Hacking Which Flashcart for Lite?

[WaffleRaccoon]

I have a DS Lite and idk which Cheap, Good, Flashcart to get.

 

[dicamarques]

the cheapest you can get is probably an R4

 

[EmanueleBGN]

I agree: R4

 

[WaffleRaccoon]

Are there any issues/cons and pros with an R4?

 

[Pokemon_Tea_Sea_Jee]

Most R4s sold today are fake, theres a con

 

[FAST6191]

Sadly we don't have a "get this" answer for someone just wanting a DS flash cart to drop into a device and have it play all the games, some ROM hacks, maybe have a few cheats (cheats are basically free on the DS, unlike older systems where it required some more technical skill) and can happily skip out on all the in game text/faq readers, cheat finders and savestates.
A pity really.

The really good stuff is rare and expensive nowadays, possibly stopped being updated if you do only want DS/DS lite*, and most of what is out there is a sea of clones of various capabilities and timebombed (it reads the system date and stops working if it is past a certain point, presumably to have you go buy another $20 cart at they are so cheap) things. There are some things without them and workarounds for them but I would rather skip it all if I can.

*most of the big flash cart makers that were not supercard or acekard stopped updating things when the big flash cart blocking update hit (it would be a while before the console firmwares themselves were hacked to allow it again) and a handful of games dribbled out afterwards. Mostly pokemon conquest, pokemon black/white 2 and some other such things as far as most around here are concerned. That is not to say you can't have a good time with them (find something like an EZ5i on the floor and 95% of the DS library, which is most of the good games, will be fine, can't suggest going and finding one). Whether the AP patch databases will help out here I don't know.

But yeah go see what R4 named things people are suggesting these days (I am way behind current here) that supports Wood and is without timebomb. If there is a legacy cart somewhere someone is selling (selling section here, facebook groups sometimes do well, amazon and ebay are a bit more pricey and you need to know this week's magic words...) then maybe do that. The acekard 2i has a wonderful firmware but build quality leaves a bit to be desired.

Hopefully EZFlash, Supercard, maybe M3/G6, acekard or even Team Cyclops for all I care come back and just make a solid basic flash cart we can suggest for scenarios like this (you are far from the first).

 

[JuanMena]

DS LITE

The best one should be a SUPERCARD DS TWO as it gives you the ability to emulate GBA roms roms alongside DS roms.
Also, it has a better compatibility with Homebrew apps that requires certain security/patching stuff.

I'd recommend you a TTDS over an R4 because R4 are mire likely to fail than TTDS's.

 

[FAST6191]

"Also, it has a better compatibility with Homebrew apps that requires certain security/patching stuff."
Not really. Most things got even the fancy later stages DLDI with some of the extras.

Its ability to bypass security on new games was rivalled by very little (the EZ5i might have given it a run for its money, the wood/akrpg people being more the main ones able to crank out the fixes in short order meaning they got fast updates) but that matters not so much today.

The homebrew thing is more that it had an extra CPU of some potency onboard, which various developers took advantage of. This allowed GBA emulation without an accompanying GBA slot cart (granted having a GBA slot cart means it is not emulation but actual running ROM on hardware), better SNES emulation than plain DS code emulators could manage, enhanced DOS emulation, bunch of other emulators (technically including the PS1 but nobody will use that for anything practical), video playback of big boy video formats and a few more things besides.

Give or take the power drain then feature for feature the DSTwo family is hands down the best. If however the OP is only after something to drag and drop a whole bunch of the DS' best and brightest to, including ROM hacks and cheats, to play just as it would on original carts (if not better -- all that anti piracy checking often slowed things down) then there are far cheaper options to do exactly that, not to mention the DSTwo stuff far harder to come by these days.

 

[JuanMena]

Well yeah...
I mean... how much time has it been?
15 years since the DS Scene started? 10 yearssince it's downfall?

Uh... I never liked go use Unofficial kernels other than the original because they never did what it was promised. Like, bypassing certain ROMS anti-piracy methods or launching certain homebrews.
But considering how old is this stuff now (and even outdated) if I'm going to be a DS pirate at this point of the game, then I'd better be the best pirate I can with a fancy Premium Flashcart instead of a puny R4 that stops working after your DS hits a certain date on it's clock.

 

[Kwyjor]

It was my understanding that Ysmenu effortlessly bypassed every timebomb and had no compatibility/security problems?

The only other concern is that some of the older cards lack SDHC/SDXC support and may be limited to 2 GB microSD cards - but that's surely enough for everyone.

I sometimes get the impression that some carts actually support real-time saves, i.e. so you can save the game literally whenever you want and pick it up thereafter, but I've never really understood if that was practical.

 

[Redhorse]

I still have my/the original DStwo I bought with my first DS lite, still works, plays every game thrown at it... however, leaving it in (a 3ds) when in sleep mode drains a battery quickly, even if no game is open or chosen. I realize you have a DSlite, (I do too) but it will do that to a DS lite in sleep mode too. Also allows playing many S/NES most GBA GB GBC as well as the expected DS games... you can eve check your email with it with the right optional extension/loadout. .
I'll give mine up when they pry it from my cold dead fingers...

I have seen R4 Plus on the most popular auction site we know, as well as NewEgg but searching multi-game DS cart will bring a list of carts that have multiple games, are relabeled flash carts. for very cheap..I agree with what was said above, if you are going to do it, it pays to do it right the first time, searches for a (used) DS2. or a new unused, they can still be had even today, I still find them from time to time. Use search engines at auction sites that will save your searches, which will save much time and money if done right.

 

[Kwyjor]

Isn't the DStwo discontinued and considerably more expensive than the alternatives?