Misc.

[roxbert]

Since the Nintendo DS seems so popular...

Ladies and gentlemen, the R4DS is a DS flashcart that needs little introduction. In fewer than six weeks on the market, it's already become the cart to beat. Not only is the R4 easily the best slot-1 cart available, it's the perfect starter piece for anyone looking to jump into DS homebrew that's still undecided on the plethora of similar-but-slightly-different slot-2 offerings. Boasting pure drag-and-drop support for DS backup (meaning no more proprietary Windows patching software), Moonshell and DSOrganize compatibility, and a built-in functioning NoPass, this thing does it all and does it at a great price. There's not a lot I can say about the R4 that GBAtemp didn't already cover in their review, so I'll leave it to them to tell you anything you need to know about it.

Each brand spankin'-new sealed R4 includes R4DS flashcart, microSD USB reader, plastic carrying case, lanyard, and driver CD.

PHOTOS (click to enlarge)













QUESTIONS THAT YOU AND/OR THE WETTEST OCTOPUS YOU KNOW MIGHT BE ASKING ABOUT THE R4DS AND DS HOMEBREW

• What is this thing? Is it a DS game?
  
• The R4DS is a media-based flashcart for the Nintendo DS. What that boils down to is a fancy term for microSD -> Nintendo DS SLOT-1 converter. You can copy homebrew, music, movies, and game backups to your microSD card using your PC or Mac, and then insert said microSD card into the R4DS, which in turn is inserted into your Nintendo DS. Your Nintendo DS has screens, inputs, and speakers, making it ideal for enjoying your media and homebrew without needing to purchase another device.
  
  
• That sounds awesome. But what's all this jibba-jabba about a microSD card? Do I need to buy something else for this to work?
  
• Yeah, the R4DS includes only the flashcart itself -- you still need a piece of media for it to actually do shit. In terms of price, it's tough to beat Newegg.com. You'll notice that while 2GB microSD cards do exist, 1GB is certainly the sweet spot for price to capacity ratio. Currently, I use a 1GB A-Data microSD with my R4DS and it works extremely well.
  
  It is said that the Toshiba 1GB microSD cards or "Made In Japan" Kingston 1GB microSD cards perform the best with the R4DS (these cards have benchmarked well, and many users have reported that they resolve the "Castlevania crash issue" that's prevalent in many cheaper microSD cards). Unfortunately, no online vendors differentiate whether their Kingston 1GB microSD cards are made in Japan or are the cheaper made in Taiwan cards. You likely do not want a Taiwanese Kingston card -- I got stuck with one myself; it crashes during Castlevania and creates even worse framerate slowdown during Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam than my A-Data card (as of this writing, Castlevania and THDJ are the only two "issue titles" on R4DS).
  
  The SanDisk Ultra II microSD cards also are said to perform phenomenally well, but you're looking a steep premium to grab one of those. Check out the R4DS microSD/TransFlash Compatibility Wiki at Scorpei.com for more info.
  
  
• How many game backups will fit on a 1GB microSD card? How large of a card should I purchase?
  
• Generally speaking, you should be able to cram something like twenty DS game backups on a 1GB microSD card. Most games are either 32MB or 64MB (some are smaller, a handful are larger). Elite Beat Agents, Final Fantasy III, Hotel Dusk, Resident Evil, and The Rub Rabbits hit hard at 128MB apiece, so you may want to consider playing those titles from your legal game cards if you like keeping a lot of shit on your R4DS. Also possibly of note, the chumps at IGN are predicting that 2007 will see 256MB and 512MB Nintendo DS games.
  
  Given current trends in pricing, you're better off buying two or three 1GB microSD cards rather than a 2GB card unless you absolutely need the convenience of a single card. It's a popular practice to have one card filled with games and one with music/movies/etc. if you're all about that "use-the-DS-Lite-as-an-iPod" thing.
  
  
• Do you need a flashed DS to use the R4DS? Should I flash my DS?
  
