DS game forwarders (3DS)
If you have any issues, check the FAQs on the GBAtemp thread.
Requirements #
3DS:
- Luma3DS, or any other CFW that patches TWL_NAND
- FBI to install CIA files
- (Optional) A supported DS flashcard
Supported flashcards
The recommended flashcards are the DSTT and Acekard 2i. If you want perfect game compatibility, get the SuperCard DSTWO / DSTWO PLUS. The only downside is that it drains your system battery faster.
If you have a flashcard that works with Apache Thunder’s NTR Launcher, feel free to request it on the GBAtemp thread. Be sure to specify which build you’re using (Normal or Alt), and if RESETSLOT1
is set to 0
or 1
in sd:/nds/ntr_launcher.ini
.
Compatible:
- Acekard 2(i) (DSi-Enhanced games, including newer NTR games, don’t work.)
- Acekard RPG
- DSTT
- DSTT Advance
- Galaxy Eagle
- M3 DS Real
- M3 DS Simply (uses <2GB microSD card)
- R4 DS (Original Non-SDHC version, uses <2GB microSD card)
- R4 SDHC Snoopy
- R4 SDHC RTS LITE (www.r4isdhc.com)
- R4 SDHC Upgrade (www.r4i-sdhc.com)
- R4i3D (www.r4i3d.com)
- R4iDSN
- R4i Gold
- R4i Gold RTS (www.r4ids.cn)
- R4i-SDHC (www.r4i-sdhc.com) (Normal and RTS versions)
- R4iTT (www.r4itt.net) (Purple card may be incompatible)
- SuperCard DSONE
- SuperCard DSTWO (Normal and Plus versions)
Untested:
- R4i3D NEW (Use R4iDSN template and pack)
Partially compatible:
- Ace 3DS+ (Game compatibility is bad, so saving/loading save file results in crashing.)
- Gateway Blue Card (Game compatibility is bad, so saving/loading save file results in crashing.)
- EX4DS (Game compatibility is bad, so saving/loading save file results in crashing.)
- R4iLS (Game compatibility is bad, so saving/loading save file results in crashing.)
- Cards with www.r4isdhc.com.cn (Game compatibility is bad, so saving/loading save file results in crashing.)
Incompatible:
- CycloDS (i)Evolution (Can autoboot ROMs, but it works differently than other flashcards.)
- (i)Edge (Unable to autoboot a .nds ROM)
- R4 Gold Pro (www.r4i-gold.com/www.r4i-gold.me) (YSMenu (not the forwarder process) bricks the card)
- R4i3D (2012)
- R4 Infinity Dual Core
- R4 SDHC
- R4 SDHC Dual-Core (www.r4isdhc.com) (YSMenu (not the forwarder process) bricks the card)
PC:
- A 64 bit OS
- Forwarder3-DS
- Java 8 Update 251
- Linux users: JavaFX
sudo apt-get install openjfx
(if you are using a Debian based system.)
Part 1: Getting Started #
- Download the SD card forwarder pack
- Extract the contents of the
for SD card root
folder to the root of your 3DS’s SD card
After you extract the pack, you can edit sd:/_nds/nds-bootstrap.ini
and change the settings:
BOOST_CPU
: If set to 1, TWL clock speed is used, so lags begoneSOUND_FREQ
: If set to 1, sound will play at 48khz, instead of 32khz
- Download one of these packs:
- Extract the contents of the
for Slot-1 microSD
folder to the root of your flashcard’s microSD card, and (if the folder exists) the contents of thefor 3DS SD card
folder to the root of your 3DS’s SD card.
After you extract the pack for your card, you can edit sd:/_nds/ntr_forwarder.ini
to change the settings. This isn’t possible for Acekard RPG, R4 DS, and R4i Gold RTS.
NTRCLOCK
: If set to0
or A is held, the DSi boot screen will appear instead of the normal DS splash, and TWL clock speed is used, so lags begoneDISABLEANIMATION
: If set to1
or B is held, the DS / DSi boot screen is skippedHEALTHSAFETYMSG
: If set to1
, the boot screen’s health and safety message will appear on the bottom screen, otherwise the bottom screen stays white with no health and safety message
Part 2: Getting the AP fix files from TWiLight Menu++ #
If you already have TWiLight Menu++, skip to the next section.
- Download the latest
TWiLightMenu-3DS.7z
from the release page - In the 7z file, go to
_nds/TWiLightMenu/
- Copy the
apfix
folder tosd:/_nds/ntr-forwarder/
on your 3DS’s SD card
Part 3: Forwarder3-DS #
- Open
Forwarder3DS.jar
- If it doesn’t open, make a new text file in the same folder as Forwarder3DS.jar containing
java -jar Forwarder3DS.jar
and save it asForwarder3DS.bat
and run that (make sure there is no.txt
at the end)
- If it doesn’t open, make a new text file in the same folder as Forwarder3DS.jar containing
- Set your card as the
Target
on the left- NOTE: If you don’t see a list of cards, download this zip, and put the
forwarders
folder in the same folder as Forwarder3DS.jar, then rename it to.forwarders
- NOTE: If you don’t see a list of cards, download this zip, and put the
- Enable
Automatically set ROM path
- Linux users: The automatic path is incorrect since it includes the entire path (e.g.
/media/$USER/something/
), please remove that part - MacOS users: The automatic path is incorrect since it includes
/Volumes/(cardname)/
at the start, please remove that part
- Linux users: The automatic path is incorrect since it includes the entire path (e.g.
- Click the folder in the top right and select the ROMs you want to make forwarders for or drag and drop them onto the window
- NOTE: The ROMs must already be on your SD card when selecting them, and can’t be moved without recreating the forwarders
- SD card users: If your save file is in the same folder as the ROM, move it to a folder called
saves
, with thesaves
folder being in the same place as the ROMs
- If you’re playing a hack / translation of a DSi-Enhanced game that has it’s banner / title edited, find the banner for the game from here, right click on the game in Forwarder3-DS, click
Import banner
, and click on the banner to use - If using a homebrew ROM, click on it, then clear the
Game title
and type the game’s title - Click the floppy disk button to generate the forwarder CIA(s)
- Copy the CIA(s) to your 3DS’s SD card, then install them using FBI
- If using EmuNAND, install to both SysNAND and EmuNAND