Minecraft On Nintendo 3DS

Are you a huge fan of Minecraft?   I know I am.  I bought it in Beta, and have been playing it religiously since.  What I would love more than anything though is to be able to play this amazing game on the go, and play it right on my Nintendo 3DS XL system.

That's why I went searching to see if maybe the trusty and reliable 3DS homebrew / freeware scene had something similar to offer.  I didn't expect Minecraft because I knew Mojang hadn't released it for the Nintendo 3DS at all, but I was hoping to find something that was similar and played the same.

Much to my surprise though, there is actually a full blown Minecraft re-make by a 3DS developer.  It's Minecraft 3DS, and it works the same as the classic Minecraft does, in every single way.  Truly an outstanding feat for the homebrew scene... bearing in mind of course that these developers make and release the games for FREE... they don't want or ask for payment, you just have to get a 3DS Flashcard like the R4i Gold 3DS or the Supercard DSTwo and you can play all of the hombrew games you want.

Check out the video below for the full review, and if you're looking for the R4 3DS or the Supercard DSTwo, then you can visit the official R4 3DS website at http://www.r43ds.org

You can Download Minecraft 3DS here

How To Update Your R4 3DS For v7.1.0 Nintendo 3DS

There's nothing better than video.  Well... for me at least.  While I can follow directions quite nicely when they're written down, I find that watching someone else go through the steps is so much better, because you actually see on YOUR screen, what they are seeing on theirs, and you get to watch over their shoulder and learn how to do things.

What is the point of all this?  I've had an R4 3DS card for quite some time, and I have NOT updated the firmware since the Nintendo 3DS version 6.3.0 was released.  It needed an extra step for me to be able to upgrade my R4, that required a flash of the actual chip on the R4 with the software provided by the people who make it.  Needless to say, I was worried.  I didn't want to ruin or break my R4 3DS, as god knows I am prone to messing things - even when they're dead simple to do :)

The video below helped walk me through the update of my R4 card.   And I realize now, after watching it and actually doing the update myself, that I was worried for NO REASON at all.  It's stupid easy.

If your 3DS has been updated, and your R4 needs an update too, then watch the video below for full instructions and get the firmware files for your specific card from the website in the video.

Hope that helps you guys, as much as it helped me.

Gateway 3DS Orders Are Open

Well, it looks like I've gotten some good news from the guys offering the Gateway 3DS flash card for the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 3DS XL.  It's the very first flash card that actually runs and play 3DS roms, but with some catches.  It works with 3DS systems that are running up to version 4.5 (so if you're running anything higher, you won't be able to use the card) and it's also enabling you to save your games to the same microSD Card that your games is currently on.

The gateway 3ds uses one microSD per game.  So if you have say, Resident Evil, you'll need to use one micro SD for that game alone.  You can of course remove the game and put a new one on, but for the time being, it doesn't offer any type of multi game support on one microSD, regardless of how big your microSD card may be.

I'm going to quote what the team has said below regarding compatibility and save games.  If you've already placed a pre-order, I guess you can expect to get it pretty soon.   If however you have not yet placed any order for it, they suggest that you do so quickly as the initial production run is a smaller one, so you may have to wait a month or more to get your hands on it from the second shipment.

And I quote the below, is it's straight from the mouths of the team who make this card:

1) Yes, we are exploit based (Yay !?) and therefore very dependent on console firmware version: Our current plan is to release for firmware version 4.5 while continuing work on a solution for 6.x + after release. (please see note below) 

2)Gateway will be shipped with 2 cards, the red Gateway shown in our video, which will handle 3ds backups, and a blue ds cart which will be used to prepare the console. ( more demo videos showing save game compatibility as well as setup procedures to follow soon ) 

3) Your console can be safely updated to 4.5 by using an original title released after March 2013 till current. Please double check the update message (version) before proceeding !
Note:We currently have a very convenient and user friendly way to enter into our Gateway mode, while this entry point has been tested up to 6.0 we expect it to be shut off shortly after we release. We can not stress enough the importance of staying away from any further updates! ( 6.0 compatibility is only valid for our initial entry point, as stated in point (1) we currently only support firmware version 4.5 )

While the comment about being exploit based may throw some people off, it's important to remember that pretty much every single flash cart out there for the 3ds is also currently exploit based, so you have to do firmware updates - or not do firmware updates - depending on the kernel or menu system currently available for your card of choice.

You can always visit the Gateway 3DS homepage for more details on compatibility and to place a pre-order or order one for yourself.  

Have A Nintendo 3DS 6.1.0 ? There's An R4 3DS Card For That!

It's been a very long time since my last post here, and I have kept myself busy with a couple of new games I helped make for the Nintendo 3DS.  No, not games you can buy at your local GameStop, but

games we give out for free, as in freeware / homebrew games.  Don't get me wrong, I probably wouldn't be able to make a game that was commercial quality (graphics are my weakness in this regards) but there's a lot of retro style games you can make, that have some great game play to boot.  You just need the R4 3DS to play it on your DS, DSi or Nintendo 3DS System.

Just last month, Nintendo released two new system updates for their 3DS and 3DS XL systems.  The first was the 6.0 update for the 3DS and 3DS XL, and due to a small little bug, the second one was the 6.1.0 update.  It looks different for all countries. For example, in the USA, you'll have the 6.1.0-11u and in Europe you'll have 6.1.0-11e, but the end result is the same.

