Nds - Worth Buyin?

[menion]

Hi folks ;>

Just got my hands on a used copy of Super Mario 64 DS, it was dirt cheap, in great condition and I've never experienced the game fully at the N64.
The problem is: I haven't got a Nintendo DS yet!

Tried one Platium DS in a local shop and found it rather unconfortable (the ergonomics) and I just hate the bloody plantium "color". Anyways, I'm still thinkin about buyin a NDS (Pure White edition), just to try it out.

Q:

Is it worth the money getting a NDS? Like to hear ya opinions about this matter!
Are you ppl owning a NDS happy with the unit, it's games and so on?

Give me some thougts about the DS Pro's and Con's and recommend some games aswell.

Thanks in advance

 

[Ganepark32]

Ok well the DS is good but nothing out on it at the moment is all that good. if ur gonna get one then the game i suggest u get ot import are Kirby's Cursed Canvas and Meteos. But other than that, the DS' library of games at the momemt is quite thin on games worth buying. If i was u i would wait till bout the Xmas period as better games will be out and maybe there will be a price drop to make it cheaper.

 

[Angel]

yeah, like Gane said, wait til X-Mas, i bought mine at launch have have been disappointed over and over again. I just bought Nanostray and it sucks, and i have played out mario 64 ds, those are the only two games i have, but i imagine things will pick up with the addition to online play thats coming up in november i believe

 

[Ganepark32]

Yep. hopefully they will pick up. september 30th is a big release day in europe for ds as we are supposed to be getting Advance Wars. But yeh i've had my ds since december and i have been completely disappointed. I never touch Mario 64 anymore or touch yoshi and lately all ive been playing is zoo keeper which, although is free to play on the internet, its worth buying in itself as it is addictive. Lets just hope ninty keep their promise and give europe both Mario Kart ds and animal crossing ds before xmas.

 

[Quiest]

I`m really happy with my nds, Wario Ware and Mario64DS are really great games!

 

[Angel]

Zoo Keeper is online??? How did i miss this?? Do you have to do anything fancy to get it online, or is it like a european version only that is online?

 

[Nova]

1) Buy it
2) Go Here

The DS is looking very promising right now. you wont regret it


EDIT: @Angel: http://www.ebaumsworld.com/zookeeper.html


EDITx2: @ Menion: if you get one, definitely get 'Another code', its awesome

 

[Ganepark32]

Yeh. Another Code is definitely worth it. pretty good from wat i've seen having only gotten it 2 days ago. But its definitely good to see the ds hardware being pushed especially by capcom making 3d run on both screens at the same time. looking forward to viewtiful Joe on ds

 

[Bingo Jesus]

I bought myself a Nintendo DS (Pure White Edition), and my girlfriend got a Candy Pink Edition. I love them, the games are great for picking up when you've got little to do.

We bought them from Videogame Imports.com, who I would recommend, they were quick and they had fantastic customer service.

 

[shinneri]

Got a DS a few weeks ago.. First I had to send it in to nintendo because of a stuck pixel on the top screen. That got sorted, and I have it now (stuck pixel-free ) and so far I have been loving it.

Probably one of the most underrated NDS games available is Feel the Magic XY/XX. Absolutely superb Sega game. It's got a very cool art style and story. The mini-games are almost all very fun and pretty challenging but not too challenging to be frustrating. Great, great game, and I picked it up new for $20! Oh, and the sequel has been announced.

There are a lot of gems coming out for the DS pretty soon. I can't wait for Lost in Blue, Nintendogs, Trace Memory (american title for Another Code), Zoo Tycoon, and a bunch of others.

Owning a PSP and a DS, I would recommend the DS a million times before the PSP. Definitely buy one.

 

[saintdragon]

Got a DS a few weeks ago.. First I had to send it in to nintendo because of a stuck pixel on the top screen. That got sorted, and I have it now (stuck pixel-free ) and so far I have been loving it.

Probably one of the most underrated NDS games available is Feel the Magic XY/XX. Absolutely superb Sega game. It's got a very cool art style and story. The mini-games are almost all very fun and pretty challenging but not too challenging to be frustrating. Great, great game, and I picked it up new for $20! Oh, and the sequel has been announced.

There are a lot of gems coming out for the DS pretty soon. I can't wait for Lost in Blue, Nintendogs, Trace Memory (american title for Another Code), Zoo Tycoon, and a bunch of others.

Owning a PSP and a DS, I would recommend the DS a million times before the PSP. Definitely buy one.

​

wtf, you trying to say a ds is better then a psp, omfg you must be bloody joking! actually im joking :lol: is the ds that good?

although in my opinion the ds sucks for me, i just dont like the feal of it, touch screen and theres two screens, which are both tiny, ahhhh im becomming a psp fanboi? hopefully not!

 

[Nova]

wtf, you trying to say a ds is better then a psp, omfg you must be bloody joking! actually im joking :lol: is the ds that good?

although in my opinion the ds sucks for me, i just dont like the feal of it, touch screen and theres two screens, which are both tiny, ahhhh im becomming a psp fanboi? hopefully not!

