Features
Plug 'n Play – No extra software needed
100% Game Compatibility, supports clean, unpatched roms and works on any OS
Uses Micro SD/HC cards, supports FAT16 and FAT32 formats
Compatible with all speeds on a SD/HC card
Save directly to the SD, rather than to the on-board flash
Friendly GUI, easy to use
Multiple Save Slots
Packaging
I cannot say anything too great about the packaging at first looks, it was a cardboard box, not a very good first impression, considering it looked destroyed on the back, it was all wrinkled and bent. I thought the Super Card and the Micro SD reader were broken, but when I opened it, I was shocked. I looked at the case it came in and the Super Card was nice and secure within the package, in a plastic container that had a velvet-like front. I was very impressed with the inner packaging of the Super Card DS One. I know the bent up box of the SuperCard DS One was mainly because of shipping, I'm just saying that even though it looked pretty beaten up on the outside, the inside remained perfectly intact, making it a really good case.
I am going to give the packaging 8/10 the outer packaging did not impress me too terribly much, but as I opened up the case and saw that everything was in tip-top shape, I was very impressed.
Build Quality:
The build quality of the Super Card is magnificent, to say the least. If you look at the back of the Super Card, there is a screw that holds it together, unlike the M3 DS Real, which is held together by clips on the side.
If I could, I would try and drop the Super Card to see the durability of it, but even trying to pry the sides of it open, it holds together very well. There is one bad part of the Super Card that made me quite frustrated, it was the Micro SD slot. I found that it is much easier to put the Micro SD into the M3 DS Real slot rather than the Super Card DS One slot. With the Super Card slot it took much more effort, and a finger nail to put it in the slot, while it only takes the edge of my thumb to put it into my M3 DS Real. Sometimes this can be a pain, especially if you just cut your nails.
There also seems to be a little bump on the front of the Super Card DS One, but I cannot tell what it is, because I would have to find the right size screwdriver to take it apart, but it does not interfere with how it slides in and slides out, it is still smooth to put in, no troubles at all, and the sticker on the front hasn't smudged, it's just a little bump I've noticed, but nothing important.
I am going to give the build quality a 9/10. The quality of the card was decent, but the fact that you need a finger nail to insert the Micro SD card just made me rather angry. It is more along the lines of an annoyance than anything else really, but it can get on your nerves at times.
Software:
The software for the Super Card DS, Evolution OS, or EOS, is really creative. There are so many Pros and Cons to this, it is hard to list. For one, half the features of the EOS isn't listed/showed in the instructions and it took some time, and help, to figure out how to access some of the features, like the in-game menu(Real Time Menu/RTM). When you download the firmware it doesn't tell you how to access it, but it tells you it has an in-game menu, which is used to access Real Time Save, Slow Motion, Brightness, access to a Game Guide, Turn cheat codes on and off, and return to the game, or back to the EOS, it's a very useful menu if you don't want to turn your DS off all the time to switch games.
One part of the EOS that is poor is the fact that there are no instructions that tell you how to use it to your advantage. The instruction booklet that came with the Super Card DS One wasn't very helpful, all it told you was where to download the correct files for the Super Card, and how to enter the “Test Menu” to see if the card was functioning properly. The instructions didn't tell you how to change the speed of the Micro SD card, how to change the brightness within the GUI, or how to access the cheats, or even tell you how to get the cheats, because the EOS didn't even come with the cheat file.
The software is very picky with file formats, too. The Super Card DS One doesn't even pick up files other than .MP3 files, .NDS files, some E-book files, DS Movie files, and some image files(Like .jpeg and .gif). It is fairly compatible, but it does not show any “unnecessary” files, like .GBA files, .GBC files, and it doesn't even show the OS folder when you put it on your Micro SD Card. The Super Card DS One is definitely not a good file browser if you're looking for a certain file on your SD card, to ensure you have it, you will need a laptop or a pc.
I give the Evolution OS, or EOS, on the Super Card DS One a 7/10. I can see where it tries to pull off the ease of use by only showing some formats, but it is frustrating knowing you won't be able to see a certain file format you may be looking for, you will need the right type of homebrew in order to see it and run it.
Conclusion:
Overall, the Super Card DS One was a decent card, it has many ups and downs, so let's list them:
Pros:
- Good compatibility, it works with every game I threw at it, in “Patch Mode”, at least, in clean mode some Anti-Piracy games will not run. For instance, Tetris Party Deluxe will not work, if you try starting a game of Marathon after looking at the rules, the game will freeze.
- Awesome in-game menu. Even though it took some time to figure out how to access the in-game menu, it was well worth finding out how. The slow motion actually works, the Real Time Save(RTS) works perfectly with the game, and the return to menu option just tops it off, I have no need to shut off my DS Lite if I want to switch games!
- “Multi Save” is a really good feature. It enables you to start a new game without over-writing the old save, a huge pro if you have someone else who wants to start a new game if all the save slots are full.
- Cheat menu. The cheat menu has a good type of category, where you can press A on something like "Miscellaneous Codes, and it will pop up a list of them, very useful so you don't have to scroll through a bunch of them.
Cons:
- File support. The file support is absolutely horrid if you are trying to find a file that you thought you put on your Micro SD, like a .wmv, if you needed it for a project or something, you wouldn't be able to reassure it was there until you got to a pc or laptop to figure out it wasn't there.
- Instructions. In the instruction manual all it told you was how to get the firmware, not how to use it. It took me quite awhile before I was able to figure out how to access the in-game menu, or access the cheat menu before I loaded the game, it took alot of button pressing to figure out which button did what.
Packaging: 8/10
Build Quality: 9/10
Software: 7/10
Overall: 8/10
In conclusion, the Super Card DS One was a great card, but it's only great for people who have owned previous flashcards and know how they work, that's it for my review, thanks for reading!
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