(For Use With Multiple NeoFlash Products) This Review Tested Both Products On the Neo N64 Myth Cart
Manufactured by:Team NeoFlash
Review samples supplied by: IC2005 SmartShop
By The Technologist - 17th December 2013
Review Contents & Index:
- Introduction
- Packaging and Contents
- Cart Design
- Setting Up & Using
- Installation - Hardware
- Installation – Neo2 N64 Menu
- Installation – Setting Up SD Card for N64 Menu
- Installation – Upgrading the Actel Logic CPLD Core (Update for SRAM compatibility to SD card)
- Transferring ROMs
- Usage - General
- Usage – Nintendo 64 Games & Homebrew
- Neo N64 Myth GUI (Menu)
- ROM Compatibility
- Homebrew Support
- Conclusion
- Official NEO2 Pro 1024M Flash Cart + SL4 features list
Months ago, Videogame Spotlight reviewed the first and only commercially available N64 flash cartridge. The main downfall of the cart was that it only used proprietary Neo Flash flash RAM cartridges which were originally intended for the Game Boy Advance system. For many, this was a major drawback because only one or two games could be stored at a time due to its limited space and this made it very tedious to change the ROM programming on the device.
Fortunately, with the help of its crew of homebrew developers, Team Neo Flash now has released the hardware and software allowing the end user a choice of using SD flash RAM cards in the Neo N64 Myth Cart. This is a major breakthrough for N64 hobbyists because now there is the option of loading many ROM images onto one cartridge with the ability to select which game to play through a simple menu system which is fully controlled by the N64's own joystick.
This review will prove whether or not this solution even works and will go through the steps of setting up the new hardware and software to go along with it. It will also detail whether or not Micro SD cards will work with an adapter because they are very common and popular these days among various types of modern handheld units from mobile phones to the Nintendo DS flash carts.
What is required is what Team Neo Flash calls its new NEO2 Pro 1024M Flash Cart + SL4 product, formatting the device for the appropriate system (in this case, the Nintendo 64), and transferring the menu to the NEO2 Pro Flash Cart as well as transferring ROM images to a formatted SD card.
This review will show how to install, configure, and operate the cart as well as go into detail about which ROM images work and how to configure the NEO2 Pro Flash Cart in the latest Windows based NeoFlash menu software.
NEO2 Pro 1024M Flash Cart + SL4 Features:
- Run GBA/NDS Clean ROM from SD/Mini-SD/TF Directly
- 100% GBA Hardware Save Function
- Built in 3 Sets of Separate RTC
- Built in 16 Bit DMA
- Built in 8Kb Inner High-Speed Buffer
- Built in 4M SRAM
- Built in 32M Flash Menu
- Built in 256M Zip RAM
- Built in 512M-1024M Flash Memory
- NEO2-PRO Supports NDS and NDS-Lite
- NEO2-PRO Supports MK 3/MD/32X/NES/SNES/N64 Games Through Neo Myth Flash Cart
- Menu upgradeable
- Comes With One Driver CD
The NEO2 Pro 1024M Flash Cart + SL4 package comes inside a nice re-sealable plastic clam shell (no scissors needed, but it was a bit more difficult to open without damaging the packaging this time) and includes the Neo2 Pro 1024M Flash Cart, USB Slim Loader IV, Software Installation Mini-CDROM, and a Cardboard Insert.
Inside are the following items:
Cart Design
Let's take a closer look at the NEO2 Pro Flash Cart itself.
Like the Neo N64 Myth Cart, the Neo2 Pro 1024M Flash Cart comes in a black housing. It is a full size GBA cartridge so it will stand up a bit out of the myth cart's GBA cartridge slot.
On the top side is a full size SD slot. The label claims that it is compatible with all 3 styles of SD card: SD, MMC (Mini SD), and TF (Micro SD).
The NEO2 Pro kit includes the USB Slim Loader IV. NeoFlash GBA products can be programmed with this device as an option instead of plugging in the Neo N64 Myth Cart to the USB through the NeoFlash menu software on the PC.
