REVIEW: M3 DS Simply, Slot 1 Loading goodness for DS/Lite from M3 Perfect!

Product: M3 DS Simply
Reviewer: Marco Vissi
Format: DS & DS Lite
Buy M3 DS Simply Now: Divineo.cn / Divineo.com / Germany / France / UK / Spain or Italy

Introduction

Ever since the first ever slot 1 loading DS cart was released known as the DS-Xtreme, it was inevitable that all manufacturers would be moving further towards this method. The M3 perfect time took a bit of time to produce their debut slot 1 loading DS cart known as the ‘M3 DS Simply’ but boy it sure is here! The M3 perfect team have churned out previous successful products under the M3 brand including the M3 Lite which were all previously slot 2 mods.



As you’d expect from a slot 1 card, the M3 DS simply boasts clean image loading, a touch screen OS, built-in passme and of course the reliance on Micro SD as a storage medium which will please all you memory hungry monsters out there! We’ve taken this more than highly anticipated product for a good test drive, find out if it is nothing more than a ‘Simple Simon’ or Simply Great inside.

Contents

The M3 DS simply arrives in a brightly coloured looking blister pack. The complete contents of the M3 DS simply are as follows –



1x M3 DS Simply cartridge with black shell
1x M3 DS Simply replacement shell in white
1x Silicon lined keychain carry case for M3 Simply
1x Software CD including drivers and tools
1x Micro SD card reader for PC file transfer

The build of the M3 is very strong and smooth. It comes as standard in a black shell, but there is a replacement white casing included should you wish to change the look of the device.



The inclusion of a memory card reader and a carry case is a nice touch, providing ‘a complete package’, but of course you must provide your own Micro SD card.

Setting it up

The M3 DS simply includes a CD which you must use in order to set-up the device for usage. On-board the CD is a product manual, save transformer (for previous flash carts such as G6, a ROM trimmer, Moonshell v1.5 and DPG tools (media player) and the firmware. You will have to drag over the v1.00 system software to your Micro SD card in order for your M3 DS Simply to function, it’s not a big or difficult task but strictly speaking it’s not pure plug and play.



Once this is done, you will notice the savvy M3 DS simply screen pop up with the menu’s games, media and boot from SLOT 2 being present. The M3 menus do support the touch function, so if you’re too lazy to push the button you can jut hit the screen to navigate.



Games

The M3 DS Simply boots clean NDS files. To get images and homebrew files onto the M3 DS simply, all you have to do is drag over your files from a PC to the Micro SD card. We tested out a few game image files based on the original DS games we have at our disposal and here’s the result –

• Golden Eye Rogue Agent – Boots Flawlessly
• New Super Mario Bros – Boots Flawlessly
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour – Boots Flawlessly
• Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Chaos theory – Boots Flawlessly

As you can see it booted everything fine, just transfer over a clean game dump to the Micro SD card and the M3 will simply boot it.



It is also worth mentioning that the M3 perfect team do have a pretty solid reputation when it comes to compatibility firmware updates if needed.

The games menu also has the ability to boot CLEAN homebrew. We put on there the following homebrew software –

* Mahjong DS – Boots Flawlessly
* Xrick DS – Boots Flawlessly
* Metro Paris Maps – Boots Flawlessly

Once again, you get the idea, it boots clean images and homebrew so long as they are clean *.nds formats. The tests we conducted were far from extensive, but they highlight the slot 1 loading mechanism of the M3 Simply works very well, with M3 promising to release the IO lib for developers which will ultimately guarantee optimal homebrew compatibility.

Multimedia

The second option on the M3 DS Simply is that of multimedia. Select it and you will be presented with Moonshell v1.5, a homebrew media player by a very talented developer. We were somewhat disappointed that the M3 DS Simply did not contain its own media player device and instead opted for the quick fire route of Moonshell, but that said Moonshell still holds its own very well. From this piece of software you can play a lot of media files including movies and audio files. We fired on one MP3 to set it out and of course it ran fine.



To run movies, you must first use the PC based software DPG tools to convert your file into a format Moonshell plays back on the DS. We converted the music video of the Dragon Ball Z theme and as per expected it rolled back fine on the DS Lite from the M3 Simply.

Boot From Slot 2

This last option enables you to boot from Slot 2, for GBA compatibility. The M3 DS simply does not support GBA formats, but it can be used as a passme to boot slot 2 flash carts. This enables you to get the best of both worlds efficiently.

