If you’re into retro gaming, you’ve likely heard of flash carts. These devices allow you to backup your game collection to an SD card and play it on real hardware. Not only are they convenient, but they can also save your original cartridges and hardware from unwanted wear and tear.
There are a ton of different flash carts available for a myriad of systems, but sourcing them can be tough. Fortunately, we’ve rounded up the best flash carts on Amazon so that you can get one fast with reliable shipping. Note, due to the current global situation; many products are unavailable on Amazon. The items listed below are the best flash carts you can currently get on Amazon, but when the supply improves, we’ll update some of these with better products.
Best NES Flash Cart on Amazon: EverDrive N8 Pro
The Everdrive N8 Pro is Krikzz’s recent redesign of the venerable Everdrive N8. The N8 Pro uses a Cyclone IV FPGA and comes with 16 MB of ROM memory. It’s a much more powerful flash cart than the original model, and as such, it is compatible with the entirety of the NES library. Unlike the original N8, you can even play large homebrew ROMs like the Final Fantasy 7 demake on real hardware. Menu navigation is now lag-free, and performance, in general, is better in almost every aspect. There’s even a real-time clock function for the few NES games that utilize that feature.
The Everdrive N8 Pro is the Cadillac of NES flash carts. There’s really no reason to go with any other product on the market. Unfortunately, right now, Amazon only has the Famicom version of the Everdrive N8 in stock, and getting it to work with adapters is a hit or miss thing.
Best SNES Flash Cart on Amazon: FXPAK PRO
The FXPAK PRO (formerly the SD2SNES Pro) is the SNES equivalent of the Everdrive N8 Pro. This flash cartridge is a fantastic piece of work, and it supports all of the SNES/Super Famicom library except for five special chip games, the Surfami Turbo titles, and a few of the Satelliview games. That’s incredible since many SNES flash carts are completely incompatible with any special chip game.
For reference, the FXPAK PRO supports the following enhancement chips:
- Cx4
- DSP-1
- DSP-2
- DSP-3
- DSP-4
- GSU-1 (Super FX)
- GSU-2 (Super FX 2)
- OBC-1
- S-DD1
- S-RTC
- SA1
- ST-010
An amazing feature the FXPAK PRO adds to the SNES is a virtual enhancement chip called the MSU-1. This allows for uncompressed video and CD-quality audio to be added to ROMs and played on actual SNES hardware. If you’re a massive fan of the platform, it’ll blow your mind when you experience full-motion video and high-quality music for the first time on a Super Nintendo.
Just like with the Everdrive N8 Pro, there’s no reason to buy any other SNES flash cart. The FXPAK PRO is by far the most advanced and best supported on the market.
Best N64 Flash Cart on Amazon: EverDrive 64 v2.5
Currently, Amazon is only carrying the EverDrive 64 v2.5, or I would recommend the Everdrive 64 X7. The Everdrive 64 v2.5 isn’t a lousy flash cart by any means, but it’s the first on our list to feature some caveats to its functionality.
You can play 99% of the N64 library on an EverDrive 64 v2.5 without issue. This flash cart doesn’t have a real-time clock, but the only game affected in Animal Crossing (Animal Forest in Japan).
The big drawback with the 2.5 compared to the X7 is the way games save. On the 2.5, you have to reset your console (not power off) each time you save your game for the cartridge to write the save to the SD card. If you save without resetting and the console loses power, your save will be lost. The X7 saves like a typical N64 cartridge would, which eliminates the extra step you have to perform with the Everdrive 64 v2.5.
I heartily recommend that you check Amazon for the Everdrive 64 X7 before purchasing the 2.5. The complex saving process required on the latter is just asking for disappointment and it’s worth the extra bit of cash not to have to face that issue altogether.
Best Game Boy Flash Cart on Amazon: EverDrive GB X7
The EverDrive GB X7 is the top of the line Game Boy and Game Boy Color flash cart from Krikzz. It’s compatible with the entirety of the Game Boy library except for games that use IR sensors or an accelerometer. It can even be used with the Super Game Boy or compatible Game Boy Advances.
The X7 offers a few features that the lower-tier X5 doesn’t include:
- In-game menu
- Real-time clock
- Save states
The RTC is essential if you want to play Pokemon Silver and Gold, and with the Game Boy being portable, save states are incredibly convenient if you’re playing on the go. Just these three features make the X7 worth the extra cash, and you’ll be thankful you went all out later down the road.
Best GBA Flash Cart on Amazon: EXSEK EZFlash Omega
I love the EverDrive line, but when it comes to GBA, the price/performance ratio of the EXSEK EZFlash Omega has it beat. The EZFlash can play GBA, GB, GBC, and NES games, and does so without any issues that I can detect. Previous EZFlash GBA flash carts were more limited in their capabilities, but the Omega features a real-time clock, and games no longer take as long to load the first time you play.
The only disadvantage the EXSEK EZFlash Omega has compared to the EverDrive GBA X5 is that it’s a bit jankier in presentation. The build quality isn’t as good, and you’ll receive little to no support from the manufacturers. However, for $100 less than the EverDrive GBA X5, you get a flash cart that can do exactly the same thing with minimal fuss.
Best Sega Genesis Flash Cart on Amazon: Mega EverDrive X7
The Mega EverDrive X7 is a great flash cart for the Sega Genesis, but it’s no longer the latest and greatest out there. It can play Genesis/Mega Drive, 32X (as long as you have a 32X), and Master System games, and I’ve run into no compatible issues while using it. It also has save states, which is handy when you’re trying to make your way through a tough platformer.
Unfortunately, the Mega SD from Terraonion has far surpassed the Mega EverDrive X7, and that’s the flash cart I’d recommend now. The Mega SD goes beyond the X7 and completely recreates the Sega CD via an FPGA. This means you can finally play Sega CD games without worrying about whether the relatively fragile hardware is going to wear out.
The Mega EverDrive X7 is excellent if you’re not worried about Sega CD functionality, and is still a great flash cart. It’s definitely worth picking up if you’re only concerned about playing cartridge-based games and don’t really care much about Sega CD.
