{"id":282,"date":"2008-01-07T18:31:10","date_gmt":"2008-01-08T02:31:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dsdatabase.org\/blog\/?p=282"},"modified":"2009-03-30T16:32:01","modified_gmt":"2009-03-31T00:32:01","slug":"elink-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/dsdatabase.org\/blog\/2008\/01\/elink-review\/","title":{"rendered":"ELink Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Special thanks to the
\n\t\t\t\tELink<\/a> team<\/a> for arranging a sample.
\n <\/p>\n

– Introduction – <\/b> <\/p>\n

The ELink is the latest GBA flash cart out
\n\t\t\t\ton the market.  It is a crazy idea to put out a GBA flash cart
\n\t\t\t\tout on the market more than 6 years after the release of the
\n\t\t\t\toriginal Gameboy Advance\u2019s release, but it might pay off.<\/p>\n

The ELink team is a brand new team that
\n\t\t\t\tseems dedicated to support their product.  They have taken
\n\t\t\t\tadvantage of the fact that there are many users that are looking
\n\t\t\t\tto play older GBA games, a feature that slot 1 flash carts lack.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\"Photo<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\tThe Gameboy Micro is the perfect console for the ELink, but
\n\t\t\t\tit also works with all Gameboy Advance consoles and DS consoles.<\/i><\/p>\n

Most solutions on the market for the
\n\t\t\t\tGameboy Advance cost over a hundred dollars or have terrible
\n\t\t\t\tperformance.  The ELink comes in at about $30 USD with 512Mbit
\n\t\t\t\tof memory.  The ELink claims to play music, videos, eBooks, and
\n\t\t\t\tmost importantly, games.  If it can do all of this, then there
\n\t\t\t\tis no doubt that the ELink should be successful.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

– Design –<\/b><\/p>\n

Unfortunately for the ELink packaging,
\n\t\t\t\tCanadaPost has not been kind.  The bag clearly took a lot of
\n\t\t\t\tdamage; it was completely wrinkled, covered in rips and holes. 
\n\t\t\t\tSurprisingly, the ELink packaging still came in a fairly
\n\t\t\t\tpresentable condition.  The box looks very professional, and
\n\t\t\t\tincredibly durable. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tPlain and simple works by far the best.<\/i><\/p>\n

The ELink packaging held a CD and a plastic
\n\t\t\t\ttray with the USB cable and the ELink flash cart.  As well all
\n\t\t\t\tCDs bundled with flash carts, it contained already outdated
\n\t\t\t\tsoftware, and a quick guide that seems to be written by someone
\n\t\t\t\tnot so familiar with the English language.  The USB cable is
\n\t\t\t\tvery study, and is about a meter long.  As you probably already
\n\t\t\t\tknow, the USB cable is unique to ELink.  It would be pretty hard
\n\t\t\t\tto located another one if it somehow gets lost. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tThere is a lot of packaging.  The empty slot makes me
\n\t\t\t\twonder if a slot 1 cart might come bundled with the ELink in the
\n\t\t\t\tfuture.<\/i><\/p>\n

The most important part of the entire
\n\t\t\t\tpackage was the ELink cartridge.  Mine came in a clear green
\n\t\t\t\tcasing and a red label, but there is a picture of a black ELink
\n\t\t\t\tcartridge on ELink\u2019s official site.  The casing is made by a
\n\t\t\t\tnice layer of plastic and seems to close together much better
\n\t\t\t\tthan some other carts I have used in the past.  It is GBA sized,
\n\t\t\t\tso it will fit flush in all of the GBA consoles and the old DS,
\n\t\t\t\tbut it will stick out of the DS Lite.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tIt sits flush inside the Gameboy Micro as well as the GBA,
\n\t\t\t\tGBA SP and the old DS.<\/i><\/p>\n

