Game Wallet

Varieties

There were two types of Game Wallet: one for CF memory cards, and the other for SmartMedia.

I have the Game Wallet for SmartMedia memory cards, so this guide will be for this version.

Kit

The Game Wallet came in a very stylish gray box.

Included:

1. Game Wallet;

2. Disk with software for it;

3. Instruction manual.

What else do you need to buy?

Depending on the type of your Game Wallet, you need to buy a memory card and a reader for rewriting it.

Overview

Let's take a closer look at the Game Wallet.

On the front panel, there is a label showing how to insert the memory card into the console.

On the right side, there is a slot for the memory card. In my case, it's for SmartMedia.

On the back, there is a connector for connecting the Game Wallet to the Game Boy Advance's link port. It is through this connector that the Flash Advance cartridge is rewritten.

And just above it, there is a backlight lamp.

However, this lamp is only suitable for the classic Game Boy Advance. On the GBA SP, the link port is rotated in the opposite direction, so the GameWallet will stick out the other way.

On the bottom edge, there is a backlight switch (only works if the console is turned on).

There is nothing on the left side and the top edge.

Preparation

To use this device, you need to download the archive gamewallet.zip.

It contains two files:

b@@t_gb@.mb – Game Wallet firmware.

gbaldr.gba – multi-menu (if you want to write more than one game to the cartridge, this is necessary).

How to Use?

Connect the Game Wallet to the console and insert the Flash Advance cartridge.

To launch the Game Wallet, you need to hold down the Start + Select buttons when turning on the console.

If after loading you end up in such a menu and nothing happens, it means that you either did not format the memory card in FAT format, or simply did not insert it.

If everything worked correctly, you will enter this menu:

Note that it says "Unknow cart" and 4 submenus are inactive. This is because the Flash Advance cartridge is not inserted into the console.

There are 6 submenus here:

Renew Games – write games to the Flash Advance cartridge (rewrites the cartridge memory);

Append games – add a game to those already on the cartridge. This submenu is only active when two or more games are written to the Flash Advance cartridge;

Compare games – compare the game on the Flash Advance cartridge and the one in the Game Wallet memory. This is needed to check for errors when writing the game to the flash cartridge;

Erase all games – clear the Flash Advance cartridge;

Show games – show the games on the Flash Advance cartridge;

Execute – launch the game.

To exit any submenu, press the Start + Select buttons.

Renew Games Submenu

Here are the games from your SmartMedia memory card. These are the ones that can be written to the Flash Advance cartridge. B@@T_GB@.MB and GBALDR.GBA are system files, they can also be written to the Flash Advance, but there is no point in doing so.

If you press the L button in this submenu, a help page will open, showing the main buttons and their functions:

A – select a game for writing. You can select multiple games at once, pressing A again will deselect them;

B – show the game name and ROM file name;

Start – start loading games onto the Flash Advance cartridge.

If you press the R button in this submenu, a help page will open, showing additional buttons and their functions:

Select + L – enable/disable writing;

Select + R – enable/disable verification of the written game (the game will be checked for errors during writing).

If "W =" is written in the top right corner, the simple writing mode is active. If "WV =" is written, the writing will be with verification.

To write games, select them using the A button (they will be highlighted in pink) and then press Start.

The program will ask you if you really want to write these games. Press A and the writing process will begin.

After the process is complete, you will be asked whether to return to the submenu (button A) or reboot to the main GameWallet menu (button B).

Append Games Submenu

Everything in this submenu works exactly the same as in Renew Games. The only difference is that Renew Games rewrites the games, effectively overwriting the old ones, while Append Games adds games to those already on the cartridge.

However, there is one problem. You cannot choose the slot in which the game will be written. And if you write many games, this can happen:

Kururin, Lost Vikings, and Mario Kart in the first three slots are games that can be launched. Mario Kart in the fourth slot does not launch (it was not written there, it appeared by itself). The fifth slot is empty, and the sixth slot has an additionally written game, which works fine.

Compare Games Submenu

You can compare the game written on the Flash Advance cartridge with the one in the Game Wallet memory to ensure that everything was written correctly and without errors.

Select the game (one or several, but make sure to select them in the order they were written) using the A button and press Start. The verification process will begin:

After verification, you will be told that everything is OK.

If everything is not OK, you need to clear the cartridge memory and rewrite the games again.

Erase All Games Submenu

If you select it and press A, you will immediately be asked if you are sure you want to erase everything. A – yes, B – no.

If you press A, the process of erasing all games from the Flash Advance cartridge will begin. If you press B, you will return to the main menu.

Show Games Submenu

Here you can see how many and which games are written.

Why the second Mario Kart is displayed in the Flash Advance menu and here is a mystery.

Execute Submenu

In theory, you can launch the game directly from this menu. If you select a game using the A button and then press Start, a window will appear asking if you want to launch the game.

In practice, this does not work. After pressing the A button, a menu with the message "File not found" will appear.