What's the best flashcart for an NES or FC?

[nerdynebraskan]

I've been thinking about adding a flashcart to my collection, for either my NES or my Famicom. I'd probably be using it almost entirely for playing language-patched Famicom games and hack sequels. Maybe some FDS stuff, too.

So, which one is the best? I've heard the most about the NES PowerPak and the FC Everdrive, but I don't know much about how they compare technically. Are there any others I should be considering?

[L___E___T]

I would say the Everdrive is the better cart - but a lot of NES gamers seem to prefer the Powerpak.

Powerpak can play NSFs as well.

[P]

I only have the Everdrive but I think it's the better one. Especially if you consider the cost. If you look at the mapper compatibility http://krikzz.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=59 they seem to be quite equal. Everdrive supports some that Powerpak doesn't and vice versa. But I can't say for sure since I don't know where you can see the latest Powerpak compatibility. The one on the retrozone is outdated because there's supposedly a bunch of unofficial mapper updates for it.

For FDS it isn't very good. I assume Powerpak is the same though. First it just automatically changes sides without letting you see the intro in Zelda etc. Second the expansion audio on the RAM Adapter is just not emulated very well on the Everdrive. Other supported expansion audio chips like VRC6 probably has the same problem.

The Powerpak haven't been updated in years, but the Everdrive is still quite new so I hope they will continue to improve it and support more mappers.

There's also the InviteNES but I don't know anything about it.

[nerdynebraskan]

Thanks for the quick replies.

LET,

I know a lot of NES guys who can't be bothered to mess with any 60-pin carts. These are same guys who are buying $25 repros of $10 FC games like Dig Dug, for no reason other than so they don't have to mess with a 60-pin cart. I'd wonder if the PowerPak's popularity among NES guys may have something to do with that. (Conversely, the Everdrive's popularity here may have something to do with preference for 60-pin connectors.) I'll start a similar thread on Nintendo Age for another set of opinions on the question, as well.

And what's an NSF? I'm a newb on flash cart technology; I just can't afford (space or money-wise) to make a repro for every ROM hack that interests me, or for every decent RPG/Action-RPG that I can't play because I can't read Japanese.

P,

Cost may be a factor for me, but I would spend more on a better piece. I'll have to take a look at the mappers a little bit later, because I imagine that would only lead to needing further research. (It's not like I know the mappers needed for the games I'd be interested in.)

You do make an intriguing point that Everdrive has better support today. I've seen the master PowerPak thread on Nintendo Age, and I guess I can sort of see where updates are being made in a piecemeal kind of way.

InviteNES? I've maybe heard of that one, but I suppose I should look into it as well.

[80sFREAK]

I would vote for RAM Factory's cart, if it could be possible to get one(seems to be REALLY hard) - hardware is much more advanced.

[P]

As in it could possibly support more mappers? Or just generally more technical potential? But it still emulates expansion audio AFAIK. It's hard to research since it's mostly a Russian community.

I know a lot of NES guys who can't be bothered to mess with any 60-pin carts. These are same guys who are buying $25 repros of $10 FC games like Dig Dug, for no reason other than so they don't have to mess with a 60-pin cart. I'd wonder if the PowerPak's popularity among NES guys may have something to do with that. (Conversely, the Everdrive's popularity here may have something to do with preference for 60-pin connectors.)

Yeah the fact that it was made for Famicom in the first place made it gain points among us, but by the time I got it they had already released a 72-pin version complete with case and (ugly) label. So that shouldn't be an argument against the Everdrive anymore.

And what's an NSF? I'm a newb on flash cart technology; I just can't afford (space or money-wise) to make a repro for every ROM hack that interests me, or for every decent RPG/Action-RPG that I can't play because I can't read Japanese.

NSF (Nes Sound Format) is ripped sound files from Famicom/NES games. An NSF player for PC can play these sounds on the computer by emulating the Famicom/NES audio chip (which is actually its CPU). The Powerpak has an NSF player and obviously doesn't even need to emulate it since it's running on real hardware, with the exception of expansion audio chips. The Everdrive doesn't have an NSF player.

Cost may be a factor for me, but I would spend more on a better piece. I'll have to take a look at the mappers a little bit later, because I imagine that would only lead to needing further research. (It's not like I know the mappers needed for the games I'd be interested in.)

What I meant is that the Everdrive seems to me slightly better, even if you don't consider cost, and definitely better if you do. It may depend on what you are after though.

[L___E___T]

I have both and definitely would get another Everdrive.  I wouldn't get another Powerpak, but it's still good.

[nerdynebraskan]

80sFreak,

You've offered another alternative that I'll have to take into consideration. What kind of advantages does this one have?

P,

So are you saying that NSF compatibility is going to produce a more authentic sound? If the Everdrive doesn't have this, what is it doing about sound and how well does that work?

[P]

No it has nothing to do with compatibility or anything. It's just an application that can play NSF files (http://www.zophar.net/music/nsf.html). The Everdrive doesn't have it, but it's not like it's impossible to add. But you never know if they ever will.

80sFREAK is talking about the InviteNES. I would also like to know more about it.

[crade]

A potential downside to the powerpak is that it uses compac-flash cards.  The everdrive uses SD which is much more standard.  It's been a bit of a pain to add files, increase storage, etc etc with the powerpak.

[L___E___T]

That's true, the Powerpak can be a bit slow and clunky sometiomes I remember.

[Raverrevolution]

I just received my everdrive this week and man was it worth it.  I had a plan to convert some Japanese RPGs into English and still want to do one, but the flash cart is so much easier to work with.  With the case that LET sold me this thing looks and plays awesome.  I'm very happy to have gotten this instead of the powerpak.  Smaller form factor on a better system with a better supported cart.  Can be a bit expensive, but so worth it.

[UglyJoe]

A potential downside to the powerpak is that it uses compac-flash cards.  The everdrive uses SD which is much more standard.  It's been a bit of a pain to add files, increase storage, etc etc with the powerpak.

From the PowerPak's product page:

Compact Flash is used instead of something else like SD for maximum speed. The NES processor is the bottleneck so the parallel CF card is more than 10 times faster than the serial SD card.

[crade]

A potential downside to the powerpak is that it uses compac-flash cards.  The everdrive uses SD which is much more standard.  It's been a bit of a pain to add files, increase storage, etc etc with the powerpak.

From the PowerPak's product page:

Compact Flash is used instead of something else like SD for maximum speed. The NES processor is the bottleneck so the parallel CF card is more than 10 times faster than the serial SD card.

I'm aware   It's still hardware you have to dig up a 15 year old camera in order to load files onto..  It really doesn't matter how many times faster you claim it is, it only needs to be fast enough to run properly.  I guess I'm assuming the everdrive uses an SD card and can still run games.

The powerpak is great, but it's certainly starting to show it's age..

[L___E___T]

That's odd, I find the Powerpak slower for sure and I've not encountered any speed issues at all on Everdrive - it loads faster in my experience.

Glad you like your case RaveRevolution!