I need some definitive answers.What are the genuine pros/cons of these things? is it really 100% accurate? or is it more like 99.9% accurate, and if so in what ways does it differ from the original? I've heard flashcarts are also bad for hardware, though, marginally so. Something to do with their batteries and energy output. As well, I'm not sure *every* flashcart can play *every* game, especially not perfectly.I just find it hard to believe that so many people still collect carts when you can literally just get one of these and be done... There must be some reason people abstain from buying them and prefer to just collect, I understand the sentimental/decorative/feely aspects of it, but I only really care about playing the games on real hardware and this seems like having your cake and eating it too. Are some flashcarts better than others, console wise? like are the 64 flashcarts ahead or behind the NES/SNES flashcarts?>inb4 "just use google"I have, and I'd rather just talk about it with other people who are into the same shit as me for the same reasons.
>>10874248I think that if you buy the top end krikkz flashdrives you'll have no problems. I have the cheaper krikkz snes and the bootleg n64 one in your pic. The snes one doesn't play shit that have special chops in the carts and my n64 one wipes saves on the reg. The game themselves play perfect though.
>>10874248I have flashcarts/ODEs for nearly all of my systems. Since then, I have never plugged an authentic cartridge in them. All of my original games are stored now in rubbermaid bins, and placed in my basement. All of my systems run flashcarts, ODEs, or backups in one way or another. Fuck buying original games, fuck scalpers, and fuck the used game market.pros>save money if you want to play on original hardware>save space>convenient>can play romhacks, homebrew, and translated gamescons>high upfront cost>some research needed>some ODEs need extra steps/parts to get working the way you want>it can be a rabbit hole>still more expensive than emulation>still takes up more space than emulation
>>10874248Depends on the game, flashcart, and console.Assuming you're just playing a game normally (and said game is compatible), it's safe to say it's as accurate as it can possibly be. Only inaccuracy that might exist is loading speed, but even then it's almost certainly not perceptible.However compatibility may be more complex depending on what you want to play. Some games have specialized hardware (clock batteries, special on board chips, sensors), which generally means needing to shell out extra cash. Some games with more edge case scenarios (think Pokemon RBYGSC with stadium, or RSEFrLg with all its connections) may or may not work depending on your cart. In short, when deciding to get a cart for a system, research what's what you want to play to see if it's compatible.Only hardware issue would be having a lower battery life on portable consoles. Of course this only applies if you're using a well known manufacturer, and not some mystery Chinese special.Yes, some consoles' flashcarts are just straight better with later home console systems generally needing more advanced cartridges for similar compatibility.For example the Snes flashcart has to have an extra chip onboard to emulate any of the specialty chips included, and earlier n64 flashcarts required you to reset the console before turning off (to keep your save file).I held off on them because I did almost all my retro game buying when I was a kid in the early-mid 2000s. But now they're pretty much the only thing I'd recommend nowadays, because even the shit that sold millions of copies cost way too much.Take for example the FXPak pro for the snes. Easily the most expensive flashcart at ~270$. Sounds insane, but when you look at some of the best games on the systemSuper Metroid: $60Final Fantasy 6: $60Kirby Super Star: $60LttP: $35Yoshi's Island: $40Mario World: $20Suddenly using flashcarts and emulators looks a lot more sane lmao.
>>10874381I have the edg4 plus cart in the OP image and havent had issues yet, but if I do have problems e.g. save wipes I guess I'll spring for a legit everdrive. The thing is, the krikkz ones are like $300 and the chink one I got was like $60.
>>10874406If you buy a recently made chink Flash cart it should have up to date firmware and be able to handle most of the special chip SNES games.
I bought one of these Super 64 carts off AliExpress since it was way cheaper than the one Krikkz makes, but it seems like a coin-flip if the game will actually boot or not? Just say; Majora's Mask might boot but then I'll try to load it again tomorrow and it will just stay on a black screen after being selected? I guess I will just fork out for a "genuine" flashcart eventually.
>>10874418I checked the system folder on mine and it does seem to have BIOS files for all of the major SNES cartridge chips. I didn't see one for SuperFX but it has the Yoshi's Island ROM and I assume that wouldn't be there if it didn't work. I have the actual cartridge though so it doesn't matter if it doesn't.
