Has Nintendo announced whether the 3DS will get downloadable GBA titles? [closed]

Question

I want to go back to playing some old Gameboy Advance games and I'm wondering if Nintendo has made any official announcements regarding plans to make classic GBA titles available on the 3DS online store.

If so, is there a tentative list?

Asked by soulstriderx

Answer

Nintendo hasn't announced any plans to support Game Boy Advance emulation outside of the currently available titles for ambassadors. However, the same was true for the ambassador NES games, until they started appearing in the eShop.

Following that logic, although Nintendo has not announced anything, if they do, you can expect the first games to be:

• Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
• F-Zero Maximum Velocity
• Kirby & The Amazing Mirror
• Mario Kart: Super Circuit
• Mario vs. Donkey Kong
• Metroid Fusion
• The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
• Wario Land 4
• WarioWare, Inc.: Minigame Mania
• Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3

The GBA emulator used for the ambassador games is currently poor. It doesn't support sleep or restore points, and it probably doesn't handle any per-title quirks beyond those needed for the ten ambassador titles released so far. The NES emulator used by the early ambassador releases also had issues, and those were fixed (and available as updates) before the NES titles appeared in the eShop. The earliest sign of Nintendo doing a general release of emulated GBA games is probably going to be the same - updates to the existing ambassador titles.

Answered by Joe Wreschnig

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Will the Wii-U be compatible with Gamecube games?

Question

So despite some initial confusion about whether the WiiU was an accessory or a console successor to the Wii, I now understand that it is, in fact, a new console.

During its initial presentation, Nintendo lavished about the fact that the WiiU would be fully backwards compatible, at least with the Wii.

I have also heard that it will use similar disc-based technology as its predecessor, and I was wondering if that applied to the Gamecube mini-discs as well (which the Wii was able to play).

Asked by Raven Dreamer

Answer

According to the specifications found on Nintendo of Japan's website, the drive doesn't accept GameCube's small 8cm discs, only the new high-density discs for Wii U and the normal 12cm Wii discs - so no, it won't be compatible.

This also fits with the likely strategy they use for backwards compatibility; they shut all the new stuff off so the console behaves just like the Wii - that's how they do it on the Wii for GC stuff, on the 3DS for DS stuff, and on the DS for GBA stuff. AFAIK, that technique doesn't work very well if you're trying to chain it like this, since the Wii part would have to turn all of its stuff off to switch to GameCube mode, and that ends up getting way too messy.

Answered by Michael Madsen

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How can I back up a saved game on Nintendo DS?

Question

My wife and I share a single Nintendo DS. Many DS games permit only a single slot; one example is Etrian Odyssey.

I would like to be able to back up my Level 18 Etrian Odyssey party so that my wife can try the game without my losing the many hours I have put in. I have heard there is a device called "R4" or "R4DS" which might make this possible, but I can't figure out which device to buy or how to set it up.

How can I back up a Nintendo DS saved game onto an external flash card, then later restore?

Asked by Norman Ramsey

Answer

A few devices exist specifically for the purpose of dumping these things, such as the NDS Backup Adapter Plus - I don't have any experience with that particular device, but as I understand it, you just put the game into the adapter, and connect the adapter to your PC. This is likely to be the easiest way to do this, but looking around, it seems like it might also be a little more expensive.

Alternatively, if you have a DS Phat or DS Lite with Wifi (DSi or 3DS will not work), you can use a flash cart to do this in a completely legitimate way: You can use a homebrew program to dump and restore saves onto official cartridges. I've personally had good success with Savsender.

You use this program to send the save data to your computer; if everything goes well, your wife can safely delete your saved game, and start a new one. When you want to get back to your own file, you dump your wife's save to a different file (assuming she wants to keep playing her file, otherwise you can skip this step), and restore your own. For a more detailed guide, follow this tutorial.

It's not completely fool-proof: it may occasionally misdetect the save size, in which case you only get a part of your save. Various online databases have the save size available, in case you want to verify the results. In the case of Etrian Odyssey, it uses 64KB for save data (65536 bytes).

There are a few games out there which are known to not work with this program: Pokémon HeartGold, SoulSilver, Black and White are wired differently, and can't be dumped using this process. Additionally, it may not support save sizes greater than 512KB (The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, WarioWare: DIY and Art Academy are the only non-Japanese titles I'm aware of; Japan had a few more games like this) - I haven't actually tried dumping any of those myself, so I don't know if they're detected correctly. If you want to dump any of those, you are probably best off with the adapter.

