The fact that the R4 DS comes supplied with a mini CD-ROM, and is listed as "compatible" with various versions of Windows (with no mention of Mac or Linux support) would perhaps throw off a lot of people and make them assume that it does in fact have client side software. In fact, the R4 DS doesn't require or even come with any software. The cart really is fully "drag 'n' drop" friendly.

What you'll find on the software CD included with the R4 DS (at this time) is five different sets of firmware files. They're not different firmware revisions, they're all the same version. Each one however, has a different skin embedded into it. There are preview JPEG files for each skin so you can see what one looks like before transferring it.

But instead of using the supplied firmware on the CD, I'd recommend you head over to the official R4 DS website (http://www.r4ds.com) and downloading the newest available firmware to ensure best performance.

First thing you'll want to do is connect your micro SD card to your PC through the supplied reader or however you like, and format your micro SD card to FAT (FAT16) or FAT32. You can choose whatever you like, the R4 supports both and they both perform the same. Once that is complete and you have chosen a firmware skin version, just drag all the contents of the folder/ZIP onto the root of your micro SD card (you don't have to copy files like the readme or skin preview over). The 'shell' folder contains necessary Moonshell (a homebrew multimedia and more application) files, so you only need to copy that over if you intend to use Moonshell on the R4.

Now you've formatted your card and have copied over the firmware files; you're ready to start copying ROMs to the card. And to do this, all you need to do is drag and drop the files. You don't need to use any software.

Just open your micro SD card in explorer, create directories to organise files if you like (keeping in mind you must keep the firmware and related files on the root of the card) and drag and drop ROM files to the card.

Transfer speeds will depend on the PC your using, whether you're using USB1 or USB2 and the write speed of the micro SD card. So to give transfer speed results would be pointless...

Of course, ROMs aren't the only thing you can be copying to your card. As the R4 supports and includes Moonshell from the get-go, you can start copying MP3s, pictures, videos and more across. We won't cover what's supported and how to get things working via Moonshell as it's a separate homebrew that can be run on nearly any flash kit. There are many guides out there online already so just check Google.

So, that's it! We've setup the card, put some ROMs on it, and we're done. So let's move on!

R4 GUI (OS)

When you turn on your Nintendo DS, the R4 DS GUI will automatically boot, skipping the main DS menu (except the health and safety screen, unless your DS is flashed).

A loading screen will briefly popup on screen (less than a second) and the main menu of the R4 DS will appear.




The top screen of the main menu consists of a large R4 DS logo (though this can vary between skins) and in the bottom-right of the screen will tell you the language version of your R4.

The touch screen consists of three large icons - "Game, Multimedia and Boot Slot-2". You can tap these items with the stylus or use the face buttons to choose. Also on the touch screen is the current version number of the firmware you are using (the one you copied to the micro SD card) and the current time (HH:MM:SS) in the lower-right.



GAME - This icon takes you to a directory/file listing of the contents on your micro SD card. You can go back to the main menu from here by pressing 'Start'. On the top screen is a list of the folders on your card, and below them, a list of all the .NDS files and their sizes. (Pressing 'Select' will toggle the showing of .NDS files only - though only .NDS files can be loaded from this screen as of current firmware). Unfortunately, directory browsing is not possible using the touch screen, you need to navigate folders and highlight files by using the d-pad.
As you navigate folders and files, on the bottom screen the ROMs icon file is displayed on the fly immediately along with the standard three strings of text that are embedded into each ROM (such as the games name and developer) as you can see in the photos. Underneath that are the date and time the file or folder was last modified (that's "Final Revise" in Engrish) and the actual filename below that (which is also displayed on the top screen as you browse).




When you launch a ROM file for the first time, the R4 will tell you that it can't find a .SAV file (save game data, and this is, assuming you haven't already copied across a .SAV file with the same filename as the .NDS) for the game and asks you if you would like it to auto-create the file for you before launching. You are given three options - 'OK, Cancel and Ignore'.

When you launch a game, progress bars appear to show the loading progress, which takes anything from under one second to four seconds at the most, depending on file size, the speed of your micro SD card and whether or not a .SAV already exists.



MULTIMEDIA - This option simply starts Moonshell - a popular homebrew multimedia playback and general file manager and launcher application that is quickly becoming the standard for the majority of flash kits. Moonshell has been around for a long time now, and it's one of the best homebrew applications ever made.
As Moonshell is not unique to the R4 DS, we will not cover it in this review. If you wish to learn more about Moonshell or want to learn how to use it, simply search our forums at GBAtemp or use Google to find what you need.



BOOT SLOT 2 - The third and last option is a simple PassMe (actually NoPass) feature. It allows you to boot slot 2 flash cards such as the M3 Adapter or Supercard series from inside the R4 interface. I'll cover this feature later on in the review, in the 'Additional Features' section of this review.

The GUI, in its entirety, works and is simple to use. But to be honest, even to a novice user it would all appear a little too basic, and there are too few features. There's not even an options menu to customise settings, where an option to disable the automatic boot of the R4 on power-up would be welcome.

As of firmware 1.05 (yet to be released in English), they've added the ability to be able to create your own skins for the R4. This is done by simply creating a replacement background BMPs and copying them to a certain folder on the micro SD card and it will override the default skin. By doing this, you're able to replace the main icons and wallpapers for the two screens.

It's a good start, but what you're not able to do yet, is change text colour, size or location. Hopefully they'll add more support in the future for more advanced skinning.