Hacking GBA Code Generator Built In Cheat Cartridge?

[Spider_Man]

Hi,

As the title suggests, and I may sound stupid but I have been trying to find answers all night with no luck.

Was there ever a cheat cartridge released for the GBA that allowed you to search for your own cheat codes?

As these are very expensive these days, if there was one, I'd like to make sure I buy the right one.

 

[FAST6191]

Unlike a lot of even older devices no flash carts I know of featured it saving fun with the link cable (not really an option either for most commercial efforts -- if you have hacked a commercial game well enough to use the link cable to spit out data then... redundant really unless by some miracle it can't be run on an emulator and you are still using a PC as part of this). Cheat devices would be more of the play it and add things from a website/book we sell as well. Code searching or training in some circles (though that gets confusing as some consider that a different, if related, action) then being an emulator based affair until the DS (see Datel Trainer Toolkit which was a step up from baseline cheat devices there rather than included in it like some N64 and GB/GBC stuff).

The vast majority of things though will do it via emulators* -- they have been more than capable of finding cheats (or having things like emuhaste attach to them to help find cheats) since... arguably before the GBA even hit North America.
https://web.archive.org/web/20080309104350/http://etk.scener.org/?op=tutorial being my usual link for GBA cheat making and how to learn it. https://doc.kodewerx.org/hacking_gba.html wants to be noted as well, and http://problemkaputt.de/gbatek.htm#gbacheatdevices in case the former does not do as well for some of the more exotic code types.

*indeed the main hardware things anybody would do being things like save restoration (there were standalone devices to grab saves as well. See game wallet https://web.archive.org/web/20150815171943/http://reinerziegler.de/GBA/gba.htm ), earlier save restoring (some flash carts allowed multiple saves you could select before booting), savestates (a handful of later carts featured it, sadly was lost from the EZ3 when it was retooled for the EZ4 kernels but available on many other things) and plain old cheats loaded from cheat devices or flash carts (I am not aware of anything for loading cheats via a flash cart like nitrohax for the DS). If you were using the GBA options of a DS you might be able to boot in GBA mode, make a savestate, boot in DS mode (very few pieces of GBA homebrew do any kind of DLDI so pretty much going to be this), load some kind of DS homebrew to compare files or hex edit them before returning and loading the savestate again to continue on with the thing.

 

[master801]

It looks like the Zoga Magic Editor Card III can search for cheats? It even has a little button on the side of it which is used for something?

Not totally sure though.

It's an obscure little cheat device from China with not much info other than this short useless YouTube video.


The reviews on Ebay aren't much help, either. (Seller feedback section - "This Item")
https://www.ebay.com/itm/374711267783

Here's the listing on AliExpress: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805783135932.html

You're far better getting an Action Replay, GameShark, Codebreaker or Xploder and not wasting your money nor dealing with the headache of a super obscure and totally random cheat device from China.

It's not worth it.

 

[Spider_Man]

i dont know why but for some reason I thought back then i used to also make cheat codes using an action replay or xploder cheat cartridge directly on the console using a cheat cart.

but after looking, i guess no such cart was made, so no idea how i used to make pokemon cheat codes as i do remember doing them on my purple gba, i wonder if i was blind testing addresses, but i do remember making loads for it.

i have however found a cheat cartridge for the GBA that allows you to find your own cheat codes and have asked them to send me one (coming from china).

i have also asked them if they can assist fixing my AR PRO N64 cheat cartridges that somehow ended up bricked and I have no means of flashing them myself (ive found the tools to do so), I have an equalizer but its on v3.0 and I need at least v3.2+

Ive also got an xplorer64 but that cheat cartridge while superior because it supported all cheat cartridge codes, it is a completely pain in the ass when you have to change its boot mode when you want to play a different game.

I also find its in game trainer very problematic with it having to be triggered by pressing Z+R+START buttons to bring up the in game trainer menu, this in most cases would end up causing the game to crash when triggering the trainer menu.

I always preferred the likes of GameShark/Equalizer/Action Replay because the later versions gave you a nice easy menu to change the boot code when you want to change your game, then power console off, change game and power on.

Xplorer64 you had this flimsy button on the cart itself and you had to turn console on, press the button for the LED to flash, then turn off, turn back on and it was such a pain in the ass because you would end up sitting there repeating the process for ages until it actually boots your game up.

then youll find in most cases it would fuck up where the LED would blink more than once because of the buttonl, forcing you to start over, or the LED will remain ON/OFF constantly, forcing you to remove it from the console and start again.

I have NEVER EVER been able to properly change boot codes from lets say Mario 64 to Zelda OoT instantly, it would always take over 30 minutes if not that long to the point that I get fed up of trying and give up.

Also another advantage I loved with GameShark/Equalizer/Action Replay is it was mile easier to bring up the in game trainer menu by using the button on the cartridge.

I also remember doing the same back on the GameBoy Color, but back then it was a poorly designed cheat cartridge where you had little room for your hands and if you were to touch the game cartridge the slightest, it would cause it to crash and a few times with my Action Replay cartridges on the GBC would corrupt it.

But this is what I want to go back to, my younger days playing my older systems more and making my own cheat codes again.

I get mad at myself knowing all of these games and cheat cartridges I used to own, that now cost an arm and a leg to buy.

Luckily I have found a reliable contact in china and have started ordering GBA and N64 reproduction game cartridges.

Post automatically merged: Sep 24, 2023

It looks like the Zoga Magic Editor Card III can search for cheats? It even has a little button on the side of it which is used for something?

Not totally sure though.

