The Ever Expanding Guide To Video Game Flash Cartridges, ODE’s, & Backups

If you have a large collection of retro games and play them on real hardware, you’ve no doubt  found that constantly pulling out cartridges or CDs to switch games can be cumbersome and time consuming. In addition to being irritating, it also increase wear & tear on hardware that is no longer being produced. And while playing retro games on actual hardware certainly offers a more authentic experience,  it does have its disadvantages, especially when compared to something like emulation where large collections of ROMs can be played on the fly.

As with all things, some of the more technically oriented members of the community have stepped up to create some truly amazing products called flash carts that allow storage of an entire game collection on a single device.

Flash carts typically operate via an FPGA to simulate the real thing. Since they are typically played via real hardware, they are much more accurate (pretty much 100%) than emulation. However, there are a few drawbacks depending on which console you are looking for a solution to. Let’s take a closer look at the common types of flash carts and the solutions that exist for each console.

Flash Cartridge Guide

SD/MicroSD Flash Cart

The term “flash cart” encompasses a wide array of devices and storage mediums. The most common type of flash carts today are cartridge based media with memory card  slots in the form of SD, microSD, or the older CompactFlash memory standards.

Most of the SD based flash carts have some sort of FPGA inside of them that can emulate a variety of functions to simulate actual cartridge hardware. Because of this, flash carts can do a variety of extra things besides just loading ROMs, such as loading/saving states or being able to utilize game shark codes.

Older flash carts usually do not have any sort of SD slot and some have limited onboard memory that can only support a few games at a time. These types of multi carts are still somewhat useful today and are mainly used for homebrew development.

Optical Drive Emulator

These are ideal for CD based consoles. They work by replacing the optical drive on a game console with a USB port or SD card, thus allowing you to load your CD images and play them off of the SD/hard drive directly. These types of units are typically more expensive, but allow for greater flexibility as you do not have to deal with cumbersome CD media. They also prolong the lives of your CD based games and reduce wear on the console itself, as there is less moving parts with this type of solution.

Multi Cart

Multi carts solutions are common for second gen and older consoles, as well as consoles that do not have a large library of games. These work in a similar fashion to flash carts however they often lack a lot of the extra features of their SD based counterparts. Most have limited storage and the contents are typically not user replaceable.

There are plenty of cheap multi carts out there that have a large amount of games on them, such as in the case of the original NES for instance. Multi carts vary greatly in quality and price so it’s best to do your research before deciding on a purchase.

Flash Cart List

2nd Generation

There were about 40 games released for the Japanese and US versions of the Arcadia. Since the console is exceedingly rare, most of these games have become pretty hard to find.

Luckily, a DP member by the name of Ward Shrake has created a multi cart that can not only play arcadia titles, but Palladium/MPT-03 (consoles with similar hardware to the arcadia 2001)  games as well.

Since the system is so old this cart does not have an SD card slot, and instead  works via dip switches that can be switched into a certain combination  to select games 1 at a time.  There were a couple of versions released, with version 1.3 being the last and adding a few Japanese titles.

 This is purely is homebrew style cart and only a handful of them were made. It also appears that the original creator has retired, so if you really want get your hands on one of its probably best to try and track down some of the people that bought the original copies.

There have been a few attempts by other users to produce a similar product but nothing concrete has since emerged.

A graphically impressive  system for its time, the Bally Astrocade is a classic old school console that is beloved by many.  Like all old and rare consoles, finding a complete library of games can be difficult and expensive.

Atari Age user kenzre clearly feels the same way, and has produced a device that is capable of playing the whole official library of Bally games via a dip switch solution. The cart also supports over 100 different programs that can be utilized with the Astrocades various add on devices. There are also quite a few homebrew/prototype games as well as apps for testing out various functions on your Astrocade.

Harmony Cart

Despite its odd name, the Harmony cart from Atari Age is currently one of the best solutions for playing ROMs on your Atari 2600. This cart can be ordered in SD or micro SD variants and there is also a special “encore” version that adds support for larger games and homebrew titles up to 512kb in size. There are only a very small number of retail games that use more than 2k of flash or custom chips, with the game Pitfall 2 being the most well-known title.

