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M3 DS Real

M3 DS Real and M3i Zero (Not GMP-Z003)

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Sakura Kernel

If you'd like to dual boot YSMenu and the cart's stock kernel (Sakura), then follow this guide. To use YSMenu as primary kernel, follow the guide below.

Setup Guide:

1.Format the SD card you are using by following this guide.

  1. Download the RetroGameFan YSMenu 7.06 kernel.

  2. Extract the YSMenu .7z file you downloaded using 7-Zip, then go into the M3Real_M3iZero YSMenu folder.

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

    • Games folder

    • System folder

    • TTMenu folder

    • SRESET.DAT

    • YSMenu.nds

  4. Place any .nds game ROMs you'd like to play into the Games folder.

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

Sakura Kernel

Sakura is the official kernel of the M3 DS Real and M3i Zero. It's based on Moonshell 2, with a custom NDS loader. It also offers a couple unique features like RTS (Real-Time-Save), not found in YSMenu.

The M3 team disappeared around 2011, and the Sakura kernel hasn't been updated since then. That means some games released later on in the DS lifecycle don't actually boot in the Sakura/Touchpod kernel, due to missing compatibility patches. To fix this issue, it's recommended to have YSMenu alongside Sakura, if you choose to keep Sakura as primary kernel.

  1. Format the SD card you are using by following this guide.

  2. Download the Sakura 1.49a kernel.

  3. Extract the contents of the Sakura zip to your SD card's root. (It should just be a single SYSTEM folder)

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

  5. You will need the usrcheat.7z file. Extract it using 7-Zip, inside you will find a usrcheat.dat file. Rename this file to cheat_EN.db. Copy the cheat_EN.db file into the SYSTEM folder on your SD card.

  6. Next, we'll be adding YSMenu 7.06 to the setup.

  7. Download the RetroGameFan YSMenu 7.06 kernel.

  8. Extract the YSMenu .7z file you downloaded using 7-Zip, then go into the M3Real_M3iZero YSMenu folder.

  9. From this folder, copy the following files/folders to your SD card root:

    • Games folder

    • TTMenu folder

    • SRESET.DAT

    • YSMenu.nds

  10. Place any .nds game ROMs you'd like to play into the Games folder.

  11. Place the SD card back into the cartridge, and boot it up. You'll be asked to select between TouchPod or Sakura, choose whichever you prefer. You can change this later. When you want to use YSMenu, simply launch YSMenu.nds in Sakura/Touchpod.