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"The M3 Lite has the full ability of running Moonshell, which plays higher quality DPG videos, MP3s, and many other formats. The G6... has a much lower support for homebrew."
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These days, most people know at least a little bit about the Nintendo DS homebrew scene. Lately, people are coming up with all kinds of new applications which can run on your DS: media players, instant message clients, and fun little games are popping up everywhere. If you have ever thought about entering this glorious and innovative world of homebrew, you will have found that there a good number of devices from which you can choose from. When the concept first started out, the devices were large, and used Compact Flash cards. Now, companies have mastered the art of using internal flash space, and even the tiny MicroSD cards. Using these more compact forms of storage, they were able to cut down the size indefinitely; even down to the size of the DS Lite filler cart. In the following review, I will be taking a look at the M3 Lite, and the G6 Lite, which accomplished just that.
Physically, the M3 Lite, and the G6 Lite are nearly the same thing. They are both about the same size and shape; they both come in the same colors; and they both fit right into the GBA slot of your DS Lite. (Without protruding at all I might add) Though, there is one major difference. The M3 Lite has a small slot providing the ability to insert expandable media; MicroSD cards. (This is a good time to note that those things are damn tiny) On the other hand, the G6 Lite has built in memory which is not expandable. This means that it has 512MB (4Gb) of flash memory, and that is what you get. Though 512MB is a good amount of space, it sure doesn’t beat the ability to buy a 2GB MicroSD card.
The M3 Lite comes with the actual device, a software SD, and the three shells (Black, White, and Baby Blue). These shells are plastic casing which are different colors; you can use a screw driver, and quickly swap the M3 chip into a new color (generally to match the color of your DS, but doesn’t have to). Mine arrived in the black casing, which matches almost perfectly with my black DS Lite. It happens that the material used on the M3, is not the same shiny material that the DS Lite uses; in turn the M3 is a slight bit duller, but it really doesn’t stick out. The software CD comes with the media converters, outdated firmware, and outdated loading software. All this comes in a nice little blue box.
The G6 Lite arrives a little bit more packed. It comes in an even smaller box and contains a nice metal tin to store everything in. It comes with a similar software CD, the three shells (same colors as the M3), and a USB disk reader/writer. (Called a U-Disk Reader) The replacement shells work the same way, and as with the M3, mine came in the black shell. The CD also comes with similar outdated stuff. The difference here is the U-Disk reader: you plug this into any USB slot on your computer, then you can pop in the G6 and your computer will see it as a portable media storage device. Pretty nifty indeed.
Being that the M3 Lite and the G6 Lite are made by the same company, they are very alike. They can both run the same sort of proprietary videos and music, and BMP pictures. However, the M3 Lite has the full ability of running Moonshell, which plays higher quality DPG videos, MP3s, and many other formats. The G6, unfortunately, has a much lower support for homebrew. In turn, this happens to mean that Moonshell won’t run natively; though some clever people have patched an older version to work perfectly. On the G6, most things I tried worked just fine, though various homebrew applications just refused to run on the G6; while I’ve never found anything to not work on the M3.
Both devices come with software which lets you patch full NDS and GBA games. You can download the games (called ROMs), run them through the software, and then play them perfectly on your Nintendo DS. This includes saves, pausing, sleep function, and even the GBA connectivity some games use. Both the G6 and the M3 have very similar software, and they both work the same way. Though, in general I found the M3 to work a little better in this area. At this point, let me also note that I do not support game piracy, and I only tested out games which I already own. The ability to run all of your games off of one cartridge is very convenient, and saves the need to constantly switch out cartridges.
As with anything on this planet we call Earth, both the devices have their problems. The M3 Lite suffers from a level of rather severe inconvenience. When you want to load something onto the MicroSD card, you’ve got to first take the M3 Lite out of the DS, take out the MicroSD, stick the MicroSD in its adapter, and then plug that into an SD card reader. All opposed to this, the G6 comes out of the DS, and plugs right into the computer; although, the G6 suffers from a clunky menu. When you first turn on the G6, you will get a menu displaying all the DS games you’ve got loaded onto the card. That is nice, except for the times you don’t want to play a Nintendo DS game. Other applications are all rather hidden away in various menus, and you will quickly get used to it; though it is way less convenient than the M3 menu. So in general, the M3 is not as physically fit, but the G6 suffers from internal problems.
Both the G6 and M3 Lite played every NDS ROM I threw their way. Both the G6 and the M3 played every GBA ROM I threw their way. All in all, they are very similar devices, in completely different packages. If you want a simple flash card that lets you easily play your Nintendo DS ROMs, then the G6 Lite is the card for you. If you want more advanced features, expandable memory, better homebrew support, and a more intuitive menu, then the M3 Lite is right for you. Though, overall, both devices gain my praise, given the choice, I would choose the M3 Lite.
M3 Lite:
Pros:
- Small, doesn’t protrude the GBA slot
- Expandable memory; able to buy up to 2GB MicroSD cards
- Very nice ROM loading software which works perfect when used correctly
- Near perfect NDS and GBA ROM support
- Near perfect homebrew support
- Very easy-to-use menu system
Cons:
- More expensive than the G6
- Less convenient when it comes to loading files onto the card
- Doesn’t come with a cool tin case
G6 Lite:
Pros:
- Small, doesn’t protrude the GBA slot
- Very nice ROM loading software which works perfect when used correctly
- Near perfect NDS and GBA ROM support
- Less expensive than the competing M3
- Very convenient method of loading file onto device through the U-Disk Reader
Cons:
- No expandable memory
- Less intuitive menu system
- Less support for homebrew applications
Justin Marimone(GCTonyHawk7)
GCTHawk7@gmail.com
Comparisons:
G6 Lite:
The M3 Lite:
Moonshell:
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