Setting Up & Using
Installation - Hardware
First, the 512M flash RAM cartridge is to be removed from the Neo N64 Myth Flash Cart. Then the NEO2 Pro 1024M Flash Cart is inserted. Finally, an SD card fits into the NEO2 Pro's SD slot. This can be an adapter for the smaller SD cards (Mini SD MMC or Micro SD TF).
The Neo N64 Myth Cart still requires an original N64 game cartridge inserted in the back.
After installing the appropriate software on the devices, insert the Neo N64 Myth Cart in the N64 system and it is ready to play. We will get to this configuration later in the review.
Installation – Neo2 Ultra Menu and USB Device Drivers
Since the drivers for the Neo N64 Myth Cart were already installed in the previous review, we will move on to installation of the appropriate drivers for the Neo2 Pro 1024M + SL4.
The included CD-ROM disc contains many things. There are folders containing html, url links, Neo Flash Competition Collection compressed in RARs, and most importantly for this device, the NEO2 Ultra Menu v2.95 Application Setup for MD and N64. For this review, I just downloaded the latest version from Neo Flash's web site and installed it. This is called The MD/N64/SNES/PC-E/SMS4 Myth flash cart Pro programmer V1.03 [August 31th 2010] located at http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index.php/topic,6341.0.html . This will be used in conjunction with the instructions from the readme file included with the new menu software to make things simple.
It is necessary to install the new Neo2 Pro Manager software and download and un-compress the latest N64 menu before plugging the Neo N64 Myth cartridge with the Neo2 Pro 1024M + SL4 cart inserted in to the PC. Note: do this without anything inserted into the SD card slot of the Neo2 Pro cart.
After these steps are taken, the following needs to be done:
Run the Neo2 Pro Manager software and select the N64 icon within the "Format" bar. Then click on the Format icon and select Fast Format under Menu Format, Fast Format under ROM Format, and N64 Myth under Menu Type. Then click on OK.
Now it is time to copy the new menu onto the Neo N64 Myth cart. Extract NEON64.v64 from the NEON64Menu zip file to a folder on the hard drive. Under NEO2 Properties in the Neo2 Pro Manager software, set the boot type to "TypeA-2: N64 U2", set the BIOS Path A-2 to the complete path of the un-compressed NEON64.v64 image(example: C:\Program Files\NEO2\Manager\ROMs\NEON64.v64), then click "Burn" in the upper left corner of the window. NEON64MF.v64 is to be placed under A-1 if not wanting to be forced to load the menu from SD card. However if the menu is placed on the SD card, it will still load if NEON64MF.v64 is on the NEO2 Pro cart's internal flash RAM.
If all goes well, the Neo N64 Myth and the Neo2 Pro carts have been configured and that is all you will need the Neo2 Pro Manager software for. It is only necessary to keep it installed if any updates come out for the N64 menu. The software is not used for transferring ROMs to the SD card. This will be covered in the following sections.
Installation – Setting Up SD Card for N64 Menu
Find out which drive your SD card is in Windows explorer by holding the window button on the keyboard and E and releasing.
Open a command prompt by holding down the window button on the keyboard and pressing R or alternatively clicking on start and then clicking on Run in Windows XP or clicking on the start button and then typing in cmd and pressing enter in Windows Vista and Windows 7. Type in the drive letter that corresponds to the SD card and then a colon afterwards and press enter. For example, if the SD card is drive letter E, type in "E:" and then press enter (without the quotes).
Next, type in the command "md .menu" then press enter to make a folder called ".menu" if successful. This is the folder the Neo N64 Myth cart's internal menu software needs to detect on the SD card for the N64 menu software for listing games stored on the SD card. Copying the file here is only necessary if it was not flashed onto the Neo2 Pro 1024M + SL2 flash cart.