The Encore version isn’t that much more expensive than the regular version and they also offer a trade in program that allows you to trade in your original Harmony for the Encore for a nominal fee.

Cuttle Cart

This is one of the first flash carts released for the Atari 2600. Although it provides the same functionality as a flash cart, the method by which it does so is rather unique. This cart works in a similar way to the Star Path Super Charger accessory for the Atari 2600, which is a cassette peripheral that adds additional ram and has its own library of cassette tape based games.

The Cuttle Cart connects to PC  via an audio cable and when a ROM is loaded onto it the cart converts the audio signal into a binary image.  The transfer is slow and only 1 game can be loaded at a time. Furthermore, sometimes the rom can become corrupted during the transfer process, requiring you to start the transfer over again.

The Cuttle Cart also comes with a CD that has every Starpath Supercharger game. These games are more graphically impressive than regular Atari games, which is a nice bonus.

Krokodile Cart

In keeping with the tradition of oddly named flash carts on the Atari, the Krocodile Kart is a progragramable device that is ideal for homebrew development but can also be used as a rom cart. This device uses a serial interface and has its own Windows software for loading ROMs/homebrew. The cart has its own internal memory and does not support SD cards, the capacity of which  is limited to about 130 games at a time.

The Krokodile comes with a number of features that are useful for development purposes, such as the ability to automatically transfer a binary to the Kart immediately after is has been compiled. There is also an incremental patch mode that allows for fast downloading by patching the rom rather than updating it.

Atarimax 5200 Ultimate SD Cartridge

Atari fans will be happy to know that the Atarimax 5200 is a solid flash cart and quite capable of playing the whole library of 5200 titles via an SD card. Like the Harmony Cart for the 2600, the Atarimax also has bank switched ROM support up to 512kb for the more complex titles and homebrew applications.

Colecovision Ultimate SD Cartridge

For a console that wasn’t made by Atari or Nintendo, the Colecovision has a fairly extensive library of games, and can also be converted to a computer via with its own subset of games, if you have the required expansion boards that is.

The Atarimax SD flash cart is capable of standard Colecovision game as well as all Coleco Adam titles. And just like its Atari based counterpart, the cart will support games up to 512kb in size.

The Channel F is a retro console that was produced by a variety of manufacturers throughout its lifespan. Luckily, AA user e5frog multi cart fits every known model  ever produced.

You should be aware that this is just a multi cart and it does support ROM loading or SD cards. This is not an issue with a console like the channel F however, as the game and homebrew library is quite small. E5frog offers an upgrade service for a nominal fee that will support future homebrew releases.

Currently, there are no SD based flash cart solutions for the Creativision. There have however been projects made by various Atari Age users throughout the years. Unfortunately, these products were usually 1 off devices or have since been discontinued.

There was a multi cart solution that was produced by Italian creators Tevisorc, but it appears that they have stopped selling it as of 2016. It seems like the cart has support for 100% of the game library and homebrew as well, so if your eager for a device your best bet is to contact Tevisorc directly.

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Cuttle Cart 3

As with the Atari 2600, this product can play the vast majority of Intelivison games off an SD card, with a few notable exceptions. There are about 2-3 titles that used special bank switching schemes which are incompatible with this device.

The Cuttle Cart 3 has been discontinued. And it’s a shame too, because this seems to be the only SD based solution for the Intelivision.

Intelicart

The Intelicart was a serial device that is no longer being produced. Its game support was similar to the Cuttle Kart 3 but it lacked SD card capability. These carts are considered collectors’ items  and go for high amounts of money on eBay and elsewhere.

LTO Flash!

The LTO Flash! is robust flash cart that works with 100% of the homebrew and commercial games on the Intelivision and its various peripherals/homebrews. . The cart does not support SD cards but is instead loaded via USB attached to a computer in a drag/drop style interface. You can also download and play a game when the device is still connected to the computer, making it an ideal cart for homebrew development.

The cart also has a menu that will display manuals alongside each game, and comes with most of the features you’d expect on a SD based flash cart, such as color coded favorites and long/short file markers.