I think you should buy only krikkz flash carts and no one elses. No other flash cart works. It will break within 30 seconds. You should only buy krikkz brand flash carts if you want top quality for your american dollar. For only 200 dollars you can have best and only flash cart in the world. everyone else they have power issue unlike genius krikkz who has secret formula to make flash cart that works and the others dont have have what krikkz flash cart have so they break very fast. for 200 dollars you will get the top of the line. krikkz charge 170% markup on profit because he is business man and i can respect krikkz for charging so much for quality item.you should only buy krikkz flash cart unless you are fool for money, other ones dont work!
>>10874248More often than not, flashcarts consume more power than regular carts (especially the cheaper ones such as r4 clones).
>>10874645Have you tried renaming your files? I had that issue with an ED64 i own, no fucking game would load if the filename or filepath was too long.
>>10874248The good thing is the large amount of games you can play using them. It is on a case-by-case basis if they work. For example, my Chinese SD2SNES being an older revision F requires some soldering to get the audio levels of MSU-1 games right. It is great to experience some prototypes and refound media like Satellaview games. These days the flashcarts also add features like being able to play CD games without a CD drive. A big negative are all the pitfalls of bootleg ones from China. Such as holding the reset button prior to powering off with the N64. Also with bootleg Chinese flashcarts, you cannot update the firmware, otherwise it will be bricked. So long as you pay extra for the originals, you should be alright.
>>10874248ED64 can play most things but can't do roms that have a higher filesize than 64MB eg. OOTxMM randomizer which is annoying and probably the sole reason I'll one day drop $150 on an X7
>>10874248I have the N8 Everdrive Pro and it works like a charm. Soldered 47k resistor between expansion pin 3 and 9 and set the audio preset for it, works perfectly for it too.
>>10874401It only costs like 225 dollars if you order straight from ukraine but that takes 2 weeks to ship
>>10874856How many of these pieces of paper have you written on? Do you throw them away or keep them somewhere so that you can show them off one day?
like with emulation having too many ROMs on Flash cart can create paralysis of choice. one trick to avoid this is to put in the config file to reset the game to the title screen not reset to the Flash cart meny so you aren't tempted to reboot and try another game.
>>10874393>high upfront costwell because of resellers and scalpers that's the only reason of high price.>before : buy n64 everdrive at 15 dollars>now : buy 64 everdrive for special offer price 300 dollars.and don't get started on chinese flashcarts,they are good but they are being sold overpriced as cheap (i remember getting the R4i for 3 dollars,now the same shit is being sold at 20 times the price even the clones)
What are the downsides to getting one of these aliexpress flashcarts?
>>10874927Krikizz doesn't get paid. I mean, nobody is _wishing_ a Russian shell would fall on his house while he's inside of it because he's a dirty scalper, but...
>>10874921This seems like a common pitfall when someone first gets into piracy: they're overwhelmed by the floodgate they just opened.You get over it eventually. You don't have to play them all. It's just an opportunity to play the games you want to play.
>>10874941I don't know about SNES flash carts but on NES ones it's bad to reset the thing and switch between games as the FPGA gets messed up and will start glitching so you have to power cycle it to get it working again.
works fine after I upgraded the sd card to a non-chinese one
>>10874930terraonion pls go
>>10874930he got lucky anyway; he didn't have to go in the Ukrainian army due to a medical condition
>>10874930kill yourself you ungrateful nigger. you wouldn't have any of your shitty budget chinese clone everdrives in the first place if he didn't make the actual functioning ones.
>>10874248>is it really 100% accurate?No, but it's close enough that you probably won't notice or care. For some games it's literally just a matter of loading data from memory and those games will be 100% accurate but for anything that uses a mapper or an extra chip (the vast majority of Nintendo games) they're running through an FPGA. For some stuff like Sega CD and PCE CD, everything runs on the FPGA.
>>10874964>>10874978t. krikzz
>>10874893Do you have a retard-proof tutorial for the expansion audio resistor (assuming yours was an original NES too)? Do you think there's any merit to the idea of using a potentiometer instead?
