Review: GameBoyDev USB Game Boy Cartridge
Written by Marc DeAngelis   
Tuesday, 05 May 2009 20:26

Back in Februrary, I brought word of a Game Boy flash cart that is specifically designed for Little Sound DJ.  Designed by chiptuner, BleepBloop, the hacked cart features a USB port for easy transferring and backing up of your files.

Click through for the full review.

Ringing in at $75, gameboydev.org's cart isn't cheap.  But if you're in the market for a LSDJ cartridge, it's the best way to go.  Not only was I pleasantly surprised by the quality of the hacked cart, but I was also surprised by some extras.

First of all, this thing is solid - there are no cracks or anything to that effect due to trimming the cart, making room for the USB port.  It's not going to break any easier than another Gameboy Color cart.  The LSDJ sticker is a nice touch, too.

I was expecting to have to load LSDJ onto the cart, but it actually came with the software preinstalled.  While some may not think the inclusion of $2 software (plus an optional donation) is nothing to get excited about, I was pleased to have the cart ready to go, ASAP.

I was also surprised that my order included a free USB (A to B) cable.  I already have one, but it's nice to have a cable specifically for my cart.

The software, which comes on an unmarked CD, is easy to install as long as you go by the included readme file.  My only issue was that my desktop shortcut didn't work, but it was easy enough to fix.  The GUI is very simple.  Visually, this is fine, but the lack of description for each command may intimidate non-technical users.

Keep in mind, shooting your LSDJ files onto your computer doesn't mean you'll be able to listen to them via the PC - you're simply backing up or saving your songs.  You're going to need audio recording software, a line-in port, and an 3.5mm cable to actually record your songs.

If you're in the market for LSDJ, you're going to be paying around $75 anyway, and you won't even have to deal with the hassle of eBay, and that's not to mention the added functionality of the USB port.  The only thing that dissappoints me is the lack of OS X support, though it is claimed that compatible versions of the software will be available in the future.  The cart has a steep asking price, but you'll be spending hours programming chiptunes with this thing.  I definitely reccomend it.


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Comments (3)Add Comment
...
written by Daniel Lloyd, May 06, 2009
i've been meaning to finally get a flashcart for LSDJ (so far im just using the ROM and NerdTrackerII)

does it work on a Mac? and is it easy/how fast is it to swap songs from computer to cart? (like, what it be useful to play live?)

sounds rad though.
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written by Daniel Lloyd, May 06, 2009
figured out it's PC/Linux only for now.
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written by Marc DeAngelis, May 06, 2009
My test transfer took about two minutes, but I had four songs on there, so it's not too bad. LSDJ has plenty of room to store an entire set list of songs, so you wouldn't need to for a show. If you still wanted to though, the transfer might be a little too slow.

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