Conclusion

The M3 DS simply does exactly what it says on the box. It boots clean NDS game files and homebrew via a simple drag and drop method from a computer. Of course media files boot via the use of the homebrew media player Moonshell. As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it, but in this case we’d hope to see M3 break that rule and develop their own media player to make the unit feel more complete overall. It may not come with any fancy extras at the moment such as dancing LED’s or graphically advanced menus, but it certainly does what it should do perfectly fine. Many of you who have been kicking and screaming for a well-built slot 1 device with Micro SD support will simply fall in love with this product from the M3 perfect team.

Positives

+ Boots clean game image and homebrew files
+ Great value all-round, includes extra shell, carry case and card reader too
+ Supports the use of Micro SD cards for huge storage capability
+ Well built and strong unit, same size as an original DS cart with no sticking out
+ Includes a touch screen operating system
+ Boots MP3’s and video files via the use of Moonshell
+ Easy to use, drag and drop files from PC to Micro SD and insert into M3 Simply
+ Ability to boot slot 2 flash carts for GBA support, with the DS simply acting as a passme in slot 1

Negatives

- Relies on the use of Moonshell for media functionality
- No fancy extras such as Dancing LED’s or Quickboot
- The game selection menu looks slightly retro

Buy M3 DS Simply Now: Divineo.cn / Divineo.com / Germany / France / UK / Spain or Italy

I can't wait. Mine should arrive any day now. I just picked up 2 2GB micro-sd cards so now I'll have 4GB of NDS storage with my M3 Simply and my M3 Lite!

Is it possible to use a mac and drag files onto the microsd card?

sounds sweet..however, one thing i wish was included...does it support download play for the main games: such as:

new super mario bros
mario kart
super mario 64

apparently...none of these game's download play works on the R4...hopefully someone can test it, and update the review...or just put a reply..would be really appreciated.

if download play works on those games, then M3 is 100% better for sure.

Sorry, but I'm disappointed completely. This is identical to the R4, and in answer to the above posters question, it probably has identical (good) compatibility as the R4. I don't see why they are having a slice of pie producing the exact same thing, with all the exact same extras, and nearly identical OS shell.

I'm hoping for some more information on the 'M3 real,' which I expect they wont have sold under another name as well, and include a few other features.

Another game I would have liked to have seen tried is the newest Castlevania game. Does anyone know if that clean image boots and if there are any lockups?

Here are my mandatory questions regarding the unit:

1) Do Multicart with Originals work?

2) Singlecart Multiplayer?

3) How about the following games regarding compatibility:

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Tonyhawk Downhill Jam
Ultimate Spiderman

Thanks!

Originally Posted by FeistyGirl

Here are my mandatory questions regarding the unit:

1) Do Multicart with Originals work?

2) Singlecart Multiplayer?

3) How about the following games regarding compatibility:

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Tonyhawk Downhill Jam
Ultimate Spiderman

Thanks!

haha, u asked all the right questions. i dont understand why someone would make a review without those things answered.


either way, the review was arite, however, it didnt tell me anything i didnt already know about the card.

Originally Posted by badocboy

Is it possible to use a mac and drag files onto the microsd card?

Yes, you can use any OS that supports the USB Mass Storage compliant spec, which includes Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.

One advantage that this has over the DS-X is it doesn't require windows to update the device firmware, whereas the DS-X needs the user to run a Win32 application.

Some interesting trivia: The M3 Simply and the R4DS are exactly the same device with slightly modified firmware. Some people have successfully used the M3 Simply firmware on the R4DS and vice versa without too much trouble.

Have fun!

Woo Hoo!

I was thinking of getting a ds-x and using it with my mac, but 125 dollars seemed really steep. Besides, I think I have a microsd laying around here somewhere.

it is identical in every way to the R4, they must be made in the same factory, so, on that logic castlevania will work, it works on my R4

are there any skin downloads available for the M3 yet, i want to try them on my R4.

It may also be worth noting the official R4 website has a rom trimmer and sav file converter, which will probably work on this too.

Originally Posted by FeistyGirl

Here are my mandatory questions regarding the unit:

1) Do Multicart with Originals work?

2) Singlecart Multiplayer?

3) How about the following games regarding compatibility:

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Tonyhawk Downhill Jam
Ultimate Spiderman

Thanks!

If R4 and M3 simply are the same, then yes, multicart with originals work, only some games work via download play, and the compatability should be 100% for all roms, including the ones you listed.

M3 DS Simply vs R4 guts

This review doesnt tell you anything that wasnt expected, what about the troublesome games and Download play? these are the two important features that people want to know about and they are both missing from your review.

Anyhow download play working or not, who is going to buy the Rip Off DS-X, now the R4, SCDS (one) and M3 DS Simply are here for half the price...

Originally Posted by Tanas9

Anyhow download play working or not, who is going to buy the Rip Off DS-X, now the R4, SCDS (one) and M3 DS Simply are here for half the price...

Don't forget the best one, aka EZflash V