Well, it took way longer than I thought it would, but all the tests are done, all the software has been verified and installed, now it's time to pass my 2DS on to a new owner. The most time-consuming bit was quality assurance. I had to QA every single game I loaded onto it. Like I said once, console unlockers tend just to download a collection of retro games from the internet somewhere and then move the files directly from the 7zip to the SD card without concerning themselves with function. I truly wanted whoever buys this to have instant access to all the games I said I had preinstalled without needing to worry about whether it was going to work or not. Basically, I was trying to stand in for Nintendo here, since you could usually count on them to make things that worked on the first go. I wanted to do that here, too.
Since I couldn't find the instruction manual, I decided to write a new one. It doesn't cover all the same stuff that Nintendo's official one did, but it covers how to use the jailbreak features, like the ROMs folder, the UniStore, and the hShop. Really, it's a different system than what left Nintendo's factory in 2013, having had some features fundamentally changed. We don't need to know about how to use the eShop or the Nintendo Zone services, because those are gone. We do, however, need to know that taking the SD card out of the system will make it impossible to use because of the jailbreak. We're not so concerned with the StreetPass Mii Plaza as we are with how to work Wumiibo.
This whole adventure exposed something unfortunate about the No-Intro Collection, in that it seems more interested with completeness than quality. Bad ROM rip? Invalid checksum? Who cares! Close enough, get it onto the list. I had this problem with 5 Super NES, 2 Mega Drive, 1 NES, 2 Game Boy Advance, and 2 Nintendo DS games. Unfortunately, it meant deleting those DS games, since I didn't have other copies from other sources.
Anyway, all things considered, I think it'll soften the blow for some kid somewhere when his parents can't afford the $500 for a Switch 2, $90 for a game license, $75 for NSO subscription, and $450 for a 4K TV. Well, maybe not. I remember how bougie teenagers took Vines of themselves destroying their new iPhones because they were the wrong model. I really don't think privileged assholes like that do their shopping on Craigslist, but I really hope the 2DS serves as a treasured gaming device as opposed to cannon fodder for social media engagement. Oh well. I'll have the money, what do I care? It's never a good thing when the seller wants to involve themselves in decisions about how the item is used. [staring needles at Nintendo and Microsoft]