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Thread: Review: M3 DS Real Perfect Bundle

                  
   
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    PS2 User Joe88's Avatar
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    NDS Review: M3 DS Real Perfect Bundle

    M3 DS Real Perfect Bundle Review




    This is a review for the M3 DS Real Perfect Bundle which I have tested for over a month now.


    The Manufacturer of this cart as you guessed from the name is M3 Adapter: http://www.m3adapter.com/

    ================================================== ===================

    Test Equipment:
    • Nintendo DS Lite (USA)
    • M3 DS Real Perfect Bundle (English) ver.CPE
    • Kingston 4GB MicroSDHC (Japan) class[4]


    ================================================== ===================

    Intro:
    So here we have the M3 DS Real which is meant to replace the aging M3 Simply as their main cart The M3 Real is based on many of the features of the G6 DS Real but has expandable memory and a few other neat things like built in GBA support with expansion pack

    The M3 DS which I ordered the perfect bundle edition from www.RealHotStuff.com for $60 USD. The Perfect Bundle version comes with the M3 DS Real as well as 2 expansion paks for the GBA slot designed to fit slim with the DS Lite:



    The first pak is the rumble pak which can be used in games that support it such as Meteroid Pinball and Elite Beat Agents. The Second expansion pak is the GBA Expansion Pak which supports the running of GBA game roms and homebrew and also double as a ram pak for the DS Browser and some homebrew that supports it. Both of these carts are very good to have and bring out the full potential the M3 Real. It is recommended that you buy this bundle to be fully satisfied with this product.

    ================================================== ===================

    Packaging:
    Upon receiving my product I was quit surprised at the packaging. It was very small compared to pictures I saw online. However this little box was full of goodies packed tightly togther:



    Now newer versions of the bundle wont contain the CD anymore due to it being useless because of outdated firmware and they also changed the MicroSDHC reader to a glossy one. Everything came as expected and seems to be okay, nothing damaged.

    ================================================== ===================

    Flast Cart:


    The cart is sturdy and doesnt squeak and creek and when bend it. It supports MicroSDHC cards and and slot for the spring loaded ejection for the card is very well built also. Only thing is you can see a bump on the front under the sticker where there is an exposed chip. Many flashcarts these days seem to do this, it does not however effect inserting and taking it out of the DS. Overall very good cart quality, nothing seems to be out of place and everything fits flush.

    ================================================== ===================

    Installation:
    The M3 Real requires a MicroSD/HC card with the firmware installed on the card in order for it to work. Flash carts work by reading the MicroSD card and loading the firmware from the card now, these cards do not need to flashed in order to work and are very easy to update when new firmwares come out.



    Setup was very easy only requiring a drag and drop onto the MicroSD card for the firmware and NDS and GBA roms which have their own folders.

    (note: it is recomended to get a better MicroSDHC card then the one included which is garbage, the same for every flash cart to be exact, mine broke after 35 uses or so, I replaced it with a Sandisk Mobile Mate MicroSDHC + M2 reader from amazon.com for $2.50)

    I then removed the card from the reader and inserted it into the M3 DS Real



    Everything fits real nice and flush once inserted into the DS.
    I also inserted the GBA expansion pak, which also went flush with the DS and was glossy, unlike other expansion paks like the EZ 3-in-1 that stick out and arnt glossy.

    ================================================== ===================

    Operation:
    I turned on the DS and was very happy to see that it skips "touch the screen to continue" upon boot the M3 DS Real then loaded and was presented with a menu:



    the explanation for each icon going from left to right are as follows:
    • the first option will take you too the current ds games on the cart (play your NDS games)
    • the second to gba games on the cart (play your GBA games)
    • third is a file explorer (think of it as windows explorer)
    • fourth is for cart booting for just playing a gba game with a an actual game cart (gba cart or other 3rd party slot-2 card can also be booted)
    • fifth is a media player (modded version of moonshell)
    • sixth is a built in PDA (I felt DSOrganize was a lot better)
    • and seventh is cart options (just some basic options like boot method, select different skins and such)

    Rom Browser
    Fairly easy to navigate, no problems, little laggy though



    Rom Options
    some of the basic ROM options such as soft reset (you hold down a combo of buttons and you will return to the M3 Real menu wihout having to shut off your DS)
    Cheat Switch (to activate cheats, can be set to always on and to a button combo) and slow motion (useful and your stuck in a game that requires precision but goes to fast, music wont slow down but game play will, can be set on a button combo and can return back to normal) and also take a look at the cheat tab on the top...



    Cheat Menu
    Just like owning a gameshark\action replay\code breaker , a cheat system is built into this cart and features many codes for almost all games, simple off and on buttons.



