Nintendo DSi

[Roihu]

I own:

1. Super Mario 64 DS
2. Animal Crossing Wild World
3. Metroid Prime: Hunters
4. Pokemon Diamond
5. Pokemon Pearl
6. Star Fox Command
7. Nintendogs
8. Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis
9. Kirby Squeak Squad
10. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
11. Mario Kart DS

You have Kirby Squeak Squad but not Kirby Canvas Curse nor Kirby Super Star Ultra?
Kirby Squeak Squad is the disgrace of DS Kirby games. Good, but not nearly as good as the other 2.

 

[Firus]

Last I checked (which was a while ago, admittedly), Portrait of Ruin was in the sub-20$ range on Amazon.

And you said you own a 360, right? You can download Symphony of the Night (regarded largely as the best CV of all time) on XBLA, as well.

Hm. Well, I wasn't necessarily saying I couldn't find one, just saying I wanted to find one before I got a Castlevania game. What Castlevania game would you recommend to start out the series on? I mean, one that can help introduce me to the franchise well, but also one that's not an unenjoyable game (well, obviously).

In comparison to Castlevania, it is. While Metroid has all those hidden Energy Tanks and Missile Expansions, and not really anything else, post-Symphony of the Night Castlevania games are filled with literally hundreds of different items, in addition to the requisite HP and MP expansion potions. Couple that with the Soul and Mastery systems in the two DS games (which reward you for slaying certain numbers of the many, many different types of monsters), and you have a lot more stuff to do in recent CVs aside from trying for a certain completion % or clear time.

There are other items besides Energy Tanks, Missile Tanks, and Power Bomb Tanks. In some games, fewer than others, but some of them have quite a few. Not literally hundreds, but I expect that Castlevania items are different from Metroid items, am I correct?

And Metroid may not have as much to do, per se, but I think that the things that the fans do by themselves to challenge themselves actually amounts to more than anything the game could offer initially. Just look at Metroid2002[/QUOTE] at all of the types of runs (speed runs, 1% runs for Fusion, minimum%, 100%, low%, etc.) you can do, the different techniques you can do, and the sequence breaking possible for certain games (like Prime 1 and Super Metroid). And while you can speed run practically any game, Metroid is by far one of the best, if not THE best, for doing so.

Keep in mind, though, that I'm pretty much just auto-defending Metroid as a huge fan of it. As I've never played Castlevania, I can't accurately really say either way. If it has even the potential to be better than Metroid, though, I definitely have to check it out.

Yes. [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlPoVzMaFt8&feature=related"]Really

, really, really good music.

Touche.

Of course Nintendo means this in the same way that the DS is not a replacement for the GBA.

It's not a replacement... until they sell out their stocks of the original system. Then, it is a replacement. It's that simple. They just have to say it's not replacing it so that people don't think that Nintendo screwed them over.

Exactly this. The GBA was supposed to keep running alongside the DS as well. Look how well that turned out; GBA games aren't even being made anymore, and now the DSi isn't going to be able to play them.

Unless the DSi and Lite manage to be about equal in how successful they are, either the DSi is going to dominate or fall by the wayside.

+ Yoshi's Island DS for great justice.

That list also needs alot of non-Nintendo love. As in...any at all. Castlevanias, as previously stated, Lock's Quest, one or more of the Square Enix offerings, Etrian Oddessy or other Atlus games...lordy, there's so many great ones it's hard to just shout out a few.

Yeah, I wanted to get Yoshi's Island DS. Another one I just haven't gotten around to getting. And yeah, I do need to brighten my horizons a little bit. But few have really caught my eye that much.

You have Kirby Squeak Squad but not Kirby Canvas Curse nor Kirby Super Star Ultra?
Kirby Squeak Squad is the disgrace of DS Kirby games. Good, but not nearly as good as the other 2.

First of all, Super Star Ultra is fairly new, and while I like Kirby I'm not a super fan of it, so I didn't reserve it and wasn't going to get it right away. And either way, I really want to get Super Star first.

