R4 3DS Card

Does the R4 3DS or R4 DS Card work on the Nintendo 3DS XL or DSi XL ? Read about my reviews of 3DS Homebrew games and apps - all running on the Nintendo 3DS to find out!

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GBAEMU4DS - A Small FAQ

Welcome to the gbaemu4DS FAQ. This page is for help with the Slot-1 GBA emulator, gbaemu4DS.

Q: How do I load a ROM?

A: Easy! Just put a GBA ROM anywhere on your flashcart, browse to the ROM on gbaemu4DS and launch it. Most ROMs work with the default settings.

Q: How do I save?

A:if you use a Version lower alpha 1 (r42) Save in game first then press L+R+A+B then press "save save". if you use the alpha 1 Version (r42) or greater press the Y Button or press UP+A+B then press "save save".

Q: What about loading the save?

A: Easy. Just load the save instead of the ROM, then click "savefile" and select the ROM and boot it. starting from Version r41 there is also an auto detect function for save files (you can still load saves the old way if you want to do that)

Q: Why does some games crash?

A: The compatibility isn't perfect at the moment. You could try a different version or save type (128k Flash fixes most white screens). Also (E) roms work better.

Q: Which version do I use?

A: advirq for most ROMs, all the others for homebrew. Though you can use other versions for ROMs too, but the advirq version is made especially for commercial ROMs. There are some exceptions to this example "Yggdra Union: We'll Never Fight Alone" need HblancDMA or forceHblanc (works a bit better than HblancDMA)

Q: Why is there glitchy fuzz round the sides of the screen?

A: Because ichfly hasn't added a GBA border yet. However you can use sc versions which scales the rom to fit the whole DS/DSi/3DS screen.

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Chip Tunes On The Nintendo 3DS with the R4 3DS

Before I had my R4 3DS card, I had no idea that there was such a thing as FREEWARE for the Nintendo 3DS.  I knew about freeware games and applications for the PC, but I figured downloading and running any type of freeware was not only impossible, but also not something any developers would be able to accomplish without making it a commercial game.

Then I heard about the R4 3DS Card and it has opened up a whole new world of options for Nintendo 3DS and 2DS owners.  There actually are a bunch of Homebrew developers designing, coding and releasing applications and games that you can't buy in stores because they’re free, and you’ll need one of the r4 3ds cards to be able to load and play them.

I actually found out about the R4 cards while I was searching online for music / beat type games for my Nintendo 3DS.  I realized that there weren’t too many of them available at all, and not the type of musical games I was looking for. I was looking for games that were similar to DJ Hero and Guitar hero.  

And I did find a couple of games.  But I also found a little 3ds homebrew app called DS Drum Machine for the Nintendo 3DS. With the DS Drum Machine you can create, save and play any number of your own custom beats. 

These classic sounds and samples are heavily in use in trance and techno tunes even today, and all you need to be able to do your own beats is your R4 3DS and DS Drum Machine.

The list of features for this freeware app rivals many of the commercial drum machines I’ve come across on my PC...... and there’s actually nothing like it for the 3DS system at all.

Check out the cool features of DS Drum Machine:

909 and 808 sample sets included, 

16th note resolution, 

variable drum volume, 

adjustable BPM, 

FL Studio-like loop editor, 

basic pattern support, 

interactive TR-909 graphical user interface designed by headspin, 

touch screen support.

You will need an R4 3DS card like the one from r43ds.org to be able to load and play your ds drum machine and all of the other apps.

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R4 3DS Confirmed Working on The Nintendo 3DS 7.1.0-16 Update

It's been a long time ... almost forever since I posted something, but school got in the way of things that are actually fun. :)  I am back now though and I plan to turn this in to a great resource for fans of the Nintendo 3DS and 3DS homebrew gaming.  

For now though, check out the video on how to update your R4 3DS so that it will work with the newest 7.1.0-16 Nintendo 3DS update... And make sure you don't actually update your 3DS until you've followed the steps in the video.  Please note the video is NOT mine - I am just sharing!

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This is one of the coolest things I have tried out in the last few weeks.  I just finished downloading the freeware app DSx86 for the Nintendo 3DS (and the Nintendo DS of course) and found a few videos on Youtube of others doing the same thing.