Answered by Michael Madsen

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Can I take snapshots (~savegames) of the current game in the Nintendo Wii emulator?

Question

I'm replaying old SNES games and right now the Boss of DK Contry 2 (King K. Rool) gets the best of me. I always die just shortly before the end and have to replay the whole thing all over again. I have 90+ lives, so that's not an issue, I'm just tired of repeating the same thing over and over (I know, it's pathetic).

Asked by bitmask

Answer

The answer is shortly "No."

Appart from the save features that are present in the games themselves, the Wii's Virtual Console does not offer any savegame features.

The closest thing that it has is Suspended Play, that is available for most Virtual Console games (I belive Nintendo 64 and Neo Geo games are exluded). If you open the Home menu while in game, your gamestate will be saved and you can safely exit the game and resume where you left off when you start the game next time.

However, this feature prevents, by design, the kind of functionality that you are looking for.
Once you restart the game, the suspension data is deleted automaticly. What's more, it cannot be copied for safekeeping using Wii's operating system. That is, you can not copy it to your SD card and the copy it back after you loose to the boss.

I belive it would be theoreticly possible to use this state data to resume from certain point in game, but doing so would require rather drastic measures and I wouldn't recommend even trying them for something like this.

I've heard that the boss can be a tough nut to crack, but I'm afraid that you'll just have to endure it and keep practicing. You'll get it eventually.

Answered by DJ Pirtu

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Is there a reason why NES is called 8 bit? [closed]

Question

Possible Duplicate:
What does 8-bit / 16-bit actually refer to?

Why is NES is called an 8 bit console? Theres also a SNES which is called 16 bit console. What are these bits?

Answer

The NES comes from the "8-bit era" of consoles, which included the NES and the Sega Master System. These consoles are based around 8-bit processors, which generally store and process data 8 bits at a time.

In computer parlance, 8 bits make one byte. Many NES games have a limit of 255 on certain items (such as The Legend of Zelda's Rupee counter) because 255 is the maximum unsigned integer that can be stored in 8 bits of data. In the early days, this was a serious limitation on computer technology, and many workarounds were needed in order to program even moderately complex games like Punch Out! that included large sprites with many frames of animation.

As computer technology evolved, so did the processors available for video game consoles. The SNES featured a 16-bit chip, the PlayStation a 32-bit chip, and the Nintendo 64 featured a 64-bit chip.

However, the number of bits the processor generally handles at a time is only one measure of the performance of the system; the original Xbox was based around a 32-bit Pentium III chip 5 years after the release of the Nintendo 64. At the same processors were increasing in complexity, their overall computing power increased as well, and the cost of storage (both in terms of memory chips and optical media) declined.

The intersection of these technological improvements and the rise in popularity of video games as an entertainment media is what caused the increase in complexity and graphical quality that we see in video games today.

The "8-bit" moniker used to describe the NES and its peers is the same distinction we talk about today when we talk about a "64-bit" PC processor or "64-bit Windows" - these architectural terms are ones we use in more areas than just video games.

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Can I use a flash cartridge to play Atari games via an emulator on a Nintendo 3DS?

Question

I have a 3DS and I want to install an Atari emulator to play some old games (Boulder Dash, River Rider). I have read that I need a flash cartridge(such as the R4), but I am still not sure how these carts work. My questions are:

1. Do I really need flash cartridge to play on an Atari emulator(I.E. StellaDS) on my 3DS?

2. Is it possible to run the emulator from an SD card?

3. Do I have to flash my 3DS with some special software to be able to run an emulator on a flash cartridge?

Answer

Short Answers

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. No
4. It's complicated(unfortunately)

A bit more detail

1. Since the 3DS doesn't have a whole lot of built in storage, some sort of flash cart is going to be necessary. This likely remains true even if there is, or comes to be some sort of lasting hack that would let you run homebrew from the SD card slot.

2. Most flash cartridges store the bulk of their data on an SD card(usually Micro nowadays) that you provide, thus practically requiring an SD card.

3. To the best of my knowledge, the business of flashing the DS itself is an old practice. Before the system had been so thoroughly hacked, flashing was one of the favorable options. Downsides included the fact that it would technically void your warranty(but wasn't really easy to detect). Basically, you could flash your DS, but all of the up-to-date carts will achieve the same end result without changing anything on the actual DS.