It's an obscure little cheat device from China with not much info other than this short useless YouTube video.


The reviews on Ebay aren't much help, either. (Seller feedback section - "This Item")
https://www.ebay.com/itm/374711267783

Here's the listing on AliExpress: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805783135932.html

You're far better getting an Action Replay, GameShark, Codebreaker or Xploder and not wasting your money nor dealing with the headache of a super obscure and totally random cheat device from China.

It's not worth it.

I have one of these on its way to me, I kindly asked a contact if they could send one to me and if this works, I will assist in making codes that are made properly and tested that they work properly as its likely like EZ-FLASH for the GBA itll have yet again another public domain repository where anyone submits cheats that likely most cases dont even work.

This is what annoys me and I have all the time in the world now because I am crippled, cant work since having cancer, so I am bored and have nothing to, so why not make cheats.

 

[FAST6191]

I don't know either way; it is possible to do cheats on such things (that the GBC has options, N64 might be more powerful, Amiga has some fun stuff) but would involve said goldfinger (Chinese term for cheat cartridges/cheats in general) company going above and beyond which is a bit of a rarity. Most times I see buttons in this gen it is to activate or disable the cheats in the first place, use as a button activator, or maybe flood the game to attempt a kind of slowdown.
https://doc.kodewerx.org/hacking_gba.html (page search for GS button and AR button)

Emulators that have turbo, quick savestates, wide ranging viewers, fast searches, specific searches (most hardware efforts will be lucky to have a range search, not to mention very annoying to set up on a dpad) and full on debugging when you fancy going down that path... doing it on a cart is best saved for a novelty or a very specific scenario I am struggling to cook up here save maybe you got Legendz or something (one of the very few games that are hardware and don't have an easy fix) and want to do those. You might also have the opposite problem for some games (Phantasy Star collection being noted int he enhacklopedia link, it resetting to launch which wipes out the cheat cart hooks) but they are quite rare.

Accuracy in cheats is rarely a problem, not to mention there are some super accurate GBA emulators if you did want to go there*.

*granted I don't know if they emulate a cheat engine -- you waxed poetic about N64 cheats for which when teaching cheats I used to use Goldeneye as an example of timing issues (do the naive infinite health cheat and go eat a rocket or hang around for the level that explodes at the end/when you run out of time and you will both get knockback and likely die as the refill health comes too late/after the damage and "is he dead" check where basic bullets are no problem. Contrast that to the earned cheats or c button cheats and yeah.).

 

[Spider_Man]

how do you find xploder codes with vba h i can find addresses using it, but no idea how to then make them into xploder sp codes and master codes for it to work on a xplodersp

unless i wait for the china product to arrive, i may have wasted £80 on this xplodersp

 

[Ryccardo]

i can find addresses using it, but no idea how to then make them into xploder sp codes

Well, you find out the code format for your cheat engine and start writing them as appropriate

I think this https://wiki.gamehacking.org/Code_Types_(Game_Boy_Advance) should be relevant? (codebreaker = xploder = x-terminator = gameshark sp, but never heard of an "xploder sp"), there's probably better documentation somewhere else but I'm a bit in a hurry

 

[Spider_Man]

Well, you find out the code format for your cheat engine and start writing them as appropriate

I think this https://wiki.gamehacking.org/Code_Types_(Game_Boy_Advance) should be relevant? (codebreaker = xploder = x-terminator = gameshark sp, but never heard of an "xploder sp"), there's probably better documentation somewhere else but I'm a bit in a hurry

from what i see on my actual cheat cart (XploderSP Advance) the format is xxxxxxxxyyyy with no gaps, but with VBA H i can find an address no problem, but without finding an M code for Xploder that works or how to convert the code from VBA H to Xploder its no good.

I assume looking at GameHacking.org XploderSp uses Encrypted Codes, but our god Google for once comes up with nothing to convert/encript/decrypt codes for Xploder.

And here is me buying this thinking like the PS1/2/N64 it would support all code formats

 

[FAST6191]

You are spread out over a few threads which might unfocus some of the things people might do or help dodge some or your problems.

Didn't know such toys were running that much either.

Also not sure why VBA-h is your choice when baseline vba/vbam does most things for most people. Might go to VBA-sdl-h ( http://web.archive.org/web/20130215155212/http://labmaster.bios.net.nz/vba-sdl-h/ https://www.romhacking.net/documents/361/ ) or just no$gba debug or have some fun with gdb and ghidra ( https://wrongbaud.github.io/posts/ghidra-debugger/ ) if I am getting into the really exotic things or aspects where playing with code (which I know, bit of a learning curve to that http://coranac.com/tonc/text/asm.htm vs basic cheats https://web.archive.org/web/20080309104350/http://etk.scener.org/?op=tutorial though) might be quicker than narrowing down via other actions.

Anyway https://problemkaputt.de/gbatek.htm#gbacheatdevices seems to indicate xploder is a variation on the theme of codebreaker.
https://doc.kodewerx.org/tools.html#gba offers both a generator and encryption if your device needs it (most will tend to support unencrypted, encrypted just being for commercial books of the codes or ones provided by the devs ( https://www.eurogamer.net/game-genie-declassified-that-summer-i-played-230-game-boy-games ). Encryption has long since broken though so easy enough to convert between the two if necessary.
Also

Codebreaker codes are encrypted by default, but unencrypted codes can be allowed, by not having a 9-code as the first line of a master code.

If you need to go manual then https://doc.kodewerx.org/hacking_gba.html#cbmaster details the codes. To truly go manual the assembly thing I alluded to earlier you are going to need to have an appreciation of.