Testing the new EZ-Flash Parallel

[boots_n_cats]

I kind of have all 3, my new 3DSXL is using cfw but my ds and dsi have the normal official stuff on them.

The Ace3DS X and Ace3DS+ clones are currently the best option for an unhacked DSi. For a DS and hacked 3DS literally anything will work.

 

[ultraforce]

ds is a mess, there's like 50 different kinds and it's impossible to track what's where and what the best places to get them from is

acekard 2i is technically the best, r4i gold 3ds plus (r4ids.cn branded) comes in second. good luck finding acekard these days though. r4i gold 3ds plus is more recent so maybe it's still in production at least?

stay away from anything ezflash, garbage tier support I dont think I have to elaborate on that. if you're going to spend $60 on a gba card you might as well do the extra $40 and get everdrive gba for $100 and have an actually good card. goomba/goomba color is pretty good and majority of games run full speed with minimal graphical problems, so you might be happy with just everdrive gba, play gb/c games in gba mode with the emulator. everdrive gb is more expensive if you absolutely want to play games in gbc mode or on gbc.

okay, so are the flashcarts not really particularly good if you want just a replacement to risking wearing out your actual cartridges? Since the way it sounds things are maybe worse then how they were when I was a kid and my dad used PASSCARD + M3 NDS&GBA Movie Player. Since for that there were a few games that wouldn't save but most games ran at what seemed like full speed without graphical problems.

 

[boots_n_cats]

okay, so are the flashcarts not really particularly good if you want just a replacement to risking wearing out your actual cartridges? Since the way it sounds things are maybe worse then how they were when I was a kid and my dad used PASSCARD + M3 NDS&GBA Movie Player. Since for that there were a few games that wouldn't save but most games ran at what seemed like full speed without graphical problems.

Flashcarts are a great option if that's what you want to do. That guy is really overly negative about the situation and is pretty out of date on what's good at what isn't. These days, any slot-1 DS flashcart will play 99+% of games at full speed with no issues. The best place to buy them is AliExpress and they cost like $10.

 

[stl25]

okay, so are the flashcarts not really particularly good if you want just a replacement to risking wearing out your actual cartridges? Since the way it sounds things are maybe worse then how they were when I was a kid and my dad used PASSCARD + M3 NDS&GBA Movie Player. Since for that there were a few games that wouldn't save but most games ran at what seemed like full speed without graphical problems.

If you want a flashcart Ace3DS+ or X will work and are relatively cheap. Or you could just use TWiLight Menu on hacked DSi/DSi XL/3DS. Just have to check game compatibility.

Would definitely steer clear of EZ Flash Parallel though. Not ready for the limelight that one.

 

[ultraforce]

Flashcarts are a great option if that's what you want to do. That guy is really overly negative about the situation and is pretty out of date on what's good at what isn't. These days, any slot-1 DS flashcart will play 99+% of games at full speed with no issues. The best place to buy them is AliExpress and they cost like $10.

Main thing I would want is to be able to inject events/rom hacks in games I own and being able to take extracted saves from my actual cards so that I don’t need to be using a case and swapping 6 cartridges in 12 minutes.

 

[4d1xlaan]

it sounded like you didnt have any and were looking for one. if you already have them though then they're good to use. acekard 2i with akaio and r4i gold with wood r4, you cant beat that.

i'd happily be proven wrong about ezflash for gba and gbc though

 

[ultraforce]

it sounded like you didnt have any and were looking for one. if you already have them though then they're good to use. acekard 2i with akaio and r4i gold with wood r4, you cant beat that.

i'd happily be proven wrong about ezflash for gba and gbc though

I have one that kind of works for the ds and ds lite but it requires using the gba slot for the actual sd card. Huh seems the m3 is actually pretty decent for just game boy stuff

 

[boots_n_cats]

I have one that kind of works for the ds and ds lite but it requires using the gba slot for the actual sd card. Huh seems the m3 is actually pretty decent for just game boy stuff View attachment 437627
View attachment 437626

That is ancient. Keep it as a collectable but do yourself a favor and get an Ace3DS X for DS games. While the M3 is probably fine as a GBA cart, DS game compatibility is poor and not worth the hassle when slot-1 carts don't require manual ROM patching and support essentially every DS game ever made as well as most ROM hacks.

