix

EZclient is the default "game loader" for EZIV flashcards. The program itself (PC sided) will patch all your gba games with a fixed newly created gba savefile. I finished Mother 3 on my brother's EZIV and the performance compared to other flashcards was like 100% smoothness, even for such games like Golden Sun 2.

You could also get a EZ 3 IN 1 and get the adapter to plug it to your phat DS since nowadays there're only ez 3in1 for dslite (shorter cartridge and won't fit properly on phat DS).

EZIV allows you to play some NDS games but drains the battery charge too fast. (Like 2 -3 hours on a PHAT DS lite, and 4 Hours on a lite).

And the last thing, the EZIV flashcard has 2 modes GBA mode and NDS mode

 

[devixluvic]

OK, thanks. Are there any benefits to either? I don't really care for rumble and don't use the browser, all I really care about is GBA games. I probably would get a 4 because I like playing on my GBASP sometimes.
Any good sites you could recommend where to buy?
Thanks
Devix

 

[KidIce]

The EZ4 can carry up to 2GB's (plus 256Mb's burned to the NOR) depending on the SD you stick in it and everything can be accessed from your GBA w/o using your DS, has it's own menu, etc.

The 3-in-1 will only allow you to burn games to it's 256Mb's of NOR w/ a DS. That's fine if you only plan to use it in your DS but not a very fun option if you are going to be using it a lot in your GBA. Also, you will only be to use games from PSRAM while using it in a DS. It has no memory beyond that or an SD slot to add it. You'll also either need a slot-1 cart for you DS that supports the 3-in-1 or use something like GBA ExpLoader to put games on it.

Really, the EZ4 is a far better choice if you're at all serious about using it in a GBA.

 

[devixluvic]

OK, I think I will get a EZ4 then. At the ShopTemp site, the cheaper seller is called PriceAngels. Anyone here dealt with them before?

 

[KidIce]

Price Angels are reputable, I've personally ordered stuff from them and not had any problems. They're like most the "Free shipping" Chinese shops though, expect to wait quite a while before they ship it, and then wait some more for it to actually arrive. Beyond that I'd recommend them.

 

[devixluvic]

OK, I've done some pricing. With the EZV and SD it will be about 30 dollars, should I just buy a Supercard DS2? How's the GBA support on that?
I could then sell off my old flashcart for a couple extra dollars.... how's that sound?
Or does the DStwo have really bad GBA?

EDIT: The DSTwo is the exact same price. Which one would I be better off with for GBA support (if I don't care about playing on my GBASP now)?

 

[KidIce]

It's not bad GBA, it's just not that good either. It's usable, but many games experience slow downs or just flat out don't don't work on it. I don't use my SCDS2 for GBA at all, but I have other options, I probably would if it was all I had.

Others seem happy w/ the SCDS2's GBA though.