Introduction

The Supercard DSTWO is the first flashcard in the world to have a built-in CPU. DSTWO combines and supports all features of its previous predecessors as such one of the newest most powerful flashcarts that will revolutionize the gaming experience. The DSTWO allows you to launch games, run applications and play media directly from the device. Simply drag and drop the files needed onto the microSD card and place it in your DSTWO and you are good to go. The Supercard DSTWO offers a powerful on-board processor offers unique and exciting features that you won’t find anywhere else. Features such as full GBA emulation, a powerful new GUI, a real-time guide, an integrated auto-patch database, as well as being one of the few flash carts that allows users to upgrade the core firmware. The Supercard Team has been around for a long time now and it is one of the oldest providers for a full on gaming experience and with this new flashcart added to their line of successors I believe they have dominated all obstacles and rivals.

Packaging & Contents

The packaging was safe and durable. The only problem I had with it was the way they had the flashcart put in place. The flashcart was bulky and big so it was somewhat hard to get out but besides that everything was safe and secure so no problems there. As for contents. The Supercard DSTWO contains the following:

1X DSTWO
1X USB Reader
1X Manual
1X Strap

Features

-New exclusive feature: Free Cheat function. During game play this will allow you to search for and enable various cheats and hacks, such as modifying your characters health.
-New exclusive feature: Intelligent clean mode, which automatically detects memory card speed and save type.
-New exclusive feature: No Patching needed.
-RealTime Functions: RealTime Save, RealTime Game Guide (txt,bmp,jpg) & RealTime Cheat. (More stable and easy to use, cheat code compatible with R4 and DSTT now)
-Real-time save slots increased to 4
-Multi Saves (Upto 4 slots), makes it easy to backup and restore saves.
-Exclusive built-in automatic detection of 3D game engine technology, stability is greatly enhanced
-Unlimited MicroSD storage space support. SDHC support. FAT or FAT32.
-Multiple languages (English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, French, Italian, Korean, Japanese, Spanish)
-Built-in GBA & SNES Emulator.
-New Hardware Control Action Slow Motion (Up to 4 levels).
-File Management System (Copy, Paste, Cut and Delete, Perfect support for long file names).
-Supports eBook (BMP, JPEG, JPG, PNG, TIF, GIF, TXT, PDF).
-Give up cheat-code slow motion game play method, improved use of CPU to do operations, “precise control of CPU speed” Achieving the action slowed down, stability/compatibility improved.
-Hotkey user-defined.
-Real-Time Game Guide will support txt formats without conversion, fonts are clear and beautiful
-New UI interface design. Easier-to-use.
-Advanced multimedia playback: native DivX/XviD playback as well as other major formats.

Not all of these features are fully integrated yet but they soon will be. As of now it can play commercial ROMS, GBA ROMS, and media. They have not finished their media software as such they are replacing it with latest moonshell as of now so the DSTWO still provides all 3 things a gamer would need. You have the future, the past, and the present all in one. As such it has gone above and beyond.

Installing

It may be hard to navigate through Supercard’s website but I will link you to where you can get the firmware in order to make your life easier. http://eng.supercard.sc/manual/dstwo/download.htm The firmware gets updated as frequently as possible but I believe the team is overall busy with finishing up the flashcart and all of it’s features. For new features and upgrades the firmware can be updated so do not worry about having to buy another flashcart entirely. All are updated and compatible with core and firmware changes and etc. After downloading the software simply extract then drag and drop into root of your microSD card. Then you are good to go and have fun with getting your games and etc. over as well. I recommend you stay organized and make folders or files to place your games and etc. in because I have had problems before with not organizing everything and skimming through can be a hassle.

Evolution Operating System (EOS)

Features:
-Supports in game menu
-New real time save/game guide
-New slow motion support
-New and exclusive in game custom key mapping
-Supports usrcheat.dat
-Automatic DLDI patching
-New and exclusive AP patching
-New and exclusive Free Cheat Mode
-Supports GBA emulation
-GBA save states
-GBA real time save
-GBA.cht cheat file support
-Supports new file manipulations(cut copy paste delete)
-Custom G.U.I. skins
-Updatable firmware

As you can see the interface has a mouth watering DSi appeal to it. For those who got this for their DS Lites will have a gaming experience as if they bought a DSi unique to their own desire. This is the front boot or loading menu of the DSTWO. You can install plugins and shortcuts and they will be shown here. They are basically shortcuts to softwares such as the DS, GBA, Media Plugins. Great appeal and so far very tasteful.