Interton Electronics VC4000

Believe it or not, there’s is actually a multi cart solution for the VC4000. This console is fairly obscure outside of Germany and has many different manufacturers but it is similar in spec to the Dragon/CoCo computer systems.

Atari age user rolo has created an extension to his Dragon/CoCo multi cart. The game compatibility is so-so, but the price for the extension  is very reasonable (assuming you have the Dragon/CoCo cart already) and worth checking out as the system is home to several unique games.

Dragon To Odyssey 2 Extension

Rolos CoCo/Dragon multi cartridge can also be used with a reasonably priced adapter board. You will have to purchase the Dragon Cart separately however.

Video Pac C7051

This is a standard flash based cart for the Odyssey² that has a small amount of internal memory. The device is capable of holding about 60 games, which is probably more than enough for this system.  The C7051 is compatible  the Video Pac, Odyssey² and Jopac consoles however it uses a slower serial based connection for loading ROMs.

Yes, even this classic black and white console has a multi cart solution. This is more of a home brew cart in that is only produced in small batches by AA user flip.

This cart has its own built in memory to store about 128 titles - more than enough for pretty much every game/homebrew available for the Studio 2. You will need to have your own cartridge shell and do some basic modification to find the PCB into the shell and be able to use the switches on the cart, as it has no menu.

Flip also sells a small composite board with the cart as an add on, which may or may not be worth it given the age & limited graphics of the console. You  will need to be able to solder it on your own, however.

Sega SG-3000 Multicart

If you wish to play your ROMs on original SG-1000 hardware, the survivors is one of the few ways to do so. Be advised that the setup and configuration is fairly technical and you will need a chip programmer to load ROMs onto the flash memory. 

On the plus side, the cart does ship with a load of tape games and a few commercial Taiwanese/ Korean ROMs.

Master Everdrive

The Sega Master System supports the same video modes as the SG-1000. Because of this, the master Everdrive will play SG-1000 ROMs on an SMS. This is probably an easier (and cheaper!) way to play SG-1000 games on mostly authentic hardware as even imported SG-1000 systems are becoming expensive.

Vecmulti

Several multi carts for the Vectrix do exist, however I would advise going with an SD based device like the Vecmulti, as the Vectrix is a unique piece of gaming history and there are still homebrew games being released fairly regularly. ​

This SD based cart supports image loading via a serial cable and even has a menu on boot up, although you will need to use the included software to generate a new one every time you change the rom setup.

VecFever

Thompsons VecFever cart is an updated device that boasts a few extra features. The cart supports USB loading on the fly and has the unique ability to keep track of hi scores. It does this via a built in program that auto patches the ROMs when they are loaded onto the device.

Thompson also happens to be a homebrew developer and has also included 3 of his own creations with the cart: Robot Arena, Head On, and The Core.

PowerPak

Bunnyboys Powerpak was one of the first flash carts for the NES and when it was first released it lacked a number of key features. The newer versions of this cart are mostly on par with the Everdrive N8 in terms of compatibility, with the noted exception of having to reset in order to keep you’re save files.

Everdrive N8

The Everdrive N8 is a robust flash cart for the NES. In addition to it’s has expansion audio, Game Genie Code, exceptionally quick load times & save state functions, it is also compatible with both the NES and Japanese Famicom/ Twin. 

The N8 also supports Famicom Disk System games without the need of an FDS unit. This is a good thing as FDS units are particularly un reliable. FDS games are notable for their enhanced effects and audio, but you will need to modify your console if you have a American NES as the FDS audio circuitry is not present on us consoles.

Most flash carts will have some incompatibilities, and the ever N8 is one of them. The NES has a vast library of over 2500 games, and some NES games use specific mappers which are not emulated as of yet. The good news is that the N8 is compatible with about 99% of the games on the NES. It is possible to add new mappers to the cart vid SD card if you are looking to venture into the murky waters of NES homebrew development.

