Results, Overall Performance, and Compatibility:

As you can tell from the results above that the SuperCard Lite improves on the SuperCard product line eliminating slowdown in DS games and cutting GBA slowdown almost in half. My test results on the SuperCard Lite vs. miniSD version proves that even with far superior memory card speed and access times the miniSD version was no match for the Lite version with regular microSD memory. The clear victor in the performance battle is definitely the SuperCard Lite in combination with any type of microSD card you want to use as the difference is negligible. I personally prefer the faster flash media cards as it’s always great to have extra overhead bandwidth in case of “lag” and it speeds up transfer times when loading files onto the card.

Overall performance of the SuperCard Lite with my other DS games was also flawless with no slowdown in even the most graphically intensive games. I threw, in total, about 60+ DS ROMs at the SuperCard Lite and all performed excellently with no problems saving, loading, or changing games. Wifi games also gave me no trouble and all played smooth as a real game cart. And as I had said before the load times for DS games are now instant which gets you into the game and playing much faster!

GBA game support was also dead on except for the few games that the SuperCard is know to have problems with. And even then the slowdown and lag has been reduced quite dramatically to a fraction of what it was on previous models. I tested over 30+ GBA ROMs and I’d say only two or three had slowdown while the rest played as if they were in a GB SP. I had no problem saving or loading and now that GBA games load and save twice as fast I don’t mind starting up Harvest Moon or GTA for a few games now and then.

Homebrew is basically free applications and games, so you definitely want a flashcart that will play homebrew and play it well. The SuperCard Lite played Moonshell, DSOrganize, REIN, ScummVM, beup, most emulators, and every other application and game I tested without a hitch. All ran with no errors and all saved properly without any issues or slowdown. There are a few games and applications that didn’t work but from their websites it seems that updates are on the way. To use homebrew on the SuperCard Lite there is a “moonshell” patcher that is included with the software update archive and is very easy to use and get running. Previous SuperCard products have always had excellent homebrew support and the SuperCard Lite is no exception.

The SuperCard Lite has the best DS save system of all the flash media solutions and really steals the some thunder from the M3 products. The SuperCard Lite saves directly to the flash media unlike other solutions, like the M3, which store them temporarily in memory to be written the next time the DS Lite is powered on. The SuperCard uses a save system exactly like a regular DS game cart in which you set it and forget it! The SuperCard Lite also uses the highly compatible “.sav” format and there is even a homebrew program which allows you to manage multiple saves for one game!

The GBA save system is a bit different and requires a button combination. To use the RTS (Real Time Save) feature you press L, R, Select, and B all at the same time, then select “Save” which saves your game anywhere enabling you to start back at that exact point in time. To load a RTS game you must use the same method but choose “Load” and you will be brought back to where you were when you stopped playing. The normal save system also uses the same button combination with A in the place of B. Saving with this method works like a normal GBA game save, in the sense that you don’t have to use another button combination to load the game once you restart. After using the normal save method you just start your game and pick your save file and you’re done. The GBA save system uses the “.sav” format for normal saves, but also uses “.sci” format which is the RTS file.

Conclusion:

The SuperCard Lite is definitely the best flush fitting solution for the DS Lite. It’s DS and GBA game performance and compatibility is top notch and it also utilizes expandable microSD memory up to 2GB’s. Aesthetically it’s the exact same size as the DS Lite dust cover with front loading microSD access, perfect Polar White DS color matching, and at only $49.99 it’s the best bang for your buck! If have been sitting on the fence waiting for the M3 Lite to be released then wait no further as the SuperCard Lite is the perfect flush fitting DS Lite solution and is out now! After reviewing the SuperCard Lite it definitely deserves a 9/10 based on DS game performance alone but what you get is so much more.