Open Windows explorer again if it was closed earlier or bring that window up and open the ".menu" folder. Create a subfolder inside called "n64", again without quotes. Within the n64 folder, create two folders. One called "images" and one called "save".
If the menu is to be run from the SD card, extract NEON64SD.v64 to the n64 subfolder on the SD card (it goes in
It is important to note that you will not need any Neo Team software to transfer ROMs to the Neo N64 Myth cart any longer. Everything will be drag and drop directly to the SD card.
Transferring ROMs
As with any other flash cartridge, the ROMs must first be un-compressed to run. The ROM images can be in either .V64 or .Z64 format and can simply be dragged and dropped to the SD card. This makes programming a breeze because the amount of time you wait depends on the speed class of the SD card you are using.
A typical class 4 SD card should transfer ROMs at a speed of 4 megabytes per second. In the previous review, the 512M (64 megabyte) flash cart would take several minutes to program one ROM.
After following the steps from the previous section of this review, all which is necessary is to simply drag and drop ROMs onto the SD card. The new Neo N64 Myth Cart software will allow changing directories on the card, so subfolders can be used to contain ROM images.
Installation – Upgrading the Actel Logic CPLD Core (Update for SRAM compatibility to SD card)
This section may be skipped if you have recently purchased the Neo Flash N64 Myth Cart and know that it has the most recent core already installed.
Otherwise, use this section to update to the most recent firmware or to just update from a firmware prior to version 3 for the best SD card compatibility.
To upgrade to the latest CPLD logic core version, the following items will be needed:
1) Team NeoFlash "Nero Dual Programmer" kit. From this kit you will be using the blue USB Nero Dual Programmer and the long 8 pin FPC cable. This kit can be purchased at IC2005 Smart Shop from the following URL: http://www.ic2005.com/shop/product.php?productid=98&cat=12&page=1
These are photos of what is included in the kit:
2) Team NeoFlash CPLD logic core update file. The latest version can be found on the NeoFlash forum in one of the first posts (called "sticky posts"). This review is going to be using version 3 located at the following URL: http://www.neoflash.com/myth/NEO_N64_Myth_Cart_Upgrade_Core_V3.rar
3) One (1) Philips head screwdriver.
4) One (1) PC with one free USB 2.0 port running Windows XP, Windows Vista 32bit/x64, or Windows 7 32bit/x64. For this testing, I was able to successfully update within Windows 7 Ultimate x64 .
5) One (1) NeoFlash N64 Myth Cart to be upgraded.
Upgrading the cart is a very simple procedure which will be detailed below. You will not need the small red F/J board or the 17 pin FPC cable for the Neo N64 Myth Cart update so set those aside or put them away in a safe place.
1) Using the philips head screwdriver, locate and remove the four (4) screws from the back side of the Neo N64 Myth Cart.
2) Separate the cases, leaving the bottom (screw head side) of the case underneath the large red Neo N64 Myth Cart printed circuit board. This is to help prevent damage to the board while upgrading the logic core.
3) Plug in one end of the supplied 8 pin FPC cable, metal connector side toward the face of the red circuit board of the Neo N64 Myth Cart
4) Plug the other end of the 8 pin FPC cable face side toward the blue plastic shell of the USB Nero Dual Programmer. If one side of the cable is plugged in upside down and it is powered on, don't worry it won't damage anything. Just simply remove and reinsert the cable the proper way.
The Neo N64 Myth Cart assembled to the Nero Dual Programmer should look like this:
Use this photo for reference in case there is any confusion as to what end of the cable corresponds to which location in each of the two devices:
4) Plug the Nero Dual Programmer into the PC's USB port and allow it plenty of time to automatically install the Windows hardware driver. The driver is included with the Windows operating system and will automatically install without user intervention.
5) Extract the downloaded CPLD logic core update installation software to any folder on the PC.
File listing of the downloaded update RAR archive:
These files extracted to a folder on the computer's hard drive example:
6) Run the extracted executable file which was included in the downloaded CPLD logic core update installation archive.
