The M3 Lite is a flash card for the Nintendo DS Lite. This version of the M3 is built to sit flush without sticking out and uses microSD media cards for storage, which allows you to expand it's memory anytime. The M3 Lite comes with a built in Media Player that plays the following types of media:
DivX media file
MPEG-1 Audio Layer-2 file
MPEG-1 Audio Layer -3
MPEG-1 media file
MPEG-2 media file
MPEG-4 media file
QuickTime media file
VCD video file
Windows media file
Real media file
Wave form sound file of Microsoft
Target's file of DVD video
Dobly AC3 audio frequency file
The M3 Lite also allows you to have built in emulators for some of the legacy game systems such as, Gameboy Mono, Sega Master System, Sega Game Gear, Nintendo, and Turbografx16. When you recieve the M3 Lite it will come in a small blue box with writing on the front and back. Inside is a small plastic insert which consists of 3 shells in the colour of white, ice blue, and black. You will also recieve a MiniCD with M3 Lite software. The M3 Lite does not come with much but packs a good punch.
Build Quality
The M3 Lite team did not lose touch with quality when they made this product. The shells are made of high quality plastic and slides in the DS Lite with ease so it does not have the feeling of being crammed in. What's nice about the shells is that there is only one screw holding the M3 Lite in place. It is a very easy process to interchange the shells. If you have a different colour DS Lite, it only takes a matter of seconds to take the screw out and replace it in a new colour. Once you get the colour of shell you prefer, you will notice that the MicroSD slot is on the side of the M3 Lite not the bottom like many of the other flash cards. The MicroSD slot is also spring loaded so all you have to do is push to release the card. This can work both ways. Some people say it's a hassle to have the MicroSD on the side instead of the bottom, as you can not remove the card without taking the shell out of your DS Lite. Other's say it's better to have the MicroSD card on the side because it's not as easy to lose your card. I personally prefer it on the side.
Since the M3 Lite is the same size as the GBA slot cover, it looks great and unnoticeable when you insert it into your DS Lite.
Installation and Software
The M3 Lite installation is pretty straight forward. To be honest with you, I did not use the CD that came with the unit, I upgraded right away from the M3 Homepage. Using a multi-media converter you can convert audio and video into the proper format for the M3 Lite. You can then run it though the built in Moonshell program that the M3 Lite has. You can simply put MP3's and e-books directly on the M3 to run though the built in software. Game back ups can be patched though the M3 Lite software on your PC and then put onto your M3 card for use, also homebrew can be placed directly on your MircoSD card. If needed homebrew can be patched with selected patches from the maker of the homebrew if available. As mentioned above, Gameboy Mono, Sega Master System, Sega Game Gear, Nintendo, and Turbografix16 can all be played easily with drag and drop though the built in emulator. Remember before adding any software please check the M3 Lite Homepage for any new updates that may be out. I always used the option SD to start up the program. I feel that the other way is not all that trustworthy as it has been known to screw up your MicroSD card. After you have gotten into the program you must find your M3 Lite in the list of files. Once you have that all you have to do is select Write NDS or Write GBA, depending on what type of game you are putting on the M3 Lite. When you've selected the game in which you want the program will ask you what kind of Wiki you want to use. Most games are straight forward and all you need to us is,
Menu
The M3 Lite's menu is a bit on the plain side. When you first load up your M3 Lite it goes to the bottom screen of the DS Lite and reads M3 NDS Movie Player. Under the title it shows 8 menu icons in which you can choose from. They are, Movie, Music, Picture, Book, Game, PDA, Extend, and Setup. When on this screen you press Start the GBA mode will boot up. It will appear on the top screen of your DS Lite and reads GBA Movie Player. Under that title it shows 6 menu icons in which you can choose from. They are, Movie, Music, Picture, Game, Book, and Setup. This is where you can play GBA games. Any Homebrew applications or games that you choose to play will be found under the NDS selections. We will go back to the NDS screen and pick game. In the game menu is where you'll see a list of the games that you have put on your MicroSD Card. Two files must remain in this section in order to have your M3 Lite run. They are GAMESAVE and NDSSAVE. Do NOT remove these files. To select a game you must use your arrow keys because M3 Lite does not have the touch menu feature. Once you are on the game you would like to play, press A and it will load up. If you decide you don't want anything from this menu you may go back to the start by pressing B. The same process works for all 8 menu icons.
Game Compatibility
I've been using the M3 Lite for a while now and have been surprised at how well games run. Below is a list of the games I tried out on the M3 Lite, beside them I'll write the settings you need to use in order to place them on.