InviteNES

If you own a Famicom clone or dandy (Russian NES) , the InviteNES is probably for you. This cart is still a work in progress but it’s currently supports most of the popular NES mappers.  The main advantage it has to other competing products is its USB port, which is ideal for loading homebrew in real time.

Master EverDrive X7

Krikzs master ever drive series is as feature rich as you’d expect. There is support for up to 4mb sized games, and it also has the capability to save/load states in real time.

The X7 also has support for SG-1000 games as an added bonus. The SG-1000 is a unique system that was produced by Sega in the early 80s that is rare & expensive today.

MKIII Myth

Neos Myth 3 cart for the SMS is a decent product at a reasonable cost. It has about 32mbs of built in memory, so there is no need for an SD card. However, if you are looking to load ROMs/homebrew off an SD card the device is also compatible with a Neo2-SD, which has an SD card interface.

The most stand out feature of the Myth3 is it’s on board FM audio circuit. The cart also has an A/V port that will play enhanced FM sound on games that support it.

4th Generation

SD2SNES

Nintendo’s SNES  is an interesting piece of technology. The console by itself is quite powerful and boasts a large library with an extensive amount of games. However, the unique feature of the SNES is its ability to accept separate coprocessor’s via an SNES cartridge. These enhancement chips are used in some  of the best titles for the SNES.

This use of these enhancement chips means that most flash carts for the SNES will have limited or no support for these games. As such, there is no flash cart that is an all in one solution. If you wish to play games like Yoshi’s Island, Star Fox, or  Megaman x2/3 with your flash cart than you would be wise to purchase a higher end flash cart like the SD2SNES. The SD2SNES is an open source flash cart that will support most special enhancement chip games. It  also has the advantage of MSU-1 support, which is a fan made coprocessor that allows for CD quality soundtracks/remixes to be added into an SNES rom.

The SD2SNES is a premium solution but it is one of the most expensive SNES flash carts.  It is also not a panacea- as of this writing SA-1 chip games have yet to be supported, which means no Kirby Super Star, or Super Mario RPG.

Super Everdrive

The ever popular Everdive series of flash carts also has a SNES offering.  As with all of Krikzs products, the super Everdrive is has gone through a couple of revisions in its lifetime. Rev 2.0 and later has support for Game Genie codes, increased loading speed, increased files per folder limit, and an improved OS.

This cart has limited enhancement chip support  in the form of a DSP module, which means you will be able to play popular games like Super Mario Kart and Pilot Wings. There are also a few lesser know DSP titles such as Dungeon Master and  the Japanese only SD Gundam GX that are worth checking out if you’re into strategy games.

PowerPak SNES

This is an older flash cart that is very similar to the Everdrive in terms of overall features and compatibility. This cart is targeted more towards people who ae looking to do homebrew development, although folks who are looking to play games will certainly get a lot of value out of it.

This flash cart utilizes a CF flash card, which is fast becoming antiquated in this day and age. The menu interface is very basic and the build quality of the Compact Flash slot is a bit flimsy.

However, the loading is very quick and the cart does have an onboard save battery. The only downside to this is that you have to reset each time after you save. This is not a deal breaker since there aren’t a lot of games on the SNES the utilize save batteries. This flash cart is also able to play DSP1 games, and has a very large amount of memory -  128mbit to be exact – so even the largest SNES games like Star Ocean are supported.  And this device is also region free thanks the included super cyclone chip.

Super UFO

The defining feature of this flash cart is its ability to play special chip games in pass through mode via its top cart connector. In theory this would allow you to use something like a cheap sports title with an enhancement chip to play a ROM like Yoshi’s Island or super Mario Kart. In practice however, the device falls far short of this goal. Most of the games that you would want to play using this method will not work and will only produce a black screen on boot. The only games that seem to work are DSP1 games, which are already emulated on better flash carts.

On the plus side, the Super UFO 8 has the unique feature of save backup, which will allow you to transfer your SNES saves between the flash cart and a PC/SD card. This cart also has save state support – a feature that allows you to save anywhere, anytime – but again, the implementation is buggy and doesn’t work in a lot of games.

