Programs:

Dolphin[dolphin-emu.org]
Krzys2's Chao Editor[chao-island.com]
Chao Exporter/Importer[chao-island.com]
SA2 Save Converter[gamebanana.com]

IRL Stuff (Optional if you had a save from an emulated copy instead):

Modded Wii/GC with GCMM installed
GC Memory Card
1 SD card

Games obtained through legal means :)

Sonic Adventure 2 Battle
Sonic Adventure DX
Sonic Advance 1, 2 or 3 (or no game if you like, actually have a working GBA and physical copies of the GC games, but just make sure to keep it on between games).
gba_bios.bin (If you plan on doing chao transfers between DX and SA2 using Dolphin)

See the first part of this guide for a more in depth explanation:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=444918749

Basically, have your GC memory card inserted into a modded Wii/GC, load up GCMM and do either a full backup (will create a .RAW file of your memory card with all of the data inside) or a single backup of your Chao garden data and Save data for either game (I will save them as .gci files).

I'd recommend a full backup if you aren't sure.

This can be done either by emulator or IRL if you happen to have a GBA with a GC link cable and a copy of any of the Sonic Advance games (or no copy at all but just don't turn off the GBA if you plan on doing it that way).

The legitimate way:

If you do this via an actual GC/Wii, you need to connect a GBA via GC link cable into your second controller slot (with a copy of an Advance game or without one), pick up a chao and put them in the transporter thing that looks like a GBA in the GC versions of the games.

Now you have to transfer them to the Tiny Chao Garden in your GBA (keep it on if you're doing this without a cartridge) and make sure that the game saves properly.

Then you just change games from DX to SA2, and do the same thing in reverse, go to the machine, select the Chao inside the GBA and bring them to the Chao garden, make sure the game is saved properly and you're good to go.

The "legitimate way :)":

Open up Dolphin and go to Config -> Gamecube

Make sure you're reading a memory card (.RAW file) that has save data for both games (either your backup of a real one or an emulated one if you played the games that way).

In the GBA Settings, make sure you're reading a gba_bios.bin file, or the emulator will refuse to load up the game, have Port 2 read a Sonic Advance 1,2 or 3 rom (I'd also advice that you make the emulator save the .sav file for that rom in the same directory as the rom).


Now go into Controller Settings and make sure that GC Controller Port 2 is set to GBA (Integrated) and set up your key bindings for that GBA.


Then just follow the same stuff from above.

If you backed up your saves as .gci files using GCMM, you can go straight into the SA2 Save Converter, if not, you'll have to open up your .RAW file that you got as a backup from GCMM via Dolphin going into Tools -> Memory Card Manager.

This will open up your main .RAW file that you've been using with Dolphin, if you have your saves here because of emulation, this is the one you want, if not, open up the .RAW backup you got from GCMM either in slot A or B, it doesn't matter.

Find your SA2B save data and chao garden data, select them and export them as .gci files.


After that you can close Dolphin and open up SA2 Save Converter and select the file icon at the bottom right corner of the small window, select any of your .gci files and then press the steam icon.

This will inmediately create a file inside the SA2 Save Converter folder called SONIC2B_ALF

First you'll want to load your converted save file, to do that, you'll want to open up the game install folder, go into the resource folder, gd_PC folder and then into the SAVEDATA folder and copy the save data into that folder.

If you already had a save file for the game, you might want to back up your chao garden one somewhere else and move the GC converted save into the SAVEDATA folder.

Now, boot up the game, load into the Chao garden lobby and open up the Chao Garden Editor, if you have the Exporter/Importer in the same folder as the Editor, it should let you launch that program through there.


The Chao Exporter/Importer should list all of the Chao inside the Chao Garden, then you just have to select one of them and click the "Export Selected Chao" button, this will save a bunch of .chao files into your computer named after the Chao you exported.


Now that you have your exported chao, you can close the game and change into your other chao garden file if you had one from before, or even load up SADX, then using the same Exporter/Importer tool, or right clicking an empty slot in the Chao tab from the Editor, you can import via a .Chao file, then you just have to reload the area and your Chao will appear inside the garden.

This is literally the end, I hope this was useful and that someone will understand this guide, I only made this because the guide that I referenced earlier was useful for the memory card backup stuff but then it would ask for a bunch of stuff where you had to manually edit the chao file with a hex editor.

In theory this guide should also work from PC to GC, since the SA2 Save converter can also convert PC files into GC ones (and also other consoles, so in theory you could transfer a Chao from GC to Xbox or PS3).