DS Fanboy's week of homebrew

by Alisha Karabinus { May 24th 2008 at 2:30PM }

This week, the staff at DS Fanboy dedicated themselves to all things homebrew. If you own a DS and aren't checking out some of these hobbyist applications, you're missing half the fun of the system. Let DS Fanboy help you get started, find the best games and other software, and troubleshoot your problems, and you'll be reproducing Rembrandts* in Colors! in no time.

*provided you actually have some shred of artistic talent

Getting started

	DS Fanboy's (semi) ultimate homebrew guide Covering some of the most common Slot-1 cards that can turn your DS into a lean, mean, homebrew machine.
	Homebrew glossary DLD-what? Slot where? We've got the answers.

Filling up that SD card

	Widen the horizons of the DS The best apps for making your DS do all the things a handheld was never meant to do.
	Japanese homebrew games that will blow your mind From the wacky to the completely awesome.
	Emulating the gaming world on DS Your favorite old consoles, back in handheld form.
	Don't buy these: homebrew recommendations There are dozens of amazing homebrew apps available, and we've got a small sampling of our favorites.
	Homebrew: Using the DS as a PDA Why carry two things when one will do just fine?
	More Naughtiness on the Nintendo DS All the pornographic puzzles you can fit on a single microSD card.

Checking out the community

	Confessions of a Homebrew Virgin New to this whole deal? You're not the only one.
	Homebrew dev dishes on the DS scene The man behind Laser Hockey DS on the scene, his recommendations, and the lessons Nintendo could stand to learn from homebrew.
	Homebrew support group Got problems? We bet someone has an answer.

Tags: best-homebrew-games, emulation, glossary, guide, homebrew, how-to, pda

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Fernando Rocker @ May 24th 2008 2:36PM

I want to start whit the DS homebrewing... anyone have experience? I have a couple of questions:

-What's the difference between M3 DS Simple and M3 DS Real?

-Can I use for example, 16GB SDHC cards?

-The adapter comes with a built in emulators for NES, SNES, etc?

qbix @ May 24th 2008 5:40PM

If I'm not mistaken, the M3 DS Real is compatible with all DS games while there are a few that have problems on the Simply. I use a 4 GB SDHC card so it's compatible with the format, I just don't know about the size (16GB). I believe it also runs SNES titles out of the box, I just don't know about NES, but this should not be a problem with some of the emulators out there. In short, get the M3 DS Real and if possible, get the one that comes with the GBA card and rumble pack. It's a little more expensive but very worth it.

BPM [MKWii: 2578 3585 8392] @ May 25th 2008 3:17AM

M3 Simply is simply a rebranded R4. And both are only compatable with microSD, not microSDHC (so, a limit of 2GB).

Phoenix @ May 24th 2008 2:45PM

NEVER Get M3. Go here www.dealextreme.com and order a TopToy Ds,. I have it and its great, has download game feature ( game share ), wifi, touch screen menu, 16 gb support, cheats, saves and everything else. It's also the cheapest ds emulator and is absolutely great.

John McPoop (PSN:johnnynumber5) @ May 24th 2008 2:49PM

*yawn*

I am glad the DS has some home brew apps that are easily accessible now to the masses ... However, I already have more than enough consoles resting virtually on my PSP and iPhone ... I want to know if you can copy the retail games to the SD cards ... Even though I have about 300 PSP ISOs (burn them to DVD) I still buy a lot of games on for it ... The ROMs for the older consoles take up just a sliver of memory on my 4 GB PSP Memory card ...

As for the iPhone - Well, like I said I have had tons of ROMs on that as well but my biggest problem is they are not optimized for the touch screen interface and it is awkward to say the least ... I don't even play the games on it anymore

Ethan @ May 24th 2008 3:11PM

I think Scummvm ultimately validates this, the emulator of that is pretty fantastic, also 'trying out games' led me to buy Picross, which was a fantastic purchase that I would never have thought about otherwise. But I guess the DS demo portal on my Wii supercedes that.

However, I'm not sure, but I think either my supercard lite or the microsd I got is broke. The fact I couldn't really be bothered to revive the thing shows a great deal.

Mr.ESC @ May 24th 2008 3:33PM

Sadly as everyone knows Homebrew main application is play pirated games :(

Alisha Karabinus @ May 24th 2008 3:49PM

People can, and will, abuse anything and everything that can possibly exploited, from cars and drugs to homebrew carts. Just because it can be done, and is done, doesn't mean it has to be the focus of every discussion. And yet, every time someone mentions homebrew, someone else has to come in and start talking about piracy.

The base truth is that yes, lots of people pirate games. They always have; there are thousands of web sites dedicated to it. But that in no way invalidates the scene, or detracts from the very excellent programs being designed by hobbyists. There's so much to explore out there that I don't even see much reason to discuss piracy... just like I don't sit around talking about people who rob banks or commit fraud.

Mr.ESC @ May 24th 2008 7:07PM

Why I feel nowadays everything I say is misinterpreted.

I didn’t mean every HB app is useless or that people using HB are criminals that will later rob liquor stores and kill babies is just that well what you say people will take everything that isn’t nailed to the floor.

Chill rasta.

Since is a touchy subject lets change this topic to pancakes.

Anyone had pancakes for breakfast?

I love how everyone here is trying to justify that they own these carts for "homebrew" or as an MP3 player. Do you really think we believe so many people use these for homebrews? I love how people can look right into the camera and lie about it too: http://www.expotv.com/Nintendo-Ds-R4-Revolution-for-the-DS-DS/3c-EQA