– Software –<\/b><\/p>\n

The ELink\u2019s software is brilliantly simple,
\n\t\t\t\tand it looks great as well.  You simply add games by clicking
\n\t\t\t\tthe add button, and right clicking will bring up a list of
\n\t\t\t\tthings you can do.  Basically for the most part, you can add or
\n\t\t\t\tdelete games, and burn or backup your save files.  The cheat
\n\t\t\t\toption on this menu is not limited to cheating, but deals with
\n\t\t\t\tpretty much everything with the rom, this includes soft reset,
\n\t\t\t\tcheats, and changing the name of the rom.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/a>
\n\t\t\t\tThe ELink software just looks brilliant and is incredibly
\n\t\t\t\teasy to use.<\/i><\/p>\n

All of this is in the first of the three
\n\t\t\t\ttabs included in the software.  The second tab allows you to add
\n\t\t\t\teBooks, NES games and GB\/GBC games into your ELink.  These
\n\t\t\t\tfunctions are available with any other flash cart, but it is
\n\t\t\t\treally nice to see it built in to the software.  Their software
\n\t\t\t\tis far easier to use than Goomba or PocketNES\u2019s native bundle. 
\n\t\t\t\tYou only need to drag and drop to a specified folder, then click
\n\t\t\t\tadd to burn list to get it into your ELink.  The final tab is
\n\t\t\t\tnot exactly useful.  They have some quick tips on how to get
\n\t\t\t\tyour ELink working, some button combos and their website.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tPlaying NES and GB\/GBC games has always been available for
\n\t\t\t\tGameboy Advance flash carts, but having it built in to the ELink
\n\t\t\t\tsoftware makes it loads easier.<\/i><\/p>\n

The most brilliant part of this software is
\n\t\t\t\tthat it automatically updates for you upon boot.  Every time, it
\n\t\t\t\twill check the online database and see if there is a new
\n\t\t\t\tversion.  I have received my ELink only a few weeks ago, and it
\n\t\t\t\tis safe to say that I have seen at least eight or ten updates. 
\n\t\t\t\tThese updates do not appear on their site, you must use their
\n\t\t\t\tsoftware to update though.<\/p>\n

– Use –<\/b><\/p>\n

To transfer games into your ELink, you need
\n\t\t\t\tto connect the cart to the computer with a proprietary cable
\n\t\t\t\tthat connects a port on the ELink to a USB port.  Once
\n\t\t\t\tconnected, you turn on the GBA and turn on the program.  The
\n\t\t\t\ttransfer rate is relatively fast for a GBA cartridge, but
\n\t\t\t\tdefinitely no match for a memory card reader.  It averages about
\n\t\t\t\t170kb\/s on my computer but supposedly it could go up to 240kb\/s.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tOne of the most frustrating things about the ELink is
\n\t\t\t\tconnecting it to the computer.  Sometimes I find that using
\n\t\t\t\tMicroSD cards has really spoiled me.<\/i><\/p>\n

When you turn on a Gameboy Advance console
\n\t\t\t\twith the ELink inside, you boot up to a screen that lists 5
\n\t\t\t\tgames at once.  It automatically highlights the previous game
\n\t\t\t\tyou have played for quick access.  And pretty much all the menu
\n\t\t\t\tcan do is boot the game on a click of A or B.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tIt is a nice menu in concept, but something about it makes it
\n\t\t\t\tfeel a bit cluttered.<\/i><\/p>\n

– Functionality –<\/b><\/p>\n

The ELink ran all GBA games that I have
\n\t\t\t\ttested.  Because the ELink does not have a Real Time Clock (RTC),
\n\t\t\t\tgames like Pokemon will need to be patched.  But other than
\n\t\t\t\tthat, all games ran perfectly.  The two bundled emulators worked
\n\t\t\t\tgreat as well.  Probably most importantly, I have yet to find a
\n\t\t\t\tpiece of homebrew that doesn\u2019t work on the ELink.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tI’ve never actually played Fire Emblem before, getting the
\n\t\t\t\tELink is a perfect chance for me to catch up.<\/i><\/p>\n