When the 6.0 update was released, it rendered a lot of the better know flash cards non-useable with the 3ds system.  Some cards needed a physical cut on the main pc board of the card itself, while other card makers ended up having to actually bring out new cards in order to have them work.  This was pretty much the case with virtually every single card out there.  But there were a few cards that remained unscathed... probably due to the fact that they have secondary processing chips, or have their own built in ram to load and run firmware and software.  The 6.1.0 update was a bug fix, but naturally, incompatibility with the r4 3ds cards was left.

The two cards that needed no extra work, and needed nothing more than just a firmware update were the r4 3ds rts card and the r4 3ds dual core cards.  These two, from the same manufacturer, ended up working and continue to work today.  So if you have one of their 2013 versions, you can go to the official website and grab their latest firmware from their firmware section.  It'll take just a replacement of the kernel files, and you will be up and running without issues again.

If you have an R4i Gold or R4i 3DS SDHC, then in SOME cases, you card may work... this depends largely on the model of the card you have, and what revision.  For the most part, many of the newer cards made AFTER the 6.1.0 update to the 3ds will work, but you may be stuck with an older model of your card unfortunately, and you'll have to get a new one.

R4 3DS - New Buy 2 Get 1 Free Specials

Yes, I know, it's another update, and this time it's been a while coming, only 2 days since my last post - which I think is fantastic considering that I had taken a bit of a break from blogging for the last 2 months.  But this one was too good for me NOT to share it with you.  I just had to.   I know with all of the gaming in the homebrew scene, the games and applications that come out under the freeware model for the Nintendo 3DS are getting quite a bit more attention, even from big sites like RacketBoy and various others.

Free R4 3DS Cards

Now, you know all about the homebrew games, etc... that everyone keeps talking about.  But you also need to make sure that you're aware that you WILL need an R4 3DS card to be able to use them.  And this my fellow readers is why I am making another post.

I just received a email from the people at www.r43ds.org (where I got my r4 3ds card) and in their newsletter they say that they are doing a Buy 2 Get 1 Free R4 3DS Special.  Great news for anyone that doesn't yet have their own R4 card.  And even better if you have a friend (or two) that you could split this deal with.  Basically, with the buy 2 get 1 free special, you're paying around $15 for each card (the total is like $45.00 for 3 cards) and the thing is, you know you're getting the real deal, and not some fake card that those other sites try to sell you for stupid prices (oh.... and absolutely no support!)

 

I haven't bought a card (I already have 2 of them, one for my DSi and one for my 3DS) but if you're in the market it's a great deal. Even if you end up keeping just one and selling the other 2, you'll get enough for 2 of them to more than cover the cost of all of them.

There's no coupon code to enter or anything.  The 3rd / free card won't show up in your cart when you checkout, but I have a couple of confirmations that they just automatically send you 3 cards once you buy 3 of them.

R4 3DS Has Been Updated To Support 2.1.3 Nintendo 3DS systems.

This is a quick post.  I just posted a short game review of a homebrew game I play, but then realized I had not posted here in some time.  Well, since the r4 3ds was updated to version 2.0.0.

In the last month and a half Nintendo released the 2.1.3 system update.  I didn't update because it offered little in the way of features.  But I know a lot of people updated by sheer accident.  The message to update popped up, and they hit the YES instead of the NO button, and voila - the console was updated to 2.1.3.

This is all well and good, but what ended up happening for a lot of people with R4 3DS cards was that their flash cards stopped working.  Or better said, they were no longer recognized.  This seems to happen every second or third update from Nintendo, so fret not my friends. Your cards are just fine, you just have to get the newest firmware from them.

If you have the r4 and your 3DS is at 2.1.3 and now your card isn't recognized, just go to the official manufacturer site at www.r43ds.org and download the latest version of the firmware kernel for the cards.  Once you install the new firmware, your card will be working again without any issues - just as it did before you accidentally updated your own firmware.

If you have not yet updated, then you shouldn't.  There's nothing new in the 2.1.3 at all.  But to be prepared in case you do, you should also get the latest firmware as well, and install it. That way, even if you choose to update to 2.1.3, you'll still be fine.

I hope this is helpful to some of you out there with this issue.  Let me know in the comments.

R4 DS Homebrew Game: Boring Killer Painter

Ever since I got my hands on my first R4 DS I have been a huge fan of all things homebrew.  This started on my Nintendo DS system, and has carried forward through all the different hand held systems that I have had.  From the Nintendo DS, I moved to the DS Lite.  Once the DSi came out, I sold my DS lite and got the DSi instead.   And now that I have my Nintendo 3DS, my addiction to homebrew gaming and ds homebrew apps has not gotten any better

With my 3DS I use my R4 3DS card, a card that I bought even before I got my new Nintendo 3DS.  And with the number of homebrew games out there, it's a small price to pay (around $20.00) for a card that give me access to hundreds of freeware games that I just would not be able to buy in any store at all.

Yesterday I downloaded a game called Boring Killer.  He he.. WHile the name itself sounds a bit odd, the app is super fun.  It's a painting program that lets me take images that I have taken pictures of on my 3DS, and then I can paint over them using the stylus.  I can add a moustache, paint a hat, whatever I want.  It's not a GAME, but it's a little time waster app - and I know we can all use the occasional time waster, right?

You can take any image stored on your 3DS, and then make your own unique digital art.  It does not have the face mushing or stretching found on the DSI's built in camera application, and to be honest, I prefer this much more anyway.  Just being able to actually paint my own pictures is where it's at :)

You can download it from http://www.gbatemp.net from their download section (and while you're there, grab a couple more games while you're at it).