Ok, I rescind . . .

. . . every argument I've ever made in favor of the PSP. With a decent (at it's very best) selection of games, horrible customer service, and downright shoddiness, it has been an utter disappointment. Hence my recent aqcuistion of a Nintendo DS.

Poll time! What are some of the best DS games to buy right now, and what are some future titles that might be worth looking into?

Sore de Wa! STC POLL! Reeeeeady, GO!!! (G Gundam Reference, by the way).

Heh, what happened?

I'm at the point where neither looks like a good choice. I have no confidence in the DS' longevity, it appears useless for emulation and it looks awkward to use. On the same hand, PSP is overpriced and the problems are well known. I'm probably better off waiting for second versions of the hardware and price drops.

Still, DS games that make the system worth considering so far:

New Super Mario Brothers
Super Princess Peach
Trauma Center: Under the Knife
Phoenix Wright
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Possibly Pac Pix and Kirby Canvas

Problem is, I feel most of those games should have been for GBA, since they barely use the second screen. So that's why I'm not eager to give Nintendo my money for another piece of their hardware.

On the other hand, PSP games I'm interested in:

Megaman X Irregular Hunter
Megaman 1 Remake
Legend of Heroes IV
Generation of Chaos
Spectral Souls
Guilty Gear XX#Reload
Princess Crown (import)
Tokimeki Memorial (import, hopeful US release)

Not enough to warrant a purchase either way. The system as a whole, coupled with the price of memory and games, is too overpriced at this point to be worth playing those.

> . . . every argument I've ever made in favor of the PSP. With a decent (at it's very best) selection of games, horrible customer service, and downright shoddiness, it has been an utter disappointment. Hence my recent aqcuistion of a Nintendo DS.
>
>Poll time! What are some of the best DS games to buy right now, and what are some future titles that might be worth looking into?
>
>Sore de Wa! STC POLL! Reeeeeady, GO!!! (G Gundam Reference, by the way).

What happened, you ask?

I just got tired of the PSP being little more than a trendy item to make you look technologically refined and trendy. Then there are those other problems I mentioned eariler.

Sure, its nice to have an MP3/movie/game system all in one, but the thing is, I need something dedicated to gaming, and DS is offering innovations that, quite frankly, rock.

My favorite DS games

*Mario Kart DS - this one's obvious if you like Mario Kart. Definitely the most refined entry in the series, though the shape of the DS and lack of an analog stick made my hands hurt a bit when I started

*Animal Crossing DS - get it if you're a fan of this type of gameplay. I just picked it up yesterday and I'm having a blast with it. Too bad while I'm back in the states for Christmas I'm stuck on dialup and without my wireless internet! :(

*Phoenix Wright - I LOVE THIS GAME. Honestly one of the most FUN games on any system I've played in recent memory. If you can get past the fact that it's a point-and-click type game, that is. "Charming" is one of the best words for it, I think.

*Super Princess Peach - out in February in the US. If you like classic Mario sidescrolling, check it out for sure. It's a bit on the easy side, but still highly recommended.

*Feel the Magic - The DS is the second Nintendo system to have my favorite launch game be a Sega game (the other was the cube with Super Monkey Ball). Feel the Magic is unique and a lot of fun. I thought this was a great first title for the system.

*Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! Great import. Angela is right - this game is an absolute blast. It would be a shame if they brought it over to the US and changed all the music, because their selection for it is really really good Japanese stuff.

Other good games for the DS that I like a lot but aren't really OMG AMAZING MUST GET are Kirby, Wario Ware: Touched, Meteos, and Bomberman (especially if you have friends to play with, on that last one). Nintendogs is technically very well made, but it just couldn't keep my interest.

Games I haven't played but I'm sure are pretty good from what I've heard from gamers I trust are Castlevania and Mario & Luigi RPG 2. Then of course there's Viewtiful Joe and that Trauma Center.

That's all I can think of for now!

