Introduction
DS Flashcarts have had nothing new for ages, but now with the release of NTRHAX, the DS flashcart teams are waking up again. Since every 2 and 3ds console in existence at the moment is vulnerable, supporting NTRHAX easily has become a desirable goal. and the ACE3DS team (http://www.ace3ds.com/index.html) is no exception. They have created the Ace3DS X cart. It's quite similar to their previous product, the very affordable (sub 10$) Ace3DSPlus. The difference is a slider switch on the cart. When this switch is moved, an alternate firmware is banked in. This firmware may be booted on a 3ds using a magnet, and may be used to run SafeBS9Installer. After BS9 is installed, the switch may be moved back, and DS functionality is restored. This is the first (that I know of) released product that supports both DS mode and ntrboot out of the box with no flashing needed.
- Contents/Features
I received the following in the envelope
1) oversized trans-flash card reader, with the card inside it. They did the same thing with the Ace3DS Plus.
2) magnet.
It has an sdmicro slot, as well as a little yelllow switch. This switches between ntrhax and normal ds cart mode. Runs wood in DS flascart mode. The goofy reader works but is very clunky to use because of it's width. But you didn't buy this cart for the reader.
- Setup (DS)
1) move switch to DS position.
2) download either wood 1.62 or AOS 2.13 from http://ace3ds.com/ace-3ds-download.html
3) exctact to root of sd micro cart
4) put sdmicro in flashcard
Done. The cart, just like ace3ds+, appears to be Sponegbob's Atlantis Squarepantis.
for bs9 setup
1) be sure a sd micro card is inserted. the cart is a paperweight without one. an empty card works fine. Tested.
2) move switch to 3DS position.
3) follow guide. The included magnet is weak, but worked for me when placed below the B button. I sucesfully booted safeBS9Installer.
- Hardware
Sure enough, there's the usual sd micro slot, and a switch on the side. The switch appears to work as expected, allowing me to boot boot.firm from root of sdcard for my 3ds. In the other position it boots on ds through 3ds normally, appearing to be Spongebob's Atlantis Squarepantis, like my Ace3DS+ did.
Hardware wise it appears to be a cheap cart that runs a modified Wood 1.62. It also has the added bank switch to change firmwares. I'm told that the cart is fully updatable, though it is very unlikely to ever need an update. Like most cheap flashcarts, there are slowdowns with certain DS games. Metroid Prime Pinball is infamous for this, and does slow down like i expected, and like my dstt and ace3ds+ did. That said, i haven't found anything that didn't RUN.
It tends to stick in the slot a little on my O3ds, but i am able to get it back out and in. Possibly this is related to the notch with the switch in it.
It does feel a bit cheaply built, but that's far from uncommon in a cheap cart, and it functioned fine in my units, as long as it wasn't heavily jostled. Since i do not do that, it's not an issue. Shows right up when i plug it in.
- Software
NTRHAX side, well it runs boot.firm from the root of your sdcard as long as the cart itself has an sd micro in it. it doesn't need a flasher. Nuff said.
DS cart side, it runs Wood 1.62, well known for 100% compatibility with all commercial ROMS, and nearly all translations/hacks. Prosecutors Path works perfectly. Real time save is not the most compatible, but that's to be expected. In general, things just work. Homebrew also works of course.
AOS has a small menu at boot, which offers nds (boots wood) slot-2 (boots gba game on nds), moonshell, and a number of emulator choices. You can access all of the emulators through wood or moonshell. So you can always just get wood itself, and add the emulators from the AOS package.
- Performance
Being a cheap cart, it does not have the best performance, but that is only an issue for a very small number of games. The cart does what it should without breaking the pocketbook.
- Overall
( 8/10 )
This cart is cheap, and does what it claims. the build quality is not the same as a expensive cart, and slowdown in certain games prevent a 10 out of 10. But if you want an all in one ntrhax and ds games solution with minimal fuss, this cart (or another with the switch) is the way to go. If you already have a good ds cart, just get a dstt while you can and ntrboot it. If you have a supported cart, just flash it. but if you have neither, then I would seriously consider getting this if you can spare. Yes, the r4i gold is a better cart overall, but this is effectively two cheap carts in one, and thus worth it's asking price of under 20$. Also you don't have to disassemble it to get to the switch.
