A few days ago, after I published my review of the Super Chis, I received a lot of recognition from netizens, which gave me a lot of motivation to keep writing articles about GBA flashcarts. Today I want to talk about the EZ Flash Air that I recently got—another new product from the EZ Flash team. Even if you don’t choose it after reading my review, that doesn’t change the fact that it’s still worth paying attention to.

Disclaimer: Technical details are based on the official manual and community resources, and all gameplay impressions come from my own hands-on testing. Prices refer to those from distributors in China (the actual price depends on the card you get). Game compatibility is for reference only—there are simply too many games, so some omissions are unavoidable.

An advanced GBA flashcart using a new architecture. Many people assume the EZ Flash Air is an entry-level product the moment they hear about it, and I thought the same myself. But after playing with it for two weeks, I found that it’s actually a “trickle-down advanced model”—it inherits many practical new features from the EZ Flash DE-B, while making its own trade-offs.

Of course, the EZ Flash Air is not a completely weakened version of the EZ Flash DE-B—it also has its own characteristics and target audience. Let me start with the conclusion: in one sentence, if you’re on a limited budget but still want to experience new features, the Air is a choice that can keep you caught up with the pack. If you want to try a new experience, you can go ahead and buy it, but be prepared to change your usage habits. If you want better compatibility and a more convenient experience, please choose the EZ Flash DE-B. If you already own an EZ Flash DE, this article is very suitable for you to read—just treat it as a way to learn about the EZ Flash team’s product lineup.

The biggest difference between the EZ Flash Air and previous products: it uses a new hardware architecture. There’s a design you may not be used to: games can only be played after being flashed to NOR first. Each game only needs to be flashed once, but it also requires waiting 1-3 minutes. The card’s built-in NOR has about 120MB of actual usable space (officially claimed as 960Mb), which means that for regular GBA ROM files, you can flash about 5-7 of them, with the specific number depending on the ROM size.

Current latest firmware kernel: FW5 K1.06. EZ Flash AIR gains the ability to delete games freely and NOR check feature after update. However, it has some features that entry-level flashcarts lack: it supports RTC (real-time clock) and Mode B (rumble and linking). These used to be features only found on high-end flashcarts, and they’re both practical and fun. I don’t think everyone needs to choose the EZ Flash DE-B—why not first take a look at my gameplay experience with Mode B before making a choice? That way you’ll have a better understanding of your real needs.

The practical and fun Mode B, and the compromises of the EZ Flash Air. The EZ Flash Air, the EZ Flash DE-B, and the previous-generation EZ Flash DE all come with Mode B, and the core experience is similar. The most fundamental differences lie in the hardware and the design philosophy. EZ Flash products released even earlier do not support Mode B.

The Mode A / Mode B toggle switch is in the upper right corner of the flashcart, above the memory card slot, on the side—you’ll need a card ejector tool.

Let me first explain the difference between Mode B and the traditional Mode A: Mode A is suitable for everyday gaming, and is more streamlined and stable; Mode B adds three functions—rumble pak, memory expansion pak, and linking/single-card mode. Although these three functions aren’t essential, you can experience the interesting designs of that era, which is also a kind of experience, I suppose. · Rumble Pak: can serve as a rumble pak for the DS, and can also be used to play GBA games that have rumble functionality. · Memory Expansion Pak (RAM): uses the flashcart as a memory expansion pak for the DS, for use with the browser or homebrew programs. · Linking/Single-Card Mode (LINK): linking mode can exchange data with, for example, Pokémon games on the DS; single-card mode lets you use a game flashed to NOR as a standalone cartridge, and it supports switching to a different game.

Let me talk about my actual gameplay experience. I played The King of Fighters EX2: Howling Blood, and this game supports the GBA’s native rumble functionality. It gave me a very novel experience—it’s just so cleverly designed.

When the character I was using and the opponent attacked each other, I could feel the feedback—I just want to say this feature was designed just right. I haven’t used the memory expansion pak much; after looking up some information, I found it was used more during the early DS era, and nowadays it’s more of a feature with nostalgic significance. I’m not very skilled with the linking function, since I’ve just started playing the Pokémon series. Simply put, you can transfer Pokémon to play across games—this feature is amazing, and I really admire the creativity of the DS back then.

Having talked about these three features, what I mainly want to discuss now is single-card mode.

First of all, as a game in single-card mode, it must be flashed to NOR. Playing games in single-card mode does not require a memory card. EZ Flash Air currently has a limitation: only the first game in the list can be used in single-card mode. The EZ Flash DE and EZ Flash DE-B do not have this limitation. Some people say this feature isn’t practical and that it’s more cost-effective to just insert a memory card, but I want to say that this feature is meaningful.

Let me first talk separately about the ChisFlash-MBCX. It can be understood as a derivative version of the open-source flashcart ChisFlash, taking the direction of an MBC3 clock cartridge. Although the hardware cost isn’t high, using it does have a certain threshold after all. But the EZ Flash Air is very simple and can also achieve this kind of effect—it’s just that it leans more toward software. Of course, I’m not comparing which one is better, but rather saying that this kind of feature is also quite meaningful.

There may be a misconception you have about Mode B.

You need to first enter Mode A, choose between the linking and rumble functions, and then switch to Mode B to play. If you switch directly to Mode B without having flashed a game to NOR, it will be recognized as no cartridge inserted, and in linking mode your DS game card also won’t show up. So if you only want to experience the rumble function, it’s better to choose Mode A, and then switch back to linking when you need to use single-card mode.