DS --> System of 2005

Sure, the DS sucked for most of 2005, but the last quarter gave it so many good games. Here's a list of DS games currently available in the U.S. you should check out:

Wario Ware Touched!
-Fun with minigames

Metroivania: Dawn of Sorrow
-Best metroivania yet! Good difficulty balance and great soul system.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
-Great, humorous writing; You will smile every time you land an OBJECTION!

Mario Kart DS
-Holy shit is this game good. Nintendo completely makes up for the sewage that was Super Circuit and Double Dash with this return to Mario Kart supremecy.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
-Sequel to the best GBA game there ever there was; fun RPG with excellent gameplay and puzzles.

Animal Crossing: Wild World
-I promised myself I wouldn't buy this, but I got it anyway, and it's just as addicting as the Cube one; great game to just relax with for a 10-30 minutes at a time


2006 DS Games to Look Forward To:

-Super Princess Peach
-New Super Mario Bros.
-Metroivania DS 2
-Tingle RPG
-The Legend of Zelda DS (may not be 2006...)
-Final Fantasy III
-Children of Mana
-Xenosaga I&II DS

my recommendations...

Welcome to the DS :)
It's an awesome system! I recommend:

Advance Wars
Feel the Magic
Lost in Blue
Mario & Luigi

of course, it also plays all your GBA games as well. Expect lots more great games soon!

cheers,

-avatar!

> . . . every argument I've ever made in favor of the PSP. With a decent (at it's very best) selection of games, horrible customer service, and downright shoddiness, it has been an utter disappointment. Hence my recent aqcuistion of a Nintendo DS.
>
>Poll time! What are some of the best DS games to buy right now, and what are some future titles that might be worth looking into?
>
>Sore de Wa! STC POLL! Reeeeeady, GO!!! (G Gundam Reference, by the way).

The spork is a wonderful invention.

The others speaketh true of the aforementioned titles, although I do want to reiterate how awesome Phoenix Wright really is. It's like experiencing this incredible, deeply involving RPG-style story, without having to deal with the exploration, random battles and puzzle bullshit that typically go along with an RPG. And really, you just have to love a game that has a line of dialogue such as the one in my subject header. [You hearin' that, Booty? I mean, WOW.]

Nanostray needs more love. It's the touch-screen weapon selector, isn't it, people? You get used to it though, and once you do, you end up with a pretty stellar shooter. I was rather disappointed with VJ Double Trouble, though. ConfusedGuy's review on GameFAQs shares my sentiments quite closely:

VJ DD

Just saw that line last night. Awesome.

Still trying to find time to get through the entirety of the fifth case...

The critics have sporken in Germania

>The others speaketh true of the aforementioned titles, although I do want to reiterate how awesome Phoenix Wright really is. It's like experiencing this incredible, deeply involving RPG-style story, without having to deal with the exploration, random battles and puzzle bullshit that typically go along with an RPG. And really, you just have to love a game that has a line of dialogue such as the one in my subject header. [You hearin' that, Booty? I mean, WOW.]
>
>Nanostray needs more love. It's the touch-screen weapon selector, isn't it, people? You get used to it though, and once you do, you end up with a pretty stellar shooter. I was rather disappointed with VJ Double Trouble, though. ConfusedGuy's review on GameFAQs shares my sentiments quite closely:

I did want to pick up Phoenix Wright....

...when I first heard what its premise was. Unfortunately, I'm still on the fence about the DS, and Phoenix Wright isn't enough for me to get the system solely for that game. Can it play GBA games? If so, that'll spur me just a tad toward it.

>...when I first heard what its premise was. Unfortunately, I'm still on the fence about the DS, and Phoenix Wright isn't enough for me to get the system solely for that game. Can it play GBA games? If so, that'll spur me just a tad toward it.

It can, and until Micro and the new backlit SP it had the best screen for GBA games. What the DS can't do is using multiplayer parts of GBA games and playing GB/GBC games.

