Apparently there IS a decent GB/GBC flash cart out there

[Jorpho]

I guess if there's something wrong with using Goomba and a GBA flash cart, there is a practical alternative after all: the rather poorly-named "USB 64M Smart Card".

http://store.kitsch-bent.com/product/usb-64m-smart-card
http://truechiptilldeath.com/blog/2010/01/23/review-usb-64m-smart-card/

(I can't say I was familiar with the rabid popularity of this "lsdj" before I read about this either.)

[Callin]

Interesting. Especially since they seem to be working on full osx support.

Looks like it's got good reviews too. I might have to get one of these.

[Rickstilwell1]

Cool I just placed an order. $38 is not bad at all. I can use this for trying out random games and switch my entire Game Boy collecting habits to match my console habits. Complete boxed/manual games or nothing at all.

[Drixxel]

This doodad looks neat indeed, I've had my eyes open for a flash cart with smooth GB/GBC support and this will more than do the trick. Thanks for sharing!

[Darko]

I just picked one up too. I mean, it's $40. Seems pretty reasonable for sure.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Keep in mind that's got a maximum capacity of a mere 64Mb, which in terms people relate to, is just 8 MB. That would only hold a few games at a time.

[Jorpho]

As far as B&W GB games go, that's sixteen 4 megabit games. (Warioland II was the only 8 megabit B&W game.)

I have no idea about GBC games.

[Drixxel]

Honestly, a lower capacity flash cart is almost preferable in a way. This really shouldn't be a problem, but I sometimes struggle to choose a game to play on my PSP given the hundreds of ROMs and the handful of emulators I have on there. Having to put a bit of thought into which ~16 Game Boy titles to slap on a flash cart would be oddly fun in its own way, sort of like carefully selecting what games to bring on a road trip when space is limited.

[Greg2600]

That's been around for a few years now, low capacity drove me away.

[Jorpho]

I am truly baffled by the notion that one would absolutely have to have more than sixteen games on hand at all times.

What is the largest GBC game, anyway? (Or would that be best for a new thread?)

[theclaw]

One or two Japan only games might be 8 megabytes.

[Rickstilwell1]

I pretty much only want the thing to be able to try out games on real hardware anyway. Game Boy Color on the Gamecube's Game Boy Player is awesome and Super Game Boy is great for running black & white games. The fact that it only holds one save game at a time adds to the desire to just load up one game, try and beat it and if I don't succeed or like it very much just slap another one on the cart and backup the save if it has one. If I thought a game was good enough then I'll go ahead and buy a complete boxed copy.

The site advertises this mainly to use for making chiptunes. I have a cousin who uses one of these devices for his band.

[Shellshock!]

I have a really old 16M flash cart for Game Boy that connects to a PC via a parallel port. Obviously, they don't make computers with parallel ports anymore, so I might get this.

[Shellshock!]

I guess if there's something wrong with using Goomba and a GBA flash cart, there is a practical alternative after all: the rather poorly-named "USB 64M Smart Card".

What's exactly wrong with this? I use this set up all the time and I have noticed a lot of games are not emulated properly. Is this what you are talking about?

[Jorpho]

What's exactly wrong with this? I use this set up all the time and I have noticed a lot of games are not emulated properly. Is this what you are talking about?I was not aware Goomba had such flaws. Can you give some examples?

[TheRedEye]

I picked up one of these about a year ago, my luck with getting games to actually run properly is about 50/50 (about half either don't run or have really awful graphic glitches) and I can not get the proprietary program that comes with it to actually put a GBC ROM on the cart: there's allegedly a checkbox to turn color mode off or on, but it just doesn't show up. I think it's outside of the viewable area of the window but I can't scroll, so it's just forever hidden.

I don't know if mine is faulty or if that's just how the thing is designed, but buyer beware. This is probably an awesome solution for musicians but this isn't the GB/GBC flash cart we've been waiting for.

Oh and FYI it's 64M split into two 32M pages, so the largest game you can have on here is 32M. Don't know if anything is even that big, but something to consider.

[theclaw]

Ah yeah, apparently it was Densha De Go 2. Should be the sole 8 megabyte (!) standard release licensed game in the entire GB/GBC family.

[Callin]

Well, I've ordered one too. It'll be a nice alternative for carts whose batteries have died on me.

Anyone know of any good homebrew/hack games I could put on it? Particularly Zelda ones?

[Jorpho]

I picked up one of these about a year ago, my luck with getting games to actually run properly is about 50/50 (about half either don't run or have really awful graphic glitches) and I can not get the proprietary program that comes with it to actually put a GBC ROM on the cart: there's allegedly a checkbox to turn color mode off or on, but it just doesn't show up. I think it's outside of the viewable area of the window but I can't scroll, so it's just forever hidden.

