Datel Action Replay Power Saves Pro - Nintendo 3Ds

This is an amazing product. I am an avid player of monster Hunter and I cannot tell you how many times I have been frustrated by grinding for a freaking Rathalos plate or a Lagiacrus plate or even a Rathalos Ruby. The worst is the Diablos and his stupid majestic horn. All I need is that one stupid item to complete an armor set and I cannot tell you how frustrated it makes me by not getting it once through either capture or killing it 47 TIMES IN A ROW. Anyways, the actual thing is very different but very straightforward to using. You plug in the game into the cartridge holder and it comes with the cable but I was told not to use that cable. If you have another micro USB cable around, use that instead because apparently the cable it comes with is garbage. Anyways you're going to also need to download the program from the website, and as far as I can tell, my computer has not picked up any viruses from it. Once you open the program and plug in the game to your computer, it's gonna ask you what sort of things you're going to want. As a monster Hunter player, you'll see that It gives you money codes, resource points, the choice from some of the best G ranked equipment in the game, and it will have a section where you can supply the first 20 slots in your item box up to 99. If you scroll down a little bit further it'll also ask you for the first six items lots what kind of specific items you want, and everything goes. Everything from account items like easy pitfall traps and first aid meds to Uragaan rubies and Majestic horns. I am very sure it works with other games like Pokémon and all that as well, but bare in mind you must have the physical copy in order to use this product. If you only have a digital copy, it's not gonna work because it needs the actual cartridge in order for it to work.

It works differently than the old action replays, but in my opinion, this version is better.Basically, there's a device that plugs into the USB of your laptop... this device allows you to pop in a game. The instructions are included, but to sum it up, you have to go to their website and download the software (which is safe for those who are paranoid) and once you have it installed (It only took me a minute), you open it and begin. Once you plug in the game, the codes for that specific game are brought up on the screen.I bought this for use with Pokemon X and Y, as well as Animal Crossing: New Leaf.I was pretty happy with the codes available for both. There are tons of codes, specifically for Pokemon X and Y and they occasionally add new ones.If you're afraid of your game getting corrupted, I don't think you should be. Whenever you go to load a new cheat code, it saves a backup of your game. There was once instance that it froze for Pokemon for whatever reason... I got on the game and it looked fine, but decided to restore the backup anyway. No worries! It's very safe. (I'm a huge fan of the backup feature).PLEASE NOTE, HOWEVER, THAT THIS ONLY WORKS FOR GAMES YOU HAVE PHYSICAL COPY OF! If you downloaded a game from the 3DS's digital shop, you cannot use this! I happen to own 3 AC:NLs and I can only use it for the two that are physical copies! Not a problem for me, but it's worth noting!

The two most common problems reviewers have had is either connection for the hardware through the cable and recognition of cartridges. The solution to the first is simple, while the other is... less so.In order to maintain a steady connection between the hardware and the computer, discard the mini-USB included with the PowerSave and purchase one from another seller. The mini-USB included has poor connection and is the cause of the "hardware not found" messages as well as the flashing between connected and disconnected.The second issue, which is why I am hoping to receive a refund, is the "insert cartridge" option remaining after a cartridge has been placed in the port. The CodeJunkies (creator of PowerSave and its predecessors) website has a list of all games supported by the device. It includes several popular titles and I specifically purchased this for my copy of Pokemon X, which is included on the list of supported games. Regardless of what I did to clean the contacts of both the game and the PowerSave hardware, it would keep the "insert your game cartridge" message. Several YouTube videos contained help for the problem. The simplest solution was removing the dashes in your license key for the device. Other solutions included cleaning the contacts with alcohol or saliva (not recommended, this will degrade the contacts over time.) I had contact cleaner on hand and used this. No progress was made.Ultimately I began discovering issues with X and PowerSaves, which date back to 2014. Apparently Pokemon X and Y use a NAND saving mechanism that prevents the cartridge from being accessed outside of a 3DS. I have not been able to personally test if this is true, as Pokemon X is my only game specifically for 3DS. If this is the case, the CodeJunkies website has had incorrect information in their list of supported games for at least one year. I'm hoping that in the future Datel and/or CodeJunkies will release an update that makes the product usable for the games that it claims to be be compatible with.I'm hoping to borrow a friend's cartridges for other games to see if it will actually work with any other popular titles at this point. I will update the review if anything is discovered.OTHER ASPECTS:When I received the entire item, it was package in a bubble wrap envelope with the packaging from the stock photo inside. It was dented around the plastic right above the product name "Action Replay PowerSaves PRO" and at the bottom of the clear segment. The cardboard on the back also had slight folds as if it had possibly been bent over something before, but nothing major. Everything was sealed and appeared to be absolutely new in spite of the cosmetic imperfections in the packaging.The license key that was included worked and did not give me the error message that others have received. Both the USB cable and the input for the cartridge were in new condition and both were immediately recognized after the software was installed. My only problem is what was stated above: the product will not recognize Pokemon X. Again, updates will be made regarding if I can get the product to recognize other cartridges and if this is a universal problem or if it's just this game.