Nintendo DS questions/advice

Wlogan31

Wlogan31

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Hello GAGers,

I haven't been on the forums in a LONG time but I'm back for a quick thread and some advice. At some point between 1.5 and 2 years ago I began working so much and had so little free time that I had nearly zero time for gaming. At that point I slowly began selling off my entire collection and was left with just a PS3 that was barely touched (even getting rid of my DS). 6 months ago I moved to London, UK for work and ditched the PS3 (my brother is thankful - he got it for free).

After living here nearly 6 months I have noted that I still have very little free time but am spending about 1.5 to 2 hours per day on my commute to and from work so I'm strongly considering purchasing a handheld gaming device again. I'm leaning towards the NDS (as I owned one before and loved it) but am open to other suggestions.

What I ask of CAG is this: what do I purchase (system wise) and also what games would be recommended? A quick search on Amazon yielded that there are about 80 different NDS versions now (DS, DS Lite, DSi, 3DS, DSXL) and honestly I'm lost. I think DS Lite is most suited to me but figured I'd ask.

As far as games go, here are a few I played through in the past that I enjoyed (with my favs from below being the Advance Wars games and New Super Mario Bros).

Advice greatly appreciated!!

Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
Advance Wars: Dual Strike
Age of Empires: The Age of Kings
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Elite Beat Agents
Final Fantasy III
Kirby: Canvas Curse
Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Metroid Prime Pinball
New Super Mario Bros.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Super Princess Peach
Trace Memory
Trauma Center: Under the Knife
Wario: Master of Disguise
 
I still love my DS Lite since I have a bunch of Gameboy Advance games that won't play in the DSi & DSi XL. I would recommend not getting the larger screen (XL) since you'll be towing it around for your commute.
 
If you want to play both DS and GBA games, get a DS lite. DS games also look slightly better on the DS/DS lite/DSi/DSi XL than the 3DS. If you prefer bigger screens and don't mind sacrificing the GBA slot then the DSi XL is the way to go. If you don't mind the lack of GBA slot, slight decrease in picture quality for DS games (there's a blur filter) and worse battery life, get the 3DS.
 
Sounds like DS Lite is still the one for me then... No need for 3D (as long as DS Lite won't be obsolete) and smaller/compact is more my route. Also, I'm not much for extras but GBA games are a plus.

Haven't looked at DS games in over a year. Any suggestions? I like the SRPGs but also adventure games (like NSMB or Super Princes Peach) where you can just play 1-2 levels, save and quit (i.e. commute).
 
I really like the DSi XL. As far as games go, Dragon Quest IX is fantastic (and the other DQ re-releases are very fun too), as is the new Golden Sun. It's a bit dialogue heavy at times, but it's really a fun game with a whole lot to see and do. And though they're a bit niche, I like Devil Survivor and Disgaea DS. Fun games all around.
 
While they're all likely sold out at every Radio Shack by you, you may want to consider looking for a DS Lite there, as they were about $75 there just before Christmas and may be less there now.
 
Here's a short list to consider:
Advance Wars Days of Ruin
Animal Crossing Wild World
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Chrono Trigger
Contact
Contra 4
Dragon Quest IV Chapters of the Chosen
Dragon Quest IX Sentinels of the Starry Skies
Dragon Quest V Hand of the Heavenly Bride
DragonQuest Heroes Rocket Slime
Final Fantasy III
Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy Tactics A2
Glory of Heracles
Golden Sun Dark Dawn
Ivy the Kiwi?
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Kingdom Hearts Re:coded
Kirby Canvas Curse
Kirby Squeak Squad
Kirby Super Star Ultra
Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass, The
Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks, The
Legendary Starfy, The
Mario & Luigi Bowser's Inside Story
Mario & Luigi Partners in Time
Mario Kart DS
Mario Party DS
Mario vs Donkey Kong Mini-Land Mayhem!
Mega Man Zero Collection
Mega Man ZX
Metroid Prime Hunters
Might & Magic Clash of Heroes
New Super Mario Bros.
Ninjatown
Nostalgia
Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Professor Layton and the Diabolical box
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
Radiant Historia
Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon
Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon
Shin Megami Tensei Strange Journey
Sonic Rush
Sonic Rush Adventure
Super Mario 64 DS
Super Princess Peach
The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road
Yoshi's Island DS
 
Shin Megami Tensei Devil Survivor and Strange Journey are two of my favorites for the DS.
I also really like Puzzle Quest 1 and 2, as well as Picross. The new Lufia game was solid. And Dragon Quest IX was great.
 
[quote name='freeorelse']Just buy a car instead so you'll be preoccupied with driving. :)[/QUOTE]

That would make sense if it weren't London.. Tubes are sufficient and the roads would probably take longer (and cost $1,000s more).


Everyone else: thanks for the suggestions!
 
Since the 3DS is coming out soon you should be able to get a DS Lite or a DSi for cheap because everyone will be selling them off to get the new system. I wouldn't invest in the 3DS yet because there are hardly any games out for it unless you have a pressing interest in Starfox, Zelda or Kid Icarus which should be coming out by the end of the year.

The DS Lite is a must if you will be playing Pokemon, guitar hero or any other game that uses the GBA slot, if you buy the DSi, there is no GBA slot so you will be missing features in those games.

The DSi, the DSiXL and the 3DS are also not region free which means they can't play games from other regions, well they can play regular DS games from other regions but they can't play DSi enhanced games since those are not region free. The game package doesn't tell you if the game is DSi enhanced here so you have to guess. So they won't play a US copy of Pokemon Black for instance, while the original DS or the DS Lite will play a US copy of Pokemon Black just fine. This of course only applies if you want to play US games or games from Japan or another region. A lot of people in the UK prefer to play US copies of games because they are cheaper and we get the games faster than the UK does.

The DS is practically obsolete, but again there are only very few good games for the 3DS coming out soon, but honestly if you enjoy playing it a system is never obsolete.
 
[quote name='SaraAB']Since the 3DS is coming out soon you should be able to get a DS Lite or a DSi for cheap because everyone will be selling them off to get the new system. I wouldn't invest in the 3DS yet because there are hardly any games out for it unless you have a pressing interest in Starfox, Zelda or Kid Icarus which should be coming out by the end of the year.

The DS Lite is a must if you will be playing Pokemon, guitar hero or any other game that uses the GBA slot, if you buy the DSi, there is no GBA slot so you will be missing features in those games.

The DSi, the DSiXL and the 3DS are also not region free which means they can't play games from other regions, well they can play regular DS games from other regions but they can't play DSi enhanced games since those are not region free. The game package doesn't tell you if the game is DSi enhanced here so you have to guess. So they won't play a US copy of Pokemon Black for instance, while the original DS or the DS Lite will play a US copy of Pokemon Black just fine. This of course only applies if you want to play US games or games from Japan or another region. A lot of people in the UK prefer to play US copies of games because they are cheaper and we get the games faster than the UK does.

The DS is practically obsolete, but again there are only very few good games for the 3DS coming out soon, but honestly if you enjoy playing it a system is never obsolete.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for all the info. I think I'm definitely leaning towards purchasing a US version of the DS Lite and just having it shipped over w/ a few games. 1-2 RPGs would probably keep me busy for 4-6 months :)
 
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