I would first like to go over the file manipulations for the DSTWO. They are very useful and helps maintain a better organized space. You can access file manipulations when using the DS feature of the DSTWO. This can be used to maintain NDS & SAV, GBA & SAV, All Files, etc. Here is what it should look like.

As you can see it can be accessed by pushing start. You can maintain and manage files. Select a different skin type and much more. You can also access different languages but I find this feature useless for me. Somewhat of a empty feature that I will not need but I am sure others will need it. Here is another useful picture.

You can select which files you want to see and this is useful when you want to delete something you are done with such as GBA roms and .SAVS

You also have a useful picture when selecting the help option. The picture shows which buttons are used for in game soft resets which is used to access more features.

Soft Reset

This is the in game menu you get when you soft reset while playing a DS game only. As you can see the DSTWO is unique and exclusive in providing this feature. Other flashcarts do not provide a organized menu mapping and smarter appeal to soft reset features.

Game Guide
This feature has not fully been integrated yet but when it is fully developed and finished this feature will provide in game walkthroughs that you will be able to format so the DSTWO can read it. It will also show walkthrough pictures and such for a visual guide as well. Unfortunately not fully integrated or finished yet but I believe it can still be used at the moment. At the moment it can support .TXT files and .BMP but .JPG has not been integrated yet.

Cheat Code
Here you have the ability to turn your cheats on or off and also edit the selections. It is as if you were selecting the cheats before loading the game which is another exclusive feature DSTWO has. No other flashcart truly does or supports this but the only similar feature they could probably provide is turning the cheats on or off during in game. Very useful for those who cheat their way to success. Personally I would be lying if I said I do not use cheats because personally I find games more fun with cheats. I am a full head on gamer and this feature was very useful. In my opinion one of the top best features. DSTWO supports the new .DAT cheat files and this basically means it is fully integrated with usrcheat.dat as such you get more out of it. This provides the exclusive cheat functions and features. DSTWO truly triumphs over all flashcarts though because so many new features and all of them are exclusive and to be able to have experienced a truly legendary evolution in going beyond a DS/L or DSi/XL.

Save/Load
The Save/Load options are commonly known as real time save. It is when you save during in game play whenever you feel like and resume from that save. For example you can use it when you are battling a gym leader in pokemon but you have to close it but don’t want to lose your spot because you did not save before that. Simply go to in game menu by pushing L+R+Start then go to Save. When saving it also makes you name your save so you can name it something to remember it by like GYM BATTLE. Useful if you use the feature frequently. It has an exclusive touch to it so all around I have not found anything as of yet that the DSTWO has that other flashcart has except for a few things such as file manipulation. Incredible feature for an even better gaming experience. This feature has been upgraded to provide more use out of it and more stability so in experience I can’t really say anything but to tell you grab yourself one and find out.

Slow Motion
DSTWO’s slow motion function is unique and exclusive. On other flashcarts and previous predecessors flashcarts support cheat code slow motion but for DSTWO this has now been changed to hardware support. It is great because you get more stability and compatibility with that. I myself have not used this feature much but for a few games I think it will come in handy such as challenging games like Tetris if you want to go all out on it.

Exit
There are two options for this. The top left arrow leads back to main menu. The top right with the X returns to the game you are currently playing. Simple and still a good thing to use rather than constantly turning on or off. I have done it before when I had a cheap flashcart and it was a pain in the buttocks so I suggest you don’t take it for granted if you have a flashcart and it can soft reset.

Free Cheat

As you saw in my video this is a great feature. Why so great? If you are into having cheats and skimming through game without worrying about dying and all that then that is why. Lets say for example there is a new ROM out. The USRCHEAT.DAT was not updated yet. What can you do? You can use free cheat and find cheat codes yourselves is what you can do. You have a search option of specific value which is for health,money,etc. Then you have fuzzy search which can go into more detail such as unlocking something or hacking in general. Cheat codes are not easy to find or search through though and you have a choice of searching for different sized cheats such as 8bit,16bit,32bit. When going for health and money I suggest you use 32bit because those kinds of codes are bigger and longer. I will link you to a guide later on or you can hit me up on my DSTWO F.A.Q which will be made shortly. This feature is pretty awesome and I have already used it but it is very complicated and it could take a while so I suggest you know what you are doing and looking for before searching. I am a newbie (n00b) so I am having trouble working with it.