The ELink has a soft reset combo (L+R+Start),
\n\t\t\t\twhich brings you back to the main menu.  I found that it worked
\n\t\t\t\ton almost all games, but homebrew was a hit and miss.  The cheat
\n\t\t\t\tmenu for games are also quite nicely done, you simply push (L+R+Select)
\n\t\t\t\tactivate all the cheats at once.  The English
\n\t\t\t\tcheats provided for you is done fairly well.  They have quite a
\n\t\t\t\tcomplete list, however the translations are done poorly. 
\n\t\t\t\tThankfully, you can add you own cheats if you like by using the ELink\u2019s bundled software.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tA white screen shows for a split second when you activate
\n\t\t\t\tcheats.  I haven’t had too much lag with a lot of cheats
\n\t\t\t\ton, but it does happen when you have more than fifteen or so.<\/i><\/p>\n

– Conclusion –<\/b><\/p>\n

As you can tell, the ELink is a full
\n\t\t\t\tfledged GBA flash cart.  It does everything we expect it to do,
\n\t\t\t\tand nothing more.  It has an incredibly low price, which should
\n\t\t\t\tmore than make up for any faults it has.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\"Photo<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\tThis is a great cart for a casual gamer who wants to play a
\n\t\t\t\tfew classics.<\/i><\/p>\n

The ELink has a very nice build, the
\n\t\t\t\tplastic is great, and it fits into the GBA slot perfectly.  It
\n\t\t\t\twill also come in a Lite sized cartridge soon, which will retain
\n\t\t\t\tall of the features of the original ELink.  The cart plays all
\n\t\t\t\tGBA games and homebrew with nice bonus features.  The team seems
\n\t\t\t\tdedicated enough as they have repeated released patches for
\n\t\t\t\tfixes and new features.  One of the promised features is Real
\n\t\t\t\tTime Save, which allows you to save anywhere at any point in
\n\t\t\t\ttime.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\"Photo<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\"Photo<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\tSome GBA games still remain the best games on the market.<\/i><\/p>\n

Unfortunately the ELink has its faults. 
\n\t\t\t\tThe lack of a Real Time Clock is only a problem for real fans of
\n\t\t\t\tPokemon, but there are a select few games that also use the Real
\n\t\t\t\tTime Clock.  The transfer rate is fairly slow in today\u2019s
\n\t\t\t\tstandards.  This is completely forgivable in my opinion because
\n\t\t\t\tthe lack of these features is exactly what allows the ELink\u2019s
\n\t\t\t\tcost to be so low.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\"Photo<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\tIf you want to play Pokemon, you have to either patch the GBA
\n\t\t\t\tgames, or revert back to the old Gameboy versions.<\/i><\/p>\n

If you are looking for a cheap GBA flash
\n\t\t\t\tcart for your DS or Gameboy Advance, this is it.  Keep in mind
\n\t\t\t\tthat it only stores 512Mb, which is equivalent to 64MB of
\n\t\t\t\tcomputer space.  This cartridge is nice and cheap, and probably
\n\t\t\t\tthe best choice if you are a casual gamer, or have already
\n\t\t\t\tplayed all of the old classics and just want to relive some of
\n\t\t\t\tthem.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\"Photo<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\tThis is one of the cheapest ways to relive some of the
\n\t\t\t\tenormous GBA library.<\/i><\/p>\n

– Score –<\/b><\/p>\n

Design \u2013 4\/5
\n\t\t\t\tSoftware \u2013 5\/5
\n\t\t\t\tUse \u2013 4\/5
\n\t\t\t\tFunctionality \u2013 18\/20
\n\t\t\t\tTilt \u2013 5\/5<\/p>\n

Overall \u2013
\n\t\t\t\t36\/40<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Special thanks to the
\n\t\t\t ELink<\/a> team<\/a> w<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Special thanks to the ELink team for arranging a sample. – Introduction – The ELink is the latest GBA flash cart out on the market.  It is a crazy idea …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/dsdatabase.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/dsdatabase.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/dsdatabase.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dsdatabase.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dsdatabase.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=282"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/dsdatabase.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":284,"href":"http:\/\/dsdatabase.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282\/revisions\/284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/dsdatabase.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dsdatabase.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dsdatabase.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}