Considering Getting A Ds...

[Azure]

I'm getting a little tired of my GP32 now as I'm really craving commercial quality games, which is why I'm thinking about getting a DS as it isn't too expensive. But I'm not 100% confident right now in getting one, so I have a few questions:

-When is the exact day the new electric blue DS is supposed to be available in retail stores?

-How bad can the touch screen get after extensive use? I saw a DS at my local crazy and the bottom touch screen had TONS of scratches/marks that look like they were caused from extensive use. How easily does it get scratches if you use the touch screen a lot with a game like WarioWare Touched?

-How's Mario 64 DS? I have to admit that this is the biggest selling point for me to get a DS as I LOVED this game on the N64. How is the control on the DS? Is it annoying having to change the camera angle by moving your thumb to the bottom touch screen every time? Is there any sort of joystick attachment-stick that I can buy that will simulate a joystick (In the shape of a small joystick that I can stick on the d-pad)? How's the music quality in the game? Does it still sound good now that it is on the DS? Does the game feel ruined now that you have to play as Yoshi as your primary character? Does it feel awkward having to play through those classic levels as a different character instead of the classic Mario? How much of the game can you play as ONLY Mario (Once I "unlock" him, can I play all the classic 64 levels all the way through as only Mario?)?

-What's the deal with PictoChat? How far apart can you be to chat with someone? Is it anything worthwhile or is it just a gimmick?

-What's the deal with Yoshi Touch & Go and Kirby Canvas Curse? These games are supposedly some of the best DS games but they look like MINI GAMES. Is it really worth spending $30+ on a game where your the game moves the character for you and all you do is make bridges and stuff to help your character get to the end? Can you really call that a commercial quality game? Wouldn't it also be boring as hell just sitting there as you wait for you character to go to the next area where you have to draw a bridge (Like in hallways and stuff)?

-How good is the Metroid Prime Hunters Demo? How long is it and does it come with EVERY DS, regardless of where you buy it (It isn't in a special DS box that is marked as the Metroid Prime DS, is it?)?

-Is there any good racing game (I know that MarioKart is coming out later this year, but other than that)? It seems that the 3 racing games Asphalt: Urban GT, Need for Speed Underground 2, and Ridge Racer DS have gotten nothing but bad reviews. This is especially disappointing as I really wanted to play Ridge Racer DS.

-Anything else I should know about the DS before I buy one? Any games that you recommend that I buy?

 

[Nova]

1) Dunno

2)Very Bad, so buy screen protectors!

3)Not as good as i remember it the analogue feels crap and the ds is hard to hold making it a 10 minuite game then a 5 minuite rest my hand period.
To unlock mario you need to have 7 stars if i remember then you can use him to your hearts content.

4)picto chat only works if you are about 5/8 meters from somebody

5) Never played them

6) metroid demo could be completed in about 30 mins.

7) NFS is ok rest are pretty crap

8) i reccommend no games at the moment but wait for animal crossing, black and white and another code to come out cos they seem quite good

in conclusion i like my ds but i'd rather have a psp.

 

[Azure]

Well, the PSP is too expensive so it is out of the question. So, there aren't that many good games for the DS right now? Mario 64 is that bad? Warioware Touched? Puyo Pop Fever? Daigasso Band Brothers!? Polarium?

 

[Nova]

Well, the PSP is too expensive so it is out of the question. So, there aren't that many good games for the DS right now? Mario 64 is that bad? Warioware Touched? Puyo Pop Fever? Daigasso Band Brothers!? Polarium?

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i have only played mario 64 wario and NFS but mario wears off. you never feel quite like sitting down and getting all those stars once you finally beat last bowser, because its just uncomfortable on the ds

 

[KickinWing]

I never played Mario 64 for the N64 and since everyone says its very good i bought it and it was bleh.

The camera is bad sometimes, making it hard to get past certain parts of levels, and in general was nothing to spectacular.

I hate my DS with a passion, but according to Bast, there are some good games coming out, I'm gonna take his word because he was at E3. If i were you i'd wait a bit, i'd hate to see you buy one and be like 90% of the other people on this board that have one and dislike it after owning it for like a few weeks.