 

[4d1xlaan]

depends, does m3 gbamp run commercial gba roms? compability probably shouldnt be an issue if it does, but I'm trying to figure out if it uses a battery for saving. looks like it does? it's probably dead by now, and it's soldered on. but apparently the m3 gbamp used a rechargeable battery?

I mean, there's no harm in trying and seeing what runs and what doesn't, if it works and plays gba games well enough for your needs then stick with that tbh. it might even be good enough for gb/c with goomba color. but dont expect good ds game compatibility with a slot-2 card, these stopped being supported pretty early in the ds's life span so any games that came out after the last software update likely won't work (games need to be individually patched to make them read their data from slot 2 instead of slot 1, no patch = no game)

 

[ultraforce]

depends, does m3 gbamp run commercial gba roms? compability probably shouldnt be an issue if it does, but I'm trying to figure out if it uses a battery for saving. looks like it does? it's probably dead by now, and it's soldered on. but apparently the m3 gbamp used a rechargeable battery?

I mean, there's no harm in trying and seeing what runs and what doesn't, if it works and plays gba games well enough for your needs then stick with that tbh. it might even be good enough for gb/c with goomba color. but dont expect good ds game compatibility with a slot-2 card, these stopped being supported pretty early in the ds's life span so any games that came out after the last software update likely won't work (games need to be individually patched to make them read their data from slot 2 instead of slot 1, no patch = no game)

I don't know is there a way to check if it does or doesn't before I get my Joey Jr.?

 

[BuddhaHunterMac]

Add another EZ Flash to the collection ?

 

[Janni9009]

Currently what would you recommend for a DS/R4/flash cart for the DS and if possible do you have a recommendation as well for Gameboy/GBA? I'm thinking of getting flash cartridges to decrease wear on gameboy and DS cartridges and dumping saves so I can backup Pokemon games from childhood.

https://www.flashcarts.net/ds-quick-start-guide.html
https://www.flashcarts.net/gba-quick-start-guide.html
Ace3DS+/X for DS and EZODE for GBA are what I'd generally recommend most out of those (if you really need all the battery life you can get, EDGBA is also a good option. Lacks some features the EZODE has for higher cost tho). For GB/C a legit X-series EverDrive is still the best option.
GBA and GB/C also have traditional linker-based solutions to this day (InsideGadgets who also makes the GBxCartRW, BennVenn and many more make flashable carts with various specs if you'd prefer having hard 1:1 copies)
Also you're not really feasibly gonna wear out your originals, the pins are properly plated, and the flash/sram/eeprom save chips are rated for ludicrous amounts of writes.

depends, does m3 gbamp run commercial gba roms? compability probably shouldnt be an issue if it does, but I'm trying to figure out if it uses a battery for saving. looks like it does? it's probably dead by now, and it's soldered on. but apparently the m3 gbamp used a rechargeable battery?

Yes, it does... Well, the "Perfect" carts do (and you can't tell Pro or Perfect apart without seeing the box, or the board). Usually CR2016-2025 for the big carts, ML1220 for the Lite. Cart will not even boot with a dead battery iirc.

I mean, there's no harm in trying and seeing what runs and what doesn't, if it works and plays gba games well enough for your needs then stick with that tbh. it might even be good enough for gb/c with goomba color. but dont expect good ds game compatibility with a slot-2 card, these stopped being supported pretty early in the ds's life span so any games that came out after the last software update likely won't work (games need to be individually patched to make them read their data from slot 2 instead of slot 1, no patch = no game)

GBA compat is actually quite good, even has RTC. Manual patching is very much needed though... Carts also work as a GBA Expansion Pak (natively on M3Real/M3iZero, but also with GBAExpLoader besides RTC being funky).
DS compat is rather awful since support for this thing got dropped in like '08, but can possibly be somewhat redeemed with TWLMenu (haven't messed with it in a while, don't know if I ever got it to boot, definitely needs m3powerloader tho)

