The Nintendo DS & GBA thread

[Radd]

Since I don't plan on buying a Lite to replace my regular DS, I'll be picking up New SMB as soon as I can. Sounds like the multiplayer is more of a competitive versus match in an arena and not the cooperative multiplayer through the game as many had hoped.

Still, should be a lot of fun.

[Zentrandude]

I'm waiting.  Might wait even longer for a non-white Lite.

397795[/snapback]

Same here, Ill be waiting for the black.

[gerwalk25]

For some reason I've no desire (yet ) to get a DS regular or lite. But I sure do need a replacement GBA. I'm rantin' because I finally demo'd the newer GBA at best buy-and it looks sweet!

[Radd]

Shown briefly at Nintendo's E3 conference, Starfox DS.

Also, live voice chat for the new Tony Hawk game for the DS. I'm not a Tony Hawk fan myself, but it's likely to pop up in other games eventually. So DS gamers can finally get the childish namecalling and racial slurs PC and Xbox Live gamers have been enjoying for years!

[Black Valkyrie]

Star Fox DS and Yoshi`s Island 2 :

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n10/e3_2006/ds/index.html

[zeo-mare]

Star Fox DS and Yoshi`s Island 2 : 

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n10/e3_2006/ds/index.html

398128[/snapback]

the starfox game is going to be cool, they so needed a game like this one for the Gamecube, not that rpg style adventure game they made but a true shooter game. if done right it could have been one of the best Gamecube games made.

chris

[Black Valkyrie]

Cv-Portrait of Ruin :

http://www.jeux-france.com/downloads5846_w...it-of-ruin.html

[Black Valkyrie]

BTW NGC had a Star Fox shooter by Namco.

[zeo-mare]

if i recall the shooter still contained rpg and adventure elements and was not a full 3-D shooter. i could be wrong but tthat was the impression i was given by the game.

chris

[yellowlightman]

if i recall the shooter still contained rpg and adventure elements and was not a full 3-D shooter. i could be wrong but tthat was the impression i was given by the game.

398373[/snapback]

You're thinking of Starfox Adventure. Black Valkyrie was referring to Starfox Armada.

[Radd]

Starfox Armada did have ground missions, but they did not make up the majority of the game, nor were there any RPG or Adventure elements to them, at least as far as I saw.

[UN Spacy]

Alright.

The NEW Super Mario Brothers is out!

Anyone on MW pick up a copy already?

[therealfolkblues]

Alright.

The NEW Super Mario Brothers is out!

Anyone on MW pick up a copy already?

399905[/snapback]

Picked up a copy this morning, pretty cool so far (I'm on level 3-1). Nice graphics and some cool gameplay tweaks. Best bit of old school fun I have had in a while, and gets me psyched for the new Paper Mario game coming up. If anyone wants to save some bucks, Circuit City has it for $28.

[David Hingtgen]

Saw it, will pick it up soon, but not immediately. I still don't have a DS. It'll be either the first or second game I play once I get my DS Lite.

[Radd]

Managed to nab it last night. Having a blast, but it hasn't managed to completely wrangle my attention away from Final Fantasy IV. Then again, I'm at a particularly good point in that game, and it is my favourite in the FF franchise.

Still, yeah, digging it quite a bit. I wish they'd brought back the suits from SMB3, but that's about my only complaint.

[gerwalk25]

For some reason I've no desire (yet  ) to get a DS regular or lite. But I sure do need a replacement GBA. I'm rantin' because I finally demo'd the newer GBA at best buy-and it looks sweet!

397881[/snapback]

I finally bought one and it dosen't disapoint one bit!

[Radd]

The newer GBA or the DS?

[David Hingtgen]

2 weeks to US DS Lite release, bumping thread, and a comment/question:

Has anyone here actually seen/held a Navy DS Lite? I've read a LOT of comments lately about how it's more glossy than the others, and REALLY shows fingerprints and smudges, to the point that it looks pretty bad most of the time. And I hate fingerprints...

I might go with white for that reason alone--better to dislike the color and have it look good, than to like the color but think it looks dirty 24/7.

And of course Europe gets BLACK...