>>10874980I was under the impression PCE CD doesn't do game processing like the Sega CD
>>10874982no really terraonion get out
>>10874983potentiometer is used to change resistance and in effect the volume of the instrument. There's no point to doing this with everdrive since you can change the audio volume in the options menu. I used this -> https://www.retrofixes.com/2014/05/open-hidden-sound-channels-in-nes.html because its the only one with an actual image but the information itself is everywhere. It's just soldering a resistor between two points so you can't really make a guide out of it. I guess just have some practice with soldering on lead solder
>>10874961What was the issue with the SD card it came with? Just too slow?
>>10874992Forgot to mention one thing: This may not be necessary but consider putting kapton or electrical tape on the area where the resistor will rest. The cartridge slot is placed right on top so it needs to be layed flat, without tape in the way the resistor lead would probably touch some solder points on accident and cause some kind of problem
The biggest con is that many romhacks (especially older ones) were designed using inaccurate emulators, so they either won't play or play like shit on real hardware. N64 is the biggest culprit for this; the vast majority of Mario 64 hacks don't work on real hardware at all.If you goal is to just play retail games though, there's basically no downside whatsoever. Most of the people buying cartridges at this point are more into collecting than playing, or they buy certain games for sentimental value.
>>10874987The system cards did. Those are being run on the FPGA.
I've been thinking about the microSD issue. Last time I bought a few, the smallest ones for sale were 32GBs, I just needed a 16GB one for my GB flashcart, and even a 8GB would have been fine.I keep reading how some flashcarts can't go past certain sizes, and every now and then flash storage makes a small jump and the smallest cards available are doubled in size (the top end also doubles)Won't we have issues sooner rather than later? Or is there a way to buy like from amazon or something if you need older smaller cards?
>>10874248>There must be some reason people abstain from buying them and prefer to just collectThe main root cause is poorfaggotry. It often triggers mental disorders that are confused with the cause, but are actually symptoms. There are very few people who people can afford to collect games and don't own any flash carts.
>ProYou get all the games>ConThey're kind of expensive. But when you consider you're getting ALL OF THE GAMES it's not to bad even in the worst cases because YOU GET ALL OF THE GAMES!
>>10875028not him but the chink sd cards are ticking time bombs. reminds me i need to get off my ass this weekend and swap out the chink one i have in my n64 flash cart.
>>10875028honestly, i've found buying sd cards from any manufacturer other than sandisk sucks colossal ass. Everything else has been unreliable dogshit in comparison. samsung even has weird compat issues with some stuff
OP here>>10874393>>10874401>>10874951>>10874980>>10875159These were all super helpful, and I'll keep all these posts in mind when looking for flashcarts.Mostly I've been looking into N64 flashcarts, as that's really the only cartridge based system I have anymore.>>10874921>>10874941While I understand this mentality, I grew up with several jailbroke consoles with many pirated games on them so the amount of choice doesn't bother me as much.I just view it as kind of a bookshelf, like I can pick out a book (a game) and dedicate myself to that one book before picking up another. It's just nice see all the books I can read at any given time.
>>10876043Kingston has been good to me so far. The problem I had with sandisk is too many chink fakes
>>10877132 (Me)Now that I think about it, the other reason I quit using them is that out of three 32GB sandisk full size SD cards of various speed classes I bought, only one of them worked properly with my super everdrive. It was a pain in the ass to figure out what the problem was, and I wasn't impressed after paying full price of like $30-45 each at the time. No idea if any were fakes.
I have a NES and SNES chink Flash cart and the SD cards work with no obvious issues outside of the NES one being really slow (about 7 seconds to start Kirby's Adventure).
I know that sandisk has revised their lower capacity micro cards in recent years and that older everdrives won't necessarily work with them. Had that issue with my gb x7. I ended up swapping in the card from my GBA flashcart and using my older card in the gb x7.
>>10877163But of course, sandisk is the best manufacturer available
I want a flashcart for my Gamecube gameboy player and one for my NTSC-J SNES. I suppose for the gameboy player I'd want an EZ Flash Omega DE and for the SNES I'd get the cheapest Everdrive? X5 was it? FXPak is not worth it to me, considering I'm thinking of building a MiSTer down the line. I feel like the special chip games aren't that many and worth it, and also not keen on buying aliexpress clones and waiting a month for shipping and also having to deal with customs. What do you guys think?