 

[4d1xlaan]

the one cool thing about ezflash omega de is that it uses fram to hold save data between reboots, before it writes back to the sd card. everdrive still relies on battery backed storage for this. you get warned on boot up if the battery is dry, so you can change it, but if the battery dies mid-game, you may lose progress from that play session. made worse by older kernel never actually flushing sram to sd card until you actively load a different game, newer kernel fixes this, if you get an everdrive make sure you get latest kernel.

ezflash omega de can save directly to sd card, but I wouldnt necessarily rely on this because it takes longer for the save to write to sd card than it looks like in-game. you can be conscious of this and wait some time after saving before turning off the console, but it's easy to forget the wait time and mindlessly power off too soon = corrupted save data. there is no downside to letting it save to fram and flush to sd on next reboot anyway, fram doesnt rely on a battery so you dont have to worry about data loss anyway.

my problem with ezflash for gba is that compatibility kind of really sucks for reboot and sleep patches, it's very hit or miss what games they will actually work for. I've had to use EU region of some games because the US version just didnt work with the patches (ezflash 4), which is kind of a problem because I relied on reset patch to work around dead save battery. and the 2.0 kernels with built-in patching kind of only caused more problems than they solved so it was better to stay on older kernel and continue manually patching.

for ezflash omega you dont really need to worry about that anymore, it's built different and doesnt really rely on the same software as the ez4 anymore. maybe the reboot patches and stuff actually works on all games now. regular omega has a soldered on battery though which was kind of a mind bogglingly stupid design choice (it's not like we've had over two decades by then to figure out that a socket is better), thankfully with the definitive edition they put a socket in there, well done only 5 years late.

I'd be less negative about ezflash if they didnt charge $45 for you to beta test their garbage before leaving you hanging a year later without ever coming back to actually fix issues and release stable functional software. I mean damn everdrive gb x5 is basically the same price and you get top tier support from someone who actually cares about his customers. the recent release of ezflash parallel didnt help ezflash case's either, just steal old (and outdated) open source code to sell a card >5 times more expensive than the competition, with worse hardware, and without ever intending on actually supporting it for more than a few months.

unless you absolutely _must_ have rumble and cheats and save states I just can't recommend giving ezflash $84 when for just $15 more you can support an independent manufacturer who actually cares about making a quality product.

 

[ultraforce]

the one cool thing about ezflash omega de is that it uses fram to hold save data between reboots, before it writes back to the sd card. everdrive still relies on battery backed storage for this. you get warned on boot up if the battery is dry, so you can change it, but if the battery dies mid-game, you may lose progress from that play session. made worse by older kernel never actually flushing sram to sd card until you actively load a different game, newer kernel fixes this, if you get an everdrive make sure you get latest kernel.

ezflash omega de can save directly to sd card, but I wouldnt necessarily rely on this because it takes longer for the save to write to sd card than it looks like in-game. you can be conscious of this and wait some time after saving before turning off the console, but it's easy to forget the wait time and mindlessly power off too soon = corrupted save data. there is no downside to letting it save to fram and flush to sd on next reboot anyway, fram doesnt rely on a battery so you dont have to worry about data loss anyway.

my problem with ezflash for gba is that compatibility kind of really sucks for reboot and sleep patches, it's very hit or miss what games they will actually work for. I've had to use EU region of some games because the US version just didnt work with the patches (ezflash 4), which is kind of a problem because I relied on reset patch to work around dead save battery. and the 2.0 kernels with built-in patching kind of only caused more problems than they solved so it was better to stay on older kernel and continue manually patching.

for ezflash omega you dont really need to worry about that anymore, it's built different and doesnt really rely on the same software as the ez4 anymore. maybe the reboot patches and stuff actually works on all games now. regular omega has a soldered on battery though which was kind of a mind bogglingly stupid design choice (it's not like we've had over two decades by then to figure out that a socket is better), thankfully with the definitive edition they put a socket in there, well done only 5 years late.


unless you absolutely _must_ have rumble and cheats and save states I just can't recommend giving ezflash $84 when for just $15 more you can support an independent manufacturer who actually cares about making a quality product.