• Like many other slot-1 flashcarts, the R4DS does not require a flashed DS to work. However, I still recommend flashing your DS (you can either perform the procedure on your own using your R4DS and shorting an electrical contact inside the DS or you can use my SA-Mart service to have it done) as it offers other benefits. They are:
  
  -- FlashMe protects you from bricking your DS if you're somehow duped into running the DS bricker virus. While not terribly common, the virus is still in circulation and if you're downloading shady-ass unsigned code for your DS you're probably downloading from some shady-ass places. Borrow a NoPass for five minutes (hell, use your slot-1 flashcart) and flash your shit for this safeguard alone. It's like having antivirus software that's always in place and doesn't use a single CPU cycle.
  -- Since playing backups, have you missed Download Play? I did, too. A flashed DS will be able to successfully join a Download Play game served up by a ROM on a slot-2 flashcart 100% of the time. Unflashed DS's can join a select chunk of Download Play titles served up by the R4, but many are missing. My detailed findings to qualify these statements are posted here.
  -- Still easier/cheaper than a slot-1 flashcart if all you want to buy is a G6/M3 for 100% GBA backup compatibility on top of your DS cake.
  -- FlashMe/SuperKey/PassCard3 are said to be more reliable for booting up slot-2 flashcarts than the R4 is, although this may eventually shift with firmware updates.
  -- Gets rid of the Health & Safety screen. Fuckin' hate that thing. (I joke and tell people that this is the only reason I stay flashed.)
  
  The R4-friendly Reversed Boot Patch ("DSHooterDONT") can be installed on top of FlashMe v7, and it ensures that FlashMe boots your slot-1 flashcart (e.g. R4DS) by default or lets you hold A+B+X+Y at boot time for your slot-2 flashcart to boot. Very handy for R4DS owners.
  
  FlashMe is fully reversible on the DS and the DS Lite (e.g. in the event that it somehow conflicts with DS to Wii connectivity, although many predict that it won't be an issue).
  
  
• Just got my R4DS, thanks! Where do I get the latest kernel software for this thing?
  
• Why, on the R4DS website's download page, of course!
  
  
• You mentioned that this thing is compatible with Macs. Tell me more about that.
  
• Yes! Unlike the vast majority of previous flashcarts, the R4DS works just fine on Macs. Past flashcarts have required that files be "patched" using goofy-ass, poorly-translated, Windows-only patching software. One of the big selling points of the R4DS is its ability to play files loaded via simple dragging and dropping. As such, you can copy files from any operating system and they will work. Mac owners rejoice -- welcome to DS homebrew! We've missed you.
  
  
• I love it. So, how should I format my microSD card?
  
• Formatting in FAT16 (called simply "FAT" using Windows) is the way to go. FAT16 runs faster than FAT32 and supports capacities up to 2GB. Since there are no microSD cards larger than 2GB, this size constraint is a non-issue.
  
  
• What kinds of homebrew can I use on the R4?
  
• Homebrew compatibility is something of a never-ending guessing game, but thankfully SA forums user "Scratch2k" has compiled a bunch of R4DS-ready stuff into a single zip -- The M3 DS Simply/R4DS Starter Kit (lovingly hosted by "jms"). That's a great place to begin.
  
  
• Wait, what? Is the M3 Simply the same thing as the R4?
  
• Yeah, the carts are virtually identical. It's said that both flashcarts are manufactured in the same factory, and that the R4 is the "real" version, while the M3 Simply is just a rebranded edition to squeeze a few extra bucks out of fans loyal to the M3 line of DS flashcarts. I specifically elected to sell the R4DS through SA-Mart, as updates are released for it first and then re-badged for the M3 a few days later. I genuinely consider the R4DS to be the finest flashcart on the market, and that's why I recommend it.
  
  
• Help! I'm getting weird-ass errors and/or Windows won't recognize my microSD card/reader combo!
  
• The freebie microSD -> USB card reader that ships with the R4DS is sorta flaky. If it works for you, cool deal, but if you're having any problems I recommend buying a different SD->USB card reader. You can snake that shit for $3-7 on eBay, Newegg, and elsewhere. Additionally, there are quite a few laptops that have SD slots built into them -- you might check your laptop if you have one.
  
  
• My R4DS only comes with one shell. I thought they were supposed to come with two!
  
• Some of the earlier R4DS's were shipping with both a white shell casing and a gray shell casing, but for whatever reason they're only shipping with a single one now. There was an announcement on GBAtemp about it awhile back, and I believe it has something to do with the R4 team basically not wanting to spend the extra money shipping two shells when most people don't bother switching them around. I had heard that some were shipping with gray shells and some were shipping with white ones, so if you're particularly bothered about the color yours came with you might try asking around to see if anyone else who ordered one is interested in swapping with you. Then again, they might only come in white now -- if any folks from the latest batch of R4's want to confirm this, that would be super.
  
  Personally, I just wish they came in Enamel Navy. Trying to color-coordinate flashcarts with this son of a bitch is an endless exercise in futility.
  
  
• I am antsy in the pants and demand a tracking number for my order!
  
• Unfortunately, USPS does not provide tracking numbers or real-time tracking, but I do keep a list of delivery confirmation numbers for all domestic orders. If for whatever reason you need your delivery confirmation number, send me a PM and I'll shoot it your way.
  
