Which MagicKey Set is best???

[enixidfrag]

i'm sorry if the following question seems n00bish but when it comes to the DS... well i am a n00b. i've been a PSP fan boy for quit sometime and intend on remaining one. i am highly involved in a bunch PSP sites and if you google my name anything that comes up is by me. (i even moderate a bunch of PSP sites)

so anyway the other day a recieved a DS from a friend. i've been looking at the MagicKey's all night. so my question is due i get the NEO-Max and MagicKey 3 8 GB set or should i wait for the MK4 (provided they intend on releasing it within a few months or so) and will i be able to play the following games:

Metroid Prime Hunters
Metroid Pinball
Princess Peach
Resident Evil

just making sure does the NEO-Max and MagicKey 3 8 GB set have the availability to choose from different roms to load?

also was wondering whats this i hear i have to have a custom firmware or something???/ and where do i find it???

My DS Firmware Version according to the test was

- NDS-V1: DS will freeze, when you remove the cart.

and incase you were wondering i do intend on creating some homebrew for for the DS eventually. but i've got some PSP homebrew projects that are taking a higher priority

once again thanx for all your help

[angelfly]

My suggestion is wait for the MK4. If you plan on running things from SD MPH, and RE, and Princess Peach won't work on MK3 (not sure about Metroid Pinball).

[bruceg]

It's good to have psp and nds dual users around.  I wish they would develop a modchip for psp so I can buy it again, and not have to worry about all those crazy loaders/decryption files, just to get particular isos to work correctly.  But I digress.....

Anyways, Angelfly is right..  I wouldn't really recommend mk2/mk3 currently, if you want to run all those roms right now (there are currently issues in the menu software that need to be resolved in order to add compatibility so that they ALL work....  I have a feeling that mk4 will be able to run them flawlessly, though (the release date at this particular time is still uncertain).

Presently, in order to run those particular roms, I think you will have better luck with a non-neoflash product, such as supercard or M3 (those have higher compatibility levels with roms than neoflash currently)

If you want to know all about magic key 2/3, then the FAQ is here:

http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index.php/topic,1529.msg7919.html#msg7919

Basically, the first thing you should do is run the firmware test to see if your nintendo ds is compatible with Passme1 (that is a device that redirects your nintendo ds to run the contents of the gba flashcart).

The firmware test is here:

http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index.php/topic,1565.0.html

If have an older firmware revision (ds screens do NOT turn yellow or magenta), then you should be able to use all the magic keys and also the non-neoflash products with relative ease (i.e. ds is already directly compatible).  It's only when you have a newer firmware, that you have to worry about installing a 'hacked', older version in order to regain compatibility.

Check it out and come back with any questions...

BruceG

[enixidfrag]

sorry i forgot to state that i did already do that test and mine was

- NDS-V1: DS will freeze, when you remove the cart.

btw bruceg i actualy help out with making of some of those patched games and whatnot that you see for the PSP

[angelfly]

sorry i forgot to state that i did already do that test and mine was

- NDS-V1: DS will freeze, when you remove the cart.

Your good to go then. Your DS will work with any hardware you decide to use.

[enixidfrag]

thats good to here. so if i were to go with one of those other products that would mean i would only be able to play one game at a time???/ also is there some site i should go to for a compatability list for those other devices???

and do you think that they will either release some new nfo on MK4 in a couple months cause if you do i can just borrow games from my work while i wait (i work at EB Games) cause the NEO Flash looks so much more proffessional so i dont wanna make the wrong choice and waste a bunch of money on something thats gonna beat out in the next few months or something. (kinda like how i felt when i bought that P.O.S. PSP2TV)

[bruceg]

Generally, you load all your roms onto the SD card (or similar mmc card), and you use the 'loader' in order to select which one you want to run (can run gba roms as well with the non-neoflash products)

I'm not sure about M3 (Angelfly has that).  The supercard compatibility list should be here:

http://www.dualscene.net/news.php

Yeah, I think new info will likely be released on the mk4 within a couple of months (a news announcement detailing the specifications always comes out well beforehand).

Good thing about supercard, though, is I picked up mine (SD version) for around $43 on Ebay, so I didn't have a whole lot to lose (you do need a Passme1 device, SD card, and SD card reader, though).  The neoflash stuff can be expensive, so you should definitely do your research beforehand.  M3 is something like $90 I think.

BruceG

[enixidfrag]

so you can play those 4 games listed on your supercard and which device do you think is best???

also you said i need a PassMe i was wondering if theres a PassMe out there thats not an expossed circuit bored (never a good thing especially when my little nieces wanna play with it probably)

[bruceg]

I can't speak for M3, but supercard should run all those nds roms you mentioned (I just checked the compatibility list, as I haven't tested them yet).  There are signficant issues with some gba roms (slowdown, apparently due to slow onboard ram).  Nevertheless, it's probably the best value for what it can do...

Check out their site as well:
http://www.scdev.org/

Yeah, the commercial passme devices should all be fine -- nothing really exposed.   I'm not sure about the build quality of the passme device sold on the www.dspassme.com site.   The commercial versions include: Magic key, Superpass, EZPass, Passkey (they all should slot nicely into the ds).  The latest versions, such as the Superpass 2 (based on Passme2), are made for those who have newer ds firmware (you don't have to worry about that in your particular case).  However, they still function with an older ds by acting as a simple Passme1 device.

For the new ds lite coming out, one will need a passme2 device in order to make it compatible.  That's one area where a Passme2 device, such as Superpass2, would come in handy.

BruceG

EDIT: You also need an original ds game cartridge to insert into the passme device.  Later on, you can install the flashme firmware on your ds, so that you may remove the Passme device from the nds slot (the passme device will allow you to install the flashme application, if you should so decide)

[angelfly]

The m3 will play all of them as well. Also since you have an older firmware you can use the Passme2-Z which is slightly bigger than a DS cart. If you need smaller the M3 team has announced a passcard which is a ds cart sized passme.

[bruceg]

good point, angelfly..  I keep on forgetting these newer, smaller devices...

BruceG

[enixidfrag]

so then angelfly you recommend the M3 and can recommend a good place to get it relativly cheap

and which do you think is better CF or SD version

[bruceg]

hey angelfly,

Don't you have the newer SD version:

http://www.divineo.cn/cgi-bin/div-cn/index.html

There's also one that includes a Passkey2...

Divineo usually has pretty good prices...  I use them as a basis for comparison, where possible (but I found the best deal on Ebay)

BruceG

[angelfly]

hey angelfly,

Don't you have the newer SD version:

http://www.divineo.cn/cgi-bin/div-cn/index.html

There's also one that includes a Passkey2...

Divineo usually has pretty good prices...  I use them as a basis for comparison, where possible (but I found the best deal on Ebay)

BruceG

I have the older bottom loading SD version. It came with a passkey2 and the programmer for it. However I haven't used it since I have flashme installed. I myself order from Divineo. I've never had any problems with them. I did check ebay first but couldn't find anything within the US.

[enixidfrag]

hey guys just wanted to say thanx for all your great help and for not making me feel like the n00b i know i probably sounded like. and if any of you guys ever have any questions concerning the PSP feel free to ask me and i promise to show you the same generous curtiousy you guys showed me.

also a bunch of us from ProjectPSP (thats right im that enixidfrag the one and only Rip-Kit designer for ProjectPSP) are creating a DS "Support" forum (i will start it once i recieve my M3. so if you guys would like to join and if you want can deffinatly be Mods (we could deffinatly use the help) just drop me a line.

btw heres the card i ended up choosing:
M3 Adapter CF w/Passkey