[REVIEW] DS-TT Opzioni

[JohnVS]

DSTT
[ English Version | Versione Italiana ]

Quick Links
Homepage: www.ndstt.com

Our heartfelt thanks to Ultragames for providing the sample.

The Nintendo DS flashcard's scene is undeniable mature: all the big players gave their best, creating extremely refined solutions with ever more "collateral" features, thanks to the almost complete knowledge of Nintendo's gaming hardware. Neverthless, a new brand would occasionally join the match: this is how Team TT introduces itself, releasing its very first product, a simple and low-cost Slot 1 flashcard aptly named DSTT.

Here we are again at our workbench, ready to squeeze 'till the end this new flash kit, unveiling its secrets, strong and weak points; in our review every curiosity you have will be fulfilled.

Introduction & Features

Before starting, it's best to clarify that, no matter the now widespread rumors, this flashcard isn't absolutely related to the -deservingly- famous R4 Revolution, already reviewed on this site and currently powering many of your DS'es. It's indeed assembled in the same factory that gave birth to the aforementioned flash kit, yet the DSTT is a completely different product, to the point that it's also marketed, along with a few accessories, as the Top Toy DS, a Neoflash product. However, the software that powers the card is, partially or completely, derivated from the R4 OS: the Action Replay cheats database, for instance, is fully compatible as long as you don't use an encrypted one.
Having debunked this myth, we can now begin our review by placing the TT in the same vein as the R4 and M3 DS Simply, a Slot 1 unit marked by ease of use and mainteinance, identical to a standard issue Nintendo cartridge and with virtually enormous storage capabilities granted by high-capacity microSD's.

The similarities with said brands are absolutely obvious: this is positive though, considering this design's prerogatives. Furthermore, the operating system is easy to use and completely customizable, by now a fairly standard feature.

But let's now take a look at the features breakdown, as declared by the manufacturer:

• DS original cartridge size, Slot1 interface
• Plug 'n Play, easy to use, just Drag 'n Drop file from PC to flash memory card
• No FlashMe, built-in NoPass, and the GBA cards in slot2 can be started directly
• Supports CleanROM, No covert
• 100% SDHC TF and standard TF compatibility up to 4TB(4096GB) flash memory card
• High speed SDHC. Supports any TF card speed with no lag in game
• Save directly to TF card, not to onboard chip, Never lose your saves
• Automatically detect and generate save type
• Supports Moonshell and homebrew. DLDI auto-patching
• Supports FAT/FAT32, works on any OS.
• Supports Action Replay cheat and edit the code base.
• Built-in energy-saving design.
• User friendly skinnable interface. Touchscreen or button operation. Supports Skin DIY.
• Supports the “Hot-Key” SOFT RESET.
• Supports the WiFi game, DS Rumble Pak, DS Browser.
• Supports Download play.
• Supports 4-scale-lightness adjustment (DS Lite only ).
• Free SDHC high-speed reader, Ultimate copy documents.

Notice how the microSD reader was mentioned as a feature: we guess a freebie is always something to be proud of. Nothing particularly remarkable on this list: except for a few notable cases, the TT features are the de facto standard of actual flashcarts. Support for high capacity memory cards, full compatibility with Action Replay cheat codes to obtain the best from your games and the indeed useful soft reset button combo, which makes getting back to the cart system menu without rebooting your system a breeze; this neat load of features comes for about 30€.

Whether this is truly a candidate for the R4 throne or a passenger on the train for oblivion, we'll find out in our review.

[Evrain]

Compatibility and Performance

After so much talking, let's get down to business: how does the DSTT performs once put in use? The answer is given by our tests.