As for the rest of your comment...how is Sqeak Squad a disgrace? It's not only a great game, in comparison to other Kirbys no less, but unlike Canvas Curse it's an actual Kirby game. Canvas Curse seems interesting but it's not a real Kirby game.

Either way, there's my reasoning; Super Star Ultra is new and Canvas Curse isn't an actual Kirby.

 

[SkylerOcon]

Squeak Squad is a great game, by normal game standards. It's Superman 64, by Kirby game standards.

 

[Chief Mendez]

And while we're on the subject of music, SR had some great music. I'd play whichever level it was JUST to here "Right There, Right On."

This is the reason I never finished Rush Adventure--Naganuma didn't come back and make more music for the sequel. I could easily have dealt with the constant blathering-on of...whatever Marine was, if only I could play along to those ridiculously awesome music.

+ Yoshi's Island DS for great justice epic fail.

Seriously...how can people stand to play that trash? Yoshi's Island is basically the best 2D platformer on the SNES (and maybe of all time, come to think), and then you gat the sequel...and it's not even made by Nintendo.

Ugh.

What Castlevania game would you recommend to start out the series on? I mean, one that can help introduce me to the franchise well, but also one that's not an unenjoyable game (well, obviously).

If you have access to XBLA or the PSN/a PSP, pick up Symphony of the Night first (on the PSP it's in Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles).

If you can't do that, track down a copy of the first DS game, Dawn of Sorrow. I'd recommend staying far away from the first 4 games on the NES and SNES, since they're nothing like Metroid, and that seems to be the main reason you'd be interested in them.

Not literally hundreds, but I expect that Castlevania items are different from Metroid items, am I correct?

In CV, you collect not just stat-enhancers, but actual new weapons, which make you attack differently, as well as various accessories that affect the game, magic spells/skills, and basically everything you'd find in your average RPG...only it's a 2D Action/Adventure game.

Keep in mind, though, that I'm pretty much just auto-defending Metroid as a huge fan of it. As I've never played Castlevania, I can't accurately really say either way. If it has even the potential to be better than Metroid, though, I definitely have to check it out.

And I played CV way before I was introduced to Metroid, so I tend to freak out about the former.

Personally I love CV more than Metroid, but that's just me. It has better sprites than any of the 2D Metroids, better music (I never was much for the "somber, atmospheric" ideology behind the Metroid tunes), and much more replayability. You really need to get into them.

 

[derek.haines]

Seriously...how can people stand to play that trash? Yoshi's Island is basically the best 2D platformer on the SNES (and maybe of all time, come to think), and then you gat the sequel...and it's not even made by Nintendo.

Ugh.

Watchoo talkin' bout, Mendez? I'll agree that the original Yoshi's Island was great, but Yoshi's Island DS took that same formula and opened it up to a whole 'nother world of greatness! The different babies made the entire game different from a tactical sense, and beyond that it was just an amazing, huge, tough, dual-screened beast.

I'd say the biggest plus any reviewer could give to the game is exactly what most of them said: "No huge surprises, and no significant additions to the genre...it's just a solid recreation of the Yoshi's Island elements in a two-screen-high format." (Craig Harris, IGN)

 

[Bowser King]

Are you guys talking about SMW:2?

That game was disgusting. I can't understand why Nintendo would ruin such a beautiful series (SMW was the best 2-D/platformer mario game I have played). They could have branched it off into a separate series but why did they not give us a real SMW:2?

Maybe SMW:2 isn't as bad as I'm making it sound but It wasn't what it could have been (it was reeeaaally easy >_>)

-[Font=Impact"]Bowser King[/Font]

 

[Minato]

Are you guys talking about SMW:2?

That game was disgusting. I can't understand why Nintendo would ruin such a beautiful series (SMW was the best 2-D/platformer mario game I have played). They could have branched it off into a separate series but why did they not give us a real SMW:2?

Maybe SMW:2 isn't as bad as I'm making it sound but It wasn't what it could have been (it was reeeaaally easy >_>)

-[Font=Impact"]Bowser King[/Font]

I wouldn't exactly say that it branched off of Super Mario World. They only added the "Super Mario World" part in America to advertise it better.

