Intense Tech #16 — So You Want a Cartridge Family? (Defense Mechanism)
defense-mechanism (intense-tech) on how to run lsdj on a real game-boy: three kinds of flash cartridge, what each needs, and a warning about "LSDJ cartridges" sold online. The page carries a 2024 update that withdraws one recommendation.
Key claims#
- There is no "official LSDJ cartridge": the LSDj licence disallows selling cartridges with it, so eBay listings of that name are bootlegs, usually poor, without ROM upgrades or save backup.
- LSDj needs a cartridge with 128 kB SRAM (or FRAM).
- SD-card cartridges — ROM and save on a microSD: Krikzz Everdrive GB X3/X5/X7 (X5 recommended: "compatibility, reliability, and price"); the BennVenn El Cheapo SD and the EZ Flash Jr are no longer available, and the 2024 update says the EZ Flash Jr can no longer be recommended "due to numerous quality issues". Struck-through EZ Flash Jr notes: firmware file
ezgb.daton the card root, saves in aSAVERfolder, save backed up to the card on the next boot (declining loses the work), a hidden soft-reset button. - USB cartridges — the EMS 64M Smart Card and the Drag'n'Derp were the popular ones; Drag'n'Derp production stopped years earlier and EMS production "has recently halted" (remaining stock at retromodding.com, kitsch-bent). ems-qart (Java, all platforms) and the command-line ems-flasher manage EMS carts on modern systems. Update: insideGadgets' LinkNLoad32 (4 MB, 128 kB FRAM, USB) with the GBxCart software is the recommended dedicated cart.
- Flasher-based cartridges — insideGadgets' 1 MB / 128 kB SRAM cart ($29, shipped with the LSDj ROM of your choice) plus the GBxCart-mini flasher (about $50 together) for upgrades, backups and kit changes; open-source tools, scriptable (the author backs up saves with timestamps from one command). The 4 MB / 128 kB FRAM cart needs no battery, so a dead cell can never eat the save.
Practical takeaways#
Buy from a known maker (insideGadgets, Krikzz), make sure of 128 kB save memory, and plan how you will back the save up — the flasher route is the cheapest per additional cartridge.