Other than that, the UFO 8 is a fairly basic flash cart. The cart supports saving but the process to do is very cumbersome. You can also dump SNES games, but the implementation is buggy and will often result in corrupt ROMs. About the only thing the super UFO 8 has going for it is its price. This cart can be had for about $50.

Super Wild Card DX

Back In the day there were many floppy disk based flash carts that came out of places like China and Hong Kong. These flash carts were bulky devices that were almost as large as the SNES itself and often required separate power supplies. They worked  by dumping and copying ROMs to an attached floppy or zip disk, with varying results.

The most prominent of the floppy based devices were the Super Wildcard series. These are the granddaddy of the modern day SD based Flash Carts, and are fun to play around with, if you can still get your hands on one that is. The DX is notable for its support of higher rom sizes of (up to 96mbit) and its cheat support in the form of Action Replay, Game Genie, FFE, and Gold Finger codes.

*Note: The fact that the device uses floppy discs means that many larger games can take up 2 or more discs.

Game Doctor 6

This is yet another floppy disk based device that requires its own power supply.  It comes in 4 different versions, from 32mb - 128mb for supporting larger ROMs sizes.

Surprisingly, Totokek still sells this device on its website. So if you’re looking to mess around with a floppy disk based device this is probably one of the few that are still readily availible.

NEO SNES

The Neo series of devices are a Frankenstein like creation from the creators of the popular Game Boy Advance/DS line of flash carts. Basically, this cart is more of an add on solution that works by inserting a GBA/NDS flash device into the top slot, and then adding a DSP chip game to the back of the cart in order to play DSP1 games.

The features are on par with what you would expect from an Everdrive in terms of compatibility, and you also get the benefit of a USB port for transferring saves just like with the Super UFO 8. The downside is that it does not support SD cards, so you’re left with the built in  limited memory of the GBA/NDS attachment carts.

Super Flash Cart 64M

This is an updated version of Tototeks older Flash Cart 64 that add more functionality at the expense of a full edge connector. You will need a T connector to plug this device into your SNES, and this updated version comes with a Programmer/ Super CIC lockout chip included. The software only supports Windows XP and there has a  very limited memory pool, with support for around 4 games at a time.

This device is an older style flash cart that is geared towards those looking to do homebrew creation as opposed to simply playing games. The setup is quite complicated and there are much easier solutions for development.

Everdrive Game Boy X7

The latest version of the Everdrive Gameboy has added support for save sates and even has an isolated real time clock. Some games require this feature and will not run correctly without it. As the name suggests, the RTC is isolated & thus enables you to play/save many different games simultaneously. This further increases the Everdrive GB'S list of compatible games. The small handful of titles that don’t work require extra hardware, are homebrew/unlicensed, or utilize an odd switching scheme.

Super Game Boy owners will be happy to know that the X7 will fit any device that supports a regular Gameboy cartridge .

Drag'n'Derp

The Drag'n'Derp  was created with game boy chiptune production in mind. It can be used as a Flash Cart but that is not its primary function.  Music creators will want to look into this cart as it uses a drag and drop interface for easy testing and backup. The Drag'n'Derp supports LittleFM and LSDJ.

EMS Smart Card 64mb

As far as flash carts for the GB goes, the 64 is one of the few that are cheap and still readily availible. However, with this product you get what you pay for. It has decent game compatibility but it is nowhere near as close as the Everdrives.  It uses proprietary software that only works on Windows XP and is only capable of storing 1 save game at a time.

Bung GX Exchanger

The most interesting thing about this dated flash cart is its name. Aside from  that, it is a basic old school flash cart that requires 2 parts: the GB flash cart, and a proprietary  GB cart programmer at an additional cost. It only has an older serial interface and does not support USB.

The software is of course proprietary and most likely will not work on today’s modern operating systems. Lastly, the device is bulky and requires its own batteries to run.

Everdrive Game Gear

Krikzs Everdrive offering on the Game Gear is notable for its ability to play both Game Gear and SMS titles without the bulky Master Gear accessory. Other than that, it is a pretty basic flash cart. There are no extra features like save states or fancy menu options. But hey, its Game Gear.. What more could you ask for?

