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Guides EZ Flash "Omega Definitive Edition" Guide

EZ Flash "Omega Definitive Edition" Guide

This guide is meant to act as a reference manual for the EZ Flash “Omega Definitive Edition” flash cartridge. It attempts to explain features and usage in plain english so that any reader, new to or established in the hobby, can understand how and why to use this product.

 

What is this?

The Omega Definitive Edition from EZ Flash (aka “Omega DE”, “ODE”, or “EZODE”) is a custom “flash cart”. In laymen’s terms, it is a custom built cartridge, in the style of a Game Boy Advance game cartridge, which runs custom software in order to be able to store and load one or more game files (often known as ROMs) for Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games.

In other words, it allows you to store and use many games from a single cartridge while also having access to some other quality of life features which don’t exist on the original game cartridges. The Omega DE also supports features which exist on only some game cartridges such as rumble and real time clock tracking even when the game is off.

Why might I use this?

There are many reasons to use a “flash cart” like the Omega DE.

You might use this if you want to:

  • …only carry around one cartridge but still have access to many different games
  • …avoid paying large sums of money for “original” cartridges
  • …avoid the risk of buying fake cartridges (which is increasingly common)
  • …try out games that are not available to purchase but exist in a digital backup
  • …play backup copies of your original games
  • …play newly created Game Boy games which are available in digital formats

What are some of its primary features?

In its most basic configuration, the Omega DE can be used to load one of any number of ROMs from an SD card, play it, backup the save file to the SD card, and switch to another game all on Game Boy Advance compatible hardware.

What hardware can it be played on?

Any Game Boy Advance compatible hardware can be used with the Omega DE.

Here is an incomplete list of example compatible hardware:

  • Nintendo Game Boy Advance
  • Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP
  • Nintendo Game Boy Micro
  • Nintendo DS
  • Nintendo DS Lite
  • Analogue Pocket

If you want to play Game Boy or Game Boy Color ROMs…

In short: playing ROMs of Game Boy (GB) and Game Boy Color (GBC) games through the Omega DE will sometimes look different because these games have to run via an emulator. The emulator used, at time of writing, is v0.5 of Jagoomba Color.

This emulator comes with its own features which are not documented here. Press “L” and “R” while playing to access this emulator’s features (like color palettes, speed changes, save states, and others). Selecting “Exit” from this emulator menu acts the same as the “Reset” feature described under playing with addons.

 

Playing ROMs of Game Boy (GB) or Game Boy Color (GBC) using the Omega DE will sometimes appear different from running the original cartridges of those same games because the Omega DE runs these games in an emulator. You might be saying, “but if I use my Game Boy Advance, then my GBA can play GB/GBC games natively already. Why use an emulator?” This is a great question! To answer it requires understanding how the Game Boy Advance can play GB/GBC games.

The GBA’s hardware includes both the newer CPU, which powers GBA games, and the older Game Boy hardware chips in order to be able to play those games as they’re intended. The GBA has a physical switch in the cartridge slot which determines what mode should be used on startup. The switch will only be pressed by GB/GBC cartridges because all GBA carts have a cutout on the cartridge to avoid pressing the switch.

When the switch is pressed, the GB/GBC specific hardware is used to run the game.

When the switch is not pressed, the Game Boy Advance hardware is used to run the software.

The Omega DE is a Game Boy Advance cartridge and loads the software using the GBA hardware. Therefore, all Game Boy Advance ROMs will run on their native hardware, but the GB/GBC hardware can’t be accessed when running in GBA mode, so an emulator is used instead.

Setup

Before you start: Mode “A” vs Mode “B”

In short, ensure the Omega DE’s physical switch is set to “A” before starting setup. Mode “B” is covered under Mode B Features after setup is complete.

 

On the side of the Omega DE cartridge is a physical switch marked “A” and “B” on its two positions. There are references throughout this document to “Mode B” because Mode B supports a specific set of features which allows the Omega DE to act like a standalone GBA cartridge, a Nintendo DS Rumble Pack, or a Nintendo DS Memory Expansion Pack. Setup for this mode is covered under Mode B Features below.

The Omega DE’s “Mode A” is the default mode to run the cartridge in and is where you’ll see the menus and settings discussed below.

What you need

The following items are needed to fully set up and use the Omega DE.

  • EZ Flash Omega (Definitive Edition) Cartridge
  • Micro SD card of any size from 4GB to 128GB
  • A micro SD card adapter/reader for use with a PC/Mac
  • A PC/Mac with an internet connection

Step 1: Format the micro SD card

A specific type of formatting is needed depending on the size of micro SD card used.