7) Right click on the flaming disc "Start" icon with the left mouse button. This will begin updating the CPLD core within the Actel logic chip on the Neo N64 Myth flash cart's printed circuit board.
Progress of the update software beginning:
7) This process should only take about half a minute or so. Once it is complete, the status bar will be completely green.
8) After the status bar shows as fully green, it is now safe to unplug the Nero Dual Programmer from the PC.
Updated/flashed and ready to be disconnected from the PC:
9) Unplug the 7 pin FPC cable from the Neo N64 Myth Cart. This cable will not fit inside the case with it screwed together, so it should be put away with the rest of the Nero Dual Programmer hardware.
10) Reassemble the two case halves of the Neo N64 Myth Cart.
11) Install all 4 screws back into the Neo N64 Myth Cart.
12) You are now done with the update procedure.
With the updated logic core, the Neo N64 Myth Cart properties will now display the new version in the GUI when booted up on the Nintendo 64 deck.
Before updating:
After updating:
Save files will appear on the SD card in "\.menu\N64\save"
Usage - General
Upon booting up the Neo N64 Myth with the new Neo2 Pro SD cart inserted and the menu software on the SD card, "Loading NEON64SD.v64" is displayed while loading the menu software from the SD card followed by a splash screen and then it drops the user to the menu system. The list of ROMs and subdirectories are listed on the screen along with the title and version of the menu on top, ROM information, and instructions on the bottom of the screen.
The menu system is completely operated by the joy pad controller. Navigating through the list is done in combination of the D-pad and using the B button to enter a subfolder or "[..]" to go back one folder. Clearly displayed are all the functions of the joy pad: A to run the game (N64 reset button restarts the console back to the Neo N64 Myth Menu), B to run the game (N64 reset button resets the game just like it would with an original cartridge), D-pad to navigate the menu, C-pad to change options of the selected ROM, Z to show ROM information, and Start for flash browser.
Usage - Nintendo 64 Games & Homebrew
All ROMs function fine just as in the previous review of the Neo N64 Myth cart by itself with the previous 512M flash RAM cart. One notable difference is there now is a load time after selecting a ROM to run. Once started, the ROM loads itself into the internal flash memory of the Neo2 Pro 1024M + SL4 cart and then the N64 runs the ROM immediately after it is fully loaded. A status bar displays during the loading process. It takes 25 seconds per 64 megabits of data to load. This means it will take 1 minute and 20 seconds for the largest ROMs (256Mbit) to load into Zip RAM and shorter periods of time for smaller games.
Nothing has changed for region protection and CIC protection. Every game runs the same as it did in the main review of the Neo N64 Myth cart. One thing to note about the Neo N64 Myth menu is it is very CIC 6102 friendly. This means that if a clean dump of a ROM fails to run properly, CIC 6102 settings should be checked before launching the ROM. I found this helpful when troubleshooting game freezes in the full version of Excitebike 64.
Homebrew ROMs function normally as well except this time, multiple homebrew can be stored on the SD card rather than being limited to one ROM with the original 512M GBA cart from the previous review. They also require no padding.