I once thought about a question: can the EZ Flash Air enable linking and rumble functions at the same time? The result of my experiment is that it cannot. Mode B can only be recognized as one device at a time—either a rumble pak or a GBA cartridge; it can’t serve both roles at once. I feel this is a very reasonable design, perhaps to make games run more stably, though the official explanation hasn’t detailed the specific reason.

Where are the compromises of the EZ Flash Air? Why did I still buy it? Actually, I struggled for a long time myself before deciding to buy the Air. The biggest compromise is that the Air doesn’t have PSRAM, so games must be written to NOR to be played; saves rely on SRAM plus a coin battery, and if the battery dies, the save is gone. As for the coin battery model, the EZ Flash Air uses a CR1220, while the EZ Flash DE-B uses a CR1025—please refer to the actual cartridge for specifics. Actually, if you’re not the kind of heavy gamer, coin battery memory can still meet most of your needs; stock up in advance, and this battery can last a long time.

But I ultimately bought it because I especially wanted to try Mode B. Secondly, regarding compatibility with ROM hacks and cheat codes, the EZ Flash Air is slightly worse. Fortunately, though, it can play quite a few Pokémon ROM hacks, and many such works have file sizes reaching 32MB, which many entry-level flashcarts can’t play. At the same time, I also tested other Pokémon ROM hacks, and the results were also decent.

However, if you’re the type who plays many GBA games at the same time, especially Pokémon-related ones, I’d still recommend you buy the EZ Flash DE-B. Compared to the EZ Flash DE of back then, its cost has come down, and the user experience is also a bit better. And the most important point: currently the EZ Flash Air doesn’t support save states, while the DE-B does.

Finally, let me talk about a ROM hack I’ve been playing recently. At least domestically, the very popular Pokémon Edición Team Rocket has a great experience when played on the EZ Flash Air. This is a ROM hack by the Spanish creator Dragonsden, based on Pokémon Emerald. The story is set around Team Rocket, which domestic players abbreviate as the “Spanish Team Rocket.” It runs smoothly, I haven’t run into any problems with saving, and it’s very fun to play.

If you want to know the compatibility of specific games, you can reply in the comments with the game name + region version + whether it’s a ROM hack. Due to game copyright and community rules, I will not share related files, and I hope you will also follow the relevant rules.

This doesn’t mean the EZ Flash Air isn’t worth considering at all. The price from distributors in China is $24.50, while the EZ Flash DE-B is $41.86(as of before this article was published)—the difference is still quite significant, making it very suitable for players with a limited budget to consider.

Taking everything into consideration, the EZ Flash Air lets some players experience new features like Mode B—that is its greatest significance.

EZ Flash Air Usage Tutorial

Here is the English translation of the image content:

The new card, like the DE-B, does not require specifically copying a kernel to upgrade.

Kernel upgrade method: Download the new version of the ezairkernel.bin file, copy it to the root directory of the storage card, then insert the flashcart back into the console. Hold down the R button while turning on the power. After the blue EZ-FLASH logo appears on the screen, release the button, and it will automatically flash. Never turn off the power during the flashing process.

Kernel rollback method: It is mainly divided into two steps. Whether upgrading or rolling back the kernel, you must follow the order. Rolling back means flashing the modified version first, then flashing the original version, stepping back to a stable version in two steps, for example, FW3/K1.04. Getting the order wrong can easily cause problems, and in severe cases, it can cause a freeze/death.

Here is a detail: First, rename the modified version file to ezairkernel.bin, and after a successful flash, delete the modified version file; rename the original version file to ezairkernel.bin as well, and flash it one more time. Remember that the order cannot be reversed, and do not flash repeatedly to avoid wearing out the NOR chip. After the rollback is complete, it is recommended to format the NOR and rewrite the games. If you are using this method for the first time, don’t be afraid—just understand the principle and follow the process. You can also consult the distributor; they are more familiar with it.

The common key combinations for the EZ Flash Air are as follows:

Main Menu Operations · L + R: Switch tabs · A: Enter folder / Pop up the launch menu · B: Return to the previous folder / Close the menu · ← / →: Page through the file list · ↑ / ↓ + A: Select an option and confirm

In-Game Shortcuts · L + R + SELECT: Toggle cheat codes on/off (requires enabling the cheat code function in settings first) · L + R + START: Soft reset, immediately return to the main menu (requires enabling the soft reset function in settings first)

Note: The cheat code and soft reset functions are turned off by default when starting a game. You need to manually enable them on the settings page first before you can use the corresponding shortcuts.

That’s basically all the basic operations. Thank you for reading. Personal experience is inevitably subject to omissions.

I’ve been using this card for a while now, and I’ve also been wondering whether it’s worth keeping for the long term. You ask if I’ll still hold on to a card like this? I want to say that this counts as an experience, and I want to keep this story—even though there are many areas that could be improved in actual use. I believe it will become a very promising GBA flashcart. So, do you prefer the Air or the DE-B? If your budget allows, which one would you choose? Or are you already struggling over whether to buy something with Mode B? You’re welcome to share your situation in the comments—based on the number of games you play, your save needs, and how often you play ROM hacks, I can give you the most practical advice directly.