7th June 2023, 4:14 AM
I've just recently hacked my 3DS and have been going through the process of backing up every one of my physical 3DS carts so I can just run them all as natively installed games. It works well and I even use Nintendo's own tool for moving the saved data off the cart version and into this new local version. However, I found my copy of Smash 3DS doesn't load correctly. It displays the game name and the manual is still accessible on the cart, but the 3D logo does not, and launching fails completely. I tried using the tool "Godmode" to verify the cart and it fails pretty quick.
After looking into things, I found the reason. Flash memory is not reliable for very long term storage and these cartridges will, all of them, fail within 5 - 10 years of disuse. Even use doesn't promise they'll still work, as every single cell needs to be "touched" to get recharged. Now, the HStore exists so I can safely download a viable copy of the game from there, but this is a frightening turn. Optical discs do experience bit rot, but the time frame there is very long and longer if they are kept out of sunlight, so long as the disc is a professional printing and not a burned disc. Mask ROMs using older cart tech like what's in all the retro gaming consoles is also extremely reliable. It's the new flash carts that are at risk.
This also extends to your SD cards. It will be wise to take any device that you rely on an SD card for and create regular backups on your PC, just to be safe.
This warning is scary for another reason. Certain games never received digital purchase versions, such as all original DS and certain 3DS games like Kingdom Hearts 3D. Buying used copies is now a risk and I would highly recommend NOT purchasing used flash based carts without verification from the seller that they have personally tested the cart to be sure it works at the least (and if possible, ran a "verification" tool over it as well just to be sure the whole thing is intact and not just the boot sequence).
After looking into things, I found the reason. Flash memory is not reliable for very long term storage and these cartridges will, all of them, fail within 5 - 10 years of disuse. Even use doesn't promise they'll still work, as every single cell needs to be "touched" to get recharged. Now, the HStore exists so I can safely download a viable copy of the game from there, but this is a frightening turn. Optical discs do experience bit rot, but the time frame there is very long and longer if they are kept out of sunlight, so long as the disc is a professional printing and not a burned disc. Mask ROMs using older cart tech like what's in all the retro gaming consoles is also extremely reliable. It's the new flash carts that are at risk.
This also extends to your SD cards. It will be wise to take any device that you rely on an SD card for and create regular backups on your PC, just to be safe.
This warning is scary for another reason. Certain games never received digital purchase versions, such as all original DS and certain 3DS games like Kingdom Hearts 3D. Buying used copies is now a risk and I would highly recommend NOT purchasing used flash based carts without verification from the seller that they have personally tested the cart to be sure it works at the least (and if possible, ran a "verification" tool over it as well just to be sure the whole thing is intact and not just the boot sequence).
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)