Diddy Kong Racing (U) Trim Rom, 1xDMA, Software Reset, Force R/W
Hotel Dusk Room 215 (U) Trim Rom, 4xDMA, Software Reset, Force R/W
Kirby Sweak Squad(U) Trim Rom, 4xDMA, Software Reset
Magical Starsign (E) Trim Rom, 4xDMA, Software Reset
Phoenix Wright 2 AceAttorney Justice(E) Trim Rom, 4xDMA, Software Reset
Point Blank DS(U) Trim Rom, 4xDMA, Software Reset
Touch Dectective(U) Trim Rom, 4xDMA, Software Reset
Trace Memory(U) Trim Rom, 4xDMA, Software Reset
Trauma Center Under the Knife (U) Trim Rom, 4xDMA, Software Reset
Lara Croft (E) Trim Rom, 4xDMA, Software Reset
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Blue Rescue Team (U) Trim Rom, 4xDMA, Software Reset
Mario Basket 3 on 3 (J) Trim Rom, 4xDMA
Simple DS Series Vol.8 - The Kanshikikan (J) Trim Rom, 4xDMA
Homebrew Compatibility
Homebrew has been a major source for flash cards. Since DLDI came out there is nothing that the M3 Lite has been unable to run. I tried out some Homebrew games and applications on the M3 Lite to see how well it would support homebrew. This is the result.
BeUp Live 0.3
Deal or no Deal
DSOrganize
Fish Tank
IRC DS
Phidias
A Touch of War
BearAttack
FPS Online
Znex
Atari Boxing
Boogle DS
Ice Runner
North N South
The M3 Lite team does a wonderful job with keeping up with updates and fixing bugs. I have never run across a problem that they have yet to fix. That's what makes the M3 Lite so perfect.
Pros
+Expendable memory +Comes with 3 shell colours +Built in emulators +Built in PDA +Plays NDS and GBA Roms flawlessly +With DLDI support every Homebrew tried worked +Small design fits perfectly into DS Lite +Great support from M3 team
Cons
-Higher price -Need to buy SD card reader -No touch icons -Games need to be patched with the M3 game manager before you can play them
Conclusion
The M3 Lite is a wonderful flash card all around. It plays Homebrew flawlessly and any game is easily patched if needed. The M3 Lite team keeps up on updates and is always on there toes with new games. The only thing I think would help the M3 Lite is a touch menu to add to it's presentation. The M3 Lite is an expensive flash card but you get what you pay for. The perfomance of the M3 Lite is outstanding when it comes to games and Homebrew. The software is easy to learn and install. After all the testing I did the card excells in all areas, not letting down any game player or homebrew enthusiast.
I got a pink and a navy blue Lite case with mine, too. And a GBA-sized white one. Which is pretty cool, since my DS is a phat.
GBA games work almost perfectly if you don´t run them through the patcher. (I read on the M3 forum that patching them often messes up things) Just copy the blank save file from the game manager´s folder to the Gamesave directory and rename it to match the .gba file. Sometimes they seem to act up a little for me, though. Messed up backgrounds and stuff, or even a few freezes, but it rarely happens. Still much better than carrying all my GBA games around with me.
So, it seems I got the right one, and man, it took forever to make the choice. Got my confirmation of shipment today. I just don´t get the EMU´s on this thing, it´s that easy? why are there people making software emu? make me some wifi goodies.
-the kindest hood.
Signature
The Mission: To download the whole internet. I should be done soon...... 8-)
I don´t think it does.. the internal media player isn´t that great (from when I messed with it) so I just used the built-in moonshell, which doesn´t support WMA (from what I know.. of course that may have changed though)
The emulators that come built in with the M3 patching software are generally older emulators.. they´re only there for ease of use
* DivX media file * MPEG-1 Audio Layer-2 file * MPEG-1 Audio Layer -3 * MPEG-1 media file * MPEG-2 media file * MPEG-4 media file * QuickTime media file * VCD video file * Windows media file * Real media file * Wave form sound file of Microsoft * Target´s file of DVD video * Dobly AC3 audio frequency file
* DivX media file * MPEG-1 Audio Layer-2 file * MPEG-1 Audio Layer -3 * MPEG-1 media file * MPEG-2 media file * MPEG-4 media file * QuickTime media file * VCD video file * Windows media file * Real media file * Wave form sound file of Microsoft * Target´s file of DVD video * Dobly AC3 audio frequency file
I cant seem to get most of those working on mine.
They don´t play as-is on M3, but they can be converted to play on M3 with their Crystal Engine software. M3 does mean MoviePlayer3 after all.
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Wed, March 14th, 2007 at 23:04
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