Table of Contents
Magic Key 3
In September 2005, the NeoTeam released two varieties of PassMe: Magic Key 2 and Magic Key 3.
Initially, PassMe devices were positioned as loaders for homebrew NDS games. But then NeoTeam hired DarkFader, who taught Magic Key 1 to launch commercial Nintendo DS games.
Magic Key 2 and 3 became the logical evolution of the first Magic Key. However, a strange story unfolded. Two months before the release of MK 2 and MK 3, Nintendo updated the DS firmware, closing all loopholes for PassMe devices. While other PassMe developers started releasing PassMe 2, NeoTeam released Magic Key 2 and 3, which were essentially PassMe 1.
Left PassMe 1, right PassMe 2 with rewriting devices.
The main idea was that additional features would convince old players to switch from PassMe 1 to MK 2 and MK 3.
In the end, many players believed in NeoTeam, but their hopes were not fulfilled. MK 2 and 3, at first, were no different from MK 1, and when memory card support was added, the NDS scene changed so much that all PassMe 1 became obsolete.
In this review, we will focus on Magic Key 3. The main difference between MK 2 and MK 3 was that the latter had built-in memory where games could be stored.
Kit
Magic Key 3 was released in different configurations. But the latest release came in a very beautiful box:
Inside, there was a lot of interesting stuff.
1. Magic Key 3;
2. Neo Key;
3. USB card reader;
4. 128 or 256 MB memory card;
5. Software CD;
6. USB Slim Loader IV.
It should be noted that USB Slim Loader IV was not initially planned to be included in the kit. This was because the Neo Key firmware update to the new menu version was supposed to be done from MK 3. But when NeoTeam released this kit, the update function was not ready.
In theory, later kits should have been released without USB Slim Loader IV, but by 2006, full-fledged flash cartridges had already appeared, so the kit remained unchanged.
Please note! Neo Key is NOT a flash cartridge. It has only 16 MB of memory and is intended only for writing the MK 3 menu.
Preparation
To use MK 3, you will need:
1. Nintendo DS with firmware version v1 – v3. You can read how to check your Nintendo DS firmware version in the article: «Nintendo DS Firmware». How to use MK3 with Nintendo DS firmware v4+ is described later;
2. GBA flash cartridge (preferably NeoFlash 1024Mb or Neo Key);
3. Memory card (small: 128 or 256 MB);
4. Any Nintendo DS game cartridge;
5. Download the archive: NEO_MK2_3_Menu_V0.6-BETA3.zip.
To launch MK 3, you need to extract NEO_MK2_3_Menu_V0.6-BETA3.zip. There are two files inside:
1. NEO_MK2_3_Menu_V0.6-BETA_3.nds;
2. NEO_MK2_3_Menu_V0.6-BETA_3.ds.gba.
After that, you need to write the file NEO_MK2_3_Menu_V0.6-BETA_3.nds to the NeoFlash or Neo Key cartridge using the Neo Power Kit program. You can read how to do this in the article: «NeoFlash».
The file NEO_MK2_3_Menu_V0.6-BETA_3.ds.gba is needed for old GBA flash cartridges from other manufacturers. For example:
Please note, if you have the same kit as I do, then MK2_3_Menu is already written on the Neo Key cartridge. But it's the old version 0.4, which is significantly worse than the latest 0.6 Beta 3. So it's better to update.
You also need to write clean NDS ROM images to the memory card.
All that's left is to insert the memory card and the Nintendo DS game cartridge into the MK 3. Then insert this construction into the NDS. Insert the Neo Key or Neo Flash into the GBA slot of the console.
This concludes the preparation.
If you have a Nintendo DS with firmware v4+, you will need MK4-Key or MK4-Mini.
To launch MK 3 on Nintendo DS or Nintendo DS Lite, you need to switch the lever to the NDS position.
Then insert MK 4 into the console. After the firmware loads, you will see that the console has recognized the cartridge as MK4 Mini.
Launch the cartridge. We are asked to launch MK2/3 or load from the GBA slot.
Press A. We are prompted to remove MK 4 and insert MK2/3.
Accordingly, we do this and press A.
