Until a while ago, the PSVita homebrew scene was all the rage but now, the Switch’s scene is becoming much more active. Recently, a bunch of cool homebrew got released and these include a “Rocks and Diamonds” port, Tiles NX, SlideNX and an updated melonDS!
Rocks and Diamonds and Mirror Magic get a Switch port and melonDS updated to version 0.3.1
Thanks to rsn8887, a prominent PSVita homebrew developer, the Nintendo Switch got yet another open source game port. This time around, it’s Rocks and Diamonds which is a fun 2D puzzle game in which you have to move around grids in order to collect gems. Other than just being a fun way to spend some time, Rocks and Diamonds is also great in the way of having lots of custom level packs that you can download from its online community. Furthermore, it also has a level editor so that you don’t get bored of it easily. On the other hand, Mirror Magic is a game in which you guide laser beams to a pre-determined target before the time runs out.
Stuff can get pretty hectic in Rocks’n’Diamonds with harder levels! (PSVita port)
The Nintendo Switch ports are derived from the PSVita versions and both ports (Vita and Switch ones) are being updated hand-in-hand. For more information and download links, simply follow this link.
melonDS is a DS emulator that’s still in development but it’s making some notable progress, such as save state support, which could make it a competent Nintendo DS in the future. Unfortunately, the Nintendo Switch port doesn’t perform well (similar to DeSmuME in performance) so don’t expect any miracles. That being said, it’s still receiving updates to make it up-to-date with recent melonDS commits and for fixing bugs. Among the features found in the recently released 0.3 and 0.3.1 releases, we find:
- An options menu containing 4 options namely: – version 0.3
- The option to boot into the DS BIOS rather than into a game, enable/disable the threaded 3D renderer, toggle VSync and turn sound on/off. The first 2 are melonDS options while the latter two were added by Hydr8gon in the hope of achieving better performance.
- A fix relating to sound output (which also removed the aforementioned sound toggle) and a fix relating to file system navigation. -version 0.3.1
Don’t expect any miracles relating to Nintendo DS emulation on your Switch. Maybe someone will make an ARM64 JIt for a couple of Switch emulators some day!
To grab melonDS, simply grab the latest NRO from this link. If you want to report any bugs, it’s important to test them against desktop builds of melonDS before filing a report for the Switch port.
Tiles NX and SlideNX, a utility to change the joycon dis/connect sound, released
Tiles NX for the Nintendo Switch, by GBATemp member ‘Cid2mizard‘, is a port of his Tiles 2DS for hacked Nintendo 2/3DS consoles. This game is a Lights Out clone in which you have to turn off all the lights in the given grid. While it may not sound that challenging, it could actually get pretty difficult especially with larger or odd-shaped grids. Tiles NX has the following features:
- A total of 100 puzzles so that you don’t get tired of it that easily
- Save game support
- Touchscreen input support
- There’s sound and music support so that you aren’t faced by silence while turning off a bunch of lights!
SlideNX, by GBATemp member ‘jonyluke‘ is WIP module (plugin in PSP/Vita jargon) compatible with ReiNX/Hekate that lets you change the sound played when you dis/connect a joycon. Sounds files must be in MP3 format and placed in the directory “/SlideNX” on your Switch’s SD card. To install it on a system running ReiNX, you have to copy the module (KIP file) to “/ReiNX/sysmodules”. Configuration is done via an “attach” and “nattach” TXT file which you should create in the aforementioned folder.
Tiles NX has simple retro-esque graphics and it’s a must play if you like puzzle games!
Right now, the module has the issue of not muting the default sound dis/connect sound but that will hopefully be fixed in the near future. If you wish to try it out, read its release post and find its download link from here.
Conclusion
Without a doubt, the console that’s getting the most homebrew right now is the Nintendo Switch so you should start hacking your own console if you haven’t done so already!
That being said, remember that there’s a chance of being banned from using your Nintendo account so proceed with caution. If you encounter any issues with software mentioned in this article, simply report them to the ‘Issues’ tab of their respective GitHub links.
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