I've been having fun finding out what the Retrode is capable of, even though its a purchase of about 4 years, I'm still discovering neat ways to utilize it for things like streaming. I've been able to get it to work from a router all the way over to a console loader so its like having a gameboy player without the add-on.
I can have it hooked up to my PC or directly to the router through its USB slot, which helps me keep track of the dates
and times for saves. This is also helpful when I have a bulk of video recording projects or something as simple as having a friend that owns the original console hardware. We can play without the hassle of memorizing what we are and are not supposed to bring just to enjoy a gaming session of Donkey Kong.
With that said, I'm discovering some of the limitations. I suppose its to be expected with any aftermarket format, you have to work around the hardware and go by its rules so as to familiarize what you're working with. So first I learned that the Super Gameboy isn't compatible (for reasons I discovered on this site) and now I'm working with the Gameboy Advance Genesis adapter. I'm thinking maybe the issue is the extra utility involved?
I discovered that you have to ensure the specific market file sizes to get it to work properly. Games like Mario Kart Super Circuit will hiccup in game and Pokemon won't even show up without having the appropriate save setting in an emulator (Original hardware bypasses this for dummies like me)
(https://forum.retrode.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fview%2F7jtj2njytnax805%2FCaptureB.PNG&hash=0f79e3992bcb07bc2388a58c4a61445c1815ca0d)
http://www.mediafire.com/view/7jtj2njytnax805/CaptureB.PNG
(https://forum.retrode.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fview%2F75hn0b5bj1dubwq%2FCaptureC.PNG&hash=753194dfa945f7cf3170fd535bebbf8ac22ecbe6)
http://www.mediafire.com/view/75hn0b5bj1dubwq/CaptureC.PNG
Its a whole thing to get past this and have it just right, but I did my homework and rediscovered all the values and distinguished the difference between EEPROM and Flash etc. but its not until I came across this message that I got some better insight on the underlying problem.
(https://forum.retrode.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Fview%2Fdepjk0j879is7bx%2FCaptureA.PNG&hash=26c50bd2b5cd9a1c2d951b0cfd4e0f37c6b15e97)
http://www.mediafire.com/view/depjk0j879is7bx/CaptureA.PNG
Sometimes the name of the game shows up partially, and sometimes its like the system is half asleep trying to interpret it, but in both cases it seems like its trying to give the right results. This is the first time I've used No$GBA as an emulator, others just show up as a blank white screen when trying to play games like Metroid Zero Mission.
In this case, I'm really captivated by the idea of playing Golden Sun. I'm worried about other games showing a similar exception, like it might be a an ordeal trying to understand the Hexadecimal behind it all. Where to I begin with this kind of error? I'm willing to learn- I do all my homework if the end result is plain enough to shoot towards.
There are three very common issues you will need to ensure you have addressed.
1) The voltage switch inside the SNES slot needs to be set to 3.3V. This is likely the most common cause of data corruption/invalid names/checksums/etc.
2) If the above is correct, but you are still getting corruption, try cleaning the cart contacts. The Retrode can sometimes be more sensitive than a real GBA. Use a Q-Tip and rubbing alcohol.
3) For many games, the Retrode does not detect the correct size, and thus ends up missing game content. You should cross-check against an independent list (I recommend http://offlinelistgba.free.fr/ ), and use the force system/force size fields to correct this.