  • For cards containing 32GB or less: use “FAT32”1 formatting
  • For cards containing more than 32GB: use “EXFAT” formatting

In all cases, if the option exists to configure the “file allocation size”, then use 32KB.

Step 2: Add the collection of “Cheats”

Optional step

Can be completed after setup

Note

Follow this step if you'd like to make sure you have a collection of predefined cheats ready to use for various games.

Open your browser of choice and head to EZ Flash’s download page for the Omega DE2. Ensure you’re on the tab for “EZ-Flash Omega Definitive Edition” and not the tab for one of EZ-Flash’s other products.

Towards the bottom of the page is a link labeled simply “Cheat Library” which will provide a .zip file named “omegacheatlibrary.zip”. Unzip this file and you will have a folder named “CHEAT”. Move this folder, as it is, onto the micro SD card.

Step 3: Add the collection of “Thumbnails”

Optional step

Can be completed after setup

Note

Follow this step if you'd like to see the cover art of your games when browsing them on your GBA. This feature only supports GBA games and not GB/GBC games.

Open your browser of choice and head to EZ Flash’s download page for the Omega DE2. Ensure you’re on the tab for “EZ-Flash Omega Definitive Edition” and not the tab for one of EZ-Flash’s other products.

Towards the bottom of the page is a link labeled simply “Thumbnails Pack” which will provide a .zip file named “IMGS.zip”. Unzip this file and you will have a folder named “IMGS”. Move this folder, as it is, onto the micro SD card.

Step 4: Add games to play

This is the important step!

Move the ROM files for your games onto the micro SD card in any file or folder structure preferred.

Keep in mind two things:

  • File names need to be less than 100 characters long.
  • The specific name of the file is not important. The Omega DE works off of the file content, not the file name (this includes its feature to display a thumbnail for GBA games).

 

A useful practice is creating a folder for each target platform (“Game Boy”, “Game Boy Color”, and “Game Boy Advance”) and placing ROM files into the folder relevant to them. For example: placing games built for the Game Boy Color (which use an extension of “.gbc”) into a folder on the micro SD card named “Game Boy Color” or “GBC”.

Below is an example file and folder structure if you followed the above tip. This structure is not required and any folder names can be used. For example, you could create folders with each letter of the alphabet and sort games alphabetically.

micro SD card:

  • 📁 CHEATS

  • 📁 IMGS

  • 📁 Game Boy

    • 📄 Legend of Zelda, The - Link's Awakening (USA, Europe).gb

    • 📄 Tetris (World) (Rev 1).gb

  • 📁 Game Boy Color

    • 📄 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (USA, Europe).gbc

  • 📁 Game Boy Advance

    • 📄 Legend of Zelda, The - The Minish Cap (USA).gba

Step 5: Insert and get playing

It’s time to start the Omega DE and get playing.

Eject the micro SD card from your computer and insert it into the SD card slot on the Omega DE. Also, ensure the physical switch on the side of the Omega DE is set to “A”.

Playing games

Insert the Omega DE into a compatible gaming device of your choice and turn it on.

At this point, your device of choice should turn on, as it usually does, and present the “EZ-Flash” splash screen. Following the splash screen, a file interface showing the contents of your micro SD card will display.

Start a game

To start a game, highlight the file for the game you want and press A. A pop up will display with one or more options. Select the “Clean boot” option in order to play the highlighted game without modifications. The screen will update and display a couple of quick loading screens, then the game will start as normal.

Playing with addons

When trying to boot a game or write a game to internal memory, there is typically two options: “<Option> CLEAN” and “<Option> WITH ADDON”. Choosing the “WITH ADDON” option will load the game with one or more of the following features accessible through button shortcuts and an in-game menu (though the menu is not present in all cases).

In order to enable any of the following features, they must first be configured through the Mode A interface. After starting the Omega DE in Mode A, use “R” to access the settings tab with a controller in the tab. There will be an “ADDON” section. Select whichever features you’d like to have enabled when using “WITH ADDON” to play a game. None or multiple options can be selected.

Save states

For each game, a single save state can be saved or loaded using the custom menu. This save state is separate from any that an emulator or non-OEM compatible device may support and is solely powered by the Omega DE’s software.

Save or loading save states differs based on whether you have other addon features enabled.

If “SAVESTATE” is the only option under “ADDON” enabled:

  • Create/overwrite a save state by pressing “L”, “R”, and “Select” together.
  • Load a save state by pressing “L”, “R”, and “Start” together.

If “SAVESTATE” is selected in addition to other “ADDON” features:

  • Access the menu by pressing “L”, “R”, and “Start”. Then select “SAVE” or “LOAD”.

