First of all we need to know this: "what version NDS do you have?"
This is necessary to know so that you purchase the right equipment for your NDS.
Simply, do the following :
Check the manufacturing date of your DS. Most likely, if you have a DS that is purchased in the summer of 2005 to present, you'll require the "2nd gen" version of a particular device. If it's before that, then you'll need the "1st gen" version of the device.
What is NDS homebrew ?
Anything made homebrew for the NDS will require "authentication" by the NDS. It's similar to trying to play some custom made application or games in your XBOX and realizing it won't work without a modchip. Anything not made or authenticated by the manfucturer will normally require "authentication". This is where all these media carts and PASS ME devices come into play.
What is a PASS ME device and why are there so many of them ?
A passme device is a device that has certain programmed code on it that will allow it to authenticate NDS homebrew. These carts have a variety of names, normally based on their manufacturers... i.e. EZ PASS (ezflash company), SUPER PASS (super card company), PASSCARD (m3 company), etc. All in all, they all do the same thing in the long run, authenticate NDS homebrew. Well, this is where it counts. Older (1st gen) DS will require the 1st gen of the PASSME devices. Each company has a 1st gen pass me device. If you have a 2nd gen NDS or an NDS lite, you will require the 2nd or 3rd gen PASSME device from the appropriate company. How they do it and how advanced they are, varies.
These devices are merely authenticators.. they don't carry any media on them, that is what the media carts are for.. which leads us to our next question...
What is a media cart and what do they do?
Media carts, movie players, etc, all various names for essentially the same concept. You'll notice a variety of names. Supercard, M3, G6, DS-X, Movie Players, etc. What these carts/adapters do is plug into your GBA slot of your NDS and allow you to .. via either a flashmemory or insertable flash memory (i.e. SD card, CF card, Micro/Mini SD, etc)... play media (movies, music, games, ebooks, pictures). Amazing, isn't it?
What do they do? Like I've said, they play media off your flashrom or your insertable memory. It's a great concept if you think about the wonderful things you can now do with your NDS. You can play your music on it, watch movies, watch pictures, read e-books, and run NDS homebrew (if you have your PASS ME device, remember?)
Why buy one over the other, what are the various benefits?
M3
M3 has 3 popular types, M3 Perfect SD, M3 Perfect Mini SD and M3 LITE. Understandably, the basic difference is the Mini SD uses Mini SD and is slimmer than the regular SD. The Mini SD is the size of a GBA game. The reg. SD is about an inch taller. The M3 LITE uses MICRO SD and is designed specifically for the DS LITE.
M3 MINI = flush in the fat DS
M3 SD = sticks out about 10-12mm in the fat DS
M3 LITE = flush with DS LITE (not compatible with fat DS)
Reason why people purchase the M3 over others may be due to its nice and simple design, a fairly easy software to manage your media, a nice browser, and the wonderful "plug and play" Passcard 3. The M3 mini fits snug in the NDS, and juts out about 9 mm in the NDS lite. M3 Lite is a great fit on the DS LITE and uses Micro SD.
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Super Card
As with the m3, the super card has 3 basic sizes. Supercard, Supercard Mini and Supercard Lite. Yep, you've guessed it.. the difference is the size of the memory card. Regular SD vs Mini SD vs Micro SD. The supercards have long been the more affordable version of these carts and are very popular. They have easy to use software and their newest Superkey passme device mimics the functions of the Passcard 3 (plug and play passme).
Supercard SD = sticks out a little on the fat DS
Supercard Mini SD = flush with the fat DS
Supercard LITE = flush with the DS LITE (not compatible with the fat DS)
As far as size and whatnot, the supercard mini is a snug fit in the NDS. It sticks out a tad in the NDS lite, about 13mm.
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TTDS
From the people behind the very first NDS Linker / Homebrew card comes the TTDS. The TTDS is the ultimate slot 1 solution, offering more compatibility, faster load times and enhanced features that other slot 1 cards are still waiting to get.
Complete with support for Download & Play, Cheat Codes, and unlike many Slot 1 solution - full support for playing games over the built in WiFi on the Nintendo DS. You can play mp3's, read TXT books, and run your homebrew applications with ease.
The TTDS team has created a truly unique and feature rich Slot 1 Solution.
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DS-Xtreme
The DS-Xtreme is a SLOT-1 cart (slot 1 is the nds gameslot, slot 2 is the gba gameslot). It is an 'All-in-One' solution for your gaming needs, meaning, it combines the cartridge and the passme device into once cartridge. Most devices that are SLOT 2 will require a passme device and a memory card for storage, the DS-Xtreme combines all these variables into one cartridge, giving you 4Gb (512megabytes) of storage space and no need for a passme device.
The DS-Xtreme is a plug and play device, meaning, you can plug it into your pc, drop files to it, and play them.. without any patching of files.
So to recap, most cartridges require 3 parts... 1) cartridge 2) memory card and 3) passme device.. The DS-Xtreme combines these 3 things into 1 cartridge, giving you 512megabytes and a passme device built into one cartridge.
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Hopefully this review helped you understand the basics of the DS homebrew scene.
I hope that by reading this review you will be making an educated decision as to what product suits your needs.
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