Game Gear Pro 32M Cart

This product is a serial flash cart that has a low memory capacity and can only store about 20-30 GG/SMS games at a time. The one advantage that is has over the Everdrive GG is that it supports Game Genie codes.

Mega Everdrive X7

The ever drive series for popular consoles has been split into 3 different products: the X3, X5, and X7. The higher number generally denotes extra features that are only necessary to run a certain game or have things like code support and save states.

That said, the X7 is defiantly a feature rich device and is probably worth the extra $50 or so dollars if you are a Sega fan. It is a vast improvement over his earlier Everdrive MD series in almost every way. 

The most notable improvement is the load between games, which has been drastically decreased down to about 2 seconds. The device is fully region free, allowing the loading of ROMs from any region regardless of which version of the Genesis you have.  There is save state support that works about as well as one would expect, given that you are playing on real hardware.

The cart can play SMS and 32X games as a bonus. SMS games are playable without the clunky power base converter, which helps to cut down on bulky attachments as the Genesis has multiple add ons in the form of the Sega CD/32X adapters.

The defining feature of the X7 is probably the in game menu – a  surprising edition to a 16 bit flash cart. As the name suggests, the menu can be brought up during gameplay and allows you to use the aforementioned save states or switch your game out.

NEO Myth MD 3in1

This is a typical Neo Myth cart that comes in 2 parts: the base unit and a clunky 256mb flash cart. It is capable of playing SMS/32x/Genesis ROMs and has built in sram for games that need saving. It’s one advantage over competing carts is it’s built in FM sound output.

MD Pro 64M/Mega Cart

If you’ve been around since the old days (when retro gaming wasn’t quite as retro as it is now) than you will remember these offerings from the Tototek line. For a long time these parallel based flash carts where the only solution if you wanted to preserve your carts. The Mega Cart is notable for having Sega CD ram cart capability.

Lynx Multi Card

This is a popular flash cart from creator retrohq (known as saint on the AA forums). It plays all known Lynx games, has a basic menu, and even comes with a free SD card preloaded with software. The load time for each game is around 10 seconds and it does not have an sram so forget about saving your progress in the few games that require such a feature.

Mateos Atari Lynx Rewritable Multigame Cartridge

Just as in the case of the 7800, Mateos has made available an attachment for the Atari Lynx. Don’t expect many features however, as this device is pretty barebones. It can hold 16 games at a time and has no menu. Instead games are selected via a dial switch on the unit itself.

NeoSD

As far as Neo Geo carts go, the NeoSD certainly delivers. This cart will play the entire Neo Geo library and comes in both AES / MVS versions. 

You’ll have to convert your ROMs to a special format using the supplied software for whatever reason, but the games work/load just fine. However,  loading times can be a bit on the longer side, mostly due to the size of the games and the age of the Neo Geo hardware. Some users have reported load times of up to 3 minutes, but this seems to happen only a small percentage of the time.

DARKSOFT MVS

​AP user Darksoft has released a cart for the Neo Geo MVS system. Its features are very similar to the aforementioned NeoSD, with the noted exception of being able to load 4 games into a temporary slot for faster loading times since Neo Geo games are large and they can sometime take up 2-4 minutes to load.

There were a few technical issues on launch, but it looks like these are slowly being worked out and fixed via regular firmware updates.

161 in 1

Before the days of SD based flash carts, there were these multi game carts that came with a pre-loaded library of games and were mostly plug and play.

These can be had (relatively) cheaply on sites around the net. They work well for what they are, but don’t expect any fancy features. The upside to these carts is that they are about 1/3^rd the cost of the SD based flash carts and are one of the few Neo Geo based devices that don’t cost the equivalent of a monthly car payment.

*note: There is some concern that these multi carts do not draw proper voltage from the console and may cause damage to your system in the long run.

Mateos Rewritable Flash Cart

The Mateos line of flash carts has an attachment for the Watara Supervision. As always, the functionality is basic and utilizes a switch to select the different ROMs on the cart.

Super SD System 3

“Super” is certainly a good word to use when describing this product.

