EZ-FLASH IV Questions

[thegamezmaster]

Sorry if this has been asked before but couldn't find the info that I was looking for so I thought I would ask here. Are there real and faked EZ-FLASH IV's? If so how do you tell real from fake ones? Thanks for any help you can give me before I buy one.

[RamrodHare]

I'm no expert, so I may be wrong, but I've never heard of any fakes. The best thing to do is buy from a trusted seller. I had the EZ-3 for years and when it died, I found a seller on eBay who had excellent feedback and bought from her. I also bought mine from that seller because she was in the USA and I don't like the wait for overseas shipping.

[thegamezmaster]

I'm no expert, so I may be wrong, but I've never heard of any fakes. The best thing to do is buy from a trusted seller. I had the EZ-3 for years and when it died, I found a seller on eBay who had excellent feedback and bought from her. I also bought mine from that seller because she was in the USA and I don't like the wait for overseas shipping.

Thanks for the info. It helps a lot!

[Tanooki]

I don't think there are fakes, but if you are really that concerned the best resource would be gbatemp forums as they have reviews on every single kit around and far more so it would come down to a forum search or signing up and just asking. I've had the EZF4 a couple times before and they work great. The cart is pretty flimsy though, but it gets the job done.

[thegamezmaster]

I don't think there are fakes, but if you are really that concerned the best resource would be gbatemp forums as they have reviews on every single kit around and far more so it would come down to a forum search or signing up and just asking. I've had the EZF4 a couple times before and they work great. The cart is pretty flimsy though, but it gets the job done.

Thanks for the help! Noob to these and would love to have to play gorf arcade on gba and gameboy player.

[Austin]

Not sure why you are considering the EZ Flash IV. The cart is kind of flimsy (mine was half falling apart), getting games to it was annoying (having to use a piece of software that was in a foreign language), ROM incompatibilities, etc. It's cheaper than an Everdrive but that is a much nicer product. You would be best spending the extra money for a GBA Everdrive. He usually does Black Friday sales too so watch out for that.

[Darien]

Not sure why you are considering the EZ Flash IV. The cart is kind of flimsy (mine was half falling apart), getting games to it was annoying (having to use a piece of software that was in a foreign language),

 

Perhaps because it can sometimes be purchased for around a quarter of the price of an Everdrive? With the release of the updated kernel a while ago there's no longer a need to use the Chinese language client software. It's pretty much drag and drop now.

[RamrodHare]

I agree with Darien. It's crazy to spend that much money on an Everdrive. I have no problems adding roms or using the software. I keep hearing about rom compatibility issues, but I've yet to see anything that couldn't be solved with a simple patch. As far as the "flimsy" claims, I can see why some people would say that. The shell is thin and the plastic quality isn't top notch. However, I've had no issues out of mine and considering it stays in my Micro all the time, it's not like it's going to get stepped on or anything. If I were to make one complaint, it's that there's no real time clock. Games that need it can be patched though. If a real time clock is important to you, then go for the Everdrive. For me it was an easy decision to get the EZF4, because I don't have money coming out of my ears.. The Everdrive is more than 3 times what I paid for my EZ.

 

Something important to note, is that the Everdrive sticks out of the slot quite a bit, where the EZF4 fits flush. That may not be a big deal to some people, but for me it's a deal breaker because I have a GBA Micro and Not only would it bug me aesthetically, it would also stop me from being able to use my hard shell case.

[Tanooki]

It is flimsy. The one I had you hold it and the plastic caves ever so slightly and they used the most rotten glue or something as mine was pulling apart at the seam between top and bottom. Also it wasn't mounted well as you need basically tweezers to get the little memory card in and out due to how it's designed. That said, the software problem isn't one, but the build quality sucks, though as noted it does sit flush in the system which does bug me about that everdrive for the same reason as I use a GB Micro at times too.

[thegamezmaster]

Thanks for everyone's input? Anyone have one they want to get rid of?

[Darien]

Hadn't realised until a Google search just now that last month they released an updated version of the EZ-IV (the "Reform") which has two interchangeable cases that allow it to sit flush in either a DS or a GBA. That's kinda cool. Perhaps the sturdiness of the product has improved as well? I have the original Mini SD version and have to agree the casing on that is rather shoddy really. Anyone have any experience of the build quality of the later Micro SD version - the black one with a label?

[Austin]

 

Perhaps because it can sometimes be purchased for around a quarter of the price of an Everdrive? With the release of the updated kernel a while ago there's no longer a need to use the Chinese language client software. It's pretty much drag and drop now.

 

As the saying goes, if you are going to do something, you might as well do it right. And don't get me wrong, in reality the EZ Flash isn't that bad when you get past its faults. I used it for years.

