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Gateway Blue

Gateway Blue

gateway-3ds.com

Cart Info

Gateway3DS was a bundle of two flashcarts; one blue DS mode cart, and one red 3DS mode cart. The main goal of this product was to launch 3DS ROMs from the red cart. This was achieved by running a DS mode exploit from the blue cart to load into Gateway emuNAND, where the red cart could then be used.

Nowadays, Luma3DS has replaced the need for the red cart, but the blue cart can be used as a standard DS flashcart to run NDS roms and homebrew on any DS family system. The setup guides below will cover setting up the blue cart for this use case. As this cart is related to the R4iLS, it uses the same AceWood kernel, but with a different header.

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 Gateway Blue.

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

  3. Extract the pico_package_GWBLUE.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:

    • GWBlue

  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 TwilightBoxart PicoDex

To create your own custom covers for Pico-Launcher, check out the cover creator. Save each cover in the _pico/covers/user folder on your SD card, named after its ROM file plus .bmp (for example, MyGame.nds.bmp).

Cover Creator

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 Gateway Blue folder. Copy the contents of the folder 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. Insert the SD card back into your cart, plug the cart into your DS, and see if it boots into the menu.

  13. Boot AKMenu-Next, press START and go to Settings. In the Game loader settings tab, change Game Loader to Pico-Loader, then press A and confirm to save.

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 Game Loader 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

Game Covers

AKMenu-Next can show game covers on the top screen. To use them, select one of the included cover themes: Blue Skies Game Covers, DSpico Game Covers or Starlight Covers. Then add cover images to your SD card. Covers made for Pico-Launcher work too.

PicoCover

To create your own custom covers, check out the cover creator. Save each cover in the _nds/covers_name folder on your SD card, named after its ROM file without .nds (for example, MyGame.bmp).

Cover Creator

Themes

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

AKMenu-Next Themes Repository

AKMenu-Next is also backwards compatible with Acekard/Wood R4 themes, you can find them here:

Acekard/Wood R4 Themes Repository

Kernel Info

TWiLight Menu++ is an alternative kernel that can load DS games with Pico-Loader or nds-bootstrap. It features a Nintendo DSi style interface and it has rich customisation features. It does however take longer to start up compared to other menus such as AKMenu-Next or Pico-Launcher.

Soft-Reset Not Supported for Pico-Loader

Note that Pico-Loader inside TWiLight Menu++ 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 TWiLight Menu++.

  1. Download the latest release of TWiLight Menu++ Flashcard Edition.

  2. Extract the downloaded TWiLightMenu-Flashcard.7z file with 7-Zip.

  3. From within the TWiLight files, copy the following files/folders to your SD card root:

    • _nds folder
    • roms folder
    • BOOT.NDS

  4. Open the Autoboot folder, then open the Gateway Blue folder and copy its contents to your SD card root.

  5. Download the latest release of Pico-Loader for Gateway Blue (ACE3DS build).

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

  7. Create a folder on the SD card root called _pico if it does not already exist. Copy the .bin files from the extracted Pico-Loader files into the _pico folder on your SD card root.

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

  9. You will need the usrcheat.dat file from the download link in the post. Copy this file to _nds/TWiLightmenu/extras/ on your SD card.

  10. Place any .nds game ROMs you'd like to play into /roms/nds on your SD card.

  11. Insert the SD card back into your cart, plug the cart into your DS, and boot into TWiLight Menu++.

  12. Open TWiLight Menu++ DS Classic Menu by pressing SELECT and then pressing the settings icon on the bottom to enter TWiLight Menu++ settings, go to the Games and Apps settings page, and set Game Loader to pico.

nds-bootstrap (Alternative Game Loader)

If you would prefer to use nds-bootstrap, TWiLight Menu++ includes nds-bootstrap, so no additional files are needed to use it.

  1. Open TWiLight Menu++ DS Classic Menu by pressing SELECT and then pressing the settings icon on the bottom to enter TWiLight Menu++ settings.

  2. Set Game Loader to nds-bootstrap to use it for all games. You can also press Y on a selected game and change its Game Loader setting to use nds-bootstrap only for that game.

Post-Setup Enhancements

Plugins

While GBA game support is already included in TWiLight Menu++, To emulate retro consoles like GB/C, NES, and others or to play media such as videos, you will need to install addons to TWiLight Menu++:

Addons Tutorial

Game Covers

TWiLight Menu++ supports showing game box art. DS-Homebrew details multiple options to download and install covers for your games.

TWiLight Menu++ box art

Themes

Looking to customize your TWiLight Menu++ interface? Check out the DS-Homebrew themes repository:

Themes Repository

Theme installation instructions

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

  2. Download the Gateway Blue 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:

    • GWBlue

  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

Gateway Blue 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.

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

  2. Download Gateway Blue AceOS 2.13.

  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. Navigate to /roms and place your .nds game ROMs inside the nds folder. Place other console roms supported by AceOS emulators in their respective folders.

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

Tip

Some emulators shipped with AceOS require you to provide a BIOS binary before they can be used. See the AOS README for more info.

Missing Anti-Piracy Patches

Gateway Blue 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.

Themes

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