R4 DS Review from GameYeeeah

Sept. 24, 2009 - PRLog -- http://www.gameyeeeah.com/r4-ds-revolution-r4ds-microsdtf-slot1-solution-adapter-p-190.html


The R4 DS is a slot 1 DS flash kit designed to play ROMs. I may be stating the obvious here, but the point is; that's what it's meant to do, and it does it very well. From our extensive testing, so far we can confirm that the R4 DS is 100% compatible and doesn't suffer any slow downs in game. A very impressive result! (As with all flash kits, the claim of 100% compatibility may change once and IF an incompatible game is discovered).

That said, the R4 DS GUI is somewhat plain and generic. You get the feeling that they didn't really put any effort into the GUI and that it was just a quick last minute design when you compare it to rival carts GUIs such as the DS-Xtreme or NinjaDS. The fact that they put the directory/file list on the top screen, and then say you can navigate the GUI from the touch screen is laughable.
So far the current firmware seems to do the job well, and until an incompatible game is found, the only firmware updates I expect we're going to see (and HOPE we're going to see) are those that add new features within the GUI, or even complete overhauls of the GUI to a more modern and intuitive interface.

Hardware wise, the build quality of the R4 DS is top notch and the fact you can remove the micro SD from the R4 without removing the whole cart from the slot is great. They even bundled the R4 with a couple of nice extras, the keyring cart case, the USB micro SD card reader and alternate colour shell are great little freebies that help further justify the price tag which is already very affordable.

If you're looking for a flash kit with a ton of extra features and options to customise it in every possible way to your hearts content, then unfortunately the R4 DS will not satisfy you. It really doesn't offer any extras besides a main menu icon to boot a compatible version of Moonshell, and a PassMe feature. But, if you're looking for a slot 1 flash kit with unlimited storage capacity (depending on the contents of your wallet), 100% ROM compatibility, complete "drag 'n' drop" ease-of-use and don't plan on expecting much more from the cart, then I can definitely recommend the R4 DS as your solution.

Pros
+ 100% ROM compatibility (from current tests)
+ No slow-downs or glitches in game (from current tests)
+ Completely drag 'n' drop, no software needed
+ Supports clean ROMs
+ Expandable micro SD memory solution
+ Supports FAT and FAT32
+ Great build quality
+ Fits flush in your DS
+ Nice freebies in the package
+ Fairly cheap!

Cons
- Basic, dated GUI
- Lacking extra features
- English firmware updates slower than Chinese
- Low homebrew compatibility
- Lacking download play support

http://www.gameyeeeah.com/r4-ds-revolution-r4ds-microsdtf...