nintendo ds: any thoughts?

[kylerexpop]

here's the thing: i LOVED 'castlevania: aria of sorrow' for my gba, so when i heard that there was a ds sequel coming out (dawn of sorrow) i thought "maybe it's time to get a ds, especially since it would play all my gba games."

so i bought one tonight, along with the new castlevania game. but now i'm thinking that the $180 might go better towards something else? i don't know. i'm just feeling guilty, plus i'm wondering if the price might go down for or after the holidays. or if the ds is even worth it.

i've got 30 days to return it. does anyone out there have any strong feelings for or against the ds that might help me make my mind up?

[StarOpal]

While I haven't actually tried the DS myself, I hear that it's more of a puzzler and weird games handheld. Like Wario Ware, Bejeweled, and Trauma Center work really well, while games like Splinter Cell are pretty awful.

So the question I suppose would be, what kind of games do you plan investing in? And are you going to play $180 worth on the DS?

[PoolMan]

Well Kyle, you're the one who's got his grubby mitts on it, what do YOU think of the DS? Even I haven't played with one yet.

I'd say the same thing about the DS that I do about the Revolution; I really have to hand it to Nintendo for not walking the safe, me-too path in their hardware and game design. That I unfortunately believe the Big N is putting themselves in the most perilous position they've ever been in as a company is beside the point. I'd really, really like to be able to walk into a game store again and see things that aren't simply spins and riffs on existing genres, but truly new and exciting things. Microsoft and Sony just aren't willing to do that. Nintendo is, but I think it may be the death of them.

[siegeshot]

I have one too. I've had one since they come out. 3d third persons don't work too well on it, but Metroid Prime Hunters plays incredibly on it, and the full version is coming out sooner or later, and IMO I like FPS better with a stylus then I do with a mouse.

The system is good for a lot of things, the coolest games you can find though, are the ones that use the stylus really well to go through the menus. Try to find games that aren't ports though. Right now I'm neck deep in
Pheonix Wright: Ace Attourney and can't stop playing it. I've heard everyones head over heels about trauma center but thats not my cup of tea.

I hope yall aren't down on puzzlers but I really really enjoy Meteos and Polarium. Another really cool thing about the DS is that you can share your games. A lot of the games have an upload/download feature so that lets say you have Bomberman DS and you're somewhere and someones like hey lets play what u got, and you're like hey I got Bomberman DS.

You can upload it to him in a minute or even less and both bomb the crap out of each other. And the majority of the DS games support that either full sharing to duel each other or at least some kind of mini game or something.

I hope that all makes sense, I'd be more then happy to clarify.

[kylerexpop]

whoa, i never updated any of these console threads! weird.

when i FIRST bought a ds, it was the crap original one. the day after i originally posted about it, i brought it and castlevania back. at the time, i didn't feel right about blowing that kind o' dough on gaming stuff. plus, i never really liked playing the ds in stores.

well, while in hawaii, the ds lite was released. that sunday, i hung out with a friend and then wandered around a mall and a bunch of downtown shops until i found a walmart that had them in stock. i bought one! it's AWESOME!

anyway, any game recommendations now? i have 'brain age' (awesome!), 'big brain academy' (i think awesome!), 'resident evil: deadly silence' (haven't played it much yet), 'castlevania: dawn of sorrow (haven't played it much yet), and 'trace memory' (haven't played it much yet). other than the mario games, which i figure can wait because they'll ALWAYS be available, i'm not sure what else is worth getting. thoughts?

p.s. at the sdcc i saw video of the 'lego star wars: original trilogy' game and it looks like the same fabulous lego star wars fun the first game was. i also got to play the 'castlevania: portrait of ruin' game and if you like castlevania, you'll like this one! it's pretty much the exact same thing the last few castlevania handheld games have been, but just as awesome and with a girl fighting with a book that shoots out swords when she opens it.

and that's REAL ultimate power!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Al]

