Skip to content

R4iLS Clone

Ace3DS+/X & R4iLS Clones

r4isdhc.hk 2020+, r4isdhc.com.cn, r4xmp.com, ace3ds.com, XXX in 1, Unlabeled carts with red PCB

Cart Info

The R4iLS and later Ace3DS+ carts are derivatives of the Original R4 from r4ds.com. They added SDHC support to the hardware, and DSi/3DS support. Unfortunately, the stock kernel is not as compatible as official Wood 1.62, since AceWood is actually a fork of WoodR4 1.25 code, updated to add missing anti-piracy patches and improved game compatibility.

Setup Guide:

Kernel Info

Pico-Launcher is the game menu for the DSpico (an open source DS flashcart by the LNH team) and other supported carts. Combined with Pico-Loader, it can be used as a full kernel, and supports almost all retail DS games. It features a material-inspired user interface, and an extremely fast loader.

Soft-Reset Not Supported

Note that Pico-Launcher/Loader currently does not support soft-resetting to the game menu. If this is important to you, consider using WoodR4 or AceOS.

  1. Format the SD card you are using by following the formatting tutorial.

  2. Download the latest Pico Package for Ace3DS+/R4iLS.

    • Currently updated to Pico-Launcher v1.3.0 and Pico-Loader v1.7.1

  3. Extract the pico_package_ACE3DS.zip file with 7-Zip, or your native file manager app. Then, copy the contents into the root of your SD card.

  4. If you'd like to be able to use cheats on your games, download a cheat database.

  5. You will need the usrcheat.dat file from the download link in the post. Copy this file into the _pico folder on your SD card.

  6. Create a Games folder in your SD card root, and place any .nds game ROMs you'd like to play inside.

  7. The files on your SD card should now look like this:

    • R4iLS

  8. Insert the SD card back into your cart, plug the cart into your DS, and see if it boots into the menu.

Post-Setup Enhancements

Emulators

To emulate retro consoles like GBA, GB/C, NES, and others, you will need to add emulators and configure their file associations for Pico-Launcher to display retro ROMs in the menu.

Emulators Tutorial

Game Covers

Pico-Launcher supports showing game covers in cover flow layout mode, and on the top screen in icons mode. You will need to add cover images to your SD card to use this feature.

PicoCover

Themes

Looking to customize your DSpico interface? Check out the Pico themes repository:

Themes Repository

To create your own custom themes for Pico-Launcher, check out the themes creator:

Themes Creator

Kernel Info

AKMenu-Next is an alternative kernel based on akmenu4 (used in Wood R4 and AKAIO) and uses Pico-Loader (and optionally nds-bootstrap) to load games. This is an option if you prefer the Wood UI and it's themes over Pico-Launcher.

Soft-Reset Not Supported for Pico-Loader

Note that Pico-Loader inside AKMenu-Next currently does not support soft-resetting to the game menu. If this is important to you, consider using WoodR4 or AceOS or using the nds-bootstrap loader within AKMenu-Next.

  1. Format the SD card you are using by following the formatting tutorial.

  2. Download the latest AKMenu-Next Flashcart Edition Package.

  3. Extract the downloaded akmenu-next-flashcart.zip file with 7-Zip.

  4. From within the akmenu-next files, copy the following files/folders to your SD card root:

    • _nds folder
    • _pico folder
    • BOOT.NDS

  5. Go into the Autoboot folder and then go into the Ace3DS+ folder. Copy _dsmenu.dat and _ds_menu.dat to your SD card root.

  6. Download the latest release of Pico-Loader for Ace3DS.

  7. Extract the downloaded Pico_Loader_ACE3DS.zip file with 7-Zip.

  8. Copy the contents of the files from the extracted Pico_Loader_for_ACE3DS.zip file to the _pico folder on your SD card.

  9. If you'd like to be able to use cheats on your games, download a cheat database.

  10. You will need the usrcheat.dat file from the download link in the post. Copy this file into the _nds/akmenunext/cheats folder on your SD card.

  11. Create a Games folder in your SD card root, and place any .nds game ROMs you'd like to play inside.

  12. The files on your SD card should now look like this:

    • R4iLS

  13. Insert the SD card back into your cart, plug the cart into your DS, and see if it boots into the menu.

nds-bootstrap installation (Optional)

  1. Download the latest release of nds-bootstrap.

  2. Extract the downloaded nds-bootstrap.zip file with 7-Zip.

  3. Copy the contents of the files from the extracted nds-bootstrap.zip file to the _nds folder on your SD card.

  4. In AKMenu-Next, press Start and go to Settings. Go to the Other Settings tab and change the Game Loader to nds-bootstrap.

Post-Setup Enhancements

Plugins

To emulate retro consoles like GBA, GB/C, NES, and others or to play media such as videos, you will need to add plugins to AKMenu-Next:

Plugins Tutorial

Themes

Looking to customize your DSpico interface? Check out the AKMenu themes repository:

Themes Repository

  1. Format the SD card you are using by following the formatting tutorial.

  2. Download the Ace3DS+/R4iLS WoodR4 1.62 kernel.

  3. Open/extract the zip file, and copy the contents into the root of your SD card.

  4. If you'd like to be able to use cheats on your games, download a cheat database.

  5. You will need the usrcheat.dat file from the download link in the post. Copy this file to __rpg/cheats/ on your SD card. (Create the cheats folder if it doesn't exist)

  6. Create a Games folder in your SD card root, and place your .nds game ROMs inside. You can also create additional folders to help with organizing/categorizing your ROMs.

  7. The files on your SD card should now look like this:

    • R4iLS

  8. Insert the SD card back into your cart, plug the cart into your DS, and see if it boots into the menu.

Missing Anti-Piracy Patches

Ace WoodR4 1.62 is known to have issues with anti-piracy checks in a few newer games, notably with clean roms of Pokemon Black & White 2, where EXP gain gets disabled by AP detection.

To fix this issue, tap the Y button in the WoodR4 menu with the game highlighted, open the cheats menu, and enable the Bypass Anti-Piracy cheat before starting the game.

Alternatively, you can AP-patch BW2 with NDS ROM Tool, after which you won't need to use any cheats to bypass AP. You can download it here.

Post-Setup Enhancements

Emulators

To emulate retro consoles on your DS like GBA, GB/C, NES, and others, you will need to download emulators.

Emulators Tutorial

Themes

Looking to customize your menu? Check out the AKMenu themes repository:

Themes Repository

AceOS Kernel Package

AceOS is a version of the kernel that includes a custom start menu allowing you to boot into various preloaded emulators, apps, and hypervisors; GBARunner2 and 3, GameYob, NesDS, Moonshell2, and others.

To set up AceOS on your cart, follow the instructions found in the AOS README.

All carts that are supported by Ace WoodR4 will be able to run AceOS as well.

Themes

Looking to change the default theme? Check out the themes repository at themes.flashcarts.net!