Getting a DS lite! Help me pick out games!

mauve · 03-25-2010, 05:11 PM

Instead of doing something SMART with my tax refund, I'm blowing it on video games! I'm such a responsible adult. I've already decided on spending some on L4D2 or Mass Effect for my PC, and with the remainder I'm thinking of getting a DSlite. Problem is, I haven't owned a handheld system since I had a GameBoy Advance as a teenager, so I haven't been paying attention to what's come out. Recommend me some games!!

Here's what people have recommended to me before:
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attourney
Elite Beat Agents
Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
The World Ends With You
Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Professor Layton and the Curious Villiage
Final Fantasy: Revenant Wings
Pokemon Something-or-other (I've never actually played a Pokemon game before, so..... *shrug* )

You guys' thoughts? Am I missing anything? Are any of these as awesome as they're said to be? Am I crazy for buying a DS lite right now?

Ecks · 03-25-2010, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mauve Mage

Instead of doing something SMART with my tax refund, I'm blowing it on video games! I'm such a responsible adult. I've already decided on spending some on L4D2 or Mass Effect for my PC, and with the remainder I'm thinking of getting a DSlite. Problem is, I haven't owned a handheld system since I had a GameBoy Advance as a teenager, so I haven't been paying attention to what's come out. Recommend me some games!!

Here's what people have recommended to me before:
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attourney
Elite Beat Agents
Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
The World Ends With You
Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Professor Layton and the Curious Villiage
Final Fantasy: Revenant Wings
Pokemon Something-or-other (I've never actually played a Pokemon game before, so..... *shrug* )

You guys' thoughts? Am I missing anything? Are any of these as awesome as they're said to be? Am I crazy for buying a DS lite right now?

Nope. DSi is a tad overrated, and loses the GBA functionality of its predecessors, and gains PSP capabilities (plus a camera).

Now, I highly recommend Elite Beat Agents, either of the Mario and Luigi games (the other you don't have listed is Partners In Time), either of the Zeldas (again, the other you don't have listed is Spirit Tracks), Final Fantasy III and IV, and any of the DS Pokemon games from the main series (Platinum for the maximum Sinnoh region experience, and for Johto, I dunno, pick which box art Legendary looks coolest to you; Pokemon is incredibly fun AND EXTREMELY ADDICTING despite the fact that it seems to be marketed toward children).

Now, for games your list doesn't cover...

If you like Kingdom Hearts, 358/2 Days is a no-brainer. Mario Kart DS is also an important, don't miss title. Super Mario 64DS was a welcome update to the original, though awkward to play without the analogue stick; New Super Mario Bros. is what gave Nintendo the idea to rehash it for Wii, so don't miss that one either.

On the GBA side... Get Metroid Zero Mission, Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past AND The Minish Cap, Super Mario Bros. 3, and just to round things out, if you picked up a DS Pokemon game, you'll want at least one of the GBA Pokemon games so you can put your GBA mons in your DS version once you find the Pal Park.

greed · 03-26-2010, 12:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EckScizor

Partners In Time

Worth noting that Partners in Time is vastly inferior to Bowser's Inside Story.

Trauma Centre is HARD. Like throw your DS at a wall hard. But in a mostly fair way so it's not too bad. But if you don't like games that get downright sadistic it might be better to give it a pass.

As PCD said the entire Ace Attorney series is great and it for the most part just gets better and better. 2 and 3 have the best stories but by 5 the gameplay is really polished. 1 shows it's age a bit but the series is very plot (and injoke) heavy so you pretty much need to buy all of them to get the most enjoyment, and especially 1 as most of the later games are built heavily on the events of 1, especially 2 and 3. 4(Apollo Justice), not so much that one you could probably play that one cold.

The Castlevanias are probably my favourite things on the DS other than TWEWY. All of them are good and pretty different from each other. Sorrow is easiest but has a lot of variability in how you play. Portrait feels more like SotN and still is pretty easy on normal but gets better on Hard. Ecclesia is pretty much as hard as the original non-Metroidvania Casltevanias.

