I’m really considering breaking down and getting a Nintendo DS Lite. I hesitated before because I was worried that I would pay around $200 for the system and a few games then just dabble with it for a few days before putting it on the shelf. That still may happen, though I’m willing to take the risk now (especially with a long road trip coming up soon).
So for games, I’m thinking:
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Mario 64 DS
Animal Crossing
Metroid Prime Hunters
What else would you recommend? I’m not interested in Nintendogs but pretty open to hearing about the other games that I’ve missed since the system launched.
All good recommendations, particularly new Super Mario Bros and Mario Kart. I haven’t played it but I know a lot of people here think highly of Kirby Canvas Curse, which I keep meaning to get. And I have had a ton of fun with Trauma Center: Under the Knife, which makes great use of the stylus.
I played Mario 64 DS briefly and had a bit of fun. The minigames were enjoyable. Does the New Super Mario Bros have similar minigames? I played a lot of Tetris back in my original Gameboy days. Is it worth getting the newer one?
I forgot Advanced Wars and Mario Kart. Thanks for reminding me!
(turn based) strategy games: Advance Wars and Age Of Empires
adventure games: Phoenix wright
2D platformers: New super mario (and maybe even princes peach)
puzzle games: Tetris DS and meteos
Trickbased games: Tony hawk DS
rpg: m&l partners in time (but there are a LOT of potentially great rpg’s coming soon)
New super mario not only has the minigames, but they are unlocked and single-cart multiplayer
Of your list - Castlevania is great, but tough to find. Mario 64 is pretty good, but I was a little underwhelmed. I’m not personally an Animal Crossing fan, but my girlfriend loves it. I understand MP: Hunters doesn’t have much of a single player mode, so make sure you’re gonna be able to use the wireless connection first.
Some others - Phoenix Wright and Trauma Center are both great, but impossible to find. If you see them, snap them up. If nothing else, you can probably hawk them on ebay for a profit. Phoenix Wright is kind of a throwback to the heyday of point-n-click adventure games, and is very funny. Trauma Center is that old Life and Death game on PCP.
Advance Wars Dual Strike is the best Advance Wars yet, and definitely one of the best games on the system.
New Super Mario Brothers is pretty much exactly what it says it is. If you’re a Mario fan, definitely get it. I liked it better than Mario 64 DS, at least. As a different take on the sidescrolling platformer, there’s Kirby: Canvas Curse, which I’ve only played a little of, but is a lot of fun.
If you like DDR and/or rhythm games, Osu! Tatake! Ouendan! is definitely worth importing (DS systems have no region lock, so importing is a breeze), or you could wait for Elite Beat Agents which is coming out in December.
The DS is worth it. It’s really got a fantastic selection of games.
I’ll scratch Mario 64 and go with the New Super Marios then. So, I’m thinking this will be my first wave of games.
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
New Super Mario Bros
Advanced Wars: Dual Strike
Animal Crossing
I took Metroid out until I know about the wireless connection at home. Mario Kart DS will be one of the next ones I think, though I don’t want to get too many games right away, else I won’t give them the love and attention they deserve!
I recently bought a DS off of a guy at work. He included Mariokart, Meteos, and Sonic Rush in the deal. So far my favorite is definitely Meteos. The game is fucking great. It’s a simple enough puzzle game that makes non-gimmicky use of the stylus, and it’s still challenging at higher difficulties. The game is all about a fast pace and a good roaming eye. Also, rather than going on forever, the main game mode can be beaten (there’s also time and stock modes, so you CAN go on forever if you want). The music is varied and interesting, and you can unlock new tunes as well. Mariokart is also a lot of fun. It’s Mariokart. For the DS. With online multiplayer.
I also ordered Metroid Prime: Hunters and it arrived yesterday. So far it looks really cool, but I haven’t played it much beyond watching the intro videos and trying out the interface.
*Tetris : It’s as good as people say, especially if you love Tetris (I do).
*Meteos: Great puzzler, but it’s not passive like Tetris. You never get to “zone out (or is that ‘zone in’)” because it’s more of an action game/puzzle
As a note, both Phoenix Wright and Trauma Center are supposed to be getting re-releases soonish, so don’t do anything foolish like paying extra on ebay. You might ask what my source is for this information, being a skeptical sort, and to that I can triumphantly declare that I vaguely remember reading it somewhere on the internet, possibly even in these forums. So you can count on it being inerrantly true, is what I’m saying.
Ossu! Tatakae! Ouendan! is great even if you don’t like DDR and other rhythm games. Elite Beat Agents is coming, though–hopefully it preserves the crazy charm.
I don’t have a DS, but I’ve been playing my with my friends’ a lot lately.
I actually like Metroid Prime Hunters quite a bit. The single player is fun and the multiplayer reminds me of straight up Quake II deathmatch. Not a good travel game though; you really have to be sitting still and have a firm grip on the DS with one hand.
I thought I would hate Mario Kart DS because I was such a big fan of Mario Kart 64, especially the mutli-level multiplayer arenas. But I really found myself enjoying it, even the single player. I don’t know about playing with strangers, but racing friends and CPU racers is fantastic fun.
Bomberman multiplayer is fantastic, if you someone to play with who isn’t already bored to death of it.
Cooking Mama is a lot of fun in a WarioWare kinda way. North American version should be released soon.
If you like 2D platformers, allow me to highly recommend Kirby Canvas Curse. It’s unlike any other platformer you’ve played (read some reviews) - it makes really great use of the stylus. I like NSMB, but let’s face it, it’s basically classic mario - not a bunch of innovation there.
Don’t forget the GBA library - there are some nice games and you can pick 'em up cheap. If you’ve never played Yoshi’s Island (and if you like platformers), it’s a winner.
Mario Kart rocks. As people have said, it’s Mario Kart on the DS - how can you go wrong?
Ouendan is good fun, although if you aren’t either a J-pop fan or a rhythm-game fan, it might not hold your interest for long. I like J-Pop, so the thing that keeps me going is unlocking the songs, but once I’ve unlocked them all, I doubt I’ll play it much.
Both Phoenix Wright and Trauma Center are up for pre-sale on Amazon.com right now, for $29.99 (release date is August 10th). So you haven’t missed out if they are to your liking.
It’s interesting. It’s kind of a hybrid between an RPG and an adventure game, and is pretty free-form. The biggest problem I had with the game the first time I started playing is that it’s hard to maintain any momentum playing in 15-30 minute chunks like other DS games. There’s little direction on what to do or where to go next, and you tend to get stuck in an endless forage-for-survival mode if you lose track of the storyline. I finally sat down with it on a long weekend and checked gamefaqs whenever I got stuck to finish it. It’s a unique game and I enjoyed it, but I think it’s one of those games that will only appeal to small audience.