ROM Compatibility
The ROM only and ROM with SRAM games I tested work flawlessly and are:
- Aero Fighters Assault (NTSC/U) PASS
- Beetle Adventure Racing (PAL) PASS automatically detected 60hz with no cropping
- Chopper Attack (NTSC/U)PASS
- Clay Fighter - Sculpter's Cut (NTSC/U)PASS
- Command & Conquer (NTSC/U)PASS
- Cruisin' USA (PAL) cropped PASS
- Destruction Derby 64 (NTSC/U)PASS
- Donkey Kong 64 (NTSC/U)PASS
- Disney's Donald Duck - Goin' Quackers (NTSC/U)PASS
- Diddy Kong Racing (NTSC/U)PASS
- Doom 64 (NTSC/U)PASS
- Dr. Mario 64 (NTSC/U)PASS
- Dual Heroes (NTSC/U)PASS
- Duck Dodgers Starring Daffy Duck (NTSC/U)PASS
- Duke Nukem 64 (NTSC/U)PASS
- Duke Nukem Zero Hour (NTSC/U)PASS
- Excitebike 64 (NTSC/U)PASS manually set the ROM CIC type to 6102 in the menu before launching the game
- Excitebike 64 (NTSC/J)PASS
- Excitebike 64 Kiosk Demo (NTSC/U)PASS
- Extreme-G (NTSC/U)PASS
- Extreme-G XG2 (NTSC/U)PASS
- F-ZERO X (NTSC/U)PASS
- Fighting Force 64 (NTSC/U)PASS
- Forsaken 64 (NTSC/U)PASS
- Gauntlet Legends (NTSC/U)PASS
- Gex 3 - Deep Cover Gecko (NTSC/U)PASS
- GoldenEye 007 (NTSC/U)PASS
- Hexen (NTSC/U)PASS
- Hexen (PAL) cropped PASS
- Killer Instinct Gold (V1.2) (NTSC/U)PASS
- Lego Racers (NTSC/U)PASS
- Magical Tetris Challenge (NTSC/U) PASS
- Mario Golf (NTSC/U)PASS
- Mario Kart 64 (NTSC/U)PASS
- Mario Kart 64 +3 Trainer (NTSC/U)PASS trainer does not function properly but is selectable. causes in game glitches in the item selection box. items won't work.
- Mega Man 64 (NTSC/U) PASS Flash RAM save type works fine
- Namco Museum 64 (NTSC/U)PASS
- Neon Genesis Evangeleon (NTSC/J) PASS IPS cracked game runs fine, but clean ROM will black screen
- Paper Mario (512Mbit NTSC/U) PASS Requires being flashed to the 1024M internal Flash RAM. Can not run from the SD card.
- Paperboy (NTSC/U)PASS
- Penny Racers (NTSC/U)PASS
- Perfect Dark (NTSC/U) PASS
- Pilotwings 64 (NTSC/U)PASS
- Pokemon Stadium 2 (512Mbit NTSC/U) PASS Requires being flashed to the 1024M internal Flash RAM. Can not run from the SD card.
- Quake 64 (NTSC/U)PASS
- Quake II (NTSC/U)PASS
- Rakuga Kids (NTSC/J) PASS
- Rakuga Kids (PAL) PASS PAL was cropped, but PAL to 60hz converted got rid of cropping
- Re-Volt (NTSC/U)PASS
- Re-Volt (PAL) PASS Used PALadin to country fix it so it will run. It was causing a black screen unpatched.
- Ridge Racer 64 (NTSC/U)PASS
- Road Rash 64 (NTSC/U)PASS
- Robotron 64 (NTSC/U) PASS
- Rogue Squadron (6103 CIC NTSC/U) PASS
- Rush 2 - Extreme Racing USA (NTSC/U)PASS
- S.C.A.R.S. (NTSC/U)PASS
- Stunt Racer 64 (NTSC/U)PASS
- StarCraft 64 (NTSC/U)PASS
- Star Fox 64 (NTSC/U)PASS
- Space Invaders (NTSC/U)PASS
- Super Smash Bros (NTSC/U) PASS
- Superman (NTSC/U)PASS
- San Francisco Rush 2049 (NTSC/U)PASS
- San Francisco Rush - Extreme Racing (NTSC/U)PASS
- Star Wars Shadow of the Empire (NTSC/U) PASS
- Star Wars Shadow of the Empire (NTSC/J) PASS
- Super Mario 64 (NTSC/U)PASS
- Vigilante 8 (NTSC/U)PASS
- Vigilante 8 - 2nd Offense (NTSC/U)PASS
- V-Rally Edition 99 (NTSC/U)PASS
- Wave Race 64 (V1.1) (NTSC/U)PASS
- Wave Race 64 - Shindou Edition (NTSC/U)PASS this ROM has rumble pak support
- Worms - Armageddon (NTSC/U)PASS
- Wipeout 64 (NTSC/U)PASS
- Wetrix (NTSC/U)PASS
- War Gods (NTSC/U)PASS
- Yoshi's Story (NTSC/U)PASS
ROMs that had some issues:
No ROMs had major issues, but it should be noted that images greater than 256M in size will still need to be flashed to internal Flash RAM memory on either the 512M cart that came with the Neo N64 Myth or the NEO2 Pro 1024M +SL2 cart.