 

[woopyfrood]

Wouldn't it be awesome if they released the Pokemon Gold/Silver remakes as one of the launch titles for this thing?

 

[Minato]

Wouldn't it be awesome if they released the Pokemon Gold/Silver remakes as one of the launch titles for this thing?

I honestly hope a G/S remake is coming.

 

[The Executive]

I would buy it in a heartbeat...why did they drop the second quest mechanic after G/S/C?

Also, if there were an 8-bit graphics option, that would be splendiferous.

 

[Overload]

I hate how they think people would rather have their ds a little bit smaller instead of being able to play a bunch of other games.

Yes a g/s remake would be sick

 

[Bowser King]

I hate how they think people would rather have their ds a little bit smaller instead of being able to play a bunch of other games.

Yes a g/s remake would be sick

Is that the reason we can't play GBA games on it?
I didn't think it was going to something that stupid. I would rather keep it DS lite size then make it smaller and get no GBA port.

Yeah a G/S remake would be awesome.

-Bowser King

 

[flyinfilipino]

I would buy it in a heartbeat...why did they drop the second quest mechanic after G/S/C?

Because Kanto in G/S/C was pretty much nothing, save for battling a few more trainers and the Gym Leaders.

Spoiler

It was nifty though.

 

[PD4FR]

Pokemon G/S are awesome.
They should make a remake.
And you BETTER not have to buy the new DS to play the new DS games.

 

[McFox]

Seriously...how can people stand to play that trash? Yoshi's Island is basically the best 2D platformer on the SNES (and maybe of all time, come to think), and then you gat the sequel...and it's not even made by Nintendo.

Ugh.

Totally agreed. I played through Yoshi's Island DS, but it just left me with a big feeling of "meh." Not that many other games could ever compare to the original (which is definitely one of the BEST games EVER MADE), but still, YIDS was a huge disappointment for me.

I mean, just as an example, the graphics for the SNES version look BETTER than the DS one. How did that happen?

 

[Lord Viper]

I mean, just as an example, the graphics for the SNES version look BETTER than the DS one. How did that happen?

No, I think your eye's are playing tricks on you, if you view it closely the graphics are more colorful then the SNES verson, but I can't convince people can I? =/

Oh well, at least you didn't say the gameplay was easier then the SNES then I would be very confused. The big boss battle's was easier than the med boss battle in Yoshi's Island DS I'll have to say. But you got to say, getting Yoshi's Island DS at 100% is hard as hell.

Edit: Oh my, I think I help get off topic. Back on Track: I wonder if the DSi come's out with more colors on it's release instead of just platnum and black?

 

[McFox]

Meh, by "better," I mean more appealing, not technically better. The design of Yoshi on the SNES is so much more appealing than the DS version, which I honestly thought was terrible.

 

[strike42]

this thing is probably gonna make piracy easier for the ds(flash carts) just stick all the crap u want on the sd card. i'll give it 3 weeks from the release that someone will hack it.

 

[Darkslash]

this thing is probably gonna make piracy easier for the ds(flash carts) just stick all the crap u want on the sd card. i'll give it 3 weeks from the release that someone will hack it.

Seeing Nintendo going suewire on the R4 i don't think they will take Piracy likely...more likely its a trap..and if it is then Bravo Nintendo Bravo.

 

[Crimson King]

It'll be hacked pretty fast. I am quite confident of this.

 

[derek.haines]

It'll be hacked pretty fast. I am quite confident of this.

Hackers are a skilled bunch, and they've hacked every single major game console so far (or reverse engineered it). The DSi will be no different and, odds are, it really won't make a whole heck of alot of difference in the long run.

 

[Minato]

I love how quick it took for the Twilight Hack to work again after a firmware update almost stopped it.

The DSi is going to be easy to hack.

 

[derek.haines]

I've got no intention of pirating DS games for it, but I have to admit that it opens up a great deal of possibilities for running SNES and Genesis emulators on it, not to mention old Game Boy stuff...

Should be a fun time.