After that, the console will launch into the MK 3 menu.
One more thing.
Before the appearance of the menu file for MK 3 (item 4 - NEO_MK2_3_Menu_V0.6-BETA3.zip), this device was essentially no different from MK 1.
You had to download a special patcher, run the games through it, and then write them to NeoFlash. When the console was turned on, the recorded game would launch immediately.
If you want to try this option, download the archive: GST_MK2_Patcher-V3.4R.zip.
This method of launching games is the least convenient but has the highest compatibility!
Usage
After you turn on the console, you will immediately enter the MK 3 start menu.
Information will be displayed on the top screen. And the menu will be at the bottom.
There are four icons here:
1. MMC – displays files from the memory card;
2. NEO – displays files recorded on the NeoFlash flash cartridge. Please note, this menu only works with the NeoFlash cartridge and possibly Neo Max;
3. MK 3 – displays files recorded in the internal memory of MK 3;
4. NDS – creates a dump of the NDS flash cartridge.
Essentially, the MMC, NEO, and MK 3 menus do the same thing – launch Nintendo DS games. The difference is that MMC launches games from the memory card, NEO from the flash cartridge, and MK 3 from the internal memory of the device.
Why is this needed? For better compatibility.
Launching games from the memory card is the least reliable (long loading time each time, poor compatibility). Launching from the internal memory of MK 3 is an intermediate option (long loading time into memory, but then fast launch, with medium compatibility). Launching from the GBA flash cartridge is the best option in terms of compatibility (but with a long write time and instant loading afterward).
When you first load Magic Key 3, the NEO and MK 3 menus are empty. If you enter them, you will be prompted to format them. You can do this right away because you will be prompted again later if you want to write a game there.
To start, I suggest you immediately write a game to the internal memory of MK 3.
Go to the MMC tab. There, you will see the games recorded on the memory card.
If you select a game and press A, it will launch. If you press X, it will be written to the NeoFlash flash cartridge. If you press Y, it will be written to the internal memory of MK 3.
Press Y. If you haven't formatted the memory as I wrote above, agree to the formatting.
After formatting, a window will open asking if you want to write the game to memory.
Agree, and the process will begin (it can take up to 10 minutes):
After it finishes, exit this menu and go to MK 3. There, you will see the recorded game.
You can launch it with the A button or delete it with the X button.
The menu version 0.6 Beta 3 supports multi-ROM menu (introduced in version 0.6 Beta 1). That is, you can write many games to the MK 3 memory. Previously, regardless of the available memory, there was always only one game there.
The process of writing to the NeoFlash flash cartridge is completely identical to the above process, so we won't repeat it.
Let's move on to the last menu – NDS. It allows you to back up a Nintendo DS cartridge to the memory card.
Press A.
A new window will open, telling you to remove the NDS cartridge and reinsert it.
Do this and press A. We return to the start menu. Again, select NDS and press A. Now, another menu will open, showing the game file from the cartridge.
Press A. A window will open, saying that we can create a dump of the game.
Press A again. The dump creation process begins.
After the process is complete, you can go to the MMC menu and see that the game dump image is displayed there.
Now let's talk about saves.
Saves
MK 3 has a built-in SRAM memory chip that allows you to store game save files on it. If you play one game, the save will always be on the chip. When launching another game, you will be prompted to dump the save to the memory card (if you refuse, you will lose the save).
I first launched the game Polarium and made a save. I turned off the console, turned it on again, and launched the game Bomberman. MK 3 asks if I want to save Polarium.sav?
Agree. This process created a backup of the save on the memory card. The next time you launch the game, you will be prompted to load it.
If you want to force a save dump, you can launch another game, create a dump, and then cancel the launch.
Epilogue
When NeoFlash's monopoly was destroyed, they were hit hard. I can't explain the decision to release Magic Key 3 in such a kit as you saw above in any other way.
To fully use MK 3, you need to buy so much additional stuff that it's overwhelming. The NEO function doesn't work without NeoFlash. It doesn't launch on new Nintendo DS without Magic Key 4. Some SD memory cards that came with the kit didn't work with MK 3!!!
But despite all this, it was very interesting for me to see what this device can do.
