The main question is whether you will get a slot-1 device or slot-2 device. Hopefully my post here will help you decide.
NES - NES DS runs on all devices now with the addition of DLDI support. Most games compatible.
SNES - the best emulator here is SNEmulDS, which runs on all devices due to DLDI support. Many games compatible, but not all.
Genesis - games up to 3 MB will work on all devices using jEnesisDS or PicoDriveDS. A slot-2 device using PicoDriveDS is needed for games larger than 3 MB. I don't know about the compatibility.
GB/GBC - Check out Lameboy, which runs many games at full speed with sound on all devices due to DLDI support. There's also Goomba Color, which is a GBC emulator for the GBA, so it will only run on slot-2 devices.
DS homebrew works about the same on both types of devices. GBA binaries can only be run from slot-2.- run all kinds of homebrew stuff for DS and for GBA
Only possible on old CF-based devices that aren't recommended due to their bulkiness. Also probably not allowed to discusson on these forums.- backup my DS games so I don't have to haul all the carts everywhere
Only possible using an old GBA or GBA SP and a linker cable. Again, probably not discussable here.- ideally, backup GBA games as well
A popular option is to get a slot-1 device for ease of use and support for most DS homebrew, plus the slot-2 EZ-V 3in1 expansion pack, which gives you GBA compatibility for a cheap price.
The cheapest standalone slot-2 device with GBA support would be a Supercard, which is about $50 but has RAM that is slightly too slow, so some games will slow down or not boot at all. The M3 Perfect has excellent GBA compatibility due to having faster RAM but costs about $80 plus the price of the media card. This is why the 3in1 expansion pack is a popular option - it has 32 MB of NOR flash that's fast enough to run GBA games without slowdown for only about $20.
You can only hold 1 GBA game on the 3in1 at a time, but you can have as many *.gba files on the slot-1 microSD card as you want. You then use software on the DS itself to flash the game to the 3in1.
Popular slot-1 devices include the R4, M3 Simply, and Supercard DS, though the CycloDS Evolution looks like it's gaining support. I believe the unofficial software that lets you use the 3in1 on other slot-1 devices works best with the R4 and M3 Simply however.
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