 

[Chief Mendez]

Maybe SMW:2 isn't as bad as I'm making it sound but It wasn't what it could have been (it was reeeaaally easy >_>)

Try telling me that after getting 300 Points on each level.

What made the game so good (and as far as I'm concerned much better than Super Mario World) was the combination of all the unique mechanics--

>No deaths other than from spikes/lava/etc.
>No timer
>User-scalable difficulty (measured by the point system)
>THE RIDICULOUS AMOUNT OF IMAGINATION

...and the sequel on DS was just...it was just not as good. Yoshi's Island was so cool in part because it was only really a challenge if you wanted it to be, but Yoshi's Island DS was a challenge all across the board.

If it didn't have that legacy to carry, I wouldn't have minded the difficulty, oft-boring level design, and tacked-on mechanics.

I've got no intention of pirating DS games for it, but I have to admit that it opens up a great deal of possibilities for running SNES and Genesis emulators on it, not to mention old Game Boy stuff...

Should be a fun time.

You may not have the intention right now...but when you it dawn on you that that neat-o Square-Enix game that came out three f*cking years ago is still 40$ can instead be yours to play after a 20-minute direct download...

...you will turn to the Dark Side.

With you on the other emulators though. I've owned a lot of games, and a lot of systems over the years, but I also moved around a lot, so right now I only have about half of my GCN collection, my PS2 games, and then the DS and Wii. So all the old Gensis, SNES, Saturn, and PSX games I've owned are all now sitting in a 40GB external drive in my closet.

If the DSi can enable me to play nearly my entire videogame history on one platform...I will be more than happy.

 

[strike42]

If the DSi can enable me to play nearly my entire videogame history on one platform...I will be more than happy.

thats what the pandora is for, or the psp or a cyclods evolution.

 

[Chief Mendez]

thats what the pandora is for, or the psp or a cyclods evolution.

Let me rephrase that.

"If a handheld videogame system that's worth the money, doesn't have badly-built controls, that I've actually heard of, and that will, as time goes on, be home to some amazingly good games...which in this case is basically the DSi, can enable me to play nearly my entire videogame history on one platform...I will be more than happy."

...Is what I should have said. I apologize for my mistake.

EDIT - Oh, hey, while I'm here (aka a thread I haven't gotten around to plugging yet)--everyone should visit this link, and vote for TimeSplitters 4 to be made on the Wii.

FOR GREAT JUSTICE

 

[The Executive]

I don't care what it comes out on as long as it comes out. SOON.

 

[Darkslash]

vote for wii if you want it to come out soon :D


Any ways who bets that it will be hacked in 2 days

 

[Chief Mendez]

Any ways who bets that it will be hacked in 2 days

Two days? More like two hours, really.

I don't care what it comes out on as long as it comes out. SOON.

Aside from two (really dumb) Flash teasers and those three (not as dumb) pieces of concept art though, it doesn't look like they've even really begun development yet. I'd say we're looking at a Holiday '09 release at the very earliest, but more likely late '10.

Those teasers really do worry me though. I mean...God. They're just not funny at all. They're actually kind of sad...

"HARHAR LOOK LOOK, IT'S DARTH VADER!!! SEE!? IT'S ALL SHINY AND THARS TEH BREAFFING NOIZES!!!! BUT THEN---O SHIIIIIIT SON!!!!! IT WAS ACTUALLY A MONKEY!!!!"
trying way too hard

 

[Thrillhouse-vh.]

Two days? More like two hours, really.

Aside from two (really dumb) Flash teasers and those three (not as dumb) pieces of concept art though, it doesn't look like they've even really begun development yet. I'd say we're looking at a Holiday '09 release at the very earliest, but more likely late '10.

Those teasers really do worry me though. I mean...God. They're just not funny at all. They're actually kind of sad...

"HARHAR LOOK LOOK, IT'S DARTH VADER!!! SEE!? IT'S ALL SHINY AND THARS TEH BREAFFING NOIZES!!!! BUT THEN---O SHIIIIIIT SON!!!!! IT WAS ACTUALLY A MONKEY!!!!"
trying way too hard

Just jumping here. I wasn't interested at all about the new games, only possibilities for storing SNES, NES, GB, etc., emulators, so what trailer are we talking about?