One ROM, Excite Bike 64 NTSC/U, needed its CIC type changed to 6102 in the menu for it to run properly. Otherwise it would freeze before beginning a race. The NTSC/J and Kiosk Demo versions of this ROM did not need the CIC type changed in order to play.
Also, the older Neo N64 Myth cart's internal CPLD logic core software needs to be updated for all save types to be supported with the NEO2 Pro SD menu.
Updating the core requires a separate kit, the Nero Dual Programmer (often abbreviated as NDP kit) to be purchased from Team Neo. The current devices shipping will already have the updated firmware pre-installed. This device is located at IC2005 Smart Shop URL http://www.ic2005.com/shop/product.php?productid=98&cat=0&page=1 . Currently the latest firmware is version 3.0 and can be downloaded here: http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index.php/topic,6202.0.html .
Neo N64 Myth GUI (Menu)
When you turn on the N64, a loading screen followed by a splash screen is displayed and then the menu system.
This is menu version 1.91 which was the latest menu I tested during this review.
The older menu has different default GUI background images. In both of these menus, these are fully customizable by copying images into the themes folder of the SD card. The later menus can be modified to look like this one and can be customized to the preferences of the end user using the appropriate size jpeg images.
When a ROM is selected, the header information is displayed.
The Z button displays options for running the ROM. This is where the CIC type can be changed if having compatibility problems. The current menu system is designed to be very CIC 6102 friendly (this is equivalent to CIC 7101 in Europe).
Pressing A or B loads and runs the game from Zip RAM memory. Button A will load the game with the N64 console's Reset button being used to reset back to the Neo N64 Myth menu and button B will load the game with the console's Reset button used to reset the game back to its title.
While a subfolder is selected, pressing A will enter that folder and display its contents.
The previous menu theme (here, version 1.7) was nicely done and this shows an example of how different themes may be used for any of the menu revisions.
This is Destruction Derby 64 running from SD card loaded into the cart's internal Zip RAM memory. It plays the same as an original cart.
Super Mario Kart with a +3 trainer works, but the trainer options did not function properly. The game still ran fine though and the options could be turned on or off in the beginning of the program.
Homebrew Support
Homebrew ROMs still function properly. The SD card made testing these a much better experience because each ROM could be loaded consecutively from SD card simply by pressing reset and loading the next ROM.
- 1964 Demo by Steb color=#008000]PASS[/color]
- Action Replay Pro 64 V3.0 (fixed) PASS just shows the title screen at 50hz and stops there
- Fogworld USA Demo by Horizon64 PASS
- Light Force First N64 Demo by Fractal PASS
- N64DD IPLROM (NTSC/J) FAIL fails to load and freezes N64 Myth GUI
- NEO Myth N64 Menu Demo V0.1 PASS this ROM was just an old demo of N64 code showing a menu
- Nintendo On My Mind Demo by Kid Stardust PASS
- Pamela Demo PASS
- Pong by Oman (NTSC/U)PASS
- The Corporation XMAS Demo '99 by TS_Garp PASS
- TopGun Demo by Horizon64 PASS
- TRON Demo PASS
- U64 (Chrome) Demo by Horizon64 PASS
- Wet Dreams Madieragames Demo by Immortal (POM'99) PASS
- Wet Dreams Main Demo by Immortal (POM '99) PASS
Here are screen shots of some of the homebrew ROMs.