Sleep state

When playing with addons, any game can be put into a sleep state. The sleep state freezes the game, disables audio, and turns off the display without actually turning the console off. This can be used as a quick way to pause games which could not otherwise be paused without losing your place.

To put your device to sleep, press “L”, “R”, and “Select” together.

To wake your device from sleep, press “Select” and “Start” together.

Reset

The reset feature functions differently depending on whether Mode A or B is being used.

  • In mode A, the reset feature stops the current game being played and pushes the user back to the Omega DE’s file interface.
  • In mode B, the reset feature stops the current game and reloads the game as if the device was turned off and back on again.

To use the reset feature: press “L”, “R”, and “Start” to access the menu and select “RESET”.

Note

If reset is used while playing in Mode A, then the save data for the currently playing game is automatically backed up to the SD card prior to loading the file interface.

Cheats

Backing up save files for games

One of the primary features of the Omega DE is that it backs up any game’s save files, separate from the ROM, onto the SD card. This means you can use these save files with another Omega DE or with an emulator on a different device. You can even load save files extracted from standard cartridges using open-source software and place them onto the Omega DE in order to use them.

In order to ensure your save files are stored correctly, however, two rules should be followed:

  • Leave the “AUTO SAVE” setting selected3
  • Don’t turn the device off during the auto save popup on startup4

 

Standard game cartridges use a small electrical charge from a coin cell battery to keep a small bit of memory (used to store your save files) alive when they’re not plugged into an active game boy. Various consoles use this type of technology in their cartridges and it’s very likely used in the device you’re reading this from - ever heard of a CMOS battery or seen a coin cell battery on your computer’s motherboard? Like desktop computers, these batteries are also used for real time clock so game could know how much actual time has passed.

While the Omega DE uses a small coin cell battery for real time clock features, it uses a newer type of memory, known as FRAM, to store a game save’s file until it can be written to the SD card. The process of writing to the SD card is an intensive action for the processor in most compatible handhelds. Therefore, that step must be well planned on when it happens so it does not interrupt a running game or get interrupted by turning off the device.

In order, the way it works is as follows:

  1. The Omega DE is turned on and a game is played
  2. The user saves their game
  3. The save file is written to FRAM memory
  4. The Omega DE is turned off by the user.
  5. The save file is still persisted in the FRAM memory
  6. The Omega DE is turned back on for any reason
  7. The Omega DE takes the save file in FRAM memory and copies it to the SD card5

Mode B Features

Features under this header are all additive features that cause the Omega DE to function differently than is described outside of this section. These features replicate functionality of standalone products that were available for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS product lines. Each feature is mutually exclusive - in other words, only one Mode B feature can be used at a time. Switch back to Mode A and follow the steps below to change which Mode B feature is enabled.

Enabling Mode B

To enable mode B:

  1. Choose which feature you want to enable from the list below
  2. Using Mode A, configure the settings per the instructions for the Mode B feature chosen
  3. Slide the physical switch from “A” to “B”

Standalone cartridge mode

Note

This only supports Game Boy Advance game ROMs. It does not support Game Boy or Game Boy Color games.

While the Omega DE loads its own firmware and interface in Mode A, it can also be configured to act like a typical cartridge which loads automatically into a single game of the user’s choice rather than displaying the EZ-Flash splash screen or any of the custom file interfaces.

 

  1. Start the Omega DE in Mode A
  2. Using “R”, go to the settings tab with the red, green, and blue circle in the tab.
  3. Under “MODE B”, ensure the “LINK” option is selected.
  4. Use “L” to navigate back to the file interface in the first tab.
  5. Highlight the game ROM you want to use and press “A”
  6. In the popup, choose “WRITE TO NOR CLEAN”6
  7. A loading screen with a progress message will appear while the ROM is saved to the internal memory
  8. Once complete, shut off the Omega DE
  9. Flip the physical switch on the cartridge from “A” to “B”

Please note: if multiple game ROMs are copied to the internal memory, then only the first game ROM in the list on the internal memory will be loaded when using this feature. Check the Troubleshooting/FAQ section for further guidance.

Rumble Pak mode for Nintendo DS/DS Lite

This mode B feature configures the Omega DE to function as a rumble pak for compatible Nintendo DS and DS Lite systems.

 

  1. Start the Omega DE in Mode A
  2. Using “R”, go to the settings tab with the red, green, and blue circle in the tab.
  3. Under “MODE B”, ensure the “RUMBLE” option is selected.
  4. Shut off the Omega DE
  5. Flip the physical switch on the cartridge from “A” to “B”

Memory Expansion Pak mode for Nintendo DS/DS Lite

This mode B feature configures the Omega DE to function as a memory expansion pak for compatible Nintendo DS and DS Lite systems.

