Hello!
I'd like to start with a question: What has your experience been with EZ-Flash Parallel?
Since this is still a relatively new flash cart, there are a lot of opinions out there, and I'm having a hard time finding information, I decided to start collecting data myself and from other users as well. Also, if there is something wrong, I would appreciate any correction information.
First of all, I will summarize the key points that I have already gathered.
Strong Points:
- Powered by FPGA chip (programmable to perform specific functions)
- It is from a reputable brand (EZ-Flash)
- Flashy chassis / Attractive looking product
- Longer lasting system battery
- Supports Micro SD and SDHC
- Supports all/most menu skins in wood kernel cart by default
- NTRBOOT support for soft-modded 3DS (yes, “3DS” is grammatically correct)
- There is no time bomb
- Supports soft reset (e.g. in Pokemon games, you can press L + R + START + SELECT to restart the game)
- pre-installed cheats
- Pre-installed anti-piracy patch (but must be manually activated…)
- You can change the brightness of your device in your cart (but only on NDS, not DSi)
- Basic file management is possible on the SD card itself
Cons:
- No FPGA chip used (created during 1.04 kernel release)
- The EZP kernel is based on the oldest Wood kernel version in R4.
- Costs 2-4 times more than pirated flash carts (I paid $29 on AliExpress, but the MSRP at launch was $13)
- More buggy than pirated flash carts using YSMenu
- Pokemon games/others without IR sensor
- There is no NOR writing like EZ-Flash Omega / Definitive Ed.
- Not compatible with SDXC
- According to a Reddit user, the read speed of a Micro SD card is 1 MB, which is less than half the speed of a pirated cart (https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiRWh0dHBzOi8vZ2JhdGVtcC5uZXQvdGhyZWFkcy90ZXN0aW5nLXRoZS1uZXctZXotZmxhc2gtcGFyYWxsZWwuNjUzNDIzL9IBAA?oc=5())
- Sleep doesn't work, it just strobes voltage from the system
I won't go into details about the product, but this is my experience so far. Before I go any further, I should briefly explain my grading system.
* 0 points = game is completely unplayable (e.g. won't launch at all)
* 1 point = game is unplayable (e.g. significant lag, texture glitches, etc.)
* 2 points = game is playable with minor issues or inconveniences
* 3 points = Game feels like it's running natively
Well, games I've tested so far (in alphabetical order):
* [2 Pts] Animal Crossing: Wild World –> Main Menu Severe Lag, Main Menu Input Lag, Rendering Bugs, Main Game Plays OK, Long Transitions
* [2 Pts] Call of Duty: MW3 Defiance –> Plays very cleanly, with occasional brief rendering issues (black stripes) and stuttering.
* [3 Pts] Mario Kart DS –> Native feel
* [2 Pts] Pokemon Black 2 –> Occasional lag, but most lag is noticeable on the title screen,
* [2 Pts] Pokemon Platinum –> Occasional lag when there are many entities on screen, slow bag menu, input lag in menus, long transitions
* [2 Pts] Super Princess Peach –> Frequent stuttering (though very slight), long transitions.
Game Overview: 1/6 Games feel like they run natively, but compared to my pirated 2019 R4 Gold flash cart which can run these games 6/6, this is terrible.
The EZ-Flash documentation is partially in broken English or incomplete, so here's some more information to help you understand the settings:
System setting:
* User Interface Style –> Change GUI skin
* Language –> Currently only English/Chinese
* Set file list type –> Should the GUI display only .NDS extension files, .NDS and .SAV, or all files?
* Safe Mode –> Selecting “Yes” locks the user out of settings and file management, and disables the ability to change game settings or cheats (how to remove this other than reinstalling the kernel) (I didn't understand)
Interface settings:
* Scroll Speed –> Speed to scroll the game while holding DPAD
* File list style –> “Old School” –> Text and file names only. “Latest” filename and icon. “Internal” ROM Title and Publisher
* Animation –> “On” to enable icon animation (not useful if “File List Style” is set to “Old School”)
* 12 Hour Time –> “On” to set military time, “Off” to set AM/PM.
File system settings:
* Show Hidden Files –> “On” will show files that Windows has marked as hidden.
* Trim ROM on copy –> Reduce file size before running NDS ROM (removes “empty bytes” used to fill space)
* Save Extension –> Specify the extension to save to Flash Cart. Default uses “.nds.sav” (recommended: “.sav”)
patch:
*In-game cheat (AR) → “AR” is an abbreviation for “Action Replay.” If turned “on”, the cheat will work when the game starts.
* Reset in Game –> Set to “On” to enable soft reset to work in game.
*Homemade reset –>
GBA settings:
* Universal Sleep –> If set to “On”, force sleep when closing the lid
* Save backup on startup –> If set to “On”, the storage method used by EZ-Flash Omega / DE will be used (.sav will be saved on next startup).
* Slot 2 mode –>
I left some settings blank because I'm not familiar with them or don't understand their functionality.
overview:
If you want to buy this device even though it is currently inferior to the pirated version, we recommend you buy it now before the price increases further. I also hope that EZ-Flash releases bug fixes. Otherwise, if you already have a pirated cart, just play with that cart. I myself am disappointed with this device. If updates are not released in the future to fix bugs and lags, I will consider this a big waste of money and will not recommend this product until they are released.