Conclusion
With the addition of the Neo2 Pro 1024M + SL4 cart to the N64 Myth Cart, this solution has become an N64 enthusiast's dream come true. This is overall the perfect solution for anyone who wants to make full use of their N64 ROM set. Every game runs without an issue and as many games as will fit on the SD card can be stored rather than being limited to a proprietary flash RAM cart as before.
This is the first and only N64 backup solution that allows the user to navigate the menu system using the stock joy pad. Previous N64 backup units required pressing of buttons on a top panel control of the device itself in order to use its functions and load ROMs.
The SD card allows the use of ROMs to be run on the Neo N64 Myth is very fast and efficient. Games can be stored in subfolders or directly in the root of the SD card. Data is transferred very quickly due to SD high speed and USB 2.0 card readers.
The Neo2 Pro 1024M + SL4 completes the Neo N64 Myth cart set and is a highly recommended add-on.
Additional to this review, I added the Nero Dual Programmer because the NEO N64 Myth Cart sample came with version 1 of the CPLD logic core installed. Version 3 was necessary to complete this review with testing of saves to the SD card. The Nero Dual Programmer turned out to be very simple device to use for updating the Actel logic core of the NEO N64 Myth cart. Keep in mind that it may not be necessary to purchase one of these because all NEO N64 Myth Carts should come with version 3 or above installed now. You should be able to verify this with your flash cartridge supplier before ordering.
I would like to thank Team NeoFlash and IC2005 for providing the sample for the review and finally coming through with an excellent product as everyone had hoped for.
Pros
+ Neo N64 Myth Cart now can store a maximum of 262,144Mbit of ROM images using a 32MByte SD HC card
+ Matches the Neo N64 Myth Cart
+ Multi CIC chip compatible
+ 256Mbit of Zip RAM for fast programming of most ROMs from the SD card
+ 1024Mbit of Flash RAM onboard for loading ROM images larger than 256Mbit to play
+ Supports all games of the region corresponding to the console
+ Stores cartridge based saves directly on the SD card (Default set to EXT CARD in NeoFlash cartridge menu)
+ Supports homebrew ROMs
+ Games load quickly
+ Drag and drop support directly to SD card
+ No more need to program ROMs onto a proprietary GBA cart
+ Supports multiple ROMs up to the capacity of the SD card
+ Supports sub folders
+ ROMs are stored indefinitely until files are deleted or the SD card is formatted
+ Continued menu, firmware, GUI, and hardware development support
+ High quality printed circuit board and onboard components
+ Does not require any Team Neo hardware or software to flash games
+ Clearly displayed N64 console user interface
+ N64 menu is navigated with the gamepad, a first for any N64 backup device
+ Uses SD which is a very prevalent and modern storage media
+ MicroSD to SD adapter works with no issue
+ Reset button can be used to either reset the game or to go back to the N64 menu
+ CPLD Logic Core is simple to update using the separate Nero Dual Programmer kit
Cons
- 256Mbit of Zip RAM forces the user to store larger ROMs onto the internal Flash RAM
- No built in cheat code program (Action Replay is being worked on)
- No real time save
- No built in region fix (Just use the appropriate region ROM or region fixed ROM)
- There is a short delay when loading a game from SD card
- Older Neo N64 Myth carts will need a firmware update for game save types to be compatible with the SD card
- CPLD Logic Core Programmer not included with the NEO N64 Myth Cart and adds additonal cost if it is needed
- NEO2 Pro 1024M Flash Cart + SL4 also adds quite a bit of extra cost to the backup device and is a separate purchase
- Not necessarily for the novice user
External Links:
-Official Team Neoflash Website
-Official NeoFlash Worldwide Distributor
Where to buy?:
-IC2005 SmartShop
This review was written for Flash Cart Review Central ONLY. The article and all included photos are property of Flash Cart Review Central
If you see this review on any other site please let me know via reply to this blog post.
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