Is there a way without cheats to get the aurora ticket on Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen?

Also does everdrive allow for the functionality of a DS game with a GBA cartridge installed? Since those would be two major concerns albeit niche as these are basically just Pokemon concerns.

 

[4d1xlaan]

Is there a way without cheats to get the aurora ticket on Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen?

Also does everdrive allow for the functionality of a DS game with a GBA cartridge installed? Since those would be two major concerns albeit niche as these are basically just Pokemon concerns.

I wouldnt rely on cheats for this personally, mystery gift tool is cleaner and reproduces the functionality for official events rather faithfully

https://projectpokemon.org/home/files/file/645-mystery-gift-tool-gen-3/

for ds gba transfer, you cant do it on everdrive, you will need ezflash omega de for that. regular ezflash omega wont do, you need the definitive edition version for ds gba transfer. I couldnt tell you exactly how to make it work, but there should be plenty of people here who can help with that.

alternatively, melonds emulator on pc can do ds gba transfer by loading a .sav file from a gen 3 game, but yeah it's not the same feeling as actually doing it on a real ds so it cant necessarily replace the need for ezflash omega de

 

[Materia_tofu]

Is there a way without cheats to get the aurora ticket on Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen?

Also does everdrive allow for the functionality of a DS game with a GBA cartridge installed? Since those would be two major concerns albeit niche as these are basically just Pokemon concerns.

if you're playing on a GBA flashcart you could always the mystery gift tool: https://projectpokemon.org/home/files/file/645-mystery-gift-tool-gen-3/

as it's one of the easier methods if you have access to your save file, the internet is amazing
edit: nvm the individual above beat me to it lol

 

[Marc_LFD]

The clear case cart honestly looks really cool, I've a bunch of flashcarts so not sure I'll buy one, but am intrigued. EZ Flash is a quality brand people can trust.

 

[ultraforce]

I wouldnt rely on cheats for this personally, mystery gift tool is cleaner and reproduces the functionality for official events rather faithfully

https://projectpokemon.org/home/files/file/645-mystery-gift-tool-gen-3/

for ds gba transfer, you cant do it on everdrive, you will need ezflash omega de for that. regular ezflash omega wont do, you need the definitive edition version for ds gba transfer. I couldnt tell you exactly how to make it work, but there should be plenty of people here who can help with that.

alternatively, melonds emulator on pc can do ds gba transfer by loading a .sav file from a gen 3 game, but yeah it's not the same feeling as actually doing it on a real ds so it cant necessarily replace the need for ezflash omega de

Okay, in that case I think I kind of need the ezflash, my main thing is preserving and using my old GBA games and a big part of that is my Pokemon stuff and I don't particularly have an interest in using DS emulators on PC. Wanted to know partially since I'm considering whether I should order through Retro Game Repair Shop vs Amazon/Ali Express for a battery replacement and if I am ordering something from them already I might as well at least grab the GBA Flashcart even if it's not worth going for the DS flashcart due to the current problems with the parallel.

Though, I'm still debating a bit with myself if I should instead wait and get a kit to try and do a USB-C mod instead.

@4d1xlaan do you have any recommendations for buying from RGRS vs Amazon vs Ali Express when it comes to these things?

 

[boots_n_cats]

even if it's not worth going for the DS flashcart due to the current problems with the parallel.

It’s absolutely worth getting a DS flashcart, just not the EZ Flash Parallel.

 

[4d1xlaan]

do you have any recommendations for buying from RGRS vs Amazon vs Ali Express when it comes to these things?

I don't have firsthand experience with any of these, but as a matter of principle I avoid amazon, and I'd probably rather give money to RGRS than fund aliexpress with my money and data. it looks cheaper on aliexpress though so if price is a concern, that's probably the way to go.