Ooooooh.....*checks games*

Yes, all of mine are GBA, not GBC. And I still have to get Chain of Memories and Dawn of Souls. I think the only GBC game I didn't finish was one in the Zelda Oracle duo, whichever one it was.

So which do you recommend? The Micro or the DS? Hmm, actually, I should make this a separate thread...

>It can, and until Micro and the new backlit SP it had the best screen for GBA games. What the DS can't do is using multiplayer parts of GBA games and playing GB/GBC games.

The Micro annoys me

Since, you know, you're paying more money for a smaller screen with less functionality. And personally, I don't see why anyone thinks the screen on the thing is any better than the DS. That, combined with the great game library showing up for the DS, makes the DS the clear winner. IF, however, you're not really interested in any of the DS stuff and only want to play GBA games on it, the new backlit SP would be your cheapest option.

I agree.

Other than the best that portable options in video games go, the Micro is absolutely useless. You're paying for less, for the worst, in every respect.

I also agree with Qui Gon's sentiments on the DS. I used to think that, at best, the idea behind the DS was resoundingly stupid, but it has quickly re-established Nintendo as THE company to beat in terms of re-vitalising the video game world. Combining the functionality of a PDS with a Gameboy has proven to be extremely cool, and the online wi-fi thing (which I have yet to try out, but I blame that on our household's lack of Wireless internet) is just icing on an already sweet cake.

Just bear in mind that, compared to other portables (such as the SP, or PSP), the DS is, in my opinion, aesthetically inelegant. It is rather bulky, but if you're into games for the games, then this shouldn't bother you.

All told, the DS is the ONLY impulse buy I've done in the past 3 years that I have not looked back on.

The Micro

Nintendo actually only intended the Micro to be an opportunistic limited time thing for fall 2005 which is why it has a high price and why it's not replacing the SP. However, it performed better than Nintendo expected, so perhaps it'll be around longer.

Anyway, the reason some people say the Micro has a better screen than the DS is because it's sharper (packs more pixels into a smaller space).

-- Anyway, the reason some people say the Micro has a better screen than the DS is because it's sharper [packs more pixels into a smaller space].

The Micro's backlight is also far brighter than the DS's, resulting in better color saturation, as well as enhancing its vibrancy.

The new SP has the best backlight of the three, followed by the Micro and then the DS. The DS's lighting is worlds better if you're just coming off the front-lit original SP, but after spending a significant amount of time with either the Micro or new SP, even the DS will seem dull by comparison.

Of course, it won't be long until Nintendo decides to release a new version of the DS with the current backlight technology. If they throw in a better ergonomic design with it, I'd pick one up in a heartbeat.

Ergonomic Design

Have you ever checked out those limited edition Street Fighter controllers for the PS2 & Xbox? If they shaped a Micro like that and gave it a bigger screen, I'd be ON it. I'd wanna make friends with it.

And yes, the newer screens are phenomenally better. I played an in-store GBA without having to tilt it because of glare issues.

-- Have you ever checked out those limited edition Street Fighter controllers for the PS2 and Xbox?

Mm, in truth I have not..... though I've been meaning to, especially after experiencing the less-than-stellar port job they did for Capcom Classics Collection. [Another hope we'd get an arcade-perfect console version of SF2 Champion Edition, shot down.] That means I'm sticking with MAME for a while more.

Now, Im using Level Six's PSX-to-PC controller adapter, but somehow, the axis configuration doesn't feel quite as tight as they could be with a standard PS2 controller. [To be exact, the D-pad's individually designated directions make it difficult to pull off circular motion moves properly.] Can you verify if the SF controllers work any better? If so, I'm definitely down; can you also tell me where I could get em for a good price?

>So which do you recommend? The Micro or the DS? Hmm, actually, I should make this a separate thread...

If you intend to add your system to your keychain the Micro is the only choice.