I've actually been meaing to write up a thread about the DS lite for a month of so now. I was all-but shanghai'd into buying one when it came out six weeks ago, but I safely say it was one of the best purchases I've made for myself in a long while. Brain Age and Big Brain Academy do indeed rule. Resident Evil is a neat port of the original PS1 game (live cut scenes and bad voice acting and everything). Trace Memory I also own, but it only takes 4 or 5 hours to beat, depending on how long one or two of the tougher puzzles take to stump you. Might I also recommend Advance Wars: Dual Strike, Lost Magic (if you're into the Goblin Commander-esque fantasy thing), and highly, highly recommend Lost in Blue, which is quickly becoming one of the most fun, innovative, and consistently surprising games I've ever played.

I've never owned a handheld system in my life, never even had the urge, beyond a vague want to fit in with the rest of my friends, and the DS Lite has nailed me tail-over-teakettle with how much rump it rocks. Completely worth the money if you have any sort of spare time whatsoever.

EDIT: Oh, and I can also recommend Mario Kart DS, Tetris DS, and Meteos (though this last one is getting tough to find).

[nellhows]

I've got a DS. It's been pretty great. I've got Mario, Tetris DS, Mario Kart, Metroid Prime Hunters, Madden 2005, and Zelda the Minish Cap (GBA). I'm coming back into the Nintendo fold, as I indicated in the console battles thread.

Anyway, my favorite game is actually Zelda, even without the lower screen, and slightly lower resolution on the top screen. I missed zelda ....

Mario DS is cool. Metroid gives my hand a cramp. The graphics are alright, and the gameplay is cool, just need short playtimes.

[kylerexpop]

yep: i heartily recommend the new ds lite to ANYBODY and EVERYBODY.

it just simply is awesome. i bought 'advance wars' yesterday on a whim, and loved it. i knew i would, but found it very amusing that the gamestop dude was like "now, we have a used copy [sic] and you probably should buy that one if you've never played 'advance wars' before."

i guess i look like an idiot. i don't mind. especially with my slick and stylish ds lite. hooray!

[Head Mutant]

Advance Wars is a pretty spiffy game. I'm more or less waiting for the Wii, since I got Caramel into the Gamecube as of late (it's a good thing for our relationship that I kick her butt at Double Dash with such consistancy).

[PoolMan]

Justin Olivetti: Waiting for Wii.

Hee, the name's still funny.

Advance Wars is one of my favourite series, and believe me, the single biggest reason I'd buy a DS (assuming I ever will) is for the new AW game on it. But I didn't actually like the Cube version... too much of a break from the series.

[eatmyshorts]

I think I may buy a gamecube but I can't decide. I really want RE4!!!! But that windwaker game kinda sucked, and I played a few other games only for GC and wasn't too impressed. and don't say ?buy the wii" because I am never goint to shell out more then 150 bucks to buy a console, I'm just not that into "new" games. I'd rather play my SNES console or nintendo roms.

[PoolMan]

Just a point of curiousity: what was it about Wind Waker you didn't like? The gameplay was very much evolved from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, so pleeeeeease don't tell me you passed it up because of the cartoony graphics.

[eatmyshorts]

characters lack personality, too easy puzzles, too easy bossses, I got tired of it too quick, and yes, I think the graphics look a little stupid but is above all just too boring for me. I just never got into it I guess. I'd much rather play fable again for my xbox. maybe I'll just stick to xbox (even though the GC I would get will only be like 30 bucks from a friend, which is worth it for Resident Evil). But, as you know, MGS is probably my favorite game of all time (next to ninja gaiden for xbox) so you know we disagree SOMEWHAT on games. it's all good. dog? fresh.

[PoolMan]

Oh, it's all good. You're totally free to not like it, I just wondered if it was for the usual reasons people offer or others.

[eatmyshorts]

yeah. I don't relaly care about the animation, in fact, it was one of the reasons it motivated me to play. It's different (though I didn't totally love it, or evne like it for that matter)