I don't know if mine is faulty or if that's just how the thing is designed, but buyer beware. This is probably an awesome solution for musicians but this isn't the GB/GBC flash cart we've been waiting for.Oh dear. This is why I don't necessarily run out and order things as soon as I read someone's posts about them.


Anyone know of any good homebrew/hack games I could put on it? Particularly Zelda ones?I actually heard about this in the context of the new translation of "For the Frog the Bell Tolls", whose engine was re-used for Link's Awakening.

[Callin]

I actually heard about this in the context of the new translation of "For the Frog the Bell Tolls", whose engine was re-used for Link's Awakening.
Oh, that's the game with that Richard guy, who has a cameo appearance in Link's Awakening.

I'll have to look into it. Thanks.

[Rickstilwell1]

I picked up one of these about a year ago, my luck with getting games to actually run properly is about 50/50 (about half either don't run or have really awful graphic glitches) and I can not get the proprietary program that comes with it to actually put a GBC ROM on the cart: there's allegedly a checkbox to turn color mode off or on, but it just doesn't show up. I think it's outside of the viewable area of the window but I can't scroll, so it's just forever hidden.

I don't know if mine is faulty or if that's just how the thing is designed, but buyer beware. This is probably an awesome solution for musicians but this isn't the GB/GBC flash cart we've been waiting for.

Oh and FYI it's 64M split into two 32M pages, so the largest game you can have on here is 32M. Don't know if anything is even that big, but something to consider.

I learned something that makes a big difference:

to get maximim performance and compatibility, only use one game on this flash cart at a time. Games that don't normally work when there are multiple games on the cart do work when you load just the one game. I proved this with the Game Boy Color version of Mr. Nutz. When you only have one game on the cart, instead of going to the game selection menu, it boots right up like a normal Game Boy / Color game and goes right to the game's title screen.

The other one advantage to only use this cartridge for one game at a time is that it enables borders and default colors for games that have Super Game Boy special compatibility. If you have to enter the game selection menu first, then it stays at the default SGB border and default color settings.

Also check your roms. Sometimes a rom is a bad dump even though it is labeled as a good one. Spider-Man/X-Men was not working, then I went to the emulation site I know and redownloaded the 7z for that game. I tried the rom from there and it actually worked opposed to the one I got from an older site.

I am glad I figured this out.

So to those interested in getting this, you should play games like this - don't jump from game to game. Pick one, put it on the cart and play it seriously until you beat it or have played it enough to want to play something different. This cart is not good for people with ADD.

Besides if you want to quit playing a game that has a save file, just use "read SRAM" to back it up. Then when you put that game back on later, find the file and use "Write SRAM" to put your save back on

PS: Oh another good idea is use page 1 for your main game you are working on, and use page 2 for all the quickies that don't use the battery. Then you still get the normal boot up for the good game and some multicart functionality on the other page.

[ccovell]

The other one advantage to only use this cartridge for one game at a time is that it enables borders and default colors for games that have Super Game Boy special compatibility. If you have to enter the game selection menu first, then it stays at the default SGB border and default color settings.

Actually, if you put in a SGB-compatible cartridge first, then when the SGB border has loaded, rip out the GB game, and shove in the flash cart, the SGB functionality should work with any SGB game on the flash cart.

[TheRedEye]

Hey! Good info, I'll have to dig this thing back up now! You've made my day, thanks Rickstilwell1. I assume that the affected games don't care what's on the other page, right? As long as the page they're on is otherwise empty?

[Ze_ro]

Obviously, they don't make computers with parallel ports anymore, so I might get this.

Well, you CAN still get computers with parallel ports... but instead of buying a new computer, you could just get something like this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815124089) (or this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815166031) if you don't have any PCI slots). There are also some USB solutions available... though most of those seem to be meant for printers, so I'd be a little skeptical about odd hardware working with them.

--Zero

[Rickstilwell1]

Hey! Good info, I'll have to dig this thing back up now! You've made my day, thanks Rickstilwell1. I assume that the affected games don't care what's on the other page, right? As long as the page they're on is otherwise empty?

That is correct. I even had problems with Kirby's Dream Land surprisingly when it was on a page with multiple games. I have page 1 set to the Game Boy Color game I'm working on and page 2 has 27 black & white Game Boy games on it.

[Callin]

Well, mine came in the mail today. Took about 8 minutes to burn a 32Mbit game, but loading the smallest possible game is almost instant. Got a save battery game on side 1, and one without on side 2. Both work great, so far.

The only issue was getting the driver to work. Since it's not signed by Microsoft, I had to use another program (linked from here (http://store.kitsch-bent.com/product/usb-64m-smart-card)) to override Microsoft's check and get it running.

EDIT: The cart has some minor lag issues. I only noticed it when traveling through castles and towns in Dragon Quest.