Hotkey
In order to access and use this during game play you must push the buttons all together in order to do so. The DSTWO kept this simple rather than pushing the normal L+R+A+B+X+Y you simply push L+R+Start. Again with so much provided the DSTWO still keeps it simple. Trust me a month of experience and you will be professional at using this new flashcart.

GBA Emulator

Now this is what you have probably been wanting to know about. This brought nostalgia and it was a very powerful experience. I never thought a flashcart could play GBA ROMs without an expansion pak and with my new DSi I knew that was impossible. This DSTWO though has blown my mind away completely. It not only has a CPU powerful enough to get the job done but also a processor. I have enjoyed playing GBA games on my DSi and I must say it is worth the money. I am replaying and reliving my childhood game series. No doubt about it that the GBA was one of the best series ever made. Unfortunately it is cut short but to be able to replay and relive those games and the memories is nostalgic and tearful. With this feature alone I believe DSTWO went above and beyond a normal DS could go.

Video/Audio

Do not touch anything here except for Fast Forward. I love DSTWO but their GBA Emulator has some stuff that are good and all but I would never touch any of them anyway. Anyways Fast Forward as you are probably guessing is obviously for fast forwarding the game. It is useful for those long cutscenes and terrible openings and etc. Simply turn off when finished. Very useful tool but as for the other options they are there to help you run the GBA ROM better. Maybe it is lagging if so look at Frame skip level then adjust it to 3 or 4. That is only other thing I can think of using here. Also never touch Frame skip type from AUTO. I do not touch it either so I suggest always keeping it on AUTO.

Save State
This is the Real Time Save for GBA. Here you can save and load from places you last left off in the game. You can save literally everywhere in the game. I over use this feature because it is a must use feature. This Emulator tends to get buggy so let us just say I do not trust saving the game and then closing it because it may have not saved at all. As such I use this to maintain and back up my process during gameplay. I have had problems for example with Megaman games which I am replaying when I saved on the game and not on RTS. As such I lost my place and had to redo it. Terrible but it got me to learn to constantly back up my files. Also when you don’t need the Save anymore you can also delete it to make more room. All around a good thing to use.

Cheats
The GBA Emulator supports .CHT formatted files. It can only read up to 30 cheats for a single game so if you have about 40-50 cheats for one GBA game then too bad. I guess it serves me right for cheating but almost all the time the cheats do not work or cause the game to get buggy and mess up then crash. Avoidable just don’t cheat (lol) and on top of that it does not read all .CHT files. This really annoyed me because I got an entire list from 1-Last game ever made thanks to http://cheats.gbatemp.net. Don’t bother getting them though it reads about 1-999 then skips to 2300-Last. I got the latest one last made so maybe I should get a different one. Either way all I know is it did not fully work right and it may have caused some issues during game play as such avoid being a cheater and enjoy playing GBA ROMS on your DS!

Tools
Nothing important here except for screen snapshot. Why is that important? Well take a picture when you are stuck and go show friends or someone who can help you get past it. That is why that is important. You can take a snapshot at any time so don’t worry. Also Key pad remap but don’t use that unless you want to change the normal A and B buttons to something else which I doubt you will do. Waste of options in my opinion there could have been better use for the space.

Others

Now note this is all run by CPU. If DSTWO did not have a CPU it would not be able to do half the things it does. As such I stay away from this completely. I do not want to mess up the CPU frequence. Aside from that there is also Language which is another thing I did not need. Also shows SD card capacity which I admit is useful but still I believe I am experienced enough to not need that. Also two other things but I am not even going to waste my time with them. All you have to know is New, Save State, Cheats. Thats it then you are set for a nostalgic gaming experience.