 

[Apeiron]

I loved SM64DS, I found it better all round, I even got all 150 stars, which I never got 120 in the n64 version. Plus the mini games are fun for wasting a couple of minutes here and there. And I found the controls easy.
Zoo keeper is a well adictive and great games for wasting hours apon hours of your life.
Band of brothers looks unlikely to be released out of japan, last I checked but I might get it, mostly for the free ds headphones. and electroplankton looks really fun too.

Thats all the games I can comment on but theres many great games that I want on it including some retro classics.

As for the screen i haven't had a problem, not a dead pixel or a scatch but lots of smugdes, so keep a cloth handy. My mother plays it with zookeeper more then me and still the screen in unsctrached.

...And yes I am working on commision

 

[kknd_cf]

Super Mario 64 DS is truly amazing. Especially the minigames, they are a great addition to it. You can use this thumbstrap to emulate a more responsive joystick I guess, but I think it sucks.

The Metroid demo is amazing, but only for one thing: the amazing FPS control; best in any handheld ever. But the graphics, gameplay and length make it crap. I think the fact that it's being called the best handheld FPS of all time is very stupid.

And yes pictochat is a 100% gimmick.

 

[bast525]

You will DEFINATELY want to get protective screen covers if you get a DS... it will get hairline scratches on it over time, for sure. Though it is fairly resistant on it's own to just normal usage, games that have more frantic stylus usage like Warioware and Feel the Magic will leave marks for sure.

There really aren't that many games worth owning for the DS right now, yeah Mario is pretty good but the controls due suffer from the lack of true analog control... the pad is a pain in the ass and IMO using the touch screen to simulate analog control sucks as there's no 'spring' feeling to know when you are centered or how far away from center you are pushing. Also, the area you move the stylus/touchpad around in moves around on the screen so you can never 'memorize' where center is. Very annoying, but SOME people on here have claimed they really like that control scheme.

While there are a few other games that are pretty good most of THOSE are very short (Wario Ware, Feel the Magic are perfect examples). A game can be the most fun game but who cares when you payed $30 and finish the game in one sitting.

Ridge Racer wasn't that good IMO, the controls were to hard to get ahold of, I DID have a good time with Asphalt though... it's actually very similiar to Ridge Racer with easy to pick up controls, and then cross that with... I dunno one of the old Rush games from the N64... anyways I was surprised when it got so-so reviews. Haven't tried NFS yet but I have seen it getting bad reviews too.

There are good games on the way but most aren't due until late this year, September and later, for the Christmas season. If you get one right now and are actually going to play it for more than 5-10 minutes at a time be prepared to get very bored with it very soon as you work your way thru the best of the games pretty quickly.

 

[Azure]

You will DEFINATELY want to get protective screen covers if you get a DS... it will get hairline scratches on it over time, for sure. Though it is fairly resistant on it's own to just normal usage, games that have more frantic stylus usage like Warioware and Feel the Magic will leave marks for sure.

Wouldn't that also make the screen look a little worse? Not as clear?

So, Mario 64 isn't that good because of controls? How much gameplay would one get out of Mario 64? How long does it take to get everything?

 

[ratx]

My opinion is that the controls for Mario aren't that bad once you get used to them, in "full" touchscreen mode that is not the default which is mostly dpad.

I'd say if you played the N64 version though to 120 stars I'd probally take you about a week or 2 to get up to speed with the new controls, characters and find those 30 extra stars, assuming a rather mammoth 4-5 hours a day playing

If you've never played it before, & resist gamefaqs.com and don't find the touch screen controls off putting it could be a month to 6 weeks. However like many people have said if you hate the controls you won't be playing it for very long at all.

Re Yoshi's Touch and Go, yep you're right it is like a set of minigames. The appeal is much like the mario minigames; its "5 minute blast" type fodder. Very enjoyable though if you appreicate the challenges as they are. It certainly is far from boring, very frantic at times.

 

[wolly wotsit]

You will DEFINATELY want to get protective screen covers if you get a DS... it will get hairline scratches on it over time, for sure. Though it is fairly resistant on it's own to just normal usage, games that have more frantic stylus usage like Warioware and Feel the Magic will leave marks for sure.

Wouldn't that also make the screen look a little worse? Not as clear?

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Just a tad (and i mean a teensy weency bit) yellower

that is all

 

[Mark]

1) Not sure.