>>10874248For nes the way chips like mmc3 are simulated would not be 100% so that gliching you would get from the gameplay area to the menu could happen in a slightly different area to a real cart but a real cart still has little flickering pixels. You can't really expect it to be exact and as long as you can play the games its fine. Game with on cart audio may sound a bit different to the real thing.For genesis its identical but the faster memory should allow it to work better on overclocked systems.N64 its identical in gameplay but you have to press reset to save on some of them.GBA and Gameboy flashcart save batteries don't last very long and I believe it was something to do with having a low batter on the GB would drain the battery on the flash cart.Older flash carts ran the chips at the wrong voltage so there was concern that it may put stress on the chips, more recent ones have voltage translation hardware to fix the issue.
My chink Turbo EverDrive came with a fake 8gb Sandisk SD card that works fine, weirdly though a lot of the preloaded roms were translated into French but I just deleted the lot and installed my own romset
>>10877756Some guys have decapped MMC3 chip so we have a proper understanding of how the IRQ works while it used to be guesswork. I believe some of the SNES special chips may not be exact as I don't think any of those have been decapped.
Does anyone know the difference between the aliexpress Sega Genesis Everdrive and the Krikzz X5 one?i.e. does the chink one support:- saves without reset?- fast rom loading?- master system support?- any other differences?
>>10878341>- saves without reset?Yes>- fast rom loading?No? Might be due to me never changing the chink sd card they sent with it but roms load pretty slow >- master system support?Yes>- any other differences?The chink cart is supposed to work as a CD backup cart like the X5 and it did for a while but eventually the my MegaCD just stopped recognizing it as a RAM cart one day and I lost a bunch of saves, really weird and very annoying
>>10878361>Might be due to me never changing the chink sd card they sent with it but roms load pretty slowDoes it have to re-load the rom everytime you want to play the same game? or is it instant the next time you turn the system on and select the same game
>>10878375Instant if loading the same game yeah. Only loading a new roms takes a while (10-20 seconds)Picrel is the one I have
>>10878391Thanks, I see them for around EUR 25 on aliexpress. Also considering the speed of shipment aliexpress usually has I'll just pick one up and see how it goes.
>>10878375The NES cart I have has a quick load option whereby once you select a ROM, it will memorize your selection so when you reset you can just press Start to activate it without having to go through the folders to find the ROM, but it still has to be loaded. It also supposedly does not support the Bandai FGC-2 mapper (iNES mapper 16) which is used by 15 Famicom games.
>>10874248>is it really 100% accurate?It loads the game into your console's memory just like a normal cartridge would so I'm not sure how any inaccuracies could arise
>>10878549Do game genie codes work?
>>10874248In my experience it's something you don't want to cheap out on. I know this will make me sound like a shill but I have an EZflash for my GBA, an ED64, and some knockoff SNES everdrive and they all have issues with randomly dropping power/freezing in the middle of the game. It's only my Sega Genesis cart that i got from krikzz that has 0 issues.
If you're smart enough to buy flashcarts, you should honestly consider just buying a MiSTer instead. Runs better than flashcarts, and is cheaper than buying a couple of flashcarts.There was a short period of time when flashcarts made economical sense, they don't any more unless you only want to play one or two systems.
whats the best fleshcart
>>10878629>and some knockoff SNES everdrive and they all have issues with randomly dropping power/freezing in the middle of the gameI haven't tested my SNES one that much but it makes a loud humming noise on the menu screen which is running in 480i mode and the humming stops when you start a game and it switches to normal 240p mode. My NES one glitches if you reset and switch between too many games but that problem is apparently due to the FPGA getting screwed up from resets and would happen on a Krikzz Everdrive as well.
just ordered a gbx7 and oled screen mod for my gbc
>>10879505dont throw the original screen away like redditors do, those will be worth a pretty penny one day in decent condition
>>10879532yeah for sure
There's a oled mod for GBC? How's the resolution? Good lcd grid on it?
