G6DS Real Review

G6DS Real Review
Written by Brakken
July 2007

Introduction

Welcome to my review of the G6 Team's latest and greatest flashcart (delevopment/backup) unit for Nintendo's handheld video gaming console the Nintendo DS. This Slot 1 solution offers perfect compatibility, a cheat engine, slow motion and internel storage space for all of your commericial game backups. Does G6's new G6DS Real live up to it's advertised features or is it another failed attempt (not that the G6 Team has had any) at the "perfect" Nintendo DS/Nintendo DS Lite development and backup solution?

Advertised Product Features

100% Game compatibility
Extreme simple to use: just drag and drop files to the G6 Cart. No drivers & any software required
Work as U disk with USB 2.0 ultra fast burning speed. Standard FAT system support
Build-in high speed memory. (Run game without lag or slow down. Speed of all the games as same as original.)
Exclusive Super Cheat Function
Fully AR Cheat Code compatible engine
A Ready-Made Cheat Code database file is available for download (English, Chinese, Japanese)
Support reading individual cheat code file too (xml, cht, dht)
Special Game features can be enabled during game playing: (shuch as SlowMotion mode)
Software reset function
The highest download play compatibility. (Mario Kart, New super Mario, etc...)
100% clean dump supported without the need for any patching. (no update is necessary for patching.)
Hardware automatically game save type detect. (No need to update the save type database file frequently)
Excellent homebrew support thanks to the DLDI auto-patcher
Upgradeable system . No size limitation of Flash rom
Robust & skinnable GUI
Built in PassMe (NO need for any boot cart/passcard etc)
Supports Slot-2 expansions card. (Rumble, Ram, Browser memory and Gba Game card etc)
Boot Slot-1 automatically. Users may also select to appear Console Main Menu first or begin G6 Main Menu directly
Includes a fully touch screen & button control operating system / GUI Menu
NDS-GBA Linkage works fine
The strongest media features: Build-in “Media-Extend” application + "Moonshell" media player. MP3 ,OGG music & DPG /DSM / GBM movies )
Super E-book function , support Word/ Txt file directly
Super picture viewer function , support BMP, JPG, GIF & PNG directly
Built in PDA (Worldwide Time, Memo, Note, Phone book, Calculator)
Supports DS sleep mode
Brightness adjustment within GUI

Contents

G6DS Real 1GB Flashcart
USB v2.0 Based Flashcart Interface
Foam Lined Transparent Blue Plastic Carrying Case
Blue Strap for Carying the Case
USB Extension Cable (28 inches)
Mini CD Based Driver Disc

The G6DS Real's appearance is very professional as the flashcart is made from high quality plastic and comes with a good looking sticker on it. The flashcart interface wasn't the blue one advertised on their page, but it too was made from a high grade plastic. The carrying case is also a nice addition and it has room for two carts and comes with a strap so you won't lose it when you're on the go. The USB extension cable is also cool and nice and long (a lot of other carts either don't come with one or one so short you wonder why they had even included it to begin with). Overall I was impressed with the contents of the package, well, other then the cheap cardboard box it came in which was pretty roughed up during shipping (this is why I didn't take a photo of it).

Installation & Usage

The G6DS Real comes pre-flashed with it's System Software (OS, BIOS, Firmware, Kernel, etc) and Moonshell, but in case you accidentally delete it they have included a small mini CD that has both packages on it. Even though the G6DS Real comes with it's System Software pre-flashed it's always a good idea to update to the latest and greatest version. So after a quick visit to the G6 website I downloaded the G6DS Real Loader v20.a (dated 05-06-2007), Media Player Extend software, G6 Movie Converter and the latest Cheat Database. Once I had these files unzipped on my hard drive I went to plug the G6DS Real into my computer.

After inserting the G6DS Real into it's USB Based Interface I plugged it into my USB HUB and Windows found it, but thought it was something completely different then a "mass storage device". Windows thought it was a "DVB-T USB BDA Firmware Loader" (whatever the hell that is). I tried to see if Windows had assigned it a drive letter and it didn't. So I turned to Google for an answer and found that another manufacturers flashcart had the same issue, but that manufacturer didn't offer a public fix. Well, the fix was pretty easy - I unplugged it from the USB HUB and plugged it directly into my computer! Now Windows recognized it as a "usb mass storage device".

After the drive letter pop pup up I copied over the v2.0a Loader, Media Player Extend and Cheat Code database, disconnected the G6DS Real, inserted it into my Nintendo DS and turned it on. The Nintendo DS loaded into it's boot menu and clearly displayed the G6DS Real in the Slot 1 slot. It showed a G6 DS-R icon and then the "http://www.gbalpha.com" URL.

Once I selected the Slot 1 device it took about six seconds to load up and then presented me with the Game Manager screen which lists the internal icons and names of games in the root directory of the cart. Don't get me wrong, you're not limited to sticking your ROM's in the root directory and the G6DS Real supports directories and long file names.

The G6DS Real offers a fail safe feature in case your G6DS Real's file system becomes corrupt. By pressing and holding the "start" key during boot-up you will be offered a "format" menu in which you can restore the G6DS Real to it's factory state. Once this is done you would of course be required to copy over the "Loader" system. The Loader resides inside the overall space you have on your G6DS Real and not in internal memory as other flashcarts do. While in the Game Manager you can either use the stylus to navigate through the games or you can use the up/down keys. Pressing right or left while in the Game Manager will bring up the "about" screen which displays the current Loader's version number. You can also hit the "X" key to toggle which screen displays the game list and pressing the "start" key will bring up the G6DS Real's Menu.