4. I'm not a lawyer. Having said that, maintaining legality in any endeavor is very important, especially gaming. It is perfectly legal to make backups of games that you actually own(NOTE: not have owned). Unfortunately, many game distributors have implemented some sort of copy protection into their games in effort to 'protect' themselves. It is not legal to break or otherwise circumvent copy protection.

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What are the requirements to bring up the fireworks at the end of a level of Super Mario Bros?

Question

The Question is in the title. What are the requirements to bring up the fireworks at the end of a level of Super Mario Bros ?

Answer

From the Super Mario Wiki:

At the end of every level in Super Mario Bros., with the exception of a castle level, fireworks would go off when Mario or Luigi entered the tiny castle (if the last number of the timer is 1, 3, or 6 at the end of the level). If the last number was 1, one firework would go off; if the last number was 3, three fireworks would go off and so forth. Each explosion would award the player with 500 points.

The page also details the appearance of fireworks in numerous other Mario titles.

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I killed Magus in Chrono Trigger. Did I miss the opportunity to have him in my party?

Question

I've been replaying Chrono Trigger on the DS and have gotten to the point after the Ocean Palace where you fight Magus for the second time.

I think I killed him...

Have I missed the opportunity to have him in my party?

Answer

Unfortunately yes. When you can choose whether to fight Magus or not, that decides whether he can join you or not.

After defeating the Blackbird [...] if Frog [or the Party] refuse [to fight Magus], Magus will join the party.

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I killed Magus in Chrono Trigger. Did I miss the opportunity to have him in my party?

Question

I've been replaying Chrono Trigger on the DS and have gotten to the point after the Ocean Palace where you fight Magus for the second time.

I think I killed him...

Have I missed the opportunity to have him in my party?

Answer

Unfortunately yes. When you can choose whether to fight Magus or not, that decides whether he can join you or not.

After defeating the Blackbird [...] if Frog [or the Party] refuse [to fight Magus], Magus will join the party.

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Do “Nintendo Selects” (aka “Player’s Choice”) versions have any content differences?

Question

I know that the label Nintendo Selects / Player’s Choice is applied to games that have sold more than one million copies and are sold for less, but do they ever have content differences such as more or fewer levels or characters, different graphics/sprites, bug-fixes, etc.?

Answer

As far as content is concerned, no. You're getting the same game that the previous buyers got, it's just a different box.

While there may sometimes be bugfixes, there does not have to be. Any bugfixes introduced in the Nintendo Selects version are necessarily minor, and would not affect normal gameplay. This is necessarily the case because there is no patching mechanism for the already released copies; if there are major bugs which severly impact the gameplay (such as the freezing bug in PAL copies of Super Paper Mario), the only way to fix them is by replacing the disc or cartridge.

Additionally, any bug fixes are not made specifically for the Nintendo Selects version, and may have already been released in previous pressings. Whether or not the two coincide is a question of when they switched the master copy; that may happen at the same time as pressing additional copies for the Nintendo Selects version, or it may not.

TL;DR: There are no notable differences.

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How much are 3DS Virtual Console Games?

Question

Not sure who all has heard the latest news the past couple days but the Big 'N' is slashing the price of the 3DS by $80 (here in the US) and will be offering their early adopters 20 free Virtual Console games (10 NES and 10 GBA).

I'm trying to figure out the value of the NES and GBA games but I can not find anything that states how much Virtual Console games cost on the 3DS. I know NES games are 500 Wii Points ($5) on the Wii, so I'd assume that's the same.

How much do these games costs/will they cost once they are released?

Answer

It seems that NES and GBA game prices have not been released yet, but this article from Wired says:

"Nintendo has set a rock-bottom price point of $1.99 for eShop games. Of the three Game Boy games available, Super Mario Land will cost $3.99, and Alleyway and Radar Mission will cost $2.99. Some applications will be free, though."

Likely to be a few dollars higher, considering the Wii's Virtual Console pricing structure of having more advanced systems' games be more expensive.

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What's the source of these classic Nintendo game desktop wallpapers?

Question

I've seen a series of wallpapers similar to the one below. All feature classic NES characters from Mario, Final Fantasy, or Mega Man. I've found some of them at Video Game Wallpaper but was hoping to find the original source of the wallpapers. Where did this series of wallpapers originate?

Answer

i think this should be it
http://8-bit-anon.deviantart.com/gallery/
images.google.com search

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