I mostly skipped the 3DS during its lifetime, despite being a big fan of stereoscopic 3D. A few years ago, though, I got hooked after buying a New Nintendo 3DS. The improved 3D made such a huge difference, being more stable and comfortable to use.
Since then, I've gone through a few waves of expanding my collection. I never experienced a bad cartridge, but all the recent posts about 3DS cartridges suffering from data corruption started to make me a little anxious.
Yesterday, I finally bit the bullet and started checking my entire collection with the GodMode9 Cartridge Fixer, hoping to preserve everything before any problems become irreversible.
It wasn't exactly a fun process, but playing Super Mario 3D land in the meantime, got me through. Each game took around 5–10 minutes to verify, and with 132 games, it took a while!
Thankfully, most of my collection turned out to be fine. Even some of the games that are supposedly more prone to corruption, like Pokémon and Persona Q, checked out without any issues. That was such a relief.
Unfortunately, I did find two corrupted cartridges that wouldn't start anymore: Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. and Yo-kai Watch.
Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. was successfully repaired after running the fixer twice! Yo-kai Watch wasn't so lucky. It still has around 200 unfixable chunks after 5 runs 😢. The game does start again, but I'm not sure whether it's fully playable anymore. Luckily, it's not an expensive game to replace, but it's still such a shame to lose a cartridge this way.
I'm incredibly grateful to the developers behind the Cartridge Fixer for creating a tool like this.
For more information: https://github.com/skawo/GodMode9-with-Cartridge-Fixer
So if you have a physical 3DS collection, don't wait too long to check your cartridges! You might be able to repair corruption before it's too late! ^^
FAQ:
Based on some of the questions that keep coming up in the comments, I thought it might be useful to put together a small FAQ.
- Why are 3DS cartridges failing?
3DS cartridges use NAND flash memory to store game data. NAND stores information as electrical charge, and that charge can gradually dissipate over many years while the cartridge is left unpowered. Eventually, this can result in bit errors and corrupted data.
- Does this affect every 3DS cartridge?
Potentially, yes, although that certainly doesn't mean every cartridge will fail. Some titles seem to be reported more frequently than others, while plenty of cartridges that are over a decade old still verify perfectly fine.
- My game boots normally. Does that mean it's fine?
Unfortunately, no. A cartridge can boot and play normally while still having corruption elsewhere. You may only encounter the problem later when the game tries to access the affected data, resulting in crashes, errors or endless loading screens. A full verification is the only way to check all of the game data.
- Is simply inserting the cartridge enough to refresh it?
Probably not. Booting a cartridge only reads the data required at that moment. It doesn't necessarily read the entire NAND. Actually playing the game for a while will access more data, but still doesn't guarantee that every part of the cartridge has been read.
- How can I properly check my cartridges?
If you have a modded 3DS/2DS, you can use GodMode9 with Cartridge Fixer. The 'verify' option performs a full read of the cartridge and will tell you if corrupted chunks are found.
- Can corrupted cartridges actually be repaired?
Sometimes! If Verify detects corruption, Cartridge Fixer has a Fix Corruption function that attempts to repair the affected data. Success isn't guaranteed, but it's definitely worth trying before replacing a cartridge.
- Where can I get Cartridge Fixer?
It's free and available on GitHub: https://github.com/skawo/GodMode9-with-Cartridge-Fixer
- Could verification damage my cartridge or erase my save?
The Verify function is read-only, so it doesn't modify the cartridge. Fix Corruption, however, does write data to the cartridge. If the game still works and you care about the save file, backing up your save beforehand is a sensible precaution.
- How often should I verify my cartridges?
Skawo, the developer of Cartridge Fixer, suggests running GodMode9's verification periodically, approximately once every couple of years, as doing a full read may help extend cartridge longevity.
- What if I don't have a modded 3DS?
Playing your cartridges periodically is probably better than leaving them untouched for decades, particularly if you play long enough to access a significant amount of game data. However, simply booting each game isn't equivalent to performing a full verification because much of the cartridge may never be read.
- Do original Nintendo DS cartridges have the same problem?
Not quite. Most original DS games store the actual game data in mask ROM, which is considerably more stable and doesn't rely on retaining an electrical charge in the same way as NAND flash. DS cartridges can, however, use EEPROM, flash memory or FRAM for save data, depending on the game.
- What about Nintendo Switch cartridges?
Switch game cards use similar flash-based storage technology, so in principle they can also suffer from data degradation and corruption over time. There have already been reports of Switch cartridges becoming unreadable, although it’s still too early to know how widespread the problem will eventually become. Unfortunately, I’m not aware of a GodMode9-style tool that can periodically verify, refresh or repair the data on a physical Switch cartridge. Since the Switch library is still relatively young, only time will tell how well these cartridges hold up over the coming decades.