[Loner]

I've ordered the navy blue one, I'll tell you impressions of it when I get it.

[Wes]

Word is that some Wal-Marts and Targets are selling it already. If you're really desperate to find it try your local one.

[armentage]

I'm dying to see a picture comparing the DS Lite to the GB Micro. I really want to see how big this sexy beast is.

Right now I have a Micro that I take with me to work; it's a lot of fun on the subway, but I find that most of the games are a little too boring for my tastes. I'm really excited about the DS Lite, but will it be anything like my Micro?

[Radd]

Er, expect the DS Lite to be much larger than the Micro. It'll still be larger than a GBA SP. It's somewhat smaller on all sides, and more streamlined looking, than the original DS. There are comparision shots between the DS and Lite on various websites. I think it was IGN that had a rollover comparison. Move your mouse over the image and it superimposed a Lite over the DS.

[David Hingtgen]

The demo DS at my local Wal-Mart was replaced by a DS Lite.

Anyways---love the D-pad, shoulder buttons are nice. A/B/X/Y are small and close, but shouldn't cause any problems (especially once you can actually HOLD it, vs trying to wrap your fingers around the demo-bracket)

Screen--reminded me of a backlit GBA SP, but shall I say "finer dot pitch"? The demo is set up for 7-year-olds, so I couldn't really "play" at all--I'm simply too tall.

Color--it's obvious that the entire system is matte plastic, with a thick, clear, gloss layer of plastic sheeting over the exterior. The case isn't gloss white plastic as is often reported, it's flat white plastic with a shiny clear cover. So I'm thinking the Navy blue would have no more fingerprint problems than the white, it's purely how they'd show up. It just looks shinier than the white because it's a dark color--same as a white car vs a black car--black cars simply look "deeper" and "wetter" due to the COLOR, not their clear coat.

So now I'm leaning towards Navy blue again... (hopefully import prices will go down a bit once the US version comes out)

[gerwalk25]

The newer GBA or the DS?

400006[/snapback]

GBA. If I'm lucky I'll pick up a Ds Lite too.

[VF-19]

Picked up my DS lite today, and I'm one very pleased owner.

Feels great in my hands (the old DS felt too "big"), and the transparent plastic looks great.

So, if you live in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and you want your DS lite right now, go to the Zellers in Place D'Orleans.

[David Hingtgen]

It's technically on sale in the US now. Maybe 24hour Wal-Marts? Anyways, I'm 99% decided on importing a Navy one. The more I look at it, the more I dislike the white one. And I'm not waiting until X-mas for Nintendo's second "holiday" wave of colors to come to the US---I can only put off playing a new 2D Mario game for so long...

PS---any thoughts on the usefullness of getting a backlit GBA SP? My only GBA is a launch white Asian one (as in HK, not JP), so I actually play 99% of my GBA games nowadays via my GC/GBplayer just to see the screen! Plus I have many treasured GB games that a DS won't play.

[VF-19]

It's technically on sale in the US now.  Maybe 24hour Wal-Marts?  Anyways, I'm 99% decided on importing a Navy one.  The more I look at it, the more I dislike the white one.  And I'm not waiting until X-mas for Nintendo's second "holiday" wave of colors to come to the US---I can only put off playing a new 2D Mario game for so long...

PS---any thoughts on the usefullness of getting a backlit GBA SP?  My only GBA is a launch white Asian one (as in HK, not JP), so I actually play 99% of my GBA games nowadays via my GC/GBplayer just to see the screen!  Plus I have many treasured GB games that a DS won't play.

407005[/snapback]

It's not a bad idea. Nintendo recently (within the last year) upgraded the SP, so that it has a proper backlight screen than a frontlight screen. Only downside to this is that you can't turn off the backlight on the newer SPs, only turn it down (I think).

More current impressions of the new DS... The outer plastic shell feels kinda "slippery", and I need to grip the unit fairly tightly in order for it to not slip out of my hands.

GBA games look great on the DS, and my sole DS Game, Castlevania, is fun as heck to play.