What is DSx86?  It's a DOS emulator for the Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS systems.  It lets you load up and play a huge number of old PC Dos games on your hand held console.  The best thing about it though is that DSx86 is 100% free to download and use :)  True freeware at it's best.  It's similar to what dosbox does for the PC and the MAC, which also let you load and play old DOS games on your PC or Mac computer.  

Even Windows users, who use say Windows 7, need to use a so called emulator in order to enable playing of old classic dos games.  Places like gog.com also release old dos games, using dosBox as their base to enable loading of these old games.

With DSx86, you can now load many of the biggest dos games on your Nintendo 3DS or DS / DSi system too.  You just need the original game files copied over to a micro SD card.  You'll need an adapter like the r4 3ds found here that will enable you to actually load and run DSx86.  Without it, you won't be able to run them, as they don't run from the 3DS SD card at all.

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Watching Movies On My Nintendo 3DS

I just watched Killing Them Softly on My Nintendo 3DS system.  Yep, that's right, on my 3DS.  No, you can't download movies from the eShop, but I can definitely play and watch them on my 3DS with my trusty R4 3DS card.  I bought the DVD combo pack.  It came with the DVD and a digital copy of the movie.  With the MoonShell player, I can actually take that digital copy, transfer it over to my R4 3DS micro SD memory card, and then I boot up moonshell on the 3DS and away I went.

I know this movie didn't get rave reviews, but I am a huge fan of any type of artsy film, and this certainly fit the bill.  It's got some comedy, some action and the story is pretty damn good if I may say so myself.  It's about some amateur hustlers that knock over a card game, only to be hunted down by a couple of hit mean for doing the deed.

I'm not a big fan of Brad Pitt, but I am a huge fan of Ray Liotta.  It's all about the GoodFellas movie.  He really kicked some butt in that movie, and I've been a fan ever since.  It's too bad he;s been typecast, because I think he'd do well in any role that he could get his acting muscles around.

There are few media players available for the Nintendo 3DS with the R4, but the best one by far is MoonShell.  It will play back pretty much any codec and let you watch AVI and DivX movies on your Nintendo 3DS system. 

You can find out more by clicking here, but you WILL have to supply your own movies :)

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The New R4 3DS Dual Core Card Has Been Updated

It seems like most of the guys making the R4 DS cards don't seem to give much of a hoot about the people who actually buy them.  Just from reading on sites like GBATemp.net and other homebrew blogs, there seem to be a slew of "abandoned" carts out there.  Cards that get updated to a certain point and then get discarded by the manufacturers for one reason or another.  I don't pretend to know the reason, because I don't make the cards.  But it seems to me like the factories like to make a card, support it for a while.  Then, when enough people have bought them that their sales have started slowing down, they dump the card, and stop making firmware updates for it... Then they release a new version of the card in hope of picking up new customers.

Initially, this may seem exactly like the R4 3DS Dual Core card is about.  Every year they come out with a new version of the card.  This year has been no exception.  They've come out with the new 2013 version of the r4 3ds, bringing with it a lot of game compatibility fixes and some new faster loading features thanks to the faster processor in the card itself.

Thankfully though, these guys don't drop their old customers.  At least not from what I have been reading.  While the have released a new version every year, their old cards continue to work and get the support they need even to this day.  A friend has the Dual Core card from back in 2011, and he is still able to use the kernel updates and run everything the card can run.  Instead of bringing out new cards and dropping the kernel updates, you continue to get the updates you need.  Now, there may be some games that end up not working - but that is exactly why they are forced to keep updating their card and bringing out new versions.  I will say that from what I am told, the list of non-working games is rather small, so it really doesn't impact a whole lot of people.

The new 2013 version has some updated compatibility - and a much faster main processor.  This is huge, because it's the main processor that does all of the loading and running, while the secondary processor simply helps out by decoding some of the information sent by the main processing chip.

As a quick note: I don't own this card, I have another brand of the r4 3ds, but I after reading all of the reviews, I am thinking about upgrading my card and getting this new dual core version 'cause I want to have a flash cart that actually gets updated.  And one that keeps getting updated even if a new model is released.  And from what I can see, that is exactly what these guys do.  They keep supporting the older model of their card, so you don't have to rush out and buy a whole new card all over again.