2) It depends on which model you get. The older versions that came out at the US/Canada launch have a slightly grainy bottom screen when you tilt it towards the light, but this coating certainly makes it stronger. I have played the DS for hundreds of hours (litterally) and I don't have a single scratch.

2) Super Mario 64 DS is one of, if not my favorite game ever. Perhaps it's partly nostaglia clouding my vision, but who cares? The controls don't bother me at all, and after what, half an hour's worth of trying I got the hang of them and was wallkicking, backflipping and sideflipping just as I was with the anologue on the N64. Take your time and learn to use the touch screen, you won't regret it. It seems the most people who hate it don't take their time to learn, and use the hugely inferior D-Pad.

3) Pictochat is essentially pointless, but in Yoshi's Touch and Go if someone enters Pictochat nearby a small icon appears in the top corner of the screen, which if you click takes you into Pictochat, from when on you can arrange a game of Yoshi's Touch and Go.

4) Yoshi is great, although it relies far too much on precision and instant death gaming for my tastes. Kirby however, while encompasing all the typical features of a platformer manages to implement the touch screen feature very well.

5) It only comes with the boxes marked, but it's on Ebay pretty cheap. And it's great, especially for a demo. 2 player gets a bit 'lonely' sometimes though.

6) Don't bother with them.

7) Meteos is only a JAP import but is a great puzzle game. There are so many great games for it that suit many different tastes.

 

[Azure]

5) It only comes with the boxes marked, but it's on Ebay pretty cheap. And it's great, especially for a demo. 2 player gets a bit 'lonely' sometimes though.

Does the DS that comes with the demo tend to cost a bit more in retail stores? What do you think are the odds that Daigasso! Band Brothers will come to the US? Should I just import it?

 

[xboxit]

The retail ds and the Metroid ver cost the same. I think you should get any ds then get metroid in october. Mario is good (I never played it on n64) but there isn't alot of good games out at the mo. Don't worry though, just check out anything to do with ds at e3.

 

[bast525]

Two more things - #1 I definately don't think you're going to get enough gameplay time out of Mario 64 to hold you over until many of the really good games start coming out around this Xmas, unless you're only playing it a little bit at a time. #2 most of the games that are out right now that people are considering to be good or really good, the ones that you won't finish in a day or two, are all puzzle-type games. So if you're a big fan of puzzle games, then you'll be set for quite some time.

Really dude you should look thru the DS section at Gamespot (or IGN I dunno I never go there myself) and see what games are out right now and what KIND of games are out right now, as well as what kinds of reviews they're getting (not talking about the numerical scores... read the written reviews see what they're saying about things like touch screen usage, game difficulty and length). That should help you see what you'll be in for before you buy one.

One thing you may want to consider as well is that there are quite a few DS systems being sold back to gamestores like Gamestop and EB.. you can pick these up at a nice discount ($20-30 off) with a warranty and can inspect the systems first to be sure you get one with a touch screen in a condition you can stand. They probably have used copies of the Metroid demo as well that you could pick up really cheap.

 

[Mark]

Two more things - #1 I definately don't think you're going to get enough gameplay time out of Mario 64 to hold you over until many of the really good games start coming out around this Xmas...

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Unless of course you get addicted to Bom-Omb Squad

 

[bast525]

yeah a few of those mini games are infinitely replayable I've probably put more time into playing Mario mini games than anything esle on my DS up til now.

 

[Nova]

Two more things - #1 I definately don't think you're going to get enough gameplay time out of Mario 64 to hold you over until many of the really good games start coming out around this Xmas...

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Unless of course you get addicted to Bom-Omb Squad

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what is bobomb squad? i've collected all the minigames but i'm sure i dont have it,

 

[CUPC4KES]

whatever anyone says i think the ds is fantastic, i have a psp and a ds and i love both, the only problem is lack of games at the moment but saying that the psp is in the same posistion. i reckon get a ds with mario and touch wario now and then get a psp when the price drops.

 

[lubidog]

whatever anyone says i think the ds is fantastic, i have a psp and a ds and i love both, the only problem is lack of games at the moment but saying that the psp is in the same posistion. i reckon get a ds with mario and touch wario now and then get a psp when the price drops.

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Exactly! Both excellent machines for the right people (if you see what I mean!). But both lacking games....


Come on people, make more games!!!!