The G6DS Real's menu includes the following options: NDS Game, MyCard, pdaDS, MediaPlay-Extend, Boot and Setting. NDS Game will let you browse the G6DS Real's file system, pdaDS doesn't work at all, MediaPlay-Extend will load up MoonShell, boot will bring up the Slot 2 boot menu and Setting will of course let you toggle some functions. Personally, I think it's about time that the G6/M3 Team translate the pdaDS to English as they have been promising to do so for two years! It would be nice to use some of the flashcarts advertised features!

MoonShell is what the G6DS Real (and most other Slot 1 flashcart on the market) uses for it's music, movie, picture and text reading support. I'm not going to cover how to use it as there are plenty of resources on the Internet on how to make the most of this precious piece of homebrew software. To say the least it's great they have included it as it will turn your Nintendo DS into a portable entertainment center.

The Boot menu simply has two icons - Boot NDS from Slot 2 or Boot GBA from Slot 2. As it says you can boot your Slot 2 device either in Nintendo DS mode (used for modern flashcarts) or in GBA mode (used for retro/gba only flashcarts). Both options work fine as some of my legacy M3's booted up without a hitch and so did my Flash2Advance 1GB model.

Next it came time to test it's performance on the playback of backups and homebrew. Unlike it's advertised feature, the G6DS Real doesn't come with automatic DLDI support. This comes as a disappointment because along with this fact you cannot manually patch homebrew either due to there are no DLDI drivers what-so-ever. So if you're going to be planning on taking use of various emulators, games or applications you're out of luck.

Backups on the other hand is where the G6DS Real offers 100% compatibility. If you're using the G6DS Real you should feel confident that you won't run into any loading, slowdown, music skipping or general issues that previous built flashcarts had. All of the games you try will just "work" like they are supposed to.

From the NDS Game menu you can select which ROM image you would like to boot. Once selected you can toggle some various options including the Soft Reset, Soft Reset key combination and the Cheat Codes key combination. Soft Reset allows you to reset the Nintendo DS using the specified combination of keys so you do not have to manually power cycle it. The Cheat Codes key combination will of course allow you to toggle between enabling or disabling your selected cheat codes.

The G6DS Real does indeed live up to it's name with it's offered compatibility rating. I tried a handful of games and experienced no lag or any issues that could come to mind. It indeed offers 100% which it should to compete in the current market. As this is just another Slot 1 device out of the recent flood of them the G6DS Real is going to need something extra to appeal to it's perspective owners. This feature is the claimed perfect download play support.

Download Play, if you didn't know is the ability to play multilayer games on more then one Nintendo DS console, but only one console in the group needs to run the backup. Once run the other Nintendo(s) can download the game data needed to run it on your friends consoles. Not many games make use of this technology as it would reduce the number of cartridges they were selling, but the ones that do have been of recent debate. The majority of Slot 2 solutions and the first generation of Slot 1 devices fail when attempting to "host" a copy of the game.

How does the G6DS Real rank in the list of things? Not as they claim. There are still a few games such as Yoshi's Touch & Go that do not allow you to share your game with your friends. Of course in the future a new Loader could be released to fix the compatibility with Download Play games, but due to the low amount of games that actually utilize the feature the fact the G6DS Real still offers average compatibility I can't find much to complain about on this issue.

Action Replay cheat code support is another feature that the G6DS Real offers. By obtaining the cheat database from either the included disc or the G6DS Real's website one can copy over the required cheat file per game. Yes, it's a bit annoying to have to find each required file manually, but once you do under the game menu there will be a second tab in which you can enable the specific cheat(s) you wish to utilise during game playback.

Conclusion

The G6DS Real boasts the most average features you'd fine in most Slot 1 based solutions as does the job good. With perfect compatibility, speed and accuracy of game playback and the ability to make use of Action Replay codes should add to your overall decesion if considering adding G6's new line of internel memory based storage devices to your list of Nintendo DS backup units you're considering. Although, if you're looking for something that will run your homebrew you should either check and see if and update has been released or mark the G6DS Real off of your list.

Negatives

Cheat Code Installation
Near Perfect Download Play Support
pdaDS (PDA Functionality) Not Translated Yet
No DLDI Drivers/Support
Limited to the Internal Storage Maximum

Positives

100% Compatibility
Near Perfect Download Play Support
Action Replay Cheat Codes
Almost Perfect Functionality
USB v2.0 Interface w/High Speed Internal Storage

Links

G6DS Real Website
Official Worldwide Distributor List
Mod-Chip.com - Official USA/Worldwide Distributor

-=[ G6DS Real Review Discussion Thread ]=-

www.g6flash.com Product(s) were received from the website above. ISO-420 will always link back to whomever sent the product(s) *respect*, but please remember that the reviews are independently written by our staff and are not subject to alteration by whomever supplies us with the review product(s).

Nintendo DS Flash Carts also known as "Development and/or Backup" units are intended for expansion of the Nintendo DS's abilities including running "homebrew" software which is created by amateur unlicensed developers. Homebrew is totally free and legal to use as long as you follow the licensing agreement that comes with each title. Homebrew comes in many forms, but most "Flash Carts" come with homebrew that allows you to listen to music, watch movies, read books and look at pictures. These flash carts also let you run other homebrew titles. The use of homebrew does not infringe on Nintendo's or any of it's related companies rights. Flash Carts also allow you to make and playback backups of original and third party games for safe keeping purposes. Making backups of your data is also a non-infringing action. However, it is illegal to download and play ROM images of games you do not personally own. ISO-420 Reviews and TehSkeen.com do not encourage using Flash Carts in any illegal manner and do not endorse or condone users to "pirate" ROM files. Please support game companies and their developers by purchasing your games.