 

  1. Start the Omega DE in Mode A
  2. Using “R”, go to the settings tab with the red, green, and blue circle in the tab.
  3. Under “MODE B”, ensure the “RAM” option is selected.
  4. Shut off the Omega DE
  5. Flip the physical switch on the cartridge from “A” to “B”

Troubleshooting / FAQ

Do I need to use the internal memory, aka NOR Flash memory, in order to play games?

Nope. The internal memory is for use with the Mode B features discussed in Mode B Features. You can access your games by running the Omega DE in Mode A.

That said… some advanced (pun intended) game ROMs are particularly large in size. The startup time for these games can be as long as a minute since loading a game in Mode A still requires the Omega DE to copy the ROM rom the SD card to temporary memory. You can, however, write one or more games to the internal memory (aka NOR Flash) and load them immediately in Mode A.

In order to do so, copy the rom to internal memory using “WRITE TO NOR CLEAN”. Then, press “R” to switch to the “NOR” tab, select the game and select “DIRECT BOOT”.

I wrote multiple game ROMs to the internal memory. How do I know which game will be loaded when I use the standalone cartridge feature of “Mode B”?

The standalone cartridge feature of Mode B causes the Omega DE to act like a standard game cartridge, so only one game is available to use. Only the first game in the list of games written to the internal memory (aka NOR Flash) will be loaded. Games listed after the first game can not be played or accessed in Mode B. Games are also not sorted alphabetically - they are sorted by the order in which they were written to the internal memory.

If you have multiple games written to the internal memory and want a game farther down the list to work with Mode B’s standalone cartridge feature then you’ll need to delete game ROMs from the internal memory until your chosen ROM is at the top of the list.

Why are my ROMs not recognized as games that can be played?

The Omega DE software requires ROM file names to be 100 characters or less in length. Renaming the ROM file to have a name shorter than 100 characters should be your first step in attempting to get a given ROM to work.

Why do some GB or GBC games fail to load, glitch, or crash?

These games are run via an emulator and therefore are restricted by the limitations of the emulator used. These limitations apparently come into play with larger sized games or games that require greater performance than the GBA hardware can provide while also running the emulator.

In these situations, a flash cart that supports running GB or GBC games via the original hardware (like the Omega DE does for GBA games) is the recommended workaround. Some examples of these kinds of flash carts are the EZ Flash Junior or the Everdrive GB7.

How many different versions (aka revisions) of the Omega DE are there?

There are two revisions of the Omega DE at time of writing. They are revision A and revision B. According to EZ Flash’s site there are no functional differences between the two revisions.

How do I tell which revision of the Omega DE I have?

Revision A contains an LX9 chip and can be identified by the words “OMEGA DE” printed on the back of the board inside the cartridge.

Revision B contains an LX16 chip and can be identified by the words “EZODE” printed on the back of the board inside the cartridge.

Reference

Jagoomba Color on Game Brew

Omega Definitive Edition Kernel Source Code

Goomba Color (Emulator)

Information sources

Cheaper Gamer’s review of the Omega DE

EZ Flash Omega GBC Emulator news post

Jagoomba Color thread on GBATemp

Omega Definitive Edition original manual

  1. Sometimes FAT32 is listed only as FAT. For example, “FAT32” is used in Disk Utility on macOS, but the option only says “FAT”. ↩︎

  2. As with anything on the internet, sites are constantly changing. These instructions are relevant to the site layout at the time of writing. If something doesn’t seem right, find me at one of the places I exist online and I’d be happy to update it. ↩︎ ↩︎2

  3. The “AUTO SAVE” setting is available on the fourth tab in the Omega DE’s interface, i.e. the one with a red, green, and blue circle in the tab. ↩︎

  4. If you are turning on the Omega DE and played a game on it last time it was on, then a popup will appear that says, “Save sav? <insert the game title you played here>.sav Sav…“ If the “AUTO SAVE” feature is turned off, then this popup will contain an “OK” and “CANCEL” button. If “AUTO SAVE” is on, then the Omega DE saves the file onto the SD card and forwards to the file list. ↩︎

  5. If the “AUTO SAVE” feature is turned off, then this step will ask the user whether they want to back up the save file. ↩︎

  6. If you want to automatically load the game with cheats enabled, then use “WRITE TO NOR ADDON” and read the cheats section. ↩︎

About Joe Greathead

I've been a Staff Developer at Shopify, I created the Tabletop Library app used at PAX and the Verge Taglines app for the Tidbyt. This is my blog on Software and other stuff.