Exit

Goes back to main menu. Useful if you are going to stop playing GBA ROMs and switch to a DS ROM. Also I suggest if you save in the game itself that you exit when done instead of turning the power off. That is probably one of the reasons why in game saves don’t work. Like I said use Save State constantly it helps. It also helps because when booting again it will reload where you last used save state. (w00t)

And The Rest

New: boot latest played game or other game from your game list
Restart: Reboot current game
Return: Returns to current game

GBA Emulator Performance
Overall I am truly happy I can play GBA ROMs. Trust me I am but there is still a problem. Some do not work and some are buggy. Also cheats are not fully there yet and it is somewhat full of useless things that I personally would not use so it does not count for everyone. In general the GBA Emulator’s Performance is where it should be but for now I am only replaying Megaman lets see what happens if I replay a different series. DSTWO packs a punch and will change your gaming experience forever.

DSTWO Performance
Using the on board CPU the DSTWO can emulate the ROM as if it was real and pass through and bypass any anti-piracy measures. Most of the ROMs will never need to be patched to run. What does this mean? DSTWO is fully 100% compatible with literally everything and every other flashcart out there is probably 50% or less compatible. DSTWO is the first to fully back up the words 100% compatible. You have a choice still of running a ROM clean or patched though. Clean is basically for running the ROM without having to go through it and patch is for running it to make sure it works.

Skinning

The DSTWO and the GBA Emulator can support skins. You can either make your own skin provided with the tools you can find in the link I gave previously when going over how to install, or you can get one somebody else made from the obvious link I always provide. I will link to everything you need once I am done. I suggest you enjoy my review though because it took me a while to gather enough to do this. This has been the most challenging review I have ever made.

Media
I did not really go over this for a reason. When I downloaded and used the firmware I tried to boot their moonshell and it did not let me. Now you might wonder why. Well before you get into a riot let me just say DSTWO did not finish their media feature yet. As such they worked together with moonshell in order to make a exclusive DSTWO moonshell. You can still watch .DPG movies and maybe certain music files but as for now patience is virtue. As for me I do not know why moonshell did not work but I do not plan on finding out. I already have a flashcart I use for movies and music anyway. It might not happen to everyone but if it does hit my soon to be made F.A.Q up or check out the Supercard team’s own F.A.Q. I promise I will make one within this week though. If I don’t then sue me (not literally but you can hate if you wish).

Plugins

Plugins are shortcuts basically shown in the main menu of the DSTWO which looks like a DSi. You put these shortcuts into the specific folder which again I will show you on links or F.A.Q’s and then it will be shown on the main menu. Fun feature if you want homebrew shortcuts, softwares, etc. Feels like you are buying a DSi Ware to be honest. In all honesty I was amazed when first using the DSTWO because this was so incredible. It looked like a DSi interface. Expect links at end of the review but do not just scroll down there right away. This is an opinion not a tutorial.

Homebrew
DSTWO has a new automatic DLDI patching so all homebrews should work. As such DSTWO is 100% compatible for this as well. You can also soft reset when using homebrew so do not worry about that because DSTWO has it covered. I am not a homebrew guy myself except for PokeSAVDS maybe but I do not use that either so I can’t help or have an opinion on what I did not focus on.

microSD/HC Support
Supports all types of microSD/HC cards. It can go up to 32GB microSD/HC cards so no worrying about how much capacity it can support. All flashcarts have this support now so if DSTWO did not I would be shocked.

What’s missing?
DSTWO’s SNES Emulator is missing. If you wish to obtain one you can when I link later on. Also media software is missing. It cannot play everything yet but in experience I was fine with .DPG movies. I am not going to go out my way just to grab a .AVI file to test it on DSTWO with because they tend to be big and I am not gonna mess with that yet. If they release it any time soon maybe if not well then no thanks I am good. Also .JPG Game Guide support is missing. This could have helped with making visual guides. I believe that is all that is missing but in all honesty if they do not get to putting those in the DSTWO is fine where it is now. The DSTWO can play almost anything if it gets complete. It will be a power house full of features and tools and support. It has already severed all rivals now to see it complete would finish the job.

Conclusion

It is sad to see me go right? Not here is where you flame me.(just kidding) I would like to say that if you think this is too much then you are not fully developed yet. This is still cheaper than a CycloDS. Also it packs more. The flashcart is very complicated and it is worth every single penny and dime. The DSTWO is 100% compatible, features, functions and much more.
Pros
+100% Compatible
+New & Exclusive Features
+New & Exclusive Functions
+GBA Support
+CPU
+Simple
+Interface
+Cheats

Cons
-Firmware Update
-Useless Stuff
-Flash kit build
-USB Reader
-Rushed
-Not Complete

Related Articles: