07-18-2013, 06:41 PM
The EMS cartridge is probably the cheapest currently available option for GB Mono and GBC. It used to be possible to order it from EMS directly, for cheap, but once GameBoy music and LSDJ became a thing, stores like Kitsch-Bent bought up most of the stock. Same goes for replacement GameBoy Color and GBA cases from DealExtreme, which sold for $4, including free worldwide shipping. Kitsch-Bent had them for $10 + shipping.
Anyway, one major flaw of the EMS cartridge is that while it's 64Mbit in total, the memory is split into two 32Mbit banks, so anything above the 32Mbit simply won't fit. There's also the MBC mapper issue.
Still, there are few alternatives out there, and those non-EMS cartridges are too expensive for what they offer. There was one developed in China, or wherever, about two years ago, but after releasing a limited run with insane shipping delays, they shut the production down and I wasn't able to get my hands on one.
Anyway, one major flaw of the EMS cartridge is that while it's 64Mbit in total, the memory is split into two 32Mbit banks, so anything above the 32Mbit simply won't fit. There's also the MBC mapper issue.
Still, there are few alternatives out there, and those non-EMS cartridges are too expensive for what they offer. There was one developed in China, or wherever, about two years ago, but after releasing a limited run with insane shipping delays, they shut the production down and I wasn't able to get my hands on one.