Hacking What to use for GBA roms on GBA?

[mm91187]

ive been doin some research on the gba flash carts to play on the GBA SP and Micro and at first i was going to get the Supercard mini sd link here, But then i found out that alot of the GBA roms are not compatible with the Supercard, but the M3 is. So now im thinking about getting the M3 mini sd, LINK HERE. But then other say the M3 plays GBA roms just as well as the Supercard. What do you suggest I get, i want it to play GBA roms, on my GBA SP and the Micro. Later i might get a DS, but i think they both play NDS games well, but i really want it to play GBA games.

Also, niether of those cards will stick out of the system, right?
Anything else you suggest I get? I want either the SC or M3 because it uses the mini SD memory so I dont have to worry about running out of memory

 

[Harsky]

If you're just going to get one to play GBA roms, just get Flash2advance or EZflash.

 

[leonardo71286]

EZflash 4 (stardard) or G6 Lite (supposedly comes with a standard gba case)
Both have great GBA compatibility and are future proof, in case you'll buy an DS later on.

 

[mm91187]

which EZflash would you suggest from Jandaman?
here is a EZ flash 4 that uses mini sd, http://www.jandaman.com/games.mvc?p=gbaezf..._code=GBADEVKIT

i think that's the only ezf 4 i could find, any other sites in the US ( i really dont want to pay a alot on shipping)

 

[leonardo71286]

Yes, that's one. Besides the cart all you need to play gba roms is a mini-sd card for storage.
And if you decide later on, to buy a DS all you would need then to play DS roms is a superkey or passcard3.

 

[Dirtie]

If you really want a good GBA only cart, forget the new generation ones and pick up an EFA-Linker (not the EFA II, the first one) - I don't think there is a single game that doesn't work perfectly. Even better is the fact that it does actually have some NDS support if you wanted it for that in the future (a semi-recent update even improved compatibility).

Otherwise if you really want something with removable media, the EZ4 is also excellent for GBA, provided you don't mind that it doesn't have a RTC. After that my next choice would definitely be the M3 miniSD.

 

[mm91187]

RTC is the ability to save the game during anytime right? It can still save, just at a normal save point in the game?

i think im gonna scratch the supercard off the list as it doesnt play GBA roms well, and maybe go with an EZF. the EZF4 still plays NDS games well though?

 

[leonardo71286]

RTC is the ability to save the game during anytime right? It can still save, just at a normal save point in the game?

No, RTC stands for Real Time Clock and is used by some games (though these are very few) such as pokemon ruby; it's used for time events in game. Even so you can patch the rom, and still play the game without the clock.
RTS on the other hand stands for Real Time Save and as far I as know EZFlash 4 doesn't have this feature. And yes the games still save just like normal games do.

 

[mm91187]

aah thanks for clearing that up for me.

i found these sites that show the compatibitly of the supercard and GBA games.
http://www.rothmans.joskeonline.com/supercardsite/
http://gba.vltava2000.cz/shops/7000/html/SCGBAlist.htm

the first one has the firmware next to each game. so if i want to play that games on SC would I have to switch firmwares to play it?

 

[notchristopher]

I have an EZFA (256mb) which I love for my GB micro. I have the Mario collector edition one which matches the cart somewhat too. Its a nice plus. I have never had a problem with any games and I even am playing DS games on it. Even though you can only have one on at a time and can't backup saves. It's cool tho until I get my g6. The micro is actully getting on my nerves. It's screen is so small.. I use at work mostly just to hide it quickly in case some one comes by. Goodluck

Edit: Newest firmware will fix all earlier firmware problems. You don't have to change it, just get the newest one.

 

[mm91187]

oh ok, so with the Supercard all the roms that work on the older firmwares will work on the newest, i see. that's pretty cool, well im liking the supercard again because of the RTS and i think alot of the roms work you jsut gotta configure them, i have lots of time this summer so i dont think that would be a problem.


off topic- notchristopher how long does the battery on the micro last, is it rechargable, ive bene thinking about getting one along with my card i get

 

[mm91187]

do you think not having RTC or RTS is a big deal? I doubt ill be playing Pokemon, and as long as the games still save it shouldnt be a problem. and NDS roms play on the EZF4 too, right?

supercard or ezf4.. HMMMMmmmm

 

[reaperman@home]

Don't forget about the supercard advantage of rom compression--it becomes even more important on mini or micro sized SD. It's the feature I regret leaving behind the most on my upgrade from supercard to M3.

it will often shrink a 4MB rom down to 1.5...

but yes, the supercard problems are about as bad as described--but you can still find enough working games to fill any card.

oh, and getting RTC to work on the M3 is a HUGE pain in the rear. luckily you only have to do it for the one game that uses it

 

[mm91187]

im jsut worried that the games i want to play dont work with the supercard at all, but i also want the RTS function.

also, has anyone ordered from Jandaman before?

 

[sirdaver]

EZFA has served me well for years. Simple to operate, consistant performance. Bottom line, it just works - beautifully. If I was going to buy another, I'd get another EZFA (or ECube now, which is the upgraded version, I think anyways) or the EFA-Linker.

 

[mm91187]

have you played DS roms with the EZF4, how does those work compared to the supercard?

hard decision to make... supercard works well with NDS roms, but run alot of GBA roms crappy. it has RTC and RTS and can compress roms.

but the EZF4 supposedly runs all GBA roms 100% perfectly, but it doesnt have RTC or RTS(which isnt really a big deal, right) im not sure about the NDS roms

 

[reaperman@home]

hard decision to make... supercard works well with NDS roms, but run alot of GBA roms crappy. it has RTC and RTS and can compress roms.

actually supercard has RTS, but not RTC. I think M3 is the only one with RTC, and for the life of me I haven't been able to get it to f-ing work. Something about me having to downgrade my patcher and the apply an IPS patch...yeah, I'll just go ahead and do all that for pokemon...

 

[notchristopher]

off topic- notchristopher how long does the battery on the micro last, is it rechargable, ive bene thinking about getting one along with my card i get


It is rechargable and I think it lasts about 4-5 hours. But you should really try it out because the screen is TINY. I'll use it to play little games like SMB, but if I play a rpg like Zelda MC I'll use my ds, mostly for the text.

Edit:

Nintendo.comBattery Life : 10 hours continuous play with light on, 18 hours with light off, 3 hours recharging

So either my flash card really kills the battery or I'm wrong, prolly the latter.

 

[mm91187]

i was looking into getting a Micro because it's so compact, but no1 i know has one where i could try it out.

i ordered an EZflash4 with a 1GB mini sd though, from Jandaman and newegg so hopefully it gets here soon.

can I install the software for the EZF4 and get my roms ready, so I can jsut drag and drop them to the card then play? where should i read all about that/?

 

[xxx_boy]

Yes, the superkey + supercard is working for DS lite.
I am using it now.