    ================================================== ===================

    ROM COMPATIBILITY:
    NDS
    1. TetrisDS = Works
    2. Pokemon D/P = Works
    3. Contra 4 = Works
    4. New Super Mario Bros. = Works
    5. Cooking Mama 2 = Works (soft reset must be tuned off for the this rom other wise it will freeze when making a pizza)
    6. Lost in Blue = Works
    7. Trauma Center = Works
    8. Fell the Magic = Works
    9. Elite Beat Agents = Works
    10. Final Fantasy III = Works
    11. The World Ends With You = Works
    12. Wario Ware Touched = Works
    13. DS Opera Browser = Works (must be patched with the official M3 browser patch tool)


    all roms run at full speed and wifi works as well, I have not yet encountered any rom errors



    GBA
    1. Super Mario Advance 1/2/3/4 = All Work
    2. Zelda III A Link to the Past / Four Swords= Works
    3. Zelda Minish Cap = Works (must use RTS to save game, game will not save without it)
    4. Zelda I Classic NES Series = Works (requires a IPF patch to work which I applied)
    5. Zelda II Classic NES Series = Works (requires a IPF patch to work which I applied)
    6. Wario Land 4 = Works (RTS must be turned off or game will crash)
    7. Kirby Nightmare in Dream Land = Works
    8. Pokemon Fire Red = Works
    9. Pokemon Emerald = Works
    10. Kirby and the Amazing Mirror = Works
    11. Super Mario Bros. Classic NES Series = Works (requires a IPF patch to work which I applied)
    12. Wario Ware Inc. = Works
    13. Bubble Bobble Old and New = Works

    (*note* all classic NES series must be patched with special IPS patches or else they will return a GAME PAK ERROR message upon boot of them)

    all GBA games work at full speed and the M3 Expansion has superb compatibility when it comes to GBA roms



    ================================================== ===================

    CONCLUSION:
    The M3 DS Real is a very sturdy cart with excellent rom compatibility. As far as homwbrew, the only one I got to test is DSorganize which auto DLID patched its self and ran fine. I do recommended this cart for a person that wants both DS and GBA excellent rom compatibility at a low price.

    ================================================== ===================

    PROS/CONS
    Pros:
    • Good Cart Quality
    • Auto Homebrew DLID patch
    • 100% Rom Compatibility
    • 95% GBA Rom Compatibility
    • MicroSDHC cart supported
    • Cheat Support
    • GBA RTS+RTC Support
    • NDS RTS Support
    • NDS Slow Motion availability
    • Comes with both a Rumble Pak and GBA Expansion Pak made to fit flush with the DSL and comes glossy


    Cons
    • Scroll list for game menu and somewhat laggy
    • Random 10sec lag when selecting games from NDS and GBA games (fixed with M3 Sakura)
    • Touch screen for M3 Menu us somewhat dodogy at best and sometimes doesn't respond (fixed with M3 Sakura)
    • NDS+GBA game list doesnt auto alphabetic sort (fixed with M3 Sakura)


    ================================================== ===================

    SCORE:


    review quoting pending with new release of M3sakura (new firmware for M3 DS Real which will fix all problems with menu)

    ================================================== ===================

    Any questions you have I will be happy to answer below.
    Last edited by Joe88; May 12th, 2009 at 04:36. Reason: error

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    PS2 User Joe88's Avatar
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    small update:

    the scheduled release date for M3Saukura (the new M3 DS Real Firmware that has been in devolpment for many months now) is going to be on June.30 (supposed to be anyway, they already delayed it a month)

    I will evaluate the firmware compared to the old M3 Loader
    and might post pictures (I cannot atm, only way is to use my ps2 eyetoy to take pics via pc software, low res though)
    and will update the score and pros/cons
    Last edited by Joe88; May 27th, 2008 at 10:08.

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    PS2 User Joe88's Avatar
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    hrm

    where is bandit
    I posted in that thread, he saw it but nothing happened...

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    Reviews Webmaster/Reviewer bandit's Avatar
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    Any hardware/accessory reviews by forum users stay in here.
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    rofl at avatar

    anyway, back on topic: my spring is getting a little stiff, i have to pull the card out. this was after 3 months of good use - and the m3 real is a little fat, making for a very snug fit in the ds. does anybody kow of any way to transfer files through teh ds wifi so i don't compromise my spring anymore?

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    Reviews Webmaster/Reviewer bandit's Avatar
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    dont think there is a way to directly transfer files to the microSD via WiFi
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    PS2 User Joe88's Avatar
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    The springs shouldnt be causing problems anymore

    my sugesstion it take it apart and see if there any problems, it may not be aligned right or something
    its only supposed to eject it halfway, its not supposed to pop out and shoot it across the room like the DSTT or R4

    and yes, you must use a MicroSD (or MicroSD>SD adapter) to read the cards
    there is no such thing as being able to acess wifi on these yet...

    also bandit, just wanted to make a suggestion of maybe renaming this section to User Submitted Hardware Reviews of something like that...

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    Reviews Webmaster/Reviewer bandit's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Joe88 View Post
    also bandit, just wanted to make a suggestion of maybe renaming this section to User Submitted Hardware Reviews of something like that...
    Suggestion noted. This forum was originally for games and hardware. Now that we have a games section, this should be renamed and made clearer.
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    okay im reviewing m3sakura now
    the eng version is not out
    only the JP one

    Im using a hacked english version from the people over at gbatemp

    and just as promised fixes all the problems with the menu

    I wont add anything to the review or change anything though until the official english version is out

    after playing with this one
    only the last 2 cons on the pros/cons list would reamain

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