Yoshi's Island DS is Nintendo's other platformer for the DS(as opposed to the more well known New Super Mario Brothers). It's got a steep difficulty curve that goes from, "can do it blindfolded" in the first few levels, to The Lost Levels in the last world to I Wanna Be the Guy in the secret levels.

Also on older DS games I always liked Kirby's Canvas Curse(one of the first games to really use the stylus right, and very pick up and play, great for commuting or waiting around) and Contact(probably the first really good RPG for the system, hard to find now though). Both of these I've seen going for $10-15 at this point so they can be real bargains.

If you're getting a Pokemon game get Platinum or one of the new HeartGold/SoulSilver ones. Platinum is sort of the special expanded version of Diamond and Pearl so there ain't much point getting those.

Also be careful with screen protectors some of them are duds and can screw up your screen.

Kim · 03-26-2010, 12:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greed

Contact(probably the first really good RPG for the system, hard to find now though).

Contact has a great intro, some great moments spread throughout, and one of the best video game endings I've ever seen. Problems? Very, very grindy, and can be incredibly boring at times. Worth checking out, especially if you can find it for cheap, but I can see someone not liking it, especially if they haven't reached the ending. Good music, though.

Grimpond · 03-26-2010, 12:37 PM

If your a fan of puzzle games, I definitely recommend either of the Professor Layton games.

Kim · 03-25-2010, 05:41 PM

I was going to say "If you like Kingdom Hearts, don't get Numbery Days" but whatevs.

Trauma Center is to performing operations what Phoenix Wright is to being a lawyer, but less funny. Great game though.

If you like point and clicks, check out Trace Memory. Isn't perfect, but it's pretty good.

I've heard wonderful things about Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor so that's probably worth a look-see.

If you like Elite Beat Agents, import Ouendan 2 from Japan. It's EBA but with Japanese music and also it is harder.

Contra 4 is fun.

New Super Mario Bros DS is pretty fun, albeit very easy.

Dragon Quest IV and Dragon Quest V do it do it do it

Ecks · 03-25-2010, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NonCon

Lots of recommendations EckScizor didn't make, some things about Numbery Days he didn't agree with.

I'm okay with this.

Donomni · 03-25-2010, 05:48 PM

Kirby Super Star Ultra, because it's like 10+ games(granted, they are at most half the size Kirby's Adventure, but meh).

Besides, you can play as Metaknight(eventually).

Oh yeah, because you didn't mention it, FFTactics A2. More or less every quest is playable, unlike the last one.

Ryong · 03-25-2010, 06:08 PM

I'd suggest against Spirit Tracks. It's not very good.

If you're okay with Devil Survivor - it has a few issues, with a lot of things you can miss and a lot of paths to take - I'd rather recommend the Luminous Arc games, which are more traditional SRPG games.

Final Fantasy III is great, but the difficulty is a bit ramped up from the original.

If you like Harvest Moon, don't get the DS one. No, get Rune Factory.

If you're okay with insane difficulty and absurd micromanagement, get Lost Magic. It is a good game in many aspects, but only if you can get past how incredibly hard it is.

Seconding FFTA2, it's REALLY good.

On the GBA side, get both Summon Night: Swordcraft Story games. They're great.

Great Cartoonist · 03-25-2010, 06:56 PM

You should watch these videos to get a feel of what the Pok�mon series is like, although normal gameplay is nowhere near that. (WARNING: Will spoil the entire games.)
Also, check out this site for general information about everything Pok�mon, and this site for how to win in Pok�mon.

The Castlevania games for the DS are very well made, and very fun to play. If you like playing a sword-wielding blue mage and don't mind the "Magic Seal" crap that they force upon you, play Dawn of Sorrow; if you prefer some more classic Belmont whip action, play Portrait of Ruin; if you want to play a genuinely hard game (and also as a woman), play Order of Ecclesia.

And if you've ever played FFTA for the GBA, you'll feel right at home with FFTA-2, although some battle mechanics have changed.

