R4i compatibility?

[TheOnlyShad0w]

I just got a Supercard DSTWO and it's pretty awesome. I'm totally new to this flash cart thing though, and I'm just wondering what something like the R4i, which is half the price of the DSTWO, can do.

Does the R4i run DS games as well as emulators such as NES, SNES, GB/GBC, and GBA? Why exactly is the DSTWO twice the price?

Thanks in advance.

[Warrior]

The DSTwo is probably the Finest DS Flash card ever made (Very High Quality), and yes iv had tons of DS flash cards in the past , including the Clone R4 series, they all kinda......bad .

The DSTwo has a built in CPU to be able to run stuff such as SNES and GBA, other flash cards can only run emulators for like NES and GB/GBC.

I only choose Supercard brand Flash cards now, I have both SC DSOne i and SC DSTwo (DSOne i is just as good as DSTwo but slightly lower quality and no built in CPU but it runs DS games and NES and GB/GBC perfectly)

[garrendesares]

i used to have ak2i for the ds/3ds before i sold the 3ds. if i got another flashcart, it would be ds2

[TheOnlyShad0w]

The reason I'm asking about the R4i is because my brother wants to get a flash cart, mostly for playing DS games but he's slightly interested in GBA and the other platforms, but he doesn't have a lot of money to spend so I thought he could save a lot by getting the R4i.

So the R4i is good for DS, NES, and GB/BC? Will it just perform poorly with SNES, GBA, and etc.?

[MaslowK]

So the R4i is good for DS, NES, and GB/BC? Will it just perform poorly with SNES, GBA, and etc.?

Yes and yes. The one thing to keep in mind though is that there are a literal fuckton of different cards labeled "R4i", and only so many are actually any good.

For example, a friend of mine got a hold of one called an "r4i-sdhc". The menu is slow and choppy, most DS roms he plays randomly freeze, and most don't work more than a few minutes (if at all) when using cheats. It also hasn't had a firmware update in a while, so it currently isn't working on the last few 3DS firmwares released. No idea how well it does emulators, but given the poor performance with DS roms, I wouldn't bother with this one.

On the other hand, I have an R4i Gold 3DS (specifically the r4ids.cn version; there are several); it's managed to play every DS rom I've thrown at it, and so far only a couple have needed patches to avoid random lockups (specifically Pokemon Heartgold and Black 2). It also does NES, GB/GBC and Genesis emulators very well, though it doesn't really do SNES emulation (most roms won't even boot, and if they do they're marred with graphical glitches and performance problems), and doesn't do GBA at all afaik. As long as I've had mine they've had a pretty good history of keeping their cards up to date for the newest 3DS firmware, so that's a plus. All that said, I'd highly recommend this card as a cheaper alternative to the DSTWO.

[Warrior]

http://eng.supercard.sc/dealer.htm

If you want the best card for the cheap go there and look for the supercard DSone i Mini.

[Zorlon]

Before buying anything what is the Hardware target of the flash kit?

DS, DS-Lite, DSi, DSi-XL, 3DS, 3DS-XL or 2DS as well as other DS hardware you have access to

for 3DS you are limited to like 3/4 cards

A couple of clone cards (i.e. R4i's) and the SuperCard DSTWO

P.S. all are cheaper than a new release retail game, but if you want quality and easy to use you do pay more, and even the better R4 clones are not without issues, required patching or pre-patched games ect but the SuperCard DSTWO has no such problems and runs all current emulators with no issues (well no issues that are not already there for every other flash kit, not all the emulators are perfect) as well as a couple of DSTWO exclusive emulators

EDIT moved to Everything Console from Everything Emulation that is for emulating on a PC that a flash kit is not required for

[TheOnlyShad0w]

The target device is a 2DS.

The specific R4i card I was looking at was this one: http://www.modchipsdirect.com/r4i-3ds-r4ds-wood.html

[Zorlon]

The 2DS can't use all the Flash kits so you are stuck with the ones listed in the stuck thread, that does not include the Supercard DSone i Mini

The one you linked looks like one of those though with the correct url on it

Make sure they update it for you first though or you may find it not working when you get it.

With those there are DS roms that require patching first before they will work though (mostly because of copy protection, that a DSTWO flash kit bypasses so no patching with that kit) not the most user friendly in the world but they do work, emulation wise you are limited mind, you pay little, you get rubbish, also depends what you can afford as well though and if it is just to do until funds are at a better state you can always get the Supercard DSTWO then.

Updating, this goes for all kits, before updating the 2DS always make sure that the flash kit will work on the updated 2DS first and look for any update files if the kit requires any updates to work on an updated 2DS/3DS, always update the kit before updating the 2DS.

[TheOnlyShad0w]

It sounds like it's worth spending the extra money to get the DSTWO. I don't want to have to patch games for my brother when something doesn't work (he's only 11).

[Zorlon]

Then the DSTWO is the only choice and has the added advantage of the exclusive emulators it can run

The only issue is the updates as the flash kit should always be updated before the system is otherwise the flash kit will stop working

[TheOnlyShad0w]

Do the 3DS systems update automatically or will I always have to agree to an update before it is applied? I want to make sure it will never update without me knowing. Does the DSTWO usually get updates quickly and how do I apply them?

Also, by not updating a 3DS, are network features (eShop, Miiverse, online play, etc.) still accessible?

[Zorlon]

No they don't do it auto but it will popup asking, you can say no though and update later via the system settings

The DSTWO usually updates very quick often the first to do so (not always though)

The process is very easy extract the update to the root of the micro SD and insert the flash kit into the 2DS, start the flash kit as normal, it will auto ask you to update it (make sure the 2DS is on charge for both the flash kit update and the 2DS update)

If you don't update yeah eShop is not usable but most other things still are like online gaming, some features may not be accessed in the Mii stuff without an update, but you can still collect coins and see other Mii's, it's mostly the eShop that can't be accessed if an update is out

[TheOnlyShad0w]

I guess I'll forget about anything other than the DSTWO then. It's a bit pricey, but I was surprised how easy it was to get mine working.

[Zorlon]

If pie was easy, then the DSTWO is as easy as it