 

That said, all it takes is a few incompatible ROMs and issues with patching to make one wish they just paid up for the more solid product. For some of us the EZ Flash was the only product at the time, but now it's not. It's worth considering the competition.

 

Looking at the EZ Flash IV now, it does look like some improvements have been made. For instance, no more Mini SD port--they are going with a standard Micro SD slot now and it supports larger card sizes and more current partition types. That's nice to see.

 

In regards to the EverDrive X5, there are other benefits to going that route. Limited lifetime warranty (versus zero support from the EZ Flash guys), no patching of ROMs required, fast loading, etc. Interesting to me is emulator support, as despite having one I didn't notice that was even an option (already have a EverDrive GB). I haven't tried it personally but based on reviews it seems support is at least decent. That could give the user a much larger library of games to mess around with on top of the GBA library (GB, GBC, Game Gear, SMS).

[RamrodHare]

 

In regards to the EverDrive X5, there are other benefits to going that route. Limited lifetime warranty (versus zero support from the EZ Flash guys), no patching of ROMs required, fast loading, etc. Interesting to me is emulator support, as despite having one I didn't notice that was even an option (already have a EverDrive GB). I haven't tried it personally but based on reviews it seems support is at least decent. That could give the user a much larger library of games to mess around with on top of the GBA library (GB, GBC, Game Gear, SMS).

A lifetime warranty does sound nice, but there's still the issue of it not fitting flush. I can't speak for everyone, but for some of us, that alone is enough to keep us from getting one. Especially those of us with the GBA Micro. My EZF4 uses standard micro SD cards and I've had no issue using up to a 32Gb card. Yes, some games do need to be patched, but not all. As I stated earlier, I haven't ran into a rom that didn't work with the EZ. Granted, there are some I haven't tried, but I have the complete library and I've loaded most of them at one time or another with no issues yet. The patcher is basically drag and drop now, so all you do is set the location of your card (drive letter) and drop the roms into the patcher and hit send. Done. It puts them right on the card, ready to go. For people who don't want to do it every time, it's just as simple to patch the entire library and keep it in a folder on your computer to move games whenever, without the need to run the patcher. As for emulators, they all run just fine on the EZF4. I use the GB and GBC emulators quite often, along with the NES, Game Gear/SMS, and sometimes others. There are quite a few emulators I have downloaded, but never got around to trying, since I use my PSP for emulating most consoles. My GBA Micro is my "hang it around my neck and go" system, since I have it in a hard shell case with a neck lanyard and my PSP is more for when I'm going to be stuck somewhere for hours or possibly longer and don't mind the added size and weight. For people who already have a PSP, there are soft mods now, which require little to no skill and are 100% reversible, so you don't need to risk bricking it by installing custom firmware. The PSP can emulate almost every retro console, including the GBA. There are also component and composite cables which allow you to connect it to your TV and play. It all comes down to personal preference as to which one you want to play on and what you want to play. You can easily find a PSP for less than the price of the Everdrive.

 

I'd also like to point out, there are people who are on a budget, fixed income, or just plain poor. Everyone can't wipe their ass with $100 bills.

[Austin]

I'd also like to point out, there are people who are on a budget, fixed income, or just plain poor. Everyone can't wipe their ass with $100 bills.

 

If you are that broke, then maybe you should be looking into emulation of some kind instead of buying a flash cart, heh.

 

Seriously though, you made some good points. I didn't know the EZ Flash IV supported those emulators. The physical size of the cart is certainly an issue as well, particularly for GBA Micro users.

 

PSP doing GBA emulation--my question there is, exactly how well does it do it?

[RamrodHare]

 

 

Seriously though, you made some good points. I didn't know the EZ Flash IV supported those emulators. The physical size of the cart is certainly an issue as well, particularly for GBA Micro users.

 

PSP doing GBA emulation--my question there is, exactly how well does it do it?

GBA emulation on the PSP is perfect, in my opinion. I can't recall ever having an issue with it. I've played a LOT of GBA games on my PSP and it plays just as well as it does on my GBA Micro, but with a bigger screen. When it comes to other emulators, almost everything runs nice. NES and Genesis work great, as do 2600 and TG16. On the flip side, Nintendo 64 doesn't work well and a few SNES games have issues. Starfox being the worst. For SNES emulation, most require some settings tweaks to get them performing well. I blame this on the emulator, since the hardware is clearly capable. There's even nice PS1 emulation. I've played quite a few PS1 games on my PSP and the only issue I've found is the lack of a second analog stick for games that use both.