Also, Contra 4 WILL make a MAN out of you.

03-25-2010, 05:11 PM	#1
mauve So Dreamy Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Someplace magical Posts: 6,863	Getting a DS lite! Help me pick out games! Instead of doing something SMART with my tax refund, I'm blowing it on video games! I'm such a responsible adult. I've already decided on spending some on L4D2 or Mass Effect for my PC, and with the remainder I'm thinking of getting a DSlite. Problem is, I haven't owned a handheld system since I had a GameBoy Advance as a teenager, so I haven't been paying attention to what's come out. Recommend me some games!! Here's what people have recommended to me before: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attourney Elite Beat Agents Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story The World Ends With You Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass Professor Layton and the Curious Villiage Final Fantasy: Revenant Wings Pokemon Something-or-other (I've never actually played a Pokemon game before, so..... shrug ) You guys' thoughts? Am I missing anything? Are any of these as awesome as they're said to be? Am I crazy for buying a DS lite right now? __________________ Yoo Hoo!

03-25-2010, 05:48 PM	#8
Donomni Would you deign to supply me food? Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Tampa Bay Area, Florida Posts: 2,004	Kirby Super Star Ultra, because it's like 10+ games(granted, they are at most half the size Kirby's Adventure, but meh). Besides, you can play as Metaknight(eventually). Oh yeah, because you didn't mention it, FFTactics A2. More or less every quest is playable, unlike the last one. __________________ Dance your cares away! Chirrrrrrp. Also, dead blog. Last edited by Donomni; 03-25-2010 at 05:50 PM.

03-25-2010, 06:56 PM	#10
Great Cartoonist An increasingly inaccurate name Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: University. Don't try to reach me; it'll be a long wait. Posts: 509	You should watch these videos to get a feel of what the Pok�mon series is like, although normal gameplay is nowhere near that. (WARNING: Will spoil the entire games.) Also, check out this site for general information about everything Pok�mon, and this site for how to win in Pok�mon. The Castlevania games for the DS are very well made, and very fun to play. If you like playing a sword-wielding blue mage and don't mind the "Magic Seal" crap that they force upon you, play Dawn of Sorrow; if you prefer some more classic Belmont whip action, play Portrait of Ruin; if you want to play a genuinely hard game (and also as a woman), play Order of Ecclesia. And if you've ever played FFTA for the GBA, you'll feel right at home with FFTA-2, although some battle mechanics have changed. Also, Contra 4 WILL make a MAN out of you. __________________ Nope. Not happening. Last edited by Great Cartoonist; 03-25-2010 at 07:00 PM.

03-25-2010, 05:41 PM	#6
Kim adorable Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 12,950	I was going to say "If you like Kingdom Hearts, don't get Numbery Days" but whatevs. Trauma Center is to performing operations what Phoenix Wright is to being a lawyer, but less funny. Great game though. If you like point and clicks, check out Trace Memory. Isn't perfect, but it's pretty good. I've heard wonderful things about Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor so that's probably worth a look-see. If you like Elite Beat Agents, import Ouendan 2 from Japan. It's EBA but with Japanese music and also it is harder. Contra 4 is fun. New Super Mario Bros DS is pretty fun, albeit very easy. Dragon Quest IV and Dragon Quest V do it do it do it

03-25-2010, 06:08 PM	#9
Ryong Professional Threadkiller Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Brazil Posts: 3,798	I'd suggest against Spirit Tracks. It's not very good. If you're okay with Devil Survivor - it has a few issues, with a lot of things you can miss and a lot of paths to take - I'd rather recommend the Luminous Arc games, which are more traditional SRPG games. Final Fantasy III is great, but the difficulty is a bit ramped up from the original. If you like Harvest Moon, don't get the DS one. No, get Rune Factory. If you're okay with insane difficulty and absurd micromanagement, get Lost Magic. It is a good game in many aspects, but only if you can get past how incredibly hard it is. Seconding FFTA2, it's REALLY good. On the GBA side, get both Summon Night: Swordcraft Story games. They're great.