 

[Bowser King]

Two days? More like two hours, really. :ohwell

That would be halarious if we got hacks for free game within the first 2 hours of release

-Bowser King

 

[Chief Mendez]

Just jumping here. I wasn't interested at all about the new games, only possibilities for storing SNES, NES, GB, etc., emulators, so what trailer are we talking about?

Communication error. The Executive was talking about TimeSplitters 4, which has nothing to do with the DSi, and I was responding.

So my comments quoting his/her's/it's/potato's earlier statement...you can basically just ignore.

That would be halarious if we got hacks for free game within the first 2 hours of release

There's a software firm in CA that holds annual "hacking competitions", and this year's winner hacked Mac OS X to replicate all the capabilities of Windows Vista in under five hours.

To clarify, all he was given was a Mac Pro, the OS, a keyboard, a mouse, and a high-speed internet connection.

...So yeah, it's probably going to happen. Though whether or not it's actually released to the public so quickly is another question altogether.

 

[Mic_128]

The DSi will be Region Locked.

 

[Eternal phoenix Fire]

The DSi will be Region Locked.

*Waits to laugh at those who didn't fully read it*

 

[Chief Mendez]

*Waits to laugh at those who didn't fully read it*

Seconded.

I don't think there's going to be too much DSi-only software released over in Japan anyways, and if there is, it'll almost certainly release over on our side of the pond too. Why? Because Japan has something like, one DS per every two people in the nation, or something.

So if a developer made a cartridge-based DSi-only game, they'd be alienating over half of their country's population.

...Now, obviously DSi Ware is what I expect will be "region-locked". But I somehow doubt Ouendan 3, Bleach DS The 3rd, Rhythm Tengoku 2, or a new Jump Stars game will be released as a downloadable game...

 

[Minato]

Who knows, people might be able to disable the region lock through hacking it now. I don't see a region-locked DSi lasting too long.

 

[Chief Mendez]

Who knows, people might be able to disable the region lock through hacking it now. I don't see a region-locked DSi lasting too long.

They could probably manage that concerning actual physical cartridges, what with the SD slot and all...but the real gist of this announcement is that if you go to Japan with a US DSi, you won't be able to download any games or stuff over there.

According to the press release:

"the DSi embeds net communication functionality within itself and provides net services specifically tailored for each region."

...Now, I'm no hacker, but that sounds a bit more in-depth than something that would require a simple homebrew program to be loaded onto an SD card. More like an actual, case-by-case hardware mod.

 

[derek.haines]

Seconded.

I don't think there's going to be too much DSi-only software released over in Japan anyways, and if there is, it'll almost certainly release over on our side of the pond too. Why? Because Japan has something like, one DS per every two people in the nation, or something.

So if a developer made a cartridge-based DSi-only game, they'd be alienating over half of their country's population.

...Now, obviously DSi Ware is what I expect will be "region-locked". But I somehow doubt Ouendan 3, Bleach DS The 3rd, Rhythm Tengoku 2, or a new Jump Stars game will be released as a downloadable game...

True enough. I sincerely doubt there's going to be a sudden influx of DSi-only software any time in the near future. Maybe a few Nintendo products showcasing the camera, but that's likely to be it.

 

[The Executive]

The only things I stand to gain by buying a DSi would be the 3mp camera and built-in Wifi, since my Samsung SYNC has a 2MP camera and horrific internet. However, being a college student my laptop is attached at the hip so internet on a DS suddenly doesn't seem as interesting. I can't justify paying $180 for a DS whose only new features besides a camera are already provided by flash cards for $140 cheaper.

This new DS design would be a BRILLIANT move if everyone in the target audience (Japan) didn't already own one or more DS Lites.

 

[F8AL]

http://kotaku.com/5073121/hey-dummy-dont-microwave-the-dsi-and-other-nintendo-tips

Some of them are really funny like this one:

http://kotaku.com/photogallery/dsimanual/1004323569