This recently released flash cart is an all in one solution for fans of NEC’s underdog console. The cart can play HuCard games, of course, but where it really shines is its ability to play Super CD Rom games and Arcade Card titles as well.

And if that weren’t enough, the SD system 3 also gives your consoles a RGB output. This is due to the unique nature of the device - since it is basically a CD emulator, it attaches to the CD rom connector on the PC Engine. The CD rom attachment also has provisions for RGB, which negates the need for an RGB mod as the PC Engine does not output RGB out of the box.

Lastly, the SD System 3 also provides a boost to save memory, giving you unlimited saves for your CD rom games. This is actually a much needed feature, as the CD rom unit for PC Engine consoles has a very small amount of save memory.

When you add up the cost of CD ROM units for the PC Engine, and the RGB mod, the value of this device becomes readily apparent.

Low Cost Flash HuCard

Billed as a cheaper alternative to Krikzs ED offerings, the Flash HuCard is a basic device capable of loading 1 rom at a time. As of this writing it seems to be a one off project, however the creator has released the schematics and bill of materials to the public.

Turbo Everdrive

Krikzs Turbo Everdrive is a middle of the road solution that has very fast loading speeds and has pretty good mapper support (It even plays Street Fighter 2!)  However it unfortunately has very poor compatibility with region modded consoles. If you are looking to use this cart with your region modded PCE or TG16 you would be wise to disable the mod or switch to a stock console.

Everdrive 64v3

Unlike the SNES based flash carts, the ED64 has pretty much 100% compatibility with the N64 library and all of the major first party titles are playable. Even the obscure Animal Crossing can be played thanks to the ED64’s RTC. As a bonus, the ED64 also comes with a built in UltraCIC II lockout chip to support both NTSC and PAL roms.

Retroactive 64drive

This product is a direct competitor to ED64. The main advantage it has over is competitor is its ability to load roms up to 256mb in size (vs the ed64’s 64mb limit) and region auto switching. Presumably, this will allow for proper emulation of 64DD games in the near future.

It also happens to have Wi-Fi which is obviously a feature geared towards developers.

PSIO

This is  a rather odd device that plugs into the parallel port on the back of older PS1 units. There is also some internal mod work that needs to be done to allow for it to function properly. Game compatibility is high but not quite on par with the cartridge based flash carts. This is probably due to the fact that the device is not a true ODE and works more like a game shark.

The games load instantly and there is also a menu interface. SD cards up to 512GB can be used, which might just be enough for the entire PS1 library.

Rhea/ Phoebe

The aptly named Rhea is a an optical drive replacement for the Sega Saturn. Since it is just a drive emulator, It has 100% compatibility with the Saturn library. The only drawback to this device is its cumbersome menu and file naming scheme. Each disk image has to be in its own folder and you cannot have custom names for any of the game images.

USB Host

Amazingly, there is actually an ODE device for the Panasonic 3D0. The Usb Host Controller does pretty much anything you would want a product like this to do. It has 100% compatibility with all games, custom naming of file/folder names, support for up to 2 TB hard drives, and allows NVRAM saving directly into the game folder.

FlashBoy Plus

While it’s nice to see the VB getting a flash cart solution, this cart is more for people looking to play some of the homebrew released for the system, as there is currently no other solution besides doing reproduction cartridges on a 1 by 1 basis.

USB-GDROM

The creator of the USB Host Controller for the Panasonic 3D0 has released another excellent product for the Sega’s swansong of a console. In addition to 100% compatibility and large hard drive support, this product adds features like disc swapping and a region free switch.

EverDrive-GBA X5

There is of course an ED offering for the GBA. The X5’s interface & game compatibility are top notch, it has fast loading times, and comes with an RTC for those titles that need it.

The DS is well known for its large library of flash carts, the most popular of which is the R4 series. The R4 was one of the first flash for the Nintendo DS and can still be found today. The R4i Gold is the latest in the line of /r4 flashcarts and boasts many features, such as the ability to save in real time (with Wood R4), cheats, extra skins, & Auto AAP. It is also compatible with all models of the DS - The DS / Lite, DSi / XL, 2DS, & the N3DS / XL.