For this review, we chose to perform them on a total of six Nintendo DS'es of varying model and software, evaluating not only the output of the provided sample, but also the data from twelve more DSTT's kindly given to us by a fellow Community member, for a grand total of fourteen.
here's the detailed breakdown:

• Two sets of DSTT's, one made of twelve retail units imported from the States, one Italian retail unit and our sample
• Nintendo DS "Classic" v3 (with FlashMe v7), Nintendo DS "Classic" v4, Nintendo DS Lite v7
• Kingston microSD 1GB, Kingston microSD High Capacity 4Gb

Even though a 4 Gb microSDHC was used, keep in mind that the results refer, unless otherwise specified, to tests performed with the 1 Gb one, due to this being the average user's setup. All memory cards are either new or restored to factory settings via formatting.
The latest revision of the system software, version 1.08, was used, enabling soft reset by default and disabling DMA mode.

Homebrew

Using a homebrew program or game is quick and effortless on the DSTT, as we've come to expect from Slot 1 flashcarts: the DLDI driver included in the OS automatically patches the file on-the-fly, making external patchers and the like utterly obsolete. We tested Moonshell, DS-Linux and DSOrganize, all three working flawlessly.

DS Games

And now, DS games. What follows is the complete list of the titles we tested, their color showing their compatibility.

Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber
CSI: Dark Motives
Real Football 2008
Warhammer 40k: Squad Command
Drawn to Life
Mario Party DS
Megaman Star Force: Dragon
Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
Contra 4
Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
Pokèmon Diamante
Sonic Rush Adventure
The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning
Asterix & Obelix at the Olympic Games
New Zealand Story
New Super Mario Bros
Yu-GiOh! World Championship 2007
Zoo Keeper
Bubble Bobble: Double Shot
Another Code: Two Memories
Nanostray
Electroplankton
Pac'n Roll
Lost in Blue
Kirby Canvas Course
Battles of Prince of Persia
Burnout Legends
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
Fifa Street 2
James Pond
Puyo Pop Fever
Cooking Mama
Yoshi's Island DS
Zendoku
Ratatouille
42 All-time Classics
Animal Crossing
Bee Movie
Brain Training
More Brain Training
Crash Bandicoot Titans
Ferrari Challenge
Giulia Baby-sitter
Giulia Passione Stilista
Left or Right
Luxor: Pharaoh's Challenge
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
Mario Kart DS
Metroid Prime Hunters
Ultimate Mortal Kombat DS
Mistery Detective
Shrek the Third
Tetris DS
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

In the end, we achieved full compatibility. We said "in the end" due to the effort it took to ascertain it: while a few units showed no flaws, others were plagued by anomalous compatibility, loading errors and random OS crashings. We tested both the v1.08 system software and its previous version, yet the flashcard's behavior remained erratic, with some units being fixed and others staying troublesome.
Neverthless, a few microSD formats and OS reinstallations proved to solve most of these situations (not all of them, though). Another myth we should debunk is its allegedly fast loading times: our tests showed that the DSTT is no faster than its rivals, and even somewhat slower with fragmented data.

Data fragmenting is also the cause of many OS crashes: both us and a many Community members noticed how, after a while, the OS would stop responding, or loading altogether, requiring either a reinstall or a full format of the microSD.

Savefiles are 512Kb uncompressed, no matter the game, and yes, they're identical to those the R4 outputs, space consumption and all. Another reverse engineered feature.

Download Play

Download Play is fundamental for those wishing for a quick play with friends who don't own, or own too few, game cartridges, and was possibly the most difficult feature whose performance we assessed. Usually, it's a matter of "working" or "not working", but our TT's instead chose to play a few tricks on us.
A first set of test, performed on our twelve import cards, left us with a stunning 0% compatibility, with the receiving DS crashing at the Nintendo logo with every game, even with FlashMe installed; we kept formatting the memory card and reinstalling the OS, but the problem persisted on every single unit. On top of that, the remaining two samples (both of them Italian retail units) caused no problems whatsoever.
We're brought to think it's either the worst luck we ever had, with an entire batch of defective flashcarts, or a hardware revision the manufacturer released without notice; again, due to the TT team's inexplicable silence, we can't confirm or deny anything.