Preparations:

First, we need to get you some materials.

• http://nocash.emubase.de/gbatek.htm – GBATek. Contains hardware information regarding the GBA and NDS. Yes, a lot of what we’re learning applies to the Nintendo DS as well. Same programming language and all. Of this huge resource, the THUMB and ARM instruction sets will likely grab your attention more than anything else, at least at a basic level.

• http://re-eject.gbadev.org/files/thumbref.pdf - Thumbref. For me, it’s even more useful than GBATek. It’s a very nice reference used as a reminder as to how codes work in terms of what their name is, their parameters, and other information. Note that it’s a reference—something you use as a tool or guide, like a cheat sheet. It won’t really teach you anything. Also, you may want to save this PDF to your computer to make things easier.

• http://sourceforge.net/projects/devkitpro/ - Necessary to actually compile your ASM routines into something you can use. Sadly, we’re already at a point where I can do little to help you: I managed to install this and get the necessary programs working after some magic that I don’t remember, but people tend to have problems with it. For now, try installing the program and once it’s done, restart your computer. We’ll worry about actually making use of it later.

• A Windows computer. I won’t even bother trying to support Macs here. I’ve got no clue. I’m all for convenience and compatibility, which is why I use Windows. I wouldn’t even know where to start in terms of supporting Macs here, so I’m not even going to try. :(

• https://dl.dropbox.com/u/8875056/hacking/asm/Assemble%20ARM.zip – Extract this ZIP and you should get a batch file that will help you compile Assembly. If you edit it with a text editor, you should note that it requires some files in the directory C:\devkitPro\devkitARM\bin\, which is why it’s important to install devkitPro.

• http://notepad-plus-plus.org/download/v6.3.1.html - Notepad++. It’s just too good to pass up. Way better than writing in plain old notepad. It’ll color code things and just help you with your organization and general programming happiness. Use it, please.

Now that you’ve got some setup, let’s get into things. This is your last warning, by the way: I’m not going to be teaching this very easily where I go into unnecessary amounts of detail and explain every little thing, assuming you know hardly anything. You’ll be expected to know how events work, how to make changes using Nightmare, how to use a hex editor quickly and efficiently, lots of general hacking terms etc., and how to memory hack (here’s a short video: I suggest you fool around a little more than what I did there though, so you can learn more/master it a little) and use VBA as I’ve taught in previous chapters.

It’s assumed that if you’re continuing, you’re prepared, and you’re ready to put some effort and time into this. If you’re not happy, try finding another ASM tutorial out there that’s actually practical—I never could, so I spent dozens of hours teaching myself, having the hardest time just doing the most basic ASM hacks. I’m not trying to complain, I’m just trying to prevent you from complaining.

But alright, enough of that. Let’s get on with this. Assembly hacking might be tiring and difficult, but it’s also the pinnacle of hacking, letting you actually edit how the game works, and can some of the most rewarding hacking you will ever do. It’s also a programming language, meaning if you learn this well enough, you can write it on your résumé (though I’m not sure how impressive people would find it) and apply some of the basic concepts towards learning new programming languages, if this is your first one.