​

Yup, you are using all the same points

 

[saintdragon]

wtf, you trying to say a ds is better then a psp, omfg you must be bloody joking! actually im joking :lol: is the ds that good?

although in my opinion the ds sucks for me, i just dont like the feal of it, touch screen and theres two screens, which are both tiny, ahhhh im becomming a psp fanboi? hopefully not!

​

Yup, you are using all the same points

​

nooooooooo

+1post count

 

[shinneri]

wtf, you trying to say a ds is better then a psp, omfg you must be bloody joking! actually im joking :lol: is the ds that good?

although in my opinion the ds sucks for me, i just dont like the feal of it, touch screen and theres two screens, which are both tiny, ahhhh im becomming a psp fanboi? hopefully not!

​

Completely serious. Graphics and screen size aren't everything, you know. True, it would always be nice if the NDS had larger screens, etc. But you need games to play on the pretty screen with the 3D accelerator, and, sadly, the PSP is sorely lacking there. And worse yet, it doesn't seem like that will be amended any time this year.

I mean, I'm sure it helps that I've always been a fan of the Nintendo formula of games, but I'll tell you that I was making many a doomsday prediction about the DS before and soon after launch. However, seeing it at E3 convinced me that there really would be innovation in this console, and it also proved that PSP was probably released prematurely as there was next to nothing interesting to show from it.

Not saying I'll dislike my PSP forever because I'm sure some compelling stuff will come along sooner or later, but at the moment...

NDS =
PSP =

 

[bast525]

Ganepark - THANK YOU you finally gave me an example that proves my point! I've KEPT saying that the DS is fully capable of running 3d on BOTH screens at once, but couldn't think of a REALLY good example that shows this in full effect.


Viewtiful Joe is a PERFECT example of the DS running FULL 3d on BOTH screens at the same time. IT CAN BE DONE!

 

[shinneri]

http://www.planetgamecube.com/mailbag.cfm?...=profile&id=117
Yes, it can display 3D on both screen, but it can not do so in the same frame. Instead, it refreshes only one of the screens at a time. This info from a person writing to the PlanetGamecube mailbox explains it really well:

I read up a little on DS homebrew websites a few months ago. Some of these sites were very interesting -- one was a blog by, apparently, one of the developers who worked on Sprung. From my reading, this is what I remember about the DS' video hardware.

It contains two of the graphics chip used in the Gameboy Advance, one for each screen. The GBA, if you remember, has rather flexible 2D video hardware, and even some rudimentary ability to create 3D-like effects with clever use of hardware scaling. It's also capable, in framebuffer mode, of playing host to a software 3D engine, although this is usually too slow to matter much. The DS has two processors, an ARM7 (same as in a GBA) and an ARM9, but even so, I'm guessing a software-based 3D engine is probably not a viable option unless it's something relatively simple (Wolf 3D or DOOM-like). Of course, I could be proven wrong quite easily.

The DS also contains one 3D chip, of similar (but as observed, not identical) capability to that in the N64. The chip's output can be switched between the screens, but it cannot display 3D on both at the same time *in the same frame*.

The DS' video hardware updates the screens roughly 60 times a second. Displaying a traditional 3D display on both screens, sixty times a second, is beyond the DS. But apparently, what it CAN do is update each screen every other frame. If you're willing to put up with 30 frames a second, it should be able to handle both screens in an alternating fashion; the screens update so quickly that the player need never know such slight of hand is going on.

For a game that does 3D on both screens at once, check the "giant robot" level near the end of of Feel the Magic, which looks like it's rendering polygons on both screens at once. For further reading on the capabilities of the DS, check out the homebrew development wiki, at:
http://www.bottledlight.com/ds/index.php/Main/HomePage

The developer's blog is at:
http://trikuare.cx/mt/archives/000757.php

- John H.

 

[Ganepark32]

yeh but 30fps wouldnt be that bad as if u play Splinter Cel on ds that only runs bout 30fps. Although it only displays 3D on one screen it still runs increadibly smoothly as the refresh rate is good. And apparently the Viewtiful joe ds game runs more than 30fps as i read itin some article where they tested it although i still dont understand the concept of using the stylus to split the screen in two. Me, personally, I would like to see more DS games using 3D on both screens. It'd be better than having a bloody useless map on the other screen.

 

[Steve-O]

COUGH *PSP* COUGH




hehe

 

[Rico]

COUGH *PSP* COUGH




hehe

​

Thanks for that informative post!

I haven't had much use for my DS recently but from what I hear the PSP is in the same boat. New games have dried up and emulation is at its early stages etc. I know nothing about the developer scene for the PSP but the DS is beginning to get to the commercial ROM stage and has been doing homebrew for a while.

 

[Ganepark32]

Some of the homebrew stuff being made for DS is quite good. Doom and Heretic both are looking good and a game called Donkey Bonga (rip version of Donkey Konga) is good too. I frequently check up on the DS scene but so far there has been a slow down in the emulator department but hopefully things will pick up. As for the homebrew games, im interested to see wat come out and how people have used the touch screen for their games.