TOPTOY DS (TTDS) Review

[wraggster]

Hi all today i finally got around to getting my hands on the TOPTOY DS (TTDS) a new flashcart for the Nintendo DS from Neoflash. Heres my review of the TOPTOY DS (TTDS).

Where to Buy

Buy from IC2005 (http://www.ic2005.com/shop/home.php?partner=wraggster&bid=1) $59.00 (£28.00)

Foreword

I am not an expert on anything even though i webmaster one of the biggest homebrew sites, i am infact a fan just like most others and more of a noobie than an expert, if i dont know i ask, so from me youll get a review in a way that as long as it works then im happy, i am no expert so you wont get a massively technical explanation youll get a straight yes or no.

What is the TOPTOY DS (TTDS) ?

Heres the description:


* Slot-1 1:1 Original small size
* Build in passme function
* Not need patch, just need drag and drop, then plug and play
* Support all roms, compatibility = 100%
* Support homebrew app & game, auto DLDI patch in memory
* Support moonshell MP3/Movie player
* Support cheat code function, more fun now
* Support 4-class brightness adjust in menu (NDSL only)
* Pure hardware save, never lose data
* Automatically detect and generate save type
* TF menu core upgradeable
* Supports FAT/FAT32, works on any OS
* Supports any TF card speed without any lag in the game
* Built-in power-saving function
* User friendly skin able interface. Touch screen or button operation
* Supports skin DIY
◇Support normal TF and SDHC, up to 4096GByte.
◇Support soft reset in the game
◇Support wireless multi-player (WIFI Game)
◇The save data can use in NDS Emulator directly


Heres Some Photos of the TOPTOY DS

The Cart

http://nintendo-ds.dcemu.co.uk/toptoyds.jpg

The Packaging and Contents

http://nintendo-ds.dcemu.co.uk/toptoyds3.jpg

Review

Neoflash are one of the worlds biggest and well known makers of flash carts for the Nintendo DS and the toptoyDS is the latest one to grace the DS Community.

The Toptoy DS comes in a sturdy plastic packing which means that no damage should occur on route to your house, Inside the packaging comes the Flash Cart, a Mini USB adapter for Micro SD Cards (they go inside the flash cart) and a Mini CD containing drivers/firmware for the Flash Cart.

The Flash Cart itself takes Micro SD Memory Cards which are fairly cheap these days, so you can easily go up to 4GB and yes thats a shedload of Homebrew :)

OK now my DS Lite hasnt got a power lead so i couldnt do a thorough review but heres my findings

When i first switched on it booted up with a question mark and an error with no menu so i went to Neoflash (http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index.php/topic,4728.0.html) and installed the latest one from them. I just unzipped the file and dropped it on the root of the Micro SD Card.

I then booted up and was presented with a Nice and functional Menu screen with the list of games and apps i put on to try.

Needless to say i tried some commercial roms of games i own ie Mario 64, New Mario Bros, Nintendogs and Theme Park all loaded perfectly and saved too, no slowdowns or glitches to report of. With the commercial games it does tell you some info but me being me takes no notice of it :D

Then onwards to the Homebrew stuff and my first to try was the latest version of DSOrganize the browser cum filofax type for the Nintendo DS and believe me Nintendo Should actually make this a base app that is on every Nintendo DS, anyway it played perfectly.

I then tried another fave A Touch of War the RTS game and yet again perfect. One game that stalled on loading was Starlite the Starcraft Clone for the DS, it had a blue cross signal so must be imcompatible i presume.

Moonshell was last on my list whilst trying to preserve my battery and it worked flawlessly.

Conclusion

An easy to use Flash Cart with excellent compatability both on Commercial and Homebrew Games, simple to use and easy to understand just drag and drop. One big feature is the ability to auto DLDI patch in memory.

The ability to use any size Memcard makes this a decent buy and well recommended.

Score out of 10, well for me id give it an 8.5/10

For those who have the TopToyDS Please give your reviews via Comments

[emenblade]

meh i dunno im a big fan boy of the cyclods evolution. it has all those features plus a nice metal case, a choice of colours and when you're using moonshell u hit start and it will soft reset. i dunno if it does this with other flash carts... prolly does..=) oh and its got a bizzilion languages + right now they are working on save states, which should help with games Such as metroid where u have save points. and the have a slo-mo mode.. kinda pointless if u ask me... any way based on your criteria i say its atleast a 9... my 2 cents

edit one thing is that its got no cd and no instructions with it... not like you need them...
it stores the firm ware on the cards internal memory(only for firm ware all of you roms and music and home brew go on you micro sd card. the only game i got any lag what so every was cod4 but i think thats the games fault on my cyclo's

[robman84]

Any benefits over the M3DS Real?

Also, where can you get these 4 terrabyte SDHC cards from? ;-)

[whatsorrow]

Just got a top toy from a site called modchipstore.com it took them 6 months to get me my card and i ordered an m3 not a top toy. I honestly thought i got ripped off because they never responded to any of my emails and they charged me like 1 month after i ordered it. anyways the top toy works pretty good but i also have an R4 which i got from
http://www.gameyeeeah.com/ which works just as good and is cheaper as well, i got my R4 in about 3 days with the dhl shipping.
So in conclusion both cards are good and play homebrew and commercial roms nicely. but they both come with crappy micro sd card readers, they feel like their gonna scratch it and never come out lol. But dont order from modchipstore they suck. If you want your product fast go to gameyeeeah. they rock.

[ozshel]

Hi
I Dont Know Whether I Am In The Right Place Or Not But I Really Need Help. I Finally Got My Mum To Get Me A Tt Card For My Nds And All Was Going Great Until Today And When I Put My Card In The Screen Goes Blank Afyter It Says It Is Loading. The Micro Card Looks Ok On The Pc And I Can Transfer Games On And Off It And The Ds Console Palys Other Games---just Nothing Off The Tt Card. Please Can Anybody Help? :(

[Cevius]

Hey peeps, Ive got a slightly different version of this one called the DSTT. The box looks sexier, and the cart itself looked better than that one, but I think the guts itself are the same and the main menu when it loads up saids TopToyDS, so its probably the same firmware as well.

I am wholly impressed at the quality of this unit, every game I put in works, although very rarely some games will cause homebrew to stop working untill I remove the rom with the issues.

Reading speed off the card is really fast, and ive had no problems with the 2gb Sandisk MicroSD Im using with it.

Ive never had to patch/DLDI anything either, so its really really easy to use.

http://brisbanemodchips.com.au/ This is where I got mine, and seriously, without these guys I would have been stuffed trying to get an R4 or DSTT in Australia :thumbup: