theSLAYER

Introduction Normally, save dumps from bootleg GBA carts are not usable on emulators nor save editors. Instead of the designated save location (which is where regular homebrew for retail carts pull data from), the actual save is typically stored within the ROM data. This means that players would need to dump their ROM data, then somehow figure out how to manually extract the save. This program is an attempt at automatically extracting, and also injecting saves into bootleg Pokémon GBA ROMs, without the need to mess with hex editors. Additionally, while it is not the main purpose of this tool, this program can also dump .sav files from .xps or .sps files. [I can't find a working copy of XPS2SAV or SPS2SAV] Usage You can drag and drop the game (.gba/.bin) onto the program, or open the file with a click of the button. The save (if available) is then dumped into the same directory as where the game is. You can extract the save for editing, and then choose to inject back the edited save. If you were to dump .sav files from .xps or .sps files, the program will default to and enforce Full Search. Technical Explanation Quick Search This program checks every 0x1000 of the save file, starting from 0xFF8. (if it's a save, the initial 2-words at every 0xFF8 in the save are identical to each other, and the initial 2-words at every 0xFFE in the save are the same, that being blanks) Image example: Full Search This program goes through every byte in the file, and looks for the first instance of 0x2025. Once it finds the first instance of 0x2025, it checks 0x1000 away to see if that byte is also 0x2025 - this is to determine if the position contains a save. It then checks 0x10000 away to see if this save contains a backup. Tests done. Tested on a copy obtained from here, as well as on an owned bootleg cartridge.