GBA SMS2 – Memory Hunter

Kit

The kit for this device is quite modest. However, it is so simple that there is no real need to add anything.

GBA SMS2 – Memory Hunter comes in a nice little box.

Inside is the device itself and an instruction manual.

Unfortunately, I got the smallest version with 4 megabits (0.5 megabytes). So, if we're talking about cartridges with saves implemented on flash memory, you won't be able to make many backups. For example, on this device, you can only make 3 backups of the save for Super Mario Advance 4.

Usage

You need to insert the cartridge into the console and connect the GBA SMS2. Then turn on the console and immediately hold down the Start and Select buttons. The device will load, and instead of the game, you will enter the device's menu.

Since my GBA SMS2 is in Chinese, I will describe all the items in detail.

From top to bottom.

1. SMS File Manager – the main tab where we will back up saves and restore them.

2. SMS File Editor – allows you to edit saves using a HEX editor.

3. SMS File Copy – this tab is for copying saves to another GBA SMS2 device.

4. Cartridge Auto Detect – information about the cartridge.

5. Run Game in Cartridge – launches the game from the cartridge inserted in the console.

6. Format SMS – formats the GBA SMS2 memory and erases all save files.

Let's focus on the first 4 tabs.

SMS File Manager

Select the first line and press A. You will enter a menu with a description of the controls.

We won't go into detail here because I will describe everything further.

On the first launch of GBA SMS2, it will be empty and say SMS! The device is telling us that we have no save backups.

Press the Start button, and a new menu will open.

Here, information about the cartridge is displayed, and the question is asked: are you sure you want to add this save? Options: A – add, B – cancel.

Press A and wait for the process to complete. Now a window appears saying that everything was successful and asking us: do you want to launch the game from the cartridge?

Press B and return to the screen that said SMS! Now a file with a new save backup has appeared here.

We now have two options:

1. Make a new save backup (you can do it for the same game) or overwrite an existing backup with new data.

Note that when the first (and only) save is selected, pressing the Start button again will give you two options: make a new save or overwrite the selected save.

So, press Start. A menu appears:

At the top, we have what is written on the cartridge, and at the bottom, information from the file. If you press A now, a new save file will be created (so there will be two save files on the device, not one). After that, you will again be asked whether to launch the game from the cartridge or not.

If you press B instead of A, a new menu will appear asking if you want to overwrite the save file with a new one.

If you press A, the file will be overwritten (after that, you will again be asked whether to launch the game), and if you press B, you will return to the menu.

2. Restore a save backup to the console. To do this, select the save file in the menu (if there is only one file, it will be automatically selected) and press the A button.

A menu like this will appear:

At the top, it shows what is in the save file, and at the bottom, what is on the console. These two lines are for verification. If they match, you can write the save, but if they don't, you need to check what you're trying to write and where.

Pressing A will start the process of writing the file to the cartridge (after completion, you will again be asked whether to launch the game), and pressing B will return you to the menu.

SMS File Editor

After you have made a save dump, you can open this menu. A list of your saves will appear there (after the screen with the control description).

Select the one you need and press A.

A HEX editor will open.

Initially, the editing mode is locked. But if you press the A button, it will unlock, and you can freely change any value.

After making changes, you need to press the A button again to lock the editing mode. Then press the B button to exit the HEX editor. A menu will appear asking if you want to save the changes. A – save, B – cancel.

Don't forget to rewrite the save to the cartridge after this.

If you press the Start button in the HEX editor, a value search menu will open.

There are two rows here: 16’: 00 and 10’: 0. The second row with the 10 is just for convenience (you write a regular number, and it is converted to a hexadecimal value above). Switching between them is done with the L and R buttons.

The first row is for searching for a specific value in the save. If you press the Select button, you can switch the search mode to 2 / 4 / 8 values.

Use the D-pad to set the specific value and press the A button to start the search. After that, a menu will appear showing how many matches were found.

If you press A again, you will return to the HEX editor. Then, using the L and R buttons, you can move between the found values. If you press B, the search will reset, and the L and R buttons will simply shift the pages.

If you press the Select button in the HEX editor, a page navigation menu will open. Here, you can specify a specific line you want to move to.

Note that if the cartridge uses a CRC system (data verification), the save will be considered corrupted. However, such a system is rarely used.

SMS File Copy

This tab is for transferring files between different GBA SMS2 devices.

When you enter it (there will be an intermediate menu with a description of the controls), you will see this menu:

Select the game and press A. A message will appear: remove the GBA SMS2.

When you remove the GBA SMS2, a message will appear: insert another GBA SMS2 device.

The recording will start automatically. Wait for the file to copy.

Press B and return to the menu.

For some reason, you cannot overwrite to the same device. Therefore, this tab is useless if you only have one GBA SMS2 device.

Cartridge Auto Detect

If you enter this tab, you can see information about the cartridge (the same information you will constantly see in other menus).

1. Game name. In my case: SUPER MARIOD.

2. Save type. Apparently, this is an internal designation for the save chip on the cartridge. In my case: 23H, which corresponds to 1M FLASH (128 KB).

3. Save size: 131072 bytes.

4. Save size in blocks. This is an internal designation of size. For example, in the case of Super Mario Advance 4, the save takes up 131072 bytes or 497 blocks on the GBA SMS2 memory.

If you enter the first tab (SMS File Manager), you can see two lines at the bottom: 1/85 and 497/1822 (or instead of the first numbers, there will be other values, depending on how much you have recorded).

This means that on this device, you can store 85 save backups if they fit into 1822 blocks.

So, the save from Super Mario Advance 4 will immediately take up 497 blocks out of 1822. And you won't be able to make more than three such saves.

Button

There is a small button on the GBA SMS2.

You might think it's useless. After all, it just reboots the console. But it's not that simple.

If you turn off and on the console, you will lose power to the cartridge, which means all saves will be deleted (if the cartridge battery is already dead).

This button reboots the console without turning off the power. So, after rebooting, you can enter the GBA SMS2 menu and make a save backup. And only then turn off the console. And on the next start, you will need to restore the save and launch the game.

Epilogue

Overall, Xinga (the person who made the clone of the EZ-Flash flash cartridge and called it XG-Flash) created a very interesting device – it allows for advanced save management. But the more I delved into it, the more puzzled I became. All these things (except maybe the HEX editor) should have been in the console from the start. After all, this device doesn't do anything extraordinary. It just slightly simplifies the life of an ordinary player and provides the features that everyone would like to have.