In light of the recent news regarding the upcoming Tales of Graces fan translation patch i have been made increasingly aware that many people here who clearly intend to play the game once the patch is released, are unsure how the process of patching is done, and are in the dark about Homebrew Channel (HBC) in general, and it's popular applications. Riivolution in particular, the app that you will be using to patch the game. If people are currently not aware of what must be done in order to play the game with the patch there will be a lot of confusion and headache's in the future, which I'm sure we'd all very much like to avoid.

I wish to prepare everyone for when the fateful day comes that the translation patch is made public by writing a guide on how to patch Wii games using Riivolution, as well as installing the Homebrew Channel, Bootmii and DVDx, and the general use of these systems. It won't be anything too fancy or complicated, I'm going to keep it as a simple, easy to understand step-by-step tutorial that instructs you on how to install and use the Homebrew Channel and Riivolution.

However, i currently face a minor dilemma. I'm sure you're all aware that Nintendo have recently released a new system menu (4.3). As far as I know there is currently no reliable workaround for the latest firmware. This is a problem because a workaround known as Bannerbomb is necessary to patch games without any need to install the HBC or mod your Wii in any way. However, Bannerbomb does not work with System Menu 4.3 as of now, and there are no other convenient exploits like it. This means anyone currently using 4.3 cannot patch games on the Wii, unless they had installed the Riivolution channel v1.03 prior to the update, which i highly doubt anyone has done.

There is no doubt in my mind that many of you have already gone and updated to 4.3, not a wise move but I'm not judging anyone. Now, i would like to know if you all wan't me to wait till i can write a guide for everyone when it is possible (when 4.3 has been defeated), or you would i rather i write the guide anyway for those still on 4.2 or lower, and update accordingly when 4.3 is no longer an issue (when Bannerbomb is updated). Please vote in the poll and drop a comment if possible. If anyone has any questions don't be afraid to ask, this is something i feel i should do for my favorite forum community.

EDIT: Added additional information to make things a little clearer.

Isn't the patch the same as the Fatal Frame IV patch, which just required an SD Card and no use of Homebrew at all?

@ Soriku

Yes Riivolution is thankfully compatible with 4.3 which makes things a whole lot easier. I was intending to make it sort of double-guide though, for those interested in installing the Homebrew Channel for various reasons (playing imported games etc.) and those who just want to be able to use patches for Tales of Graces (or Fatal Frame 4 etc.). But, because there's currently no reliable method of installing Homebrew Channel outside of Smash Stack and Indiana Pwns i wasn't sure whether i should just write the guide anyway or wait till Bannerbomb and the Hackmii Installer get updated.

EDIT: One other thing i failed to mention which you should know. Riivolution's compatibility with System Menu 4.3 only means that the Riivolution channel is able to be installed on System Menu 4.3. Bannerbomb at this time doesn't work with 4.3, So those without the Riivolution channel installed won't be able to patch games.

How patching on the fly works is that you use the Bannerbomb exploit with System Menu 4.2 and below to run Riivolution, which you then use to run whatever game you wish. This means the need for the HBC or the Riivolution channel isn't necessary. Of course, that isn't the case with 4.3, because there is no compatible version of Bannerbomb as of yet, which means if those on 4.3 wish to patch games they must Smash Stack or Indiana Pwns exploits to run or install Riivolution, which is a little more of a hassle.

@ Mr. Khan

Yes it is.

You won't have to update your Wii, ever. When applications like Riivolution are made compatible with recent firmware updates they're still fully compatible with previous ones.

From what I heard the Wii is region locked isn't it? To allow it to play a Japanese game in the first place you would have to use homebrew

Not exactly. Riivolution effectively acts as a makeshift Freeloader as well, it runs games from another region than your Wii's, which was crucial as you could imagine for scenario's like Fatal Frame 4's. So the HBC isn't at all necessary. 

okay do i have the homebrew channel so do i just install the rivolution channel from a wad and use it like that or what?

4.3 virgin (untouched) Wii's can be softmodded (there is even a way to get the HBC onto them). So you could even write the guide now. You do have to own Smash Bros. or LEGO Indiana Jones though so the method is not convinient.

@ Mad55.

To install the Riivolution channel, you just have to load the Riivolution application (be it through the Homebrew channel or Bannerbomb) and click the Install button when the option becomes available.

@ Vectorferret.

Yes, 4.3 is capable of being softmodded because Nintendo cannot touch exploits such as Smash Stack and Indiana Pwns. But having to own a copy of either game is definitely an inconvenience, which is even more irritating when you remember that the Smash Stack exploit only works with US copies of Smash Bros. Brawl., and i'm pretty sure not many people here are willing to go out and hunt down a copy of Lego Indiana Jones just for this.