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WataPico Review: The Universal Flash Cartridge for Watara SuperVision
Friends, there’s a new article on the site: EZ-Flash Air Review: Features, Limitations, and Comparison with Other Models.
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Cool metal labels for Game Boy Advance consoles. Important: the OMEGA series will no longer be produced — it is being replaced in the lineup by the EZ-Flash Air.
Cool eXtremeRate cases for GBA SP.
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A review of the SuperPico flash cartridge recently appeared on the site - it was a very simple but generally decent option for the Watara SuperVision. In that article, I briefly mentioned that folks from our community were just developing their own flash cartridge for this console. But I was quickly corrected: it turns out they weren't just working on it — they had already finished it!
The main idea of our folks (Xrip, Vrodin, Sa Gin, Melovanovi4) was to implement multiboot — the ability to write multiple games to the cartridge at once — and to ensure support for Game Boy and Game Boy Color games (presumably those that had backward compatibility with Game Boy). And they succeeded!
WataPico vs SuperPico Comparison
To understand why WataPico is so good, let's recall the main pros and cons of SuperPico.
SuperPico
Pros:
1. Allows you to play games.
The advantages end here, but it's important to note that the flash cartridge handles this task excellently.
Cons:
1. Only one game can be written at a time;
2. The process of writing games to the cartridge is not the most convenient (especially considering the previous point);
3. It uses a MicroUSB connector for connecting to a computer, which is now considered outdated.
Overall, nothing critical, but the usability leaves much to be desired.
WataPico
WataPico is free of all these drawbacks.
Pros:
1. Allows you to play games;
2. Supports writing multiple games to the cartridge at once;
3. Ability to run Game Boy games;
4. Modern USB Type-C connector;
5. New features are planned.
Cons:
1. Writing games to the cartridge is still not the most convenient (but this is less important: you just need to write many games at once and not return to it for a long time);
2. It's not very convenient to press the button when connecting the cartridge to a computer — you can't do it with a finger, you have to use something handy, and also connect the cable at the same time. Not critical, but still not very convenient.
As a result, the guys made a cartridge similar in concept, but much more convenient to use.
And let's talk right away about the planned new features.
Currently, you can already run Game Boy games on the Watara SuperVision, but there isn't a simple way to convert them yet. For Watara games, there is a simple and convenient conversion method (I'll talk about it a bit later), but such an option for Game Boy games isn't available yet. The developers are currently working on creating the necessary software.
Running Game Boy games by itself is already a cool feature, but the next function is simply the bomb!
If you look at the top edge of the WataPico, you can notice a headphone jack.
But it's actually not for headphones — through this jack, you can output the image to a TV! Yes! It will be possible to connect the cartridge to a TV (or, like me, to a computer — for example, for screenshots).
But even without these cool features, WataPico is much more convenient and better than SuperPico.
Where to Buy?
Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), this flash cartridge is an open source project, so you can't buy it in a store.
The guys order the boards themselves, solder them by hand, and print the cases on a 3D printer.
If you have soldering experience and the desire to assemble everything yourself — check out Xrip's GitHub. There are all the necessary files for self-assembly.
But if you don't have the time or desire to mess with soldering, don't be upset! You can contact a member of our community — Melovanovi4.
He offers fully ready-made WataPico units: not only the assembled board but also the case printed on a 3D printer. Everything is neatly fitted to the SuperVision slot and completely ready to work. All that remains is to flash the Pico — and you can immediately insert the cartridge into the console.
Usage
If you already have the cartridge, the next step is preparing the files.
1. Download the archive with files
Download the WataPico.zip archive.
2. Download the multi-menu
The multi-menu file (menu.sv) can be taken from Vrodin's GitHub.
3. Find a ROM archive with games for Watara
You will need an archive with games in .sv format. It's easy to find on the internet.
Or you can take, for example, the port of the game 2048 that Vrodin made for SuperVision.
After everything is downloaded, you need to assemble the firmware file for the flash cartridge — it will contain the multi-menu and the selected games.
Step 1.
Unzip the WataPico.zip archive. Inside will be the file watapico.uf2. You will need this file and menu.sv for further work.
Step 2.
Go to the page: https://gbasp.ru/rom_manager.html
This menu will open there:
Drag the watapico.uf2 file into the website window. The next menu will open immediately:
Now add the menu file (menu.sv), and then — the games you want. For example, Vrodin's port of the game 2048.
Please note! The menu.sv file must always be first!
When the list is ready, click Save Updated UF2 File and save the final file to any convenient location.
Now you can move on to writing games to the cartridge!
Step 3.
Connect the USB Type-C cable to the cartridge.
Hold down the button on the cartridge, and only then insert the cable into the computer. This is important — otherwise, the Pico will not enter bootloader mode.
Step 4.
The cartridge will be detected as a regular removable disk (e.g., RPI-RP2).
Inside you will see two files:
- INDEX.HTM
- INFO_UF2.TXT
Step 5.
Copy our resulting watapico_updated.uf2 file to this "disk".
During copying, the disk will disconnect by itself — this is normal.
After ~15 seconds, everything will be ready: you can disconnect the cable and insert the cartridge into the console. You will enter the game menu.
Step 6.
Navigation through the menu is done with the Up / Down buttons, and launching a game is done with the Start button.
To exit the game, you need to restart the console.
Epilogue
Our guys have created an excellent flash cartridge for the Watara SuperVision. Even without the additional features that are still in development, WataPico can already be called the best solution in the world for this console. If SuperPico is hard to consider a full-fledged flash cartridge, then WataPico truly allows you to play comfortably and use the console to its full potential.
And when the developers add all the planned features, it's unlikely that anything more convenient and functional will ever appear.