Official retailers (they asked me to put this in)
Europe and America: http://www.digimartz.com/Ace3ds-X-support-DS-mode-and-NTRBoot-mode_p1311.html
France: http://www.digimaniaz.com/606-nouveau-linker-ace3ds-x-supporte-mode-3ds-et-ds-ensemble-.html
Spain: http://www.digibayz.com/831-ace3ds-x-para-cargar-3ds-ds-juegos.html
Germany: http://www.elespiel.com/739-ace3ds-x-unterstutzt-ds-spiele-und-b9s-ntrboot-installation.html
Japan: http://www.ndshop.jp/3ds-/952-ace3dsx.html
Wholesale: http://www.game4deal.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=69_70&products_id=591
DS Flashcarts have had nothing new for ages, but now with the release of NTRHAX, the DS flashcart teams are waking up again. Since every 2 and 3ds console in existence at the moment is vulnerable, supporting NTRHAX easily has become a desirable goal. and the ACE3DS team (http://www.ace3ds.com/index.html) is no exception. They have created the Ace3DS X cart. It's quite similar to their previous product, the very affordable (sub 10$) Ace3DSPlus. The difference is a slider switch on the cart. When this switch is moved, an alternate firmware is banked in. This firmware may be booted on a 3ds using a magnet, and may be used to run SafeBS9Installer. After BS9 is installed, the switch may be moved back, and DS functionality is restored. This is the first (that I know of) released product that supports both DS mode and ntrboot out of the box with no flashing needed.
- Contents/Features
I received the following in the envelope
1) oversized trans-flash card reader, with the card inside it. They did the same thing with the Ace3DS Plus.
2) magnet.
It has an sdmicro slot, as well as a little yelllow switch. This switches between ntrhax and normal ds cart mode. Runs wood in DS flascart mode. The goofy reader works but is very clunky to use because of it's width. But you didn't buy this cart for the reader.
- Setup (DS)
1) move switch to DS position.
2) download either wood 1.62 or AOS 2.13 from http://ace3ds.com/ace-3ds-download.html
3) exctact to root of sd micro cart
4) put sdmicro in flashcard
Done. The cart, just like ace3ds+, appears to be Sponegbob's Atlantis Squarepantis.
for bs9 setup
1) be sure a sd micro card is inserted. the cart is a paperweight without one. an empty card works fine. Tested.
2) move switch to 3DS position.
3) follow guide.
The included magnet is weak, but worked for me when placed below the B button. I sucesfully booted safeBS9Installer.- Hardware
Sure enough, there's the usual sd micro slot, and a switch on the side. The switch appears to work as expected, allowing me to boot boot.firm from root of sdcard for my 3ds. In the other position it boots on ds through 3ds normally, appearing to be Spongebob's Atlantis Squarepantis, like my Ace3DS+ did.
Hardware wise it appears to be a cheap cart that runs a modified Wood 1.62. It also has the added bank switch to change firmwares. I'm told that the cart is fully updatable, though it is very unlikely to ever need an update. Like most cheap flashcarts, there are slowdowns with certain DS games. Metroid Prime Pinball is infamous for this, and does slow down like i expected, and like my dstt and ace3ds+ did. That said, i haven't found anything that didn't RUN.
It tends to stick in the slot a little on my O3ds, but i am able to get it back out and in. Possibly this is related to the notch with the switch in it.
It does feel a bit cheaply built, but that's far from uncommon in a cheap cart, and it functioned fine in my units, as long as it wasn't heavily jostled. Since i do not do that, it's not an issue. Shows right up when i plug it in.
- Software
NTRHAX side, well it runs boot.firm from the root of your sdcard as long as the cart itself has an sd micro in it. it doesn't need a flasher. Nuff said.
DS cart side, it runs Wood 1.62, well known for 100% compatibility with all commercial ROMS, and nearly all translations/hacks. Prosecutors Path works perfectly. Real time save is not the most compatible, but that's to be expected. In general, things just work. Homebrew also works of course.
AOS has a small menu at boot, which offers nds (boots wood) slot-2 (boots gba game on nds), moonshell, and a number of emulator choices. You can access all of the emulators through wood or moonshell. So you can always just get wood itself, and add the emulators from the AOS package.
- Performance
Being a cheap cart, it does not have the best performance, but that is only an issue for a very small number of games. The cart does what it should without breaking the pocketbook.
- Overall
( 8/10 )
This cart is cheap, and does what it claims. the build quality is not the same as a expensive cart, and slowdown in certain games prevent a 10 out of 10. But if you want an all in one ntrhax and ds games solution with minimal fuss, this cart (or another with the switch) is the way to go. If you already have a good ds cart, just get a dstt while you can and ntrboot it. If you have a supported cart, just flash it. but if you have neither, then I would seriously consider getting this if you can spare. Yes, the r4i gold is a better cart overall, but this is effectively two cheap carts in one, and thus worth it's asking price of under 20$. Also you don't have to disassemble it to get to the switch.
Official retailers (they asked me to put this in)
Europe and America: http://www.digimartz.com/Ace3ds-X-support-DS-mode-and-NTRBoot-mode_p1311.html
France: http://www.digimaniaz.com/606-nouveau-linker-ace3ds-x-supporte-mode-3ds-et-ds-ensemble-.html
Spain: http://www.digibayz.com/831-ace3ds-x-para-cargar-3ds-ds-juegos.html
Germany: http://www.elespiel.com/739-ace3ds-x-unterstutzt-ds-spiele-und-b9s-ntrboot-installation.html
Japan: http://www.ndshop.jp/3ds-/952-ace3dsx.html
Wholesale: http://www.game4deal.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=69_70&products_id=591
Last edited by Zaphod77,
