Hardware What GBA cart to go with an R4?

[.::5pYd3r::.]

I would either get an EZ Flash 3 in 1, EFA-Linker or an EZ Flash IV MiniSD. All but the EZ Flash IV can be found on Dealextreme.

 

[Destructobot]

The EZ-Flash 4, the EZ-Flash 3-in-1, the EZ-Flash 3, the M3 Perfect, The G6 Lite, the eWin GBA expansion, and several of the old style GBA flashcarts (including the EFA linker) are all good choices depending on what you want to do with them.

The 3-in-1 is the only cart that can migrate pokeymans to the R4 though.

 

[GGC]

The eWin GBA expansion pack patches GBA games automatially, it loads them faster, and it can run 32 megabyte games from RAM (the 3-in-1 only has 16 MB of RAM, so 32 MB games have to be flashed to NOR), but it doesn't have the same high compatibility with GBA games.

Wow, you lost me there!!

GBA games need to be patched? what's the NOR?
Do you have to do all of this on an M3 Simply Perfect? (I looked at the price and it's much more expensive than the 3-in-1 thingy, I don't know if that's worth the extra cost)
Sorry about the n00b questions!

 

[Destructobot]

The M3 Simply and the M3 Perfect are two different carts (actually, the Perfect is a whole range of slot 2 carts).

GBA games use SRAM, Flash memory, or EEPROM to store their save data. Games that use Flash or EEPROM saves need to be patched to save on the 3-in-1, because the 3-in-1 only has SRAM for storing save data. You SRAM patch the games with GBATA.

The eWin GBA expansion also only has SRAM for saves, but its software patches the GBA roms automatically so you don't have to deal with it.

NOR is a type of flash memory that takes a long time to write, but can be read quickly like the ROM in retail GBA carts. The 3-in-1 has 16 MB of RAM and 32 MB of NOR. GBA games up to 16 MB can be run either from RAM or NOR, but 32 MB games can only be run from NOR. There are no GBA games bigger than 32 MB.


I don't think I'm explaining this very well right now (frankly, I'm drunk), but it isn't that complicated once you have the cart and try it for yourself.

 

[LETMEIN]

R4 acts as an Superkey for slot 2 devices??

 

[Destructobot]

Yes.

 

[Venko]

I would either get an EZ Flash 3 in 1, EFA-Linker or an EZ Flash IV MiniSD. All but the EZ Flash IV can be found on Dealextreme.

That's an American site. I don't think that it ships to England

[Edit] Seems it does ship to England. Any idea how long it will take it arrive?

 

[Destructobot]

DealExtreme is not an American site. AFAIK it is based in Macau (or at least it ships out of Macau). Shipping is generally slow, but the prices are very good.

 

[4saken]

I would either get an EZ Flash 3 in 1, EFA-Linker or an EZ Flash IV MiniSD. All but the EZ Flash IV can be found on Dealextreme.


That's an American site. I don't think that it ships to England

[Edit] Seems it does ship to England. Any idea how long it will take it arrive?

A while.

 

[GGC]

GBA games use SRAM, Flash memory, or EEPROM to store their save data. Games that use Flash or EEPROM saves need to be patched to save on the 3-in-1, because the 3-in-1 only has SRAM for storing save data. You SRAM patch the games with GBATA.

The eWin GBA expansion also only has SRAM for saves, but its software patches the GBA roms automatically so you don't have to deal with it.

So, hmm, I'm not sure I got everything right from your post but here's a simpler question: is there an R4 equivalent for GBA games on the DS? (without any patching involved, just drag & drop if possible)
Thanks again!

 

[Destructobot]

is there an R4 equivalent for GBA games on the DS? (without any patching involved, just drag & drop if possible)

The eWin expansion pack does that, but it's game compatibility is not as good as the 3-in-1.

 

[Venko]

Well I ordered one from TotalGBA.

It should arrive significantly earlier so the slightly higher price is worth it.