  Folks outside the U.S. are out of luck -- I don't have any information about your packages other than "I sent it". USPS does not provide tracking numbers or delivery confirmation numbers for international shipments.
  
  
• This thing is awesome, but I want more! What flashcart should I get for slot-2 of my DS?
  
• By and large, the most sought-after capability people look for in slot-2 flashcarts is the ability to play GBA homebrew and game backups well. No slot-1 flashcart (including our hero, the R4DS) has or ever will have the capability to play GBA stuff -- and why bother, when the DS has a perfectly good native GBA slot built right into it? Some folks don't need GBA compatibility and are just looking to have flashcart capability in both ports to utilize their DS more "fully" (for instance, keep a 2GB microSD card in your R4 in slot-1 and a 2GB microSD card in your slot-2 flashcart for a total of 4GB of portable DS action). Slot-2 flashcarts without GBA capabilities can be acquired more cheaply.
  
  With this completeness comes a couple of caveats. First, any and all DS game backups loaded onto a slot-2 flashcart will have to be "patched" using proprietary Windows-only and poorly-translated patching software before they'll run on your DS (in fact, bypassing this patching process is one of the R4's biggest selling points). GBA titles should be drag-and-drop, but I believe it's recommended to run them through the patching interface as well. Second, GBA-capable slot-2 flashcarts are expensive (at least when compared the R4). This is because the GBA slot has different throughput from the DS slot, and GBA flashcarts must include more expensive RAM in order to reproduce the functionality. Additionally, all the microSD-using and/or DS Lite flush-fitting GBA flashcarts on the market today include DS homebrew/ROM functionality as well, which compounds the price of the product. Personally, I'd like to see one of the flashcart companies release a lowest-possible-cost microSD->GBA flashcart for slot-2 that leaves DS playback out of the picture entirely and serves the market niche of R4 owners looking for some slot-2 love.
  
  Here are my personal recommendations for slot-2 flashcarts. In time, I may try to stock one or a couple of my favorites through this thread, but for now I'll just refer you guys to ModMyDS.com (the guy who runs it is great, and I've been nothing but thrilled every time I've dealt with him). Please note that all slot-2 flashcarts require either a flashed DS or a NoPass in slot-1 in order to run DS code.
  
  IF YOU NEED GBA SUPPORT
  
  -- M3 Perfect Lite: Uses microSD for storage, 99.9% GBA compatibility, 99.9% DS compatibility (redundant if you use R4DS, but still potentially handy), good DS homebrew support, skinnable GUI, sits flush with DS Lite and includes a GBA-sized shell casing to sit flush with a GBA if desired, can be used in conjunction with R4DS to run the Nintendo DS Browser, probably the most popular and widely-recognized Nintendo DS flashcart on the market. The M3 Lite needs no introduction; it does it all.
  
  -- G6 Lite 512MB/4Gb Includes 512MB fixed-capacity flash memory, 99.9% GBA compatibility, 99.9% DS compatibility (redundant if you use R4DS, but still potentially handy), fair to good DS homebrew support, sits flush with DS Lite and includes a GBA-sized shell casing to sit flush with a GBA if desired, produced by the same company that produces M3 Lite, fixed memory allows for better performance on games prone to slowdown and better compatibility overall. I currently use this flashcart in slot-2 alongside my R4 in slot-1, and couldn't be happier with it. I store my GBA library on it as well as games that have issues with the R4 (Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam, Castlevania Portrait of Ruin) which makes my DS a ridiculously versatile device. A great choice.
  
  -- EZ-Flash 4 LITE (NOTE: I cannot find any vendors that still stock this cart; it seems to have disappeared entirely): The biggest feature this cart has going for it is "plays all GBA games cheaper than an M3 or G6" and still manages to fit flush in your DS Lite. Uses microSD for storage. While the EZ-Flash guys don't have the greatest of reputations in the DS world, they're famous for their GBA flashcarts, and that great GBA compatibility is said to carry over to this device. Good choice if all you want out of slot-2 is GBA compatibility. A little shaky for DS stuff.
  
  IF YOU DON'T NEED GBA SUPPORT
  
  -- SuperCard Rumble Lite: Uses microSD for storage, 99.9% DS compatibility, excellent DS homebrew support, rumbles, sits flush with DS Lite (shell cannot be removed). Great secondary piece of equipment if all you want out of your bottom slot is "more, more, more!" I wholeheartedly recommended this device to everyone looking for DS capabilities at a low price before the R4DS hit the market -- think of it as a slot-2 R4DS without drag and drop convenience.