Two new flash cartridges: DSpico and 4-in-1 ChisFlash
Two flash cartridges I had been really looking forward to have finally arrived: DSpico and 4-in-1 ChisFlash.
1. Let's start with DSpico.
Purchase link: https://ali.click/39bcza?erid=2SDnjepbyDJ
Right now it is about as basic as a flash cartridge gets: no save states, no return-to-menu function, and none of the other familiar extras.
But it has one genuinely unique feature: it can launch DSiWare directly on an unmodified Nintendo DSi, with no region restrictions.
That is genuinely impressive because nothing else can do it.
What is less impressive is that I spent six hours getting it to work. Some parts of the implementation are very strange, and figuring it out on the first try is not easy. I may write a separate guide. Would a detailed setup guide be useful?
2. Now for the 4-in-1 ChisFlash.
Purchase link: https://ali.click/ge3mj10?erid=2SDnjcK1wij
A very unusual cartridge: it has 128 MB of storage, enough for exactly four 32 MB games.
But those 128 MB are divided into four independent banks, and you switch between them using a button on the cartridge. So this is not a cartridge with a menu or firmware; it is essentially four separate cartridges in one shell.
That design can cause problems with readers: GBxCart RW does not power the cartridge, so you have to switch banks manually on the console first and only then use the reader. ChisBurner does not have this problem because it supplies power correctly.
The design raises some questions: it feels less like an original ChisFlash product and more like a third-party clone using the name.
In practice, though, it works as advertised. The only questionable choice is the 1M Flash memory used for saves, with a separate block for each bank. It is not the most versatile option. Some games will require a double conversion: first to SRAM, then from SRAM to Flash using MetroidManiac's utility.
On the other hand, this may be close to ideal for Pokémon: you can put four different games on one cartridge and save normally without any extra patching.