Action Reloader XPLODER
For Gameboy Advance games on
GBA, SP, GB micro and Nintendo DS.
In this review we are looking at a XPLODER: Action Reloader from BLAZE. Action Reloader is a quick save / restore utility for GBA games. Can be used in GAMEBOY Advance, GBA SP and GB micro (GBM) as well as in Nintendo DS (only for GBA games that is)
What it does is it adds a quick SAVE and RESTORE like what you have in many PC action games with [F5] and [F9] buttons. So you can create a RealTime Save at any place in the game and later on with a single push of a button restore -> go back in time to that save point in game...
In addition to having this one active game save slot or as Xploder calls it [CAPTURE] you also have memory for storing up to 7 realtime games saves. Can be used all for one game or for multiple games.
Same as cheat devices like Action Reply or Game Shark you plug the Reloader into GBA slot and insert your game cartridge into it. As I already mentioned it was tested to work with all versions of Gameboy Advance including GBA, SP and Micro and it works on Nintendo DS, but of course on DS you can use it only for GBA games and not for NDS game cards.
When you turn on the console Action Reloader reads the name of the game from the cartridge, so this really helps when you want to save a backup of that game as you don't have to write the whole name yourself. Of course if you want to you can - but what we did is just changed the end of the name to 1, 2, 3 if we had multiple game saves for that game or if multiple people were using Reloader from the same game.
Now the best part is actually how easy it is to use it. Unlike in other add-on cheat devices where you have to enter codes or download them from the internet, here you can operate the device with just 2 buttons straight out of the box. Use the middle button on the Xploder to SAVE and any one of the side buttons to RESTORE. And yes - it really can be done at any place in the game. The best I can think of are before the big boss fights or if there is a long level and so far you have completed it perfectly that is a good place to do a quick save so that you don't have to replay the whole level if something goes wrong. Best of all you are not really cheating - just jumping back and forth in time like Michael J. Fox in the movie "Back to the Future" :)
Now it was really a pleasure to play with Xploder's Action Replay, but there are also some things you have to be warned about:
1. As you can see in the pictures the device is sized about the same as other cheat tools, so it is OK size if used with original GB Advance, SP or Nintendo DS, but when plugged ito GB Micro it does look rather big and makes playing a little harder. With micro it also increases the chance of accidentally pushing one of the restore buttons and loosing some of your progress in the game.
2. Save Slots for long time storing of Captured game momentous - 7... ok for some but here you can say the more the merrier.
3. Not 100% compatible and could cause some non lethal side effects in the game. When we were testing we found one game (could be that there are couple others) that didn't like being saved - My 007 Nightfire would lose sound every time it was saved, and in some cases after restoring the game would freeze.
4. Same as other cheat tools Action Reloader is not for ROM loving Flash Card using backup players - so to say - not compatible with GBA Flash Cards and Gameboy Multicarts, but than again if you have a flash card like G6Flash, M3 Adapter, SuperCard, Flash2Advance Ultra etc. you already have the Quick Save and Cheat code function built into the cart so you don't need another device to do the same thing.
Conclusion.
XPLODER Action Reloader does really good what it is made for - now you can save a game before the boss fight or even in the middle of the fight and if you lose - just teleport right back to that save spot. No need to enter any code - extremely easy to use. Well made and packaged in exceptionally cool looking metal gift box it makes for a perfect present to anyone with a Gameboy game collection. A real pleasure to use it.
+ First and only cheat device to add Quick Save / Restore option to all GBA Games
+ Well made and nicely packaged
+ Exceptionally easy to use - more simple than any other cheat device.
- Looks big when used with GB micro
- More save space is always better
- Could cause side effects in the game
(we were beta testing so this most likely will be fixed in the final model)
Buy Exploader ACTION RELOADER at Success-HK - Price $30 USD 
Action Reloader FAQ / Questions and Answer:
Q. Why are there 2 Restore buttons on the Reloader?
A. Any one of the two restore buttons can be used to restore to the last save game, but if you press them both together - it will reboot the Gameboy and let you store the current Save Game into one of the 7 storage Slots.
Q. Does this work with GBA Flash Carts
A. No - none of the Flash Cards we tested could be used in conjunction with the Action Reloader, but as most of the modern gba backup cards come with similar capabilities built into the actual cart there is no big loss.
Q. What's inside the box?
A. 1 x Action Reloader 1 x Color User Manual
- and some plastic to hold it all in place.
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