[Radd]

My fiancee just had to pick up a DS Lite today when we were wandering through Walmart. I have to admit I was taken aback seeing it in person. It really does look so much smaller and sleeker, more than I expected.

Also, the Lite feels like it's much better made, I mean the buttons, the casing, the d-pad all feels like they're made out of higher quality materials, and put together much better. When I first got a DS, my major complaint was how cheap it felt compared to the SP. Not so here, the Lite is like a mini high-end laptop or something.

[mikeszekely]

PS---any thoughts on the usefullness of getting a backlit GBA SP?  My only GBA is a launch white Asian one (as in HK, not JP), so I actually play 99% of my GBA games nowadays via my GC/GBplayer just to see the screen!  Plus I have many treasured GB games that a DS won't play.

407005[/snapback]

Highly reccomended. It's not just the GBC games... GBA games are more comfortable to play on the SP than the DS (at least the original), because B and A (in GBA mode) are still mapped to B and A on the DS, not Y and B. Passable for RPGs where you're mostly hitting the A button, but for action games like Castlevania or Megaman Zero, you're forced to bend your thumb at an angle that makes you wind up grabbing your GBA anyway.

And I can't state enough how much of an improvement the new screens are. The passable front-lit screens that washed everything out were replaced with stunning backlit screens that are brighter and more clear than on the original DS (will find out how the Lite stacks up today).

[David Hingtgen]

Just had a thought:

Dead pixels. If you import one, you're basically screwed if there's any problems. I would hate dead pixels far more than having white plastic. Hmmmn. Maybe I can get a white US one, and sell it when the new colors come out.

[Zentrandude]

You can always get a professional to paint a white ds lite blue if your that worried.

[mikeszekely]

Okay, I'm home with mine, charged it up for three hours, and played New Super Mario Bros on it for a little bit.

Now, while it's true that it's not SP or Micro-sized, the DS Lite is noticably smaller and lighter than the original. The brightest setting is almost too bright, and the second to dimmest setting is about new SP level. Dimmest is about as bright, maybe slightly brighter than the original DS.

Let Apple and Nintendo sort out who designed what first, but the overall design is VERY similar to the new MacBooks. They're identical in color, and both have that glossy on the outside, matte on the inside design.

I'm suprised more people haven't made a fuss about the stylus. Yes, compared to the one that goes with my Axim, it feels like cheap plastic... but at least it's about the same size as the one that goes with my Axim. For a lot of games like Brain Age, it makes all the difference.

If you have a DS already, it's going to be a personal preference. Some people are going to gladly shell out the cash for the Lite and be happy about it, other people aren't going to be able to justify it. But if you don't have a DS yet, the Lite is definately the model to get.

Oh, David, I didn't have any dead pixels in my Lite, and I'm not sure how many reports of them there are. It might be safe to import, although I still don't get your fixation with the Navy one. I've owned a lot of electronics, including some white ones (no, I'm not a huge Apple fan... I do want to get a MacBook, but it'll be the first Mac I've ever owned). But never a blue one.

[UN Spacy]

Anyone that wants to trade in the regular DS should pass by EB Games. Today (and only today) they're offering $70 trade in value for the DS Lite.

[David Hingtgen]

Like anything else LCD, there's stuck pixels, dead pixels, and entire columns or rows of pixels being stuck. Google "DS lite dead pixels" and you'll find plenty of problems. Though I think DS's have fewer instances than most things, it's still possible. (And with my luck for game systems lately...)

[VF-19]

Like anything else LCD, there's stuck pixels, dead pixels, and entire columns or rows of pixels being stuck.  Google "DS lite dead pixels" and you'll find plenty of problems.  Though I think DS's have fewer instances than most things, it's still possible.  (And with my luck for game systems lately...)

407105[/snapback]

After I got out of the store I booted up the DS (a nice partial charge was on it), and had a good look for dead/stuck pixels. None were found.

Besides, if anything pops up, I'm going to exchange it with a new one.

My brother had a tiny bit of bad luck with his SP, but the store exchanged it with no problems.

Although, one small downside to the Lite (and probably the regular DS in general). You can't play it in direct sunlight. There's no reflectivity, and it's really hard to see the screen.