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Yep, you can actually get a FREE R4 3DS Card which works on the Nintendo DS, DSi and 3DS systems.  All you have to do is buy 2 and the third card is free.  Check out the video for details.  

This is not a coupon code or anything of the sort.  You just buy the 2 cards and the company sends you a free card.

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R4 3DS and R4i Gold 3DS Updated For the 4.1.08 3DS Systems

The good people over at the official R4 3DS site from http://www.r43ds.org have now posted some exciting news for the owners of their R4 3DS and R4i Gold 3DS Cards.  According to this news release the official firmware has been updated for both of these cards, and they now both support the 4.1.08 Nintendo 3DS and the 1.4.4 Nintendo DSi and DSi XL consoles.  

There's no new card to buy (which seems to be the course of things when buying a clone card) and all you have to do is download their newest firmware in order for you to be able to start playing your homebrew once again.

There is one thing to take in to consideration however.  If you have *already* updated your card to the newest 4.1.08 or DSi 1.4.4 updates, then you will have to use an older console, like a DS or DS Lite, or borrow a friends DSi or 3DS system that is still below the 4.1.08 update, in order to be able to run the firmware update so that you card will be able to work on the new system os'es.

Visit their R4 3DS Firmware page in order to download the very newest firmware updates, and get back to playing your games and apps just as you did before.

On another note, keep your eyes on this page in the next week or so, as we'll have some how to guides set up and ready to go.  Some info on the latest updates to the best emulators for the Nintendo 3DS as well as others exciting homebrew information and news.

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R4 3DS

We're currently testing the R4 3DS Rts here at my house.  We bought two of them from http://www.r43ds.org and these are the newest cards that actually seem to always get updated faster than any other card out there.  Why did we get these?  Well, for the purposes of REAL TIME SAVE and also because it is the only card that continues to work after the bunch of updates that have been going around.  We went from 3.0.06 to 4.0.07 and now, just as of a couple of days ago, the 3DS has been updated to 4.1.08 version of the system software.  

It's actually no small feat to get your console and r4 3ds up and running with every new firmware, but the R4 3DS Team seems to have gotten it down pat, with their cards working right out of the gate in most cases.  Usually within 1-2 days of a system update, they have a new firmware that is up and running and loading all of our homebrew games and apps on even the latest 3ds and dsi systems.

 And with the RTS version of their card, they have done just that with their r4 3ds RTS version of the card.  They even swapped out some chips it seems to make sure that they can continue to be ahead of the game.

most of these flash cards seem to have issues loading up all of the games and emulators, and when an update comes out, there is always the potential for your card to stop working due to incompatibility.

For people that are already using this card, if you are at DSi 1.44 or have updated to the 3ds 4.0.07 and the card is working, there is nothing you have to do.  The card will simply continue working on this new update without any ened to swap out the firmware at all.  No need to upgrade or update, just put the card in and it will be working. 

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R4 DS Card Not Working On My DSi XL

So yesterday I "Retired" my original Nintendo DS system.  By retired I don't mean threw it away.  I gave it to my young second cousin.  He's always dropping things so I think perhaps giving him the old big gret guy was a good choice.  It's seen it's days of hitting the ground already and seems to me like it can take a bit of a licking.  My R4 DS Card was meant to stay with me of course.  As before I retired the DS, I went out and got myself the DSi XL.  I've got BIG hands... and the DSi XL seems to fit much better in them and I am actually enjoying playing my games quite a bit more now that I can get a proper grip on the console itself.

Well, the R4 DS was actually only with me for 2 more days.  As it turns out, the R4 DS Card will simply not work in my new DSi XL system.  It would be great if it did, but it does not.  All is not lost however, because there IS a solution.  I've actually gotten my hands on the new R4i SDHC card, which does work 100% perfectly on my new DSi XL.  I guess the R4 DS was the original version, which did work right up to the DS Lite systems, but simply won't work on the new DSi or the DSi XL console.  No big deal I suppose - it has served me well in the last 3 years, so I  have nothing to complain about.

So with my DSi XL in hand, I splurged on an R4i SDHC Card for the DSi - and it's second best investment I ever made for my portable gaming (The original R4 DS Card was the first) and so far, no compaints.  The R4i SDHC works very much the same as the original r4 ds in that I can drag and drop files (movies, music, etc..) on to my microsd card.

Thankfully all of my homebrew games are working just like they did