 

I've tried to keep up with all the availible emulators for the GBA and the PSP over the years, but I haven't tried them all. It's possible that some good emulators might have slipped past me, so it's probably time for me to do some research again to see if some of the ones I use have been updated or if there are better ones out there. Overall, the PSP covers most of the bases when it comes to retro system emulation. My biggest complaint with emulation on the GBA is with one specific NES game, PinBot. I've ran into quite a few emulators that have problems running it correctly, on PC, PSP and GBA. Most of the time the graphics are garbled, but earlier today I found an updated NES emulator for the GBA that claimed to have fixed the issue with Pinbot. It almost did, but in the process, it caused another issue. As I said, it's garbled on some emulators, this one corrected the graphics, but caused a freeze and loss of sound during the speech clips. So while it LOOKS playable, the freeze is too much of an issue and screws up your timing on the flippers.

[Austin]

GBA emulation on the PSP is perfect, in my opinion. I can't recall ever having an issue with it. I've played a LOT of GBA games on my PSP and it plays just as well as it does on my GBA Micro, but with a bigger screen. When it comes to other emulators, almost everything runs nice. NES and Genesis work great, as do 2600 and TG16. On the flip side, Nintendo 64 doesn't work well and a few SNES games have issues. Starfox being the worst. For SNES emulation, most require some settings tweaks to get them performing well. I blame this on the emulator, since the hardware is clearly capable. There's even nice PS1 emulation. I've played quite a few PS1 games on my PSP and the only issue I've found is the lack of a second analog stick for games that use both.

 

I've tried to keep up with all the availible emulators for the GBA and the PSP over the years, but I haven't tried them all. It's possible that some good emulators might have slipped past me, so it's probably time for me to do some research again to see if some of the ones I use have been updated or if there are better ones out there. Overall, the PSP covers most of the bases when it comes to retro system emulation. My biggest complaint with emulation on the GBA is with one specific NES game, PinBot. I've ran into quite a few emulators that have problems running it correctly, on PC, PSP and GBA. Most of the time the graphics are garbled, but earlier today I found an updated NES emulator for the GBA that claimed to have fixed the issue with Pinbot. It almost did, but in the process, it caused another issue. As I said, it's garbled on some emulators, this one corrected the graphics, but caused a freeze and loss of sound during the speech clips. So while it LOOKS playable, the freeze is too much of an issue and screws up your timing on the flippers.

 

That is interesting to hear. I have a PSP-3000 but am thinking about picking up a spare sometime just to fiddle around with hacking it. If the GBA stuff really works that well then it's a tempting portable GBA solution for me. My flash carts I generally just use in the GC GB Player hooked up to a TV. The form factor of any model GBA is cramped in my aging hands and I find the PSP much more comfortable in long sessions. And yeah, I have heard mixed things about SNES emulation on the PSP as well. That is unfortunate.

[thegamezmaster]

Does anyone know the cheapest place in the US that sells the latest version? Thanks for any help.

[Darien]

Ebay has some available to international addresses.:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-EZ-Flash-IV-MicroSD-compatible-edition-EZ4-EZIV/252836155794?hash=item3ade359192:g:NjUAAOSwnK9ZQh06

For the micro SD version, from Australia. $27.99

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Official-New-Latest-version-EZ-Flash-IV-4-Reform-GameBoy-Free-case-Reader/232562807468?hash=item3625d2d2ac:g:~r0AAOSwySVaDA0D

for the very latest 'Reform' edition from the UK. $27.80 + $5.30 shipping

 

No idea if they are the cheapest about..

[RamrodHare]

I wanted to come back to this thread and post some news. Firmware 2.05 is out. There have been quite a few improvements made since 1.77, which is what I was running. Now games are actually drag & drop. The save patching takes place on the cart now. From what I can tell, it also seems to patch the games that use the RTC. There's also hotkeys for soft and hard resets, and a sleep mode. I won't be able to test out the new firmware for a few days, since I have to go through my GBA files and get rid of duplicates and pre-patched games. I don't know how long that will take. Now that I don't need the EZ-client program, I can put my GBA files on my tablet and work on them in my spare time. I had planned on adding the entire GBA library to a micro SD card, but the thought of patching and renaming was holding me back. The thought of having new and improved firmware has me motivated. Once I get my GBA library organized, I can also transfer it straight to my PSP too. I'll post again once I get it finished to let everyone know my thoughts on the new firmware.

[Shadowgate]

Anyone know of a good place to sell used flash-carts? I picked up some guys collection and I have a bunch of 3ds,ds,and gba flashcart stuff I can't unload on ebay.

[Tanooki]

You can sell them here, ebay you can too but randomly they get shut down if someone decides to be a whiny snitch. You wouldn't happen to have a modern everdrive x5 for gba?

[monzamess]

Thanks for the heads-up on the new firmware. I bought mine in 2009 back when Dealextreme used to sell flash carts. I just installed the newest firmware, 2.05. Really nice that the company is still supporting it!